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Stars: Frank Grillo, Eden Brolin, Melissa Leo, Andy Garcia, Mekhi Phifer, Beau Knapp, George Carroll, Josh Hutcherson, Juan Pablo Raba | Written by John Swab, Santiago Manes Moreno | Directed by John Swab

Long Gone Heroes marks the fifth collaboration between director John Swab and actor Frank Grillo beginning with Body Brokers and most recently One Day as a Lion. They might not be great cinema, but they’ve been well enough received, and more importantly, they’ve proven popular enough that they keep getting money to make more of them.

This time out, Grillo plays Gunner, ex-special forces, ex-husband, and all the other usual exes. His niece Julia is a journalist working on a story about a group violating US sanctions and bringing Venezuelan oil into the country. This gets her grabbed by some very dangerous people.

Complicating matters further is that her mother Olivia is not only a US senator,...

Director Renny Harlin recently shot an entire trilogy of Strangers movies simultaneously, with The Strangers: Chapter 1 set to reach theatres on May 17th and The Strangers: Chapter 2 and The Strangers: Chapter 3 possibly following by the end of the year… but those aren’t the only Renny Harlin horror movies we’ll be seeing this year. In fact, Vertical will be giving a Harlin-helmed horror movie called Refuge a VOD release this Friday, April 19th – and the trailer for the film can be seen in the embed above!

Scripted by Ben Sztajnkrycer, Refuge has the following synopsis: After a mysterious attack from a malevolent demon during his tour of duty in Afghanistan, Sergeant Rick Pedroni returns home a changed man, and more dangerous than ever.

The film stars Sophie Simnett (Daybreak), Raza Jaffrey (The Rhythm Section), Aston McAuley (Rocketman), Johanna Harlin (Class Reunion 3), Shervin Alenabi (Gangs of London), Atanas Srebrev...

Stars: Katherine McNamara, Anthony Michael Hall, Ian Bohen, Dascha Polanco, Rade Sherbedgia, Pavel Vladimirov | Written by Steven Paul | Directed by James Bamford

When Air Force One Down begins, Allison Miles has already made a name for herself as one of the first female Marines to qualify for special operations. That has impressed Uncle Sam, both the US government and her actual Uncle Sam, to offer her a job with the Secret Service, something she’s happy to accept.

And she’s going to get thrown in the deep end at her new job as on her first day, one of the agents on the President’s detail calls in sick. He’s one of several federal employees to suddenly come down with a bad case of lead poisoning. Sam drafts her to replace him, working with him to protect President Edwards, whom she is not a fan of, on his...

Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Clifton Collins Jr., Nina Dobrev, Ilfenesh Hadera, Tim Blake Nelson, Oliver Trevena | Written by Hanna Weg, Pete Travis | Directed by Renny Harlin

We’ve had The Gardener, The Baker, The Painter, and now The Bricklayer joins the list of men of violence who’ve taken up peaceful professions only to find out that in some jobs you can never truly leave your past behind.

Steve Vail was one of the C.I.A. ‘s most dependable agents, even if his lack of respect for procedure made him less than popular with his superiors. Disillusioned, he now finds solace in masonry, “When I hold a brick in my hand I know exactly what it is and what it will do every single time. It’s form is its function”

Radek was a C.I.A. asset working under Vail until he was compromised and his family murdered. He went rogue...

A new crime drama from the team who brought us "The O.C." and "Gossip Girl" has just landed its lead. Chase Sui Wonders has been tapped for a major role in the upcoming Apple series "City on Fire," per Variety.

Though she may not be a household name yet, Wonders' filmography to date is composed of interesting projects, from Sofia Coppola's "On The Rocks" to Crystal Moselle's skater girl series "Betty" to the teen-penned HBO Max drama "Generation." Now she's been cast as Samantha, the woman who becomes central to a puzzling investigation when she's shot on the Fourth of July with...

The post Apple Series City on Fire Adds Chase Sui Wonders To The Cast appeared first on /Film.

Chase Sui Wonders has joined the upcoming “City on Fire” series at Apple, Variety has learned exclusively.

The series is based on the book of the same name by Garth Risk Hallberg. In “City on Fire,” NYU student Samantha (Wonders) is shot in Central Park on the Fourth of July, 2003. Samantha is alone; there are no witnesses and very little physical evidence. Her friends’ band is playing her favorite downtown club but she leaves to meet someone, promising to return. She never does. As the crime against Samantha is investigated, she’s revealed to be the crucial connection between a series of mysterious citywide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy uptown real estate family fraying under the strain of the many secrets they keep.

Wonders joins previously announced cast member Wyatt Oleff, who will play Charlie, a friend of Samantha’s who is struggling to cope with the...

The CW may soon enroll at Sweet Valley High.

The network is developing a new adaptation of the popular YA book series by Francine Pascal, with Gossip Girl‘s Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage set to executive-produce, Deadline reports.

More from TVLineRiverdale's 100th Episode Might Be Its Strangest Yet (And That's Saying a Lot)The Flash: Grade the 'Armageddon' Finale -- Plus, Did Katherine McNamara Get Some Arrow Spinoff Closure?Riverdale Taps You Alum Chris O'Shea to Play Archie's New Nemesis

The pilot script is being penned by Gossip Girl reboot scribe/producer Ashley Wigfield — who, yes, is sister of Tracey Wigfield,...

Exclusive: Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, who turned the Gossip Girl YA books into a hit series for the CW (and now HBO Max), are bringing another popular YA book series to the screen at the broadcast network. The CW is developing Sweet Valley, a TV series based on the Sweet Valley High books by Francine Pascal. The bestselling novels were previously adapted into the 1994 series Sweet Valley High, which aired in syndication before moving to one of the CW’s predecessors, Upn, for its fourth and final season.

The latest project is a co-production between new ViacomCBS corporate siblings CBS Studios and Paramount TV Studios in what is believed to be the first time the Paramount vault has been mined by the CW.

Ashley Wigfield, writer-producer on HBO Max’s Gossip Girl reboot, executive produced by Schwartz and Savage, will write the adaptation. It comes from Schwartz and Savage’s Fake Empire,...

Netflix is hosting a Game of Thrones reunion: John Bradley and Liam Cunningham have joined the cast of The Three-Body Problem, from GoT showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, our sister site Variety reports.

The upcoming series, based on the iconic sci-fi book trilogy by Liu Cixin, will tell “the story of humanity’s first contact with an alien civilization,” per the official description. Benioff and Weiss co-created the series and will serve as co-showrunners and executive producers.

More from TVLineKiernan Shipka's Sabrina Crossing Over to Riverdale in Season 6 'Event'Gossip Girl Duo's City on Fire Adaptation Gets Apple TV+ OrderTVLine...

Exclusive: Wyatt Oleff has been cast as the male lead in City on Fire, an Apple TV+ drama series inspired by Garth Risk Hallberg’s novel of the same name, from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. Jesse Peretz, a director on Apple TV+’s upcoming limited series The Shrink Next Door, will direct and executive produce the first two episodes of City On Fire’s eight-episode first season.

In City on Fire, an NYU student is shot in Central Park on the Fourth of July, 2003. Samantha Cicciaro is alone; there are no witnesses and very little physical evidence. Her friends’ band is playing her favorite downtown club but she leaves to meet someone, promising to return. She never does. As the crime against Samantha is investigated, she’s revealed to be the crucial connection between a series of mysterious citywide fires, the downtown music scene,...

Girls Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering young women, has elected Gossip Girl and Nancy Drew executive producer and showrunner Stephanie Savage to its National Board of Directors.

Savage, who has been an avid supporter of the non-profit, joins fellow newly elected board directors Alex Calicchia, president & CEO, Hive Partners; Courtney N. Naudo, Vice President, Walmart International; and Dr. Adriane Johnson-Williams, founder and principal, Standpoint Consulting.

“We are pleased to welcome these accomplished leaders to the National Board, and will benefit tremendously from their experience and expertise,” said President and CEO, Stephanie J. Hull, Ph.D. “They join Girls Inc. at an important time, as we intensify resources and support to ensure our 78-member affiliate network is equipped to reach more girls, providing them the evidence-based programming proven to help them create change in their own lives and in the world.”

Prior to her appointment to Girls Inc.’s National Board of Directors,...

Here’s some heavenly casting news: Emmy winner America Ferrera — who most recently starred as Cloud 9 manager Amy Sosa on NBC’s Superstore — has been cast opposite Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto in Apple TV+’s upcoming limited series WeCrashed.

Based on the Wondery podcast of the same name, WeCrashed explores “the greed-filled rise and inevitable fall of WeWork, one of the world’s most valuable startups, and the narcissists whose chaotic love made it all possible,” per the official synopsis. Ferrera will play Elishia Kennedy, “a brilliant young entrepreneur seduced into joining WeWork whose life is turned upside down as a result.

Apple has given a series order to City on Fire, a drama inspired by Garth Risk Hallberg’s novel of the same name, from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (Gossip Girl). This marks the first series order to hail from Schwartz and Savage’s first look deal with Apple under their Fake Empire Productions banner. Produced by Apple Studios, the eight-episode first season will premiere globally on Apple TV+.

In City on Fire, an NYU student is shot in Central Park on the 4th of July, 2003. Samantha Cicciaro is alone; there are no witnesses and very little physical evidence. Her friends’ band is playing her favorite downtown club but she leaves to meet someone, promising to return. She never does. As the crime against Samantha is investigated, she’s revealed to be the crucial connection between a series of mysterious city-wide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy uptown...

Apple has ordered a series adaptation of the Garth Risk Hallberg book “City on Fire” from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.

The eight-episode series falls under the first-look deal Fake Empire, Schwartz and Savage’s production banner, set up at Apple in 2019. It is the first series order to come from the deal.

In “City on Fire,” an NYU student is shot in Central Park on the 4th of July, 2003. Samantha Cicciaro is alone; there are no witnesses and very little physical evidence. Her friends’ band is playing her favorite downtown club but she leaves to meet someone, promising to return. She never does. As the crime against Samantha is investigated, she’s revealed to be the crucial connection between a series of mysterious city-wide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy uptown real estate family fraying under the strain of the many secrets they keep.

Schwartz and Savage...

Gossip Girl‘s Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage are taking on another New York-based novel, with an Apple TV+ series inspired by Garth Risk Hallberg’s City on Fire.

Based on what was named one of the best books of 2015 by the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal, NPR and Vogue, City on Fire starts with the shooting of Samantha, an NYU student, in Central Park on the Fourth of July, 2003. As the crime against Samantha is investigated, she is revealed to be the crucial connection between a series of mysterious city-wide fires, the downtown music scene,...

Apple TV+ has picked up a series adaptation of Garth Risk Hallberg’s 2015 debut novel “City on Fire,” the streamer announced Wednesday.

The eight-episode drama series, which comes from “The Oc” and “Gossip Girl” duo Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, centers around the death of an NYU student who is shot in Central Park with no witnesses and very little physical evidence. Though Hallberg’s book was set around New Year’s Eve in the 1970s, the series adaptation will take place in 2003 around the Fourth of July.

Per the series description, “As the crime against Samantha is investigated, she’s revealed to be the crucial connection between a series of mysterious city-wide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy uptown real estate family fraying under the strain of the many secrets they keep.”

Schwartz and Savage will write all eight episodes of the series and serve as showrunners...

Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage have set their first project under their streaming-only deal with Apple.

The Gossip Girl and The O.C. creators are adapting City on Fire as a straight-to-series drama for the iPhone maker and streamer.

Inspired by author Gareth Rick Hallberg’s novel of the same name, Schwartz and Savage will together pen all the scripts for the eight-episode drama and serve as showrunners on the series.

City on Fire follows the events that happen after an NYU student is shot in Central Park on the 4th of July in 2003. Samantha Cicciaro is alone; there are no ...

Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage have set their first project under their streaming-only deal with Apple.

The Gossip Girl and The O.C. creators are adapting City on Fire as a straight-to-series drama for the iPhone maker and streamer.

Inspired by author Gareth Rick Hallberg’s novel of the same name, Schwartz and Savage will together pen all the scripts for the eight-episode drama and serve as showrunners on the series.

City on Fire follows the events that happen after an NYU student is shot in Central Park on the 4th of July in 2003. Samantha Cicciaro is alone; there are no ...

Sony has paid a seven figure number for the rights to author Don Winslow‘s upcoming crime trilogy epic City on Fire. The yet-to-be-published crime books from Winslow, who has penned the screenplays to adaptations of his novels like Savages and Satori, has already generated enough buzz to become one of the biggest book deals of the year so far. […]

The post Don Winslow’s ‘City on Fire’ Mob War Trilogy Acquired by Sony in 7-Figure Deal appeared first on /Film.

Exclusive: In a preemptive outright screen rights purchase that sources peg at mid-seven figures plus performance bonuses, Don Winslow’s upcoming crime trilogy epic that starts with City On Fire has been taken off the table by Sony Pictures and Elizabeth Gabler’s 3000 Pictures.

Deadline tipped this one as a hot book project last week, and it didn’t take long to generate one of the biggest book deals of the year so far. Sony Pictures and Gabler’s 3000 Pictures (a partnership between Sony and HarperCollins) has acquired three complete novels that tell an epic crime saga. City On Fire, which follows the template of Homer’s The Iliad, will be published by William Morrow in September. The followup, City of Dreams, will be published a year later, and the third installment, City in Ashes, will be published September, 2023.

The Story Factory’s Shane Salerno will produce the films.

Author Don Winslow has set his first three-book series since his bestselling Border Trilogy that focused on the battle between the DEA and Mexican cartels. Winslow’s City on Fire sets off a different criminal war, when it gets launched September. The sequel City of Dreams comes in September 2022, followed by the third and as-yet-untitled book that follows a year later in fall 2023, all from William Morrow/HarperCollins.

All three books are finished, and they will be shopped for screen shortly after the Memorial Day holiday.

The trilogy focuses on two criminal empires — one Irish, the other Italian — that control all of New England, until a modern-day Helen of Troy tears them apart and starts a brutal war. The main character, Danny Ryan, is forced to grow from a street soldier into a ruthlessly efficient leader to protect his friends, his family and the home he loves. Fighting the Mafia,...

When you read comments like “You’ll never find another book on Hong Kong cinema that is so informative and so much fan” and “Lisa Stokes and Michael Hoover have written the best book on Hong Kong cinema” and even more, and when these comments come from the likes of Stanley Tong and John Woo respectively, you know you are in a for a treat and “City on Fire” definitely does live up to the comments.

However, before I delve into the many pros of the book, allow me to mention the very few cons. To begin with, the format of “City on Fire” is one of the most uncomfortable to read I have ever stumbled upon, particularly due to its width, which makes its reading on a desk almost a prerequisite..

Secondly, the blight of the extensive notes at the end of the edition, which is...

Before founding his own production company Milkyway Image in 1996, Johnnie To directed a few movies for Shaw Brothers, among them a messy action comedy called “The Mad Monk” (1993). In 1997, To delivers “Lifeline”, a swansong to the Hong Kong studio system and a milestone for his independent career.

The fiery action adventure tells the story of a group of firemen in Hong Kong, their rescue missions and personal dilemmas. The fire station seems to be cursed because bad accidents occur on a daily basis. In the beginning, the new grimly chief Raymond Cheung (Alex Fong) gets in charge and gives everyone a hard time. Even the veteran firefighter Yau-Sui (Lau Ching-Wan) is not spared. He has to moderate between the firefighters and the new boss. Sunny (Ruby Wong) is the only woman in the station and is struggling with her husband, who does not accept her profession. Yau-Sui...

Tyler Perry's more than 40 films; his past and present deals with Oprah Winfrey's Own and Viacom, respectively; and his relatively new 330-acre Atlanta filming complex, which made him the first African American to fully own a major film production studio, more than prove his power as an entertainment mogul.

Yet, for those who have worked with the multihyphenate on his ever-expanding media empire, his latest release, the dark Netflix thriller A Fall From Grace, is an illustration of not just how the writer, producer, director and actor has mastered his style. It's evidence that still has more ...

5 Days of War is Renny Harlin.s latest offering, a sobering, and fact-based story of western journalists covering the deadly Russian invasion of Georgia. The atrocities they saw and recorded were mind bending, reminiscent of the Nazi occupation of Poland. But the American news networks didn.t want their footage . Georgia was too remote, and there were too many other stories to cover. Harlin spent a good deal of time and energy in Georgia, gathering information and testimonials for Five Days of War, and he did it all on his own terms. Once a director of big budget action films, and subject to the demands of big studios, he has found his heart in intimate films...

Another giveaway for you, this time for a film that looks pretty impressive, and stars one of my personal favorites, Richard Coyle.

5 Days of War is a thriller about a journalist caught behind enemy lines during the war between Russia and the Georgian Republic. Inspired by real events, it's an intense look at not only surviving in such a situation, but also a devastating war that was over so fast most people hardly had a chance to notice it.

I have two copies of the DVD available, and all you have to do is leave a comment to be entered. Winners will be randomly selected on December 10th. U.S. only.

Check out the info below, don't miss the trailer, and then enter for your chance to win.

Anchor Bay Films Proudly Presents 5 Days Of War A Film By Renny Harlin Starring Rupert Friend, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Richard Coyle, Andy Garcia...

In "Five Days Of War," director Renny Harlin shows us a very different side of himself. Most view him as a poster child for the excess of nineties-era action films, as the architect behind "Die Hard 2," "The Long Kiss Goodnight" and "Cliffhanger." But few realized he would ever be interested in turning an eye towards the real life tragedy of the Russo-Georgia War, a five day conflict where the world sat by and watched as one much more powerful country inhabited the other, reigning bloodshed on the people of Georgia in an attempted regional takeover.

Director Renny Harlin's action thriller "5 days Of War", will be released on DVD/Blu-ray November 29, 2011, from Anchor Bay Films, following the 2008 'Russo-Georgian' war, including the events leading up to the conflict :

"....in Iraq, the 'Georgian' contingent of coalition forces save the life of American reporter 'Thomas Anders' (Rupert Friend). After Anders loses one of his colleagues in Iraq, he returns to Los Angeles but soon goes back to Georgia on the advice of of his friends in Tbilisi, who suspect that a large conflict is brewing.

"Anders and his cameraman 'Sebastian Ganz' (Richard Coyle) delve deeper into Georgian life as the conflict escalates and they get caught in the crossfire when an air raid strikes a local wedding they stumble upon. With the help of a Georgian soldier who saved them in Iraq, their mission is now to get their report out of the country to raise awareness of violence they have witnessed.

Release Date: Nov. 29, 2011

Price: DVD $26.98, Blu-ray $29.99

Studio: Anchor Bay

Rupert Friend lives to see another day--for now--in 5 Days of War.

Based on true events, the action-filled movie 5 Days of War tells the story of a group of people caught behind enemy lines during 2008’s devastating five-day war between Russia and the Georgia Republic.

Directed by Renny Harlin (The Long Kiss Goodnight), the film centers around an American journalist (Rupert Friend, The Young Victoria) and his cameraman (Richard Coyle, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time) as they are caught in the combat zone during the first Russian air strikes against Georgia. Rescuing Georgian schoolteacher Tatia (Emmanuelle Chriqui, Women in Trouble) from the attack, the two reporters agree to help reunite her with her family in exchange for serving as their interpreter. As the three attempt to escape to safety, they witness — and document — the devastation from the full-scale crossfire and cold-blooded murder of innocent civilians.

The Goats is not a story about Val Kilmer's coming of age, sadly. It could, however, be part of the evolution of Eagle Eye and I Am Number Four director D.J. Caruso. The director has meandered from well-liked cult film The Salton Sea to youth-Hitchcock thriller Disturbia to the big budget schlock of Eagle Eye and I Am Number Four. He also worked on The Shield and has some other resume entries, but overall it isn't Now he's getting cameras rolling on The Goats, based on Brock Cole's young adult novel, with Knowing's pre-teen Chandler Canterbury and Annalise Basso in the lead roles of two kids who run away together after a summer camp incident, and Val Kilmer, Radha Mitchell and Kate Maberly. Variety [1]'s first announcement of the project said the story follows "two kids (Canterbury and Basso) at summer camp who fall victim to a...

The cast for "Django Unchained" continues to grow under the guidance of director Quentin Tarantino.

The latest actor to join the film is "Lost's" M.C. Gainey. He will play Big John Brittle, an overseer at Carrucan Plantation. The movie follows Jamie Foxx as the titular Django, a freed slave who becomes a bounty hunter and goes to track down his slave wife and liberate her from her evil plantation owner, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. "Django Unchained" also includes Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Gerald McRaney, Kurt Russell and Laura Cayouette in its cast.

Check out the rest of today's casting news after the jump!

Derek Luke Will Now "Sparkle"

Deadline has learned that "Antwone Fisher" star Derek Luke is set to star as the male lead in Sony Tristar's remake of "Sparkle." He will play Stix Warren, a songwriter who is the love interest to Sparkle. The film also...

D.J. Caruso continues to ramp up casting on his passion project The Goats. Variety reports that Val Kilmer, Radha Mitchell and Kate Maberly have joined the cast of the indie drama. Principal photography began today in Georgia. The film is based on Brock Cole's critically acclaimed young adult novel Chandler Canterbury and Annalise Basso "as kids at summer camp who fall victim to a cruel prank that leaves them stranded on Goat Island. Rather than face the humiliation of returning to camp, the duo decide to run away together on a three-day journey of self-discovery." Kilmer will play a deputy sheriff, while Mitchell will play Basso's mother and Maberly will play a camp counselor.

The Goats is being produced by Ar Films founder Alexander Rodnyansky and Media Talent Group founder and chairmanGeyer Kosinski. John McAdams, Serge Bespalov, James Brubaker and Ken Aguado are set to executive produce the film.

Just yesterday we got word about the next project from Eagle Eye and Disturbia director D.J. Caruso in the form of The Goats, an indie drama which starts shooting today in Georgia. The story follows follows two kids (Chandler Canterbury and Annalise Basso) at summer camp who fall victim to a cruel prank that leaves them stranded on Goat Island. Rather than face the humiliation of returning to camp, the duo decide to run away together on a three-day journey of self-discovery. Now Variety has word that Val Kilmer and Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill, The Crazies) have landed a couple roles in the promising indie drama. More below! Kate Maberly (who starred with Mitchell in Finding Neverland) will also star in the film as well. Kilmer is playing a deputy sheriff while Mitchell will play the mother of Basso's character. Maberly is playing the ...

Radha Mitchell and Val Kilmer will soon be two very worried grown-ups.

The "Pitch Black" beauty and "Top Gun" star will be on the lookout for two missing kids as they join director D.J. Caruso's long-gestating passion project, "The Goats," according to Variety.

"The Goats," which is based on the young adult novel by Brock Cole, follows two kids at a summer camp (Chandler Canterbury and Annalise Basso) who fall victim to a cruel prank that leaves them stranded on Goat Island, after which they embark on a three-day journey of self-discovery.

Mitchell will be playing Basso's mother and Kilmer, who worked with director Caruso on the terrific drug drama, "The Salton Sea," will play a deputy sheriff. The cast also includes Kate Maberly, who played Wendy in "Finding Neverland," as a camp counselor.

Radha Mitchell will soon be seen with Kate Bosworth in the adaptation of Jack Kerouac's novel,...

The Flying Machine, directed by Martin Clapp, Geoff Lindsey and Marek Skrobecki is an ambitious combination of 3D and live-action, while having the longest stop-motion take in history. It is produced by Hugh Welchman, the producer of Oscar-winning Peter & The Wolf. It also stars Lang Lang, the internationally-known Chinese pianist, who performs the etudes of Frédéric Chopin. And while The Flying Machine incorporates many interesting styles, the didactic storyline and the lifeless acting is pretty difficult to watch.

Georgie (Heather Graham) is a single mother of two children and a workaholic. Her daughter Jane (Kizzy Mee) loves the piano and insists that her mother take her and her brother Fred (Jamie Munns) to a cinema/piano performance by Lang Lang called The Magic Piano. Georgia does not pay attention to her children and to the performance because she is on her cellphone the entire time. At the end of the performance,...

Chicago – In our latest action/war drama edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two run-of-engagement movie passes up for grabs to the new film “5 Days of War” with Val Kilmer, Andy Garcia and Rupert Friend!

The film opens in Chicago on Sept. 2, 2011. “5 Days of War,” which is based on actual events, also stars Heather Graham, Dean Cain, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Richard Coyle, Mikko Nousiainen, Antje Traue, Rade Serbedzija, Mikheil Gomiashvili, Johnathon Schaech and Anna Walton from director Renny Harlin and writer Mikko Alanne based on the screenplay by David Battle.

To win your free run-of-engagement movie pass for “5 Days of War,” just answer our question in this Web-based submission form. That’s it! These movie passes are valid during the film’s theatrical run at Landmark Century Centre Cinema in Chicago. Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and win can be found beneath the graphic below.

The movie...

We told you a few weeks back that Star Trek‘s Zachary Quinto’s production company Before the Door Pictures was gearing up for a horror film called The Banshee Chapter, and now via this press release we received, the film has its first bit of cast!

Ted Levine (Shutter Island, American Gangster, The Silence Of The Lambs), Katia Winter (Arena, Level Playing Field, Barry Brown), and Michael McMillian (The Hills Have Eyes 2) will star in the elevated horror feature The Banshee Chapter. Interactive and transmedia director Blair Erickson wrote the screenplay and will make his feature directorial debut on the project.

Zachary Quinto’s (Star Trek) production company, Before The Door Pictures (Btd), has partnered with Sunchaser Entertainment and German producer Christian Arnold-Beutel (The Ledge, Flypaper) to produce. Sunchaser’s Stephanie Riggs and Btd’s Corey Moosa are serving as producers while Arnold-Beutel and Btd’s Quinto, Neal Dodson,...

We told you about Zachary Quinto's next producing gig for his Before The Door Pictures production company, the elevated horror film The Banshee Chapter, a couple of weeks ago; and already some nifty casting news has rolled on in!

From the Press Release

Ted Levine (Shutter Island, American Gangster, The Silence Of The Lambs), Katia Winter (Arena, Level Playing Field, Barry Brown), and Michael McMillian (The Hills Have Eyes 2) will star in the elevated horror feature The Banshee Chapter. Interactive and transmedia director Blair Erickson wrote the screenplay and will make his feature directorial debut on the project.

Zachary Quinto's (Star Trek) production company, Before The Door Pictures (Btd), has partnered with Sunchaser Entertainment and German producer Christian Arnold-Beutel (The Ledge, Flypaper) to produce. Sunchaser’s Stephanie Riggs and Btd’s Corey Moosa are serving as producers while Arnold-Beutel and Btd’s Quinto, Neal Dodson, and Sean Akers are executive producing.

Albuquerque, Nm (August 25, 2011) – Ted Levine (Shutter Island, American Gangster, The Silence Of The Lambs), Katia Winter (Arena, Level Playing Field, Barry Brown), and Michael McMillian (The Hills Have Eyes 2) will star in the elevated horror feature The Banshee Chapter. Interactive and transmedia director Blair Erickson wrote the screenplay and will make his feature directorial debut on the project.

Zachary Quinto’s (Star Trek) production company, Before The Door Pictures (Btd) has partnered with Sunchaser Entertainment and German producer Christian Arnold-Beutel (The Ledge, Flypaper) to produce. Sunchaser.s Stephanie Riggs and Btd.s Corey Moosa are serving as producers while Arnold-Beutel and Btd.s Quinto (Twitter: @ZacharyQuinto) , Neal Dodson and Sean Akers are executive producing. The project commences principal photography this week in New Mexico.

The Banshee Chapter centers on a young, female journalist (Winter) who follows the mysterious trail of a missing friend (McMillian) that had been experimenting with...

Four new movies are opening wide this weekend:

Opening in almost 3000 theaters is the horror comedy Fright Night directed by Craig Gillespie and starring Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Please, David Tennant and Toni Collette. The film’s music is composed by Ramin Djawadi. A soundtrack CD will be released on August 30, 2011 by Varese Sarabande. The album is already available to download on iTunes, where you can also listen to audio clips. Check out our soundtrack announcement for more details.

Also opening wide is the action remake of Conan the Barbarian directed by Marcus Nispel and starring Jason Momoa, Ron Perlman, Rachel Nichols, Rose McGowan and Stephen Lang. Warner Bros Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the film’s music by Tyler Bates. For more details and audio clips, visit our previous article. Also check out a lengthy audio interview with the composer on Film Music Magazine, as well...

Anchor Bay Films

While the world was watching the 11,028 athletes compete in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, people on both sides of the Russian-Georgian war were being killed. Director Renny Harlin, known for “Die Hard” and “Cliffhanger,” shot “5 Days of War” from the Georgian perspective on location in the former Russian territory. The 113-minute action drama stars Val Kilmer, Rupert Friend and Andy Garcia.

Read some reviews here.

“The film is littered with washed-up stars, in fact, presumably cast because...

War zone reporters and the dangerous, adrenaline-fueled lives they lead are not new topics in narrative cinema. They’ve been around as long as there have been movies, but the 80s seemed to be the genre’s heyday with films like The Year Of Living Dangerously, Salvador, and The Killing Fields all providing political commentary and harrowing drama. Recent years have seen far fewer films on the topic even though there appears to be just as many international conflicts in need of documenting. Richard Gere took a stab at it in 2007 with the Bosnia-set film The Hunting Party, but that may just be it for recent non-documentaries focused on journalists under fire. (Well, unless we’re counting Uwe Boll’s Far Cry of course.) The past year has seen a slight uptick though as two new films hit screens with stories about members of the press on the front lines of battles around the world. The...

Summary:  A C-grade action romp wearing a thin veil of purpose.

5 Days of War is a C-grade action romp wearing a thin veil of purpose. Its backdrop is the brief but devastating 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia, but with characters and dialogue this cliche, it could have been anything. Let's take a brisk tour of the familiar moments this film contains...

1. Old cronies cracking wise on war: Fat Val Kilmer - War is like an old toothless whore.

2. That dude whose wife died: Dude's Friend - You gotta let her go.

3. An old General comparing war to chess while playing chess because chess is like war, you guys.

4. A memory card containing precious information that the people must see: Everyone - We must get this footage out now!

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If you’re a Vincent Mancini fan then this will be music to your ears — Andy is all for another ‘Godfather’ installment but under one condition!

Andy Garcia is ready to get back to the Corleone family! HollywoodLife.com spoke with Andy at the premiere of his new film 5 Days of War based on the devastating 2008 battle between Russia and Georgia and he revealed just what we were hoping — he always has The Godfather on the brain!

There have been whispers for years that Paramount might bring back Francis Ford Coppola‘s epic crime films based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo – and Andy says he’d totally sign onto the project!

“Look they haven’t made a Godfather IV and people really want to see it,” Andy told us at the screening hosted by Peggy Siegal. “I get it all the time, ‘Hey when is Godfather IV, and they haven’t made that movie.

Action director Renny Harlin ("Cliffhanger," "Deep Blue Sea") unveiled his take on 2008's five-day war between Russia and Georgia, "5 Days of War," last night in New York with some of the film's cast in tow. Pictured above from left to right: Harlin, and two of the film's stars Emmanuelle Chriqui and Andy Garcia. Harlin referred to the international thriller as a "passion project" and thanked his cast and crew ...

In 2008, the world turned its back as Russia declared war on the neighboring region of Georgia. For five days, the vastly superior Russian forces descended on destitute Georgian villages, separating families, causing massive property damage and driving a fractured country into further disrepair, of which the area has yet to recover. For all intents and purposes, Renny Harlin’s “5 Days Of War” should not exist. And yet it does, not only as a war picture that emphasizes the ugliness of this conflict, but as a document of a dark moment in world politics, when women and children were under…...

Title: 5 Days of War Directed By: Renny Harlin Written By: Mikko Alanne, David Battle Cast: Rupert Friend, Val Kilmer, Andy Garcia, Dean Cain, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Heather Graham Screened at: NYC, 7/5/11 Opens: August 19, 2011 This is a dramatized coverage of the year 2008 five-day war between Russia and Georgia over the disputed province of South Ossetia—which had broken away from Georgia and declared an unrecognized independence. Finnish Director Renny Harlin (“Die Hard 2,” “Cliffhanger”) exploits this principal theme of scriptwriters Mikko Alanne and David Battle: a journalist covering the war is determined to get out photos showing Russian brutality to the world. The photos did, in fact, get...

Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, 12 Rounds) is not the first director -- or the second or third or heck, the 20th -- you'd expect to direct a serious movie about a recent political conflict that resulted in numerous human rights violations, civilian deaths, and tenuous relations between Russia and neighboring Georgia. But that's just what the genre veteran did in the Aug. 19 pic 5 Days of War, telling The New York Times he "wanted to shift to films that he said would 'allow me to look at myself in the mirror' in the morning." Congrats, Renny! You're that much closer to making up for Cutthroat Island. [Nyt]...

Finnish filmmaker Renny Harlin is known for providing some of the more entertaining action flicks that the '90s had to offer (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, Deep Blue Sea), but his career has been on a bit of a nosedive ever since then, giving us stinkers like Driven, Exorcist: The Beginning and The Covenant. After an attempt to return to his glory days with 12 Rounds, he is now trying to re-invent himself by directing a "serious" drama based on a true story. Of course, it also happens to be a drama with quite a few explosions in it. 5 Days of War is based on the true story of an American journalist who was caught in the sudden war between Russia and Georgia that broke out in August of 2008. Watching this trailer, it's not really presented in a way that makes it feel like real events. The quality of the acting...

During the 2008 Olympics there was a war going on in Georgia that was sort of set aside by the media. On August 19th, the movie 5 Days of War will be released, telling the tale of a few journalists who covered the war. Here is the trailer:

5 Days of War is directed by Renny Harlin and stars Rupert Friend, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Richard Coyle, Andy Garcia and Val Kilmer (with crazy long hair).

I haven't heard anything about this movie until just now, but I have to admit I am impressed with the special effects (or maybe they aren't fx at all?). This looks to be a really gritty movie and it seems like a nice concept. What do you guys think of the trailer? Is it worth seeing in theatres?...