Casting

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RED NOTICE: Netflix Takes Notice With 2020 Start For Johnson/Gadot/Reynolds Headliner

Lee B. Golden III

The filmmakers behind upcoming action film production, Red Notice, have landed the project a new home at Netflix according to a Deadline exclusive on Monday. Universal Pictures originally acquired the film in an intense bidding war late last year before dating it for release next November. Production reportedly sensed hesitation and saw a window ten days ago whereupon they introduced the film’s finished script to the streamer. According to Mike Fleming Jr., Netflix affirmed its commitment to the production in multiple aspects, from up-front salaries and backend, to a budget of up to $130 million dollars. Red Notice signals the streamer’s biggest star package to date with a cast that reteams Dwayne Johnson with director Rawson Marshall Thurber following Central Intelligence and Skyscraper. Joining the cast are Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot with a script by Thurber – billed as international action thriller that spans a globetrotting pursuit of the […]

ESCAPE: ‘The Battleship Island’ Director Plots 90s-Set Somalian Civil War Survival Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Celebrated director Ryoo Seung-Wan (Arahan, The City Of Violence) will make way for Morocco later this year to shoot action film, working titled Escape. Actors Kim Yun-Seok (The Priests) and Zo In-Sung (The Great Battle) are in talks to star in the 1990s-set thriller which centers on a daring attempt by North and South Korean embassy workers to flee the Somalian Civil War conflict. Actor Huh Joon-Ho (Default, Illang: The Wolf Brigade) has already officially joined the cast according to Pierce Conran’s coverage over at KOFIC. Filmmaker R & K, Ryoo’s shared production outfit with Kang Hae-Jung and home to hits like The Unjust, Veteran and The Battleship Island, will produce the new action thriller along with Dexter Studios (Along With The Gods franchise). Ryoo’s resumé, much like that of filmmakers Kim Jee-Woon, Park Jung-Woo and Bong Joon-Ho as of late, is proven collective body of work that’s become signature […]

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BAC NORD: French Crime Thriller Shoots In August From ‘The Man With The Iron Heart’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

Director Cedric Jimenez (The Man With The Iron Heart) is reportedly making some history with Studiocanal’s latest placement on upcoming crime thriller, Bac Nord. As Elsa Keslassy’s report at Variety notes, Gilles Lellouche (pictured) will lead the cast for a story centered on a police brigade that’s ventured into the dangerous northern neighborhood of Marseille, where crime levels are higher than anywhere else in France. Rounding out the cast is a roster of award-winning and nominated talent listing actors Francois Civil (Wolf’s Call) and Karim Leklou (The World Is Yours), and actresses Adele Exarchopoulos (Blue Is the Warmest Color) and Kenza Fortas (Shéhérazade). A Marseilles native, Jimenez co-penned the script in a collaborative effort with Audrey Diwan (The Connection, The Man With the Iron Heart) and Benjamin Charbit (En liberté!). Studiocanal has acquired all rights along with international sales and will serve to co-produce with France 2 Cinéma. Paris-based Hugo […]

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THE OLD GUARD: Netflix/Skydance Media Graphic Novel Adaptation Adds Veronica Ngo And Chiwetel Ejiofor Among Trio To Cast

Lee B. Golden III

Trade news confirmed via Daily Mail the additions of a trio of actors for Gina Prince-Bythewood’s latest, The Old Guard. Production on the forthcoming graphic novel adaptation is based on the titular novel from Greg Rucka about a team of immortal mercenaries whose leader, Andy, played by Charlize Theron, wants a break from all the killing. Thursday’s report from Daily Mail’s Baz Bamigboye shares new details about the characters joining the fray hailing from Netflix and Skydance Media with actress Veronica Ngo, and actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and Harry Melling. Rounding out the cast roster is actress KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli. Bythewood and Rucka penned the script Based on the graphic novel 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 […]

KILLER’S GAME Targets Ice Cube To Join Dave Bautista Assassin Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Ice Cube is reportedly negotiating to star opposite actor Dave Bautista in D.J. Caruso’s upcoming adaptation of Jay Bonansinga’s 1997 novel, Killer’s Game. The project, according to Mike Fleming Jr. at Deadline, marks the latest development following 20 years of languishing between hands of studios and directors who’ve passed it up, including Jason Statham. Bautista, who was cast back in April, will star as Joe Flood, a principled veteran assassin who learns he is dying. Thinking his days are numbered and refusing suicide as it goes against his Catholic principles, he stakes a multi-million dollar prize on his own life, only to realize that he’s been misdiagnosed and is still in perfect health. Now he’s forced into a breakneck fight for survival against hungry gamesmen out for blood and a six-figure boost. Cube, as the report elucidates, will play one of the gamesmen who will hunt Flood down until game […]

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Henry Golding Lines Up In-House Action Film Productions HARRINGTON’S GREATEST HITS And THE INHERITANCE

Lee B. Golden III

Crazy Rich Asians and upcoming The Gentlemen actor Henry Golding is taking the producers’ mantle for a pair of action projects. Both hail from the launch of his newly-established Long House Productions according to Mia Galuppo and Rebecca Ford at THR. First up starring Golding is Harrington’s Greatest Hits from a reimagined Black List script by Dutch Southern. The film tells of an elite, aging assassin who finds himself marked for death by the arms-dealing father of a former target. Veteran TV director James Strong (Amazon’s Vanity Fair, Broadchurch) will sit at the helm. Producers include Damian Jones at DJ Films and Kelly McCormick and David Leitch at 87North with Annie Marter exec producing, and U.K.’s Great Point Media providing development financing. Golding is also slated to star in and produce The Inheritance, based on an idea from himself and screenwriter Alistair Hudson. The projects are enjoined in a new […]

CHINATOWN EXPRESS: Iko Uwais Boards New Action Thriller From Er Dong And Hollywood Gang

Lee B. Golden III

This year’s 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival is currently surfacing a raft of delicacies in film partnerships, specifically including Er Dong Pictures as it unveiled its new film and television strategy with Gersh Agency on hand. Next to a forthcoming remake of Don Lee starrer The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil with producer Sylvester Stallone and the pitch/launch of Tony Jaa headliner, Silent, among others, the company is also shepherding the return of action star and actor Iko Uwais for Chinatown Express. Yalun Tu is penning the script with Zach Hines for the story of a man who infiltrates New York City’s criminal underworld to save his family after his son disappears during a gang killing. Hollywood Gang Productions’ own Gianni Nunnari is producing with Uwais, and producer Ricky Siahaan. A director remains yet to be officially attached aside from what any rumors may suggest until further notice. Uwais’ continual […]

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MALKO: Michael Fassbender Lines Up Action Spy Thriller Novel Adaptation At Lionsgate

Lee B. Golden III

Soon to stake his claim in Kung Fury 2: The Movie, actor Michael Fassbender is officially tapped to star in another hopeful franchise outing, Malko. The project is officially housed at Lionsgate as of Tuesday with the studio further acquiring the rights to Gerard de Villier’s string of best-selling espionage thrillers titled S.A.S., from which de Villier’s 1973 publication, Checkpoint Charlie, has been chosen first on the studio’s menu. The S.A.S. franchise follows the singular hero, Malko Linge, an Austrian nobleman and freelance CIA operative who spent his formative years in a special Nazi work camp for captured spies. Malko learned the intricate dark arts of tradecraft from the best. Now, an adult living in a reclaimed family manor fallen into disrepair, Malko becomes a spy for hire. He is the ultimate agent without an agency – a gentleman warrior without a country who works according to his own moral […]

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FOX HUNT: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai And Yihong Duan To Star In The Global Anti-Corruption Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Raiders trilogy and The Grandmaster star Tony Leung Chiu-Wai will star along with Extraordinary Mission actor Yihong Duan in Fox Hunt, billed as a ripped-from-the-headlines police action thriller being produced by the state-backed Shanghai Film Group. Variety‘s Patrick Frater reports that Fox Hunt is based on the real-life operation that launched in Summer 2014 as a global anti-corruption initiative steered by China’s Ministry of Public Security. The director’s position awaits filling while cameras will reportedly roll in France and China. …The operation seeks to find and repatriate Chinese people who have fled abroad to avoid accusations of corruption. The film is expected to show cross-border criminal proceedings and the use of Interpol’s so-called Red Notices… Frater also elucidates an interesting tidbit about the film’s existence in the wake of recent protests in Hong Kong over a recently-suspended government bill that would have allowed fugitives to be handed over to authorities […]

SILENT: Tony Jaa Boards New Action Thriller From ‘Triple Threat’ And ‘Polar’ Producers [EXCLUSIVE]

Lee B. Golden III

International action star, actor Tony Jaa (S.P.L. 2, Paradox, Triple Threat) is back in the habit once again with the forthcoming production of Silent. The news comes on the heels of Jaa’s latest officiated casting addition in Dimitri Logothetis’s Jiu-Jitsu with Alain Moussi, Nicolas Cage and JuJu Chan. Silent sees Jaa in the role of Aat, a reclusive, mute Thai restaurant delivery man with a violent and tragic past. His idyllic life is comprised of work and living at his sparse, quiet apartment with his cat, Tiger, and his only human companion is Sarah, the 12-year old daughter of a wealthy family for whom he regularly brings her favorite dish, Pad Thai. One evening he delivers an alternative order to the same address when a gun is suddenly put to his temple. With his killer instinct resurfaced, the two are swept into a race against time as Aat is forced […]

THE DIVISION: Leitch To Direct Upcoming Ubisoft Film Adaptation For Netflix

Lee B. Golden III

Active developments toward a live-action adaptation of the hit Ubisoft game, The Division, have been stirring moreso since 2016 with the casting of actor Jake Gyllenhaal and with stunt action feature hitmaker David Leitch tapped to direct just last Spring. Going forward, the word is out with Netflix announcing its acquisition of the feature film that now sets screenwriter Rafe Judkins to put pen-to-paper on the project. Joining Gyllenhaal to star and produce will be actress Jessica Chastain who will partake in the same capacity. In the near future, a pandemic virus is spread via paper money on Black Friday, decimating the city of New York and killing millions. By Christmas, what’s left of society has descended into chaos. A group of civilians, trained to operate in catastrophic times, are activated in an attempt to save who and what remains. Leitch’s 87North banner will produce alongside Gyllenhaal’s Nine Stories, Chastain’s […]

FAST 9: John Cena Confirmed To Star

Lee B. Golden III

It’s hard following movie news given the constant regurgitations of controversy and clickbait. Universal’s Fast saga is ripe with those sorts of things what with talk of Michelle Rodriguez wanting a more equal turn of treatment for women for the longstanding franchise, as well as Neal Moritz reportedly being fired from the franchise following a lawsuit he filed with the studio over alleged breach of oral contract and allegations of promissory fraud. This all comes six years following the death of franchise lead Paul Walker and the hard work of coping with his loss both before and after a pretty boisterous feud between three other of the franchise’s line-up during and after production of The Fate Of The Furious. The franchise is still due for a spin-off this August now with Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham leading Fast And Furious Presents: Hobbs And Shaw while the studio works to develop […]

NO MAN’S LAND Adds Frank Grillo To Immigrant Survival Western Drama

Lee B. Golden III

Justin Kroll at Variety is adding to the mix some casting hype for Conor Allyn’s new modern western drama, No Man’s Land. Therein lies the intrigue and relevant nature of the film’s story scripted and screenwritten with Allyn and co-scribe David Barraza Ibañez as it’s apparently inspired by the real-life “no man’s land” between the U.S.- Mexico border on the Rio Grande and the U.S. “hard border” fences to the north. No Man’s Land will see actor Jake Allyn in the role of Jackson Greer, one-half of a father/son vigilante patrol paired with his father, played by Frank Grillo. Jackson must ride south of the border when he accidentally kills an immigrant son and his father tries to take the blame. With Texas Rangers and Mexican federales in hot pursuit, Jackson, now a “gringo” on the run, finds himself on a pilgrimage that puts him at peace with the land […]

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OUTSIDE THE WIRE: Anthony Mackie Lines Up Action Sci-Fi For Netflix With ‘Escape Plan’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

Escape Plan helmer Mikael Håfström will be back in the chair for Marvel MCU franchise actor Anthony Mackie’s latest Netflix venture with sci-fi actioner, Outside The Wire. As Deadline reports, Mackie will star as a futurisitic drone pilot sent into a deadly militarized zone where he finds himself working for an android officer tasked to locate a doomsday device before it falls into the hands of insurgents. Håfström will direct from a script by Rob Yescombe and Rowan Athale. Mackie will produce at Automatik with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and with Ben Pugh and Erica Steinberg producing for 42, and Inspire Entertainment’s Jason Spire; Josh Horsfield and Fred Berger will exec produce for Automatik with Rory Aiken for 42 whose Charlie Morrison wiol co-produce. Among Mackie’s raft of titles will be a Disney+ series following up his Marvel role as Falcon with Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier, as well as his […]

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JIU-JITSU: Grillo, Chan, Jaa And More Join Moussi/Cage Martial Arts Sci-Fi Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Following events at FilMart upon announcing intergalatic martial arts adventure, Jiu-Jitsu, trade news at Screendaily is confirming a quintet of casting additions. Actor Frank Grillo, and acting and martial arts star talents Tony Jaa and JuJu Chan will appear in the film with cameras set to role on June 24. Joining the trio are Rick Yune and Marie Avgeropoulos with Alain Moussi and Nicolas Cage leading. Moussi will star as Jake Barnes, a war hero championing Earth’s liberation in an epic BJJ match that happens every six years against waves of alien invaders. Cage will play the role of Wylie, the leader of a team of jiu-jitsu fighters who take in Jake must and help him recover his memory and strength following his foreboding defeat at the hands of Brax, the indomitable alien leader. Dimitri Logothetis will produce with Martin Barab, and will direct from a script he wrote with […]

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OUTBREAK Z: Wesley Snipes To Slay Zombies For Chris Brewster’s Directorial Action Horror Debut

Lee B. Golden III

Outbreak Z, the high-caliber stunt-loaded zombie actioner announced last September from Winter State Entertainment is casting up now with Wesley Snipes set to star. Tarus Award-winning stuntman and fight choreographer Chris Brewster, best known for his stunt performance and screenfighting feats in Antman And The Wasp and Marvel’s Daredevil, is making his directorial debut. Written by Hamid Torabpour, Clint Narramore and Andrew Kightlinger, Outbreak Z will shoot in Minnesota – serving as the backdrop for a story that sees Snipes in the role of one of two SWAT officers in search of a man who holds a vaccine to zombie virus. Peter Wise will produce while Snipes joins exec producers Hamid and Camille Torabpour, Dr. Mark Smith and Patrick Werksma. Eric Arjesis, best known for composing “Bad Blood” for The Walking Dead soundtrack, is scoring the pic. Snipes’ just wrapped Payline and will next appear in My Name Is Dolemite […]

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THE BATMAN: Warner Bros. Confirms Its Star

Lee B. Golden III

Warner Bros. Pictures officially confirmed on Friday that Robert Pattinson will don the cape and cowl for The Batman. Pre-production begins this summer for a start date to be announced. The news comes just a few weeks after THR reported Pattinson as the frontrunner in a shortlist that also cited Nicholas Hoult as a candidate. Unfortunately that didn’t stop the breathless reporting from other bloggers writing up Pattinson’s casting as official news despite nothing being signed. Friday’s news makes it official with Pattinson set to be the seventh actor to take on the iconic DC role after Ben Affleck’s stint in Zack Snyder’s Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice and Justice League. Reeves, best known for directing the last two Apes franchise titles for Warner Bros. will helm, and also serve as producer with Dylan Clark. (VARIETY)

THE PROFESSIONALS: Viaplay SVOD Action Series Now Filming With Brendan Fraser And Tom Welling

Lee B. Golden III

I reckon I might have seen a trailer floating around many years ago for director Maksim Korostyshevsky’s 2012 action pic, Soliders Of Fortune – about a special forces captain forced to protect a bunch of thrill-seeking millionaires who want to experience war. Beyond that, I hardly remember this title and never saw the film for that matter as the marketing couldn’t have been great prior to the film’s release on only fifty screens here in the states that year. The film was a blast in Eastern Europe and the Middle East though – interesting moviegoing demographic out there, which essentially means the film found an audience. To that end, I guess it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that it would find traction as a TV series reboot a la Scandinavia with streaming service, Viaplay, shepherding ten-episode series reboot, The Professionals, created by Soldiers Of Fortune producer Jeff Most. According to […]

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Zack Snyder’s ARMY OF THE DEAD: Quartet Join Dave Bautista Zombie Thriller For Netflix

Lee B. Golden III

Director Zack Snyder’s new zombie action thriller for Netflix, Army Of The Dead, is officially set for a July shoot according to announcements from the streaming service as of Tuesday. The Dawn Of The Dead, Justice League, Watchmen and Man Of Steel helmer is also scripting with Joby Harold and Shay Hatten. Following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted. Casting is also complete with Ella Purnell (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Sweetbitter), Ana De La Reguera (Everything, Everything, Goliath), Theo Rossi (Luke Cage, Sons of Anarchy) and Huma Qureshi (Kaala, Viceroy’s House, Gangs of Wasseypur, Badlapur), all joining actor Dave Bautista who is starring as of April. Snyder is also producing with spouse and partner Deborah Snyder for The Stone Quarry with Wesley Coller. Bautista name will not […]

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THE OLD GUARD Adds ‘Aladdin’ Villain To Join Netflix Comic Adaptation

Lee B. Golden III

Gina Prince-Bythewood’s new Netflix action thriller adaptation, The Old Guard, is revving up at Netflix and is currently underway with casting announcements and this summer’s production. The latest trade news add to the roster comes from Borys Kit at THR who reports Danish-born actor Marwin Kenzari (What Happened To Monday?, Aladdin) is joining the cast which is being led by Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde) and KiKi Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk, Native Son). 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. According to the report, Kenzari’s role is that of one who used to be a Moor warrior. Leandro Fernández illustrated […]