Summit Schedules Sam Worthington Thriller MAN ON A LEDGE for January 13, 2012

Summit has announced a January 13, 2012 release date for Man on a Ledge, its upcoming heist film about, you guessed it, a man on a ledge.  Directed by Asger Leth (Ghosts of Cité Soleil), the film centers on an ex-cop (Sam Worthington) convicted of a crime he didn’t commit who stands on the ledge of a Manhattan building, threatening to kill himself.  However, unbeknownst to the cops on the scene, what appears to be a suicide attempt is in fact a cover for a massive diamond heist.

Along with Worthington, the thriller boasts an impressive cast that includes Elizabeth Banks (The Next Three Days), Jamie Bell (Jane Eyre), Edward Burns (27 Dresses), Ed Harris (The Way Back), Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), and Titus Welliver (Lost).  Read the official synopsis after the jump.

On the new date, reported by The Wrap, Man on a Ledge faces Everybody Loves Whales, A Thousand Words, Joyful Noise, and Premium Rush.  Here’s the official synopsis.

Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) was an honest cop. Now he’s in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Desperate, he seizes the first chance to escape. Hours later, he is freshly shaven in an expensive suit, standing on a window ledge high above New York City. As a crowd gathers below, police cordon off the area and agree to Nick’s request to speak with pretty police negotiator Lydia Anderson (Elizabeth Banks). But Lydia doesn’t know that she is part of his grand plan, a plan that could give them both a second chance.

Speaking quietly into a lapel microphone, Nick coordinates the high-tech theft of a $30 million diamond—the same diamond he was convicted of stealing. It’s the only way he can prove his innocence, but he needs Lydia’s help—and he’s running out of time. When his identity is exposed, a SWAT team positions itself on the roof, read to take him out.  Lydia isn’t sure he’s telling the truth, but if he really was set up for the diamond heist, it had to be an inside job, which means at least one of the cops on the scene wants Nick dead. With SWAT about to move, cops destroying the evidence that could save him and nowhere to go but down, Nick’s chances of survival are getting slimmer by the minute.

Filled with clever twists, Man on a Ledge is a smart, pulse-pounding thriller about a man determined to clear his name, exact revenge and get the girl…if he can just stay one step ahead of the men who put him behind bars.