Everest: An Ensemble Cast in the True Story about the 1996 Mount Everest Disaster

Universal Pictures' Everest is an adventure-thriller film inspired by the real events surrounding a treacherous attempt to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain. It follows the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind. Their mettle tested by the harshest of elements found on the planet, the climbers will be seen facing nearly impossible obstacles as their lifelong obsession becomes a breathtaking struggle for their very survival.

Directed by Baltasar Kormakur from a screenplay written by Simon Beaufoy and Mark Medoff, Everest will be shown in theaters in 3D beginning September 18.

Everest stars Martin Henderson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson, Michael Kelly, John Hawkes, Sam Worthington, Jason Clarke, Robin Wright, and Thomas M. Wright. Others in the cast include Martin Henderson, Michael Kelly, Naoko Mori, Clive Standen, Vanessa Kirby, Tom Goodman-Hill, Ingvar Eggert Sigurosson, Charlotte Boving, and Micah Hauptman. The film which is now in post-production is being scored by Dario Marianelli.

According to the studio, the upcoming movie is based on the real events of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster wherein eight people were caught in a blizzard and died as they struggled to reach and then descend from the summit. There were then two expedition groups of mountain climbers. One led by Scott Fischer (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) was called 'Mountain Madness' while the other, called 'Adventure Consultants,' was led by Rob Hall (played by Jason Clarke). Both Fischer and Hall were among those killed during the real 1996 Mount Everest disaster.

The script for Everest was reportedly based on the various written accounts about what happened in Mount Everest on May 10-11, 1996, as well on actual interviews with some of the survivors. Among the books written about the events are Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and Left For Dead: My Journey Home from Everest by Beck Weathers who were both members of Hall's group at the time of the disaster and The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest by Anatoli Boukreev who was part of Fischer's group.