YOUTUBE has picked up “Vulture Club,” from director Maryam Keshavarz and starring Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco and Matt Bomer.

The terrorist thriller will have a theatrical release later this year, before bowing on YouTube Red, the Google-owned streamer’s US$10-per-month subscription service. “Vulture Club,” produced by Anna Gerb, Neal Dodson and J.C. Chandor, portrays a veteran emergency room nurse (Sarandon) secretly struggling to free her grown son, a journalist, from capture by a terrorist group.

After running into roadblocks with government agencies, she discovers a clandestine community of journalists and advocates who might be able to help her. Keshavarz co-wrote “Vulture Club” with Jonathan Mastro.

“Maryam Keshavarz lends her powerful perspective as an Iranian-American filmmaker, and Susan Sarandon’s moving performance immediately drew us into this compelling film,” said Susanne Daniels, global head of original content at YouTube. Julian Morris, Lola Kirke and Sheila Vand round out the ensemble cast for “Vulture Club.”

YouTube has begun acquiring film projects, including Joseph Khan’s rap battle comedy “Bodied,” Nick Cannon’s “King of the Dancehall” and documentaries “Kedi” and “G-Funk.” It also acquired Morgan Spurlock’s “Super Size Me” sequel, but subsequently dropped the project following the filmmaker’s admission of sexual misconduct.(SD-Agencies)