News

JAPAN CUTS XIV: Peep The Full Line-Up For Next Week’s Virtual Festival!

Lee B. Golden III

Japan Cuts is getting down to business this month as it ramps up a virtual medium for this year’s 14th film festival installment. The full line-up is available with tickets through the official website following their announcement in late May for Shinichiro Ueda’s Special Actors to serve as festival opener. Spearheaded by K. F. Watanabe, Amber Noé, and Joel Neville Anderson, Japan Society is partnering with Festival Scope and Shift72 for the festival’s virtual VOD format for audiences around the country, including and beyond New York City, stamping a two-week run set for July 17 through July 30. A raft of thirty feature films and shorts will stream, all geoblocked for their U.S. North American screenings. Sections will further include Documentary Focus and Experimental Spotlight, as well as live and pre-recorded virtual Q&As, discussion panels, and video greetings from filmmakers and programmers. The festival is also attributing dual Cut Above […]

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt Boards David Leitch’s BULLET TRAIN For Sony

Lee B. Golden III

The trades on Monday confirmed Oscar-winning Once Upon A Time In Hollywood actor Brad Pitt’s latest attachment to star in Bullet Train, an adaptation of a Japanese novel, to be directed by Fast And Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw director David Leitch. Based on the popular Japanese book Maria Beetle by Kotaro Isaka, the story follows five assassins who find themselves on a fast moving bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with only a few stops in between. Strangely, they discover their missions are not unrelated to each other. Per THR and Deadline, Leitch is also on script supervision detail with Fear Street writer Zak Olkewicz putting pen to paper. The Atomic Blonde helmer will also be joined by Kelly McCormick in producing the pic via their 87North banner, along with Antoine Fuqua and Kat Samick. CTB Inc.’s own Ryosuke Saegusa and Yuma Terada, who represent Isaka as well as […]

THE FOGGY MOUNTAIN: It’s Peter Pham VS. Simon Kook In The Official Trailer!

THE FOGGY MOUNTAIN: It’s Peter Pham VS. Simon Kook In The Official Trailer!

Lee B. Golden III

It’s the first of the month as of this post, and with director Phan Anh scoring a week’s advance to release his upcoming martial arts thriller, The Foggy Mountain, the official trailer is now online. The big investment here for Galaxy Studio, of course, and the lucky buyers around the world for distro, is actor and Wing Chun specialist Peter Pham who has already proliferated himself amply in the independent scene. Here, he plays Phi, a fearless fighter whose former village hangs in the balance upon his return home to avenge his wife’s death at the hands of a ruthless gangster. The new trailer above dives in plentily for the narrative reveal, and the rousing cliffhanger finish with Pham going toe-to-toe with Ip Man 3 actor Simon Kook offers a hearty nibble for action junkies to hang onto. GalaxyStudio also ran a brief clip featuring Pham with Vietnamese boxing champion […]

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Production Begins On New CG-Animated TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES From Seth Rogen And Nickelodeon

Lee B. Golden III

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are getting a new feature-length CG-animated reincarnation from Nickelodeon and Point Grey Pictures. Production is underway with Jeff Rowe (Gravity Falls, Connected, Disenchantment) set to direct from a script by Brendan O’Brian (Neighbors, Sorority Rising, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates). Plot details are hidden somewhere in a NYC sewer but fans have long endured the fanfare since its birth in 1984 as a Mirage Comics publication, about a quartet of turtles and a rat, transmogrified by a mysterious chemical and raised in New York City’s underground, trained in the ancient art of the ninja to become the city’s secret heroes. The film, yet to be titled, marks the Nickelodeon Animation Studio’s first-ever CG theatrical production. Point Grey Pictures’ Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver are producing, with Ramsey Naito, Nickelodeon EVP, Animation Production and Development, overseeing, and Josh Fagen overseeing for Point Grey. […]

THE PIRATES: GOBLIN FLAG Sets Sail For Lotte’s Sequel Production With New Cast And Story

Lee B. Golden III

Lee Suk-hoon’s Joseon era adventure, The Pirates, was such a remarkable hit in 2014 that six years later, Lotte is finally prioritizing a sequel with a new director, according to KOFIC‘s Pierce Conran. Launched as The Pirates: Goblin Flag, Kim Jung-Hoon (The Accidental Detective) is directing from a script by Chun Sung-il, which centers on a band of pirates vying for the lost treasure of the Goryeo royal family against a new rival. Chun also wrote The Pirates, which, to give you a scope in terms of the size and scale in case you haven’t seen it, involved an epic high seas search for the giant whale that swallowed the emperor’s royal seal. The film also went up against Kim Han-min’s own maritime adventure, The Admiral: Roaring Currents which was also a major hit. The film is slated to shoot in July with a cast that lists actress Han Hyo-joo […]

LET IT SNOW: Grindstone Acquires Stanislav Kapralov’s Feature Horror Debut For September Release

Lee B. Golden III

Stanislav Kapralov’s feature directing debut, Let It Snow, is being slated for an On-Demand September 22, 2020 release. Leading international sales company, Arclight Films, announced the move on Monday, having finalized its North American distribution deal with Grindstone Entertainment Group, a Lionsgate company. Starring Ivanna Sakhno (The Spy Who Dumped Me, Pacific Rim: Uprising), Let It Snow centers on Mia, a free-riding snowboarder forced to survive a bloodthirsty snowmobile rider in the midst of harrowing weather conditions, after sneaking onto a restricted slope and being separated from her fiancé. Alex Hafner (Submergence, The Councellor) and Tinatin Dalakishvili (Abigail) also star from a script written by Kapralov and co-scribe Omri Rose. The film is produced by Solar Media’s Serge Lavrenyuk, and exec produced by Marianna Novikova, and FishCorb Films’s Yan Fisher and Roger Corbi (Papillon). “We are delighted to have our long-time friends at Grindstone Entertainment Group distribute Let It Snow […]

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Well Go USA Picks Up Denis Kryuchkov’s RUSSIAN RAID

Lee B. Golden III

Well Go USA never forgets its audience. Their library spans a variety of genres, including and especially global action cinema. With this in mind, they’re landing hard this week with word from Geoffrey McNab at Screendaily on their acquisition of Russian Raid, from director Denis Kryuchkov. Reportedly inspired by Gareth Evans’ Indonesian ctor Ivan Kotik makes his formal action star outing following roles in Dragon Blade, The Mermaid and Oleg Stepchenko’s Jackie Chan/Arnold Schwarzenegger epic, Journey To China. The film sees Kotik in the role of ex-Spetsnaz operative, Nikita, who embroils himself with a shady employer to seize a highly-guarded factory, only to go toe-to-toe along with his team of elite roughnecks, against Russia’s most wanted war criminal. Russian Raid picked up some eyes late last year at the American Film Market and was supposed to release earlier this year on a date then shelved due to the Covid-19 pandemic. […]

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The Bell Rings For JAILBREAK: ROUND 2 With Yayan Ruhian And Cecep Arif Rahman Joining The Cast

Lee B. Golden III

The Hollywood Reporter‘s Borys Kit has the exclusive with Jailbreak: Round 2, the current working title for the new sequel in development from Kongchak Pictures and director Jimmy Henderson. Shooting in 2021, John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum actors Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman are set to join the sequel as villains, with Henderson back at the helm from a script by Kai Miller. The first film, Jailbreak, a multi-award winning hit from Henderson during Fantasia Festival in 2017, starred Jean Paul Ly, Dara Our, and former MMA athlete Tharoth Sam as members of an elite transport unit forced to protect a key witness while fighting tooth and nail through swarms of convicts in a compromised prison facility. Ly, Our and Sam are expected to return to their roles, joining Rahman and Ruhian for a story that “sees Cambodia’s ragtag, renegade team of martial arts commandos band to defeat a […]

THE AMUSEMENT PARK: Yellow Veil Picks Up George A. Romero’s Long Lost Ageism Horror

Lee B. Golden III

47 years since turning investors away with 1973 production, The Amusement Park, a print of George A. Romero’s long lost film was unearthed a few years ago by author Daniel Kraus, now bringing to life hopes of reviving the late legendary horror filmmaker’s decades-old horror thriller, with Yellow Veil Pictures announcing its world sales acquisition of the film on Thursday. The Amusement Park stars Lincoln Maazel (Martin) as an elderly man who finds himself disoriented, and increasingly isolated as the pains, tragedies, and humiliations of aging in America manifested through roller coasters and chaotic crowds. Restored by the George A. Romero Foundation and produced by Suzanne Romero, New York’s own IndieCollect took the reigns for the film’s new 4K restoration. The film was originally commissioned by the Lutheran Society to raise awareness about ageism and elder abuse, and is described by Romero himself as “perhaps his wildest, most imaginative movie, […]

David Leitch

BULLET TRAIN Manga Adaptation Makes Way For David Leitch To Direct At Sony

Lee B. Golden III

It’s not as if Hollywood hasn’t had its few bright spots in the world of manga adaptations, even in a sea rife with stinkers. Given the right director, there’s always hope, and without fail, there’s no question that the successes of director David Leitch speak louder than words when it comes to thrilling audiences. He’s got prospects nowadays at Sony Pictures with Bullet Train, an adaptation of Isaka Kotaro’s 2010 manga publication from Kadokawa Shoten, Maria Beetle. Leitch will helm from a script he is overseeing from Fear Street writer Zak Olkewicz. According to THR, Bullet Train tells of “a group of hitmen and assassins with conflicting motives on a train in Tokyo”. Apart from all this and more, and unless you’ve read the manga or have any production insight, specific plot details are unknown. Leitch, best known for bringing heavy-hitting Hollywood action to life a la John Wick, Deadpool […]

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CUT THROAT CITY Gets A July 17 Limited Theatrical Release From Well Go USA

Lee B. Golden III

Coverage on Wednesday from Deadline finally brought things back on track for RZA’s new crime drama, Cut Throat City. Well Go USA has a new trailer out, and plans to roll the film onto three hundred screens beginning July 17 following its cancelled release earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. From director RZA and writer P.G. Cuschieri, comes the explosive CUT THROAT CITY, the story of four boyhood friends in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, who return after Hurricane Katrina to find their homes decimated, no jobs, and no help from FEMA. Out of options, they reluctantly turn to a local gangster, who offers them one shot at turning their situations around – by pulling off a dangerous heist in the heart of the city. When the job goes bad, the friends find themselves on the run, hunted by two relentless detectives and a neighborhood warlord who thinks […]

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Bruce Willis To Take Revenge Thriller REACTOR Hostage This Summer

Lee B. Golden III

The Horde director Jared Cohn will lead the way this summer for hostage revenge thriller, Reactor, starring Golden Globe winning actor Bruce Willis (Die Hard franchise, Armageddon, Glass). Currently in pre-production for a late summer shoot, 308 Enterprises and Almost Never Films are financing and producing the film, which will be shown to buyers at the upcoming Cannes virtual market, repped internationally by The Exchange. Written by Cohn along with Cam Cannon and Stephen Cyrus, Reactor centers on a man (Willis) whose lust for revenge against a gang of mercenaries, leads him to seize and hold a nuclear power plant hostage. 308’s Corey Large (It Follows, The November Man) is producing with Almost Never Films’s Danny Roth (Edge Of Fear, The Hurricane Heist) and Johnny Messner, with Steven Eads as exec producing. “We’re honored Mr. Willis is collaborating with us again on REACTOR. It’s extremely humbling and exciting having Bruce […]

GANGS OF LONDON Lay Waste In The Underworld On Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital In July From Dazzler

AMC Will Rule Gareth Evans’ GANGS OF LONDON In The U.S. This Fall, Will Co-Prod Season Two For 2022 Launch

Lee B. Golden III

Sky series Gangs Of London is currently slated for a summer Digital, Blu-Ray and DVD release in the U.K. as reported a few days ago, but the show isn’t done making headlines this week. The hit crime series, about the son of a gangster who vows retribution amidst the turmoil and upheaval within London’s seedy criminal and political underbelly, is now on par for a second season, and will be co-produced by AMC. The network has also acquired U.S. rights to broadcast the first season in a date to be announced for the Fall. Gangs Of London hails from Pulse Films and Sister Pictures, and is the brainchild of Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery, the respective director and cinematographer behind Indonesian action crime saga, The Raid and The Raid 2. It stars Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders), Sope Dirisu (Humans), Colm Meaney (Layer Cake), Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones) and Lucian […]

BLOOD RUSH Key Sales Art Coats The Virtual Cannes Market In The Red Stuff

Lee B. Golden III

I certainly wasn’t the one who first broke the news of Ranjeet S. Marwa’s Blood Rush at the top of the year, but it’s been an honor thusfar to be able to keep a finger on the pulse of the goings on these days with director Ranjeet S. Marwa, and seeing him take to his first-ever sales pitch at Cannes (albeit the Virtual Market) has been all the more exciting. He’s working on filming his next endeavor, Traced, later this year in the U.K. starring Sunny Pang, while plans remain in motion to round-up key impressive talent for an early 2021 start for blood-drenched action thriller, Blood Rush, about a widower whose secret life in the occult sends him in a downward spiral he’ll now have to fight his way out of, tooth and nail. The production has had its few snags along the way, unfortunately – most prevalently due […]

Netflix Picks: MMA Drama KINGDOM Lands July 1, LUCIFER Adds Season Six Ahead Of August Season 5 Premiere

Lee B. Golden III

Folks who are keen on streaming their television shows and often frequent Netflix for doing so will be in good company very soon on top of its acquisition of pending series release, Cobra Kai, in addition to Warrior Nun and other amazing shows on the platform. This past week saw Entertainment Weekly break the news on Byran Balasco’s hit MMA drama series, Kingdom, which premiered from 2014 through 2017 for three seasons on DirecTV’s AT&T Audience Network. Set to stream on Netflix beginning July 1, Kingdom, from Endemol Studios, tells of the harrowing interpersonal relationships and family drama centered on Alvey Kulina (Frank Grillo), a fighting legend, and the owner of Venice, CA-based Navy St. MMA gym. Also starring are Kiele Sanchez, Matt Lauria, Jonathan Tucker, Nick Jonas, Joanna Going, Natalie Martinez and Kirk Acevedo. The streamer will also be accomodating a sixth season of tongue-in-cheek hit dark fantasy series, […]

Gerard Butler

KANDAHAR Reunites Butler, Waugh, Thunder Road And G-Base For Middle East Action Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Gerard Butler will soon be back to blow some more shit up once again with his Angel Has Fallen director Ric Roman Waugh for Kandahar. The film aims to continue “the oeuvre of production powerhouse Thunder Road (John Wick and Sicario franchises) in bringing high intensity action to character-based stories.” The move marks the latest update for Thunder Road Films who acquired the hot screenplay back in 2016, written by Waugh and former military intelligence officer Mitchell LaFortune, the latter whose experiences at the Defense Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan at the time of the Snowden leaks from 2013 onward, serve as the basis for the project. Kandahar will see Butler in the role of Tom Harris, an undercover CIA operative working in the Middle East. An intelligence leak dangerously exposes his classified mission and reveals his covert identity. Stuck in the heart of hostile territory, Harris and his translator must […]

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THE FLASH: Michael Keaton In Talks To Reprise The Role Of Bruce Wayne For A ‘Multiverse’ Twist

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been twenty eight years since actor Michael Keaton paired with Tim Burton at the helm for Batman Returns – sequelizing their critical and commercial 1989 inaugural box office hit, Batman. Now it appears the Need For Speed and American Assassin actor may soon reprise his incarnation of Bruce Wayne for The Flash, according to Umberto Gonzalez at The Wrap. While nothing is official just yet, talks are underway for the actor to join the production which has Andrés Muschietti (It: Chapter Two) directing from the latest draft by Birds of Prey scribe Christina Hodson. Gonzalez writes that the potential plot for the film “will introduce general audiences to the idea of the multiverse, one of the of core concepts underpinning DC Comics.” Of course, the setup will be the story that may follow the film to come, as the report notes: Loosely based on the 2011 DC Comics crossover […]

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COBRA KAI Lives On, Hitting Netflix In 2020

Lee B. Golden III

At some point in the past few years despite the prospects, cancellations of several shows and its move away from scripted content made it apparent that YouTube wouldn’t be able to stand on its legs with its line-up of high-end programs. The company did maintain that they were going to keep making original content, and time will tell just what that means going forward, but at least one prospective series still has a chance: Cobra Kai. The now two-season series, a spritely spin-off of the classic Karate Kid franchise that swaps the perspective storytelling angle returning actors William Zabka, Ralph Macchio and Martin Kove in their respective roles of Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso and John Kreese, is heading to the streamer later this year. They are joined by a recurring cast led by Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, Jacob Bertrand, Nichole Brown, Peyton List, Gianni Decenzo and Courtney Henggler. […]

ENGLISH DOGS IN BANGKOK Trailer: Ron Smoorenburg And Byron Gibson Lay Waste To Baddies In Thailand

Lee B. Golden III

Action cinema junkies will have plenty of time before Green Apple Entertainment unleashes Taffy Edwards’s new gangster flick, English Dogs In Bangkok (or English Dogs according to the official U.S. trailer above), this August. An exact date remains pending for the film which has Ron Smoorenburg commanding things on the action front next to Mark Stas, and featuring Byron Gibson front and center to lead the tale. In the streets of Thailand, a trail of destruction and mayhem ensues when a notorious soldier (Byron Gibson) and criminal kickboxer (Ron Smoorenburg) join forces to become the biggest illegal steroid supplier in Asia. Also starring are Eoin O’Brien, David Blazejko, Damian Mavis, David Gadsby and Dean Alexandrou.

RED STONE: Neal McDonough Leads New Texas Indie Thriller Now Filming

Lee B. Golden III

Production is reportedly underway in Texas for Derek Presley’s latest independent thriller, Red Stone. Leading the pic is actor Neal McDonough (Yellowstone, Altered Carbon, Sonic The Hedgehog) who is also exec producing the new film next to Alex Blackmon. With one bullet, Motley’s life spirals out of control as he’s forced to go on the run from the ruthless southern crime lord, Jed Haywood. Tracking Motley is Boon, Haywood’s best henchman and close friend. Boon’s brother has recently passed away in a horrific car accident and today is the funeral. He has ten hours to bring Motley in and get to the cemetery. Over the course of one day, both Motley and Boon go on a spiritual journey as their fate brings them together for a climatic showdown. Also starring are Dash Melrose (Little Fires Everywhere), Michael Cudlitz (The Walking Dead), Dominic Scott Kay (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s […]