News

Epic Acquires Roel Reine’s Norse War Thriller, REDBAD, For North America

Director Roel Reine has been hard at work following up on films like The Admiral and Marvel’s The Inhumans, here and now with big scale sword-and-shield Viking pic, Redbad. The film is on track to screen a small portion for buyers at the upcoming European Film Market while Screendaily exclusively confirmed a U.S. pick-up by Epic Pictures distrib branch, Epic Releasing. The Admiral scribe Alex van Galen’s script sets the tone for the Norse war tale set in the 8th century amid Northern Europe where the Frisian king (Gijs Naber – The Heineken Kidnapping, Penoza) is blamed for his father’s death and the invasion of the Frankish army, and is subsequently cast away by his own people. Time away sees him marry a Viking princess before returning to his homeland to settle the score with ambitious warlord Pepijn van Herstal (Jonathan Banks – Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) and save […]

3 LIVES Raises Staggering Questions Of Self In The First Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Award-winning director Juliane Block returns once again following about two years of effort for her latest endeavor, 3 Lives. The film saw an evolution since intiating crowdfunding efforts at Cinedime and now offers up a haunting, savory tale of danger, suspense, mystery and self-discovery. Leading the way is actress Mhairi Calvey who first landed on our radar for upcoming action short, Eden Grey, which arrives at the Artemis Women In Action Film Festival this April. For 3 Lives, Calvey stars as a psychologist, kidnapped by three ex-military soldiers and is forced to confront her dark past when she learns her rescuer is the same man who was jailed for raping her 15 years earlier. Wolf-Peter Arand wrote the script from a story by Block who made her way as a filmmaker sharing credits on festival favorites such as Kinks (2011), and Train Station (2015). Also starring are Tyron Ricketts, Martin […]

Review: Female Empowerment Indie Western, CASSIDY RED, Hits Its Mark

Lee B. Golden III

You work in film long enough and set goals, and eventually you find your way to a director’s chair. Such is the case with debut writer and director Matt Knudsen, fourteen years in film and having worn multiple hats over the years as he now emerges proudly with crowdfunded Western drama, Cassidy Red. The story is largely infused with a feminist subtext focused on women amid their struggle to co-exist in the male-dominated late 1800s Old West. Toggling between varying parts of a 36 year timeline, we meet lounge pianist Cricket (Gregory Zaragoza) who obliges an exasperated hostess named Quinn (Jessy Knudsen) looking to unwind at the day’s end. At the stroke of his piano keyboard, Cricket transports you back in time to the height of our heroine’s search for vengeance for the presumed murder of her true love at the hands of the man she once would have married. […]

Wrestling Romance Romp, CHOKESLAM, Comes Home On Blu-Ray, DVD And Digital This Month

Lee B. Golden III

Turning Paige and Ferocious helmer Robert Cuffley’s latest, Chokeslam, has seen its share of festival rounds such as in San Francisco and Calgary and will now head home on February 27. You’ll find several approving review quotes online as well while if you’re into films like Ready To Rumble, Nacho Libre and the hit Netflix series GLOW, Chokeslam should grab your interest. Sans choking. Corey (Chris Marquette), still lives in his mom’s basement with same job slicing meat in a tiny deli for over a decade, a sad and lonely figure. His life shut down after hastily proposing marriage to his best friend Sheena (Amanda Crew) in front of their entire high school only to have her turn him down. A humiliated Corey wanted Sheena to stay in their small town but she was going onto much bigger things. Ten years later, Sheena, now a world-renowned professional wrestler, famous for her […]

The Official Trailer For Russian Sci-Fi, FRONTIER, Is A Blast Into The Past

Lee B. Golden III

What do you do when you suddenly find yourself traveling through time and landing amidst a hail of bullets? That’s at least part of the mystery to be solved for the story set forth in Russian sci-fi, Frontier with actor Pavel Priluchniy caught in the very winds of time for the film’s February 22 release. Michael’s perfect life changes dramatically when he discovers a portal wich allows him to travel in time. He travels back to the World War II to go through the quest of time and find his one and only beloved. Also starring are Stanislav Duzhnikov, Alexander Korshunov, Kristina Brodskaya and Viktor Dobronravov. Catch the trailer below!

The Official Trailer For NEMESIS 5 Does Nothing For My Nostalgia

Lee B. Golden III

Earlier this week I was sent an announcement pertaining to the forthcoming fifth installment of the Nemesis franchise – a film that probably nobody really asked for. It’s a reasonable conclusion considering that out a handful, not even the most involved fan of 90s action cinema heard of the sequels that followed Oliver Grunner’s stellar 1992 original. Poor marketing perhaps. Another reason could be due to just how much of a dodgy, less than impressive mess the production knew this was going to be. Nevertheless, we now get to sample that very mess in the most recent trailer – and not that it’s any better from the initial trailer that went live last December. Horror director Dustin Ferguson makes his segue into cyberpunk sci-fi territory with actress Schuylar Craig starring as a new model trained under franchise protagonist Alex Rain to defend the remnants of humanity from a terrorist organization […]

ROBERT THE BRUCE: Angus Macfadyen Reprises His 'Braveheart' Role In New Epic Scottish Drama

Lee B. Golden III

From L to R: Richard Gray, Jared Harris and Angus Macfadyen (via Twitter) Call it a Braveheart sequel of sorts if you will (or not?), but indeed cameras are officially rolling for Robert The Bruce according to Deadline. The film has actor Angus Macfadyen reprising the renowned warrior and king he played in the 1995 film starring Mel Gibson, as well as producing with Sugar Mountain helmer Richard Gray who is directing. Antia Busch at Deadline reveals the film is an epic Scottish drama which centers on Anna Hutchison in the role of a widow, Moira, who along with her son, niece and nephew who save the 14th century King of Scotland. Rounding out the cast are We Bought A Zoo cohorts Jared Harris and Patrick Fugit along with Shameless actors Zach McGowan and series regular Emma Kenney, with Diarmaid Murtagh (Vikings, The Monuments Men), Talitha Bateman (Geostorm), Gabriel Bateman […]

RED NOTICE: Dwayne Johnson Action Thriller Sets 2019 Start For 2020 Release From Universal/Legendary

Lee B. Golden III

Universal and Legendary have reportedly bested some of the biggest studios in Hollywood in a major bidding contest for the new action pic Red Notice, which made headlines late Wednesday with actor Dwayne Johnson attached to star. As Deadline notes in its exclusive on Friday, the studio is fast tracking the film as a potential tentpole for Johnson who has reorganized his schedule to begin rolling cameras for Red Notice next Spring for a 2020 release. The news comes just days after the spectacular Super Bowl LII trailer involving for the July 13 3D release of Central Intelligence helmer Rawson Marshall Thurber’s Skyscraper in which Johnson stars. Red Notice reteams Johnson once again with Thurber who starts writing next week per the deal, earning him an eight-figure payday with Johnson getting $20 million. Plot details are scant while general information at Deadline (apart from The Hollywood Reporter‘s exclusive on Wednesday) […]

THE TITAN: Sam Worthington Goes Supernatural In The First Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Debut director Lennart Ruff’s The Titan hails the return of Sam Worthington who is currently busy playing with alien technology for the laboring long haul of James Cameron’s Avatar saga at Fox. In the meantime, the actor now takes shape in a stimulating new sci-fi narrative from a script by Max Hurwitz and with a UK release set for April, Voltage Pictures has unleashed its own upload of a trailer now going viral. A military family takes part in a ground-breaking experiment of genetic evolution and space exploration. Hotshot Air Force pilot, Rick Janssen (Worthington), is chosen for a military experiment that will create a human being capable of surviving the harsh environments of Saturn’s moon, Titan. The experiment is successful, turning Rick into a super-human, but it also creates deadly side-effects which threatens the life of Rick, his wife and family, and possibly humanity itself. There’s no news of […]

LOBO: Michael Bay To Direct The Long-Awaited DC Comics Adaptation

Lee B. Golden III

Just short of two years since we last heard on anything pertaining to a Lobo adaptation, trades are now reporting that Michael Bay is being sought after by Warner Bros. to direct the film. Bay, best known for his riduculous, explody and destructive approach to blockbusters since the 90s and to date with all things Transformers at Paramount, will meet once more with Warner Bros. pending script rewrites by Jason Fuchs since his attachment in Spring of 2016. A big-screen adaptation of the long-running DC property has been in the works since around 2009 while the character itself has already made the rounds in comic books and animated properties. Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen launched the character in 1983, telling of a Czarnian alien bounty hunter and often villian who re-emerged as an anti-hero biker in the 1990s. San Andreas helmer Brad Peyton was last tapped to direct and his since […]

Joaquin Phoenix To Play JOKER For Standalone WB Film

Lee B. Golden III

Lynne Ramsay’s new crime thriller, You Were Never Really Here, is just a few months out from its U.S. release. Between now and then, much will be ado with its star, actor Joaquin Phoenix, who is now the center of new discussions surrounding Warner Bros.’s upcoming standalone Joker film. As Variety’s exclusive on Thursday notes, further studio negotiations remain pending while the actor himself thought it over and ultimately agreed to star in the film after meeting with Phillips late last year. Phillips will pen the script with Scott Silver to shape the narrative of the 80’s set story in the gritty vein of Martin Scorsese titles like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The King Of Comedy, tackling the origins of how the Clown Prince Of Gotham came to be. The new film will arrive under a forthcoming banner of DC Comics to further expand on stories yet to be […]

NEMESIS 5: Albert Pyun’s 90s Cyberpunk Sci-Fi Signals A Fifth Entry With A First Poster

Lee B. Golden III

The 1990s is a treasure trove of action titles that have stood the test of time. Multi award-winning producer and director Albert Pyun’s 1992 cyberpunk spectacle, Nemesis, is certainly a high mark for anyone who has followed the direct-to-video action genre with a proliferated use of a VHS player in the last three decades. Host to a dark, dystopian tale of survival the original casts actor and martial artist Olivier Grunner in the role of an LAPD hitman named Alex Raine who finds himself fighting for his own humanity. Actress and bodybuilder succeeded the franchise in Nemesis 2: Nebula, taking on a gender-bending version of the same role with a story set 73 years later when cyborgs have dominated mankind; Price continued onward for the franchise through 1996. Pyun had still been directing thereafter but ultimately took a turn toward retirement due to health conditions surrounding dementia prior to finishing […]

VENOM Seethes Online With A Chilling First Teaser

Lee B. Golden III

Things are boding well for Sony and all things Spider-Man. Their latest take on the villainous Venom is now shaping up for the solid start of a trilogy which could well veer into Spidey territory as things move forward. Alas, the studio is finally unveiling an official teaser and comic book fans are already reeling, and not for nothing. Indeed Tom Hardy stands to gain quite a bit from his incarnation of Eddie Brock and the footage amply dispels that mystery accordingly…sans costume that is, but we do get a good visual of the very symbiote the Marvel property is based on as well as that of Michelle Williams which hints further that our titular anti-hero might not be alone in donning the symbiotic alien armor. Whatever the case may be, updates on comic book movies can be fickle and so we’ll be sharing the solid stuff in due time. […]

UK Martial Arts Thriller, NIGHTSHOOTERS, Heads To Lightining For International Sales

Lee B. Golden III

The U.K. is well on its way toward a July release for Marc Price’s upcoming martial arts thriller, Nightshooters. Market news is also abound for the film’s appeal overseas which now brings us word that Lightining Entertainment has announced its international acquisition of the film which wrapped last month Ascendant Releasing following its announcement in November. “We’re delighted to be working with Lightning Entertainment on NIGHTSHOOTERS. They immediately saw the same potential in Marc Price’s vision for the film that we did, and they’re the perfect partners for this. We hope this is the first of many collaborations between us” says Bart Ruspoli of Ascendant. Leading the cast is actor and martial artist, SAG nominated Jean-Paul Ly with a story centered on a film crew that lands in danger after witnessing a violent criminal act during an evening production. Ly’s ascending career in stunts and fight choreography eventually paved the way […]

Hitman Action Comedy BUTTERFINGERS Casts Russell Brand

Lee B. Golden III

The Fyzz Facility is on deck to present its package at EFM and with it, the upcoming action comedy Butterfingers starring Get Him To The Greek and Forgetting Sarah Marshall co-star, actor, activist and comedian Russell Brand. I, Anna and upcoming Scarborough helmer Barnaby Southcombe is directing from a script by Percentages scribe Tom Nash with fully financing by The Fyzz Facility and Highland Film Group representing the film internationally. Butterfingers follows the story of a lonely and down-on-his-luck hitman Keith (Russell Brand) – also known as Butterfingers – as he competes against archrival Perry who is hot after the same target in Spain. When Perry beats Keith to the chase and kidnaps the target’s ex-love, Keith reluctantly takes their teenage son and 9-year-old daughter as secondary leverage, resulting in a race across Europe as he’s forced to deal with the antics of children while attempting to make it to […]

RED NOTICE: Hot Studio Item Reteams Dwayne Johnson With ‘Skyscraper’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

There’s no stopping actor Dwayne Johnson these days as he is currently poised for several releases at the movies this year in addition to a sequel for his recent hit, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle has surpassed well over $353.33 million at the domestic box office surpassing Furious Seven according to Forbes as of Wednesday. With at least three more movies opening this year and several others already making headway in development and production, you can now tack on another for the bustling film star for upcoming action thriller, Red Notice. The exclusive at The Hollywood Reporter detailing the news comes following a bidding war between several major studios – namely Legendary, New Line, Paramount, Sony and Universal – for the film that lines up yet another reteam for Johnson and filmmaker Rawson Marshall Thurber following Central Intelligence and upcoming high rise action pic, Skyscraper, which opens this July in 3D. Bidding […]

‘Deadpool 2’ Director Being Eyed For THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS Spin-Off

Lee B. Golden III

Director David Leitch is the center of attention as of late with a career that has taken a striking turn from stunts and second unit direction to fulltime filmmaking after sharing the helm with Chad Stahelski for John Wick in 2014. Now upon following up with Deadpool 2, The Hollywood Reporter has it on good terms that the Atomic Blonde helmer is in talks to direct the hotly anticipated spin-off to The Fast And Furious franchise from a script by Chris Morgan. The film was announced last October in the wake of Universal Pictures’s April release of The Fate Of The Furious from director F. Gary Gray. The studio has garnered up to $5.1 billion dollars in global box office earnings which will undoubtedly increase as the studio plans the next two major installments for April 20, 2019 and April 2, 2021 with franchise co-helmer Justin Lin possibly adding both to […]

THE RETURN OF THE LUCKY STARS Signals The Return Of Lucky Faces And New Cast Additions

Lee B. Golden III

For up to four decades, the Lucky Stars franchise has been a staple of Hong Kong action cinema bearing the likes of Sammo Hung a motley crew of players like Richard Ng, John Sham, Charlie Chin, Eric Tsang and Stanley Fung. Adding to the robust action comedy fare were legends Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao along with Sibble Hu, Dick Wei, Andy Lau, Michelle Yeoh, Richard Norton and Kurata Yasuaki to name a few and with seven non-linear narrative films in, it was a likely surprise for all who learned last year that another was in tow. Fast forward to 2018 and with a hat tip to Asian Film Strike via Twitter that production has long since begun with some weeks already in filming The Return Of Lucky Stars with Hung taking on acting and directing duties. Previous reports have indicated several of the regular cast members may be back […]

MARVEL’S JESSICA JONES: Watch The Official Trailer For The Climatic Second Season

Lee B. Golden III

Fans keen on more from the Marvel/Netflix end of things will have plenty to look forward to with Season 2 of Marvel’s Jessica Jones beginning March 8. Unsolved mysteries and newer dangers, and the return of a familiar enemy lie in waiting judging by recent press on what’s to come as we learn more about the second season following all the shows leading up to last year’s debut of The Defenders. Krysten Ritter kicks the door down for another bold and no-nonsense approach with Rachael Taylor, Carrie-Anne Moss and Eka Darville also reprising next to the additions of Leah Gibson and J.R. Ramirez. Melissa Rosenberg serves as showrunner just as she did for the first season and with the other shows setting up for their next seasons, Jessica Jones is readying to be the cog that gets things going. Watch the official trailer below.

DEADPOOL 2 Official Trailer: Hit It!

Lee B. Golden III

While Ryan Reynolds may be no Atomic Blonde he cares for only one thing this year: Putting that Deadpool costume to hard work once again when the sequel arrives May 18 in theaters. The first official trailer is finally here, and in fourth-wall breaking, ratta-tat-tat fashion with actor Josh Brolin front and center as the first cinematic incarnation of Cable for the big screen. This synopsis though… After surviving a near fatal bovine attack, a disfigured cafeteria chef (Wade Wilson) struggles to fulfill his dream of becoming Mayberry’s hottest bartender while also learning to cope with his lost sense of taste. Searching to regain his spice for life, as well as a flux capacitor, Wade must battle ninjas, the yakuza, and a pack of sexually aggressive canines, as he journeys around the world to discover the importance of family, friendship, and flavor – finding a new taste for adventure and […]