Tag: Guy Ritchie

Posted on in Film News

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

Posted on in Film News

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

Posted on in Film News

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

Posted on in Film News

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.

Posted on in Film News

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

Posted on in Film News

‘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

Posted on in Television News

British Gangster Flick ‘The Gentlemen’ Getting A Series At Miramax TV – Guy Ritchie To Write and Direct

Guy Ritchie is busy these days as he released The Gentlemen in January, expected to release his armored car thriller Wrath of Man starring Jason Statham in the near future, and is about to return to the spy genre with his Statham action flick Five Years filming this fall in Europe.

Deadline has learned that Ritchie is looking to turn his film The Gentlemen into a series for Miramax TV, pointing out that the project originally was a television pitch before it pivoted to a feature film adaption. Adding that Guy will both write and direct the show.

Miramax TV is developing The Gentlemen, a TV series based on the studio’s successful action-comedy feature that was written and directed by Guy Ritchie and starred Matthew McConaughey. Ritchie will write and direct the series, which he will executive produce alongside Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies, his fellow producers on the movie.

The British gangster film starred Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell, Michelle Dockery, and Hugh Grant, however, it’s unknown if that cast will reprise their roles for the series.

THE GENTLEMEN – Miramax TV is developing The Gentlemen, a TV series based on the studio’s successful action-comedy feature that was written and directed by Guy Ritchie and starred Matthew McConaughey. Ritchie will write and direct the series, which he will executive produce alongside Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies, his fellow producers on the movie.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Guy Ritchie Reuniting With ‘Wrath of Man’ Production Designer For MI6 Thriller ‘Five Eyes’ Starring Jason Statham

The Ronin has been able to confirm that director Guy Ritchie has hired production designer Martyn John for his upcoming spy action movie Five Eyes starring Jason Statham for STXfilms and Miramax. Guy and Martyn had previously worked on his armored car action film Wrath of Man (formerly Cash Truck) which is a remake of the French film Le Convoyeur from 2004 and is expected to be released on January 15th, 2021.

Five Eyes was penned by The Gentlemen screenwriters Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies with rewrites from Guy. 

MI6 guns-and-steel agent Orson Fortune (Statham) is recruited by global intelligence alliance Five Eyes to track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology that threatens to disrupt the world order. Reluctantly paired with a 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.

Five Eyes aka FVEY is a real intelligence alliance that consists of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Filming on Five Eyes is expected to begin next month in Europe.

Ritchie previously tackled the spy genre with The Man From U.N.C.L.E., a feature film adaptation of the classic television series. 

The director is also said to be attached for Disney’s Aladdin sequel. 

Posted on in Film News

Guy Ritchie Returns To Spy Genre With MI6 Thriller ‘Five Eyes’ Starring Jason Statham – Begins Shooting Next Month

Fresh news coming out of the virtual Toronto Film Festival market as Miramax and STXfilms has landed the next film director Guy Ritchie (Aladdin, The Gentlemen) as they aim to begin shooting next month in Europe. 

Guy will return to the spy genre after making The Man From U.N.C.L.E. with a new thriller titled Five Eyes, that will star Jason Statham as MI6 Agent Orson Fortune. 

Below is a synopsis of the film that was penned by The Gentlemen screenwriters Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies with some rewrites from Guy. 

MI6 guns-and-steel agent Orson Fortune (Statham) is recruited by global intelligence alliance Five Eyes to track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology that threatens to disrupt the world order. Reluctantly paired with a 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.

There should be some casting news in the coming weeks. 

Ritchie and Statham recently had a reunion on the thriller Cash Truck for Miramax, an English remake of the French heist film Le Convouyer that was shot in London and Los Angeles. The pair had previously worked together on Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and the misstep Revolver. The latter was the last time the two had done a film together before coming together for Cash Truck. 

The Gentlemen was Ritchie’s grand return to more mature filmmaking after making movies like Sherlock Holmes and Disney’s Aladdin, which was a good effort but a far cry from his best work like Snatch. I’m looking forward to seeing how Cash Truck (possibly retitled for release) pans-out and if he’ll attempt to focus on more action-driven films moving forward. 

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER