MSR Media Producer Philippe Martinez announced today four new films in the company’s film production line-up on Monday, firstly with The Island, directed by Shaun Paul Piccinino (The Lackey, American Fighter), and is currently in post-production.
Based on an original story by Philippe Martinez, and scripted by Martinez and Michael Caissie (The Hangman starring Al Pacino), The Island recounts the story of an LAPD officer (Michael Jai White) who takes down drug traffickers with his wisecracking partner Phil (Jackson Rathbone) until his brother dies under mysterious circumstances. He returns to his island home, to seek answers and ultimately vengeance, in a bloody battle with the corrupt tycoon who has taken over the island paradise.
The film also stars Gillian White (Take Back) and Edoardo Costa (Live Free and Die Hard). Martinez and Highfield Grange Studios’ Alan Latham produced the pic. Exec producers are Karinne Behr and Lee Beasley from MSR Media, Alastair Burlingham and Gary Raskin of Sherborne Media alongside Charlie Dombeck and Jacob Katsman. Production financing is being provided by Sherborne Media.
Also in post-production is writer-director Liza Bolton’s (York Witches Society) mystery thriller Ocean Deep, which centers on artist Mara (Connie Nielsen) who is isolated in her remote coastal home three months after her husband Rory (Lachlann O’Mearáin) disappears, distraught at the news that the search for his body has been called off. Haunted by his memory, and plagued by unusual visions, Mara is determined to uncover what happened to her beloved, not realizing that she faces a danger that is extremely close to home.
Anna Walton (Universal Pictures’ Hellboy II, The Golden Army), Lochlann O’Mearáin (Starz’ “Outlander”) and Mads S. Pettersen (Netflix’s Home for Christmas, Twentieth Century Fox’s Eddie the Eagle) also star. Producers are Martinez on behalf of MSR Media and Alan Latham on behalf of Highfield Grange Studios. Exec producers are Behr and Lee from MSR Media and Kirsty Bell of Goldfinch.
Presently on the Islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Martinez is underway with sci-fi action thriller Black Noise, co-directing with Leigh Scott who co-wrote the pic with Martinez and co-writer Sean-Michael Argo. The film stars Alex Pettyfer and Jackson Rathbone as members of an elite security team deployed to rescue a VIP on an exclusive island. Upon arrival, the island is seemingly deserted until the team encounters masked gunmen and an inescapable droning sound. The threats and penetrating sound with its deadly side effects intensify until the rescue mission becomes a desperate attempt to survive, escape the island and elude the sinister presence that seeks to harm them.
Joining Pettyfer and Rathbone are Eve Mauro (Roku’s Cypher), Wayne Gordon (MSR Media’s Us or Them and The Island), and Sadie Newman (Sony Pictures’ Holmes & Watson). Produced by Martinez, the film is executive produced by Behr and Beasley from MSR Media, Burlingham and Raskin of Sherborne Media alongside Dombeck and Katsman.
Damian Hurley’s directorial debut on thriller, Strictly Confidential, starts filming in late November. Martinez and featured lead actress Elizabeth Hurley share producing credits for the feature which is written by Damian Hurley and follows the story of a group of friends in their mid-twenties who are invited to the Caribbean mansion of their friend Rebecca’s mother to celebrate her life, one year after her apparent suicide. But Rebecca’s suicide soon comes into question as each of the group begins to divulge what they are hiding and, in the process, bringing to light a web of intrigue that threatens to reveal the truth.
MSR Media International is handling worldwide rights to all four titles, with sales being launched at MIPCOM. The Island and Black Noise are the are the seventh and eighth films to be shot in the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, under the multi-film program struck last year between MSR Media and the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis.
“I’m very pleased with these latest new titles on the MSR Media production slate. We are working with skilled creatives in all departments and showcasing a diversity of actors across multiple genres,” said Martinez. “Our new productions utilize the beauty of the islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis to enhance their stories and all four films exemplify the company’s objective to match film talent with exciting storylines that will appeal to global audiences.”