Hidden Strike

[GeneChing]

In the wake of both of them bailing on Expendables 4.

Jackie Chan, Sylvester Stallone Team For Scott Waugh-Directed ‘Ex-Baghdad’
by Mike Fleming Jr
May 11, 2017 6:51pm


REX/Shutterstock

EXCLUSIVE: Jackie Chan and Sylvester Stallone are teamed to star in Ex-Baghdad, a timely action thriller that Scott Waugh has been set to direct. It is an $80 million budget action film that becomes one of the biggest budget films to come out of China. Chan will serve as a producer through his company SR Media, with Qi Jianhong and Talent International’s Esmond Ren. SR Media and Talent International will also finance the film. Hans Canosa is also producing.

The film is a two-hander that matches up global action stars Chan and Stallone for the first time. When Stallone decided not to continue with The Expendables, this was the film he looked forward to doing instead.

When a China-run oil refinery is attacked in Mosul, Iraq, a Chinese private security contractor (Chan) is called in to extract the oil workers. He learns, however, that the attackers’ real plan is to steal a fortune in oil, and teams up with an American former Marine (Stallone) to stop them. The script is by Arash Amel. CAA reps Chan and Amel, WME Stallone and UTA reps Waugh, who helmed 6 Below, Act Of Valor and Need For Speed.

The film is a two-hander that matches up global action stars Chan and Stallone for the first time.

Not true. They appeared together in An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997)

[GeneChing]

EXCLUSIVE: John Cena Set to Replace Sylvester Stallone in ‘EX-BAGHDAD’ Charles Murphy May 30, 2018

Last May, Sylvester Stallone joined Jackie Chan in Scott Waugh’s Ex-Baghdad, an action thriller that revolves around an attack on a Chinese controlled oil refinery in Mosul, Iraq. Chan, a Chinese private security contractor is called in to extract the oil workers but discovers that the attackers’ real plan is to steal a fortune in oil, and so teams up with an American former Marine to stop them. While Stallone initially held down the role of former USMC Major “Chris Saatchi”, we have learned that Stallone has exited the film and has been replaced by John Cena.



The film is hoping to kick off production, with an $80M budget, some time this summer in China. Chan will portray “Jackie Luo”, a member of the “Snow Leopard Commando Unit” who teams up with Cena’s Saatchi to stop Paddock, the film’s antagonist, from stealing the Chinese oil. The film has several supporting roles left to fill and sounds like it will be a call back to some 80’s/90’s action films.

We’ll update on this story as it develops.

Jackie plays Jackie again.

[GeneChing]

I guess I'll add 'Project X' to the 'Ex-Baghdad' title of this thread, then change it when a new title emerges...

John Cena Joins Jackie Chan’s ‘Project X’
by Anita Busch
June 12, 2018 10:30am


Rex/Shutterstock

John Cena has hopped aboard the Jackie Chan express with the previously untitled action film Project X, which is being directed by Scott Waugh (Need for Speed).

The script, written by Arash Amel, follows a Chinese private security contractor who must help get oil workers out of peril when the refinery is attacked in Baghdad. Once he uncovers the attack as part of a plot to steal the oil, he partners with an American former Marine who lives in Iraq teaching orphans. The Marine had been fooled into thinking he was working to seize illegally gotten Chinese assets before he learns he was had and partners up with the Snow Leopard Commando.

Producing the project (which had been also under the working title of Ex-Baghdad) is Chan, Joe Tam, Esmond Ren and Hans Canosa.

Cena is also attached to star in Universal Pictures’ action thriller The Janson Directive, with Dwayne Johnson on as an executive producer. Cena most recently was seen in the studio’s comedy Blockers. He also voiced the bull in Ferdinand and stars in the upcoming Transformers spinoff Bumblebee.

He is repped by ICM Partners.

[GeneChing]

Kung Fu star Jackie Chan and his crew are saved from a massive mudslide while 'shooting a new action thriller'
Chan and his colleagues were trapped in their vans in rushing mud last Friday
The Hong Kong actor described the scary experience in a social media post
Their trucks were towed from floodwaters to safety by large hook trucks
Chan is shooting action thriller Project X in China with American star John Cena
By TRACY YOU FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 11:02 EDT, 6 August 2018 | UPDATED: 11:27 EDT, 6 August 2018

Kung Fu star Jackie Chan has escaped death many a time as his characters, but last week the Chinese screen legend was at the centre of a dramatic real-life rescue while shooting a new film.

The Hong Kong martial arts icon, 64, and his crew had to be saved after their vans had got trapped in a massive mudslide, the actor said on his social media account.

Chan described the scary experience last Friday through a post on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter.


A picture posted by Jackie Chan on social media shows his and his colleagues' vans were stuck in raging, muddy floodwaters after the crew encountered a mudslide last Friday


Chan said their production trucks had to be towed to safety by large hook trucks

Chan said all of the production trucks became stuck in rushing mud after mountain torrents suddenly occurred.

Many of the crew members became frightened, but luckily large hook trucks quickly arrived to tow their trucks to safety, the post said.

One of the rescuers told Chinese viral video site Pear Video that the truck carrying Chan was completely wrecked by the floodwaters.

The rescuer, named Wang Li, said the front part of Chan's truck was so damaged that only the engine was left.

Wang said: 'The area is very prone to mudslides. As soon as it starts raining, flooding could happen.

'When the crew realised the situation, it was already too late, all of their trucks were stuck in the floodwaters.'

It's believed that nobody was injured during the process.


Another picture posted by Chan shows the rescuers working to save the crew after nightfall


Chan (file photo) did not reveal where the film set was or what film it was, but media suggested it could be his new action thriller Project X, which is set to hit the big screens next year

Chan expressed gratitude for the rescuers' help in the post and said the film crew would strengthen the safety measures in the future.

The actor did not reveal what film he was shooting or where the film set was.

But according to Pear Video, the accident took place in Helan Mountain in Ningxia in north-west China.

Chan is shooting his new film Project X in the area, reported Chinese film site 1905.

Project X is an action-thriller which also features American actor and former wrestling star John Cena.


American actor John Cena (left), Hong Kong Kung Fu star Jackie Chan (centre) and American film director Scott Waugh (right) propose a toast during the press conference of Project X

Set in the Middle East, the Chinese-funded blockbuster follows how Chinese retired special soldier Luo Feng (played by Chan) teams up with retired American solider Chris (played by Cena) to extract his fellow countrymen from the desert - only to realise Chris has an ulterior motive.

Cena replaced Sylvester Stallone in the film, according to Variety.

Project X is directed by Scott Waugh and is due to be released in 2019.

I'm just going to go with this being Project X.

[GeneChing]

Premium Short-Form Content Maker Ficto Launches; Ex-Agent Mike Esola At Helm
by Mike Fleming Jr
December 19, 2018 4:59am


Ficto

Fiction Riot has launched Ficto, a subscription-based platform that delivers short-form premium programming designed to be consumed through mobile usage. Ficto launches with 20 series currently in production, available to consumers early next year. Fiction Riot will be meeting with content creators to secure and develop its second cohort of series to follow its consumer launch.

Three of its original series, based on upcoming feature films, will be released in advance of the theatrical releases: Can You Keep A Secret, the best-seller by Sophie Kinsella; Hush, Hush, based on Becca Fitzpatrick’s bestselling book series; and Project Extraction, an original Chinese production starring Jackie Chan and John Cena. Much more than a value add promotional tool for feature films and omni-channel properties, Ficto also opens up a new realm of original storytelling options that enable content creators to more quickly and cost-effectively bring new ideas, characters, and serialized shows to market.

Each full series is generally 30 minutes in length, composed on average of 3 to 5 episodes that are 5 to 7 minutes long, for quick viewing by digital and mobile native audiences who have adopted a “snackable” approach to content while on the go.

Additionally, Ficto is among the first streaming services to pay royalties utilizing blockchain in order to create transparency of payment for all parties involved in production on par with industry rates. Through the use of smart contracts, Fiction Riot is addressing some of the broader industry challenges related to compensation. Powered by blockchain, Ficto automatically pays royalties in USD directly to artists based on how often their content is viewed. Because the formula is agreed upon upfront, everyone involved in a production is paid in a fair, consistent and timely manner.

“We designed Ficto specifically for mobile, with the mindset that if early TVs were designed to be hand-held, content today would look and behave much differently,” said Mike Esola, CEO and Co-Founder, Fiction Riot. “With Ficto, we want to empower content creators with a way to not only distribute video-based “fast fiction” to viewers, but also an easy-to-use tool set to allow for vertical video orientation and integrate fun mobile features to enhance the storytelling and interactivity. It’s not just about the format, it’s about the experience.”

Ficto enables this highly engaged user experience for its serialized short content, or “fast fiction,” through leveraging native mobile features such as vertical video, 360 viewing, AR, chat, live stream, and more. The platform’s proprietary technology allows Hollywood content creators to seamlessly combine traditional video assets with these mobile-first applications through a “tool box” approach.

“Fiction Riot is filling a void for filmmakers, and we’re excited to be among the first to embrace the advantages of the Ficto platform to enhance our storytelling ability on mobile devices,” said Claude dal Farra, CEO of BCDF Films. “Until now, we haven’t had access to the tools that make this process turnkey. Ficto offers a great extension for our films such as ‘Can You Keep A Secret.’ We can create an entirely original but related story line to the film allowing fans to engage both early and in an interactive way – so they get to know the characters and also generate overall fan buzz.”

Here's a newish spin on this project.

[GeneChing]

Changing the title from 'Project Xtraction (formerly Project X & Ex-Bahgdad)' to Hidden Strike

[GeneChing]

Actually, this isn’t bad.

It starts out with Jackie as a leader of special ops team, lots of young beautiful actors and I’m thinking crap, is this another Vanguard? It’s got Jackie dealing with father/daughter issues and then I’m thinking, really? Ride On again? Cena is an ex-pat ex-mercenary living in the oil rich desert. There’s a massive oil refinery with a lot of Chinese workers and their families that’s being threatened by pirates so Jackie and his team are called in to evacuate them to the Green zone, but the path there is the ‘road of death’. Cena gets duped into helping the bad guys. Ok whatev.

The first half hour or so is a lot of mediocre cgi. About a dozen buses run the road of death gauntlet right into an obvious trap. There’s fire fights, choppers, dune buggies with machine guns, rocket launchers and grappling hooks, plus some absurd rappelling. There’s a good random oner fight with one of Jackie’s female squad members vs a merc pirate ninja bad guy. It’s done with camera work that swirls around the fight in a gratuitous way but it’s still a remarkable bit of choreo and cinematography. Impressive tease.

Then Jackie and Cena meet for an Arthurian/Lancelot duel which is okay, albeit with a lot of wire work and Jackie stunt doubles. Jackie is pushing 70 and Cena is only 46 but the match comes off well. It’s comical, which is where this film wants to be. Once they get together, this becomes a classic buddy flick, and Jackie and Cena have a good chemistry. They play off each other well. Their banter is funny, as it should be, although there are some jokes dealing with subtleties of Chinese that might escape most westerners (make no mistake here - this film is made more for the Eastern and Middle Eastern markets, not the USA so much). Large portions are in mandarin. But some things like Cena’s faulty tones when he speaks Chinese, and the way numbers are shown with hand gestures are distinctly Chinese, and perhaps not as funny to anyone unfamiliar with Chinese culture. But still, there’s plenty of humorous bits that work just fine.

The last half hour is Jackie & Cena raiding the refinery to rescue hostages. The refinery is a good device for Mano a Mano fights, because shooting guns could trigger crazy explosions. The action is solid - both Cena and Jackie deliver and Jackie even busts out some of his signature acrobatic evasions. Not bad for an old man. Jackie v Tim Man (a pro martial arts champ and noted stuntman) is pure Jackie with bungee bouncing and foam (it makes more sense when you see it) a fine tongue-in-cheek fight reminiscent of Jackie’s more creative days.

All in all, not bad. It’s an entertaining action comedy, at least after Jackie & Cena buddy up. Here’s my suggestion - turn this on and watch the first half hour or so as you collect your cheesy snacks and whiskey. You don’t have to pay that much attention because a lot of characters are tossed to the curb once the buddy act starts. Then sit down and enjoy. It’s a decent buddy flick, funny, good fight choreo, ridiculous cgi car chases, and several physics defying solutions.