cannes 2018

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Sci-Fi Thriller POSSESSOR Casts Andrea Riseborough And Christopher Abott

Lee B. Golden III

Among other titles, actress Andrea Riseborough will hit theaters later this year for Panos Cosmatos’ hugely celebrated Nicolas Cage thriller, Mandy following its Cannes Film Festival Directors Fortnight selection. In the meantime, she’ll be setting forth with upcoming Catch-22 actor Christopher Abbott in Arclight Films’ latest prospect, acclaimed Antiviral helmer Brandon Cronenberg’s new sci-fi, Possessor, which he also wrote. The film will center on Riseborough in the role of Tasya Vos, an agent for a secretive organization who uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies, driving them to commit assassinations for the benefit of high-paying clients. As the plot reads on, something goes wrong on a routine job, and she soon finds herself trapped in the mind of an unwitting suspect (Abbott) whose appetite for violence turns out to rival her own. …Hm. Just trying to picture how that is going to play out on screen is an adventure […]

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KUNG FURY 2: THE MOVIE Lines Up Financing, Character Details For September Shoot

Lee B. Golden III

One of the biggest and most important keys to getting a feature film going with help from partners at a major market at Cannes is obtaining funding. Filmmaker and actor David Sandberg knows this all too well having earned a world of support for his 2015 OTT half-hour 80’s-inspired fantasy martial arts time travel fantasy thriller, Kung Fury. Fast forward to 2018 and following brewing announcement since then for its feature film fruition and long since debuting at Cannes, Sandberg’s return to the sales floor this year is proving to be well worth the effort. Andreas Wiseman’s exclusive at Deadline on Monday is confirming a September production start for Laser Unicorn’s feature film evolution, Kung Fury 2: The Movie. The report reveals that Argent Pictures, the backer of the 2017 hit drama, Hacksaw Ridge, has joined the upcoming action-comedy production as a financier and producer with Sandberg set once again […]

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Jiang Wen’s Wuxia Adaptation, HIDDEN MAN, Sees Warner Bros. Boarding As Co-Producer

Lee B. Golden III

A local release date is still in the works for Jiang Wen’s new thriller, Hidden Man. In the meantime, news out of Cannes has it on good terms that Warner Bros. is investing in the pic as co-producer through its deal with its conjoined venture with CMC Capital Holdings, Flagship Entertainment. The film loosely takes its cues from a wuxia novel by Zhang Beihai that will follow suit with Wen’s famed Bullets trilogy, telling of a swordsman who returns home as a spy to solve a five-year old murder case. The celebrated filmmaker and Rogue One co-star’s return to the helm is said to be a film festival prospect later this year upon its summer release in China. Wen is joined by wife and actress Zhou Yun, as well as The Final Master star Liao Fan and Rise Of The Legend and Operation Mekong star Eddie Peng and The Hidden […]

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Vincent Zhao’s THE UNITY OF HEROES Lands At Well Go USA

Lee B. Golden III

We’ve got a ways to go before we learn any more about what’s in store with actor Vincent Zhao on several titles, save for one, at least. The IQIYI release of his latest Wong Fei Hung revival, The Unity Of Heroes, has been hitting the sales floor at Cannes and just racked up a raft of sales as reported by Screen International on Monday. In the late Qing Dynasty, the East India Company produces a narcotic by conducting human testing in Guangdong. These secret tests begin to come to light when one of the test subjects crashes into Wong Fei Hung’s famed medicine clinic. The initial official trailer has been online for a while now, while fans of Zhao can also expect a U.S. trailer courtesy of Well Go USA in due time. Other territories include Clover Films for Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, China 3D for Hong Kong and Macau, […]

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Period Action Epic, VIKING DESTINY, Lands At Saban For U.S. Distribution

Lee B. Golden III

Film Mode Entertainment has been busy at the Cannes market with its package of titles for buyers. Their latest prospects now lie with Saban Films who’ve officially acquired producer and Hard Boiled Sweets helmer David L.G. Hughes’ epic odyssey adventure, Viking Destiny, which also managed to nab earlier territories in the U.K., Germany, Italy, Australia & New Zealand and The Middle East. Written and directed by David L.G. Hughes, the film explores the legendary crusades of Scandinavian explorers. Incredible action sequences containing exceptionally high production value are sure to wow audiences worldwide. In VIKING DESTINY, Odin, the Norse god of war and wisdom, is played by STAMP. The adventure/fantasy centers on a young Norse girl, the rightful heir to the Viking kingdom, who is banished after she’s framed for the murder of her father, the king. The expert team behind these action sequences along with the performances by such a […]

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JCVD Thriller FULL LOVE Returns To Cannes Under Rodin Entertainment

Lee B. Golden III

It was earlier this year that action star Jean-Claude Van Damme announced a whole raft of film titles to come hailing from his Rodin Entertainment banner which launched sales at Cannes this week. The official website took off as well with the annouced completion of at least two recent titles – We Die Young and The Bouncer, and further included the long-awaited title, Full Love, which is now on display at the market floor. The film’s long journey to fruition began a decade ago with the film’s production, mired by reshoots and title changes after screening to a mixed reception at Cannes in 2010 and its subsequent languishing ever since. Van Damme wrote and directed this, his second feature film, in which he stars as Frenchy, former soldier with PTSD now working as a cabbie in East Asia, and is driven to fight to improve the situation of a beautiful, […]

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Don “The Dragon” Wilson Emerges At Cannes In German-Produced Action Thriller, THE HITMAN AGENCY

Lee B. Golden III

I never really grew aware of the term, Krautsploitation. Apparently that’s the subgenre of independent action flicks rolling out of Germany with respect to titles like Nico Sentner’s 2015 action film, Atomic Eden – that one never sat well me and even, to this day, boggles the mind as to why some fanboys love it. Going forward however, the more revelant news now turns us toward that film’s co-star, writer and producer Dominick Starck who makes his entry this week by way of Starck Entertainment and R.J. Nier Films at the Cannes market for his debut, The Hitman Agency courtesy of sales reps, Generation X Group GmbH. Everett Ray Aponte leads the cast with Erik Hansen, and 11 time kickboxing champion Don “The Dragon” Wilson also starring. The ambitious professional hitman Lucas Kane (EVERETT RAY APONTE) hunts and tortures his old predecessor Joseph Kyler (ERIK HANSEN) in the basement of […]

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RENDEL 2 Moves Forward At Raven Banner

Lee B. Golden III

The last few years have seen the wheels turn quite a bit for director Jesse Haaja who made history in debuting Finland’s first comic book superhero movie, Rendel. Nowadays he’s developing other properties including Furrow, but that doesn’t necessarily count out prospects for a sequel while genre specialist Raven Banner has anything to say for it. Such is what includes Jeremy Kay’s Screen International report this weekend with word that sales on a sequel to the Finnish superhero hit film have launched at the Cannes market. Producers at Black Lion Pictures and Frozen Flame Pictures are planning an early 2019 shoot on Rendel 2 which has Haaja returning to the helm to follow up the story of a family man previously resurrected from near-death with a brutal, masked alterego to seek revenge in the name of a city crying out for justice against a criminal organization and their pharmaceutical cohorts. […]

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FURIE: Get A Ferocious Look At Veronica Ngo In The New Vietnamese Action Thriller From Arclight

Lee B. Golden III

Veronica Ngo has proven herself continuously with splashing display of dramatic and screenfighting prowess and gravitas in films like The Rebel and Clash, and has remained so in such films as Dustin Nguyen’s Once Upon A Time In Vietnam, her US debut in Netflix’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny and next to Noomi Rapace in David Ayer’s Netflix hit, Bright. Now the Star Wars: The Last Jedi co-star back in full-fledged film-fighting fashion with Furie, hailing from Arclight Films and with a first look photo with sales forthcoming at the Marché du Film. In the vein of the international box office hit action film The Raid, Furie follows Hai Phuong (Ngo) a gangster who retired from the life of crime after the birth of her daughter. Despite lying low in the countryside, she can’t seem to escape her violent past when her daughter is kidnapped right before her eyes. […]

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RED SNAKE: Female Kurdish Warriors Take The Fight To ISIS For Sierra/Affinity At Cannes

Lee B. Golden III

Cannes has been pretty prolific this week with news related to all-female line-ups – a notable fact for those keeping up with the Kinberg/Chastain partnership on upcoming spy thriller, 355. Separately, there’s another in the midst courtesy of debut feature director Caroline Fourest whose European co-production, Red Snake, is currently in production in Morocco. Sierra/Affinity has announced its commencement of international sales for the action thriller at the Cannes Film Market, hailing from Metropolitan Film in association with France 2 Cinema and Eagle Pictures Italy. Inspired by true events, RED SNAKE follows the story of Zara, a young Yazidi woman who is kidnapped and held captive by a ruthless commander. When she finally escapes, she joins a powerful group of female warriors determined to fight back. Although they hail from different backgrounds, the women all share a troubled past that fuels their urge to accomplish one goal: bringing down ISIS. […]

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Nicolas Cage’s PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND Sets Sono Sion’s English Debut

Lee B. Golden III

It’s pretty much Nicolas Cage’s world and were all just living in it. Indeed, that makea three headlines this week for the upcoming 211 star whose latest attachment comes by way of Japanese auteur Sono Sion’s new post-apcolyptic actioner, Prisoners Of The Ghostland, which XYZ Films has included in its sales raft at Cannes. News comes just a day following Cage’s attachment to Millenium’s forthcoming detective noir thriller, Kill Chain. Sono, the acclaimed helmer of such favorites as Love Exposure, Tokyo Tribe and Why Don’t You Play In Hell will make his English language debut from a script by Aaron Hendry and Reza Sixo Safai. As Patrick Hipes at Deadline reports, Prisoners Of The Ghostland sees Cage in the role of notorious criminal Hero, who is sent to rescue an abducted girl who has disappeared into a dark supernatural universe. They must break the evil curse that binds them and […]

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Noir Thriller KILL CHAIN Sets Up Nicolas Cage To Star

Lee B. Golden III

It’s a great time to be Nicolas Cage amidst week with several films coming down the pipeline. His latest, Mandy, directed by Panos Cosmatos, internationally sold out EVERYWHERE at Cannes according to an exclusive at Variety this week and now Alex Ritman at The Hollywood Reporter is telling of what’s being described as in the vein of the “greatest detective noir films”. Kill Chain is the name of the project to be directed by Numb3rs series producer and The Replacement Killers scribe Ken Sanzel with a story centered on the lives of three strangers who inevitably become entangled in a conflict none of them are prepared for. Paul Hertzberg is producing the film which Millenium is selling in its catalogue next to the like of Rambo V, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, The Expendables 4, and more. Cage’s 211, also being sold at Cannes from Millenium, arrives in the U.S. on […]

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THE PAGAN KING: 13th Century Action Drama Lands U.S. And Other Territories

Lee B. Golden III

News out of Cannes within the last 24 hours has Tom Grater reporting for Screen International with a raft of deals for Latvian historical action film The Pagan King. The territories include per the report as follows: North America (Vertical Entertainment), Australia and New Zealand (Eagle Entertainment), and Spain (Mediaset). UK outlet Canoe Film has been repping the film at Cannes on behalf of the producers at Platforma since its release in Latvia back in January and ultimately earning its self a place in local box office history. Canoe nabbed earlier territories for distribution in Germany (Ascot Elite), Japan (Zazie), and Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary, and Romania (Mediasquad). In the 13th century, the lands along the shores of the Baltic Sea are pagan. The most powerful is the land of Semigallia where even the Vikings fear to tread. Semigallia is a rich trading nation, and that has not gone […]

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THE HITMAN’S WIFE’S BODYGUARD Announced At Cannes

Lee B. Golden III

Lionsgate Things are already stirring at Cannes with deals and announcements readying from now through next week. Millenium is on hand as well and with a revealing photo gone viral in its wake, we now have some context regarding a second title per Alex Ritman’s exclusive at The Hollywood Reporter. A script remains yet to be written whilst both Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson are expected to reprise their roles for The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, according to the report which also cites the tagline: “The Good. The Bad. And the Batshit cray.” The film follows last summer’s The Hitman’s Bodyguard from director Patrick Hughes, telling of a disgraced bodyguard whose troubled past with a hitman sees the two on a raucous journey of survival while a mad dictator – the subject of a war crimes investigation by the Hague – sends for their deaths. Millenium’s package also includes director […]

Sylvester Stallone Will Return In RAMBO V…Yes, Really!

Lee B. Golden III

Lionsgate/TWC …And just like that, it’s 2014 all over again. Only this time it appears to, at least, finally be official at a corporate level, and in lieu of Cannes, no less. Jeremy Kay is at Screen International reporting that action star, actor Sylvester Stallone is set to commense principal photography this Fall on the long-teased and anticipated installment of a fifth Rambo film. The news comes four years after progress was made for a 2014 start which followed up with more stagnation, and eventually word of an impasse in 2017 between Stallone and producer Avi Lener regarding the actor’s wish to produce a fourth Expendables film. Stallone appeared to have stepped away from the Rambo franchise entirely back in 2016, in a report at Variety in which he is quoted saying: “The heart’s willing, but the body says, ‘Stay home!,’… “It’s like fighters that go back for one last round […]

Look Out For Well Go USA Arrivals In Sports Drama, CHAMPION And Crime Thriller Redo, BELIEVER

Lee B. Golden III

It’s always a good day when Well Go USA delivers, and the Texas-based niche distributor has apparently snatched up two titles for U.S. release. The first hails from sales agent, Finecut which reportedly sold Kim Yong-Wan’s Sylvester Stallone-inspired freshman debut, Champion, has also found a home with multiple territories, U.S. included. As Lee Hyo-Won writes at The Hollywood Reporter, the film made number two at the local box office this week on Tuesday after its May 1 open. Don Lee (Train To Busan, The Outlaws) stars as an L.A. nightclub bouncer whose redemptive underdog rise in arm-wrestling with the help of a schemer serves as a means to reunite with his long lost family in South Korea. Champion, the latest production from Warner Bros. Pictures Korea, reportedly also sold to Hong Kong and Macau (Edko Films), Malaysia and Brunei (Clover Films), Philippines (Rafaella Films International), Taiwan (Sky Films Entertainment) and Vietnam […]

THE SPY GONE NORTH: Check Out The International Trailer Ahead Of Its Cannes Premiere

Lee B. Golden III

I guess you could call it a pretty auspicious time that a film like Kundo and Nameless Gangster helmer Yoon Jong-Bin’s The Spy Gone North would exist, given recent news of a truce after years of war between the North and South. Yoon’s film isn’t alone in this perspective either, which is good, all things considered, essentially joining in the creative frontlines for a story that invites moviegoers for an historic tale based on a true story reflective of more tumultous times. In 1993, former military officer PARK Suk-young is recruited as a spy by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, and given the codename “Black Venus”. He is then sent to infiltrate a group of high-ranking North Korean officials based in Beijing, with the ultimate goal of acquiring information on the North’s nuclear program. After becoming close to RiMyong-un, a key power broker, Black Venus succeeds beyond his wildest dreams […]

SUPERGRID: ‘Wolfcop’ Helmer’s Latest Delivers A Spectacular Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Currently joining the roster for Raven Banner’s arrival to the croisette is Lowell Dean’s latest, SuperGrid. An official trailer went live this week courtesy of ScreenAnarchy hailing the director of Wolfcop and Another Wolfcop with the star of both titles, actor Leo Farfard, headlining the new dystopian thriller. From the creators of WolfCop, producer Hugh Patterson has teamed up with Trinni Franke and director Lowell Dean, (WolfCop, Another WolfCop) on the story of two estranged brothers who must travel the notorious “Grid” in their quest to collect and deliver a mysterious cargo. En route they must contend with road pirates, rebel gangs, and each other. SuperGrid also stars Marshall Williams, Natalie Krill, Jonathan Cherry, Tinsel Korey, Fei Ren, Amy Matysio, Daniel Maslany, and former WWE wrestler Jay Reso. The trailer is as stimulating as you’d hope and should stir as much attention as it commands for buyers. Enjoy!

355: Chastain, Kinberg Partner For ‘Grounded’, ‘Edgy’ All-Female Spy Actioner

Lee B. Golden III

Mike Fleming Jr.’s exclusive at Deadline brings news of an all-star female line-up being readied for spy espionage ensemble, 355, penned by screenwriter Theresa Rebeck. Actresses Jessica Chastain, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Fan Bingbing and this week’s starring addition to John Woo’s The Killer, Lupita Nyong’o are all being circled for the project which will be announced at Cannes with the cast, and director Simon Kinberg in attendance at the Croisette. The film involves these top agents from organizations around the world uniting to stop a global organization from acquiring a weapon that could plunge an already unstable world into total chaos. They have to overcome cultural and political differences to form a bond and work together. 355 is aiming for what Deadline describes as “a grounded, edgy action thriller” that will not only launch a franchise, but also reshape an oft male-dominated genre with a female-centric cast in the vein […]

CHAMPION: Don Lee Arm-Wrestles His Way Onto A New Poster

Lee B. Golden III

Finecut Freshman director Kim Yong-Wan is eyeing a theatrical release next month for his latest, Champion. The film is billed as a sports comedy but its clear, distinct homage to Sylvester Stallone’s classic, Over The Top has certainly garnered the film as something much more with a touch of heart. It has also graced lead actor Don Lee (Train To Busan, The Outlaws, Along With The Gods) with some worthwhile attention on top of his rousing performance caliber. Mark is a disgraced arm wrestling champion who was adopted by an American family when he was a boy. He’s a bouncer at a club and befriends a Korean student named Jin-ki, who has a knack for schemes to make money from any situation he’s in. Lured by an arm wrestling tournament in Korea and Jin-ki’s scheme to make a fortune from it, Mark comes back to his native country for the first time […]