saban films

Assassin Thriller 24 HOURS TO LIVE Lands At Saban Films

Although initially tapped for an immersive theatrical Barco Escape rollout as stated last year, Wednesday’s news of stunt coordinator-turned-filmmaker Brian Smrz’s sophomore action thriller, 24 Hours To Live, makes no mention of it. That’s not to say that may change, but as it stands however, expect a release in due time with the film’s reported acquisition by Saban Films at Cannes. Zachary Dean’s script sees Hawke in the role of a career assassin who is given a chance at redemption when he is subsequently revived after being killed on his latest mission in South Africa. Mr. Six and Looper co-star, actress Xu Qing, and actors Paul Anderson, Liam Cunningham and Rutger Hauer also star with John Wick producer Basil Iwanyk of Thunder Road Pictures producing as are financier Fundemental Films’s own Mark Gao and Gregory Ouanhon. Kent Kubena, Jon Kuyper, Jonathan Fuhrman and Gary Glushon serve as executive producers. Per […]

Crime Pic, SHOT CALLER, Lands At Saban With Early Teaser Poster Art

Lee B. Golden III

Bold Films just presented its latest teaser poster for the upcoming crime thriller, Shot Caller, for which we now have word of its new home this week at Saban Films according to Deadline. Directed by Ric Roman Waugh (Snitch) from his own script, the film sees Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game Of Thrones) leading the tale of a prison gangster fresh out from behind bars only to be forced back into the underworld by his superiors in lieu of a a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California. Joining Coster-Waldau is actress Lake Bell and actor Jon Bernthal with Emory Cohen (Brooklyn), Omari Hardwick (Power), and Benjamin Bratt rounding out the cast. Waugh produced the film via his Cadre Filmworks banner next to Participant Media’s own Jonathan King, and Michel Litvak and Gary Michael Walters for Bold Films whose Jeffrey Stott and Lisa Zambri executive produced. […]

Saban Films Picks Up Assassin Thriller, THE HUNTER’S PRAYER, Starring Sam Worthington

Lee B. Golden III

We’re a ways from anything Avatar right now, so I reckon something a little more grounded will make for a nice change of pace. It’s the new film, The Hunter’s Prayer, announced in 2014 and now the latest prospect of Saban Films with events now underway at TIFF in Toronto this week. Read on! TORONTO – September 9, 2016 – Saban Films announced that they have acquired US distribution rights to The Hunter’s Prayer, directed by Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) and starring Sam Worthington (Avatar, Clash of the Titans) and newcomer Odeya Rush (The Giver, Goosebumps). John Brancato and Michael Ferris (The Game) adapted the action-thriller from Kevin Wignall’s critically acclaimed novel, For the Dogs. The Hunter’s Prayer follows Lucas (Worthington), a solitary assassin, hired to kill a young woman, Ella, (Rush), who is unaware that her family’s questionable business dealings have cost them their lives. […]

'Monster Hunt' Co-Star Ludi Lin Enlists With The POWER RANGERS For Lionsgate, Saban

Lee B. Golden III

Director Raman Hui‘s latest, Monster Hunt, drew in spectacular box office figures in China this year. This fact undoubtedly serves well for actor Ludi Lin, a relative newcomer as it was his feature film debut following smaller roles in shortfilms, as well as most recently in the first season of the Netflix series epic, Marco Polo. Credits like these seem to bode well for the actor who evidently tested for a role in the upcoming Power Rangers reboot movie from Lionsgate and Saban Films. And, as it turns out, so it is with the latest social media announcement of his casting as the Black Ranger in the new film directed by Dean Israelite. The team is coming together! #LudiLin is morphing into the #BlackRanger in 2017 for the @PowerRangersMovie. A photo posted by Power Rangers (@powerrangersmovie) on Oct 22, 2015 at 10:15am PDT Lin follows actress Naomi Scott and actor Dacre […]

Dean Israelite's POWER RANGERS Recruits Dacre Montgomery

Lee B. Golden III

It was about a month or so ago that Lionsgate and Saban announced they began testing actors for the upcoming 2017 tokusatsu reboot, Power Rangers. The show has gone on for well over two decades crossing over Japanese sci-fi and fantasy lore to North American TV audiences in 1993 and since moving into Hollywood territory with at least two films in 1995 and 1997. The two companies announced the reboot in May of 2014 long prior to finally attaching a director in the form of Earth To Echo helmer Dean Israelite with a release date currently stamped for January 13, 2017. Now, with actress Naomi Scott newly cast as the Pink Ranger as of October 7, thus signaling the start of casting announcements, Lionsgate and Saban have confirmed the addition of actor Dacre Montgomery as The Red Ranger Every #PowerRangers squad needs a leader. Welcome Dacre Montgomery as the Red […]

Saban Films Stands Up For Adam Alleca's STANDOFF

Lee B. Golden III

The latest trailer for Adam Alleca‘s new contained suspense thriller, Standoff, already has a trailer circulating online. Thomas Jane stars opposite Lawrence Fisburne who presents quite the imposing villain in a movie that looks real cunning in its development between a fully-armed hitman and a former soldier, wounded and packing a single shotgun with one shell, and young actress Ella Ballentine in the role of a 12-year old girl caught in the crossfire. Jane‘s a great actor and I’ve actually been a fan of his work since the 2004 rendition of The Punisher, but Lawrence is going to put on a great show with this one with a plot as intriguing as hinted by the footage. Thankfully we aren’t too far off now in that regard with word from Deadline now that Saban Films has picked up the movie for an early 2016 release. SYNOPSIS: Carter (Thomas Jane) is a […]

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 […]

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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 […]