Sean Penn gets Hunted in New Trailer for 'The Gunman'

Is Sean Penn on the verge of a Liam Neeson-style renaissance as an action star? It could happen if audiences turn out to watch him beat up bad guys in The Gunman, a genre flick directed by Pierre Morel, the guy behind the first Taken. Coincidence?

A new international trailer for The Gunman suggests it could be a bit more high-minded than the Taken movies are, although it still gives Penn plenty of butts to kick. Based on the popular book series, the film centers on ex-Special Forces soldier Martin Terrier (Penn) now working as a military contractor who suddenly comes under attack from his own people. What follows is an international game of cat and mouse that will see Penn squaring off with co-stars Idris Elba, Javier Bardem, and Ray Winstone. Given the success of American Sniper it's not surprising the trailer begins with Penn's character, who suffers from PTSD, taking out a foe from long range.

The Gunman takes aim at theaters on March 20th 2015.

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It's Sean Penn vs. Javier Bardem in First 'The Gunman' Trailer

Shady government organizations, lots of guns and even more hitmen. If it sounds like the makings of Taken 4 or something, then you're only partially right. Taken director Pierre Morel is at the helm of The Gunman, which despite its barebones and familiar plot has rounded up a starry cast led by Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, and Idris Elba.

The first trailer has arrived and it's a bit more restrained than Morel's work tends to be, at least initially, so maybe he's working up to the talents of his cast? Penn plays a renowned hitman who wants out of the killing game so he can be with the love of his life, but of course things are never so simple. Bardem seems to have taken on yet another colorful role as Penn's best friend-turned-nemesis, and this trailer is just pumping machismo all over the place.

Also starring Ray Winstone, Jasmine Trinca, and Mark Rylance, The Gunman opens March 20th.

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Pierre Morel Bringing 'The Killer' to the Big Screen

French director Pierre Morel's debut film may have been the amazing parkour action flick District B13 (recently remade into the terrible Brick Mansions), but his stock 'n trade has been the world of undercover agents and black ops ever since. He helmed the dreadful From Paris with Love with John Travolta and is probably best known for rejuvenating Liam Neeson's career with Taken. His latest film sounds like more of the same as Morel will direct an adaptation of Tom Wood's The Killer.

The Killer is based on the first book in Wood's "Victor the Assassin" series, of which there have been four total, and they sound pretty straight forward. Victor is a hired killer with no last name who takes on a routine job in Paris, only to be double-crossed and chased around the globe by other contract killers.

Nothing we haven't seen before but it could offer the opportunity for Morel to help reinvent another actor's career. He's currently attempting to do just that with Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, and Idris Elba in The Gunman, due out in February 2015.

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Pierre Morel to direct 'The Hitman's Bodyguard'

Olivier Megaton may have the more awesome name, but of all the Luc Besson protégés, Pierre Morel has had the most success. His directorial debut, District B13, ranks right up there with The Raid: Redemption in the pantheon of modern action movie classics. But he found his biggest hit transforming Liam Neeson into a bad ass in Taken. Um, we can go ahead and forget From Paris with Love.

Morel will next step behind the camera for The Hitman's Bodyguard, which keeps him firmly in his favored genre. Based on Tom O'Connor's script, the story follows a "protection agent who is forced to escort to the Hague a hitman awaiting his chance to testify against a war criminal and ex-head of state of an Eastern European country."

Sounds kinda basic, but Morel has proven capable of making fun, exciting thrillers even when given little to work with. Nobody thought Taken would amount to much, either. [THR]


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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Denzel Washington confirmed for 'The Equalizer'

You have to give it up to Denzel Washington. For all the bellyaching I and others have done about him not really stretching himself as an actor anymore, the fact remains he's settled into a comfortable zone of highly successful, mature action flicks that keep him in the spotlight. And who knows? Maybe he'll shut guys like me up in November when Robert Zemeckis' Flight hits theaters, as it looks like the kind of film we haven't seen from Washington in years.

Back in December we learned that Sony was targeting Washington for The Equalizer, based on the 1980s TV series about an ex-agent(originally played by Edward Woodward) looking to atone for past sins by offering his protective and security services free of charge. Deadline reports that not only is the film now green lit, but that an April 2013 production date is set. Now the search for a director begins, and the names they're looking at show their commitment to making this more than just another mediocre remake of a cult TV show. Nicolas Winding Refn(Drive), Gavin O'Connor(Warrior), Gareth Evans(The Raid), and Pierre Morel(Taken) are all on the wishlist. All four would bring something totally different to the table, so whoever they choose is going to tell us a lot about the direction Sony is planning.

Washington is set to star with Mark Wahlberg in the action flick, 2 Guns, and there's also a comedy remake of Uptown Saturday Night alongside Will Smith. I'm really looking forward to that latter one, so let's hope this doesn't interfere with it.

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Pierre Morel to direct 'Bastille Day'

From the very beginning of his career, Pierre Morel has found himself inextricably linked with Luc Besson. He began his career doing cinematography for movies like The Transporter and Unleashed, honing his skill for replicating Besson's signature style of action. That led to his first directing gigs on Besson written/produced efforts, helming one of the best action movies in decades with District B13, before finding mainstream box office success with Taken. Unfortunately he followed that up with From Paris With Love, but 2/3 ain't bad.

Unfortunately, the side effect of mimicking Besson for so long is that he's now the go-to guy for only that specific type of movie, and now he's got yet another one.  He'll direct Bastille Day, and before you think it's a French version of New Year's Eve, it's an action movie about a washed up CIA agent who teams up with a young American artist to stop the city from being attacked by....oh does it really matter?  The script comes from Andrew Baldwin, currently writing Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling's remake of Logan's Run.

This sounds terrible, and a lot like From Paris With Love, only minus the bald-headed John Travolta and dead-eyed Jonathan Rhys Meyers. [THR]

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Karl Urban and Ben Barnes go into Overdrive

Pierre Morel struck action movie gold with his first two flicks, the kinetic street brawler District B13 and then Taken, which made being old and kicking ass cool again. Turns out third time wasn't the charm, though, as From Paris With Love fell into the category of bad John Travolta films where he has even worse hair(or in this case no hair). And while that may have set him back a little bit, Morel still has enough clout to get a film in the works for his protege, Antonio Negret(Seconds Apart), to direct.

Negret will direct Overdrive, a France set action pic which has just landed it's two leads in Ben Barnes(Prince Caspian) and Karl Urban(Star Trek). The script comes from Derek Haas and Michael Brandt, writers of Wanted and 2 Fast 2 Furious. The duo came up with the idea after spending 10 days in France, and discovering that Marseilles is a beautiful, cinematic city. No sh*t. The film was initially taken to Fox, who balked at the $30M budget, and Morel stepped in to fill the void.

The story centers on two adventurous brothers who get more trouble than they bargained for while in the south of France. Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke is in talks to play the female lead. Urban will be seen next in the Judge Dredd relaunch, and will be shooting the Star Trek sequel some time next year. Barnes has The Words, starring Bradley Cooper, and also recently took over the lead in the upcoming adaptation of The Seventh Son. [THR]

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