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MORTAL KOMBAT: Ludi Lin Tapped To Play Liu Kang For New Line Martial Arts Game Adaptation

Following the addition of Joe Taslim for the role of Sub-Zero, word now hails from Rebecca Davis at Variety with talk of actor Ludi Lin for the role of Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat from Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema. Captured by martial arts champion and actor Ho Sung-Pak, Liu Kang is one of seven original characters that emerged in the game’s 1992 launch from former banner, Midway. The character is known as an exiled Shaolin Monk who ventures into the tournament to battle evil sorceror Shang Tsung for the fate of Earth. The games’ franchise success paved the way for New Line’s own live-action films in 1995 and 1997 with actor and martial arts star Robin Shou portraying the role. Following suit, TV origin spin-off series Mortal Kombat: Conquest aired along with an animated series, while a third film never got off the ground. Years later, webseries in […]

KNUCKLE CITY: Watch The Official Trailer For Jahmil X.T. Qubeka’s Pound-For-Pound Coming-Of-Age Boxing Drama

Lee B. Golden III

Decorated South African director Jahmil X.T. Qubeka opened last month’s 40th Durban International Film Festival to great ceremony with his fourth feature, Knuckle City. The film is now officially poised to continue its festival run with an international premiere in the Contemporary World Cinema section for the Toronto International Film Festival next month. An aging, womanizing professional boxer and his career-criminal brother take one last shot at success and get more than they’ve bargained for, in South African director Jahmil X.T. Qubeka’s slick, gripping new film. Much is ado with Qubeka after well over a decade directing numerous projects. He’s packed in several nominations from various festival outings, among which he won Best Director at the South African Film and Television Awards for his 2013 film, Of Good Report; Knuckle City was nominated for Best Film for the International Competition at Durban. For Knuckle City, Qubeka filmed the boxing drama […]

KILL MODE Gets Explosive In The First Official Trailer For ‘Molly’ Director’s Second Film

Lee B. Golden III

Director Thijs Meuwese rose expectations two years ago with his impressive female-led dystopian thriller, Molly. The film drew critical praise and was nominated the Black Tulip prize for Best Feature at the 34th Imagine Film Fest. Fast forward to 2019 as Meuwese has since kept up the habit with his latest foray into riproaring sci-fi and action now with Kill Mode as it boards sales over at Raven Banner Entertainment as of a week ago. Thus, we now get to sample the goods with an official trailer for Meuwese’s sophomore outing hailing from Get Off The Road and Falcon Grove Productions. Molly actress Julia Batelaan reteams with Meuwese for this one as well, starring with Dave Mantel. In a gritty near future, an ex–freedom fighter reluctantly returns to the fold after discovering a disturbing secret that could bring down the company that owns the world. Sales for Kill Mode kick […]

NIGHT WOLF: Kevin Hart To Star And Produce New Twist On Superhero Genre

Lee B. Golden III

STX Entertainment’s STXfilms is continuing its partnership with actor Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Productions for high-concept superhero comedy, Night Wolf. Detective Pikachu screenwriters Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit pitched it to the studio and are developing a new twist on the superhero genre with Hart attached to star. Night Wolf follows a Meet the Parents-esque encounter where a man (Hart) meets his future father-in-law for the first time only to discover he is secretly the superhero known as the Night Wolf. Hart previously starred in The Upside, the $100 million grossing hit which STX distributed earlier this year. Night Wolf marks a third outing for both companies with the film overseen by HartBeat and by STXfilms’ SVP of Production Drew Simon. “After we acquired Night Wolf, we submitted it to Kevin Hart and the Team at HartBeat hoping they would love it as much as we did.” said Chairman of STXfilms […]

Don Cheadle and Myka Price for Radicle Act

AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS: Don Cheadle Launches Radicle Act, Partners With Producers For Upcoming Book Adaptation

Lee B. Golden III

Actor Don Cheadle is launching Radicle Act as of Thursday coinciding with the current development of feature adaptation, Amari and the Night Brothers with Universal Pictures. The move marks Cheadles latest partnership with Industrial Media per their first look deal, and with Radicle also adding Myka Price to the station of SVP and Head of Development. Developments surrounding the adaptation of the novel began around the tail end of May when word broke that Universal nabbed the rights. Cheadle will produce via his banner alongside Madeville Films’ Todd and David Hoberman (Beauty and the Beast, Wonder), and Marsai Martin (Black-ish) and Josh Martin of Genius Productions. Debut author B.B. Alston is penning the forthcoming novel billed as a contemporary fantasy about a middle-school age black girl who sets off on a journey during which she awakens her hidden powers. According to Borys Kit at THR, HarperCollins imprint, Balzer + Bray, […]

FAST 9 Adds #2 UFC Heavyweight, Francis ‘The Predator’ Ngannou

Lee B. Golden III

Francis “The Predator” Ngannou, the UFC’s #2 in the heavyweight division, is joining the ninth installment of the Fast And Furious saga according to Dino-Ray Ramos’ coverage at Deadline on Wednesday. Ngannou joins the ranks of previous MMA stars appearing in the longstanding Universal franchise like Gina Carano (Furious 6) and Ronda Rousey (Furious Seven). Details on Ngannou’s role are being kept under the hood for now along with any and all story details, save for what one might be able to derive from the current casting and summation of events from F. Gary Gray’s The Fate Of The Furious. Small recap: Gray’s film saw Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) on vacation in the Dominican Republic where renegade cyberterrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron) emerges. Cipher takes Dom’s entire life hostage, forcing him to turn on his own team as they chase him through the streets of New York and […]

SNAKE EYES: ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Star Henry Golding To Don Iconic Black Ninja Garb For G.I. Joe Spin-Off

Lee B. Golden III

Crazy Rich Asians star, actor Henry Golding is already leaving a mark on 2019 with deals for at least two action projects to be produced under his banner with DJ Films and 87 North. In the meantime, trade news is now cycling that he’s also being eyed for the title role of Snake Eyes for a new G.I. Joe spin-off that’s been in the works for some time now. Robert Schwentke (RED, Insurgent, Allegiant) is set to direct from a script by Evan Spiliotopolous (The Huntsman: Winter’s War). The spin-off is based on the popular Hasbro property that took off in the 1940s as a comic strip and spawned a franchise by 1982 that emerged in toy sales, a hit cartoon series and two live-action films to date. Snake Eyes was especially the most outstanding member of the team – one of the first to be exact: a silent ninja […]

THE IMMIGRANT: Argentina’s Juan Manuel Olmedo Boards New Martial Arts Drama, Art Camacho Attached To Direct [EXCLUSIVE]

Lee B. Golden III

Argentinian actor and martial artist Juan Manuel Olmedo is poised to team up with filmmaker Art Camacho for upcoming action drama, The Immigrant. Argentinian-born Esteban Carbajal is penning the script for this particular venture which has been brewing since around 2013. The Immigrant tells of a kind-hearted transplant from a foreign country arriving to New York City in search of a better life. Things take a downturn when he’s conned out of his money and robbed of his belongings, leaving him with only a few bucks in his pocket. After a bit of wandering, he stumbles upon an MMA club where he soon discovers a money-making opportunity as a gifted fighter. Carbajal has been a resident in North America since 1982. He met Olmedo through his casting agency in Mendoza, and it was through Olmedo that he eventually met Camacho. The plan is to rework the script for a narrative […]

STEAMING PILES: Profiling The World Of Steampunk In Media

Christina Ortega

Goggles, top hats, airships, and, of course, gears. These are the things that most often come to mind when someone hears the word “steampunk” but what is steampunk actually? Boiled down to the simplest explanation, steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that includes steam-powered technology. The technology can be current (like a computer) or based on older inventions, but is powered by steam. Most commonly, steampunk is set in the 19th century Victorian era. However, America’s Wild West is also a common setting. (Remember that Will Smith movie Wild Wild West?). That is just the basic concept, though. There’s much more to steampunk, a lot of which has found its way into literature, movies, video games, clothes, and music. Let’s take a look at each of these: What does steampunk read like? Many people associate the works of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne with steampunk. This is kind of […]

THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE: Don’t Miss The Latest Epic Trailer For The Prequel Series Streaming Later This Month

Christina Ortega

Everything old is new again. In the past few years there have been multiple remakes and reboots of movies and cartoons that I grew up with, but now Netflix is releasing a prequel that I am excited for and it actually looks good. On Tuesday, Netflix gifted us with the first full trailer of the fantasy series Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, a prequel to the 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal. For those who don’t know, The Dark Crystal was directed by Jim Henson and follows the main character Jen (an elf-like Gelfing) on a quest to return the lost Shard of a broken but powerful gem. There’s more to it than that, of course, but I would suggest that you’re better off watching the film rather than read any summaries about it. Fast forward to today: In 2017, Netflix announced that it would release a ten episode series […]

LORD OF THE RINGS: Everything We Know About Amazon’s New Series So Far

Christina Ortega

The elves received three, the dwarves seven, the men nine… “One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.” Chances are, if you’re a fantasy fan, you’ve got the above epitaph memorized and you are very familiar with the tale of The Lord of the Rings, but how well do you know the story before the popular Tolkien novels? Amazon announced in 2017 that it would be adapting a Lord of the Rings show. Here’s what we know so far: We know who’s part of the creative team. Last year it was announced that J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay had been hired to write the adaptation of the J.R.R. […]

THE LAST ADVENTURE OF CONSTANCE VERITY: Awkwafina To Star In Fantasy Martial Arts Detective Novel Adaptation From Legendary

Lee B. Golden III

Trade sources are reporting that rights to A. Lee Martinez’s 2016 Saga Press publication, The Last Adventure of Constance Verity, was announced with a new home on Tuesday at Legendary Pictures. Feature film treatment is underway with the casting of actress Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell, Ocean’s Eight) from a speculative her script by John Raffo (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story). Awkwafina plays Constance Verity, who for the last twenty-eight years has been saving the world. She’s sick of it, and so she sets off on one last adventure in order to reset her destiny and become the one thing she’s never been: ordinary. Her only problem is that saving the world is her destiny. She’s great at it, and there are forces at work to make sure she stays in the job… Then again, it’s also her destiny to have a glorious death. Jon Silk and Jay Ashenfelter […]

TRAPHOUSE: Dave Bautista Rejoins ‘Final Score’ Team For New Action Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Signature Films, LLC has re-teamed with Dave Bautista and longtime manager Jonathan Meisner’s Dream Bros. Entertainment for new action thriller, Traphouse. The team previously partnered on the 2018 action film Final Score. Developed by Bautista with a script by Gary Scott Thompson (Universal’s Fast And Furious franchise), Traphouse centers on an undercover DEA agent and his partner who embark on a game of cat and mouse with an audacious, and surprising group of thieves: their own rebellious teenagers who have begun robbing from a dangerous Cartel, using their parents’ tactics and top-secret intel. The deal was negotiated by Signature’s Marc Goldberg and Sarah Gabriel and Fourth Wall Management’s Jon Huddle; Craig Emanuel (Paul Hastings) on behalf of Thompson; CAA and Jay Rosenthal on behalf of Dream Bros. “Traphouse is a project that we’ve been working on for years.” noted Bautista in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be working with Marc […]

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FIGHTING SPIRIT FILM FESTIVAL IV Feature Films Announced: THE MERCENARY, LOI BAO, DRAGONS FOREVER, And (?)

Lee B. Golden III

The Fighting Spirit Film Festival (FSFF) is gearing up its Fall 2019 induction with a feature screening premiere of Jesse Johnson’s The Mercenary on Saturday, September 7. The line-up also lists Hong Kong action comedy classic, Dragons Forever, and Vietnamese sci-fi action adventure, Loi Bao, as well as a fourth mystery title. Martial arts star and ex-Legionaire, actor Dominiquie Vandenberg takes the reigns as a former legionnaire-turned-mercenary forced to face down his demons once more when his past comes back, interrupting his path of tranquility and redemption. The film marks a ninth collab for Johnson and Vandenberg who’ve previously shared the set with Vandenberg’s 2006 lead debut, Pit Fighter. The Mercenary also stars Carmen Argenziano and regroups Johnson with actor Louis Mandylor of The Debt Collector and Avengement fame – both featuring action star, actor and martial artist Scott Adkins. The Mercenary also signals Johnson’s second recoupling with the Fighting […]

THE BATTLE OF JANGSARI: Catch The First Teaser For The New Korean War Epic

Lee B. Golden III

It’ll be a month before moviegoers in South Korea get to dig into upcoming war thriller, The Battle Of Jangsari. Until then, we have our first teaser for the new September thriller directed by Kwak Kyung-taek and Kim Tae-hun. Based on a true story of Jangsari Landing Operation, 772 student soldiers – whose average age was 17 and received 2-weeks of boot camp training – were tossed into Korean War efforts in order to pave the way for Incheon Landing Operation, which turned the tide of war. SHINee member Choi Min-ho stars along with Kim Myung-min, Kim Sung-cheol anf Kim In-kwon with Megan Fox and George Eads also starring. Peep the teaser and the accompanying artwork, and be mindful of a certain Planos-based niche film distributor in Texas ahead of a formal announcement with acquisition news to be made official in due time.

PARAGON: Pikchure Zero Signals First Look At New Sci-Fi Action Series Starring Danny Trejo

Lee B. Golden III

Actor, restaurateur and all-around good samaritan Danny Trejo is making his return to the set these days with upcoming sci-fi action series, Paragon. The new show is now in production from Pikchure Zero Entertainment and aiming for seven episodes with 43 minutes between each premiering next year following the network pitch phase. As the announcement enlists, Paragon fixed on the human race dealing with the obliteration of Heaven, centering on the different factions of society as they deal with Heaven’s destruction. With only a small piece of the afterlife to live for, everyone from Death himself is fighting to claim the Elysian for themselves. “We have always loved the Sci-fi fantasy genre, and we wanted to create a series that explored one of the most intriguing questions of humanity. Where do we go when we die? And what would happen if Heaven no longer existed?”, says Justin Price, who in […]

RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL Brings Fishburne And Cage Together In The First Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Collider’s own Haleigh Foutch brought the latest look at writer and director Jason Cabell’s new crime thriller, Running With The Devil. Central to the narrative is a union of talent such as Nicolas Cage, Laurence Fishburne, and with Barry Pepper headlining the story. I’m not too sure if we’ll get some new key artwork before then, either, although Collider did hint at such with a new visual featuring Cage and Fishburne. Moonstone Films bares the artwork which you can see at the very bottom as well as the lead pic. When a cocaine shipment is compromised to the dismay of a drug cartel’s CEO, known simply as The Boss, he orders his most trusted henchman, The Cook, and his partner, another master drug trafficker known as The Man, on a dangerous journey to audit the company’s supply chain. As the drugs make their perilous trek across international borders, past gangsters, […]

CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE: Rick Famuyiwa To Direct Action Fantasy Novel Adaptation

Lee B. Golden III

Nigerian-American author Tomi Adeyemi’s 2018 novel, Children of Blood and Bone, is reportedly in development under the Fox/Disney banner according to a recent piece at Deadline. Formerly housed at Fox 2000, Children Of Blood And Bone is now circling Kay Oyegun (This Is Us) to adapt of the 2018 publication with Rick Famuyiwa (Dope) tapped to direct. The film, whose literary IP stands to be the first of a trilogy, caught the interest of Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy whose efforts here would make Children Of Blood And Bone the first feature property since the Fox/Disney merger that isn’t Star Wars or Indiana Jones. The report also indicates that while producers at Temple Hill will also be involved since 2017, Lucasfilm’s involvement assures this adaptation will be a priority for the studios. Here’s a description of the book: Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited […]

JOHN HENRY: Saban Nabs Modern Day Spin On The Classic Folk Hero

Lee B. Golden III

Actor Terry Crews (Deadpool 2) is staking his claim in an upcoming present-day feature rendition of folkloric legend, John Henry. Saban Films announced its U.S. acquisition of the film, hailing from debut director Will Forbes with an early 2020 release in tow. John Henry, a modern adaption of an African-American folk hero of the same name, follows Henry (Crews) after he abandons a crime-riddled life for a peaceful one in Los Angeles. But when he crosses paths with two immigrant kids who are running from the leader of his former gang, he’s forced to confront the violence of his past life in hopes of saving them. Forbes wrote the script with Doug Skinner, featuring Crews next to actor Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges (The Fast and Furious franchise). Both executive produce along with Matthew Antoun and Mark Strome on behalf of iWood Studios and DJ Quik. “The tale of John Henry is […]

RAGE: Adam La Rosa Boards New Revenge Drama From Award-Winning Prima Lux Films

Lee B. Golden III

The past few years have been some of the most eventful for director John Balazs who just swept this year’s Action On Film Megafest in five categories, including Best Breakout Action Performer of the Year for actress Adele Elasmar. Nowadays you’ll also find him toiling away at post production on his latest dark new crime drama, Rage, with Melbourne-based La Rosa Productions joining in as producer on the new film following a deal officiated earlier this week. Penned by Michael J. Kospiah, Rage, takes off as mild-mannered husband Noah (Matt Theo) is left comatose with wife Madeline (Hayley Beveridge) deeply traumatised following a violent home invasion. The plot thickens when Noah awakens and learns that one of the attackers is still at large, unraveling a twisted tale of brutal revenge just as Bennett (Richard Norton), an afflicted veteran detective, fights his own inner demons whilst trying to solve the case. […]