At Cannes, director pitches a movie about the missing Malaysia Airlines plane

In news that is sure to thrill CNN, Indian filmmaker Rupesh Paul took to the Cannes Film Festival over the weekend to pitch The Vanishing Act, a movie based on missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

Variety reports that Paul was approached by an anonymous Malaysian journalist with a theory on what caused the plane to disappear. Paul wrote the screenplay in 20 days, using the journalist's idea of what happened as the script's ending. Paul played a 90-second teaser trailer — which was filmed over the course of six days in India — to potential financiers; it features close-ups of scared passengers, two members of the crew kissing, and a gun.

Paul says that film's budget will likely be around $3.5 million, using more than 200 actors on a 35-day shoot. His goal is to release the movie in August, and he will "make sure no passengers will be hurt because of this." Watch the exclusive trailer released by Variety below. --Catherine Garcia

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