‘Peaky Blinders’ Star Joe Cole To Lead Action-Thriller ‘He Bled Neon’ For Taylor Swift Music Video Director Drew Kirsch; Zhu & Joseph Trapanese To Compose Score With XYZ & WME Independent Selling

EXCLUSIVE: Gangs of London and Peaky Blinders star Joe Cole is set to lead action-thriller He Bled Neon, marking the feature debut of music video filmmaker Drew Kirsch who co-directed videos “You Need to Calm Down” and “Lover” with Taylor Swift, and also helmed videos for Shakira, Charlie Puth, John Legend, Imagine Dragons and Machine Gun Kelly.

Grammy nominee Zhu will compose the score in collaboration with Joseph Trapanese (The Greatest Showman, Straight Outta Compton).

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The official synopsis reads: “After his estranged brother’s mysterious death, Ethan’s (Cole) journey to Las Vegas for the funeral unravels a dark web of crime, forcing him to confront his past as he delves into the city’s gritty underworld to uncover the truth, risking everything he holds dear in the process.”

XYZ Films (BlackBerry) will produce alongside frequent collaborator Two & Two Pictures (Under the Shadow). The companies are in post on Hallow Road, directed by Babak Anvari and co-starring Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys.

XYZ will be handling world sales on He Bled Neon ahead of the upcoming Cannes market, with WME Independent co-repping domestic.

Pic is written by Tim Cairo and Jake Gibson (Lowlife) from an original story by XYZ co-founder Nate Bolotin, who was inspired by his early experiences growing up in Las Vegas.

BAFTA-nominee Cole is known for features A Prayer Before Dawn and Green Room and TV sseries such as A Small Light, Peaky Blinders and Gangs of London. He recently starred on stage in Homecoming opposite Jared Harris and later this year will star in the thriller series Nightsleeper for BBC Drama.

Kirsch won an MTV Music Video of the Year award for co-directing the video for Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down.”

“We are thrilled to have assembled such an amazing team that believes in the potential of this project, with a singular vision from Drew Kirsch and with a spotlight on the wildly talented Joe Cole leading the cast. We are also fortunate to have such brilliant music and soundscapes of ZHU and Joe Trapanese, which will truly bring this film to life,” said Bolotin.

Cole is repped by WME and B-Side Management.

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