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TERMINATOR: DARK FATE Awakens To A New Nightmare In The First Teaser Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been close to four years since Deadpool landed director Tim Miller on the radar for all comic-con and cult fandom. After choosing to move onto bigger-scale projects with the likes of James Cameron on board to produce a new Terminator movie for today’s audiences, it’s safe to say Miller has certainly found his calling. The biggest testament of this, of course, will arrive with the November 1 release of Terminator: Dark Fate, officially taking the wheel for the longstanding sci-fi franchise after Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day became a landmark box office hit in 1991. The first official poster arrived on Wednesday encompassing the return of actress Linda Hamilton back into familiar territory as alpha female Sarah Connor, locked and loaded and joined by actresses McKenzie Davis and Natalia Reyes, and with actors Gabriel Luna, and Diego Boneta, and of course, action legend and franchise mainstay, former California governor […]

ATTRACTION 2 Looks Scary As F**k. Check Out The Teaser!

Lee B. Golden III

2019’s Cannes Market has emerged proficiently for sci-fi fans with Russia being a front runner since making strides with 2017 sci-fi, Attraction. Director Fedor Bondarchuk is back once again for another round of alien invasion and spectacle with Attraction 2 and as such, Variety’s exclusive report on Thursday also brings us our first official teaser. After an alien spaceship crash-lands in Moscow, Julia (Irina Starshenbaum), an ordinary girl, gains superpowers and becomes an object of study at the Ministry of Defense’s secret labs. But it turns out that humans aren’t the only ones interested in Julia’s new powers, and she will have to decide whose side she is on… The success of Attraction falls in line with previous hits from Bondarchuk who broke ground with 2005 Afghan War movie, The 9th Company, before trailblazing in 2015 with 3D-shot IMAX release, Stalingrad. Attraction drew mixed to positive reviews, and became a […]

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THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE: Jesse Eisenberg Throws Down In The New Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Just in time for the Cobra Kai hype, Jesse Eisenberg is following up his SXSW outing in writer/director Riley Stearns’ latest, The Art Of Self-Defense with a progressive theatircal rollout this July. The offiical trailer is now up and running… that is, unlike Eisenberg’s character, a bookeeper who is apparently done with running from thugs. Instead, now he’s throat punching people in mid-dialogue and taking on his low key maniacal karate teacher, played by actor Alessandro Nivola. After he’s attacked on the street at night by a roving motorcycle gang, timid bookkeeper Casey (Jesse Eisenberg) joins a neighborhood karate studio to learn how to protect himself. Under the watchful eye of a charismatic instructor, Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), and hardcore brown belt Anna (Imogen Poots), Casey gains a newfound sense of confidence for the first time in his life. But when he attends Sensei’s mysterious night classes, he discovers a sinister […]

TENET: Christopher Nolan Mystery Revealed, Espionage Action Gets Cast And 2020 Release

Lee B. Golden III

The Dark Knight trilogy and Dunkirk helmer Christopher Nolan’s capacity to handle action has since carried over with the current production of his latest film, Tenet, following its July 17, 2020 announcement from Warner Bros. Pictures. Principal photography is underway from Nolan’s script with locations spanning as many as seven countries for “an action epic evolving from the world of international espionage” according to the studio. The director is combining IMAX® and 70mm lensing for an international ensemble cast listing John David Washington (BlacKKKlansman), Robert Pattinson (The Twilight Saga, The Lighthouse), Elizabeth Debicki (Widows), Dimple Kapadia (Finding Fanny), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Outlaw King, upcoming Kingsman: The Great Game), Clémence Poésy (The Ones Below), with Michael Caine (The Dark Knight) and Kenneth Branagh (Murder On The Orient Express). Nolan is producing with Emma Thomas. Thomas Hayslip is serving as executive producer. Nolan’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema, […]

PHARAOH’S WAR: Tyson And The Mountain Bring Out The Big Guns In The Official Trailer For Amr Saad’s New Egyptian Action Adventure

Lee B. Golden III

I honestly don’t know what the appeal is in Mike Tyson as an actor apart from seeing him generate chuckles in The Hangover and its sequel, but he’s definitely found his calling overseas as he keeps getting cast in movies. That’s right, the China Salesman headliner is back in villainous form with the likes of the towering and rather impressionable Hafthor Julius Bjornsson a.k.a. “The Mountain” (Game Of Thrones, Kickboxer: Retaliation) for Pharaoh’s War which now has an official trailer making the rounds. The two are joined by Egyptian actor Amr Saad who plays a man on a mission to lead Egyptian refugees through the desert and protect them from mercenaries with the help of his own cadre of badasses. Screen first reported on the film’s sales currently underway at Cannes from Premiere Entertainment Group. Production took place from earlier this year and onward while at one point, action star […]

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JUST CAUSE: ‘John Wick’ Scribe Partners With Constantin To Pen And Produce

Lee B. Golden III

The video game movie trend now continues with news at Deadline for upcoming actioner, Just Cause. John Wick franchise writer Derek Kolstad who himself proclaimed his fandom for the Avalanche Studios/Square Enix game franchise, will write and produce the film with Constantin Film and Prime Universe Films. The move marks the latest update two years after San Andreas helmer Brad Peyton and Aquaman actor Jason Momoa were tapped to direct and star, respectively, back in 2017 from a script by John Collee. Also producing are Prime Universe’s Adian Askarieh with Robert Kulzer for Constantin whose Martin Moszkowicz will exec produce with Square Enix. Plot details and specifics are currently unknown for the film which will otherwise reportedly stick to the game’s blueprint following Rico, a black ops agent under the employ of The Agency, and in a race against the clock to take down a mercenary group known as The […]

FLIGHT RISK: ‘Pusher’ Director Announces New Action Thriller From Great Point

Lee B. Golden III

Kidnap and Pusher remake helmer Luis Prieto will direct Flight Risk according to Stewart Clark at Variety. Great Point is handling international sales on the project from Automatic Media whose Ray Haboush (The Last House On The Left) and Robert Aaronson (Chocolate City) are producing. Great Point co-founders Robert Halmi and Jim Reeve will serve as executive producers. The story follows the strangers as they wake up on the plane, which is running on autopilot. They have no idea who they are, how they got there or who they can trust. “I was immediately hooked by the brilliant concept at the heart of this project, and I’m excited by the possibilities for an amazing cinematic experience,” Prieto said. Producers Aaronson and Haboush added: “We were convinced from the very beginning that Luis would be the perfect director for this white-knuckle ride of a movie.” (VARIETY)

BLINDSIDED: Cartel Thriller Casts Natasha Henstridge For Summer Production

Lee B. Golden III

Jeremy Kay reports for screen out of Cannes with news of crime thriller Blindsided, currently on the market floor from Premiere Entertainment Group. Shooting will commence in Pennsylvania with Species actress Natasha Henstridge starring as a woman hiding from assassins with a young girl in her care whose father is about to testify as a key witness against a Colombian drug cartel Joth Riggs will direct from a screenplay by Ernesto Melara. Production hails from Inspiring Films whose Grant Bradley will produce with Premiere chief Elias Axume. Buckhead Film Group’s Robert Eager will exec produce. (SCREEN)

THE INVINCIBLE DRAGON Pushes June 20 Release, Featurettes And Stills Take You Inside The Action

Lee B. Golden III

Indeed, you’re not alone if you feel like Fruit Chan’s The Invincible Dragon should have been in theaters by now. It’s been two years since the campaign began with a teaser and a prolonged wait period that now sees light at the end of the tunnel with a June 20 rollout in Hong Kong. We also have an officially dated trailer and a raft of behind-the-scenes featurettes, as well as stills from the upcoming thriller. This one sees Max Zhang headlining the story of Kowloon, an undercover agent – a legend known for assisting police in solving cases – whose actions put him in the turrets of a Macau detective, and an American ex-soldier with a secret connection to his background, played by former UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva. Featuring fight and stunt direction from Jackie Chan cohort Stephen Tung, can be seen in the following featurettes in addition to […]

STRIKE BACK: China Film Co. And Taihang Ready New Patriotic Actioner For Fall Production

Lee B. Golden III

Fresh out of Cannes and continuing the string of Chinese patriotic thrills of late, a September start is in store for Strike Back, from China Film Group and Taihang Pictures. Arclight Films, home to such hits as Triple Threat, Wu Jing’s Wolf Warrior 2 and Donnie Yen’s S.P.L. and Special ID, is selling internationally and co-financing the new thriller to be shot in the deserts of Xinjiang, northwest China, and Hainan island in the south. The fact-based story focuses on two Chinese soldiers who decide to avenge the killing of their colleague by a terrorist. One, a young reservist, feels the need to prove that he has what it takes to join the special operations forces known as Skyhawks. The state-owned Group’s China Film Co. is financing the project which is still on par for a director and an ensemble cast. China Film’s Xu Jian Hai is producing with Johnny […]

A Fourth JOHN WICK Will Kill Again In 2021

Lee B. Golden III

A fourth chapter in the John Wick is officially in the works with a release date from Lionsgate for May 21, 2021. The news comes just as the film took the number one spot for opening weekend at the box office well north of $56 million dollars, beating out Avengers: Endgame. Chad Stahelski returned to the director’s chair for a third time with actor Keanu Reeves back in fine form as the titular on-his-way-out-but-very-much-pulled-back-in assassin since taking off in 2014. Actress Halle Berry also takes a turn in the franchise alongside Reeves for the badass role of Sofia, including a cadre of returning and new faces plus a badass roster of action stars like Mark Dacascos, Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Rahman. The announcement also comes following months of speculation and proclamations pertaining to the future of the franchise. Talking to Inverse recently, Stahelski deferred to fans on the matter of […]

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AVENGEMENT Review: Johnson’s Latest Delivers A Cathartic, Bone-Crushing Siege Drama You Can Drink To

Lee B. Golden III

Not too long since the release of Triple Threat, it now comes down to a matter of days as fans of action movie favorite, Scott Adkins await the release of his newest Jesse V. Johnson follow-up, Avengement. Far from anything pedestrian, the film is consistent with the continued pattern of work from Johnson whose directing career has proliferated favorably in the last few years with Adkins in his stewardship. Avengement is also something special, in a sense, kind of indicative of what Johnson has been trying to crank out in terms of what stories and roles could best flesh out more of Adkins as an actor past the fan-favored Boyka persona that largely crowns his career these days. Much ado was the fallout chatter from early test screenings of Avengement a few months back; It was talk that spotlit this latest outing from Johnson as the quintessential Adkins showcase for […]

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LANSKY: Keitel, Worthington Lead Cast For Upcoming Gangster Biopic

Lee B. Golden III

Production is set to commence this August for The Abandoned helmer Eytan Rockaway’s gangster biopic, Lansky, based on the life and times of American monster Bugsy Siegel’s close cohort. Harvey Keitel, best known for roles in hit films like Bad Lieutenant and Pulp Fiction will star alongside Emory Cohen, Sam Worthington and Austin Stowell. Alexandra Daddario and Tony Danza are in talks to join. Investigated and pursued for decades by the FBI, the aging crime boss Meyer Lansky is now living in quiet anonymity in Miami Beach. When Lansky enlists a young journalist named David Stone (Sam Worthington) to tell his story, the Feds use him as a pawn to track down the hundreds of millions of dollars that Lansky has been suspected of stashing away for over half a century. As Lansky spins his dizzying tale, Stone finds himself caught in the middle of a game of cat & […]

THE MERCILESS Sets Up English Remake Plans With France’s Pathé And Vendôme

Lee B. Golden III

Lead pic: Fantastic Fest

MORTAL KOMBAT Begins Production, Sets Release Date

Lee B. Golden III

The wheels are officially turning with pre-production on Simon McQuoid’s directing debut, Mortal Kombat on the hit game from creator Ed Boon. New Line Cinema has reportedly set the date for March 5, 2021 with production having just begun at Adelaide Studios’ Sound Stages in South Australia as cameras roll later this year. Greg Russo (The Highwaymen) penned the script which takes its cues from the hit Midway/Netherrealm Studios fighting game where warriors compete for the fate of mankind in an epic tournanent, overseen by warlords and gods alike. Cast, crew and official story details remain pending. James Wan (Aquaman) is producing with Todd Garner. Larry Kasanoff, who produced the initial two films in 1995 and 1997, is serving as executive producer with E. Bennett Walsh (Men in Black: International), Michael Clear (The Nun), and Sean Robins (Tag). (DEADLINE)

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Eva Jin’s TWIN BLADES Finally Nabs Its Two Leads

Lee B. Golden III

We last heard back in 2017 about producer Lauren Shuler Donner’s efforts with Cristal pictures for the production of female-fronted buddy action comedy, Twin Blades. Now as of Friday with news from Deadline‘s Nancy Tartaglione, actress Beth Behrs (The Neighborhood, 2 Broke Girls) will join Ma Li (Soccer Killer, Goodbye Mr. Loser) for the production said to commence soon in Hong Kong and China with Eva Jin (Sophie’s Revenge) attached to direct. Donner and The Donners’ Company president Jack Leslie will produce the film from a script formely Ingrid Eskeland-Adetuyi, and updated by Karen McCullah (Legally Blonde). Behrs and Li star respectively as two alpha females – Zoe, a tech entrepreneur newly established in China, and Maylin, the bodyguard with whom she struggels to coexist. When Zoe’s life is threatened, their pairing will be put to the ultimate test. Cristal is co-producing and will co-finance with Wanda Media.

UNDISPUTED To Continue Boyka’s Story On Television, Production Begins Next Year

Lee B. Golden III

The award-winning Undisputed franchise is coming to television as of Thursday’s exclusive out of Cannes from Alex Ritman at THR. The martial arts action franchise is currently selling at the market for London-based Empire Films, the company now behind its small-screen reboot alongside Millenium Films. Walter Hill’s inaugural 2002 film, Undisputed, had Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames starring as Munroe Hutchen and George Chambers, boxing champions in their own worlds who find themselves rivaling behind bars. Though the film bombed, further franchise fruition grew under the auspices of Nu Image and Millenium Films with famed action director Isaac Florentine taking the mantle for the next two installments, Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing and Undisputed 3: Redemption. Actor and martial arts star Michael Jai White took on the Chambers role opposite Scott Adkins for part two, segueing from the original film’s boxing millieu into a more popular and suited MMA format. […]

THE MAN WHO FEELS NO PAIN Arrives On Netflix May 22

Lee B. Golden III

It’s a real fiasco sometimes waiting to see when and where some films will get a legitimate release. Peddlers helmer Vasan Bala’s acclaimed martial arts comedy, The Man Who Feels No Pain, fits right into this subject matter after screening to some of the biggest critical praise I’ve ever read about for a film of its kind since its screenings in Toronto and Mumbai last year. The film just made the festival rounds at the Dallas Fort Worth South Asian Film Festival and will finally hit Netflix on May 22. It’s a pretty big deal on top of being some of the best news to learn during what has been a great month for global action cinema, especially in the wake of such hits like Frant Gwo’s The Wandering Earth, Lee Jeong Beom’s Jo Pil-Ho: The Dawning Rage (f.k.a. The Bad Lieutenant), and Pedring Lopez’s highly deserving sequel-bound hit, Maria. […]

KUNG FURY 2: THE MOVIE Knuckles-Up For A July Production Start

Lee B. Golden III

Production on Kung Fury 2: The Movie will go forward on July 29 in Germany and Bulgaria according to The Hollywood Reporter. Creasun Media’s L.A.-based financing and production arm, Creasun Entertainment USA will provide major investment on the film in time for production four years after the explosively successful crowdfunded production of Swedish filmmaker David Sanberg’s superbly-received OTT half-hour fantasy short. The project saw Sandberg in the role of a Los Angeles cop who, following the death of his partner at the hands of a ninja, became the titular kung fu longfist of the law after being hit by lighting and bitten by a cobra. The adventure continued with our hero accidentally landing in the Viking ages after trying to use Hackerman’s rad time-traveling machine to travel back to Nazi Germany and kill time-hopping murderer, Adolf Hitler, once and for all. Sandberg’s Kung Fury garned upwards of 40 million views […]

ANGEL HAS FALLEN: Gerard Butler Under Fire In The Explosive First Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Leave it to the cinematic stylings of Ric Roman Waugh to help bring the ‘Fallen’ trilogy full circle with the upcoming Lionsgate release, Angel Has Fallen. The official triailer is out before the film’s August 23 release and with a cast rejoining Gerard Butler with returning actor Morgan Freeman playing commander-in-chief. When there is an assassination attempt on U.S. President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman), his trusted confidant, Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), is wrongfully accused and taken into custody. After escaping from capture, he becomes a man on the run and must evade his own agency and outsmart the FBI in order to find the real threat to the President. Desperate to uncover the truth, Banning turns to unlikely allies to help clear his name, keep his family from harm and save the country from imminent danger. Waugh penned the script with Robert Mark Kamen and Matt Cook […]