We were all wondering what The Governator would do now that he’s no longer the Governator and his life has basically fallen apart because of the disclosure of an affair with the help that fathered a child out of wedlock. Well, we’ve got the answer. It will be called Last Stand and be about a small-town cop who has to face down big-time criminals.
Really, I didn’t care. It would probably be another Expendables-esque action camp-fest and. . . .zzzzzzz. . . see, just talking about it made me fall asleep.
And then I heard it was going to be directed by Kim Jee-Woon, the Korean director who brought us last year’s amazing The Good The Bad and The Weird. THAT might be interesting, as Kim knew how to blend action and comedy and genre all into one to make a fun and exciting film. And yes, Arnold is infinitely watchable, even when the material is suspect. So here’s the plot:
Schwarzenegger will be small town sherrif formerly of the LAPD, from which he was suspended in disgrace after his partner was killed. He has a guilty conscience, blah, blah, blah, and is stuck fighting the lack of crime in his little town. UNTIL. . . big time criminal breaks out of FBI custody and is making a bee-line for the border, and he has to get through Ahnold’s small town. Could have some promise.
So I’ll look forward to more on this. What about the rest of you robots?
Look– the press release from Lionsgate giving even more details!
LIONSGATE TO MAKE LAST STAND
Arnold Schwarzenegger To Star In High Octane Chase Story
Santa Monica, CA, July 12, 2011– LIONSGATE® (NYSE: LGF), a leading global entertainment company, today announced that Arnold Schwarzenegger will be making his return to film in THE LAST STAND, which the company is developing as a starring vehicle for the former California Governor. The announcement was made by the President of Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group Joe Drake, and President of Production Michael Paseornek.
Korean action-suspense master Kim Jee-Woon (A TALE OF TWO SISTERS, THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD) will direct the film, which is to be based on a spec script by Andrew Knauer that was subsequently rewritten by Jeffrey Nachmanoff. Lionsgate has domestic and international distribution rights, with the film having pre-sold well in several overseas territories already. Lorenzo di Bonaventura will be producing the film through di Bonaventura Pictures.
Schwarzenegger will be starring as Sheriff Owens, a man who has resigned himself to a life of fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction after leaving his LAPD post following a bungled operation that left him wracked with failure and defeat after his partner was crippled. After a spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy, the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the hemisphere is hurtling toward the border at 200 mph in a specially outfitted car with a hostage and a fierce army of gang members. He is headed, it turns out, straight for Summerton Junction, where the whole of U.S. law enforcement will have their last opportunity to make a stand and intercept him before he slips across the border forever. At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately accepts responsibility for one of the most daring face offs in cinema history.
“Arnold Schwarzenegger will bring incredible magnetism to this complex but classic role,” explained Drake of the perfect fit between the material and the star. “When he came on the screen in THE EXPENDABLES, it always electrified the audience. In this film, the Sheriff Owens character grapples with some really tough stuff, but ultimately triumphs, and we knew he’d truly elevate this high octane ride.”
The deal was negotiated for Lionsgate by Motion Picture Group Senior Exec VP Rob McEntegart.
Schwarzenegger is represented by CAA, who negotiated the deal on his behalf along with attorneys Jake Bloom and Patrick Knapp of Bloom Hergott et al., LLP. Jee-Woon is also represented by CAA.
About Lionsgate
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution and new channel platforms. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming and an array of channel assets. Lionsgate currently has 15 shows on more than 10 networks spanning its prime time production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as “Mad Men”, “Weeds” and “Nurse Jackie” along with the popular comedy “Blue Mountain State” and the syndication successes “Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne”, its spin-off “Meet The Browns,” “The Wendy Williams Show” and “Are We There Yet?”.
Its feature film business has generated more than half a billion dollars at the North American box office in the past year, fueled by such hits as THE EXPENDABLES, THE LINCOLN LAWYER, TYLER PERRY’S MADEA’S BIG HAPPY FAMILY, SAW 3D, THE LAST EXORCISM, KICK ASS and PRECIOUS. The Company’s home entertainment business has grown to more than 8% market share and is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 13,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company’s core businesses. The Lionsgate brand remains synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.
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