Tag: Five Eyes

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Guy Ritchie’s Spy Thriller ‘Operation Fortune’ Starring Jason Statham Releases On January 21

British director Guy Ritchie has been returning to his roots making more adult-focused action films with the gangster flick The Gentlemen and the thriller Wrath of Man, the latter seeing the filmmaker reunited with action star Jason Statham.

Statham and Ritchie shot a new spy movie last year during the pandemic and we have a huge update. Miramax has officially announced Five Eyes has been given the new title of Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre and will be released in theaters on January 21, 2022.

Operation Fortune was written by Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies.

The feature follows MI6 guns-and-steel agent (Statham) who is recruited by a global intelligence agency to track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology that threatens to disrupt the world order. Reluctantly paired with CIA high-tech expert, Fortune sets off on a globe-trotting mission where he will have to use all of his charm, ingenuity and stealth to track down and infiltrate billionaire arms broker. 

The cast also consists of Aubrey Plaza, Cary Elewes, Josh Hartnett, Hugh Grant, Peter Ferdinado, and rapper Bugzy Malone. Ritchie reunited with Wrath of Man/The Gentlemen crew members such as cinematographer Alan Stewart and production designer Martyn John.

We have to assume that Miramax is hoping Operation Fortune is the start of a franchise.

Jason Statham is about to begin shooting the next Expendables installment for Millennium Films and is attached to a new thriller, The Bee Keeper, for Miramax.

Guy Ritchie is currently developing a new WWII film at Paramount Pictures with The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. An action pic that focuses on the first British commando unit. The script has previous drafts were penned by Arash Amel, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson. There is an expectation that Ministry could be next, if that comes together sooner rather than later.

Honestly, it seems like Ritchie is doing everything he can to avoid make Aladdin 2, which he’s been attached to for years now.

https://twitter.com/fortunemovie/status/1442884960633823235
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Jason Statham Reuniting With Miramax For Thriller ‘The Bee Keeper’ Penned By ‘Equilibrium’s Kurt Wimmer

After working with Miramax on Guy Ritchie’s action flicks Wrath of Man and Five Eyes (will be re-titled at some point), Deadline reports the British action star has signed-on to produce and star in a new thriller, The Bee Keeper.

The spec project hails from screenwriter Kurt Wimmer (Street Kings, Sphere, Law Abiding Citizen), who of recent times has been mostly involved with remakes/reboots with stuff like Total Recall, Point Break, Children of The Corn, and the Pierce Bronsan flick The Thomas Crown Affair.

“The Bee Keeper explores universal themes with an unconventional story that will have fans sitting on the edge of their seats. We’re excited to bring another iconic and irresistible film to audiences around the globe,” said Miramax CEO Bill Block.

Filming is said to begin September 2022 in both Atlanta and London.

A director isn’t named, but Wimmer was behind the wild dystopian sci-fi action film Equilibrium that starred a pre-Batman Christian Bale and created a fantastic oddball martial art using guns.

EQUILIBRIUM – In a futuristic world, a regime has eliminated war by suppressing emotions: books, art and music are strictly forbidden and feeling is a crime punishable by death. Clerick John Preston (Christian Bale) is a top-ranking government agent responsible for destroying those who resist these rules. When he misses a dose of Prozium, a mind-altering drug that hinders emotion, Preston, who has been trained to enforce strict laws of the new regime, suddenly becomes the one capable of overthrowing it.

It’s actually a really neat action movie and sadly his other directing effort Ultraviolet was just a huge mess potentially leading to him to stick with screenwriting until his new Children of The Corn movie.

Statham is expected to shoot an Expendables spinoff called Christmas Story this fall, according to Sly Stallone. There are also expectations he’ll return for the gestating Hobbs & Shaw sequel and may land a role in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming WWII movie Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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EXCLUSIVE: ‘Ghost In The Shell’s Peter Ferdinado Confirmed For Guy Ritchie’s Spy Flick Starring Jason Statham

The Ronin can independently confirm that British character actor Peter Ferdinado will be reuniting with director Guy Ritchie for his upcoming spy flick formerly, titled Five Eyes. Peter previously worked with Guy on King Arthur: Legend of The Sword. His other film credits includes Ghost In The Shell, High-Rise, Hyena, 300: Rise of An Empire, Snow White & The Huntsman, and A Field In England.

The feature follows MI6 guns-and-steel agent (Statham) who is recruited by a global intelligence agency to track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology that threatens to disrupt the world order. Reluctantly paired with CIA high-tech expert, Fortune sets off on a globe-trotting mission where he will have to use all of his charm, ingenuity and stealth to track down and infiltrate billionaire arms broker. 

He joins a cast led by Jason Statham alongside others such as Aubrey Plaza, Cary Elewes, Bugzy Malone (The Gentlemen), Hugh Grant, and Max Beesley.

Guy Ritchie is a busy lad these days as his other Jason Statham film Wrath of Man is coming out next month, he’s finishing up Five Eyes, and is already developing a WWII film with Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

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Guy Ritchie To Tackle WWII With Black Ops Flick ‘Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’ For Paramount

Deadline reports that Guy Ritchie had been hired by Paramount Pictures to write and direct a WWII movie, titled Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, based on a novel by Damien Lewis that focused on the formation of the first British black ops unit.

Previous drafts were penned by Arash Amel, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson.

When France fell to the Nazis in 1940, Churchill declared that Britain would resist the advance of the German army–alone if necessary. Churchill commanded the Special Operations Executive to secretly develop of a very special kind of military unit that would operate on their own initiative deep behind enemy lines. The units would be licensed to kill, fully deniable by the British government, and a ruthless force to meet the advancing Germans. The very first of these “butcher-and-bolt” units–the innocuously named Maid Honour Force–was led by Gus March-Phillipps, a wild British eccentric of high birth, and an aristocratic, handsome, and bloodthirsty young Danish warrior, Anders Lassen. Amped up on amphetamines, these assorted renegades and sociopaths undertook the very first of Churchill’s special operations–a top-secret, high-stakes mission to seize Nazi shipping in the far-distant port of Fernando Po, in West Africa.

It’ll be interesting to see if he ends up casting familiar actors such as Charlie Hunnam and Jason Statham.

Guy is a busy bee as he finished a thriller titled Wrath of Man that has yet to come out and is currently in production on his new spy movie formerly known as Five Eyes, both films starring Jason Statham. He had been announced to make an Aladdin sequel for Disney but that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon given all these projects he keeps attaching himself to.

At one time, Ritchie had been developing a remake of The Dirty Dozen but things eventually fell apart when Quentin Tarantino made his own WWII film with fighting men behind enemy lines with the Brad Pitt flick Inglourious Basterds. A project that was greatly inspired by movies like The Dirty Dozen.

When this war project will begin shooting is a little unclear but Guy has been moving quickly between the productions of Aladdin, The Gentlemen, Wrath of Man, and now with “Five Eyes.” I wouldn’t be shocked if this ended up being his next film to shoot.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Hugh Grant & Josh Hartnett Reuniting With Guy Ritchie For His Spy Thriller ‘Five Eyes’

Deadline has two new additions to the cast of Guy Ritchie‘s spy thriller formerly known as Five Eyes as Josh Hartnett is set for a role and Hugh Grant reportedly is also in talks. The pair of actors joining a cast that consists of Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Cary Elewes, and rapper Bugzy Malone.

The feature follows MI6 guns-and-steel agent (Statham) who is recruited by a global intelligence agency to track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology that threatens to disrupt the world order. Reluctantly paired with CIA high-tech expert, Fortune sets off on a globe-trotting mission where he will have to use all of his charm, ingenuity and stealth to track down and infiltrate billionaire arms broker. 

Josh recently worked with Guy and Jason on the armored car action flick Wrath of Man based on the 2004 French film Le Convoyeur. Hugh Grant working with Ritchie on The Gentlemen and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. previously.

Filming is said to be underway in Qatar and will eventually move to Turkey.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Guy Ritchie Spy Thriller Adds ‘The Gentlemen’s Bugzy Malone & Cary Elwes – Begins Shooting Tomorrow In Qatar

Deadline is reporting that director Guy Ritchie will begin shooting his spy thriller formerly known as Five Eyes tomorrow in Doha, Qatar and has added two more cast members.

The story follows MI6 guns-and-steel agent (Statham) who is recruited by a global intelligence alliance to track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology that threatens to disrupt the world order. Reluctantly paired with CIA high-tech expert, Fortune sets off on a globe-trotting mission where he will have to use all of his charm, ingenuity and stealth to track down and infiltrate billionaire arms broker.

Veteran actor Cary Ewles (The Princess Bride, Glory, Stranger Things, Saw) and rapper-turned-actor Bugzy Malone will join Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza. The British rapper had a supporting role one of Colin Farrell’s boxing proteges in The Gentlemen.

They’re said to also shoot the film in Antalya, Turkey.

The Fives Eyes is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, which was founded back in 1941. This should give you an idea of the nationalities of the other characters in the film.

The original plan was to film the spy flick in Europe but given multiple lockdowns and unpredictable spikes of COVID-19 shooting in the Middle-East might be more welcoming to a foreign film crew.

We first reported the production team would include cinematographer Alan Stewart (Aladdin, Wrath of Man, The Gentlemen) and production designer Martyn John (Wrath of Man) both have a previously working relationship with Ritchie.

A release date is currently unknown.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Guy Ritchie Confirmed To Reunite With ‘The Gentlemen’ Cinematographer Alan Stewart For MI6 Thriller ‘Five Eyes’ – Stars Jason Statham & Aubrey Plaza

The Ronin has been able to confirm that director Guy Ritchie will be reuniting with cinematographer Alan Stewart for his upcoming spy thriller formerly titled Five Eyes. Stewart has previously worked on Ritchie’s Aladdin, The Gentlemen, and his other upcoming Jason Statham action project Wrath of Man.

Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza are attached for the lead roles with more casting news on the horizon. Filming is expected to begin sometime next year in Europe, hopefully, once the pandemic is a little more manageable as London is currently under a new lockdown and European countries not allowing entry from the United Kingdom.

The story follows MI6 guns-and-steel agent (Statham) who is recruited by a global intelligence alliance to track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology that threatens to disrupt the world order. Reluctantly paired with CIA high-tech expert, Fortune sets off on a globe-trotting mission where he will have to use all of his charm, ingenuity and stealth to track down and infiltrate billionaire arms broker.

The Fives Eyes is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, which was founded back in 1941. This should give you an idea of the nationalities of the other characters in the film.

We previously revealed Ritchie would also working with Wrath of Man production designer Martyn Johns on the action pic.

Guy is developing a television series for Miramax based on The Gentlemen and has been attached to direct Aladdin 2 for Disney.

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Guy Ritchie Laments Not Making ‘Snatch’ Sequels – “I Probably Would Have Made Three of Those”

Back in late August, writer/director Guy Ritchie posted an interesting retrospective for the 20th anniversary of his second feature film Snatch on his official Instagram account. It’s something I completely slept on, as the director detailed the making of the film and shared behind-the-scenes footage. He gives the impression he would have been keen to make sequels and even suggests he would know where the characters are if he were to make a sequel today.

“One of the things I do lament is I feel as though I sort of wish that I’d made a follow-up to Snatch. But I’m so distracted by other things in my life at that time that I just, I didn’t know what was up and what was down,” Guy Ritchie states at the tail-end of his retrospective. He continues to mention he would have made a trilogy of films, “But if I was in that position now, knowing what I know now, I probably would have made three of those.”

He teased it wouldn’t take long for him to figure out where the characters could be at the moment.

“If I sat down and thought about it now for 15 minutes…Brad Pitt became Tyson Fury… it wouldn’t take me too long to piece together where all those characters are now, ” says Ritchie.

Snatch is arguably one of Ritchie’s standout films and it isn’t surprising he would chat-up potential sequels. You might remember that when he originally made RocknRolla back in 2008, there had been a plan to make it a trilogy but due to the film’s poor reception that never came together.

After a stint making successful event films like Disney’s Aladdin he’s returned to the smaller action comedy genre with The Gentlemen (now developing into a series for Miramax), he’s also reunited with Jason Statham for the upcoming films Wrath of Man, a thriller about an armored truck, and the spy flick Five Eyes co-starring Aubrey Plaza.

His renewed working relationship with Jason Statham could lead to the actor pushing Ritchie to eventually make this hypothetical sequel eventually. Revisiting some of his characters from Snatch two decades later wouldn’t be shocking as Danny Boyle did something similar with T2 Trainspotting.

SNATCH (2000) – Illegal boxing promoter Turkish (Jason Statham) convinces gangster Brick Top (Alan Ford) to offer bets on bare-knuckle boxer Mickey (Brad Pitt) at his bookie business. When Mickey does not throw his first fight as agreed, an infuriated Brick Top demands another match. Meanwhile, gangster Frankie Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) comes to place a bet for a friend with Brick Top’s bookies, as multiple criminals converge on a stolen diamond that Frankie has come to London to sell.

You can check out that fantastic retrospective video below.

SOURCE: GUY RITCHIE

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‘Five Eyes’: Aubrey Plaza To Co-Star With Jason Statham In Guy Ritchie’s New Spy Flick

Deadline reports that comedic actress Aubrey Plaza (Legion, Happiest Season) has landed a co-starring role opposite Jason Statham in Guy Ritchie’s next film formerly known as Five Eyes (new title unknown). It sounds like Plaza has taken the role of a CIA high-tech expert.

The Fives Eyes is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, which was founded back in 1941. This should give an idea of the nationalities of the other characters in the film.

Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies wrote the film with rewrites from Guy.

The story follows MI6 guns-and-steel agent (Statham) who is recruited by a global intelligence alliance to track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology that threatens to disrupt the world order. Reluctantly paired with CIA high-tech expert, Fortune sets off on a globe-trotting mission where he will have to use all of his charm, ingenuity and stealth to track down and infiltrate billionaire arms broker.

This won’t be Ritchie’s first spy movie as he tackled the genre with The Man From U.N.C.L.E. starring Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, and Alicia Vikander.

I previously reported that Guy would be reuniting with Wrath of Man production designer Martyn Johns on Five Eyes.

Filming is expected to take place next year in Europe.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Jason Statham In Talks For ‘Small Dark Look’ Penned By ‘Eastern Promises’ Screenwriter Steven Knight – Focuses On The Russian Mafia In London

Deadline is reporting that British action star Jason Statham is in talks to take a role in a gangster drama titled Small Dark Look. Danish director Martin Zandvliet will be working from a script written by Steven Knight (Eastern Promises, Peaky Blinders) as the film will take place within the world of the Russian mafia in London, obviously the film is in Knight’s wheelhouse after writing David David Cronenberg’s underrated Eastern Promises.

Details on the project aren’t mentioned in the Deadline article but it had been once said to be Knight’s Eastern Promises 2 script reworked as Body Cross (via Screen Daily and Collider) which has now been given the new title of Small Dark Look.

According to Screen Daily, which broke the news, Body Cross is described a mafia tale about two immigrant brothers living in London. Collider’s sources indicate the script follows a Russian agent who rises to become a London mafia boss’ trusted lieutenant and is soon instructed to assassinate one of his fellow countrymen. As far as I know, Mortensen’s character of Nikolai has been written out of the script, or at least renamed ‘Gregory.’

Jason has been busy with Snatch director Guy Ritchie filming the armored car thriller Wrath of Man and the upcoming spy flick Five Eyes. He’s also loosely attached for a new Expendables film and a sequel to Hobbs & Shaw.

SOURCE: DEADLINE