Tag: Action

Posted on in Film News

‘John Wick’ Director Chad Stahelski Developing New Hybrid Action Movie ‘Classified’ – ‘Die Hard’ Meets ‘Indiana Jones’

Deadline reports that New Line Cinema has landed a new action movie, titled Classified, that will see John Wick’s Chad Shahelski attached to direct. A hybrid genre film that combines elements of isolated location similar to Die Hard with the dangerous relics of Indiana Jones.

It’s script will be penned by Andrew Deutschman and Jason Pagan, who previously worked on Project Almanac and Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension.

The project is a high octane thriller that was shopped as Die Hard meets Indiana Jones. It is set inside a top secret government bunker, the kind that ends Raiders of the Lost Ark. That bunker contains relics covertly recovered during World War II, and they turn out to be more powerful and dangerous than ever imagined.

Chad is a busy bee, he recently helped consult on The Matrix 4 and is set to direct both John Wick: Chapter 4 and John Wick: Chapter 5 for Lionsgate. He had also been developing a reboot of the Highlander franchise and a car-centric action project for Paramount Pictures. Also, Stahelski is producing a spinoff film Ballerina directed by Len Wiseman, set within the world of John Wick’s hierarchy of assassins.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Director Adam Wingard & ‘The Guest’ Screenwriter Simon Barrett Reuniting For A Direct Sequel To John Woo’s ‘Face/Off’

Deadline broke the news yesterday that Paramount Pictures has hired Adam Wingard (Godzilla vs. Kong) and screenwriter Simon Barrett to rework a Face/Off film that had been in development at the studio. The project is based on the 1997 film directed by Hong Kong action director John Woo that had actors John Travolta and Nicolas Cage in the main roles.

FACE/OFF – Obsessed with bringing terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) to justice, FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) tracks down Troy, who has boarded a plane in Los Angeles. After the plane crashes and Troy is severely injured, possibly dead, Archer undergoes surgery to remove his face and replace it with Troy’s. As Archer tries to use his disguise to elicit information about a bomb from Troy’s brother, Troy awakes from a coma and forces the doctor who performed the surgery to give him Archer’s face.

Adam and Simon previously worked together on the underrated Dan Stevens action-thriller The Guest.

Wingard’s latest film Godzilla vs. Kong broke records for online views for it’s first-look trailer and debuts on March 31.

However, while the reports claimed that the project was a remake, Adam Wingard took to Instagram to clarify that the film they are writing is actually a direct sequel and not a remake/reboot.

You can see that post below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLK_-uUFVqY/

SOURCE: DEADLINE & ADAM WINGARD

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‘Fast & Loose’: Will Smith Teaming Up With ‘Deadpool 2’ Director David Leitch For Memory-Loss Action Flick

Deadline reports that a bidding war is underway for an upcoming action film titled Fast & Loose from John Wick co-director David Leitch and starring Oscar-winner Will Smith. The outlet says that studios in the mix for the bidding include Warner Bros., MGM, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures.

It’s script was penned by Jon and Eric Hoeber with Leitch expected to direct.

After the leader of an upper-echelon criminal organization suffers memory loss from an attack, he reunites with his crew, only to find that things aren’t what he thinks they are. When John Riley (Smith) wakes up in Tijuana after being left for dead with absolutely no memory, he follows a string of clues to uncover his identity discovering he’s been living two different lives: one, as a super-successful crime kingpin, surrounded by beautiful women, expensive toys, and a lavish lifestyle and the other as an undercover CIA agent, but with a puny salary, no family or home life whatsoever, and zero trappings of success. The problem is, he can’t remember which of these two personas is his true identity, and, more importantly, which life he really wants to live.

Leitch’s action credits go deep with Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Hobbs & Shaw, and is currently shooting the Brad Pitt assassin movie Bullet Train in Los Angeles. He’s also behind the upcoming Bob Odenkirk movie Nobody as one of the film’s producers.

Smith recently had a hiccup with his film Gemini Man becoming a bit of a box office flop. However, Bad Boys For Life became one of the most profitable films of 2020 earning an impressive $426.5 million on a budget of $62.5 million, it’s box office success led Sony Pictures to quickly put Bad Boys 4 into development.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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‘Blade, The Vampire Hunter’: Marvel Selects ‘Watchmen’ & ‘Hunters’ Writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour To Pen Their Reboot

Yesterday, it was revealed by The Hollywood Reporter that Marvel’s search for screenwriters to tackle their upcoming Blade reboot (seemingly now titled Blade, The Vampire Hunter) has ended as the studio has reportedly selected writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour to tackle the reboot’s script. The studio is said to have been looking for black writers for the last six months that could jump onto their new incarnation.

Stacy is no stranger to comic book or genre project as she previous worked on HBO’s Watchmen and Amazon’s Nazi-hunter exploitation homage Hunters. A perfect choice if you ask me given those her credits. This will make her the first black female writer to work on a Marvel Studios feature film.

Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali is taking over the role of Eric Brooks aka Blade made famous by Wesley Snipes starting in 1998. The success of that first film led to two sequels along with messy live-action televisions that aired on Spike TV. It also predates the release of Fox’s X-Men by two years and proved that feature film adaptations based on Marvel Comics characters could connect with audiences, and make money.

Blade is a half-vampire which allows him to be immune to sunlight leading to his nickname, The Daywalker. He has the strength and speed of a vampire along with their thirst for blood. In the films, he used a serum to keep his thirst at bay. It remains to be seen how much of the established film lore will survive the new MCU version.

We’ll have to wait and see what their angle for the reboot as the trilogy (Blade: Trinity was produced by Kevin Feige) is best known as an R-rated genre hybrid of martial arts action and horror. If Marvel Studios is keen to keep Deadpool 3 an R-rated film there is a likelihood that Blade, The Vampire Hunter could be targeted towards adult audiences given that kids really don’t identify the character or for certain age groups even know he exists.

The next big step will be hiring a director.

While no names have been circulated to be in the running, I’d love to see Rick Famuyiwa to be considered as his work on Lucasfilm’s Star Wars series The Mandalorian has proven he can play within a large established sandbox and also contribute to it at the same time.

As they’ve only just announced a screenwriter, I don’t think the Blade reboot is going to be shooting in 2021 as Marvel is currently busy with productions such as Spider-Man 3, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, and Thor: Love & Thunder filming in Atlanta, London, and Sydney respectively. They’re also expected to begin shooting Ant-Man 3, Captain Marvel 2, and Black Panther 2 later in the year.

A release date for Blade, The Vampire Hunter has yet to be announced.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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‘Borderlands’: Kevin Hart Confirmed To Star Opposite Cate Blanchett In Eli Roth’s Video Game Adaptation For Lionsgate

Lionsgate has confirmed via The Hollywood Reporter that comedian Kevin Hart has indeed landed the role of Roland in the live-action Borderlands movie from director Eli Roth. Kevin Hart’s involvement and his role was first reported by The Illuminerdi back in December.

The film is an adaptation of the video game franchise and has been in the works for so long that it originally had director Leigh Whannell (The Invisible Man, Upgrade) attached before Eli Roth was brought on alongside actress Cate Blanchett in the role of Lilth.

The game’s story focuses on a group of four “Vault Hunters”, who travel to the distant planet of Pandora to search for the “Vault”, which is rumored to contain advanced alien technology and other priceless riches.

It’s script was penned by Craig Mazin, who is behind HBO’s limited series Chernobyl and the upcoming The Last of Us series.

Hart is best known for action-comedy roles such as the popular Jumanji movies, his cameo in Hobbs & Shaw, and recently shoot the action flick The Man From Toronto.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER & THE ILLUMINERDI

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‘Army of The Dead’: Zack Snyder Says Warner Bros. Passed On The Zombie Project – Prequel Movie Wraps Production

Zack Snyder‘s horror remake Dawn of The Dead (penned by James Gunn) is arguably one of the filmmaker’s most accessible feature films to date. So, having the the director return to the zombie/action-horror genre with Army of The Dead for Netflix is exciting for a multitude of reasons.

Following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Zack reveals that the film had been lingering at Warner Bros. for years but the studio ultimately didn’t want to make it because of the money involved for the budget that would have taken to get it made the way that Snyder wanted.

SNYDER: “They didn’t want to spend that kind of money on a zombie movie, or just didn’t take it that seriously. I was always like, ‘Look guys, this is more than [just a zombie movie],’ but it fizzled out.”

Ultimately, the streaming giant Netflix picked-up Army of The Dead after they loved the pitch detailed by Snyder. They’ve been so enthused about the project, Netflix also recently wrapped on a prequel film last month directed by franchise actor Matthias Schweighofer.

SNYDER: “We were in a meeting at Netflix and I was talking about some of these scripts I was working on. And I mentioned the idea to [Netflix head of original films Scott Stuber] and he was like, ‘That is the movie! Go write that movie and let’s make it.’ I was like, ‘What, do you mean now?’ And he’s like, ‘Go write it tomorrow and we’ll do shoot it in a week.'”

Netflix obviously has few roadblocks concerning budgets for their projects as they notably spend a hefty amount of money on original programming, however, The Gray Man from The Russo Brothers will be their first film budgeted over $200 million competing on the level of major film studios.

Army of The Dead’s large cast consists of Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Ana De La Reguera, Theo Rossi, Huma Qureshi, Omari Hardwick, Hiroyuki Sanada, Garret Dillahunt, Matthias Schweighöfer, Raúl Castillo, Nora Arnezeder, Tig Notaro, and Samantha Win. 

It’s expected to drop later this year and Netflix is banking on it becoming their new horror franchise. A trailer is likely on the horizon given the new promotion for the film.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

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‘Bullet Train’: Rapper Bad Bunny Joins Brad Pitt Action Flick Currently Filming In Los Angeles

Production is already underway on Sony’s big action film Bullet Train in Los Angeles, Californi and the new additions to the film’s cast keep rolling in from Deadline.

The outlet reports that rapper Bad Bunny has nabbed an undisclosed role.

Starring Oscar-winner Brad Pitt and directed by David Leitch (Atomic Blonde, John Wick, Deadpool 2), the action flick will focus on a group of assassins with varying motivations on a Japanese bullet train.

The rest of the cast consists of Joey King (The Dark Knight Rises), Andrew Koji (G.I. Joe Origins: Snake Eyes), Michael Shannon (Knives Out, Man of Steel), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla, Kick-Ass, Avengers: Age of Ultron), Karen Fukuhara (The Boys, Suicide Squad), Brian Tyree Henry (Godzilla vs Kong, Widows, Joker, Eternals), Hiroyuki Sanada (The Wolverine, Avengers: Endgame, Sunshine, Westworld, The Last Samurai), Logan Lerman (Fury, Hunters), Lady Gaga (Gucci, A Star Is Born, Machete Kills), Masi Oka (Heroes), and Zazie Beetz (Joker, Deadpool 2).

As previously revealed, film’s production team will include production designer David Scheunemann (Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Hobbs & Shaw, Gunpowder Milkshake), cinematographer Jonathan Sela (John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Hobbs & Shaw, Transformers: The Last Knight), and stunt coordinator Greg Rementer (The Mandalorian, Nobody, Hobbs & Shaw).

Recently, a bad ass trailer for an upcoming action movie titled Nobody starring Bob Odenkirk was released by Universal Pictures which is also produced by David Leitch and worth checking out as it was led by Bullet Train‘s stunt coordinator.

NOBODY – When two thieves break into his suburban home one night, Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) declines to defend himself or his family, hoping to prevent serious violence. His teenage son, Blake (Gage Munroe), is disappointed in him and his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen), seems to pull only further away. The aftermath of the incident strikes a match to Hutch’s long-simmering rage, triggering dormant instincts and propelling him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary (famed Russian actor Aleksey Serebryakov)—and ensure that he will never be underestimated as a nobody again.

A release date has yet to be announced by Sony Pictures for Bullet Train.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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‘The Gray Man’: Ana de Armas and Ryan Gosling Reunite For Russo Brothers’ $200M+ Budgeted Spy Movie

Netflix is slowly ramping-up the scale of it’s film productions and that includes spending more on the budgets. It’s been reported that their upcoming spy thriller The Gray Man from Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo will cost the streamer over $200 million making it their most expensive feature film to date.

READ MORE: Russo Bros. To Direct Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans In Netflix’s $200M+ Budgeted Spy Flick ‘The Gray Man’ – Eyeing January Start In L.A.

Deadline now reports a rather large casting addition to the film as actress Ana de Armas will reunite with her Blade Runner 2049 co-star Ryan Glosing. Ana has been gathering up a lot of high-profile film projects recently with the aforementioned Blade Runner sequel from Denis Villeneuve, Rian Johnson’s whodunit Knives Out, and the upcoming James Bond movie No Time To Die.

READ MORE: ‘No Time To Die’ Officially Delayed To April 2021 – Originally Planned To Release In November

It’s script was penned by The Russo Brothers with a polish by fellow Marvel alumni Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

The Gray Man is the debut novel by Mark Greaney, published in 2009 by Jove Books. It also is the first novel to feature the Gray Man, freelance assassin and former CIA operative Court Gentry. The action thriller will follow Gentry (Gosling) as he’s hunted across the globe by Lloyd Hansen (Evans), a former cohort at the CIA. The film is based on the first installment of the best-selling Gray Man book series.

Filming was once said to begin shooting next month in Los Angeles, California.

READ MORE: Ryan Gosling and Director David Leitch Team On Stuntman Drama For Universal – Penned By ‘Iron Man 3’ Screenwriter Drew Pearce

READ MORE: ‘The Martian’ Screenwriter Drew Goddard Joins Lord and Miller’s Sci-Fi Film ‘Project Hail Mary’ – Ryan Gosling Stars

READ MORE: Director Leigh Whannell Following Up ‘Invisible Man’ With Universal’s ‘Wolfman’ Remake Starring Ryan Gosling

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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TRAILER: Chloë Grace Moretz Fights Airborne Creatures In WWII Horror Flick ‘Shadow In The Cloud’ – Produced By David Leitch

SHADOW IN THE CLOUD: During World War II, pilots of the Allies’ various air force women’s auxiliaries were called upon to ferry planes from factories to airfields — sometimes through enemy territory, often without proper navigational tools or ammunition. Writer-director Roseanne Liang pays pulpy tribute to these veterans with Shadow In The Cloud, a rip-roaring action/horror hybrid that finds one such airwoman, WAAF officer Maude Garrett (Chloë Grace Moretz), assigned under mysterious circumstances to a rickety B-17 Flying Fortress, where she is custodian of a strictly classified piece of cargo. Forcibly sequestered by the all-male crew to a ball turret hanging from the belly of the bomber, Garrett’s dizzying new-found perspective brings to light yet another unexpected passenger — one whose stealthily sinister presence may jeopardize the lives of all aboard. Moretz is dynamite as the young aviator, a Greatest Generation “Ellen Ripley” whose warnings to her deaf-eared chauvinist comrades are validated when bizarre mechanical failures manifest throughout the vessel, and enemy forces suddenly mount a surprise aerial ambush. As the put-upon Garrett’s personal motivations come into sharper focus with each perilous predicament, the action expands from the claustrophobic confines of the turret into a death- (and gravity-) defying spectacle that encompasses the plane’s rapidly disintegrating fuselage. Yet Liang never loses sight of her remarkable lead actor. The audience remains with Moretz through every white-knuckled minute, with the rat-tat-tat radio chatter of obstinate and panicky men playing partial soundtrack to wicked suspense and freaky mayhem. With resolute verve similar to that of Shadow In The Cloud’s protagonist, Liang has radically remixed wartime superstitions and a beloved pulp-fiction premise (you’ll know it when you see it) into an exhilarating vehicle of personal empowerment — one not to be marred by any surplus of unchecked and toxic testosterone.

Shadow In The Cloud will be in select theaters, VOD, and digital on January 1, 2021.

SOURCE: VERTICAL ENTERTAINMENT

Posted on in Film News

TRAILER: Bob Odenkirk Channels Keanu Reeves To Become A Full-On Badass In ‘Nobody’ – From The Architect of The ‘John Wick’ Franchise

NOBODY – Sometimes the man you don’t notice is the most dangerous of all. Emmy winner Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, The Post, Nebraska) stars as Hutch Mansell, an underestimated and overlooked dad and husband, taking life’s indignities on the chin and never pushing back. A nobody. When two thieves break into his suburban home one night, Hutch declines to defend himself or his family, hoping to prevent serious violence. His teenage son, Blake (Gage Munroe, The Shack), is disappointed in him and his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen, Wonder Woman), seems to pull only further away. The aftermath of the incident strikes a match to Hutch’s long-simmering rage, triggering dormant instincts and propelling him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary (famed Russian actor Aleksey Serebryakov, Amazon’s McMafia)—and ensure that he will never be underestimated as a nobody again. Nobody is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry), from a script by Derek Kolstad, the narrative architect of the John Wick franchise, and co-stars legendary Emmy winner Christopher Lloyd as Hutch’s father and multi-hyphenate musician-actor RZA as Hutch’s brother, whose own hidden talents aid Hutch in his quest for vengeance.

Universal had planned on releasing the film on February 19th, 202 but have pushed to February 26th.

SOURCE: IGN