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Rob Cohen’s RAZOR Adaptation Casts Emma Dumont To Star

Fox TV/London Night Studios

Rob Cohen’s long-awaited Razor adaptation now has a star attached in the form of Emma Dumont. As Deadline’s Amanda N’Duka reported on Monday, the actress known for her latest portrayal as Polaris in Fox’s Marvel TV series, The Gifted, is set to star in the new film based on the work author and illustrator Everett Hartsoe, who created the character in 1991 upon launching London Night Studios prior to its shared prominence with The Crow comic book series between 1998 and 1999.

The character will be given an updated look for the film centered on the Nicole Mitchell, a young woman who equips herself with amplified fighting prowess in addition to surgically bladed arms to go after the man who killed her LAPD detective father ten years after the trauma of witnessing his death. The production was previously reported last year to be one of two comic adaptations from Cohen that would tie into each other with the other being Stryke, although that remains to be seen with a few new people now attached behind the scenes.

“Emma is a renaissance woman,” said director Cohen. “She’s a wonderful actress, a professional ballet dancer, and is currently getting her degree in Robotics Engineering. I have her training in Krav Maga and, believe me, there is nothing she can’t do.”

Most added, “Emma was born to play Razor. She is the embodiment of Everette Hartsoe’s comic character come to life. Emma naturally exudes the inner strength, acumen, athleticism, vulnerability, likability and street-wise intelligence that are the hallmarks of “Razor”. I couldn’t be more excited about finding the right actress in Emma to bring the character of Razor to life.”

Movie View International, Big Fish, Head Gear, and Truth Fair Investment are backing the project with producers Jeff Most (The Crow) and Philip Lee (The Dark Knight) still attached; new producer additions are Grant Cramer (Lone Survivor), Anna Wang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2) and Christopher Milburn (Hunter’s Prayer).

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Rob Cohen To Adapt RAZOR With Number 11, Lotus; STRYKE To Follow Suit

It’s been almost four years since news broke of The Fast And The Furious helmer Rob Cohen’s involvement of an upcoming comic book adaptation titled Razor. He’s kept busy since then with 2015 thriller The Boy Next Door, the upcoming Category 5 and recent announcement of Speedhunters for Jiaflix and 1905 Pictures, but now it appears Razor is back on the to-do list with word via The Wrap of its upcoming showing at the Marché du Film at Cannes courtesy of Number 11 Films.

Razor is based on the work author and illustrator Everett Hartsoe, who created the character in 1991 upon launching London Night Studios prior to its shared prominence with The Crow comic book series between 1998 and 1999. The character will be given an updated look for the film centered on the death of Nicole Mitchell, a young woman whose resurrection as our title heroine grants her the chance and gift of amplified fighting prowess in addition to surgically bladed arms to go after the man who killed her LAPD detective father and turned her long-thought dead sister into a rival assassin.

Razor is the first of a dual film financing and sales partnership with Keith Wells’s Number 11 Films and Bill Johnson and Jim Seibel’s Lotus Entertainment with the second film, Stryke, based on one of the key characters from the first film. Cohen wrote the script for Razor and is producing along with Philip Lee (The Dark Knight, The Revenant), Jim Steele (The Arrival), Sean Lydiard (Office Uprising), and principally, Jeff Most who produced the 1994 release of Brandon Lee’s final film, The Crow.

via The Wrap:

“I have loved ‘Razor’ since its first publication. It has operatic themes, female empowerment, revenge, action, a love story, all shrouded in a delicious darkness that fits our time,” said Cohen. 

Most added, “Rob is one of the great visionary action directors of our time. There’s no one better to deliver the visceral and resonant character of ‘Razor’ and her triumphant story of becoming a dark heroine to the big screen.” 

“I’m excited to be announcing ‘Razor’ as the debut project under this new venture with Lotus. I look forward to this being the first of many projects on which we collaborate in both film and television”, says Wells, the President and Founder of Number 11 Films. 

“‘Razor’ is a fast paced, high concept action movie based on a very successful underlying IP and with a director who has proven himself in this genre time and again. We are pleased to be launching this new venture with Number 11 Films with RAZOR and look forward to working together on this and many other projects in the future” stated Jim Seibel co-chairman of Lotus Entertainment.

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Rob Cohen Tapped To Direct Futuristic Actioner, SPEEDHUNTERS For 2018 Release

Jiaflix Pictures and China Movie Channel shingle, 1905 Pictures, are reportedly teaming up with di Bonaventura Pictures for the futuristic car chase action thriller tentatively titled Speedhunters. The Fast And The Furious and The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor helmer Rob Cohen is set to direct the $100 million film which begins rolling cameras in Shanghai and Germany’s famed Studio Babelsberg with other exotic locations worldwide starting this June.

Set in the near future, SPEEDHUNTERS is an action-thriller in the world of Formula racing where a colorful team of racers and crew get drawn into high intrigue around a revolutionary technology threatening to change the world as we know it.

Free Country scribe Josh Parkinson wrote the script for the film’s 2018 release.

“SPEEDHUNTERS has all the tenets of a global franchise with its action sequences, visual effects, relatable characters and a storyline that takes ordinary people through a journey of extraordinary circumstances,” explains producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Di Bonaventura is  behind mega-franchises like G.I. Joe and the Transformers series, which alone has generated $3.8 billion at the box office. He received a Career Achievement Award from the Zurich Film Festival in 2016.  

“When SPEEDHUNTERS was sent to me by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Marc Ganis, I was immediately engaged by the story and characters. Opportunities to capture speed and action in a new way, using new filmic techniques are rare and valuable to me. So it was with Josh Parkinson’s script. It told a story on which I could build a tapestry of break-the-limit speed, adrenaline, and a core group of great characters. What more could a director want?” adds Cohen.

Jiaflix, 1905 Pictures and China Movie Channel previously teamed with Paramount and di Bonaventura for Transformers: Age of Extinction which became a top grosser in 2014, engaging in the film’s overall production, design and implementation of China marketing, anti-piracy and grass roots programs that helped rocket the film to grossing more than a record-breaking $300 million in China. As a new franchise starter, Speedhunters aims to top that.

“We are excited to work with Hollywood powerhouses Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Rob Cohen, both who have exceptional track records in developing and directing multi-billion dollar franchises,” says Jiaflix President Marc Ganis. “Coupled with our team that propelled the 4th installment of the Transformers franchise to unprecedented success in China, we look forward to creating the next big action franchise with SPEEDHUNTERS that will drive demand and box office performance worldwide.”

“This venture is a reflection of the growing interest and strength of China-U.S. partnerships in bringing excellent films to the international market,” adds Jiaflix Founder Kenneth Huang, chairman of one of the film’s main investment partners, HuaHua Media.

Cohen’s recently completed endeavor, Category 5, opens later this year.

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