In-Development

AMERICAN RONIN: Newcomer James Moten Black Developing Original Urban Samurai Action Drama [EXCLUSIVE]

Lee B. Golden III

Actor and indepedent creator, newcomer James Moten Black is working to develop American Ronin, an original project that will firstly shoot a conceptual proof trailer to help gain attention from potential investors. Plot details and specifics about the film are pending, though it’s described as a contemporary martial arts piece cosigning his love for classic jidaigeki cinema and anime. Black is an accomplished martial artist since the age of eleven; He trained in Tang Soo Do under now-Grandmaster Linda Denley (Armor Of God), studied Muay Thai and scored a win in the competitive arena in sparring and forms. He moved to Los Angeles in 2014 to pursue acting, joining the Breakin’ Through Acting Workshop headed by actor and founding instructor Choice Skinner, and eventually picked up on Iaido and Kenjutsu under Skinner’s tutelage, next to learning visual effects compositing. The two have since flourished in their creative partnership, most prolifically […]

CROSSFIRE: Sony Targets Live-Action Adaptation Of Popular First-Person Shooter With Smilegate

Lee B. Golden III

Trade sources have reported and confirmed announcements from Smilegate with word on a new live-action film adaptation in development for first-person shooter, Crossfire. The South Korean game developer will partner with Sony Pictures with Tencent Pictures co-producing and co-finance the project. The move into feature film territory with Sony marks the latest update in a previous deal made between Smilegate and Fast saga producer Neal Moritz’s Original Film. Chuck Hogan (13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi) has long since been attached to the script in its development stages with Smilegate dating back to 2017. “I am very excited to prove the wonder of CROSSFIRE IP to the world through a Hollywood major motion picture with a great partner Sony Pictures,” says Smilegate’s EVP of Marketing/IP Business Development, Paek Min-jung. “Creating and spreading a household IP has always been Smilegate’s direction and goal. We have discussed and prepared the movie […]

VIGILANTE: Action Pic In-Development From ‘Jarhead 3’ Director, Scott Adkins In Talks To Star

Lee B. Golden III

Avengement star Scott Adkins is reportedly circling a chance to reteam with director William Kaufman for action thriller, Vigilante, according to news broken at City On Fire on Friday. The film also reunites Kaufman with screenwriter Chad Law who penned the director’s 2015 dystopian zombie thriller, Daylight’s End, as well as Adkins’s Isaac Florentine actioner, Close Range. Law is co-penning the script with Josh Ridgeway, and with Andrea de Liberato (Among The Shadows) producing. Vigilante centers on a disgraced soldier who wages war against the city’s most dangerous criminals, only to end up endangering the lives of the very same people he initially set out to help protect. Kaufman and Adkins last paired up for 2016 threequel, Jarhead 3: The Siege. A seperately-gestating reboot of Kaufman’s stellar 2010 crime pic, Sinners And Saints, which the two circled with actor Johnny Strong back in 2017, still waits in the wings. Vigilante […]

THE HUNT: SAVAGE WITHIN Brings Back Z-Team Films For New Indie Sci-Fi Action Feature [Exclusive]

Lee B. Golden III

Actor, martial artist and filmmaker Fabien Garcia is developing female-centric sci-fi pic, The Hunt: Savage Within. The project has been ongoing for some years now, and also now comes with conceptual imagery and artwork that I’ve been allowed to share which you can view at the bottom of this article. Story and plot details center on the role of Sarah, a forest ranger who finds herself hunted by an extraterrestrial being until a band of spec-ops soldiers arrive to her aid while investigating the crash site of the entity’s spaceship. The film is being billed as a gritty action feature likened to a mix of classic cult thrillers such as Predator, Terminator and The Thing. Garcia is shepherding pre-production under his Z-Team Films banner with Laurent Buson (Merantau), and Christine Gorchon. The label is an upscale rebranding of his former Z-Team label which emerged in 2003 with Buson as both […]

ONE PIECE Manga Lands Ten-Episode Live-Action Series At Netflix

Lee B. Golden III

A ten-episode live-action rendition of One Piece found a new home at Netflix on Wednesday according to trade news and a press announcement from the streamer. The news comes following word that broke in July of 2017 that a live-action series was in the works from Shueisha, and Marty Adelstein’s Tomorrow Studios, the same company involved with the current serial production of Cowboy Bebop – also for the streamer. A multitude of adventures outline One Piece which took off as a hit manga beginning in 1997. The franchise expanded itself greatly into television and original video animes with its story centered on Monkey D. Luffy and his epic, action-packed and sprawling quest to find said ‘piece’ and claim the title of “King Of The Pirates”. The manga has sold over 460 million copies in its nearing 23-year history, birthed from author/creator Eiichiro Oda who took to Twitter for a statement […]

XTREMO: ‘Full-On’ Spanish Action Movie Movies Forward At Netflix With ‘Tracers’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

Following his parkour exploits on Taylor Lautner crime thriller, Tracers, director Daniel Benmayor is at the helm for Xtremo for Netflix, per reports on Wednesday from Variety‘s John Hopewell and Jamie Lang. Xtremo will star Oscar Jaenada (Luis Miguel, Hernán), as well as action specialist Teo García who penned the story with Genaro Rodridguez, and with a script by Iván Ledesma. The film picks up two years after protagonist Max’s brother Lucero betrayed their family, killing Max’s father and son and leaving Max for dead. Now, hungry for revenge, Max begins a checklist-style spree of revenge killings after Lucerno’s hitmen mercilessly kill the family of Leo, Max’s new teenaged protégé. Xtremo is described as a breakout for Spain’s market following the local successes of Netflix releases like Ryan Reynolds thriller 6 Underground, crime series Money Heist and action drama Triple Frontier. The film is billed as a full-on Spanish action […]

TALITHA KUM: International Ass-Kicking Kung Fu Nuns Tackle Sex Trafficking In A New Epic Martial Arts Series

Lee B. Golden III

Variety’s John Hopewell brings word of a new Spanish action series now forthcoming in Talitha Kum. Marialy Rivas (Young & Wild) is directing the action drama from a script by Chilean playwright Manuela Infante (Invisible Heroes), and writers Enrique Videla (The Pack, Dignity, HBO’s Profugos). Talitha Kum culminates around a global covert organization of ass-kicking kung fu nuns who train in the confines of Convent of Sisters of Charity, before applying their deadly skills against Mexico’s most feared gangs to help free young girls from sex trafficking. Our story is set in Tenanchingo, Tlaxcala, South-East Mexico, where Magdalena, a young cloistered nun with fierce martial arts prowess, receives the call to infiltrate the criminal underworld of sex slavery just as war breaks out between rival gangs. As the rest of Hopewell’s report elucidates on Magdalena, though she’s “One hell of a bad ass when it comes to martial arts, Magdalena […]

BLOOD RUSH: ‘The Night Comes For Us’, ‘Headshot’, ‘John Wick 3’ Stars Reunite For Upcoming Indonesian Action Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Director Ranjeet S. Marwa is ready to take the mantle to keep Indonesian action cinema relevant with Blood Rush. As City On Fire recently brought to light, he’s brought on Headshot cohorts Zack Lee and Singaporean actor Sunny Pang, and action sensation Yayan Ruhian to lead his cast. Marwa will direct from his own script starring Lee in the role of Max, a widower who, after witnessing the death of his wife and child sets out to rebuild himself in a secretive cult underworld. The sect he’s since dedicated his life to decides they don’t want him to rest, and he’ll soon be forced to take stand against his former “family”, as well as himself. “If you loved THE RAID, if you loved JOHN WICK then you’ll LOVE our next film titled BLOOD RUSH.” said Marwa in a statment on social media on Tuesday. “Our film stars all of those […]

Roger Corman

CRIME CITY: New Roger Corman Pic Now In Pre-Production

Lee B. Golden III

Celebrated B-movie producer Roger Corman is heading to the Bahamas for Crime City, which is currently in pre-production. Corman himself spoke about the project in a new interview at Variety in which he “cheerfully describes as a return to his B-movie roots”. There are no plot details and specifics as of yet, except Corman himself confirms the film will take place in the Bahamas in the wake of the devastation left behind by Hurricane Dorian late last summer. “I found a cameraman who had flown a drone over the areas that were hit hardest. I looked at his footage and I thought, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this.’ I mean, the devastation goes on and on and on.” says Corman. Corman goes on to say he licensed the footage and hired the same cameraman to use ground shots, and will look toward March to start filming before the government clears […]

POWER RANGERS Reboot Lands At Paramount, Allspark

Lee B. Golden III

I didn’t have huge expectations for Dave Green’s 2017 take on Power Rangers from Lionsgate, but I did have hopes. I reckon others did too, and mainly since took a liking to the edgier teenage appeal to the classic Ameritoku series in its return to the big screen. It did take me a bit to get used to Alpha 5’s new look, though as far as creative liberties go in Hollywood, it could’ve been way worse. The end definitely had me gripped a bit as well, hoping for a sequel that would’ve potentially introduced the Green Ranger in some form or another. Flash forward two years later and obviously that never came to pass. The cast moved onto other projects and despite falling short of any hopeful box office success, Hasbro still found potential in the property enough to acquire Saban’s Power Rangers last May, among other properties under Saban […]

Onmyoji

ONMYOJI: Supernatural Period Thriller Adaptation In Development From ‘Tiny Times’ And ‘L.O.R.D.’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

Author and novelist Guo Jingming (Tiny Times franchise), may have fallen short with his currently-stalled 2019 release of his two-part big screen epic, L.O.R.D.: Legend Of Ravaging Dynasties, but that’s not hindering him from moving forward with other projects. Chinese film magazine MTime has the latest bits of reporting on new developments for his own take on Onmyoji (a.k.a. The Yin Yang Master). Guo will develop the project at Hehe Pictures Corporation, ZUI Corporate and Thinkingdom Pictures. The story takes after period tales of Japanese legend as inspired by the work of author Baku Yumemakura, which focus on the the intrigue and danger that culminate with key focus on the spiritual advisors working in service of the Emperor to battle demons and negative energy. Yōjirō Takita directed two live action features based on the novels which starred Mansai Nomura and Hideaki Ito, and fellow Asian cinema favorite, Hiroyuki Sanada. The […]

BEST SERVED COLD: Ex-MMA Star Ann Osman Lands Feature Film Debut Role In Malaysian Supernatural Action-Noir

Lee B. Golden III

Sabah-based former MMA fighter Ann Osman will make her feature film debut in supernatural action-noir, Best Served Cold for writer/director Aaron Cowan. Singapore-based 108 Media reportedly secured the backing required to develop the project, which is inspired by Jill Girardi’s short story, “Don’t Eat The Rice”, as well as characters in her October 2018 Buku Fixi novel publication, “Hantu Macabre. As Patrick Frater at Variety reports, Osman will take on the role of “Suzanna Sim, an ex-MMA fighter turned private detective who uses her fists and her knowledge of Southeast Asian black magic, while working with a Malaysian mythical creature, to find a rich new client’s missing husband”. Osman, best known as Athena as she blazed a trail for female posterity in the sport of MMA in , announced her retirement from the ring last month, leaving a 5-4 Flyweight record in her wake since her career took off in […]

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THE FUGITIVE: ‘Alpha’ Director To Helm A ‘New Spin’ On The Classic Mystery Crime Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

It’s almost exciting to see that a property like The Fugitive still carries such viability that it’s now par for the course now with a total of three revivals – the latest coming from director Albert Hughes (Alpha, The Book Of Eli) according to Deadline. The Fugitive originally premiered on ABC TV in 1963 with actor David Janssen in the role of Richard Kimball, a physcian framed for the murder of his wife and forced on the run from the law in order to find her real killer. The series followed suit with Warner Bros. commercially successful 1993 theatrical adaptation of the series starring Harrison Ford, produced by Anne and Arnold Koepelson, and earning co-star Tommy Lee Jones, who played the dogged U.S. Marshal assigned to catch him, an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor on top of the film’s seven other nominations; Jones later reprised his role opposite Wesley Snipes […]

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ECHO 8: Maria Tran, Phoenix Eye Fast Track Independent Psych Action Thriller For January Production

Lee B. Golden III

Actress Maria Tran took to social media on Sunday to announce pre-production on upcoming psychological action thriller, Echo 8. Tran will star and make her feature directorial debut, as well as head a cast that also includes local actors Takashi Hara and David Vuong. Echo 8 centers on a highly trained assassin who finds herself in a strange house with no memories of how she got there, in the wake of a specialized mission gone awry; Think: Jaume Collet-Serra’s Unknown by way of Renny Harlin’s The Long Kiss Goodnight. Script is currently in the last stages of development with screenwriter Elizabeth H. Vu (Mr. Ghost, The Perception) finalizing the latest draft. The self-funded project hails from Tran’s Phoenix Eye banner where she and cohorts Therese Chen and Nancy Trieu have been working on their film slate with a number of titles, in addition to journeying between locations to share in […]

DOGMA: Help Wuji Films Bring Their New Urban Crime Drama Series To Life

Lee B. Golden III

Look up at any certain point in the history of The Hit List and you’ll be certain to spot the names, Joshua Zacharias and Bronson Cameron. They’re back in the spotlight for their Winnepeg-based Wuji Films independent film banner where they are now stepping it up with a new Indiegogo campaign for dramatic crime series, Dogma. Penned by Zacharias, Dogma is based on true events and set in New York City’s Chinatown during one of America’s biggest spikes in Chinese immigration history. Young half Chinese/American Johnny Lo is a societal outcast, walled-off by the people he once called “family”. He must soon come face-to-face with enemies on all sides, including from within, in a story that treads a bygone era of the city’s criminal underbelly, ultimately confronting the dark reality of what it really means for Asian immigrants to pursue the American dream. “This is an extremely important and personal […]

ESCAPE: ‘Maria’ Director Plots U.S. Debut With Black Ops Rescue Thriller From Blue Fox

Lee B. Golden III

Nilalang director Pedring Lopez made a killing earlier this year with the local and subsequent global release of his Spring female-fronted thriller, Maria. That film is now slated for a sequel that is expected to roll cameras early next year, while the noted horror and action director has since planted one other seed in Blue Fox Entertainment title, Escape. Penned by Lopez and screenwriter Scott Rosenfelt (The Jade Pendant) from a story by Michael A. McDermott, Escape centers on John Craig, a former black ops soldier with a penchant for going beyond the law. When the mother of a young teenage son falsely imprisoned in Manila summons him to the job of extracting him, Craig and his team plan the ultimate escape – one from both the rising tensions in Manila, and the demons of John’s past. Lopez, who signaled fans on Instagram on Thursday, teased the project in a […]

Bad Hombre Films Talks Two Upcoming Horror Films

Christina Ortega

Bad Hombre Films are going to be busy churning out horror films between a recently announced (I’m trying not to gag here) reboot and a horror film set in a unique setting. Let’s just get the reboot details over with first: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film (originally made in 1974 by Tobe Hooper) has already seen a reboot in 2003 produced by Michael I-like-killing-people’s-childhood- Bay. Fede Alvarez (who directed the 2013 Evil Dead reboot) is going to try his hand at yet another reboot. There are no details about this one yet other than it is written by Chris Thomas Devlin. The film is based on a family of cannibals; what more can be done with this series, guys? But don’t worry because Bad Hombre Films has an original horror film coming up, too: this one is being described as “The Shining set in the White House.” Assuming they are […]

VIKINGS: VALLHALLA In The Works From Netflix, MGM TV

Lee B. Golden III

If you enjoyed all five seasons of hit History Channel series epic, Vikings, chances are you’ll have your eyes glued for the season six premiere on December 4. Going forward, you’ll probably be keen on what’s in store from Netflix and MGM Television with Vikings: Valhalla, original series creator Michael Hirst’s new sequel series now in the making. Vikings: Valhalla begins 100 years after Vikings and centers on the adventures of the most famous Vikings who ever lived – Leif Erikson, Freydis, Harald Harada and the Norman King William the Conqueror (also a Viking descendant) – as they blaze new paths fighting for survival in an ever changing and evolving Europe. This is the explosive next chapter of the Vikings legend. Hirst will exec produce along with Jeb Stuart (The Fugitive, Die Hard, The Liberator) and Morgan O’Sullivan (Vikings, Penny Dreadful). “I am beyond excited that we are announcing the […]

BLACK BETTY: Deviant Children’s Webseries Pre-Production Is Back On Track

Lee B. Golden III

It looks as if things are back in full swing with Nicholas Ortiz and his independent production company Deviant Children for forthcoming webseries, Black Betty. The company took to Instagram on Thursday to share the following update: View this post on Instagram A post shared by @deviantchildren Pre-production commenced earlier this year with meetings that followed but left off this summer with a tentative hiatus. As of this report, rewrites are currently underway with rehearsals expected to take off early 2020. Black Betty took off last Spring as a shortform action thriller released on YouTube with Krystal “Honey” Pizaro. Betty is a black leather-clad vigilante with a mysterious past who fights her way out of a nightclub through a gauntlet of henchmen. The original short scored three awards in two categories at the sixth Urban Action Showcase Film Festival last year. The webseries will be woven as a simultaneous series […]

BEVERLY HILLS COP Enlists Reboot Deal With Paramount And Netflix

Lee B. Golden III

It looks like Paramount’s Beverly Hills Cop franchise will finally get the reboot succession some fans have been waiting for with the latest confirmation from Deadline‘s Mike Fleming Jr. The studio is at the table with Netflix for a one-time deal with a sequel option also in play to revive actor Eddie Murphy’s iconic portrayal of sly, fast talking detective Axel Folely to audiences. Martin Brest’s inaugural 1984 feature launched a trilogy centered on the character whose hilarious crime-solving exploits saw the character frequent Beverly Hills all the way from his original station in the city of Detroit whenever he needed to solve a tangible case. Directors Tony Scott and John Landis directed the 1987 and 1994 films, respectively, with the latter failing to meet expectations. In 2013 CBS attempted a TV incarnation with actor Brandon T. Jackson which never got off the ground, but still put a potential fourth […]