Steven Seagal Taking ‘Code Of Honor'; Tim Burton Set To Fly With ‘Dumbo’ – Film Briefs
Steven Seagal is back in action with the Premiere Entertainment Group thriller Code of Honor, which has just started rolling in Salt Lake City, Utah. The story follows a Special Forces colonel who returns from a Middle East tour. Noticing that his hometown has disintegrated into a violent world run by murderers and narco-terrorists, the colonel takes the situation into his own hands by entering the shadow world. No one can stop him, except for maybe an old teammate.
The film is written and directed by Michael Winnick and also stars Craig Sheffer (A River Runs Through It) and Helena Mattsson (Iron Man 2). Ryan Noto, president of Premiere Entertainment, is producing as well as CEO Elias Axume.
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Tim Burton is planning to direct a live-action version of the 1941 animated classic Dumbo for Walt Disney Pictures. Various sources are confirming; the news was broken today in The Wall Street Journal. Pic will be a mix of CG and live-action. Ehren Kruger is writing the script and sharing producing credit with Justin Springer (Oblivion, Tron: Legacy). Burton’s most recent film was the Weinstein Co. biopic Big Eyes, about pop painter Margaret Keane whose husband claimed credit for her work. It earned Amy Adams a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. Burton is repped by WME.
BAFTA Award winner Rob Connolly is making his feature directorial debut with the suspense thriller Backcountry. Principal photography began on last week in Sudbury, Ontario, and is slated to wrap on March 28. The pic stars Joel Kinnaman (Run All Night, The Killing, Suicide Squad), Tom Holland (Heart Of The Sea, The Impossible, Billy Elliot: The Musical) and Percy Hynes-White (Murdoch Mysteries, Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb).
Backcountry follows Elliot Baker (Kinnaman), who seizes the chance to develop a better relationship with his sons when his ex-wife Karen (Rachelle LeFevre, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn) and her new husband take a vacation and leave the boys with him. What starts as a bonding opportunity turns into a nightmarish adventure when they get stranded in a deserted cabin near the lake as night falls and a snowstorm rages. Bradley (Holland), 15, and Caleb (Hynes-White), 12, quickly learn more about their father and what they truly mean to him in this gripping tale of family and survival.
Backcountry is written and produced by Kyle Mann, co-produced by Michael Risley with executive producers Jeff Sackman and Jonathan Bronfman. Pic is also produced by Drive Productions in association with JoBro Productions and Tajj Media which holds global distrib rights.
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XLrator Media is bringing its library of genre films to Hulu, starting with the debut of the Macabre collection. Streaming begins March 15. Macabre will be the first of several premium-content destinations to be launched this year by XLrator Media in the over-the-top distribution space.
“With some of the top entertainment brands such as HBO, Showtime, CBS, Nickelodeon and others having recently made announcements that they are going over the top (OTT), this is a clear sign that mainstream consumers are now ready for this new way to receive and view content,” XLrator Media CEO Barry Gordon said in a statement. “With this validation of the OTT delivery space, we saw an opportunity to develop a network of ‘narrow-casted’ content destinations for high-quality independent films that appeal to enthusiast audiences.”
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