The new season premieres February 20th on Prime Video!
DEADLINE – EXCLUSIVE: FilmNation Entertainment‘s production label Infrared is lining up would-be action franchise-starter Painter, which will star rising U.S. actress Amber Midthunder (Prey, Legion) alongside Alan Ritchson (Reacher).
Painter is written by Derek Kolstad (John Wick) and is set to be directed by Logan, Avatar and Road House stunt co-ordinator Garrett Warren, the well known stunt specialist in Hollywood who is now turning to directing.
FilmNation will launch sales on the project at next week’s American Film Market (AFM) in Las Vegas where it will be one of the hot packages.
Painter centers on a young woman, trained from a young age, who must employ every skill in her arsenal to rescue her father after he is kidnapped.
Pic is produced by Ritchson, Drew Simon (Infrared), Kolstad, Josh Adler (Circle of Confusion), and Dan Spilo (Industry Entertainment). Infrared is financing.
FilmNation is handling Painter’s international sales and co-repping domestic rights alongside CAA Media Finance. The deal was negotiated on behalf of FilmNation by Alison Cohen and Ben Ryzak, with Dan Fox representing Alan Ritchson, Puneet Layal (CAA) representing Garrett Warren, and Darren Trattner representing Amber Midthunder.
“Painter will be a seminal action hero film, making Midthunder into this generation’s Sarah Connor (Terminator),” enthused Drew Simon, Infrared President of Production. “We loved Kolstad’s high-octane script, and we know with Garrett Warren at the helm this film will kickstart an exciting new franchise in the world of action.”
FilmNation is currently in the awards race with Palme d’Or winner Anora and Ralph Fiennes starrer Conclave. The company launched production label Infrared in 2022 with a focus on genre fare. Infrared’s first completed feature Novocaine, a thriller starring Jack Quaid and Midthunder, was acquired by Paramount and will be released in March 2025.
Warren is repped by WME. Kolstad is repped by UTA, Circle Management + Production, and Behr Abramson Levy Johnson. Midthunder is repped by CAA, Corner Booth Entertainment, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman. Ritchson is repped by WME, Dan Spilo of Industry Entertainment, and Hansen, Jacobson.
DEADLINE – EXCLUSIVE: Reacher star Alan Ritchson has found his next action project in the shape of Runner, a movie about a high-end courier who has three hours to transport an organ to save a seven-year-old girl in need of an immediate transplant. The seemingly simple mission turns deadly when the leader of a notorious crime syndicate becomes hell-bent on claiming the organ.
Need for Speed and Expendables 4 filmmaker Scott Waugh is aboard to direct the action-thriller, which is being lined up to shoot in London next March.
A Higher Standard is launching international sales on the Miles Hubley and Tommy White 2023 Black List script ahead of the American Film Market in Las Vegas next month. WME Independent is co-repping domestic with Higher Standard.
Pic is being produced by Todd Garner (Broken Road Productions), Dan Spilo (Industry Entertainment), Ritchson, Mark Fasano (Nickel City Pictures), and Jeffrey Greenstein (A Higher Standard).
Ritchson will soon return in the third season of Reacher, which recently received an early fourth season renewal and remains one of Prime Video’s most-binged Original series. He is currently in production on Netflix action sci-fi War Machine and is set to reprise his role in the untitled eleventh instalment of the Fast and Furious franchise.
Scott Waugh shared: “Runner with the driving force of an actor like Alan Ritchson reminds me of the Tony Scott action films I grew up on in the 90’s when character and story were pivotal and the action was a spectacle. I couldn’t be more excited to direct this super entertaining script and bring the thrilling world of Runner to life.”
“I have been trying to work with Alan for several years now and am absolutely delighted to finally have the opportunity to work together on this remarkable project,” added Mortal Kombat producer Todd Garner.
“Runner is the exact type of film that audiences across the globe crave- a high octane, entertaining film that also has heart and levity,” commented Jeffrey Greenstein of A Higher Standard. “Alan Ritchson is tailor-made for this role and he, his action team and Scott Waugh together will keep you on the edge of your seats on this full throttle ride.”
Ritchson is represented by WME, Industry Entertainment, and Hansen, Jacobson. Waugh is repped by UTA.
VARIETY – EXCLUSIVE: Iconic author Nicholas Sparks‘ new bestseller “Counting Miracles” is being adapted into a movie at Amazon MGM Studios starring “Reacher” star Alan Ritchson.
In “Counting Miracles,” former Ranger (Ritchson) returns to his small hometown with one mission: to find the father he never knew. While there he crosses paths with a doctor who is balancing her own life as a single mother of two and a reclusive old man with a mysterious past, leading to unexpected connections and a journey toward belonging.
Published Sept. 24 by Random House, Sparks’ “Counting Miracles” reached No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list Wednesday, marking the author’s 20th book to hit the top of the chart.
Ritchson, who is starring in the “Counting Miracles” film adaptation through his three-picture acting deal with Amazon MGM Studios, will produce the project under his AllyCat Entertainment banner alongside Dan Spilo of Industry Entertainment, Di Novi Pictures’ Denise Di Novi (who previously produced adaptations of Sparks’ “The Best of Me,” “The Lucky One,” “Nights in Rodanthe,” “A Walk to Remember,” and “Message in a Bottle”) and Margaret French Isaac, and Sparks’ longtime producing partner Theresa Park.
Both AllyCat Entertainment and Di Novi Pictures are under first-look film deals at Amazon.
Best known for his leading titular role in Amazon’s popular action series “Reacher,” which will debut its third season in 2025, Ritchson is currently in production on Netflix action sci-fi film “War Machine.” Next up, Ritchson will produce and star in Amazon’s Prime Video holiday family comedy ”The Man With The Bag” alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. He will also be reprising his role as Aimes in the untitled 11th installment of Universal Pictures’ “Fast and Furious” franchise.
Ritchson is repped by WME, Dan Spilo of Industry Entertainment, Shelter PR and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox.
Sparks is repped by Howie Sanders, Co-Head of the Anonymous Content Media Rights Department, Celeste Fine of Park & Fine Literary and Media, Jill Fritzo PR and Scott Schwimer Esq.
460 UltraHD screen captures from The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare have been added into the gallery, along with a few newly released stills.
Film Productions > 2024 | The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare > Stills
Film Productions > 2024 | The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare > Captures