lionsgate

NARUTO Is Up For A Live-Action Film From Lionsgate

Naruto Shippuden and Road To Ninja: Naruto The Movie helmer Yamashita Hiroyuki is currently on the way with the next theatrical chapter of the hit manga/anime saga, Boruto: Naruto The Movie – the eleventh animated film in the saga, this August in Japan while fans await their day in October. It’s a franchise like many of late with a huge following stemming from its roots at Shueisha by author Kishimoto Masashi, prior to its anime launch in 1997 with a plot focused on an orphaned boy determined to become his village’s strongest ninja guardian yet. Moreover, it is one that has systemically driven online creators to bring their own inspired take on Kishimoto’s universe, and make no mistake – there are quite a few successes to take note of (HINT: I’ve written about them). So, what of it then? Well, as a lot of you may already know in this […]

Aleksander Bach To Direct Alien Invasion Epic, REVOC For Summit!

Lee B. Golden III

We’re less than a month before the release of director Aleksander Bach‘s latest live-action game adaptation offering, Hitman: Agent 47. There’s no doubt, however, that early screenings, provided the reviews are upworthy, may prove the film to be an effective one, and so we can comfortably look forward to whatever lies in Bach‘s future as a filmmaker. That said, THR has it that the award-winning commercial director will be following up with Revoc, an alien invasion thriller from a script by John Robert Cole. David Hoeberman and Todd Lieberman are producing the film for Lionsgate via Summit, and there’s general plot to circulate as of this report while being described as a unique and grounded sci-fi epic. My take on this is uncertain, so time will tell upon the release of Hitman: Agent 47 just exactly how I feel about Bach in his directorial debut. The trailers have been nothing […]

Defective Weapon Props Cited On Set Of ALLEGIANT: PART ONE Prompting Safety Changes

Lee B. Golden III

It appears all is finally settled after a recent dispute came to light regarding the presence of dangerous props on the Georgia set of director Robert Schwentke‘s lates, The Divergent Series: Allegiant Part 1. I’m not too sure of exactly what specifics were the precursor to this happening, but the word among the trades is that Lionsgate and executives over at IATSE Local 479 stepped in to use of dangerous weapons’ props for a key battle sequence involving more than one hundred extras with ages as young as 4. As Deadline reported this week, the scene, filmed on June 17, was described as a big sequence in a village called the Fringe where villagers use any weapon they can muster as the children were kidnapped from their parents. From the report: “Prop masters handed out the heavy metal weapons – including axes, machetes, scythes, maces, steel pipes, hammers, heavy farm […]

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Lionsgate, Millenium, Fifth Journey To Create EXPENDABLES Mobile Game For 2016 Release

Lee B. Golden III

A fourth Expendables run may quietly be in motion with Terry “Hulk” Hogan and Hong Kong legend Jackie Chan among the names being stirred in the hype pot. There’s no telling when that might happen, but now it appears that Lionsgate is taking the blockbuster action franchise into gaming territory for mobile users. The latest announcement in Hong Kong came this week on Wednesday and you may read it below: As part of its continued expansion into the game space, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a premier next generation global content leader, has partnered with producer Avi Lerner’s Millennium Films and Hong Kong-based mobile game developer and publisher Fifth Journey to create an Expendables mobile game, the companies announced today. The Expendables game, based on the star-studded action hero franchise whose first three installments grossed nearly $800 million at the global box office, will be released on mobile phones and tablets in […]

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Dean Israelite's MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS Gets A New Logo

Lee B. Golden III

There’s been some teaser art floating around ahead of the forthcoming production of Lionsgate/Saban’s feature adaptation, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Now, in the wake of all things happening in Las Vegas, Nevada at Licensing Expo 2015, Comicbook.com just forwarded the newest logo via Rangerboard which you can check out below. The film was initially announced late last year with Haim Saban attached to produce the new film along with Brian Casentini, Allison Shearmur and Roberto Orci, based on the early-90’s American Tokusatsu re-working of the longstanding Super Sentai program, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, which centered on a handful of teens gifted with superpowered morphers to fight intergalactic evil. Dean Isrealite has since been attached to direct the film as of April, and this week with IGN while discussing the script by Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller, mused and promised a “grounded” but “playful” and “realistic” approach to the movie. There’s no cast […]

Lionsgate's ROBIN HOOD: ORIGINS Gets A Director

Lee B. Golden III

Lionsgate is hoisting Peaky Blinders helmer Otto Bathurst to direct Robin Hood: Origins, according to a new report from Deadline on Thursday. There’s no word on casting yet but Knights Of The Round Table scribe Joby Harold is penning the script which sees our title hero returning home from the Crusades only to find Sherwood Forrest embroiled in corruption and tyranny with no choice but to band together with a group of outlaws and set the wrong things right. The film is poised to be a gritty take on the original source material as one of four films from seperate studios with different visions apart from another network TV series in the works, so this one should definitely provide the thrills of an R-rated picture. Appian Way’s Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisso are producing the film with Safe House’s Harold and Tory Tunnell for a hopeful start of production sometime […]

OPINION: Too Many Robins Spoil The Soup

What do Warner Bros., Sony, Disney, and Lionsgate have in common nowadays? Robin Hood on the brain. Do we really want to hop on this bandwagon again? It seems to me that the British character has been done to death so many times that it’s been seeped into parody like the 1993 Mel Brooks version, Men In Tights. Or perhaps on television you remember When Things Were Rotten (1975). That one had Dick Gautier and Misty Rowe as Robin and Marion. But let’s not go to Robin & Marion (1976) where Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn are our main characters. That was a drama but it looked like a parody in my eyes. Another TV version was The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984) which had comedic actor George Segal, Morgan Fairchild, and the late Roddy McDowall as Robin, Marian, and King John, respectively. This one, I must say, I enjoyed. If […]

Dean Israelite In Talks To Direct POWER RANGERS Film For Lionsgate/Saban

Lee B. Golden III

No darkness and grittiness here. Lionsgate is going its own route with a likely PG-13 big screen franchise as intended for the upcoming theatrical reboot of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The film was initially announced late last year with Haim Saban attached to produce the new film along with Brian Casentini, Allison Shearmur and Roberto Orci, based on the early-90’s American Tokusatsu re-working of the longstanding Super Sentai program, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, which centered on a handful of teens gifted with superpowered morphers to fight intergalactic evil. As of this week, The Wrap reports that the production appears to finally be cicling a director in the form of Project Almanac helmer Dean Israelite, so time will tell if that gets made official. If and when that is so, he will be directing from a script by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz. In the meantime, there’s no cast publicly in place just […]

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POWER/RANGERS, Ceased By Saban, Now Back Online Following Settlement

Lee B. Golden III

It’s funny how the smallest of details can mean the biggest of changes in the course of events. The latest online craze over Bootleg Universe’s deboot short, Power/Rangers has been the biggest example of this as of four days ago, unleashing the biggest, darkest, most visually stunning and violent take on the 90’s childrens’ Ameritoku series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, just four days ago, followed by litigatory threats from billonaire media magnet and franchise owner Haim Saban and Saban Brands which ultimately led to its disabling on Vimeo and YouTube over a day later. Of course, the initial Vimeo upload on the channel shortfilm’s director, Detention and Torque helmer Joseph Kahn was already downloadable with a disclaimer stating that the project, produced by Dredd producer, Bootleg Universe’s own Adi Shankar was merely a freebie one-shot for the fans. Despite this, the near-immediate popularity and virility of the short became the […]

After Stathelski, Lionsgate Makes JOHN WICK 2 Official

Lee B. Golden III

Not too long after stunt coordinators Chad Stathelski and David Leitch made clear their active development on a sequel to their 2014 directorial debut John Wick, Variety is reporting that Lionsgate has done the same, officially announcing the second installment. However, it was CEO Jon Feltheimer who, during a conference call with analysts to discuss the studio’s year-end 3rd quarter earnings, suggesting a possible “multiple-title franchise”. In lieu of this, its likely that lead actor Keanu Reeves will return to reprise his role after turning in such a stellar performance on top of building a longstanding and cohesive partnership with Stahelski and Leitch over at the stunt training facility, 87Eleven. Of course, this also brings into question of who our main protagonist will go toe-to-toe with this time around, and that will depend on the story our directing duo conjures. Rest assured, let’s hope the next bad guy he meets […]

Lionsgate Announces Promo Partnership With Samsung For MOCKINGJAY: PART 1

Lee B. Golden III

I’ve always been unsure about studios promoting events for trailers. In my head at least, it always used to be that the trailers would come and would sell the movie normally prior to whatever box office results would occur. Nowadays, trailers themselves are headlining events at specific venues, whether its online, on a certain T.V. show, or the like. In my opinion, it feels tedious and a bit overhyped, but that’s the route studios are going for these days. From 6-second trailer-teasers to organized trailer events such as what Lionsgate is now bringing fans of the Hunger Games film franchise in light of San Diego Comic Con. All I know is I’m already sold and I do still look forward to the trailer. But I don’t own a Galaxy Tab S either…so… oh well. Screw it. 😛 Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a premier next generation global content leader, and Samsung Telecommunications America, […]

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS Adds Star Trek 3's Roberto Orci As EP And Two New Writers

Lee B. Golden III

Writers Zack Stentz (left) and Ashley Miller (right) Following a press release back in May, the forthcoming production of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers finally found itself new additions to its creative team. X-Men: First Class scribes Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller have officially been tasked to provide the screenplay for the new film which will also be executive produced by veteran scribe and former partner with Alex Kurtzman, writer Roberto Orci. The new film marks the first major feature-length effort since Saban Comapany launched the American Tokusatsu crossover hit series on TV almost 20 yearz ago, prior to two Hollywood films hit the big screen between 1995 and 1997. The new film is part of a newly announced joint venture between Lionsgate and Saban Brands, which grants the film a reboot to attract audiences who have contributed to the major successes of the former, with films such as the Hunger […]

WARRIOR Prepares A Hindi Remake With Lionsgate

Lee B. Golden III

The martial arts action genre continues to play heavily in India’s highly productive market despite anyone’s notice of these films beyond their borders. So, it still a delightful surprise to see such films come about, and much to the chagrin of some critics, that includes remakes which are pretty typical in Indian cinema as directors sometimes remake their own films or that of other directors, local or abroad. In this instance, we take the name Gavin O’Connor whose 2011 feature-length mixed martial arts drama, Warrior, was a critical hit, but flopped in the U.S.. This week, that film falls at at the feet of Bollywood writer and director Karan Malhotra for the Hindi remake with lead actor Sidharth Malhotra (pictured above) and potential addition, action hero Akshay Kumar respectively portraying the roles previously played by Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton. The original film’s distributors at Lionsgate are producing the remake […]

INSURGENT Kicks Off In Atlanta!

Lee B. Golden III

Fans of director Neil Burger’s live-action adaptation of author Veronica Roth’s 2011 best seller, Divergent, have something extra to obsess over for throughout the summer with the current production of Insurgent, the second in Roth’s highly successful series of young-adult novels. The official press release is out today, with further info regarding The Hunger Games: Catching Fire co-star Stephanie L. Schulnd reportedly in the mix. Considering her name wasn’t in the following press release, it could be a strategic play on Lionsgate as casting sometimes occurs during production. So at any rate, we might hear more on who will star in the forthcoming quadrilogical trilogy. Or not. We’ll see. Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) announced today that principal photography has commenced in Atlanta on the feature film adaptation of INSURGENT, the second installment of the blockbuster DIVERGENT action adventure franchise, starring Golden Globe® nominated Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Academy Award® winner […]

WWE And Lionsgate Launch New Film Initiative With VENDETTA

Lee B. Golden III

Action fans and followers of all things WWE can look forward to more feature-length projects in the not-too-distant future now that actor and wrestler, Paul Wight (better known as The Big Show) and the feature film branch of the company well known for bringing wrestlers to the forefront of film. The company has signed a six-picture deal that would renew their partnership with Lionsgate following the cult successes of their previous releases featuring wrestler-turned-actors like Kane, John Cena and Steve Austin. And to kick things off, the first film will see Wight’s return to the screen since starring in the 2010 comedy, Knucklehead, preceded by MacGruber and the 1998 comedy, The Waterboy. Read on for the official word: SANTA MONICA, Calif. & STAMFORD, Conn., May 22, 2014 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Lionsgate, the premier next generation global content leader, and WWE Studios are extending their longstanding partnership to encompass six new […]

RocketJump Celebrates 1 Billion Views With A Video Update

Lee B. Golden III

Visionary online filmmaker Freddie Wong and the guys over at RocketJump have made a huge name for themselves over the last four years, namely known for showcasing creative, VFX-heavy and spectacular shortfilms that are full of stylish action. In 2014, their efforts have lended them over a billion views on their YouTube channel, and the group is looking toward bigger goals in the years ahead. How big? Well, for starters, RocketJump announced a partnership with Lionsgate in a deal last month which benefits everyone involved, but essentially provides RocketJump the means to utilize their resources to create and promote their content more conveniently and expansively. And on Monday, Wong shared a video on the channel to explain the future of RocketJump, the future of its online content, plans to work on feature films, and a lot more. I’ve shared some of Wong‘s work on my site having only learned of […]

Lionsgate And Saban Team Up For A New POWER RANGERS Movie

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been seventeen years since the second of two Hollywood feature films made their way to fans of the long-successful American Tokusatsu crossover TV series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Since then, the global fanbase has stayed true to their favorite color-assorted superheroes in one form or another in full support of a genre that still grabs audiences to this day, and has even inspired several independent filmmakers and content creators along the way. This week, following news of media mogul Haim Saban’s launch of Saban Films, it seems things are ready to pick up with a new live-action feature film. And according to the press release below, Lionsgate is getting in on the suit-action as well SANTA MONICA, CA, May 7, 2014 – Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a leading global entertainment company, and Saban Brands, a strategic brand management company that acquires and builds global consumer brands, are partnering to develop […]

The New Trailer For POWER RANGERS: CLASH OF THE RED RANGERS – THE MOVIE

Lee B. Golden III

Lionsgate has unveiled the new trailer for “Saban’s Power Rangers: Clash Of The Red Rangers”, based on the television series, Power Rangers Samurai. The film is originally a 2011 production in the form of a two-part series episode directed by Jonathan Brough and Johnathan Tzachor, and starring Alex Heartman, Erika Fong, Hector David Jr., Najee De-Tiege, Brittany Anne Pirtle and Rene Naufahu, with voice acting by Jeff Szusterman, Cameron Rhodes, Geoff Dolan, John Dybvig, Dean Young and Tobias Reiss. The 45-minute feature is now available for pre-order at Amazon and will be available on DVD and Digital Download on March 5th. SYNOPSIS: The Samurai Rangers team up with the mysterious RPM Red Ranger to fight off dual threats from Master Xandred’s Mooger army and a robotic super villain from the RPM Ranger’s dimension. When both Red Rangers get struck with hypnobolts they turn against one another and the fate of […]