"Trucker" Gets Picked Up

Monterey Media has acquired all U.S. rights to James Mottern’s Tribeca Film Festival premiere "Trucker," setting the film for an October 9, 2009 release date. Produced by Plum Pictures and Scott Hanson, the film stars Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Fillion, Benjamin Bratt, Jimmy Bennett and Joey Lauren Adams. The film will open exclusively in New York theaters and then roll out nationally.

“I tried to make Trucker for a few years..one problem I was always faced with was finding a lead actress that really spoke to me on a gut level. I looked for a long time,” said Mottern in a statement. “Then I saw Michelle Monaghan in a movie called 'North Country.' Her performance in that film is outstanding. But there’s this one scene where the character she plays is standing outside her trailer saying good bye to Charlize Theron’s character and the camera holds on Michelle for a beat, not saying a word; I saw that and it hit me like a freight train - “There she is. Diane.”

"Trucker" tells the story of Diane Ford (Monaghan), a vivacious young truck driver, who leads a carefree life of long-haul trucking, one night stands and all-night drinking until the evening her estranged 11-year-old son shows up at her door. Monaghan received much acclaim for her performance, and Monterey acknowledged setting the film up for awards contention in its press release.

“We bought this film because we just fell in love with it, with Michelle’s amazing performance, and with the beauty of James’ script,” said CFO and Managing Partner Jere Rae-Mansfield in a statement. “Our hope is that both audiences and voters will fall in love all the same."