ORIGINAL FAST &FURIOUS DIRECTOR ROB COHEN MAKING HURRICANE DISASTER MOVIE CATEGORY 5

Rob Cohen, director of the original The Fast And The Furious, xXx and Alex Cross, has found his next project. He'll be behind the cameras for Category 5, a high-concept action disaster thriller about hackers on a heist during a hurricane. Triple-H, anyone?

Scott Windhauser (writer of the upcoming Dolph Lundgren actioner Larceny) came up with the screenplay. The story sees a gang of tech-savvy thieves mounting an assault on a US Mint facility in an unspecified quiet coastal town, somewhat hampered by the arrival of the titlar freak weather event. Didn't they check the forecast? Maybe they planned it as their cover all along. Whatever, presumably due to the town's evacuation, the only people left on hand to stop the hardy criminals are a meteorologist and a female treasury agent.

"Crossing a heist movie set amidst the intense action of a natural disaster was an idea to which I truly responded," Cohen says. "It’s a chance for me to get back to my roots in doing the adrenaline-pumped action/special-effects films I love to create." His most recent film was the mystery The Boy Next Door with Jennifer Lopez, which arrived early last year.

"Rob Cohen is an incredibly smart and inventive action director," says production company Foresight's Mark Damon, "and we are delighted to be part of Category 5. Scott Wind hauser’s script details an extraordinary race against the elements, which we are confident, with Cohen’s vision, will be a breathtaking adventure for audiences worldwide."

Distribution deals will be done at the European Film Market next month, and shooting is set for the summer.