brian smrz

24 HOURS TO LIVE Kickstarts Ethan Hawke’s Deadly Day Of Vengeance In The First Trailer

Following up from his 2008 effort with Hero Wanted, stunt authority Brian Smrz has returned to the helm once again with the new action thriller, 24 Hours To Live. Saban acquired the film back in May and is currently set to screen at the Austin Film Festival next week. Travis Conrad (Ethan Hawke) is a former elite soldier devastated over the recent tragic deaths of his wife and young son, when his old army buddy “Jim Morrow” (Paul Anderson) shows up with an offer he can’t refuse. Morrow now works for a powerful and highly secretive private military contractor, Red Mountain, who hires Travis for an extremely dangerous – but extremely lucrative – assassination job. Travis accepts the covert assignment, but everything goes completely wrong when he is shot and killed by an equally skilled female Interpol agent, “Lin Bisset” (Xu Qin) right at the moment he locates the target. […]

Assassin Thriller 24 HOURS TO LIVE Lands At Saban Films

Lee B. Golden III

Although initially tapped for an immersive theatrical Barco Escape rollout as stated last year, Wednesday’s news of stunt coordinator-turned-filmmaker Brian Smrz’s sophomore action thriller, 24 Hours To Live, makes no mention of it. That’s not to say that may change, but as it stands however, expect a release in due time with the film’s reported acquisition by Saban Films at Cannes. Zachary Dean’s script sees Hawke in the role of a career assassin who is given a chance at redemption when he is subsequently revived after being killed on his latest mission in South Africa. Mr. Six and Looper co-star, actress Xu Qing, and actors Paul Anderson, Liam Cunningham and Rutger Hauer also star with John Wick producer Basil Iwanyk of Thunder Road Pictures producing as are financier Fundemental Films’s own Mark Gao and Gregory Ouanhon. Kent Kubena, Jon Kuyper, Jonathan Fuhrman and Gary Glushon serve as executive producers. Per […]

24 HOURS TO LIVE Brings Aboard Common And Xu Qing For Brian Smrz's New Action Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Sierra/Affinity is continuing its PR efforts at Cannes starting this week for the upcoming action thriller, 24 Hours To Live following their earlier EFM run. The film is also one of several films now being planned for select distribution through immersive digital theater brand Barco Escape with Shanghai-based production and distribution company Fundamental Films fully financing, and with actor Ethan Hawke (The Purge, Getaway) starring as of February. This week, word from Deadline now accompanies Hawke’s casting with that of actor Common and Chinese actress Xu Qing. Details surrounding their respective character portrayals are unknown while, under stunt veteran and director Brian Smrz, it is Hawke himself who will play a career assassin who dies during a job, and is subsequently granted one day to redeem himself after being resurrected by his employer. Thunder Road’s Kent Kubena and Jonathan Fuhrman and Fundemental Film’s Gary Glushon are executive producing from Zachary […]

Ethan Hawke In Talks To Reprise TRAINING DAY Role For CBS, Smrz's 24 HOURS TO LIVE

Lee B. Golden III

Any chance you may have come across actor Ethan Hawke’s name in recent history may be due to the fact that a small screen adaptation of the Antoine Fuqua’s hit film, Training Day, is getting a spot on television in the months ahead. I’d call this a pretty momentous occasion now as it seems that word is now out that he’s reportedly in talks to reprise his role in the new series for CBS, thus reuniting with directot Antoine Fuqua for the pilot. Hawke earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the original 2001 crime drama for Warner Bros. in which he played a rookie narcotics detective assigned to his first day analysis by a seasoned and morally bent rogue detective, a role that ultimately awarded Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington. Fuqua is also producing with Jerry Bruckheimer for CBS who have ordered a pilot in which, if Hawke […]