Tag: Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

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Director Guy Ritchie Casts John Krasinski & Natalie Portman For Global Heist Adventure Flick ‘Fountain Of Youth’ At Apple

There doesn’t seem to be any stopping Guy Ritchie as The Hollywood Reporter has learned that the British director has selected his next feature film effort with “Fountain of Youth.” It will focus on “two estranged siblings who partner on a global heist to find the mythological Fountain of Youth” and landed at Apple Original Films/Skydance Media. The outlet also names actors John Krasinski (“Jack Ryan”) and Natalie Portman (“Thor: Love & Thunder”) as the two leads of the film playing the aforementioned siblings with an original script penned by James Vanderbilt.

The veteran screenwriter has a varied group of credits that include the John McTiernan-directed military whodunnit “Basic,” David Fincher’s fantastic serial killer pic “Zodiac,” the last two “Scream” movies, “The Amazing Spider-Man,” Dwayne Johnson’s Brazil-set actioner “The Rundown,” and the upcoming post-WWII drama “Nuremberg” starring Russell Crowe that is based on the novel “The Nazi & The Psychiatrist” by Jack El-Hai.

Ritchie has been a bit of a workhorse lately after delivering Disney a billion-dollar hit with “Aladdin” by shooting a string of quickly developed movies since 2018 that consist of “The Gentlemen,” “Wrath of Man,” “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre,” “The Covenant,” and the upcoming WWII commando flick “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.” The filmmaker most recently reunited with Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal for an untitled action thriller, which will see them play two extraction specialists who are tasked to designate a route of escape for a senior female negotiator with that latter role being occupied by Eiza González (“Ambulance”).

Despite mainly focusing on grinding out a horde of action-packed films, Ritchie is also involved with a series spinoff of “The Gentlemen” as well that will drop on Netflix in the not-too-distant future which stars actors Theo James, Kaya Scodelario, and longtime pal/former football star Vinnie Jones (“Snatch”).

Eddie Halstead inherits large estate from father, unaware it fronts Pearson’s drug empire. With no crime experience, he must take over the operation or lose the estate.

Interestingly enough, the director’s former creative partner and producer Matthew Vaughn (“Layer Cake”) has also set up shop at the streaming service after Apple spent an impressive $200 million to acquire his spy-comedy “Argylle.” There had been talk that the film could spawn a new franchise which is said to be a motivating factor why Apple spent so much money on securing the film that will debut on February 2, 2024, with Universal Pictures handling the distribution before it lands on Apple TV+.

The report isn’t exactly clear when they plan to begin production on “Fountain of Youth,” but I’m sure we’ll be getting more details in the coming weeks and months on that front.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

Production Designer Martyn John Confirmed For Guy Ritchie’s ‘Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’

Filming is underway in Turkey on Guy Ritchie‘s next action film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. A new WWII actioner that focuses on the first British commando unit during the war that was founded by Winston Churchill and Ian Fleming (future author of the James Bond novels) that developed a modern type of warfare that used smaller groups of highly trained soldiers meant to cause larger body counts and damage to the enemy behind the lines using spy-craft methods alongside brutal violence.

We’ve been able to confirm that Ritchie has tapped production designer Martyn John is as expected is indeed working on the new film. His previous credits include Wrath of Man, Operation Fortune, the upcoming military thriller The Covenant, and even the television spinoff of The Gentlemen at Netflix. He joins a crew that already consists of cinematographer Ed Wild (The Covenant) and costume designer LouLou Bontemps (The Covenant).

John posted a handful of images on his Instagram account (where he confirmed his involvement) and showcases some of of the sets/props from the WWII film. The pic that has Jerry Bruckheimer (Top Gun: Maverick) producing already has an impressive cast that consists of Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Henrique Zaga, Henry Golding, Alex Pettyfer, Cary Elwes, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Babs Olusanmokun, and Til Schweiger. 

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.

Lionsgate is expected to distribute the film in theaters domestically sometime next year with Amazon Prime Video getting a heap of international rights to the film. There have been some talk that Ritchie is expecting Ministry to the be the start of a potential franchise.

Posted on in Film News

‘Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare’: Guy Ritchie Expected To Reunite With ‘Covenant’ Cinematographer Ed Wild On WWII Action Pic

The Ronin has learned that cinematographer Ed Wild, who recently worked with director Guy Ritchie on his action thriller The Covenant, is expected to be lensing his World War II film The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Production is currently underway in Turkey with multiple locations expected to be used throughout filming.

Wild’s other credits include the recent Halo series, Black Mirror, and the British crime thriller Welcome To The Punch. The latter had a cast that featured James McAvoy, Mark Strong, Andrea Riseborough, Peter Mullan, Jason Flemyng, Daniel Kaluuya, and David Morrissey.

Ministry has assembled quite the cast as it consists of Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Henrique Zaga, Henry Golding, Alex Pettyfer, Cary Elwes, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Babs Olusanmokun, and Til Schweiger. Ritchie was able to get mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer involved too, he is recently coming off the billion-dollar hit Top Gun: Maverick.

Of course, the film is based on the true story the top secret WWII combat organization formed by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Ian Fleming (long before his James Bond novels). The commandos’ unconventional and brutal fighting techniques against the Nazis helped changed the course of the war and gave birth to the modern Black Ops unit. Using the novel by war correspondent Damien Lewis as template, the script was penned by Ritchie, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, and Arash Amel.

Lionsgate nabbed the US distribution rights earlier this month and is expected to release it sometime in 2024 with Amazon Prime landing a heap of international rights, including Canada. There are already early plans for the film to launch into a full-blown franchise and could spawn subsequent sequels. However, it’s unclear if we’ll see the same cast lineup in those potential follow-ups but might be a good idea to secure Cavill early on.

Ritchie’s other upcoming projects he’s attached to include the Aladdin sequel for Disney along with their live-action musical version of Hercules.

You can watch the trailer Ritchie’s The Covenant below to get an idea of what Wild will be bringing to the WWII actioner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opFG0_J99lo
Posted on in Film News

Henry Golding, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer & More Join Henry Cavill In Guy Ritchie’s WWII Commando Movie ‘Ministry’

British director Guy Ritchie has been feverishly working since his big Disney film Aladdin from 2019 earned over a billion dollars at the global box office and has allowed him to rollout a string of movies since that certainly speak towards the filmmaker’s love for crime and action. Ritchie is now about to begin production on a period action film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, about the formation of the first British commando unit during World War II that executed various deadly missions behind enemy lines and with limited supplies/man-power.

Filming on Ministry is expected to kick-off on February 13 and Deadline has revealed some new additions to the cast. The film’s previously announced leads Henry Cavill and Eiza González will now be joined by actors such as Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding, Henrique Zaga, Alex Pettyfer, Cary Elwes. Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Babs Olusanmokun, and Til Schweiger.

Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Arash Amel, and Ritchie penned the script which is based on war correspondent and military historian Damien Lewis’ novel of the same name. One of the more interesting people involved with Ministry is mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer being attached after the billion-dollar success of Top Gun: Maverick.

This wasn’t the first time he’s attempted making films set during WWII. Once upon a time, Ritchie was attached to tackle a Sgt. Rock movie based on the DC Comics character and a remake of The Dirty Dozen but both of those WWII projects dissolved. It’ll be curious to see what the tone of the project will be as the series SAS Rogue Heroes (sort of mirrors Ministry) has a bit of edge/cheekiness to it, but the trailer for Ritchie’s upcoming military thriller The Covenant set in Afghanistan starring Jake Gyllenhaal gives the impression the director is taking this real-life subject matter a tad more seriously than with his other films that have been notably comedic.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News, News

Jake Gyllenhaal In Negotiations To Join The Next Guy Ritchie Movie That Begins Shooting By End Of 2021

Director Guy Ritchie post-Aladdin has been hyper-focusing on a bunch of his own movies at Miramax, despite being loosely attached to helm an Aladdin sequel for Disney, he’s been spending more time putting together his own projects to avoid having to do the sequel.

His recent run includes the release of the Matthew McConaughey gangster pic The Gentlemen (being developed into a television series) and Jason Statham’s armored truck thriller Wrath of Man (a remake of the 2004 French film Le Convoyeur). Ritchie recently wrapped on a big globetrotting spy project, Operation Fortune (previously called Five Eyes), that stars folks such as Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Josh Hartnett, and Hugh Grant.

Deadline reports of a mysterious new film from Guy Ritchie at Miramax that will begin before the end of the year with American actor Jake Gyllenhaal in negotiations to take a lead role.

A title and plot details are unknown but given that casting is ramping up we’ll likely learn concrete information soon.

It’s a shocking development given that Ritchie had been developing a World War II action drama for Paramount Pictures, based on the novel The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare by Damien Lewis. Focusing on the first unit of British black ops commandos.

Previous drafts of the script 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.

Jake Gyllenhaal has been lining up a wave of genre pics including the war drama Combat Control and Image Comics movie Prophet with Extraction director Sam Hargrave involved with both projects. He’s also attached to star alongside actress Jessica Chastain in Netflix’s film adaptation of the video game The Division with Rawson Marshall Thurber (replacing David Leitch) directing, the graphic novel thriller Snow Blind from director Gustav Möller (The Guilty), and sci-fi film based on the Robert Kirkman (Invincible, The Walking Dead) comic Oblivion Song.

Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre will officially hit theaters on January 21 and a trailer is likely coming within weeks.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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