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Who would have thought the rather corny “Olympus Has Fallen” actioner—a film that began as a seemingly obvious knockoff of “White House Down” would become its own franchise? After three films in the series, “London Has Fallen” and “Angel Has Fallen,” the franchise moves to television with “Paris Has Fallen.”

Of course, there’s no Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, or Morgan Freeman in this one, but there’s at least Sean Harris (“Mission Impossible—Rogue Nation”).

Continue reading ‘Paris Has Fallen’ Trailer: The ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ Franchise About Presidential Attacks Moves To France In December at The Playlist.

After making three successful and action-packed films in the Has Fallen franchise, the political conspiracy thriller series is shaking things up by bringing the fight to the small screen. The latest installment of the Has Fallen franchise, Paris Has Fallen, is a TV series coming to Hulu, starring franchise newcomers Tewfik Jallab and Ritu Arya. Hulu debuted a Paris Has Fallen trailer on Tuesday, giving action fans something to look forward to before Thanksgiving madness finds the entertainment industry hitting the snooze button for a few days.

Here’s the official synopsis for Paris Has Fallen courtesy of Hulu:

“When a terrorist group led by the villainous Jacob Pearce (Sean Harris) attacks a high-profile embassy reception, with the French Minister of Defence as their target, protection officer Vincent (Tewfik Jallab) finds himself working with street-smart MI6 operative Zara (Ritu Arya) to save the day. But when events take an increasingly dark turn,...

Stephanie Collie, the costume designer behind film and television projects such as “Peaky Blinders,” died of cancer on Oct. 26 at St Christopher’s Hospice in London.

Over the course of her career, Collie worked with talent including Michael Caine, Henry Cavill, Jessica Chastain, Daniel Craig, Penélope Cruz, Morgan Freeman, Samuel L. Jackson, Cillian Murphy, Gary Oldman, Ryan Reynolds and Michelle Williams.

Collie began her career in the sewing room of the BBC alongside costume designer Susan Coates. Following an introduction from Coates to David Parfitt, she worked as a wardrobe assistant to Branagh on “Much Ado About Nothing.” From there, Collie worked as a costume designer on “Peter’s Friends,” which was directed by Branagh.

In 1988, Collie had her work featured onscreen in Guy Ritchie’s crime comedy film “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.”

Of her design for the film, Christopher Laverty said: “You could not pick up a men...

Stephanie Collie, the acclaimed British costume designer whose work on Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Peaky Blinders moved beyond the screen and made its way into mainstream culture, has died. She was 60.

Collie died Saturday at St. Christopher’s Hospice in South London following a terminal cancer diagnosis six months earlier, a publicist announced. Her husband, director of photography Hubert Taczanowski, died in June, also of cancer, at age 63.

Collie’s résumé also included Michael Winterbottom’s The Look of Love (2013), starring Steve Coogan, Anna Friel and Imogen Poots; London Has Fallen (2016), starring Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman, and its 2019 sequel, Angel Has Fallen; and Patrick Hughes’ The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017), starring Samuel L. Jackson, Ryan Reynolds and Salma Hayek, and its 2021 sequel, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.

Collie had a career breakthrough with the British gangster film Lock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Matthew Vaughn.

StudioCanal’s series based on the Gerard Butler action franchise is making its way to American shores courtesy of Hulu. Paris Has Fallen is based on Butler’s Has Fallen movies, which include Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen and Angel Has Fallen. The show, Paris Has Fallen, is already one of France’s biggest hits on the Canal+ streaming app. Deadline is now reporting that audiences in America will be able to view the series on Hulu sometime later this year. StudioCanal has also made deals with other outlets for international streaming, including Amazon Prime Video in the UK and Ireland, and a service called Sbs in Australia.

The official synopsis for Paris Has Fallen: “When a terrorist group led by the villainous Jacob Pearce (Sean Harris) attacks a high-profile event, with the French Minister of Defence as their target, protection officer Vincent Taleb (Tewfik Jallab) finds himself...

Exclusive: French sales company Free Dolphin and Nu Boyana Film Studios are teaming up to make films for ad-funded streaming markets.

The plan to create five to ten films annually for the international AVOD market, which will be delivered through “innovative production and distribution strategies.”

The pair will use Nu Boyana’s studio facilities and Free Dolphin’s distribution networks to get projects off the ground.

Free Dolphin chief Fiorenza Cella and Nu Boyana CEO Yariv Lerner are at MIPCOM this week, where they will be presenting films and docs and launching Runway Reels, which launched on Paramount+ in the U.S. in 2025. Ireland’s Tarf Media will be co-selling the latter.

The Free Dolphin-Nu Boyana partnership will officially be unveiled in Cannes, where Cella and Lerner will work out of an office at the Gray D’Albion hotel.

“I’m thrilled to collaborate with Yariv Lerner on this groundbreaking...

The “Has Fallen” action franchise is expanding from movies to television with the new series “Paris Has Fallen.” Streaming service Hulu has acquired the rights to distribute the show in the United States later this year.

The series is produced by StudioCanal along with production companies Urban Myth Films, Millennium Media, G-Base, and Eclectic Pictures. It stars Tewfik Jallab as Vincent Taleb, a French protection officer tasked with guarding a government minister who becomes a terrorist target. Ritu Arya co-stars as Zara, a MI6 operative who helps Taleb investigate a conspiracy that may involve one of their own colleagues.

“Paris Has Fallen” launched earlier this year on Canal+, a French cable network. It has found success internationally as well, with Amazon Prime Video securing rights for viewers in the UK and Ireland. Australia’s Sbs will distribute the program, and German station Zdf, a co-producer of the series, will provide it domestically.

Hulu has picked up U.S. rights to Paris Has Fallen, the new action series spinoff of the Gerard Butler Has Fallen film franchise. StudioCanal is producing the TV drama together with War of the Worlds producer Urban Myth Films, Millennium Media, Butler’s G-Base and Eclectic Pictures. Paris Has Fallen recently premiered on its Canal+ series in France. Hulu will release the show in the U.S. later this year.

Paris Has Fallen features Spiral actor Tewfik Jallab as Vincent Taleb, a protection officer safeguarding a French Minister who is targeted by a terrorist group. Joined by MI6 operative Zara (Red Notice actress Ritu Arya) they work to unravel a conspiracy that may implicate one of their own.

The series is inspired by the Has Fallen film franchise, which stars Gerard Butler as United States Secret Service agent Mike Banning. The trio of Has Fallen features — Olympus Has Fallen...

The Writers Guild of America is telling its members not to work for Millennium Films, the production company behind the “Expendables” franchise.

In a memo sent to WGA members and obtained by IndieWire, the guild says Millennium is not a signatory to the 2023 contract and that it has a history of failing to pay writers both compensation and residuals on time.

“The Guild has determined that Millennium is not financially responsible and requires the posting of an adequate bond before it can become signatory. Millennium has, to date, refused to do so,” the guild’s leaders wrote in part. “It is crucial that Millennium be prevented from undercutting writers’ standards and conditions. Until there is resolution, Millennium cannot be allowed to benefit from writing services provided by WGA members.”

The guild adds that you should contact the WGA if you’ve been approached or employed by Millennium since May 1, 2023.

Reps...

After playing Secret Service agent Mike Banning in Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen, and Angel Has Fallen, Gerard Butler is taking a break from the Has Fallen franchise, but that doesn’t mean it won’t continue. StudioCanal has dropped the first trailer for Paris Has Fallen, a TV series which seeks to bring the franchise’s high-octane action to the small screen.

The official synopsis for Paris Has Fallen: “When a terrorist group led by the villainous Jacob Pearce (Sean Harris) attacks a high-profile event, with the French Minister of Defence as their target, protection officer Vincent Taleb (Tewfik Jallab) finds himself working with street-smart MI6 operative Zara Taylor (Ritu Arya) to save the day. But when events take a dark turn, Vincent and Zara soon realize that the plan extends beyond just one politician. When they suspect that one of their colleagues in the security services is feeding information to Jacob,...

"When the city falls, heroes will rise." Studiocanal has launched an official trailer for their upcoming action series called Paris Has Fallen, streaming in France first this fall. This is a TV continuation of the "Has Fallen" franchise of movies - which includes Olympus Has Fallen (2013), London Has Fallen (2016), Angel Has Fallen (2019). While we wait for the next Night Has Fallen movie, it's time to head to Paris for another dangerous mission. A protection officer and an MI6 operative team up after a terrorist attack in Paris. They suspect a mole as they race to thwart a larger conspiracy threatening Paris. The plot follows protection officer Vincent Taleb who finds himself working with street-smart MI6 agnet Zara Taylor to save the day. Starring Tewfik Jallab, Ritu Arya, and Sean Harris as the main bad guy, with Ana Ularu, Camille Rutherford, Jérémie Covillault, Emmanuelle Bercot, Karl Collins, and Nathan Willcocks, and others.

Every movie franchise these days has its own cinematic universe, and it’s no surprise Gerard Butler’s Olympus Has Fallen has turned into one. Yes, the action thriller has a new TV series coming and fans are not amused.

Credits: Gerard Butler in Olympus Has Fallen / FilmDistrict

The new project was announced in May 2023, and recently, the French channel Canal+ unveiled the show’s new poster. The downside is that the original actor won’t be featured in the show, though he will serve as an executive producer.

Paris Has Fallen Joins Gerard Butler’s Has Fallen Cinematic Universe

Olympus Has Fallen was first released in 2013 with Gerard Butler as United States Secret Service agent Mike Banning. It spawned two more installments, London Has Fallen (2016) and Angel Has Fallen (2019).

With the announcement of Paris Has Fallen, it’s evident that they are trying to expand the franchise. However, it...

Amazon Prime Video is acquiring Bray Film Studios, the U.K. studio complex where The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power shot its second season.

The vast production site is located in Water Oakley, Berkshire, 26 miles from central London, and is set to become the U.K. “creative home” for Amazon MGM Studios. Other productions that have been shot at Bray include the likes of Rocketman, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Angel Has Fallen, The King’s Man, Amazon series Citadel, BBC show Dracula, and BBC series Bodyguard.

“The acquisition includes approximately 53,600 square feet of soundstage space across five stages, 77,400 square feet of workshops, 39,400 square feet of office, 182,900 square feet of backlot, and 156,000 square feet of parking space,” Amazon said on Monday. “Bray has previously supported Amazon MGM Studios productions with sound stages, offices, and production facilities, starting in January 2022, when it became the production home for the...

Director Renny Harlin's "Cliffhanger" is a quintessential '90s action movie. The right movie at the right time, it is one of the few true breakout action flicks starring Sylvester Stallone that's not connected to "Rocky," "Rambo," or "The Expendables." It's a lean, fun, crowd-pleasing thriller that features John Lithgow in a great villain performance (a villain role that almost went to David Bowie) and remains a product of its time in the best of ways. It also might not have happened at all had "Die Hard" not become a huge success a handful of years earlier.

In a 2023 20th anniversary retrospective in The Telegraph, it's explained that "Cliffhanger" started with co-producer Gene Hines, who saw a TV show about mountain climbers in the mid-'80s. "That got him interested in the world of climbing," said co-producer Jim Zatolokin. "It's a dynamic and unique world with a lot of characters.

Gerard Butler and Den of Thieves director Christian Gudegast could head to the Big Apple as Butler is in talks to join the filmmaker for the comedic action-thriller Empire State. The upcoming project finds Butler and Gudegast re-teaming after joining forces for 2018’s Den of Thieves, Plane, and London Has Fallen.

According to Deadline‘s exclusive report, Empire State focuses on what happens when “the Empire State Building is attacked by a military contractor hellbent on revenge. Navy Seal turned NY firefighter Rhett (Butler) and NYPD Tactical officer Dani (yet to be cast) must put aside their relationship troubles as they work to rescue hostages and save the famous landmark.”

S. Craig Zahler of Bone Tomahawk fame co-wrote the script with Brian Tucker (Secret Invasion).

Butler recently wrapped his role as Stoick for the live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon. Mason Thames, Julian Dennison, Gabriel Howell, Bronwyn James,...

Lionsgate will handle U.S. distribution of eagerly awaited “Greenland” sequel “Greenland: Migration,” Variety can confirm.

STX, which has a distribution partnership with Lionsgate, is handling international distribution.

Directed by Ric Roman Waugh from a screenplay by Chris Sparling and Mitchell Lafortune, “Greenland: Migration” sees Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin return as John and Allison Garrity. Along with their diabetic son Nathan, the couple were forced to flee in the first film as a comet hurtled towards earth, threatening to destroy the planet. In the sequel the family embark on a perilous journey across what’s left of Europe to find a new home.

Butler and Baccarin are joined by Roman Griffin Davis (“Jojo Rabbit”), Amber Rose Revah (“The Punisher”) and Trond Fausa (“Oppenheimer”) in the film, which is produced by Anton, STX Entertainment, Thunder Road Pictures and Butler’s G-base Entertainment.

“In the film, the Garrity family, having found...

Gerard Butler has had a varied career so far, with him playing everything from action leads to rom-com love interests to a singing Phantom of the Opera. But, it has to be said that his most consistently entertaining output falls squarely into the action genre, and as far as Gerard Butler movies go, the action films will always be our favorites… so don’t expect to see The Ugly Truth on this list, but The Bounty Hunter might scrape by. Or maybe not. Let’s see how it goes:

300 (2006)

Perhaps The film that put Gerard Butler on the map for most people, particularly the action and comic book crowds. Butler is in peek physical form here, showing off his bod as the ultimate Spartan warrior and proving that he is indeed quite the leading man. His performance here is commanding, a bit in your face (in the right way), and exactly what the film needed.

Is this now an age of TV caution? A brace of big swings at this week’s London TV Screenings belie that trend, and few come bigger than the English-language action thriller “Paris Has Fallen,” which Studiocanal launches at this week’s London TV Screenings.

Like other major Ltvs plays, it takes a mainstream genre – such as, elsewhere, the historical drama (“Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light”), true crime (“A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story”) and the bio – and aims to elevate them to another level.

This is Studiocanal’s biggest TV production of 2024. “‘Paris Has Fallen’ has ambition, scale and production values that I haven’t see in so many series,” says Anne Chérel, EVP global sales and distribution at Studiocanal.

Such scale comes with its backers. Produced by London-based Studiocanal production company Urban Myth Films (“War of the Worlds”), Studiocanal and Millennium and Butler’s G-Base,...

Having recently left Millennium Media after a 14-year run, Jeffrey Greenstein is launching production and sales company, A Higher Standard.

Greenstein is at the EFM in Berlin to launch the company, whose first project will be the action-comedy feature, Playdate, which he is co-financing and co-producing with Nickel City’s Mark Fasano.

The idea is for the company to develop and co-finance a slate of films and TV projects with commercial appeal, including action, comedies and elevated genre.

Greenstein joined Millennium Media in 2010, handling more than sixty films during his tenure at the company, including The Expendables franchise, Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen, and Angel Has Fallen, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Mechanic: Resurrection, and Jolt with Kate Beckinsale and Stanley Tucci. In 2016, he became President of Millennium Media, managing all aspects of the independent studio.

Greenstein said his new outfit “has a simple focus: building winning teams and supporting talented people.

Gerard Butler (Angel Has Fallen), Morena Baccarin (Deadpool) and director Ric Roman Waugh (Angel Has Fallen) are confirmed to reprise their roles for action sequel Greenland: Migration, which is due to start production in the UK in April.

Chris Sparling and Mitchell Lafortune wrote the screenplay in which “the Garrity family must leave the safety of the Greenland bunker after the comet ‘Clarke’ decimated the earth and the family embarks on a harrowing journey across the wasteland of Europe to find a new home”.

Producing are Thunder Road Pictures’ Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, Anton’s Sébastien Raybaud and John Zois, G-base’s Butler and Alan Siegel, and CineMachine’s Brendon Boyea. Executive producers are Robert Simonds, Noah Fogelson and Sam Brown for STX Entertainment, Ric Roman Waugh for CineMachine and Chris Sparling.

The film will be co-financed and co-produced by Anton and STX. STX is handling global distribution and...

Joseph Millson is teaming up with Grammy and Oscar-winning composer Anne Dudley for Signs Of Life. More on that project below.

Joseph Millson, an actor known for his roles in Angel Has Fallen, Casino Royale and I Give It A Year, is set to make his directorial debut with Signs Of Life, a third part in a trilogy of films.

The two previous films, The Magician and Care and both were produced by Millson and his wife Sarah-Jane Potts under their production company MillPotts Productions. Talk about relationship goals!

Unlike The Magician and Care, which were both shorts, Signs Of Life will be a feature film.

“The lead characters from Care and The Magician were the inspiration for the protagonists in Signs Of Life,” Millson said in a press release. “I felt there was still a lot to be said about the current epidemic of heartache and depression, the sheer...

As an end-of-year gift to our writers and readers, we've compiled a user-friendly overview of our publishing highlights from 2023. The collection is broken down by category: essays, interviews, festival coverage, and recurring columns.Browse at your leisure, and raise a glass to our brilliant contributors!Meanwhile, you can catch up with all of our end-of-year coverage here.{{notebook_form}}ESSAYSContemporary Cinema:Cinema as Sacrament: The Limitations of Killers of the Flower Moon by Adam PironA Change of Season: Trần Anh Hùng and Frederick Wiseman's Culinary Cinema by Phuong LeWalking, Talking, & Hurting Feelings: Nicole Holofcener's Everyday Dramas by Rafaela BassiliThe Limits of Control: Lines of Power in Todd Field's Tár by Helen CharmanThe Art of Losing: Joanna Hogg's Haunted Houses by Laura StaabTreading Water: Avatar: The Way of Water by Evan Calder WilliamsThe African Accent and the Colonial Ear by Maxine SibihwanaTen Minutes, but a Few Meters Longer:...

TBS has set the premiere date for its “Friday Night Vibes” revival for Jan. 5 at 8:00pm Et/Pt.

With new hosts Nina Parker and Kevin Fredericks (Tiffany Haddish previously hosted the series with fellow comedian Deon Cole), the weekend movie programming will kick off with a double-feature selection starting with “Black Panther” starring Chadwick Boseman, and followed by “King Richard” starring Will Smith.

Filmed at “The Gathering Spot” in Los Angeles’ West Adams neighborhood, film fans can join Parker and Fredericks in the audience each week where they’ll be joined by surprise guests and conversations “about film, culture and everything in between,” says TBS. Future episodes will spotlight acclaimed dramas “21 Bridges” and “Creed 2;” high-octane adventures “Tenet,” “White House Down,” “Angel Has Fallen,” and “Déjà Vu; and feel-good comedies “Girls Trip,” “Ride Along 2,” and “Just Wright.”

“One of the best parts about the movie-watching experience is...

Since emerging into the spotlight in the 1990s, Jada Pinkett Smith has arguably become equally known for her acting career and her romantic relationships. Pinkett Smith launched her career with guest roles on shows like "True Colors" and "21 Jump Street," but her role as Lena James in the sitcom "A Different World" propelled her into stardom. From there, Pinkett Smith starred in several popular flicks in the '90s, including "Menace II Society," "The Nutty Professor," and "Scream 2." Her career in the 2000s continued to soar with roles in "The Matrix" franchise and "Madagascar," and by the 2010s, she starred in films like "Magic Mike Xxl," "Girls Trip," and "Angel Has Fallen."

Pinkett Smith is also recognized for her talk show, "Red Table Talk," which she hosted with her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, and daughter Willow Smith. Since its premiere in 2018, "Rtt" has featured a number of notable guests,...

Exclusive: Mathieu Kassovitz has quit the Paris Has Fallen television series citing creative differences. He has been replaced by Spiral actor Tewfik Jallab.

Deadline can reveal the casting switch as StudioCanal has released first-look images from the series, which is based on Gerard Butler‘s Has Fallen film franchise and is shooting in London and Paris.

The eight-part drama is made by StudioCanal, War of the Worlds producer Urban Myth Films, and two companies behind the film franchise: Millennium Media and Butler’s G-Base. Eclectic Pictures is also attached.

Kassovitz, best known for his 1995 film La Haine, is recovering from a motorbike accident last month, though his departure from Paris Has Fallen was for creative reasons. In his place, Jallab will play Vincent Taleb, a protection officer to a French Minister, who is the target of a terror group led by villain Jacob.

Vincent works with MI6 operative Zara (Ritu Arya...

After a prolonged legal battle spanning more than two years, Gerard Butler and the producers of the “Olympus Has Fallen” franchise reached a settlement regarding the actor’s $10 million lawsuit on Thursday. The suit sought a share of profits generated by the 2013 White House action franchise.

The actor claimed in the 2021 lawsuit that he was owed payment for his work on the 2013 blockbuster, which in the decade since spawned two sequels.

Defendants Nu Image and Millennium Media’s attorneys filed a “Notice of Settlement of Entire Case” paperwork on Tuesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported the news.

“The settlement agreement conditions dismissal of this matter on the satisfactory completion of specified terms that are not to be performed within 45 days of the date of the settlement,” the filing in L.A. Superior Court said. “A request for dismissal will be filed no later than (date): Jan.

Update, 11:47 Am: The lawsuit has fallen.

After over two years, Gerard Butler and the producers of Olympus Has Fallen have come to a deal over the actor’s lawsuit for $10 million in profits from the 2013 launching White House action franchise.

Nu Image and Millennium Media’s Pryor Cashman Llp attorneys filed “Notice of Settlement of Entire Case” paperwork today, moving the matter to its conclusion.

“The settlement agreement conditions dismissal of this matter on the satisfactory completion of specified terms that are not to be performed within 45 days of the date of the settlement,” the filing Thursday in LA Superior Court states. “A request for dismissal will be filed no later than (date): January 5, 2024.”

Details are confidential, but it seems the Scottish actor walked away “satisfied,” according to a source close to the matter.

With Butler as presidential detail Secret Service agent Mike Banning, there have been a...

Les Weldon is a name you’ve likely seen in the credits of most big action movies from the last decade or so. Working with Millennium Media, he’s produced The Hitman’s Bodyguard series, London Has Fallen, Angel Has Fallen and all four Expendables movies. With the latter now in theatres, we sat down with Les Weldon to discuss the latest film, the future of action, and the passing of the torch from one generation to another.

On Stallone’s lack of screen time in Expend4bles:

Look, it wasn’t so much that we said, oh, we got to pass the torch here, because, you know, we were thinking what is a good story for here? And we say passing of the torch, but that doesn’t mean, you know, that that’s forever the direction we’re going. It just happened to be the best story we had...

Multimedia Music has closed a deal to acquire the music publishing rights from the film music library of Millennium Media, which includes titles such as “The Hitman’s Bodyguard,” “London Has Fallen,” “Angel Has Fallen,” “Hitman Wife’s Bodyguard,” “Hellboy,” “The Outpost,” “Mechanic: Resurrection,” “Rambo: Last Blood,” “Blackbird,” “Acts of Vengeance” and “The Expendables 4.”

The deal follows Multimedia Music’s recent music partnership with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, and its acquisition of STX Entertainment’s music library.

The Millennium Media library includes music from leading composers including Brian Tyler, Atli Orvarsson, Mark Isham, Trevor Morris, David Buckley and Benjamin Wallfisch.

Multimedia Music will co-publish the catalog with current co-owner and administrator Kobalt Music.

James Gibb, who founded Multimedia Music with colleague Phil Hope, said: “Millennium Media consistently produces high caliber, commercial films made for the big screen that have earned over $2 billion at the box office. We are thrilled to have secured this catalog,...

Exclusive: Distributor-producer Lucky Red is one of Italy’s most respected independent film and TV companies. Run by former actor Andrea Occhipinti since 1987, the firm has released more than 500 titles and produced more than 50 films.

The company has worked with filmmakers including Paolo Sorrentino, Lars Von Trier, Wong Kar Wai, Ang Lee, Park Chan Wook, Michael Haneke, Francois Ozon, Hayao Miyazaki, the Dardenne brothers, Wes Anderson, Paolo Genovese, Denis Villeneuve, Paul Thomas Anderson, Pablo Larraín and Asghar Farahdi.

It has also released more obviously commercial titles such as Angel Has Fallen, Hustlers, Den Of Thieves and Hereditary, and had fruitful theatrical partnerships with companies such as Netflix, Universal and Studio Ghibli.

Since shortly before the pandemic, Lucky Red, which hasn’t been afraid to ruffle the occasional feather, has also increased its activity in TV and exhibition.

We sat down company founder Occhipinti and his longtime lieutenants Stefano Massenzi (Head...

Exclusive: Den of Thieves 2: Pantera has rounded out its cast, bringing on 11 international talents to star opposite the returning Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. The list includes Salvatore Esposito (Gomorrah), Orli Shuka (Gangs of London), Evin Ahmad (Who Is Erin Carter?), Cristian Solimeno (The Glass Man), Nazmiye Oral (Propaganda), Yasen Zates Atour (The Witcher), Giuseppe Schillaci (Romulus), Dino Kelly (Peaky Blinders), Rico Verhoeven (Black Lotus), Velibor Topic (Outside the Wire) and Antonio Bustorff (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One).

(L-r) Rico Verhoeven, Velibor Topić and Antonio Bustorff

Wrapping principal photography on July 5th — a little more than a week prior to the launch of the SAG-AFTRA strike — Pantera marks the sequel to Den of Thieves, the action thriller from writer-director Christian Gudegast which grossed nearly $45M stateside and more than $80M WW via STX in 2018. The original film watches as a group from the L.

Plot: A CIA contractor (Gerard Butler) who just sabotaged an Iranian Nuclear Power Plant finds his cover blown by a whistleblower journalist. On the run, he finds himself being hunted, along with his Afghan interpreter (Navid Negahban), through hostile territory by Iranian Intelligence, the Taliban and Pakistan intelligence.

Review: Many will compare Ric Roman Waugh’s Kandahar with Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant. After all, both are about Americans being hunted in Afghanistan along with their interpreters, but if you ignore how similar the premises may be, they’re actually quite different. Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant was a (very good) war film, while Kandahar is more of a straightforward action flick. It’s a very tight little thriller offering further evidence that Gerard Butler makes the best mid-level action movies in the business, especially when he works with Ric Roman Waugh, arguably his best director.

In Kandahar, Butler plays a familiar role – the burnt-out,...

If it’s true that an empty wagon makes a lot of noise, then “Kandahar” is the most deafening movie of the year thus far. A complicated but undercooked thriller about an MI6 operative (Gerard Butler) and his Afghan translator (Navid Negahban) stranded behind enemy lines, the movie peaks early — meaning the first 10 minutes — when Tom, the secret agent, covertly blows up an underground nuclear reactor in Iran.

The mission completed, Tom prepares to head home to attend his daughter’s graduation, even though he and his wife have already agreed to an amicable divorce

But after his flight is delayed, Tom can’t resist a call from a contact (Travis Fimmel) who offers him a quick, high-paying gig for the CIA in Afghanistan that will take three days tops — plenty of time for him to still make that commencement ceremony.

The savvy, veteran Tom is weirdly relaxed about the...

The U.S. government might have done poorly by Afghan translators in real life, but Hollywood is attempting to make up for it with a vengeance.

Arriving shortly on the heels of Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant is this second action-thriller about an American desperately attempting to make his way through hostile, enemy-controlled territory with the help of his interpreter. Unfortunately, the Gerard Butler-starrer doesn’t benefit either from the timing or the comparison, since Kandahar lacks the visceral thrills and intense emotionality of its predecessor.

To its credit, the film directed by frequent Butler collaborator Ric Roman Waugh (Angel Has Fallen, Greenland) feels more serious and authentic than Ritchie’s film. That’s no doubt due to its screenwriter, Mitchell Lafortune, a former military intelligence officer who sold this script, supposedly based on his real-life experiences, on spec. (It’s a great story, made even better by his name,...

With this past January’s Plane and now Kandahar, B-movie mainstay Gerard Butler has officially entered his Sad Dad era, a key scene in this new film being him wandering around the gift shop of the Dubai airport helplessly sorting through anonymous items to greet his teen daughter with. But being plopped in the middle of a political thriller instead of strict shoot ‘em up doesn’t necessarily leave as many opportunities for the star-as-auteur to shine.

There’s certainly some unintentional comedy in the film’s opening of him posing as a telecommunications man to infiltrate precious Iranian territory. As the excitingly named Tom Harris, Butler plays an agent of American intelligence, despite not hiding his thick Scottish brogue. Here’s the opening story with a very straight face: a control room of white men applauding the destruction of an Iranian nuclear facility, followed by a shot of Butler dwarfed by the ensuing smoke,...

Right out of the gate, Ric Roman Waugh’s Kandahar sets up a potentially cataclysmic case of American foreign intervention. The film opens with C.I.A. operative Tom Harris (Gerard Butler) destroying a clandestine Iranian nuclear facility with minimal difficulty, and despite his thin cover as an ISP technician. This is the kind of action that could kick off a hot war, but instead things pivot quickly into a more restrained manhunt as the Revolutionary Guards quickly figure out Tom’s true identity and launch a small unit to capture the man as he works a different mission in Afghanistan. With his cover blown, Tom must cross a hostile nation to an evacuation point, avoiding Afghan and Iranian pursuers in equal fashion.

This is the third collaboration between Butler and Waugh, but the slight whimsicality of Angel Has Fallen is nowhere to be found in this more downbeat survival thriller. Yet...

Chicago – Ric Roman Waugh is a man of action, as this stuntman-turned-director is approaching his tenth film, several of which involving his actor partner Gerard Butler. The duo takes on the Afghanistan War from the CIA undercover operative angle with the new film “Kandahar,” opening in theaters on May 26th.

Tom Harris (Gerard Butler), is undercover for the Agency, stuck deep within hostile territory during the America’s war in Afghanistan. When an intelligence leak exposes his identity and mission, he must fight his way out. At his side is his translator (Navid Negahban), and together they must reach an extraction point in the Afghan city of Kandahar, all while avoiding the elite special forces unit tasked with hunting them down.

Director Ric Roman Waugh with Gerard Butler on the Set of ‘Kandahar’

Photo credit: Open Road Films

Ric Roman Waugh is a director, writer, producer, actor and former stuntman.

Mumbai, May 18 (Ians) Actor Ali Fazal’s look from the upcoming action thriller film ‘Kandahar’ starring Gerard Butler has been unveiled.

In the first look poster, Ali can be seen sporting a rather rugged look in front of a dirt bike in the middle of the desert.

Ali took to Instagram, where he shared the look and said: “Pulse pounding action apparently – An adrenaline ride made for the big screen .. here’s a screen grab for some context. Cuz some serious action went down here in the desert. Dirt Bikin’ It On A Ktm Yes. Check out my new movie Kandahar. Only in theatres, May 26. North America. Rest of the world follows after.”

The film is set for a release on May 26 in the U.S. The film was shot extensively in the Al Ula region of Saudi Arabia.

Ali has had many firsts in the west including being the...

It would appear that the King of Modern Trash Cinema™ is on his way to becoming the King of Modern Trash Shared Universes: Deadline is reporting that Gerard Butler's "Has Fallen" franchise is headed to the small screen, even as a fourth movie centered on Butler's Secret Service Agent Mike Banning continues to move forward.

The Scottish thespian and "300" actor -- whose many, many B-movie credits include "Law Abiding Citizen," "Den of Thieves," and this year's marvelously-titled "Plane" -- made his debut as Banning in Antoine Fuqua's "Olympus Has Fallen." Fuqua's modestly-successful action flick pitted Banning, a U.S. government agent haunted by a past failure on the job, against a North Korean-backed attack on the White House, making it one of two "Die Hard" riffs set in the Oval Office that released in 2013 (with the other being Roland Emmerich's arguably superior "White House Down...

The spiritual successor to the classic action film franchises of yesteryear will live on as a TV show. The Has Fallen series, which includes Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen, and Angel Has Fallen, all having starred Gerard Butler, is set to have a television adaptation titled Paris Has Fallen. The show is already due to start its production at the end of the month, according to Deadline. Principle photography will take place in London and France, starting on May 30.

The series will not have Gerard Butler as the star, although there is no ruling out any cameos, especially since Butler will be a producer on the project through his production company, G-Base. Instead, French filmmaker and actor Mathieu Kassovitz will be starring in the action vehicle. According to the synopsis from Deadline, “Kassovitz will star as Vincent, a protection officer to a French Minister, who is the target of...

Exclusive: Here’s a splashy European project to end the week: Gerard Butler’s Has Fallen film franchise is getting the television treatment, with filming set to get underway at the end of the month.

Respected French filmmaker and actor Mathieu Kassovitz will lead the cast of Paris Has Fallen, which will be made by StudioCanal, War of the Worlds producer Urban Myth Films, and two companies behind the film franchise: Millennium Media and Butler’s G-Base. Eclectic Pictures is also attached.

Howard Overman, the creator of BAFTA-winning series Misfits, is writing Paris Has Fallen. Oded Ruskin is directing having previously worked on series including Hulu’s No Man’s Land. Shooting will commence on May 30 in London and Paris.

Paris Is Fallen is set up at Canal+ in France; Zdf in Germany; Canal+ International in Poland and Africa; and M7 in Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. StudioCanal is preparing...

Sylvester Stallone has put into motion a reboot of the 1993 classic ‘Cliffhanger’, in which he will reprise his role of mountain climber and rescue ranger, Gabe Walker.

‘Angel Has Fallen’ and ‘Greenland’ filmmaker Ric Roman Waugh is set to direct the reboot from a script by Mark Bianculli, a writer-consulting producer on Amazon series ‘Hunters.’

“Growing up with the biggest action films of the ’80s and ’90s, working on many of them myself, Cliffhanger was by far one of my favourite spectacles,” said Waugh in a statement. “To be at the helm of the next chapter, scaling the Italian Alps with the legend himself, Sylvester Stallone, is a dream come true. It’s going to be a great challenge and blast taking this franchise to new heights, a responsibility I don’t take lightly.”

Neal H. Moritz’s Original Film, best known for the multi-billion-dollar ‘Fast and the Furious’ franchise,...

Sylvester Stallone is returning for a 'Cliffhanger' reboot.The 76-year-old actor is set to reprise his role as mountain climber Gabe Walker in the sequel to the 1993 action thriller that is being directed by Ric Roman Waugh.The 'Angel Has Fallen' filmmaker is helming from a script by Mark Bianculli and casting is currently underway for supporting roles alongside Stallone.Neal H. Moritz's Original Film will produce with Rocket Science and Stallone and Braden Aftergood's Balboa Productions.Waugh said in a statement: "Growing up with the biggest action films of the 80s and 90s, working on many of them myself, 'Cliffhanger' was by far one of my favourite spectacles. To be at the helm of the next chapter, scaling the Italian Alps with the legend himself, Sylvester Stallone, is a dream come true."It's going to be a great challenge and blast taking this franchise to new heights,...

There are lots of fun little news tidbits today in the world of television.

There's truly a little something for everyone.

First up is Prime Video push by Amazon to get more eyes on their original content.

Variety reported that Amazon plans on sharing more than 100 titles with Freevee, Amazon's ad-supported service.

New shows marking their moment on the service include Reacher, The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Wheel of Time, A League of Their Own, and LuLaRich.

Beginning today, you can already watch some Prime Video originals on Freevee, including Bosch, Mozart in the Jungle, Troop Zero, and Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.

Every month, Freevee will launch more Prime Video originals. May alone will bring The Terminal List, Goliath, Paper Girls, and The Vast of Night, a cool indie sci-fi mystery about a small town experiencing an unexpected alien event.

You'll have to wait a little...

Sylvester Stallone may be done with "Rocky" and "Rambo" (or so it seems), but the action star isn't quite done revisiting roles from his past. To that end, it's come to light that the actor is set to star in a reboot of one of his most successful films, 1993's "Cliffhanger." And it sounds like this is pretty far along, as the movie has a script in place with a director attached. So get ready for some more hanging from cliffs in a theater near you in the not-too-distant future.

According to Variety, Stallone will reprise his role as mountain climber Gabe Walker in the new "Cliffhanger" film, which has not yet revealed its title. Ric Roman Waugh is set to occupy the director's chair, working from a screenplay by Mark Bianculli ("Hunters"). Neal H. Moritz, of "Fast & Furious" fame, will produce through his Original Film production company. No...

Thirty years later, the Sylvester Stallone action thriller Cliffhanger is getting a reboot, Variety reports today, and Stallone is set to reprise the role of mountain climber Gabe Walker.

Ric Roman Waugh is directing.

Mark Bianculli (“Hunters”) wrote the script for the Cliffhanger reboot.

“Fast and Furious” producer Neal H. Moritz’s Original Film will produce with Rocket Science and Sylvester Stallone and Braden Aftergood’s Balboa Productions.

“Growing up with the biggest action films of the ’80s and ’90s, working on many of them myself, ‘Cliffhanger’ was by far one of my favorite spectacles,” director Ric Roman Waugh said in a statement. “To be at the helm of the next chapter, scaling the Italian Alps with the legend himself, Sylvester Stallone, is a dream come true. It’s going to be a great challenge and blast taking this franchise to new heights, a responsibility I don’t take lightly.

Sylvester Stallone is ready to scale new heights with a reboot of his 1993 action thriller, Cliffhanger.

Ric Roman Waugh, who helmed action movies Angel Has Fallen and Greenland, is set to direct the feature which will see Stallone reprise his role of mountain climber and rescue ranger, Gabe Walker. The reboot has a script by Mark Bianculli, a writer-consulting producer on Amazon series Hunters.

Neal H. Moritz’s Original Film, best known for the multi-billion-dollar The Fast and the Furious franchise, will produce with production and sales outfit Rocket Science as well Stallone and Braden Aftergood’s Balboa Productions. Rocket Science is launching sales during this month’s Cannes film market. CAA Media will represent North American and Chinese rights.

Written by Michael France with a rewrite by Stallone, Cliffhanger featured Stallone as Walker, a man haunted by a rescue gone wrong, who finds himself called up for a rescue with his former colleagues.

Sylvester Stallone is back for more high-altitude excitement.

The “Rocky” and “Rambo” star will reprise his iconic role as Gabe Walker, Search-and-Rescue mountain climber and foiler of terrorists, in the reboot of 1993’s “Cliffhanger.” Ric Roman Waugh, the filmmaker behind “Angel Has Fallen” and “Greenland,” is set to direct the action thriller, with this return to thin air courtesy of a script by Mark Bianculli (“Hunters”).

“Fast and Furious” producer Neal H. Moritz’s Original Film will produce with Rocket Science and Stallone and Braden Aftergood’s Balboa Productions. It sounds like Stallone will get some help summiting the mountain this time, because the production says that casting is currently underway for a lead to headline the film’s ensemble cast.

Rocket Science will handle foreign sales in Cannes this month. CAA Media will represent North American and Chinese rights. “Cliffhanger” was one of the biggest hits of Stallone’s career,...

Ric Roman Waugh to direct, Neal H. Moritz’s Original Film among producers.

Rocket Science is launching international sales in Cannes on a Cliffhanger reboot which will see Sylvester Stallone reprise his role from the 1993 action thriller and Ric Roman Waugh direct.

Neal H. Moritz’s Original Film (Fast X) will produce with Rocket Science and Stallone and Braden Aftergood’s Balboa Productions. Casting is currently underway for a lead to headline the ensemble cast.

Stallone starred in the original as Gabe Walker, a former search and rescue mountain climber who gets caught up with criminals searching for suitcases full...

Hang on for some truly nail-biting news: Sylvester Stallone will reprise his role as Gabe Walker in a reboot of his 1993 mount-climbing thriller “Cliffhanger.” He’ll also produce. Taking over for director Renny Harlin is Ric Roman Waugh (the upcoming “Kandahar”). Neal H. Moritz’s Original Film will produce with Rocket Science and Stallone and Braden Aftergood’s Balboa Productions, and sales will launch in Cannes this month.

Stallone starred in the original film as Walker, a ranger in the Colorado Rockies suffering from trauma following a fatal accident who soon gets embroiled in a scheme involving a sinister former Military Intelligence officer who is after some missing Treasury money. Since the money was lost in the mountains, the bad guys turn to Walker to try and find it.

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