Month: May 2021

On the heels of generating flurries of critical praise for his work as a demanding, terrifying music teacher in Whiplash, J.K. Simmons is in negotiations for a role in The Accountant.

Ben Affleck is starring in the film, which will be directed by Warrior helmer Gavin O’Connor.

Bill Dubuque wrote the 2011 Black List script, which centers on an accountant who moonlights as an assassin.

The Accountant has been shuffling around in development for several years. After a brief period at Sony, the project was put back in turnaround, where Warner Bros. picked it up. Lynette Howell and Mark Williams are producing, and Drew Crevello and Jon Gonda will oversee the project for Warner Bros.

Anna Kendrick is also circling a role, but sources say that deal still has quite a ways to go and may not stick.

Simmons most recently starred in the Sundance winner Whiplash opposite Miles Teller. The film, now in theaters, has been well received critically and is garnering awards buzz. His other recent work includes Men, Women & Children and Labor Day. He’s wrapped work on the upcoming Terminator: Genisys, starring Jason Clarke and Emilia Clarke. He’s repped by The Gersh Agency.

Solipsist Films Springs For Allan Topol Espionage Novel ‘Spy Dance’

EXCLUSIVE: Solipsist Films has acquired Spy Dance, the best-selling novel from D.C. lawyer-turned-author Allan Topol. Alex Hollister (Shotgun Cinderella) has been tapped to adapt the tale of Greg Nielsen, an ex-CIA operative who reinvents his identity after the agency sets him up, only to be sucked back into action against his former employers when his stepdaughter is taken hostage years later. Topol has penned 10 thriller novels with geopolitical bents, including Dark Ambition, Conspiracy and Enemy Of My Enemy, drawing comparisons to the likes of Robert Ludlum and John Grisham. Back in February, Solipsist Films acquired Chuck Driskell’s Gage Hartline novel The Diaries along with two upcoming sequels. Solipsist next has Frank Miller’s Sin City: A Dame To Kill For hitting theaters August 22 and also produced the Blumhouse-Universal thriller Curve starring Julianne Hough. Solipsist is repped by CAA, which negotiated the deal with Topol’s reps at The Lichtman Group. Hollister is repped by Zero Gravity Management.

WWE Studios & Lionsgate Pact On Action Six-Pack, Tap Soska Twins To Direct WWE’s Big Show In ‘Vendetta’

EXCLUSIVE: WWE Studios and Lionsgate have renewed their partnership with a six-picture deal to produce a new sextet of action pics, starting with Vendetta from twin-sister directing duo Jen and Sylvia Soska (Dead Hooker In A Trunk). The Soska Twins previously combined on horror pic American Mary and directed See No Evil 2 starring WWE’s Kane for WWE Studios and Lionsgate. Vendetta, written by Justin Shady, tracks a hard-nosed detective who deliberately commits a crime to get sent to prison, where he seeks vengeance on the crook serving a life sentence for murdering the detective’s wife. The WWE/Lionsgate “Action six-pack” will serve as a platform for WWE Superstar wrestling personalities transitioning into acting while enlisting emerging filmmaking talent behind the camera.

Vendetta will star WWE superstar Big Show (aka Paul Wight), who’s appeared in such films as The Waterboy and MacGruber and on TV series Star Trek: Enterprise, Royal Pains, and Burn Notice. He also starred in WWE Studios pic Knucklehead in 2010. Lensing on Vendetta is slated for this summer, with the next film in the six-title pact set to film in the fall.

“We’re thrilled to join forces with Michael and his WWE team on a series of modestly budgeted action films that extend our longstanding and successful partnership,” said Lionsgate Co-COO and Motion Picture Group President Steve Beeks. “We have a strong track record in this genre, and we’re delighted to team with the WWE juggernaut to deliver action-packed event films that will resonate with their global fan base and beyond.” The production partnership between WWE Studios and Lionsgate has yielded The Condemned, See No Evil, and upcoming Leprechaun: Origins and the Soskas’ See No Evil 2. WWE Studios’ Bradley Buchanan negotiated the deal with Lionsgate’s Wendy Jaffe. The Soskas are repped by APA, Zero Gravity, and Joel VanderKloot.

WILL YUN LEE NAMED ONE OF PEOPLE MAG’S SEXIEST MEN OF THE YEAR, 2013

In 2002 and 2007, Lee found his way onto the coveted list of People Magazine’s ’50 Most Beautiful’ and ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ issues. He currently is One of People Magazine’s Sexiest ‘Men of the Year’ for 2013. On stands now…

AFM: ‘Saw II’ Director Darren Lynn Bousman Bows ‘Abattoir’ Via Radical Studios (EXCLUSIVE)

Darren Lynn Bousman, director of “Saw II,” “Saw III” and “Saw IV,” is set to direct “Abattoir,” which will be produced by Radical Studios, and brought onto the market at AFM by Paris-based sales company Versatile Films.

Bousman will work from a screenplay by Christopher Monfette, who adapts the Radical Publishing comicbook miniseries created by Bousman.

Currently in pre-production — casting is under way — “Abattoir” is scheduled to shoot early next year for a fall 2014 delivery. It centers on a Boston real-estate reporter who unearths an urban legend about someone who has spent decades buying homes where horrific tragedies have occurred, piecing them together. He is ultimately lead to the enigmatic Jebediah Crone and the answer to the terrifying question: How do you build a haunted house?

Will Yun Lee Joins USA’s ‘Novice

Will Yun Lee (The Wolverine) is set to co-star opposite Shane Coffey in USA’s drama pilot The Novice, from Fox 21, Joe and Tony Gayton. It centers on Kyle (Coffey), a recent college graduate who is forced to move back home with his parents and soon lands a position with a Korean crime organization. Lee, a second-generation Korean American, will play Big Bang, a thug with a lot of anger issues who is a major player in the Korean syndicate. The actor, repped by APA and Zero Gravity, next stars in director Duane Adler’s Korean film Cobu.

Zero Gravity Enlists ‘Corpsemen’ To Kick Off South Africa Tie-Up

Zero Gravity Management and South Africa-basedDiprente Films have set the first of three movies they will co-produce and co-finance there: the horror action thriller Corpsemen. The management company’s Marc Bloom wrote the script, which follows a man on a secret mission to retrieve an influential senator’s son who has gone missing during active service. What he finds will change his life and question his perception of reality. Brett Simmons (The Monkey’s Paw, Animal) is directing, and casting is currently underway for a planned spring 2014 shoot. John Volmink and Isaac Mogajane will produce for Diprente and while Mark Holder and Christine Holder are on board for Zero Gravity. The latter pair is in post on Walter, the indie drama starring Virginia Madsen and William H. Macy.

Millennium Films Sets Icelandic Helmer Oskar Thor Axelsson For ‘Point Of Violence’

EXCLUSIVE: Oskar Thor Axelsson, who helmed the Nicolas Winding Refn-produced Black’s Game, has been set by Millennium Films to helm Point Of Violence, an action thriller scripted by Tony Mosher and Christian Parkes. The pic uses a sliding doors concept to tell the story of a hit man given the order to kill a woman who turns out to be a former lover. In one version, he carries out the hit, and in the other, he refuses and is forced to protect his old flame. The film will shoot early next year and Dobre Films is producing.

The Icelandic helmer put himself on the map with Black’s Game, a fictional story set in Reykjavik in the 90s when the crime and drug trade flourished and the game became much more violent and dangerous. In that backdrop, the film tells the story of a game that took control of the underworld. Axelsson is also attached to direct the Joby Harold-scripted The Key Man for QED and Open Road Films, and Garden District for Dimension. He’s repped by WME, Principato Young and Bob Wallerstein. Mark Gill and Christine Crowe are steering for Millennium.

Love and Lemons: San Sebastian Review

Director Teresa Fabik’s Swedish film follows a young woman who dreams of becoming a chef.

Will Yun Lee Inks With Zero Gravity Management

Will Yun Lee has inked with Zero Gravity Management. The actor’s recent credits include The Wolverine and Total Recalland recurring roles on Hawaii Five-O and the new dramaIntelligence. He also appeared in such films as Die Another Dayand Elektra.