Category: Uncategorized

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.

Zero Gravity Signs ‘Hotel 33’ Helmer Kellie Madison

Hot off her Toronto deal to direct Jason Patrick inHotel 33 for Open Road Films and Emmett / Furla / Oasis Films, Kellie Madison has signed with Zero Gravity Management. The horror thriller follows a small town Pennsylvania detective investigating the disappearance of a youngster in a haunted hotel where dozens went missing in 1953. Hotel 33 will mark Madison’s directorial debut and she’ll direct from her own script. Madison, also an actress, wrote, directed and produced the award-winning short Bathtub Picnicand wrote and produced telefilm Dear Mr. Gacy starring William Forsythe.

‘Twilight’ Star Kellan Lutz in Talks to Join Sylvester Stallone in ‘Expendables 3′
Patrick Hughes is directing the action-packed sequel for Lionsgate and Millennium Films

Kellan Lutz, who played Emmett Cullen in “The Twilight Saga,” is in early talks to join Sylvester Stallone in “The Expendables 3,” an individual familiar with the Lionsgate project told TheWrap.

Lionsgate did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Australian filmmaker Patrick Hughes, who has a successful background in commercials, is directing the action-packed sequel, which Stallone is producing with Millennium Films.

According to insiders, “Expendables 3″ will introduce a younger group of tech-savvy action heroes who initially clash with the older crew, though they eventually team up to save the day.

It remains unclear which surviving cast from “The Expendables 2″ will join Stallone in the sequel, though action heroes Jackie Chan and Wesley Snipes have been rumored for new roles.

While Stallone has hinted on Twitter at the potential casting of Mel Gibson, TheWrap has confirmed that the “Lethal Weapon” star is not officially involved with “The Expendables 3″ at the moment.

“The Expendables” films have grossed more than half a billion dollars, and the latest sequel will start shooting next month. “The Expendables 3″ hits theaters Aug. 15, 2014.

Since his breakout role in the “Twilight Saga,” Lutz has starred in Relativity’s “Immortals” and the Michael Bay-produced remake of “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” He recently wrapped the title role in Renny Harlin’s “Hercules 3D” and also stars in an upcoming “Tarzan” movie.

Lutz is repped by Innovative Artists, Zero Gravity Management and attorney Jeffrey Endlich.