Acquisitions and Release

PROMARE: GKids Scores A Fall Event Release For Trigger’s Feature Debut

Director Hiroyuki Imaishi’s Promare is hitting the U.S. with a Fall rollout from GKids in a new announcement now making the rounds. The film, signaling celebrated animation studio Trigger’s debut foray into the feature-length arena, will stake a limited two-day theatrical event in partnership with Fathom Events on September 17 and 19 before a proper GKIDS release on September 20. The first feature-length film from the acclaimed studio TRIGGER, creators of the hit series KILL la KILL and Little Witch Academia, and director Hiroyuki Imaishi (GURREN LAGANN, KILL la KILL), Promare uses a bold cel-shaded visual style to tell a blistering action-adventure story, and is the spiritual successor to many of director Imaishi’s former works. Thirty years has passed since the appearance of Burnish, a race of flame-wielding mutant beings, who destroyed half of the world with fire. When a new group of aggressive mutants calling themselves “Mad Burnish” appears, […]

Devika Bhise in THE WARRIOR QUEEN OF JHANSI (Photo By Nick Wall)

THE WARRIOR QUEEN OF JHANSI Rides To U.S. Fall Release From Roadside Attractions

Lee B. Golden III

The wait has been an extensive one with post-production, a social media campaign and exclusive event screenings, but the word is now out for Cayenne Pepper Productions CEO, renowned choreographer and dancer Swati Bhise’s directorial debut, The Warrior Queen Of Jhansi. Roadside Attractions has snagged U.S. release rights to the film for a Fall release via Deadline, titularly starring Devika Bhise in this, the latest cinematic incarnation of 19th century warrior queen Lakshmibai. The director, who also executive produced Matthew Brown’s 2016 biopictoral novel adaptation, The Man Who New Infinity, also produced as well as co-wrote the film with her star, along with co-scribe Olivia Emden. Formerly titled Swords & Sceptres, Bhise’s The Warrior Queen Of Jhansi tells the true story of Lakshmibai, the historic Queen of Jhansi who fiercely led her army against the British East India Company in the infamous mutiny of 1857. Lakshmibai is known as one […]

FIRST LOVE: Takashi Miike’s Cannes Hit Action Thriller Picked Up By Well Go USA For Late 2019

Lee B. Golden III

Takashi Miike’s newest Cannes darling, First Love, is coming to North America, and Well Go USA is all but on-top of things with its acquisition reported on Wednesday from THR. The film had its Directors’ Fortnight run in France and stars Masataka Kubota (Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul: S), and actress Sakurako Konishi with Nao Omori (Ichi The Killer), Shota Sometani (Legend Of The Demon Cat), actress and singer Becky (Eight Ranger, Eight Ranger 2), and actors Jun Murakami (Aircraft Carrier Ibuki), Sansei Shiomi (Beyond Outrage, Outrage Coda) and Seiyo Uchino (13 Assassins). First Love marks the fourth collaboration between Academy Award® winning producer Jeremy Thomas (THE LAST EMPEROR) and Takashi Miike (BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL, HARA-KIRI and 13 ASSASSINS). Set over one night in Tokyo, we follow Leo (Kubota), a young boxer down on his luck as he meets his ‘first love’ Monica (Konishi), a call girl and an addict […]

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YES, AUNTIE!: Asiancrush Acquires Hit Web Sequel From Art School Dropouts Now Available On Amazon Prime

Lee B. Golden III

Art School Dropouts’ martial arts comedy sequel webseries, Yes, Auntie!: My Asian Auntie Season 2, is now available on Amazon Prime as of May 21. The New Jersey-based independent film banner took to YouTube on Thursday to make the announcement of the feature film edition’s acquisition by New York-based Asiancrush as of late February/early March. The original My Asian Auntie, as it reads on their official YouTube channel, took off in 2016, and returned by popular demand as Yes, Auntie!: My Asian Auntie Season 2, with the participation of as many as five independent film banners from groups throughout the NY, Philidelphia and DC areas, including Team One Take and Kamen Ramen. The official trailer premired exclusively at the AMC Empire 25 last November as festivities went underway for the sixth-annual Urban Action Showcase & Expo in New York City. The team, comprised of members Joey Min, Stephanie Pham, Gun […]

THE WHITE STORM 2: DRUG LORDS Lands A July 12 Release In The U.S., Australia And NZ!

Lee B. Golden III

Herman Yau’s newest sequel continuation heads to the big screen in July with The White Storm 2: Drug Lords. A July 12 release is in tow following the film’s acquisition by CMC Pictures with releases slated for North America, Australia and New Zealand. In the quadripartite drug market in Hong Kong, Jizo (Louis Koo) gradually expands in collaboration with some Mexican drug lords across the border, followed by a chain of dog-eat-dog events which shock and bring the whole trade on high alert. On the other hand, Yu Shun-Tin (Andy Lau), a former gangster member and now a financial tycoon, is offering a bounty to eliminate the No.1 drug dealer in Hong Kong, which causes a stir in society. Policeman Fung (Michael Miu) intends to arrest Jizo, but now he is responsible for protecting Jizo instead due to the bounty. A final battle has broken out between the two tycoons […]

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THE WHISTLERS: Magnolia Snags Romanian Heist Pic For Late 2019 Release

Lee B. Golden III

12:08 East of Bucharest and The Treasure helmer, acclaimed writer/director Corneliu Porimboiu’s recent in-competition Cannes pick, The Whistlers, now has a home stateside at Magnolia Pictures. Vlad Ivanov, Catrinel Marlon, Rodica Lazar, Antonio Buil, Agustí Villaronga, Sabin Tambrea, Julieta Szonyi and George Pisterneanu lead the cast. In The Whistlers, not everything is as it seems for Cristi, a police inspector in Bucharest who plays both sides of the law. Embarking with the beautiful Gilda on a high-stakes heist, both will have to navigate the twists and turns of corruption, treachery and deception. A trip to the Canary Islands to learn a secret whistling language might just be what they need to pull it off. The film has already been well-recived by some critics, including Indiewire who’ve dubbed the film as “A Delightful Romanian Twist On Oceans 11” for their headline. Magnolia is eyeing a theatrical release for later this year. […]

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THE DOORMAN: Lionsgate Nabs New Ruby Rose Action Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Actress Ruby Rose is riding high this week having emerged in Thursday’s trailer for the Fall premiere of Batwoman on The CW. She’s also remained consistent in her big screen endeavors following roles in xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage, John Wick: Chapter Two and shark thriller, The Meg, now staking her claim with her latest action role in The Doorman with a release now being planned thanks to Lionsgate’s U.S. acquisition of the film at Cannes. A heist to steal priceless art from decades ago; a prestigious building housing New York’s elite over countless years; and a doorman…unlike any other. From director, Ryuhei Kitamura of Midnight Meat Train comes DOORMAN, an action packed thriller featuring Ali Gorski, a highly decorated ex-military sergeant turned doorman of The Carrington. During the Thanksgiving weekend, while all but few of the tenants are away and The Carrington is under renovations, a seedy plot […]

THE MAN WHO FEELS NO PAIN Arrives On Netflix May 22

Lee B. Golden III

It’s a real fiasco sometimes waiting to see when and where some films will get a legitimate release. Peddlers helmer Vasan Bala’s acclaimed martial arts comedy, The Man Who Feels No Pain, fits right into this subject matter after screening to some of the biggest critical praise I’ve ever read about for a film of its kind since its screenings in Toronto and Mumbai last year. The film just made the festival rounds at the Dallas Fort Worth South Asian Film Festival and will finally hit Netflix on May 22. It’s a pretty big deal on top of being some of the best news to learn during what has been a great month for global action cinema, especially in the wake of such hits like Frant Gwo’s The Wandering Earth, Lee Jeong Beom’s Jo Pil-Ho: The Dawning Rage (f.k.a. The Bad Lieutenant), and Pedring Lopez’s highly deserving sequel-bound hit, Maria. […]

IRON SKY: THE COMING RACE Nabs U.S. Day-And-Date July Release From Vertical

Lee B. Golden III

Timo Vuorensola’s space Nazi parody sequel, Iron Sky: The Coming Race, will open in North America for a day-and-date release on July 19. Veritcal Entertainment made its acquisition public this week with Deadline‘s Patrick Hipes reporting for its world sales at Cannes from Myriad Pictures. The highly anticipated sequel to the worldwide cult hit Iron Sky. The survivors of the war with the Nazis must leave their base on the dark side of the moon to travel to a hollow Earth in search of a life saving energy. Plan B actress Julia Dietze returns to reprise her role from the first film along with Udo Kier, and with Lara Rossi, Tom Green, Vladimir Burlakov and Kit Dale. The film is currently the second in a forthcoming trilogy with Chinese-set threequel, Iron Sky: The Ark, which received co-production backing from China Film Group in 2017, and with Max Wang (Wolf Totem) […]

GAMBIT Removed From Its 2020 Release

Lee B. Golden III

Public announcements were made on Tuesday pertaining to Disney’s forthcoming schedule, including new dates for current titles, and a new trio of Star Wars movies to arise starting in 2022 through 2026. The update also elucidated the crystal clear removal of Gambit from its release schedule, previously slated for March of next year. The character’s potential emergence into the big screen fray saw its development during the heyday of the X-Men trilogy as a solo film eventually became the subject of many a headline years later. Actor Channing Tatum was slated to breathe new life into the character after its appearance with Taylor Kitsch in the role for 2009 X-Men spin-off, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Directors Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman and Gore Verbinski each had a turn to helm the project in the last several years until they turned it down, and it was about three months ago that Tatum himself […]

ABOVE THE SHADOWS: Fantasy Romance MMA Drama Punches In A July 19 U.S. Release

Lee B. Golden III

Deadline unveiled a new look above at Above The Shadows on Monday featuring actress Olivia Thirlby and Alan Ritchson. Courtesy of Gravitas Ventures, a limited theatrical and VoD July 19 release in the U.S. is officially in tow for the new romance drama from writer/director Claudia Myers. SHADOW GIRL is a romantic tale about a young woman who has faded to the point of becoming invisible and must find her way back into the world. After more than a decade of solitude and making a living in the shadows as a celebrity photographer, Holly meets the one man who can see her, Shane Blackwell, a disgraced MMA fighter working as a bouncer. Holly discovers that it was one of her tabloid photographs that caused his downfall, she resolves to help him regain his former championship status. With Shane, Holly awakens to love but also to the reality that she bears […]

FIRST LOVE Adds Takashi Miike’s Latest World Premiere Action Thriller To Cannes’ Directors Fortnight Line-Up

Lee B. Golden III

Want some more Miike for your moviegoing? Then take a gander at HanWay Films’ latest nab of the auteur’s new action thriller, First Love. The UK-based international sales/distro banner acquired rights to the Japan/UK co-prod which reteams Miike with Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas’ Recorded Picture Company for a fourth time following Hara-kiri: Death Of A Samurai, 13 Assassins, and Blade Of The Immortal. Deadline‘s Andreas Wiseman notes the film’s description as cited by the producers as follows: Set over one night in Tokyo, the film will follow Leo, a young boxer down on his luck as he meets his ‘first love’ Monica, a call girl and an addict but still an innocent. Little does Leo know, Monica is unwittingly caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme, and the two are pursued through the night by a corrupt cop, a yakuza, his nemesis, and a female assassin sent by the Chinese Triads. […]

HIGH ON THE HOG: Don’t Miss The Official Trailer For Sid Haig’s New Stoner Horror Romp

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been a little over four years since celebrated character actor and horror icon Robert Z’dar passed away, but he’s leaving behind at least another offering for horror fans with Indican Pictures’ latest Berlin acquisition, High On The Hog, from director Tony Wash. Part comedy and part horror, High on the Hog takes place on a remote farm. Here, everything is grown, including the green herb. But, local government officials need a bust and they have targeted Big Daddy’s farm for their hit. Big Daddy is ready for the federales, with his arsenal of weapons and take-no-prisoners farmhands. And, just before the big fight, they have to pack that pipe tight! Z’dar’s final on-screen bow will hit theaters in select cities on April 19, joining him with a cast led by actor/producer Sid Haig (3 From Hell) and co-star Joe Estevez (Public Enemy), and with actresses Fiona Domenica and Brenda […]

MARIA: Netflix Snags Cristine Reyes Action Thriller For May 17 Release

Lee B. Golden III

Try looking for writer/directing Pedring Lopez’s 2016 action horror, Nilalang, anywhere stateside and if you’re lucky, you’ll find it under some innocuous, generic title thanks to whatever schmuck snagged it for a legit U.S. release. It’s what’s always irked me – the dismissive, flippant way distributors handle Asian titles. That habit seems to haven’t dissipated, and thankfully, Netflix took notice in the wake of Lopez’s most recent feature outing, Maria, which hit theaters late last month to promising audience and critical responses. Set to stream worldwide on May 17, actress Cristine Reyes stars as the former member of a criminal cartel forced out of hiding to dispense vengeance when her new lease on life is violently interrupted by the very crime family that nearly had her executed. The project marks Reyes’ first action role from a script by Lopez and co-writer Yz Carbonel, and with Sonny Sison (Nilalang, BuyBust), overseeing […]

ONE CUT OF THE DEAD: Shinichiro Ueda’s Surprise Horror Comedy Hit Lands On Shudder For U.S., Australia And New Zealand!

Lee B. Golden III

If you plan on getting your hands on AMC’s Shudder app anytime soon and have a devout love for J-horror, just know that’s where you’ll be able to find Shinichiro Ueda’s One Cut Of The Dead with the horror streamer acquiring rights in the U.S.. Rights were also snagged in Australia and New Zealand according to Variety citing the deal between Shudder, and Adam Torel who negotiated the terms representing Koji Ichihashi whose Tokyo-based film school, Enbu Seminar, backed the horror comedy. ONE CUT OF THE DEAD opens in a run-down, abandoned warehouse where a film crew are making a zombie film…Yet, this is no ordinary warehouse. It’s been said that it’s the site of where military experiments took place…Out of nowhere, real zombies arrive and terrorize the crew!This may sound like a the plot of a clichéd zombie film, but One Cut of the Dead is something completely different! […]

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IRON SKY: THE COMING RACE Lands UK Cinemas And Combo Pack Releases Beginning April 24!

Lee B. Golden III

Writer/director Timo Vuorensola is on a longstanding mission to create one of the most epic space sagas ever seen on any big screen within reach. The Iron Sky helmer has proudly continued the tradition since then with screenings of his latest, Iron Sky: The Coming Race ahead of a third installment that remains forthcoming. Overseas releases are now inbound which now leaves UK-based 101 Films in charge of distribution for residents. Thus, Iron Sky: The Coming Race now has a theatrical date set for April 24 before releasing on May 6 via Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital, plus a Blu-Ray boxset containing both the first and second films. Pre-orders are now available by clicking here! Twenty years after the events of Iron Sky, the former Nazi Moonbase has become the last refuge of mankind. Earth was devastated by a nuclear war but buried deep under the wasteland lies a power that […]

AVENGEMENT: Samuel Goldwyn Picks Up Scott Adkins Action Thriller For May Theatrical/VOD Release

Lee B. Golden III

As of Wednesday, 2019 is officially set to be a banner year for director Jesse V. Johnson whose next film, Avengement, will now open in select theaters and VOD on May 24 in the U.S. from Samuel Goldwyn Films. The film marks the latest reunion for Johnson with martial arts star Scott Adkins in their sixth shared credit together following recent successes like Savage Dog, Accident Man, The Debt Collector and the upcoming release of Triple Threat from Well Go USA. While released on furlough from prison, a lowly criminal evades his guards and returns to his old haunts to take revenge on the people that made him a cold-hearted killer. It’s an epic, bloody battle to search for the soul he lost years ago on the streets of an unforgiving city. Johnson is keeping properly busy these days promoting Triple Threat as it approaches its one-night theatrical rollout on […]

THE OLD GUARD: Gina Prince Bythewood’s Image Comics Adaptation Lands At Netflix, Casts Charlize Theron And KiKi Layne

Lee B. Golden III

Gina Prince-Bythewood may not be on deck immediately with the Black Cat/Silver Sable pairing at Sony, but the Love & Basketball and Beyond The Lights helmer is still sticking to her interest in comic book lore with an adaptation of 2017 Image Comics publication, The Old Guard. For this, Netflix has since acquired the rights for the project that now stars Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde) and KiKi Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk, Native Son). Leandro Fernández illustrated the original comic, authored by Greg Rucka who is now penning the script for the feature. Based on the comic book series created by author Greg Rucka and illustrator Leandro Fernández, The Old Guard tells the story of a small covert group of immortal mercenaries who must fight to keep their team together when they discover the existence of a new immortal and their extraordinary abilities are exposed. […]

Jimmy Henderson’s THE PREY Finds Hunting Ground In The UK

Lee B. Golden III

One of the most thrilling features coming our way comes from the creative auspices of director Jimmy Henderson (Jailbreak) following last year’s festival outing, The Prey, Cambodia’s first $1 million dollar-budgeted action feature. The film premiered at Busan and at BFI in London and is currently in the market for buyers by way of internatonal sales agent, Raven Banner. Among the lot via Deadline, we now have fledgling distro banner Lightbulb Film Distribution stepping up to the plate and picking up for its UK-bound release with a date now pending as of last week at EFM in Berlin. Actor and martial artist Gu Shang Wei, stars in the film as an undercover cop swept away amidst a botched raid, forcibly incarcerated and left to fight for his survival among prisoners hunted for sport in a maniacal warden’s deadly game for rich, affluent huntsmen. Also starring are Vithaya Pansringarm and actress […]

21 YEARS: QUENTIN TARANTINO Is Back Home At Wood Entertainment

Lee B. Golden III

Wood Entertainment’s Tara Wood (21 Years: Richard Linklater) has successfully reclaimed the rights back to the authorized Quentin Tarantino documentary feature, 21 Years: Quentin Tarantino. The film, announced in 2015 was previously housed at The Weinstein Company in 2016. In 2017, a long legal battle ensued over the documentary just as the production company underwent an onslaught of sex crime allegations against Harvey Weinstein. “TWC should respectfully release us from our deal,” Wood said in a statement at the time, “To allow the project to be handled with the care and consideration it, Mr. Tarantino, and all the participants deserve.” The film’s return to the hands of Wood Entertainment signals the search for a hopeful distributor is now in tow with post-production underway. Touted as a celebration of Tarantino’s works-to-date, 21 Years: Quentin Tarantino looks at the passion behind the worldwide box office dominator. The lightening rod that is Tarantino’s […]