By Abhi Parasher
Veteran producer Stratton Leopold (Mission: Impossible III) and writer/producer/director Dax Phelan (The Other Side of the Wind) have teamed up to produce an as-yet-untitled limited series based on one of the most daring prison escapes in history.
The 1876 Catalpa Rescue saw six Irish prisoners from the Convict Establishment in Western Australia escape via whaleship Catalpa, to New York, orchestrated by the Irish Republican Brotherhood (Fenians), with the help of previous escapee John Boyle O’Reilly. The series will take place in Ireland, the US and Australia during the 1860s and 1870s.
Phelan will write the pilot and produce with Leopold and Eric M. Klein. Terence E. Groves, who first brought the idea to Leopold, will serve as executive producer along with James Su and Benjamin Cheek.
“As a filmmaker, I’m always on the lookout for true stories about the triumph of the human spirit over incredible odds,” Leopold said. “The story of the Fenians’ escape shows the power of human will to accomplish extraordinary things under the worst of circumstances.”
“This is one of the greatest escape stories that I’ve ever heard and, ironically, one of the least known,” Phelan said. “The more you learn about it and those involved, the better it gets.”
No news yet of when or where the series will shoot, but with Australia’s recent track record of hosting successful international limited series (Shantaram, upcoming Last Days of the Space Age), no doubt that part of this amazing story will be filmed here.
