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Exclusive: Gbenga Akinnagbe (The Old Man) has been cast in Kathryn Bigelow‘s new Netflix film.

The film’s title and plot remain under wraps, though sources tell Deadline it will be set at the White House as a national crisis unfolds. The untitled thriller also stars Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Jared Harris, Greta Lee, Gabriel Basso, Anthony Ramos, Tracy Letts, Moses Ingram, Kyle Allen, Francesca Carpanini, Abubakr Ali, Malachi Beasley and Aminah Nieves.

Netflix declined to comment on the casting.

The project was set at the streamer in May, Bigelow’s first feature since the 2017 thriller Detroit from Annapurna Pictures. In between both projects, she was developing an adaptation of of the novel Aurora from David Koepp that didn’t work out.

Akinnagbe can currently be seen in the FX drama series The Old Man working alongside Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow in the role of “Julian Carson.” Season...

Exclusive: Rumer Willis (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood), Gbenga Akkinagbe (Rob Peace), Jeff Fahey (Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1) and Graham Greene (Echo) are in production in Arkansas on Broken Trail, a new Western from director Johnny Remo and his Skipstone Pictures.

Written by Remo and longtime collaborator Daniel Backman, the film set in 1875 watches as the life of Katherine (Willis) is shattered when her beloved husband falls victim to a murder orchestrated by the nefarious Colonel Davis (Fahey). Alone and overwhelmed, Katherine’s path crosses with John Scobell (Akinnagbe), a Black man with a troubled past as a former Pinkerton Agent. Despite initial reluctance, John is drawn to Katherine’s determination and the injustice of Caleb’s death. Together, they form an unlikely alliance fueled by a shared desire for retribution.

Others in the ensemble include Eric Nelsen, James Landry Hebert, Jeremy Sumpter and Connor Eterson. Remo...

Exclusive: Bella Thorne (Divinity) and Jack Kilmer (Palo Alto) have been set to topline The Tower, one of 102 projects to have been granted a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement following the launch of the actors strike. Also set for the fantastical drama, from filmmaker Adam Sigal (Nandor Fodor and The Talking Mongoose), are Cam Gigandet (Violent Night) and Chris Mullinax (Chariot).

The film currently in production is billed as a dark tale about a mysterious mermaid trapped and forgotten for years in the water tower of a small Southern town. Sigal described it as his “attempt to interpret the isolation and wanderlust I felt growing up in a small Southern town.”

The Tower is among the projects that began shooting shortly before the SAG-AFTRA strike launched and went on pause in the wake of the walkout until the securement of a SAG waiver. Producers are B.I. Rosen, Frederic Demey, James Bruce,...

Exclusive: Saban Films has taken worldwide rights to action-thriller Hellfire, starring Stephen Lang, Harvey Keitel and Dolph Lundgren here at the European Film Market.

The title, which is directed by Isaac Florentine and written by Richard Lowry, follows a drifter (Lang) with a mysterious past who arrives in a small town and finds the residents in the grip of a ruthless crime boss and realizes he has to help them.

Currently in post-production, Hellfire is produced by Sasha Yelaun, Robert Paschall Jr, Daniel Lief, and Johnny Remo. It’s executive produced by Dominic Burns, Rob Simmons, Ante Novakovic, Jeff Miller, Ronnie D. Lee, Sterling Griffin, Adam Sigal, B.I. Rosen, Frederic Demey, Grant Palmer, Krystyna Swiecka, Cecil Chambers, Seth Sklar, Keli Price, Jenny Shakeshaft, Brian Katz, Thomas Zambeck, Matthew Ianniello Jr, Mehrdad Moayedi, Chad Oliver and Ryan Hicks.

The deal was negotiated by Shanan Becker for Saban Films and Sasha Yelaun.

Two of Hollywood’s most formidable men, Dolph Lundgren and Stephen Lang, will bring the heat when Isaac Florentine’s Hellfire unleashes itself upon the world. According to Deadline‘s exclusive report, production on the upcoming thriller is complete, bringing us one step closer to a hot-blooded tale of the right person being in the wrong place at the right time.

Florentine directs Hellfire from a script by Richard Lowry. With Lundgren and Lang taking center stage, Scottie Thompson, Johnny Bosch, Michael Sirow, Chris Mullinax, Maurice Compte, Levon Panek, and Natalie Canerday also star.

Hellfire revolves around an enigmatic drifter (Lang) who visits a small town and finds the residents caught in the vice grip of a merciless crime lord. After surveying the situation, the drifter decides to step in and help those too weak to defend themselves.

Sasha Yelaun, Robert Paschall Jr, Daniel Lief, and Johnny Remo produce, with Rob Simmons,...

Exclusive: Production has officially wrapped production in Arkansas on the upcoming action thriller Hellfire under the seasoned Isaac Florentine directing with a cast that includes Stephen Lang, Harvey Keitel, and Dolph Lundgren. Hellfire also stars Scottie Thompson, Johnny Yong Bosch, Michael Sirow, Chris Mullinax, Maurice Compte, Levon Panek, and local actress Natalie Canerday amongst others.

The film is about a drifter (played by Stephen Lang) with a mysterious past who arrives in a small town and finds the residents in the grip of a ruthless crime boss and realizes he has to help them.

Written by Richard Lowry, the film is produced by Sasha Yelaun, Robert Paschall Jr (Old Way), Daniel Lief (Seized), and Johnny Remo (Monstrous). Executive producers include Rob Simmons, Ante Novakovic, Jeff Miller, Ronnie D. Lee, Sterling Griffin,...

Exclusive: Screen Media has acquired North American rights to Chris Sivertson’s psychological horror pic Monstrous, starring Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets), ahead of its weekend world premiere at Glasgow FrightFest. The Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment company plans to release the film in theaters and on demand on May 13.

Monstrous centers on Laura (Ricci), who runs away from her ex-husband with her seven-year-old son, Cody (Santino Barnard), after being traumatized by an abusive relationship. As Laura and Cody begin to settle into their new life, they encounter a bigger, more terrifying horror that threatens their already fragile existence and pushes their physical and mental well-being to the limit.

Colleen Camp, Don Balderamos and Nick Vallelong round out the cast of the film penned by Carol Chrest. Robert Yocum, Sasha Yelaun, B.I. Rosen and Johnny Remo served as its producers.

“In the midst of a perfect storm, Monstrous was a Covid-friendly...

Exclusive: Saban Films has acquired North American and other overseas territory rights to The Old Way, the Western from director Brett Donowho that stars Nicolas Cage. The distributor is targeting a theatrical and VOD release for the pic sometime during the fourth quarter of 2022.

The deal marks the the second recent pickup of a Cage-toplined pic for Saban Films, which also snagged rights to the frontier epic Butcher’s Crossing written and directed by Gabe Polsky and starring Cage as an 1870s buffalo hunter.

Written by Carl W. Lucas, The Old Way centers on Colton Briggs (Cage), a former gunslinger who truly believed he had left his past behind. But when a gang of outlaws murder his wife, Briggs finds his world shattered and must once again take up arms in violence. But this time, he won’t be going alone. Briggs is now a father and must bring his young...

Exclusive: Firestarter reboot lead Ryan Kiera Armstrong and Evil Dead alum Shiloh Fernandez are among cast to have joined Nicolas Cage in action-western The Old Way, which we revealed last week.

In The Old Way, Cage stars as Colton Briggs, a former gunslinger who now runs a general store and lives quietly with his family. When a gang of outlaws murders his wife in cold blood, Briggs returns home to find his world burning. He unearths his sidearm and saddles up with an unlikely partner: his twelve-year-old daughter. The project marks Cage’s first ‘traditional’ western.

Armstrong, who plays Briggs’ daughter Brooke, recently starred in American Horror Story: Double Feature on FX and will soon be seen in Blumhouse’s Firestarter, where she will reprise the role of Charlie, made famous by Drew Barrymore in the original 1984 adaptation of Stephen King’s classic novel. This summer, the child star appeared...

Exclusive: Fresh off his lauded performance in art house darling Pig, Oscar winner Nicolas Cage has saddled up to lead action Western The Old Way.

The film will be Cage’s first foray into the genre (in a conventional sense), a journey he’ll continue with the previously announced Butcher’s Crossing. Both films will shoot back-to-back in Montana.

In The Old Way, Cage will star as Colton Briggs, a former gunslinger who now runs a general store and lives quietly with his family. When a gang of outlaws murders his wife in cold blood, Briggs returns home to find his world burning. He unearths his sidearm and saddles up with an unlikely partner: his twelve-year-old daughter.

The film will be directed by Acts of Violence helmer Brett Donowho. Carl W. Lucas wrote the script. Capstone is launching sales on the movie at this week’s Toronto Film Festival market.

“After 43 years in cinema,...

Channel 4 Visits ‘Murder Island’

Channel 4 has commissioned Stv Studios, the producer behind BBC crime drama The Victim, to make genre-bending immersive competition format Murder Island. The six-part series blends factual entertainment and crime drama by asking members of the public to play detective in a murder mystery penned by a yet-to-be-announced major crime writer. They will have one nail-biting week to compete to find out if they’ve got what it takes to solve a murder. The series was developed by Stv Studios’ creative director for factual, Craig Hunter; director of development Lucy Hazzard; and executive producer Jonathan Smith. Executive producers are Hunter, Smith, Sara Evans, and David Clews, who also directs. Motion Content Group co-produces with Melanie Darlaston executive producing. Murder Island is funded from Channel 4’s Contestable Pot – a ring-fenced fund to find innovative, channel-defining formats.

Breaking Through The Lens Unveils 2021 Plans

Exclusive: Breaking Through The Lens,...