Casting

THE BEAST IN ME: Russell Crowe, ONE Championship Team Up For Bangkok MMA Drama Filming Through 2025

Academy Award-winning actor Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man, Land Of Bad) is teaming up with lead actor Daniel MacPherson (Land of Bad, Foundation, Infini), martial arts mega brand ONE Championship (ONE) for MMA action drama production, The Beast In Me. Broken Open Pictures will commence filming later this year in Bangkok, Thailand. The Beast In Me will see MacPherson in the role of an out-of-work former MMA fighter who suffers a personal tragedy involving his brother. With the help of a veteran trainer, played by Crowe, he sets out to avenge his brother by coming out of retirement to compete in ONE Championship. Crowe co-penned the script with fellow Land Of Bad cohort David Frigerio who is also producing. ONE is set to be featured prominently in the film as well with expected appearances by ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong. Par for the course will be […]

WARDRIVER Adds Cast, First Look At Dane DeHaan In Upcoming Crime Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Highland Film Group has introduced a first look still for upcoming thriller, Wardriver, starring Dane DeHaan (Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2). Production just wrapped in Utah as the firm readies to rep international sales at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) market, with CAA Media Finance repping domestic. Casting has also been announced with the additions of Sasha Calle (Warner Bros.’ The Flash, Daniel Minahan’s TIFF title On Swift Horses), Mamoudou Athie (Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness and Prentice Penny’s Uncorked) and Jeffrey Donovan (USA Network’s “Burn Notice,” Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario) for the action crime flick. Rebecca Thomas (Netflix’s “Stranger Things” and the horror series “Archive 81”) is directing the film from a script by Daniel Casey (Universal’s F9: The Fast Saga, Paramount Pictures’ 10 Cloverfield Lane) and produced by Star Thrower Entertainment (King Richard). In Wardriver, DeHaan plays Cole, a brilliant tech-savvy thief who […]

MANTIS: Netflix Announces ‘Kill Boksoon’ Spin-Off

Lee B. Golden III

Netflix is announcing “Mantis,” a tentatively titled spin-off to Byun Sung-hyun’s 2023 actioner, Kill Boksoon. Lee Tae-sung will debut direct the pic from a script he wrote with Byun. The casting lists Yim Si-wan (Unlocked, Emergency Declaration), Park Gyu-young (Sweet Home, Celebrity), and Jo Woo-jin (Narco-Saints, Alienoid) for the new flick which follows Mantis (Yim), an ace assassin returning to a collapsed-order hired killer industry after his vacation. Upon reentering this anarchic world, Mantis encounters Jae-yi (Park), his fellow trainee and rival, and Dok-go (Jo), a retired legendary killer, and realizes they are all vying for the top spot among the killers. The title character of Mantis was first mentioned in Kill Bok-soon by Cha Min-kyu (Sol Kyung-gu) in the previous film to “have gone on a vacation”. Per the announcement, Mantis Mantis “returns to a chaotic industry in search of new opportunities.” Byun’s Kill Boksoon premiered at the 73rd […]

Johnny Flynn (photo by Autumn de Wilde), and John C. Reilly (photo handout)

A PRAYER FOR THE DYING: Survival Thriller With Johnny Flynn And John C. Reilly Underway, Heading To TIFF Market In September

Lee B. Golden III

Johnny Flynn (Ripley, One Life, Beast) and John C. Reilly (Step Brothers, Holmes & Watson) are set to star together in survival thriller, A Prayer For The Dying, from writer/director Dara Van Dusen. Production is already underway as of earlier this month with cameras rolling outside Bratislava, Slovakia. A Prayer for the Dying is based on the novel by Stewart O’Nan. It takes place in 1870 in Friendship, Wisconsin, a small town of Scandinavian settlers still suffering the repercussion of the recent Civil War. When faced with a new and even deadlier threat, one man is forced to make a harrowing choice: save his young family or defend the community that gave him a second chance at life and meaning. Flynn will play the lead role of Jacob Hansen, the sheriff responsible for the safety of the town hit by a natural disaster, with Reilly starring as the town’s doctor. […]

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ashley Greene, Praya Lundberg, and Thomas Kretschmann

EYES IN THE TREES Adds Four To New H.G. Wells-Based Sci-Fi Reimagining Filming Later This Year

Lee B. Golden III

Palisades Park Pictures is launching worldwide sales ahead of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) market on the sci-fi thriller, Eyes in the Trees. Thailand is set for the new sci-fi thriller production later this year with a cast now joins Golden Globe winner Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Ambush, Match Point), Ashley Greene (The Twilight Saga, Bombshell), Thomas Kretschmann (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, King Kong), and Praya Lundberg (White Lotus – Season 3), with venerated screen talent, two-time Academy Award winner, Sir Anthony Hopkins (The Father, Silence of the Lambs). Emmy Award winner Timothy Woodward Jr. (“Studio City,” Til Death Do Us Part) will direct the film which is billed as a reimagining of H.G. Wells’ seminal novel “The Island of Doctor Moreau” for today’s audience. The film follows Vince Henway (Meyers) and his former protégé-turned-ex Channing Arneau (Greene) as they lead their crew into the heart of […]

GHOST KILLER Haunts With A First Teaser For Kensuke Sonomura’s Festival Latest!

Lee B. Golden III

Leave it to a surprise in my DMs to find out that Kensuke Sonomura has been keeping more than busy aside from his dealings over in Bad City and with the Baby Assassins franchise and Kenji Tanigaki’s upcoming The Furious. Monday morning over in Japan saw the first teaser trailer revealed for Ghost Killer, something I only wish I knew about sooner with this also being the latest co-production between Well Go USA Entertainment and Rights Cube. What?! Now how’s that for a partnership? What’s more is that Sonomura’s Ghost Killer marks the latest graduating lead role for actress Akari Takaishi who takes the reins alongside actor Masanori Mimoto who continues to be a fixture in Sonomura’s work since 2019’s Hydra. And, Baby Assassins franchise helmer Yugo Sakamoto is the man with the pen for the film’s script with Sonomura shepherding the winning action direction, and with a World Premiere […]

FULL THROTTLE MINDSET: XYZ Films Announces Cast For New Crime Thriller Filming In Late 2024

Lee B. Golden III

Josh Duhamel (Shotgun Wedding) and Lukas Gage (Road House) have signed on to star in Full Throttle Mindset, a darkly comedic crime thriller from director Patrick Brice (Creep) and XYZ Films. Based on an article in the St. Louis Riverfront Times by journalist Doyle Murphy, the film tells the wild true story of young burnout Blake Laubinger (Gage), who’s taken under the wing of a Midwestern tanning salon mogul named Todd Beckman (Duhamel). He soon learns his new mentor’s businesses are a front for a drug empire — one he’s now expected to partake in. Written by Jake Disch, whose scripts “The Adults in the Room” and “Gunfight” made the Black List, the film is billed as a gonzo cautionary tale about deluded American dreams and dark mentors. John Baker (Luce, Frank & Lola) and book scout Robby O’Connor will produce alongside XYZ, which is handling world sales and co-representing […]

THE GREATEST: Amazon Orders Biographical Muhammad Ali Boxing Drama Series

Lee B. Golden III

Jaalen Best (All American: Homecoming) will star in titular role of new Prime Video series drama, The Greatest, based on the life and times of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. The show was granted unprecedented access to Ali’s estate as it is hailed as the first authorized scripted series about the life of global icon, boxing champion, and humanitarian. According to Amazon’s announcement, “The Greatest intimately explores the incomparable life of Muhammad Ali. The amazing victories and defeats that made Ali a legend, both in and out of the ring, have been well documented and while those landmark events will live in The Greatest, the heartbeat of the story is fueled by all the moments that took place outside of the spotlight. The world remembers an icon, but The Greatest is about a man, a husband, a father, a brother, and a son. Michael B. Jordan’s (the Creed franchise) Outlier Society […]

Updates: New Images For Lopez’s SELLBLOCK Revealed, Attaches Yayan Ruhian To Actioner JI

Lee B. Golden III

Filmmaker Pedring Lopez is getting a double dose of updates from a few projects. First up is a batch of stills from Sellblock, a new crime drama series which Lopez also produced via BlackOps Studios Asia, and Psyops8. Jericho Rosales (Basurero, Siargao, Pacquiao: The Movie) stars in the series which chronicles the activities of one of Asia’s biggest drug empires operating from inside a Philippines maximum-security prison. The cast also includes Empoy Marquez, Ronnie Lazaro, Mon Confiado, Maria Isabel Lopez, Ria Atayde, and Jaclyn Jose. Deadline covered the show when international sales agent Blue Fox took the show to MIPTV back in April: “Sellblock is more than just a series,” said Rosales. “It’s an immersive experience that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Working alongside such a talented team has been an absolute privilege, and I can’t wait for viewers to see the magic we’ve created.” Lopez […]

Report: ‘John Wick’ Spin-Off Adds Korean Action Star Jung Doo-Hong

Lee B. Golden III

Multiple Korean news sources are reporting the addition of actor and martial artist Jung Doo-hong to the cast of action thriller, John Wick Presents: Ballerina. The Len Wiseman-directed John Wick spin-off joins Jung with a cast led prominently by Ana de Armas (No Time To Die, Ghosted) in the title role. The news comes after John Wick franchise shepherd Chad Stahelski was brought onto the project earlier this year for additional photogrpahy to bolster the film’s action. Details on Jung’s character remain under wraps, per the reports at multiple South Korean news sources including MBC. de Armas stars from a script by Shay Hatten for a story set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, and John Wick: Chapter 4. The film centers on Rooney, a young dancer trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma who sets out to avenge the murder of her family. Rounding […]

New Takeshi Kitano Movie In The Works At Amazon MGM

Lee B. Golden III

Japanese auteur Takeshi Kitano announced he’s currently working on a new film for Amazon MGM Studios on Tuesday. That’s pretty much all there is to know about the mystery movie aside from that Kitano himself is directing and starring in it. A few trade sources previously reported that Kitano’s latest, Kubi, a subversive period piece chronicling the taboo and blood-drenched final years of Oda Nobunaga’s reign, would be his final flick. Not so, apparently, so there’s that. I should mention that Kubi is currently making the festival rounds after debuting at Cannes last year, and will soon hit Japan Cuts audiences in New York City in July. More from the language on Kitano’s collab with Amazon MGM: “Takeshi Kitano is an icon, not only in Japan but in the sphere of global film and media entertainment, and we’re thrilled to collaborate with him on the project, soon to launch on […]

LIKE A DRAGON: YAKUZA Prime Video Live-Action Drama Hails October Launch

Lee B. Golden III

I’ve never seen Takashi Miike’s Like A Dragon adaptation based on the hit game. Maybe that will change one day with the possibility of Tubi streaming, particularly now that the game franchise is back in the headlines. Alas, shout out to Cesar Alejandro Jr. for looping me in on news that broke yesterday with 100 Yen Love and Underdog director Masaharu Take announced to direct Like a Dragon: Yakuza, for Prime Video. More verbiage on the game and its legacy below: Released in 2005 by SEGA, the ‘Yakuza’ game series was positioned as an entertaining game for adults, which found massive fanfare amongst its target audience. The series depicts the lives of fierce yet passionate gangsters and people living in a huge entertainment district, Kamurochō, a fictional district modeled after the violent Shinjuku ward’s Kabukichō, that acts as the backdrop of the gameplay. Like a Dragon: Yakuza showcases modern Japan […]

SIERRA MADRE Lines Up Kiefer Sutherland For Fall Action Thriller Shoot

Lee B. Golden III

Emmy Award-winner Kiefer Sutherland (Flatliners, “24,” Clint Eastwood’s upcoming Juror #2) is set to shoot action thriller Sierra Madre this Fall. Highland Film Group launched world sales on the film at the Cannes market and is co-financing. Sutherland will play Captain Jordan Wright, granted leave along with his squadron from their mission to attend a crewmate’s wedding in Mexico. When the festivities are interrupted by a cartel’s murderous descent on the small village, Jordan attempts to lead his remaining men to safety, as war breaks out between his squad and the cartel. Now under siege in the enemy’s deadly stronghold, Jordan has no other option but to engage in a full-scale battle to save the only family he has. Justin Chadwick (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom) is directing from a script by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers (The Grey) and Delbert Hancock. “I’m thrilled to be joining the team on Sierra Madre, […]

THIEVES HIGHWAY Hits The Road For Jesse V. Johnson’s New Crime Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Avengement and Triple Threat helmer Jesse V. Johnson will next direct crime thriller Thieves Highway. The film stars Devon Sawa (The Fanatic, Gasoline Alley), and also reteams Johnson with actor Aaron Eckhart (Chief Of Station), along with 308 Enterprises own Corey Large (One Ranger) who is producing. Johnson is directing from a script by Travis Mills, the story of an Oklahoma Stock Detective (Eckhart) in over his head in the “Breaking Bad” world of modern cattle rustling. Kirk Shaw (The Hurt Locker, Papa Hemingway in Cuba, Extraction), Jordan Nott (Assassination) and Jon Keeyes (White Elephant) are exec producing. BondIt Media Capital and Pink 308 will finance. Red Sea Media is handling international sales and debuting the film for buyers at the Marché du Film in Cannes. “’THIEVES HIGHWAY’ is a passion project, for Aaron and me. We spent a lot of time developing Travis Mills’ script, embracing factual anecdotes and […]

Scott Adkins And Marko Zaror Actioner, DIABLO, Rolls Into Post-Production With A New Cast Member

Shaun Williams

Scott Adkins shows no sign of slowing his output after John Wick 4 shone a significant spotlight on him, as his latest starring vehicle, DIABLO, goes into post-production. Helming the actioner is Ernesto Diaz Espinoza, a name that’s ended up on many “One to watch” lists after his last two efforts, Redeemer and The Fist of the Condor. Chilean powerhouse, Marko Zaror, also stars. Today, Deadline.com has reported that Diana Hoyos has also joined the cast. Hoyos, a veteran of Spanish tv, established herself as an action actress with roles in 2017’s Sniper: Ultimate Kill and Never Back Down Revolt from 2021. Plot details, according to Deadline: The film follows Kris Chaney (Adkins) who, after being released from prison, embarks on a perilous mission to fulfill an old promise but finds himself in danger when he kidnaps Elisa, the daughter of a powerful gangster. Her father, Vincent, puts out a […]

THE BOOKIE & THE BRUISER: Adrien Brody And Vince Vaughn Topline ‘Brawl In Cell Block 99’ Director’s New Gangster Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Vince Vaughn is reteaming with Dragged Across Concrete and Brawl In Cell Block 99 director S. Craig Zahler on new gangster thriller The Bookie & the Bruiser. The film will also star Clean and Asteroid City actor Adrien Brody as production slates a late 2024 start date. The Bookie & the Bruiser has Zahler directing from his script which is set in 1959 New York City. The story centers on “a pensive, Jewish fellow named Rivner and an oversized Italian-American tough named Boscolo from the Lower East Side, both of whom served overseas in World War II and returned changed men who no longer fit inside the lives they’d left behind.” The logline adds, “Uninterested in taking orders from bosses or playing by the rules of polite society, the two friends partner up as a bookmaker and an enforcer and create an illicit gambling operation that proves to be very […]

FLESH OF THE GODS: Kristen Stewart, Oscar Isaac Tapped For Vampire Thriller From ‘Mandy’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

Kristen Stewart (Love Lies Bleeding) and Oscar Isaac (The Card Cou6nter) will star in Flesh Of The Gods, a new vampire thriller from Mandy director Panos Cosmatos. Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en, 8MM, Netflix’s The Killer) penned the script he and Cosmatos storied, with plans to shoot later this year. Set in glittering 80’s Los Angeles, Flesh Of The Gods focuses on married couple Raoul (Isaac) and Alex (Stewart). Each evening they descend from their luxury skyscraper condo and head into the city’s electric nighttime realm. When they cross paths with the mysterious and enigmatic “Nameless” and her hard-partying cabal, the two are seduced into a glamorous, surrealistic world of hedonism, thrills, and violence. Adam McKay and Betsy Koch of Hyperobject Industries are producing alongside Isaac and Mad Gene Media cohort Gena Konstantinakos. CAA Media Finance and WME Independent are repping domestic at the Cannes market this month with XYZ Films handling […]

THE HUNSTMAN: Casting Announced For New Psych Thriller From ‘Out Of Exile’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

Principal photography is scheduled for May 22 in Oklahoma for psychological thriller, The Huntsman. Kyle Kauwika Harris (Out of Exile) is directing Steven Jon Whritner’s adaptation of award-winning author Judith Sanders’ novel of the same name. Cast includes Garret Dillahunt (Where the Crawdads Sing, Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead), Elizabeth Mitchell (The Purge: Election Year, Netflix’s “Outer Banks”), Shawn Ashmore (X-Men movie franchise, ABC’s “The Rookie”), and Jessy Schram (Unstoppable, NBC’s “Chicago Med”). The Huntsman centers on a repressed ICU nurse (Ashmore) volunteering as a reader for a recovering coma patient (Dillahunt), the prime suspect in the savage murders of six young women in a small southwestern town. The suspect’s wife (Mitchell), refusing to believe that her husband is the killer, struggles with the mounting complexities of the investigation. With a dedicated detective (Schram) trying to solve the mystery before more bodies turn up, numerous other suspects take the case […]

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AVENGELYNE Heats Up At WB As Comic Adaptation Lands Writer, Margot Robbie Circling Lead Role

Lee B. Golden III

The latest update from Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. affirms actress Margot Robbie’s potential lead attachment to comic book adaptation, Avengelyne. The news comes nearly a month after news broke from the same outlet that the Barbie star’s LuckyChap is producing with Olivia Wilde tapped to direct. What’s more is that Tony McNamara is attached to adapt the comic for Robbie to possibly star. The movie is also working up a deal for rights at Warner Bros., which, if confirmed, will be Robbie’s second notch in the comic book arena following her successes as DC property Harley Quinn in both 2016 and 2021 Suicide Squad movies, as well as in Cathy Yan’s Birds Of Prey. Avengelyne was created by Cathy Christian and Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld and launched in 1995. The Maximun Press comic centers on a fallen angel who stands as mankind’s last hope against the forces of evil, even […]

ECHO 8 TRILOGY: Cast And Production Details Announced For Asian-Oz Assassin Saga As Crowdfunding Launches At Indiegogo

Lee B. Golden III

Crowdfunding is underway for Echo 8 sequels Echo 8: Five By Five and Echo 8: Beyond. Plans are underway to raise funds starting this week over at Indiegogo, with thirty-five days of principal photography commencing in early 2025, following script readings among the cast earlier this year. The micro-budgeted Echo 8 hails from independent production outlet Phoenix Eye Pty Ltd., shepherded by actress Maria Tran who stars in the title role. Tran also directed the film alongside co-star Takashi Hara from a screenplay by Elizabeth H. Vu (The Perception, upcoming Wake). Released this year on Amazon Prime and FAST platform Tubi, Echo 8 sees Tran in the title role, member of assassins’ organization, Zodiac, who begins questioning herself after being handed an assignment that takes a dark twist. Echo 8 also serves as atestament to the endurance of Western Sydney’s local Asian-Australian film community, staring down extensive hurdles brought about […]