ACOLYTE: Ascot Elite, ‘John Wick’ Franchise Writer Team Up For New Action Thriller
If you ever get tired of hearing the name Derek Kolstad, it’s probably because you have no idea what’s coming first with all the projects he’s become attached to since earning acclaim as writer behind the John Wick franchise.
Yes, it’s kind of petrifying. But screw that. Why? Because he’s got another on his plate called Acolyte on which he’ll be teaming up with a group in Switzerland to help bring the project to life, namely Swiss outfit Ascot Elite, filmmaker Claudio Fah (Northmen – A Viking Saga) and producer Christopher Milburn (Unhinged).
When his wife is kidnapped, an ordinary man reveals his true colors and calls his old team together to rescue her.
Casting is already underway for the action thriller with Fah directing, and has DoP Lorenzo Senatore (Hellboy), with Ascot Elite’s Ralph S. Dietrich, Karin G. Dietrich and Stephan Giger producing, and Milburn exec producing.
Kolstad said: “Amongst most everything I have written, Acolyte remains one of my favorites. I like my stories and characters to have a silver lining. And in Acolyte, it‘s there in spades.”
Director Fah commented: “The vigor with which Derek Kolstad has written Acolyte and his signature way of using just a few brush strokes to sketch multi-layered characters that jump off the page and feel like people we want to spend time with is what captivated me the minute I laid eyes on this script. There is great showmanship in the action pieces and at the same time we are telling a story of deeply-felt emotions between a husband and wife and a group of people who look out for one another come hell or high water.”
Producer Ralph S. Dietrich added: “After our successful production Northmen – A Viking Saga we teamed up with the same creatives to make Derek’s Acolyte come true. Claudio is a fantastic director and his vision blew our minds. The characters in Acolyte offer a rich mini-universe filled with exciting material that‘s still to be mined. That is why Acolyte will be the first in what should become a series of features that are at the same time highly entertaining and artistically compelling.”
More at Deadline.
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