Tag: Norman Reedus

Posted on in Film News, News

‘John Wick’ Actor Ian McShane Says ‘Ballerina’ Reshoots In Budapest Meant To Hit Chad Stahelski’s Standard & Protect The Franchise: “They Want To Make It Better”

This week it was announced by Lionsgate that their high-profile “John Wick” spinoff “Ballerina” would be getting a full-year delay as they hope to beef up the action sequences on the pic led by Oscar-nominee Ana De Armas (“Blade Runner 2049,” “No Time To Die”) and directed by Len Wiseman (“Underworld”). News came not too soon after the reveal that director Chad Stahelski would be the main overseer of both “Highlander” and “John Wick” franchises for Lionsgate moving forward.

The BBC chat show “The One Show” was able to speak with actor Ian McShane, who has been playing the character of Winston for four “John Wick” installments and will be reprising the part alongside Keanu Reeves and the late Lance Reddick in the spinoff. McShane gave some brief insight into the reshoots that will have Stahelski’s involvement, and they’re adding new scenes to, as he put it, “protect the franchise.”

“Then we go on to Budapest. It’s not reshoots it’s new shoots, new shooting for ‘Ballerina’ which is the spinoff with Ana de Armas of the ‘John Wick’ franchise. It’s like they’ve got to protect the franchise and…I did it a year ago, we did the movie, ‘Ballerina,’ and they’ve looked at it and Chad’s come in. The guy who directed all the ‘John Wick” movies and they want to make it better because…Keanu is in it as well and it takes place between ‘John Wick 3’ and ‘John Wick 4.'”

If you’re not aware of what the spinoff is about it will focus on the character of Rooney, who was briefly seen in “John Wick 3” but played by a different actress. Like John, she was adopted into the Ruska Roma, a criminal syndicate connected to Russian/Belarusian organized crime. They take in orphans and turn them into skilled assassins over decades, in the case of Rooney she was trained as a ballerina, hence the title. We’ll see Rooney navigating her own path in this world of assassins including the return of Anjelica Huston as The Director alongside new additions like Norman Reedus (“The Boondock Saints”) and Gabriel Bryne (“The Usual Suspects”).

When asked about the Starz spinoff prequel series “The Continental,” McShane had a surprise reveal about how little participation the film folks had on the show despite it focusing on a younger version of his character.

The Continental: From the World of John Wick (TV Mini Series 2023) - IMDb

“They never asked anyone about it, they just went and did it…they never asked us about it.”

“Ballerina” has been delayed a full year with the release date pushed to June 6, 2025. You can view that brief segment on The One Show with McShane below, thanks to Twitter user Adam Khan.

SOURCE: THE ONE SHOW VIA TWITTER

Posted on in Film News, News

‘John Wick’ Spinoff Movie ‘Ballerina’ Starring Ana De Armas Delayed To June 2025 As Additional Action Scenes Will Be Shot

Yesterday, Lionsgate announced that the studio would be delaying their highly anticipated cinematic spinoff to the “John Wick” franchise. The upcoming film titled “Ballerina” will focus on a deadly assassin named Rooney from Wick’s adoptive family, The Ruska Roma, a criminal syndicate that takes in orphans like John to train them over years into skilled killers that will end up earning for the organization. Cuban-American actress Ana De Armas (“No Time To Die,” “The Gray Man”) will be leading the film as Rooney, the titular ballerina, with a supporting cast that consists of Norman Reedus (“Boondock Saints,” “The Walking Dead”), Gabriel Byrne (“The Usual Suspects”), Anjelica Huston returning as The Director, Keanu Reeves appearing as John Wick, franchise alumn Ian McShane back in the Winston part, and the late Lance Reddick having shot scenes as Charon.

The studio revealed that “Ballerina” has moved from its prime June 7, 2024, spot to June 6, 2025. This would delay the action pic an entire year. It’s directed by Len Wiseman (“Live Free or Die Hard,” “Underworld” franchise), and multiple trade reports, such as the one from Deadline, are citing the delay is that newly minted franchise overseer Chad Stahelski can amp up the spinoff with some additional action scenes.

A big reason for the return of Wick and Charon is the events of the spinoff are set between “John Wick 3” and just before “John Wick 4.”

This popular action franchise is known for adding actors from various beloved action movies from the past and “Ballerina” is no different. We’re expected to have a cameo from French actress Anne Parillaud, who played the lead role in Luc Besson‘s own iconic 1990 assassin film “La Femme Nikita.” An action movie we’ve long assumed had a huge impact on Stahelski’s visual style for the franchise and could be a reason why the last installment took place in Paris.

Taking that open June 7 spot will be Rupert Sanders‘ (“Ghost In The Shell”) remake of “The Crow” which has Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård (“John Wick 4,” “Atomic Blonde”) playing Eric Draven, a talented rock musician murdered alongside his girlfriend Shelly on Devil’s Night only for Draven to be brought back to life by a crow to enact revenge against their killers. Speaking of Stahelski, the stuntman turned director worked on the original 1994 feature incarnation of the comic book film that sadly saw the death of star Brandon Lee after a stunt with guns went wrong. Lee’s death led filmmakers like Stahelski to engage in greater safety standards on sets when it comes to weapons like firearms. While you might not realize this at first glance, most of the gunfire in the “John Wick” movies is mostly done with digital effects to achieve the muzzle flashes and smoke.

SOURCE: LIONSGATE & DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Death Stranding’: Hideo Kojima Says He Selected A24 With Aspirations An Artsy Indie Film Adaptation Could Earn Awards Consideration

Hideo Kojima‘s relationship with Sony via PlayStation and their feature film adaptation of his video game masterpiece franchise “Metal Gear Solid” (Owned by Konami, whom Kojmia had a falling out with) is extremely strong but he’s now revealed why he selected A24 Films and not Sony Pictures to handle this movie incarnation of “Death Stranding.” During a new episode of his HideoTube web series, the head of Kojima Productions and its namesake discussed his reasoning behind choosing A24 over Sony (Via GameSpot), which seems to be more about Kojima wanting a studio to make an indie/artsy incarnation that might end up getting awards consideration at film festivals.

“It’s easier to adapt it into a TV series, like ‘The Last of Us,'” Kojima said. “It’s quite difficult to adapt a 50-60 hour game like ‘Death Stranding’ into a two or three-hour movie. The worldview won’t change, of course. But the story of the game as is won’t fit into just two hours. We’re still looking at how to approach it.

“In the past, film adaptations of video games always failed, you know. But in the last four to five years, people who understand games have taken on the task of adapting it into a film or drama. And several hits have been made, like ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie.’ And that’s the trend these days, but with A24, I want to make something that’s based on a game, but also indie and artistic, something that can win awards at film festivals like Cannes, Venice, or Sundance.”

Death Stranding: Director's Cut for the PlayStation 5 gets a mysterious trailer - HardwareZone.com.sg

We’re still waiting on who exactly will be either writing or directing the “Death Stranding” movie for A24, but Kojima’s friends in Hollywood and the international film scene run deep. So, it’s anyone’s guess. However, there is an expectation that cast members from the original video game such as Norman Reedus (“The Walking Dead”), Lea Seydoux (“Dune: Part Two”), Mads Mikkelsen (“Another Round”), Margaret Qualley (“Once Upon A Time In Hollywood,” “The Nice Guys”), and others could end up reprising their roles in the feature film with announcements on that front likely coming shortly once they secure a creative team.

Kojima is a busy bee with “Death Stranding 2: On The Beach” releasing on PS5 in 2025 (Opening the door for a sequel to the upcoming film), is working on another video game called “OD” with filmmaker Jordan Peele (“Nope”), his documentary series “Connecting Worlds” will debut this year on Disney+, and he just announced a brand new game called “Physint” that takes place within the action-espionage genre using cutting-edge technology (Harkening back to his “Metal Gear” roots and could easily get a feature adaptation too).

Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts (“Kong: Skull Island”) and actor Oscar Isaac (“Moon Knight”) have been attached to a live-action “Metal Gear Solid” at Sony Pictures, although, movement on that project hasn’t been as speedy as fans would want. Then again, “Metal Gear Solid” is a mash-up of all sorts of sci-fi/action genres, politics, and philosophy, and trying to make a version that will make skittish studio executives excited could be an issue given the inherently weird choices Kojima made in the games that are intertwined within the commercially viable elements that could mirror the James Bond franchise or any military thriller.

You can watch the full HideoTube episode with English subtitles below.

SOURCE: KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS VIA YOUTUBE

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Death Stranding’: Live-Action Movie Based On Hideo Kojima Video Game In Development At A24

Hollywood is starting to learn how to properly adapt video game properties for both the small screen like with the acclaimed show “The Last of Us” on HBO/Max and for the big screen as the animated “Super Mario Bros.” movie was able to dominate the 2023 box office by earning over a billion dollars globally when other pics where struggling. Another hot property has been gobbled up and it was announced by video game guru Hideo Kojima of Kojima Productions that A24 Films would be developing a live-action film based on his original game, “Death Stranding.”

The thing about “Death Stranding” is that it already had known actors in key roles such as Norman Reedus (“The Walking Dead”) as protagonist Sam Porter Bridges, Mads Mikkelsen, Lea Seydoux, Troy Baker, Margaret Qualley, and Lindsay Wagner. It also featured the likenesses of fellow directors Guillermo del Toro and Nicholas Winding Refn. A second game is currently in development as well that could be source material for a potential sequel and has added American actress Elle Fanning to the cast.

It remains to be seen if established cast members will reprise those roles, but the likelihood would be good. Neither a director nor a screenwriter was named in the announcement.

Sam Bridges must brave a world utterly transformed by the Death Stranding. Carrying the disconnected remnants of our future in his hands, he embarks on a journey to reconnect the shattered world one step at a time. The film promises to delve into the mysteries surrounding the apocalyptic event called the ‘Death Stranding,’ which blurred the lines between life and death, and brought forth nightmarish creatures into a world on the brink of collapse.

This comes after Sony Pictures and producer Avi Arad have been trying to put together another film based on a popular Kojima video game with a live-action feature incarnation of “Metal Gear Solid” that had “Star Wars” actor Oscar Isaac attached to play Snake and Jordan Vogt-Roberts (“Kong: Skull Island”) set to direct from a scripted penned by Derek Connolly (“Kong: Skull Island,” “Legend of Zelda”). We’re still waiting for an official update on the status of “Metal Gear Solid” and if the military-action pic will be moving forward into production anytime soon.

SOURCE: A24 & HIDEO KOJIMA

Posted on in News

‘John Wick’ Spinoff Movie ‘Ballerina’ Lands Cameo From ‘Nikita’ Star Anne Parillaud & Set Photo

This weekend sees the release of John Wick 4 and longtime director Chad Stahelski has talked about taking a much deserved hiatus from the action-packed franchise. Another film is horizon set directly in the John Wick universe with Ballerina. A spinoff feature film that will see Oscar-nominee Ana de Armas (Blonde) star in the lead after standout supporting roles in high-profile projects like No Time To Time, Blade Runner 2049, and The Gray Man.

One of the landmark films cited as inspiration for Ballerina is Luc Besson’s breakout European thriller La Femme Nikita that starred Anne Parillaud. It centers on a troubled young woman, Nikita, sentenced to lethal injection after a robbery with her street gang cohorts goes wrong leading to multiple deaths including her killing a police officer point blank with a handgun. When she wakes in a secret facility, it’s revealed that Nikita has been selected to become a government assassin. An American remake, Point of No Return, starring Bridget Fonda and Gabriel Byrne would be released in 1993.

Parillaud is now confirmed to appear in Ballerina joining a stellar group of veteran international actors playing various characters in the John Wick universe.

Last month, the French actress posted on her official Instagram account that her role would be simply a cameo and was shooting scenes in Prague. Parillaud has been listed on film’s IMDB page but this is now solid confirmation she is indeed in the spinoff as the actress hadn’t been mentioned in previous trade reports concerning the cast.

Ballerina will focus on Rooney, a young woman connected to the Ruska Roma (Wick’s homestead criminal syndicate) who uses her obtained deadly skills to get revenge when her family is killed by hitmen.

Len Wiseman (Die Hard 4, Underworld) directs from a script penned by Shay Hatten (John Wick 3, John Wick 4) and Oscar-winning screenwriter Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman). Other members of the supporting cast includes Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Gabriel Byrne (Point of No Return, The Usual Suspects), and Catalina Sandino Moreno. Due to the film being set during the six month gap between the events of John Wick 3 and John Wick 4 we’ll see the return of Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Anjelica Houston, and the late Lance Reddick in one of his final performances.

We can also share this nifty set photo from Ballerina with Reedus and de Armas.

Speaking of Luc Besson, The Ronin can confirm the spinoff was shot by French cinematographer Romain Lacourbas (The Witcher). The director of photography’s film credits include two action movies that were co-written and produced by Besson with Liam Neeson’s Taken 2 and Colombiana (a spiritual sequel to The Professional) that starred Zoe Saldaña.

Lionsgate hasn’t officially given Ballerina a release date but we’re hopeful that the studio gives the action pic a spot later this year, so they can capitalize on the goodwill of John Wick 4’s success. We’ll just have to wait a little longer before the studio makes an official announcement.