‘The Bear’ and ‘Beef’ Writer Alex Russell to Direct Thriller ‘Lurker’

Alex Russell, whose writing credits include FX’s “Dave” and “The Bear” and Netflix’s “Beef,” is making his directorial debut with the upcoming thriller “Lurker,” starring and Théodore Pellerin (“Never Rarely Sometimes Always”) and Archie Madekwe (“Saltburn”).

Havana Rose Liu, Sunny Suljic, Daniel Zolghadri and Zack Fox round out the cast of “Lurker,” which follows a retail employee (Pellerin) who infiltrates the inner circle of an artist on the verge of stardom (Madekwe). As he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.

WME Independent will represent worldwide sales for the film, which begins shooting this spring.

Madekwe, who last year starred in “Saltburn,” “Gran Turismo” and “Heart of Stone,” produces alongside Alex Orlovsky, Duncan Montgomery, Galen Core, Jack Selby, Olmo Schnabel, Marc Marrie, Charlie McDowell and Francesco Melzi D’Eril.

Executive producers include “Beef” creator Lee Sung-Jin, “Emily in Paris” star Lily Collins for Case Study Films, Gabriel Moratti for MeMo Films, Marco Colombo for Adler Entertainment, Alfonso Angoitia Legorreta, Mal Ward and Matt Aselton for Arts & Sciences and Rick Covert for High Frequency Entertainment. Production companies include High Frequency Entertainment, MeMo, Arts & Sciences, TWIN and Case Study Films.

Russell, who was featured on the Black List in 2020, writes and directs “Lurker.” A consulting producer on “The Bear” and supervising producer on “Beef,” he is represented by WME, Grandview, Elixr Global, and Cohen & Silver.

Madekwe is represented by UTA, Curtis Brown Group, Ziffren Brittenham LLP and Shelter PR. Pellerin is repped by UBBA, Black Bear and Untitled Entertainment.