In April 1980, six armed gunmen stormed the Iranian Embassy in Princes Gate, London, taking 26 people inside hostage. Over the next six days a tense standoff took place, all the while a group of highly trained soldiers from the SAS prepared for a raid, the likes of which the world had never seen before.
Director Toa Fraser’s new hostage thriller, 6 Days, has long been completed with a cast that primarily includes Jamie Bell, Abbie Cornish and Mark Strong. Official images and promotional assets began rolling out a few years ago with release details yet to be known until this week with reports of sweeping international territories by XYZ Films which also includes the U.S. via Vertical Entertainment.
SYNOPSIS:
In April 1980 armed gunmen stormed the Iranian Embassy in Princes Gate, London and took all inside hostage. Over the next six days a tense standoff took place, all the while a group of highly trained soldiers from the SAS prepared for a raid the world had never seen the likes of and which would change the world forever.
The film is produced by Matthew Metcalfe from a script by Glenn Standring who executive produces with Nate Bolotin, Aram Tertzakian, Peter Hampden, Gavin Poolman and Andrea Scarso. Vertical will be premiering the film this Fall in the U.S. with Netflix landing it internationally as a Netflix Original Films release in France, Germany, Latin America, Japan, Benelux, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Italy and Switzerland among the included locations.
Other distributors will be Icon for the UK, Transmission for Australia and New Zealand, Film4You in Portugal, A Contracorriente in Spain, Falcon for the Middle East, Calinos for Turkey, PT Prima for Indonesia, Double & Joy for S. Korea, Fox for pan-Asian pay-TV and HGC for China.
via Screendaily:
“Jamie, Abbie and Mark put forth excellent performances,” Vertical co-president Rich Goldberg said. “We cannot wait begin working with the 6 Days producing team and XYZ Films again to bring this true story to audiences later this year.”
Metcalfe added; “I am excited to be working Vertical, Netflix and all of our distribution partners to bring this incredible true story to audiences worldwide.
“The events surrounding the siege at No.16 Princes Gate, London, in May 1980 were unprecedented for the time and Toa Fraser’s adaptation of the events reveals a tense, dramatic and confrontational story that could not be more relevant to our world today.”
6 Days is the fifth feature film from Fraser who last directed the 2014 coming-of-age Maori martial arts adventure, The Dead Lands which Standring also wrote.
Stay tuned for more info on 6 Days.
Stills finally came pouring in exclusively via EW for director Toa Fraser‘s latest hostage thriller, 6 Days since pincipal photography began in New Zealand in June. The film follows up Fraser’s most recent effort, The Dead Lands, which proved to be one of the most compelling films to date in his stellar career of award-winning feats.
Here and now, Fraser reunites with The Dead Lands scribe Glenn Standring for a story that grounds itself in the chaos of true events that took place in April 1980 when six armed gunmen engaged Britain’s elite SAS in a six day standoff at the Iranian Embassy in 1980, taking 26 people hostage. Jamie Bell, Abbie Cornish and Mark Strong lead the current cast for the film which has now begun its London shoot as of a few days ago.
Matthew Metcalfe is producing for General Film Corporation in associaition with international sales agent XYZ Films, Lip Sync Productions, Dog With a Bone Films and the Ingenious Senior Film Fund. The film will likely release next year with Icon releasing the film in the U.K. and WME co-representing the film for the U.S.
Fans and moviegoers alike can catch Bell among an ensemble cast for director Josh Trank’s Marvel adaptation, Fantastic Four, this Friday. Stay tuned for more info.
In case you’ve been wondering, director Toa Fraser has been keeping himself busy in the past few months following the accolades he’s been receiving for his new Maori action epic The Dead Lands. The film has since become an entry for best foreign language movie of the 2015 Oscars while Fraser continued onward with his forthcoming stage play, Pure And Deep which is getting a limited run at the Herald Theater next month in Auckland.
Essentially, Fraser is a cinematic favorite among those familiar with his work, and as things are just getting started for The Dead Lands, moviegoers can now add another to their list of films to see with the forthcoming production of 6 Days. The film will tell the story of the six gunmen who took over two dozen people hostage at the Iranian Embassy in Princes Gate, London, at the behest of Arab sovereignty, and the six days of intense drama and tragedy that unfolded before Britain’s Special Air Service infiltrated the embassy, ending the crisis once and for all.
6 Days will reteam Fraser with The Dead Lands scribe Glenn Standring and producer Matthew Metcalfe, and the executive producers over at XYZ Films who will also represent the film at the American Film Market in California next month. The report from Deadline also states that some of the SAS members who were at the scene over fourteen years ago will act as consultants for the film which will commense shooting next year.
The Dead Lands has since been picked up by major distributors worldwide, inclding by Magnet Releasing for North America with a release date pending.
Stay tuned for more info!
H/T: Deadline