lionsgate

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THE EXPENDABLES 4 Lands Multiple Territories As Filming Commences, Adds Cast

Screendaily‘s Jeremy Kay is exclusively reporting the additions of Sheila Shah, Jacob Scipio and Levy Tran to the current cast roster of the fourth installment of The Expendables franchise. Directed by Scott Waugh, production reportedly began in the UK with a screenplay by Spenser Cohen – revised by Max Adams and John Joseph Connolly. The aforementioned trio join the mix of new and returning actors that include Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture, and actors Megan Fox, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Andy Garcia and international action star Tony Jaa. According to Kay, Statham is producing next to Kevin King Templeton, and Les Weldon, along with Yariv Lerner, Jeffrey Greenstein, and Jonathan Yunger. Avi Lerner, Boaz Davidson and Trevor Short are exec producing for Millennium, as are Christa Campbell and Lati Grobman for Campbell Grobman Films. Eda Kowan and Jonah Leach will oversee for Lionsgate. JJ Nugent, Millennium […]

WARRIORS: Gavin O’Connor, Lionsgate Will Return To The Octagon To Spin-Off His 2011 Cult MMA Hit Drama

Lee B. Golden III

Director Gavin O’Connor is partnering with Lionsgate for a television spin-off based on 2011 sports drama, Warrior. O’Connor, whose credits also include Miracle and The Way Back, confirmed as much in an interview with Discussing Film’s Michael Slavin on Tuesday. The reveal for the new show, Warriors, came during a portion of the interview regarding movie sequel prospects where O’Connor expressed having difficulty on “how to do it and make it better than the first one”, adding further on “…I knew if I couldn’t make a better movie, or at least make something that had some kind of artistic merit that’s worth asking people to spend money to go see it, I just didn’t want to like fucking prostitute myself. And so I never was able to…” O’Connor continued onward, laying the groundwork for the show’s plot and citing that the characters from the 2011 film would be replaced with […]

GHOST IN THE SHELL Returns to Theatres in IMAX

Edward Orndorff

Classic anime film Ghost in the Shell, which originally debuted in 1995, is returning to theatres for special screenings in IMAX. Announced today by Lionsgate Films, the film has special advance preview on September 16th, with public showings available starting September 17th. Ghost in the Shell is the story of Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cybernetic government agent. In the year 2029, Major Kusanagi and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are tracking a mystrious computer virus called “The Puppet Master”, which can somehow infect humans. With other agents from Section 9 offering support, Kusanagi tries to contain and capture the virus. Based on a manga by Masamune Shirow and Kazunori Ito, and directed by Mamori Oshii, Ghost in the Shell is considered to be one of the top anime films of all time, and remains a successful and beloved franchise to this day. It’s film sequels and anime series come together […]

Halle Berry & Director Roland Emmerich Bring Large Scale Destruction In The First Teaser For MOONFALL

Matthew Essary

Director Roland Emmerich seemingly just loves to make films about massive destruction that could lead to the end of the world. His latest, MOONFALL, appears to not really dispel that notion. The film, which Emmerich also co-wrote is headlined by Halle Berry (JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3: PARABELLUM) and stars Patrick Wilson (THE CONJURING), Michael Peña (ANTMAN), and Donald Sutherland (AD ASTRA). It will be released on February 4th 2022 in theaters nationwide. The film’s official synopsis: “In MOONFALL, a mysterious force knocks the Moon from its orbit around Earth & sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. With mere weeks before impact & the world on the brink of annihilation, NASA executive & former astronaut Jo Fowler (Academy Award® winner Halle Berry) is convinced she has the key to saving us all – but only one astronaut from her past, Brian Harper (Patrick […]

THE EXPENDABLES 4 Shoots Up A Fall Production Start, Adds Megan Fox, Tony Jaa And More

Lee B. Golden III

Eleven years since making trilogy headway, The Expendables franchise will reunite Lionsgate and Millenium Media to shoot its fourth installment later this October with much of the main cast reprising its roles; Jason Statham is reportedly leading the cast this time around and will be joined by Megan Fox as the female lead, with regulars Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Sylvester Stallone, Statham’s Furious Seven cohort/martial arts action star star Tony Jaa, and Stallone’s Escape Plan co-star Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson also starring. Stuntman-turned-director Scott Waugh (Need For Speed) is in line for rotation to direct following Stallone, and helmers Simon West and Patrick Hughes who directed the first, second and third films respectively. Waugh will direct from a screenplay Spenser Cohen, following revisions by Max Adams and John Joseph Connolly, with Statham and with Kevin King Templeton, and Millennium’s Les Weldon, Yariv Lerner, Jeffrey Greenstein and Jonathan Yunger all producing, […]

John Wick Spin-Off Series THE CONTINENTAL Sets Limited Event Series With Three Movie-Sized And Budgeted Episodes, Albert Hughes To Direct Two Episodes

Lee B. Golden III

With the fourth chapter of Lionsgate’s John Wick saga now filming and franchise co-star Ian McShane back on board as of Thursday for the role of Winston, all eyes of Wick fans are now on news that Good Lord Bird helmer and The Book Of Eli co-director Albert Hughes, will direct the first and third episodes of The Continental, a three-night event limited series which Hughes will also executive produce for Lionsgate and Starz. A prequel spinoff, Continental is set 40 years before the events of the Wick series and focuses on a young man named Winston. He will one day grow up to be the character played by Ian McShane in the Wick movies but in the prequel’s story is a young man starting as a hitman hotelier who, along with others, create a haven for unsavory types, all set against a backdrop of 1970s New York. The news comes long […]

DIE IN A GUNFIGHT Takes Aim At A Familiar Love Story In The Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Believe it or not, but this one’s taken a little over ten years to materialize since hitting the Black List back in 2010. At long last though, the work of screenwriting duo Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari can now get some traction with director Collin Schiffli’s Die In A Gunfight, releasing on July 16 in the U.S. from Lionsgate. A visually stunning movie with an exciting mix of action, humor, and heart, DIE IN A GUNFIGHT follows Mary (Alexandra Daddario) and Ben (Diego Boneta), the star-crossed black sheep of two powerful families engaged in a centuries-long feud. When Mary and Ben reignite an affair after many years apart, their forbidden love triggers a dangerous collision of schemers and killers. Fists and bullets fly, but maybe, just maybe, love will conquer all. The film also stars Justin Chatwin, Travis Fimmel, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Billy Crudup and Wade Allain-Marcus.

Director Nick Stagliano on the origins & casting of THE VIRTUOSO

Matthew Essary

Nick Stagliano is a filmmaker whose work defies easy classification. His commitment to character-driven stories in an era of big-budget excess makes any new project from the writer/director worth looking into for film fans who enjoy thoughtful, contemplative stories regardless of genre conventions. His latest, THE VIRTUOSO, finds him applying his “character-first” mentality to the action/thriller world with a stellar cast in tow that features Anson Mount (HELL ON WHEELS), Richard Brake (3 FROM HELL), David Morse (THE GREEN MILE), Eddie Marsan (THE WORLD’S END), Abbie Cornish (SUCKER PUNCH), and two time Academy Award winner Sir Anthony Hopkins (THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS). Here is the film’s official synopsis: Danger, deception, and murder descend upon a sleepy country town when a professional assassin accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic mentor and boss. Given only where and when along with a cryptic clue, the methodical hit man must […]

THE VIRTUOSO Review – A Timely Thriller About Assassinations and Isolation.

Matthew Essary

Isolation is something every person has become more familiar with over the past year. Keeping distance from others is now more common than any other time in recent history. Deliberate rituals and protocols keep us safe from harm. Human contact is thoughtfully considered and weighed against the risk it causes. All those things have become the everyday reality for reasonable people as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be an issue worldwide. The world has become a little lonelier in ways it may possibly never fully recover from. I was reminded of all these things as I watched THE VIRTUOSO, a film clearly made before the pandemic but that still feels so deeply rooted in the shared trauma of the here and now. The story focuses on a meticulous assassin (Anson Mount, HELL ON WHEELS), whose conscience is weighing heavy after a recent bit of “collateral damage” from an earlier job, […]

BORN A CHAMPION: Nothing Hits Harder Than Life In The Official Trailer For The New MMA Drama Coming In January

Lee B. Golden III

Lionsgate is proudly presenting the trailer for Born A Champion. Actor Sean Patrick Flanery makes his latest screen presence following Shaun Piccinino’s American Fighter which premiered at the 23rd Fantasia Film Festival. American Wrestler: The Wizard helmer Alex Ranarivelo directs from a script he wrote with Flanery, and with an actor more than qualified to headline his own martial arts film given that he himself is a certified Jiu-Jitsu instructor. The result if the trailer presents nothing else, looks to be a touching, gritty and brutal underdog fight drama with some fair emotional punch to boot. Dennis Quaid (The Day After Tomorrow) and Sean Patrick Flanery (The Boondock Saints) headline this powerful martial arts action film about the love for family and the drive for greatness. After a blood- soaked jujitsu match in Dubai, fighting legend Mickey Kelley (Flanery) falls to superstar Blaine. But years later, an online video proves […]

SHADOW FORCE: Sterling K. Brown/Kerry Washington Action Thriller Lands Director

Lee B. Golden III

On Monday, the trades broke the latest on action thriller, Shadow Force with word that Victoria Mahoney will helm the pic. The project was subject to major competiton back in August before Lionsgate snagged the rights, casting Sterling K. Brown (Hotel Artemis) and Kerry Washington (Django Unchained) to star. Penned by Leon Chills and Joe Carnahan, Shadow Force “follows an estranged husband and wife with a bounty on their heads who must go on the run with their son to avoid their former employer – a unit of shadow ops that has been sent to kill them.” Made With Love Media’s Stephen “Dr.” Love, is producing with Washington at Simpson Street with Pilar Savone, and Brown at Indian Meadows Productions. Indian Meadows’ Danielle Reardon, Jennifer Wiley-Stockton and Katherine Atkinson are exec producing. Mahoney’s steady career in directing film and television, including – in part – epsiodes for Lovecraft Country, Grey’s […]

IRON MASK: Jackie Chan And Arnold Schwarzenegger Cross Swords In The Official Trailer For Oleg Stepchenko’s Period Fantasy Epic

Lee B. Golden III

Nearly fourteen years in the making and through arduous production periods that finally gave director Oleg Stepchenko the first installment of his then-planned Viy trilogy in 2014, the second and long-awaited chapter has finally arrived stateside with Iron Mask (f.k.a. Viy 2 and Journey To China: Mystery Of The Iron Mask, among others). Lionsgate unveiled the official trailer this week as well, with a planed VoD and Digital release on November 20, and on Blu-Ray and DVD beginning November 24. The big seller? Less so the return of Jason Flemyng as cartographer Jonathan Green than headliners Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger duking it out on screen for the first time, in a film that brims with action star brio that might have otherwise been a welcome big screen feat if it weren’t for the idiot Covid-19 pandemic. Ah well, guess we’ll take what we can get. For the first time […]

ARCANA: ‘Predators’ Writers Set ‘Gritty Urban Fantasy’ At Lionsgate, Chad Stahelski To Direct

Lee B. Golden III

Chad Stahelski has a great thing going with Lionsgate following the success of the John Wick franchise thusfar. He’s got television AND feature spin-off in the works, on top of two more back-to-back movies to culminate the hitman pentalogy, in addition to a new incarnation of Highlander, AND he’s producing a new take on CJ’s The Man From Nowhere for New Line. His prospects continue to grow this week and Mike Fleming Jr. at Deadline reveals one such property in Arcana, described as “a gritty urban fantasy set in the hidden world of magical clans”. Predators writing duo Michael Finch and Alex Litvak wrote the spec script which is now in the hands of the studio, and will exec produce; Stahelski will produce out of 87Eleven Entertainment with Jason Spitz and Alex Young will produce. More at Deadline. Photo: Anna Hanks/Wikimedia Commons

LEGACY OF LIES: Scott Adkins Dishes The Action In The Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Believe it or not, writer/director Adrian Bol’s own venture into Scott Adkins action fandom with espionage thriller, Legacy Of Lies, took on a unique seven year journey of its own. The juicy deets can be read at MAAC, while Lionsgate is proudly dishing out the campaign assets, including the official trailer which first dropped at Polygon on Tuesday. Scott Adkins (The Expendables 2) stars in this pulse-pounding global spy-thriller. A decade ago, agent Martin Baxter quit MI6 after his wife’s tragic murder in an operation gone wrong. But when Sacha, a beautiful journalist, asks for help solving an old case, Martin finds himself in the crosshairs of both UK and Russian intelligence. Now, with his daughter held captive by the KGB, Martin has just 24 hours to deliver the secret case files — which means risking both Sacha’s life and his own. Legacy Of Lies will arrive in the U.S. […]

THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES: Lionsgate Brings ‘The Hunger Games’ Team Back For Prequel Development

Lee B. Golden III

Lionsgate is moving forward with an adaptation of “The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes”, as announced by Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chairman, Joe Drake on Tuesday. Author Suzanne Collins penned the novel which is set prior to the events of her hit book series, The Hunger Games, which launched in 2008 and became a three-billion dollar success between four live-action films from 2012 through 2015. The film series also became a cornerstone for many a film franchise in service to audiences and fans around the world keen on young adult IPs, including Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight and Veronica Roth’s Divergent. The prequel will focus on the role of 18 year old Coriolanus Snow, years before becoming the tyrannical President of Panem. He is handsome and charming, and though the Snow family has fallen on hard times, he sees a chance for a change in his fortunes when he is chosen to […]

MIDWAY: The Official Trailer For Roland Emmerich’s Explosive WWII Epic Hits Online Shores

Lee B. Golden III

If there’s anyone who can possibly take the helm for a sprawling war epic (one that doesn’t necessarily have to involve Earth-shattering events and overzealous alien conquests), Roland Emmerich may certainly be that guy, and he’s working at proving so with a November release set for his ensemble-cast dramatic period thriller, Midway. MIDWAY centers on the Battle of Midway, a clash between the American fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy which marked a pivotal turning point in the Pacific Theater during WWII. The film, based on the real-life events of this heroic feat, tells the story of the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude and bravery to overcome the odds. Midway stars Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Etsushi Toyokawa, Tadanobu Asano, Luke Kleintank, Jun Kunimura, Darren Criss, Keean Johnson and Alexander Ludwig, with Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid and Woody Harrelson. The film opens […]

MALKO: Michael Fassbender Lines Up Action Spy Thriller Novel Adaptation At Lionsgate

Lee B. Golden III

Soon to stake his claim in Kung Fury 2: The Movie, actor Michael Fassbender is officially tapped to star in another hopeful franchise outing, Malko. The project is officially housed at Lionsgate as of Tuesday with the studio further acquiring the rights to Gerard de Villier’s string of best-selling espionage thrillers titled S.A.S., from which de Villier’s 1973 publication, Checkpoint Charlie, has been chosen first on the studio’s menu. The S.A.S. franchise follows the singular hero, Malko Linge, an Austrian nobleman and freelance CIA operative who spent his formative years in a special Nazi work camp for captured spies. Malko learned the intricate dark arts of tradecraft from the best. Now, an adult living in a reclaimed family manor fallen into disrepair, Malko becomes a spy for hire. He is the ultimate agent without an agency – a gentleman warrior without a country who works according to his own moral […]

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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THE DOORMAN: Lionsgate Nabs New Ruby Rose Action Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Actress Ruby Rose is riding high this week having emerged in Thursday’s trailer for the Fall premiere of Batwoman on The CW. She’s also remained consistent in her big screen endeavors following roles in xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage, John Wick: Chapter Two and shark thriller, The Meg, now staking her claim with her latest action role in The Doorman with a release now being planned thanks to Lionsgate’s U.S. acquisition of the film at Cannes. A heist to steal priceless art from decades ago; a prestigious building housing New York’s elite over countless years; and a doorman…unlike any other. From director, Ryuhei Kitamura of Midnight Meat Train comes DOORMAN, an action packed thriller featuring Ali Gorski, a highly decorated ex-military sergeant turned doorman of The Carrington. During the Thanksgiving weekend, while all but few of the tenants are away and The Carrington is under renovations, a seedy plot […]

THE HITMAN’S WIFE’S BODYGUARD Hires Frank Grillo To Save Europe

Lee B. Golden III

For all your current theatrical Frank Grillo-related needs, he can currently be seen starring in the new fight drama, Donnybrook, from IFC opposite Jamie Bell. With other productions and releases in tow along with Joe Carnahan’s Boss Level and Joe Lynch’s Netflix hustle with the Point Blank redo, fans can feel free to add another with this month’s filming of The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard from Lionsgate. With a script by returning writer Tom O’Connor, Grillo joins the Samuel L. Jackson/Ryan Reynolds two hander that features title actress Salma Hayek all from Patrick Hughes’s 2017 hit movie about a down-and-out bodyguard reluctantly partnered with his rival – an internationally wanted assassin, to take down a notorious dictator for heinous war crimes; Hayek plays wife to Reynolds’s hitman rival, played by Jackson. The Lionsgate sequel follows bodyguard Michael Bryce (Reynolds), who’s enlisted by Jackson and Hayek’s characters to join them on a […]