News

Premiere Entertainment Group (Peg) has reported brisk sales at last week’s AFM on the crime thriller Desert Dawn starring Kellan Lutz and Cam Gigandet from Twilight.

Deals have closed in Australia & New Zealand (Rialto), Latin America (A2), Germany (Tiberius), Spain (Flins y Piniculas), France (Program Store), Benelux (Amazon), Eastern Europe (Daro), Russia/Cis (Filmster), Middle East (Eagle Films), Taiwan (Av Jet), and India and airlines (Pictureworks).

Desert Dawn centres on a new small-town sheriff (Lutz) and his resentful deputy (Gigandet) who get entangled in a web of lies and corruption involving shady businessmen and a cartel while investigating the murder of a mysterious woman.

Exclusive: Premiere Entertainment Group has licensed rights to action crime-thriller Desert Dawn starring Kellan Lutz and Cam Gigandet to Saban Films for North America and UK.

pic follows a newly appointed small-town sheriff (Lutz) and his begrudging deputy (Gigandet) who get tangled up in a web of lies and corruption involving shady businessmen and the cartel while investigating the murder of a mysterious woman.

Chad Michael Collins, Helena Haro, Texas Battle, Guillermo Iván and Niko Foster round out the key cast.

Marty Murray directed the film from an original screenplay by Chad Law and Johnny Walters. The film is produced by Elias Axume for Premiere Entertainment and Al Bravo for Al Bravo Films alongside HemDee Kiwanuka.

Desert Dawn reunites Lutz and Gigandet for the first time since the Twilight franchise. Lutz has gone on to star in films such as The Legend of Hercules, The Expendables 3, and Immortals. Gigandet...

Saban Films has acquired the rights to Art Camacho’s action thriller “Ruthless” starring Dermot Mulroney and Javier Reyna’s “Palido” starring Kellan Lutz.

Saban will distribute the titles throughout North America, the United Kingdom, Germany, Benelux and Australia. Jonathan Saba, Cco of Saban Films, negotiated the deal with Devin Carter, SVP of sales at Premiere Entertainment.

“Ruthless” follows a high school coach (Mulroney) who takes matters into his own hands by going after the men who kidnap his female student for their human trafficking operation, according to a snyopsis.

In addition to Mulroney, “Ruthless” also stars Jeff Fahey. Reyna, James Dean Simington and Camacho penned the film, while Elias Axume, Al Bravo, HemDee Kiwanuka and Camacho produced the film.

“Palido” follows an attorney (Lutz) with a military past, who focuses on finding and killing the gang that murdered his wife and kidnapped his daughter.

Fahey also stars in “Palido,...

Eyeconic Pictures, the recently formed production company from Al Bravo and Niko Foster, has announced that Mena Suvari (“American Beauty”) has joined the cast of action thriller “The Wrecker,” which stars Foster.

Tyrese Gibson (“The Fast and Furious” movie franchise) and Harvey Keitel (“Reservoir Dogs”) were previously announced to the cast. Chad Michael Collins, Ego Mikitas and Danny Trejo round out the key cast.

Production is currently taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Art Camacho is directing from an original screenplay by Foster, which follows a dishonorably discharged ex-marine named Tony, now turned car mechanic, whose life takes an unexpected turn when his reckless brother makes a bad decision gaining the unwanted attention of a notorious crime boss.

Foster produces for Chasing Butterflies Pictures alongside Al Bravo for Al Bravo Films. Additional producers on the film include Colin Bates, Eduard Osipov, Michael Pizzimenti and Hemdee Kiwanuka. Stuart Alson, Elias Axume...

Exclusive: Tyrese Gibson (The Fast and Furious franchise) and Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs) have signed on to star in the action thriller The Wrecker.

The pic is currently shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. Filmmaker Art Camacho is directing from an original screenplay by Niko Foster, who also stars in the pic.

The film’s plot follows a dishonorably discharged ex-marine named Tony, now turned car mechanic, whose life takes an unexpected turn when his reckless brother makes a bad decision gaining the unwanted attention of a notorious crime boss.

Foster produces for Chasing Butterflies Pictures alongside Al Bravo for Al Bravo Films. Additional producers include Colin Bates, Eduard Osipov, Michael Pizzimenti, and Hemdee Kiwanuka. Stuart Alson, Nicole Holland, and Elias Axume, Premiere Entertainment CEO, serve as executive producers. Jiarui Guo and Michelle Wang Deppe co-produce.

Camacho recently directed the action film Ruthless, starring Dermot Mulroney and Jeff Fahey. The pic...

Exclusive: Indian Two Time Grammy Award composer and environmentalist Ricky Kej has signed to compose the original music for American-Bangladeshi writer-director Asif Akbar’s spy action-thriller Mr-9 featuring Frank Grillo as a villain.

Based on the popular Masud Rana novels written by late novelist Qazi Anwar Hussain, top Bangladeshi actor Abm Sumon stars as secret agent Rana – code name Mr-9 – of the Bangladesh Counter Intelligence Agency. Grillo plays his evil nemesis, Roman Ross.

The film was shot over the summer in the U.S. and Bangladesh and is now in post-production.

“I take on very few motion pictures and I am very proud to be a part of Mr-9,” said Kej. “Asif has not only made a fantastic, edge-of-the-seat, action thriller with heart but also we finally have an international spy who looks like us… and is South Asian.”

North Carolina-born, Bangalore-raised Kej has distinguished himself on the international music...

Exclusive: Fortress star Kelly Greyson has joined the cast of Mr-9, the Frank Grillo-starring spy action-thriller adapted from the James Bond-influenced Masud Rana novels.

Greyson will play Gia, lead henchwoman and mistress of villain Roman Ross, who is being played by Captain America star Grillo.

Greyson has just starred in Fortress and Fortress 2 alongside the likes of Bruce Willis and Chad Michael Murray. Past credits include Mike Burns’ Out of Death, in which she also co-starred with Willis, Guy Pearce-starring action thriller Disturbing the Peace and Broken Memories.

Deadline revealed Mr-9 from writer-director Asif Akbar last month, with shooting kicking off in the U.S. and Bangladesh.

Adapted from the Rana novels written by late novelist Qazi Anwar Hussain, Grillo plays the nemesis of secret agent Rana — code name Mr-9 — of the Bangladesh Counter Intelligence Agency. Plot is mostly being kept under wraps.

The film is adapted...

Exclusive: Cara Santana (Vida) has signed on to star alongside Marcia Gay Harden, Halston Sage, Andrew Richardson and Aidan Quinn in Annette Haywood-Carter’s indie comedy Daughter of the Bride (w/t) for MarVista Entertainment and Particular Crowd.

The film currently in production centers on Diane (Harden) and Kate (Sage) — mother and daughter and inseparable friends, whose lives are turned upside down when mom announces her engagement to a mystery man (Quinn) that she’s been dating for only a few weeks. In a series of comical events, Kate must come to terms with letting her mother be happy with someone else while she navigates her own love life and career aspirations. Kate subconsciously tries to sabotage the wedding plans, despite officiating the ceremony, and unexpectedly meets a mystery man (Richardson) of her own that seems too good to be true.

Karen Bloch Morse wrote the script. The film is...

Exclusive: Michael Jai White (The Dark Knight), Abm Sumon (Dhoka) and Matt Passmore (Jigsaw) are among cast joining Frank Grillo (Captain America) in Asif Akbar’s spy thriller Mr-9, which is now underway.

Grillo’s son Remy Grillo will make his acting feature debut on the project which is shooting in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Also starring will be Sakshi Pradhan (Poison), Niko Foster (Army Of One), Omi Vaidya (3 Idiots), Oleg Prudius (Wolf Warrior 2), Jackie Siegel (The Queen of Versailles), Anisur Rahman Milon (The Last Thakur) and Shahidul Alam Sachchu.

Writer-director Asif Akbar’s spy action-thriller is based on the popular Masud Rana novels written by late novelist Qazi Anwar Hussain. Plot details are being kept under wraps but we understand Grillo will play the nemesis of secret agent Rana — code name Mr-9 — of the Bangladesh Counter Intelligence Agency.

Bangladeshi actor Abm Sumon will be the...

Exclusive: Captain America, The Purge and Copshop star Frank Grillo is set to star in action movie Mr-9, which is shooting imminently in the U.S. and Bangladesh.

Writer-director Asif Akbar’s spy action-thriller is based on the popular Masud Rana novels written by late novelist Qazi Anwar Hussain. Plot details are being kept under wraps but we understand Grillo will play the nemesis of secret agent Rana — code name Mr-9 — of the Bangladesh Counter Intelligence Agency.

The film is adapted from the original first novel Masud Rana: Dhonghsho Pahar (Demolition Hill). Hussain published 550 novels published in the series, which is influenced by the James Bond franchise.

Bangladeshi production company Jaaz Multimedia, LA-based Al Bravo Films and Mr-9 Films have joined forces to get the film into production. Producers are Al Bravo, Hemdee Kiwanuka, Colin Bates, Akbar, Philip Tan and Abdul Aziz with executive producers Niko Foster, Peter Nguyen and Phillip B. Goldfine.

Stars: Paul Flannery, Stephanie Lynn Styles, Mark Wood, Kendra Carelli, Niko Foster, HemDee Kiwanuka, Lisa Cameron, Liam Matheson, Olivia Murray, Harry Willis Fleming | Written by David Ryan Keith, Paul Flannery | Directed by David Ryan Keith

To say I was excited when the press release for The Dark Within dropped into my inbox is somthing of an understatement. You see, I am a Huge fan of writer/director David Ryan Keith’s 2017 film Ghosts of Darkness which, despite numerous [aborted] release dates, has yet to hit physical media here in the UK. That film was a fantastic horror comedy which really showed off both director Keith and actor Paul Flannery – both of whom team up for their follow up effort The Dark Within. A film that could not be, thematically, further from their previous film but is still yet another sublime genre film from the duo.

Whereas Ghosts of Darkness mixed horror and laughs,...