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Eva Longoria and Nicholas Galitzine (“The Idea of You”) are set to lead the voice cast of Studiocanal’s “Wings of Freedom,” a Mexico-set animated adventure film from the creators of “Ballerina” (titled “Leap!” in the U.S.).

A heartwarming action-comedy feature, “Wings of Freedom” is directed and co-written by Laurent Zeitoun, the well-established French screenwriter and producer behind some of Europe’s biggest local hits in recent history, from the Omar Sy comedy “Intouchables” to animated features “Ballerina” and “Fireheart,” both of which he directed.

“Wings of Freedom” features Longoria as Salana, a home-loving Eagle who lives in the safety of her hidden bird colony until a twist of fate propels her out of her comfort zone. Galitzine plays Lieutenant Pirro, a fearless Swift and member the Animal Air Force. Together, they must confront Eternity, a malevolent AI determined to seize control of the world.

Studiocanal, which is preparing...

The hilarious and exhilarating action-comedy, Gun Shy, rocks out on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital HD), DVD, and Digital HD on November 7 from Lionsgate. Currently available On Demand, the film stars three-time Golden Globe® nominee Antonio Banderas (Best Actor: Evita, 1997; The Mask of Zorro, 1999; And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself, 2004) as a spoiled and aging rock star whose wife is kidnapped while they are on vacation in Chile. With very few skills beyond playing bass and partying, he must pull himselftogether to save his wife from her hostile captors. From Simon West, the director of Con Air, The Expendables 2, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and The Mechanic, and written for the screen by Mark Haskell Smith and Toby Davies (based on the novel “Salty” by Smith), the Gun Shy Blu-ray and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $21.99 and $19.98, respectively.

Now you can own Gun Shy on Blu-ray. We...

Program Description

The hilarious and exhilarating action-comedy, Gun Shy, rocks out on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital HD), DVD, and Digital HD on November 7 from Lionsgate. Currently available On Demand, the film stars three-time Golden Globe® nominee Antonio Banderas (Best Actor: Evita, 1997; The Mask of Zorro, 1999; And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself, 2004) as a spoiled and aging rock star whose wife is kidnapped while they are on vacation in Chile. With very few skills beyond playing bass and partying, he must pull himself together to save his wife from her hostile captors. From Simon West, the director of Con Air, The Expendables 2, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and The Mechanic, and written for the screen by Mark Haskell Smith and Toby Davies (based on the novel “Salty” by Smith), the Gun Shy Blu-ray and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $21.99 and $19.98, respectively.=

Official Synopsis

When vacationing in Chile,...

Carnaby International handles worldwide sales on action thriller.

Saban Films has acquired North American rights to Simon West’s Gun Shy starring Antonio Banderas and Olga Kurylenko.

Toby Davies and Mark Haskell Smith adapted the novel by Haskell Smith about an aging rock star whose supermodel wife is kidnapped on vacation in Chile.

The pampered superstar must drawn on untested resources as he follows the trail through the back alleys of Santiago and jungles of South America.

West and Jib Polhemus produced through Simon West Productions banner alongside Harry Stourton.

Saban will release Gun Shy theatrically in select cities on September 8. Ness Saban and Bill Bromiley negotiated the deal with the film’s London-based worldwide sales agent Carnaby International.

“Gun Shy is a supremely entertaining film,” Bromiley said. “Our audiences will delight in Antonio Banderas’ raucous performance and director Simon West’s unique and wild vision.”

Saban Films recently acquired John Travolta’s Speed Kills and Ethan Hawke...

Saban Films has acquired North American distribution rights to Simon West's Gun Shy, starring Antonio Banderas and Olga Kurylenko.

The action film was written by Toby Davies and Mark Haskell Smith. West and Jib Polhemus produced under the Simon West Productions banner alongside Harry Stourton.

 

Adapted from the novel also written by Haskell Smith, Gun Shy (formerly titled Salty) follows Turk Henry (Banderas), an aging mid-level rock star whose supermodel wife (Kurylenko) is suddenly kidnapped while they are vacationing in Chile. Accustomed to his extravagant lifestyle and lacking basic life skills, Turk finds himself perplexed in having...

Saban Films has acquired the Antonio Banderas-starring film Gun Shy for theatrical release. The film, directed by Simon West and previously titled Salty, will be released on Sept. 8 this year. Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace, Oblivion) also stars in the actioner written by Toby Davies and Mark Haskell Smith. West and Jib Polhemus produced under the Simon West Productions banner alongside Harry Stourton. The film was adapted from the novel also written by Smith and…...

Rachel Meaden Nov 27, 2016

It’s the penultimate episode of Yonderland series 3 and we’re finally getting some answers to what Cuddly Dick is getting up to…

This review contains spoilers.

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3.7 Miss Smashing

Yonderland does beauty pageants in episode 7 but something about it doesn’t feel quite right when all the rejected contestants start going missing…

This week sees the re-emergence of a Televised Beauty Contest Yonderland called Miss Smashing. Debbie thinks that something about the show smells a bit fishy and endeavours to get to the bottom of it. Meanwhile Negatus is a double agent working for Cuddly Dick once again and trying to decide if he should...

Shoot underway in Chile on crowd-funded action-comedy from Con Air director.

Olga Kurylenko (Quantum Of Solace) will star opposite Antonio Banderas in Simon West’s (Con Air) action-comedy Salty, which begins principal photography today in Chile.

Kurylenko will play Sheila Enry wife of Banderas’ Turk Enry, an ageing rock star and reformed sex addict married to a supermodel who is abducted by pirates on holiday in Chile.

The partly crowd-funded film is being produced by Los Angeles and UK-based production company, Simon West Productions and is adapted from the novel by Mark Haskell Smith.

Producers are Jib Polhemus (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) and Harry Stourton (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) with screenplay by Mark Haskell Smith (TV series Star Trek Voyager) and Toby Davies (The Mitchell and Webb Look).

Director West said: “‘I’m delighted Olga has joined Antonio and the rest of the cast. Her talents in both action and comedy make her the perfect ‘Sheila’. I’m excited...

Rachel Meaden Oct 14, 2016

With Yonderland series 3 on its way, we salute an underappreciated family comedy gem from the cast and creators of Horrible Histories...

I make no bones about the fact that Horrible Histories is one of one my favourite TV shows. It never fails to make me laugh and I cannot tell you at how many pub quizzes I’ve deployed nuggets of information learned from that show. So, two years ago when it was announced the team behind Horrible Histories were moving on to something new, needless to say, I was rather intrigued. When I discovered fantasy and puppets were being thrown into that mix, I was well and truly sold.

See related 25 great sci-fi films that are under 90 minutes long Damon Lindelof finally explains the Lost finale 50 forgotten sci-fi films from the 1990s 8 original sci-fi films to look forward to in 2016

For the uninitiated, Yonderland is a family-friendly,...

If you're not already a fan of the brilliant Yonderland, from the Horrible Histories and Bill team, Rachel thinks you should catch up...

I make no bones about the fact that Horrible Histories is one of one my favourite TV shows. It never fails to make me laugh and I cannot tell you at how many pub quizzes I’ve deployed nuggets of information learned from that show. So, two years ago when it was announced the team behind Horrible Histories were moving on to something new, needless to say, I was rather intrigued. When I discovered fantasy and puppets were being thrown into that mix, I was well and truly sold.

For the uninitiated, Yonderland is a family-friendly, fantasy comedy. It’s the story of full time Mum, Debbie of Maddox (Martha Howe-Douglas) who discovers a portal to another world in her larder. An elf called Elf (voiced by...

The latest series of Crackanory has acquired a time-travelling storyteller in the form of Christopher Lloyd.

The Back to the Future legend will be among the stars who will tell naughty tales in the third series of the Dave comedy.

Also signing up this series are Inbetweeners stars Simon Bird and Greg Davies, Episodes actress Tamsin Greig and comedian Sarah Millican.

A full list of the show's 12 stars will be announced by Dave in the coming weeks.

As with previous series, each episode will feature two stories; mixing narration, live action and animation. The stories will be written by the likes of Holly Walsh, Toby Davies and Kevin Eldon.

Last year's series featured performances from Ben Miller, Sue Perkins, David Mitchell and the late Rik Mayall in his final TV appearance.

Crackanory will air on Dave later this year. Watch a promo for the show below:...

Carnaby to be world sales agent on action-comedy from the director of Con Air and Expendables 2.

London-based Carnaby Sales & Distribution has partnered with Simon West Productions as worldwide sales agent on action-comedy Salty,which is set to begin principal photography in Thailand from Q4 2015.

Directed by Simon West (Con Air, Expendables 2), the film follows a reformed sex-addict muso who is persuaded to take a holiday in Thailand by his wife, a former supermodel. Things take a turn for the worse when she’s kidnapped by Thai pirates raising money to buy a new boat.

Mark Haskell Smith’s original script, adapted from his novel of the same name, has been reworked by West and comedy writer Toby Davies (That Mitchell and Webb Look).

The sales agreement was struck by Carnaby joint CEOs Sean O’Kelly and Andrew Loveday, together with West, Harry Stourton and Jib Polhemus of Simon West Productions.

Pre-sale negotiations...

Filth, Pride and Philomena among film nominees; awards take place on Jan 19 in London.

Sandi Toksvig will present the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain annual Awards at Riba, in London, on Jan 19, 2015.

In the two film categories, Pride (Stephen Beresford), The Selfish Giant (Clio Barnard) and Starred Up (Jonathan Asser) are up for Best First Screenplay, while Filth (Jon S Baird), Metro Manila (Sean Ellis & Frank E Flowers) and Philomena (Jeff Pope & Steve Coogan) will compete for Best Screenplay.

TV programmes up for awards include Line of Duty (Jed Mercurio), Peaky Blinders (Steven Knight), The Great Train Robbery (Chris Chibnall) and House of Fools (Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer).

A special award for outstanding contribution to writing and writers will be presented on the night.

Full shortlist

TV Drama – Long Form

Line of Duty (Jed Mercurio), Happy Valley (Sally Wainwright), Peaky Blinders (Steven Knight)

TV Drama – Short Form

The Great Train Robbery (Chris Chibnall), Turks & Caicos (David Hare), [link...

Movie adaptation of BBC teen magazine show Friday Download to begin shooting this week.

Friday Download, the BAFTA-winning kids TV show that begins its eighth series on Cbbc in the UK next month, is to be adapted for the big screen.

The Friday Download Movie will begin a four-week shoot on Sept 6, primarily in Wales, in and around Swansea.

It will be directed by John Henderson (The Borrowers) and the script has been written by Toby Davies, who has penned British TV series such as Yonderland, Crackanory and Sorry I’ve Got No Head.

Producers are Pilot Media directors Jules Elvins and Dan Shepherd (Chalet Girl, Mr Nice), and Jeremy Salsby of Saltbeef TV, who created the show.

The film has been fully financed by Great Point Media, run by producers Jim Reeve and Robert Halmi Jnr.

International sales will be handled by Genesis Film Sales.

The TV series, which launched in 2011, is a weekly magazine show that...

A film adaptation of the BAFTA-winning BBC teen magazine show "Friday Download" begins filming this week.

The show begins its eighth series on Cbbc in the UK next month. The weekly magazine show features several segments (aka 'Downloads') fronted by a different presenter. Each download features information on a variety of subjects.

The film version sees the gang head off on a holiday, where they are drawn to a creepy old mansion in the middle of nowhere. Current presents Dionne Bromfield,  Richard Wisker, Shannon Flynn, George Sear, Bobby Lockwood and past presenters Tyger Drew Honey and Louisa Connelly-Burnham are also attached to star.

The four week shoot on the film will take place primarily in Wales, in and around Swansea. John Henderson ("The Borrowers") helms from a script by Toby Davies, while Jeremy Salsby, Jules Elvins and Dan Shepherd will produce.

Source: Screen...

Expendables 2 director talks crowd-funding, a Con Air sequel and Tolkien & Lewis.

Con Air and The Expendables 2 director Simon West is turning to crowd-funding platform SyndicateRoom to help finance his upcoming action-comedy Salty.

In an unusual move for such a high profile film, UK investors are being invited to own a stake in the film by buying shares in company Salty Film Ltd via the equity crowd-funding platform SyndicateRoom.

According to West’s Simon West Productions, angel investors have already bought £450,000 of equity in Salty Films, with remaining shares available at a minimum of £1,000.

The production is aiming for crowd-funding investors to make up £1.8m of the film’s projected £5.9m ($10m) budget, with the remainder expected from pre-sales and tax credits.

West’s production outfit is in advanced negotiations with a Us sales outfit for the project, which the director hopes to shoot in 2015.

Salty follows a reformed sex-addict muso who is persuaded to take a...

Expendables 2 director talks crowd-funding, a Con Air sequel and Tolkien & Lewis.

Con Air and The Expendables 2 director Simon West is turning to crowd-funding platform SyndicateRoom to help finance his upcoming action-comedy Salty.

In an unusual move for such a high profile film, UK investors are being invited to own a stake in the film by buying shares in company Salty Film Ltd via the equity crowd-funding platform SyndicateRoom.

According to West’s Simon West Productions, angel investors have already bought £450,000 of equity in Salty Films, with remaining shares available at a minimum of £1,000.

The production is aiming for crowd-funding investors to make up £1.8m of the film’s projected £5.9m ($10m) budget, with the remainder expected from pre-sales and tax credits.

West’s production outfit is in advanced negotiations with a Us sales outfit for the project, which the director hopes to shoot in 2015.

Salty follows a reformed sex-addict muso who is persuaded to take a...