afm 2020

400 BULLETS: Take Aim At The Official Sales Art For The New Jean-Paul Ly Action Thriller Coming In 2021

It’s been a grand minute since we’ve given some lip service here to actor and martial artist Jean-Paul Ly. He’s worked both sides of the lens from shortfilms like Dead End and Law Plancel’s The Division, to stunt work in TV and film including Marvel’s Doctor Strange and Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist, his biggest breaks thusfar have been the successes he’s had on the feature front with Jimmy Henderson’s Jailbreak, and Marc Price’s Nightshooters to name a few. That list now grows a little more with National Film Award Winning and Frightfest favorite, director Tom Paton (Pandorica, Redwood, Black Site) whose sixth film now draws near in the form of military action thriller, 400 Bullets, now aiming for an early 2021 release. Production really played this one close to the chest as very little info was allowed to spill out when we first posted last November, but now we’ve been […]

AMBUSH: Jonathan Rhys Meyers And Connor Paolo Join Aaron Eckhart Action Thriller From Mark Earl Burman

Lee B. Golden III

Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The 12th Man, History Channel’s “Vikings,” Showtime’s “The Tudors”) and Connor Paolo (Stake Land, Friend Request, ABC’s “Revenge”) will join Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight, Line of Duty) and Jason Genao (Logan, Netflix’s The Get Down) in the upcoming action thriller Ambush. Mark Earl Burman (Dog Eat Dog) is directing the film from a script he’s written with Michael McClung (American Martyr). The film is “based on the exhilarating true story of a deadly high-stakes subterranean mission into enemy controlled territory”, and follows a group of young elite commandos, led by Captain Drummond (Eckhart), tasked with collecting highly classified information that can change the fate of the war. On the edge of the jungle, the team is attacked by the overwhelming invisible force of the enemy army. Drummond’s young team must overcome their apprehension in order to pursue the force into the complex labyrinth of Cu Chi […]

THE DEVIL TO PAY: Danielle Deadwyler Starrer Heads To AFM Under Arclight

Lee B. Golden III

Becky scribes Lane and Ruckus Skye’s The Devil To Pay is being shopped at the virtual AFM this week under the Arclight banner, who were introduced to the pic initially by Gary Bradley. The film was released last month in the U.S. from Uncork’d Entertainment and Dark Star Pictures, and stars Danielle Deadwyler, Catherine Dyer and Jayson Warner Smith, and was announced officially by Arclight chairman Gary Hamilton. After the disappearance of her husband, a struggling farmer in an isolated Appalachian community fights to save her son when the cold-hearted matriarch of the oldest family on the mountain demands payment of a debt that could destroy a decade’s old truce. Lane Skye and Ruckus Skye wrote and directed the film marking their feature debut at the helm. They also produced the pic alongside Deadwyler, and with Martin L. Kelley, Allison Maier, and Gabriel Olson. “Danielle is a formidable talent, leading […]

ZEROS AND ONES: Ethan Hawke Headlines Post-Modern Wartime Thriller Shopping At AFM 2020

Lee B. Golden III

Post-modern wartime thirller, Zeros And Ones, has added four-time Academy Award nominated actor and filmmaker Ethan Hawke (First Reformed, Boyhood) to headline the cast for director Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant, The Funeral, Kings Of New York). Ferrara wrote the script which sees Hawke in the role of JJ, an American soldier stationed in a Rome under siege, locked down, and at war. The Vatican being blown into the night sky is only the beginning of our hero’s journey to uncover and defend against an unknown enemy but threatening the lives of the entire world. Rounding out the roster are Cristina Chiriac (Siberia, Tommaso) and Phil Neilson (Siberia, Ben-Hur) with Christian Mercuri’s Capstone Group launching sales at AFM this week under its Blue Box International label and co-repping domestic with CAA Media Finance. Ferrara begins shooting in Italy later this month. The film also reunites Ferrara with Diana Phillips (Bad Lieutenant, […]

THE JOURNEYMAN: Michael Bisping To Star In Dax Phelan’s Novel Adaptation

Lee B. Golden III

Retired MMA champion Michael Bisping’s film career is taking the next step following starring credits in Den Of Thieves, Triple Threat and xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage. Dax Phelan will set sail for the UK to direct The Journeyman, based on author Mark Turley’s novel, “Journeymen: The Other Side of the Boxing Business, a New Perspective on the Noble Art”. Phelan and Turley both adapted the screenplay. Deadline’s Tom Grater reports: “Bisping will play Kenny ‘The Beast’ Breen, an alcoholic, drug-abusing, past-his-prime journeyman boxer with a record of 11-85-0 who, after being diagnosed with neurological damage, continues his career on the small-hall circuit at grave risk to himself.” LHCo Distribution Liaison will be hosting the project for this month’s virtual AFM to find a UK producing partner. Phelan will produce with Eric M. Klein, with Bisping and Turley exec producing, and with real-life journeyman boxer Johnny Greaves serving as […]

AMERICAN BADGER: Exclusive Trailer And Poster Reveal For Kirk Caouette’s New Hitman Action Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Film Combat Syndicate is bringing you the exclusive trailer and poster for actor and stunt multi-hyphenate Kirk Caouette’s new film, American Badger. Caouette, a 25-year stunt industry multi-hyphenate for film and TV, marks his third outing in the director’s chair for which Toronto-based Raven Banner now reps for international sales at this year’s virtual AFM. Starring from his own script, Caouette takes center stage in the role of “The Badger, a cold-blooded hitman, who is assigned to befriend a local call girl. All hell breaks loose when his orders change, and he is told to kill her.” Featuring action sequences by Stanton Chong, Caouette stars along with Andrea Stefancikova and Michael Kopsa. Some of Caouette’s recent acting and stunt credits include Netflix series Travelers, Disney’s Kim Possible, and Dead Rising: Watchtower. Also on Raven Banner’s slate are genre-bending thriller Motherly starring Lora Burke (For The Sake Of Vicious), and director […]

ONE WAY: Action Thriller From Andrew Baird Adds Kevin Bacon Ahead Of Virtual AFM 2020

Lee B. Golden III

Golden Globe winner Kevin Bacon (Death Sentence, Mystic River) is joining the cast of Zone 414 director Andrew Baird’s new action thriller, One Way. Principal photography has moved up to February 2021, with locations set for Los Angeles, California, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Colson “Machine Gun Kelly” Baker (The Dirt, Project Power), and Travis Fimmel (Ridley Scott’s ”Raised by Wolves,” Warcraft) also star. Written by Ben Conway, Baker stars as Freddy, who winds up on the run with a bag full of cash, and near-fatally wounded after a robbery of his ex-crime boss goes south. Slipping onto a bus headed into the unrelenting California desert, Freddy is soon betrayed after a call for help cues his estranged father (Bacon) who informs his former employer where Freddy is. With his life slipping through his fingers, Freddy is left with very few choices to survive. There is only one way. Tim Palmer, Martin […]

THE LAIR Welcomes Neil Marshall To Direct Action Horror Thriller In Spring 2021

Lee B. Golden III

Neil Marshall (Hellboy, The Descent, The Reckoning, Dog Soldiers) is readying action horror thriller, The Lair, with Highland Film Group handling worldwide sales at the upcoming virtual AFM, launching Wednesday, November 4. Aimed as a return to his creature horror roots, The Lair centers on Kate Sinclair, a Royal Air Force pilot Lieutenant whose final flight mission sees her jet shot down over one of the most dangerous rebel strongholds of Afghanistan. After finding refuge in an abandoned underground bunker where deadly man-made biological, carnivorous half human/alien weapons are awakened, Sinclair barely escapes. Unknowingly however, she tracks the creatures known as Ravagers back to a US army base. Casting is underway with plans to shoot in Spring 2021 with Marshall writing and directing. He is also producing the pic under his Scarlett Productions Ltd. label. “If The Reckoning was a gothic drama in testament to the power and resilience of […]

TAKE BACK: Multiple Deals For New Action Thriller Starring Gillian White, Michael Jai White And Mickey Rourke

Lee B. Golden III

Actress Gillian White is taking center stage in the new year for her lead debut in action thriller, Take Back. 101 Films International is leading the charge as world sales agent ahead of AFM on the Christian Sesma-directed pic which is currently in post-production, with North American distribution in-bound from Shout! Factory. Zach Berries (Black Magic) wrote the pic with White joined once again by actor and off-screen husband Michael Jai White, after appearing together in Never Back Down: No Surrender, and in Dallas Jackson’s Welcome To Sudden Death. Zara (Gillian White) and Brian (Michael Jai White) are living the perfect small town life when a mysterious stranger from Zara’s secret past kidnaps their daughter and now they must race to save her life. The film also stars Mickey Rourke, Paul Sloan, Jessica Uberuaga and James Russo, and was one of the first independent films to be completed in the […]

BANDIT: Josh Duhmael To Star In New Heist Biopic Thriller From ‘Gridlocked’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

Josh Duhamel is in the driver’s seat this week with Highland Film Group announcing casting for Gridlocked director Allan Ungar’s latest, Bandit. Kraig Wenman adapted the biopictoral heist thriller from Robert Knuckle’s 1996 novel, “The Flying Bandit, Bringing Down Canada’s Most Daring Armed Robber”; The book is comprised of journalist Ed Arnold’s interviews with Gilbert Galvan Jr., who lived under the name Robert Whiteman when he was dubbed the Flying Bandit in 1987. Bandit sees Duhmael in the role of “a charming and daring career criminal (Duhamel) who escapes from a US prison and crosses the border into Canada where he assumes a new identity. After falling in love with a woman that he can’t provide for, he turns to robbing banks and discovers that he’s exceptionally good at it. But as he gets addicted to the rush and the jobs become more dangerous, his notoriety is growing in record […]

REAGAN: Voltage Pictures Launches Sales For Upcoming Biopic With Dennis Quaid, Penelope Ann Miller And Jon Voight

Lee B. Golden III

Voltage Pictures is officially launching sales this week for Reagan, a new biopic based on the life of the 40th President of the United States. Director Sean McNamara (Cats & Dogs 3) is directing the pic, currently in production and is expected to wrap shortly, according to an announcement on Wednesday. Dennis Quaid (Midway) and Penelope Ann Miller (The Bronx Bull) will star in the respective roles of title character, and of First Lady, Nancy Reagan. Howard Klausner (Space Cowboys) penned the script which “is said to look at Reagan’s life through the eyes of a KGB agent, a fictional character, as he tracks the actor-turned-SAG president-turned-California governor-turned-President from anti-Communist crusader in Hollywood to leader of the free world.” Actor Jon Voight (TV’s Ray Donovan) will play the KGB agent, with Robert Davi (Mob Town) playing Leonid Brezhnev, who ruled the Soviet Union through the 1960s and 1970s. Voltage President […]