Dillard to helm ‘Devotion’

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Statham and Ritchie to reunite for remake of French thriller

LOS ANGELES, Oct 8, (RTRS): Jason Statham will star in a US remake of the French thriller “Le Convoyeur,” with Guy Ritchie directing for Miramax.

Ritchie and Statham previously collaborated on two British actioners: 2000’s “Snatch” and 1998’s “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.” Miramax is set to produce and has purchased the remake rights of the original 2004 French film “Le Convoyeur” from StudioCanal.

Statham will portray a cold and mysterious character who works for an armored truck company responsible for moving hundreds of millions of dollars around Los Angeles each week. The original movie, which was also known as “Cash Truck,” starred Jean Dujardin and Albert Dupontel.

“I’m looking forward to bringing this story to life and working with Jason while he still has the use of his knees,” Ritchie said.

Miramax CEO Bill Block and Ivan Atkinson will produce. Ritchie and Miramax last teamed on the crime thriller “The Gentlemen,” starring Matthew McConaughey. That film, formerly titled “Toff Guys,” hits theaters on Jan 24 in North America.

“Working again with Guy Ritchie on our second collaboration together, alongside renowned actor Jason Statham, is a privilege, and we anticipate that the tone and flavor of these two longtime friends will resurrect nothing less than a true, genre classic,” Block said.

Statham starred in last year’s actioner “The Meg” and alongside Dwayne Johnson in the “Fast and Furious” spinoff, “Hobbs & Shaw,” which has topped $750 million at the worldwide box office.

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LOS ANGELES: J.D. Dillard has signed on to helm Korean War epic “Devotion,” starring “Top Gun: Maverick” actor Glen Powell, sources tell Variety.

The film, from Black Label Media, is an aerial war epic that tells the harrowing true story of two elite US Navy fighter pilots, Tom Hudner and Jesse L. Brown, during the Korean War. Their heroic sacrifices would ultimately make them the Navy’s most celebrated wingmen.

Powell will star as Hudner, whose life – along with Brown’s – was chronicled in Adam Makos’ book “Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice,” upon which the movie is based. Jake Crane and Jonathan Stewart wrote the screenplay. BLM’s Molly Smith, Rachel Smith, Thad Luckinbill and Trent Luckinbill will produce.

Dillard is best known for his debut feature film “Sleight,” which premiered at Sundance in 2016 and was acquired by WWE Studios and Blumhouse. His second film, “Sweetheart,” starring Kiersey Clemons, premiered at Sundance in 2019 and will be released on digital by Blumhouse/Universal on Oct 22. Dillard is also working on “Mastering Your Past,” which was picked up by Legendary after a bidding war earlier this year.

Powell starred opposite Zoey Deutch in the surprise hit “Set It Up” for Netflix and will reteam with Deutch for the comedy “Most Dangerous Game’’.

LOS ANGELES: Universal and DreamWorks Animation announced two new animated films for theatrical release in 2021.

“Spirit Riding Free” will arrive on the big screen on May 14, 2021, while “The Bad Guys” is set to debut on Sept 17, 2021. The latter will replace “Spooky Jack,” a cartoon from the Universal-owned Blumhouse that the studio took off its release calendar.

The still-untitled “Spirit Riding Free” is based on the DreamWorks Animation Television series on Netflix, which itself was inspired by the 2002 Oscar-nominated film “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.” The animated adventure continues the story about an unbreakable bond between a girl and her wild horse. The Netflix series consists of 52 episodes so far with more content on the way this fall and in 2020. Elaine Bogan (“Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia,” “3 Below,” “Dragons: Race to the Edge”) is directing the film and “How to Train Your Dragon” co-producer Karen Foster will produce.

“The Bad Guys,” adapted from Aaron Blabey’s best-selling book series, centers on legendary heist masterminds who, after a career of crime, take a stab at the virtuous life.

Etan Cohen (“Tropic Thunder,” “Get Hard”) wrote the script, which will be directed by Pierre Perifel in his feature directing debut.

Since acquiring Dreamworks in 2016, Universal has focused on backing modestly priced family-friendly films. The first DreamWorks title that Universal distributed was 2019’s “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.” The conclusion to the animated “Dragon” trilogy earned $519 million worldwide. Complementing lower production fees, the studio also benefits from ancillary goods – toys, apparel, accessories and more – that come from making a movie geared toward younger audiences.

DreamWorks’ 2021 slate also includes “The Boss Baby 2,” a sequel to the 2017 movie that grossed $528 million at the global box office and scored an Oscar nom.

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