xXx4

[GeneChing]

Joe Roth, Sid Ganis, Mark Johnson Strike Deals With Company Making 'xXx' Sequel
10:00 AM PDT 6/19/2017 by Mia Galuppo


Kevin Winter/Getty Images; John Lamparski/WireImage; Todd Williamson/Getty Images; Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Joe Roth, Sid Ganis, Mark Johnson, Jeff Kirschenbaum

The H Collective has set a slate that includes a Ruby Rose action-comedy.

Veteran producers Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum, Sid Ganis and Mark Johnson have all struck deals to produce features for a new U.S.-based financing, production and distribution outfit called The H Collective.

The H Collective, headquartered in Los Angeles with Chinese backing that has not yet been disclosed, is aiming to turn out four projects per year over the next four years, with a focus on family comedy, horror and action-adventure genres, as well as prestige pictures that can play in the global marketplace.

The company is in the process of setting up an extensive film slate, which includes another installment in Vin Diesel's xXx franchise, titled xXx4, that will be produced by Roth and Kirschenbaum, who have been working together since 2015. The original 2002 xXx was produced by Roth's Revolution Studios.

Roth and Kirschenbaum will also produce the action-comedy Three Sisters to be directed by Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov and written by Derek Haas, with Ruby Rose set to star.

Ganis, former Academy president, and his wife and producing partner Nancy Hult Ganis will produce A Children's Song, which follows two students competing for a music scholarship that discover their original compositions are based on a the same family song, leading them to uncover the true origin of the melody.

Johnson, whose credits range from Rainman to Breaking Bad, will produce horror-mystery Raven Road, from writer Brian Anderson, which will follow a group of teenagers that attempt to solve their friend's mysterious death that happened on a deserted stretch of road made famous by urban legend.

Also expected from Johnson is White House Chef, which follows a Chinese chef that must save the First Family from a secret terrorist plot targeting a state dinner.

Finally, Johnson will produce the already-announced Aaron Paul project, The Parts You Lose, which centers on the unlikely and dangerous friendship that develops between a wounded man and a young deaf boy who finds him in a snowdrift and nurses him back to health.

On the acquisition front, The H Collective has separately struck an exclusive partnership with the Chinese entertainment conglomerate, Beijing Culture, under which it has secured North and South American rights to three films, including Wolf Warrior 2, the sequel to 2015's hit film Wolf Warrior, which grossed $80 million in China, as well as Hanson and the Beast and A Better Tomorrow 4.

While The H Collective may distribute the Beijing Culture films itself in North America, it's expected that it will strike U.S. distribution deals with other companies for its other films, while selling distribution rights to other territories around the world.

“The company has a great understanding of motion picture investment and an eye for quality productions, and I’m certain we will have a successful relationship,” said Sid Ganis.

“In today’s Hollywood, it requires strong partners to produce and finance such big-budget movies as the xXx series," added Roth.

Concluded Johnson: “We are excited with the challenge of making diverse and arresting films for today’s global audience.”

Is Donnie in? Tony? And Deepika?

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage

[GeneChing]

Rumors about the others - nothing firm.

Deepika Padukone to star in ‘xXx 4’, director DJ Caruso confirms
Posted By: Sheela Das On Monday, 12th June 2017,21:06



Deepika Padukone who made her Hollywood debut with ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’ earlier this year, will be returning to romance Vin Diesel in the next instalment of the action franchise. It was confirmed by director DJ Caruso himself.

During a Twitter conversation with a fan, Caruso confirmed Deepika’s presence in the fourth instalment of the ‘xXx’ series which first released in 2002.

When the fan asked Caruso, “Serena Unger Aka Deepika is there in #xXx4?”, the director replied, “Oh yes.” He also revealed that the whole team will meet next week and decide the working schedules. “Yes meetings next week. Honing in on story and start dates,” Caruso tweeted.

Deepika played the role of Serena Unger, a member of Xander Cage’s gang in her maiden Hollywood flick which also starred Tony Jaa, Samuel L Jackson, Toni Collette, Donnie Yen, Neymar, and Rory McCann. Deepika’s performance was appreciated and the movie turned out to be a success as it grossed over 346 million USD, against a production budget of 85 million USD.

Vin Diesel also visited India for the first time in order to promote the movie and he was given a grand traditional welcome, complete with floral garland, aarti and tilak.

Currently, Deepika is busy shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period film ‘Padmavati’ in which she plays the titular character of the queen of Chittor who was known for her beauty and intellect. The movie also stars Ranveer Singh in the grey-shaded character of Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khilji and Shahid Kapoor in the role of Padmavati’s husband Raja Ratan Rawal Singh.

The movie is scheduled for a release on November 17.

[GeneChing]

APR 18, 2018 @ 02:00 PM 7,531 The Little Black Book of Billionaire Secrets
Box Office: Can Vin Diesel's Fourth 'xXx' Be A Hit In America And China?
Scott Mendelson , CONTRIBUTOR
I cover the film industry.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.


'xXx: Return of Xander Cage'

Well, this is interesting. Vin Diesel now owns the xXx franchise along with the Riddick series. His One Race Films company, along with The H Collective, has acquired ownership of the Xander Cage adventures from Revolution Studios. We already knew that D.J. Caruso was directing a fourth xXx movie, but this merely solidifes that we are absolutely getting a fourth installment in the relatively near future. If all goes as planned, it'll start production in December of 2018. So, can the fourth xXx succeed where the prior sequels have failed by actually being a hit in North America?

In some ways, xXx: Return of Xander Cage was something of a game-changer. As a general rule, big-budget movies from Hollywood may have hoped for that big China payday, but they are at least somewhat reliant on North American box office to at least give a push. Yes, Terminator: Genisys made $113 million in China, but it still bombed ($90m) in North America and the franchise got rebooted (again). Warcraft topped $200m in China alone, but its poor reception (even in China) and $433m global cume on a $165m budget wasn't enough to justify a sequel, especially as the film earned just $48m in North America.

But Paramount/Viacom Inc.'s xXx: Return of Xander Cage was slightly different. The Vin Diesel revamp of the "early 2000's-era James Bond for cool kids" franchise used the Fast and Furious formula and surrounded Diesel with an eclectic multicultural cast of quirky heroes and villains. The film co-starred Donnie Yen, Toni Collette (!), Deepika Padukone, Tony Jaa, Kris Wu, Ruby Rose and Nina Dorbev (among others) in a globe-trotting action caper that was both ridiculous and sadly of-the-moment (it was a lot more cynical than its "we the good guys and they the bad guys" 2002 release) in its politics. It was a lot of fun, but it flamed out in North America with just $45 million.

However, it did decently overseas, earning $137.2 million outside of North America on an $85m budget. That wouldn't have been enough, except it went bonkers in China, earned $164m thanks to the ensemble cast, China's appetite for grindhouse action fare and the relative star appeal of the likes of Yen, Diesel, Wu and Jaa. So yeah, with the caveat that studios get less of the total Chinese box office compared to other territories, $345m worldwide on an $85m budget was the closest thing that Paramount had to a global hit over 2016 and 2017. So getting a fourth one was inevitable assuming all parties were interested.

Now the $85-$120 million question (yes, I'm merely spitballing a possible budget) is whether xXx: The Revenge of Xander Cage (followed by The Curse of Xander Cage, which is much better in its bootleg producer's cut form) can be a minor-league breakout sequel this time out. This isn't a prediction, as the odds are not in its favor. But the third xXx movie was a lot of fun, and I imagine that plenty of folks who caught up with it either late into its theatrical run or in its post-theatrical lifespan will find it better than they expected.

And yes, it was better than Fate of the Furious and (honestly) most of the Fast and Furious movies (save for Fast Five, Fast and Furious 6 and Furious 7... although I won't fight you on Tokyo Drift) and much better than the first two xXx movies. So in 2019 or 2020, when this fourth xXx movie opens, presuming at least some of the surviving cast members return and provided maybe a few fun newbies join us, can the fourth xXx sequel be the first xXx sequel not to outright bomb in North America? At the very least, a comparative performance will get the franchise over the $1 billion mark in global grosses. And all due respect to the press release, but $694 million worldwide is not "nearly $1 billion at the worldwide box office."

So, we'll see if the fourth xXx movie becomes a skewed kind of breakout sequel, or whether it gets mostly ignored in North America only to strike gold in China. But as someone who liked the last xXx more than the last Fast/Furious and the last James Bond movie, this pleases me.

It'll be a hit if Donnie is in it. Without him, it won't do nearly as well.

[GeneChing]

Well, so says the Indian celeb tabloid and those are notoriously fake.

xXx 4: Deepika Padukone’s Lungi Dance To Feature At The End Of The Action Film?
Deepika Padukone's Lungi Dance To Be Featured In xXx 4? Filmmaker DJ Caruso Reveals
Updated: May 30, 2018 4:13 PM IST
By India.com Entertainment Desk



Deepika Padukone made her Hollywood debut in 2017 with xXx : Return of Xander Cage opposite Vin Diesel. Helmed by DJ Caruso, the film also starred Ruby Rose, Samuel L. Jackson, Tony Jaa and Donnie Yen in vital roles. Deepika enthralled the world audience with her charm and kick ass action sequences as the film’s lead, Serena Unger. Well ever since its release, fans have been wanting to see a xXx 4 and have asked the filmmaker, DJ if the film would have Deepika star in it.

Caruso had then tweeted, “Oh yes. Yes, meetings next week. Honing in on story and start dates.” Well, today the filmmaker took to Twitter to divulge some details on how xXx 4 should end it it definitely had a Bollywood angle to it. Yes, and by that we mean Deepika and her Chennai Express song, ‘ Lungi Dance’. He tweeted, “I want to end xxx4 with and Bollywood dance song. Led of course by @deepikapadukone. Lungi Dance?? Something new?” Well, that would certainly be interesting or do you have another song in mind to suggest here? Let us know in the comments’ section below.

Previously, when Deepika was asked about the film the actress had raved about the fact that her on screen character is very strong. Speaking about the same, she had said, “That’s also a reflection of modern society where women contribute so much more. A few years ago, in the same kind of film, perhaps my character would be the damsel in distress who needs to be rescued. But in this movie, the girl characters are so strong that basically Vin Diesel’s character, Xander, has found his match in my character Serena Unger. This girl is equal to him in every respect. She challenges him, she excites him, she’s smart, intelligent and funny. She can stand up for herself when she needs to and she’s a key player in the group that she represents. These traits are exciting for me. Serena is a representation of what women are in the world today.” We are waiting for the director to announce the film already. Watch out this space for more updates.

Just in case you don't know the Lungi dance:

[GeneChing]

Vin is really chasing down that Asia market. Smart move.

TFBOYS王源加盟主演《极限特工4》
范迪塞尔回归领衔 前作中国大卖 明年1月开机
2018-08-30 13:54:56 来源：Mtime时光网 75

TFBOYS王源将加盟主演《极限特工4》，与导演DJ·卡鲁索以及范·迪塞尔一起开创“极限特工”新篇章 。



　　时光网讯 《极限特工》电影系列今天宣布：内地00后明星王源将作为主角之一加入到《极限特工4》的拍摄当中，与导演 DJ·卡鲁索以及范·迪塞尔一起开创“极限特工”新篇章。

去年上映的《极限特工3》由范·迪塞尔主演，甄子丹、吴亦凡等华人明星亦在片中饰演重要角色。该片在中国上 映后豪取11.28亿元票房，中国市场贡献了影片全球票房的一半以上。


2017年的《极限特工3》在内地大卖

　　TFBOYS成员之一的王源在内地市场拥有超高人气，近年来曾在《老炮儿》、《极限21小时》以及郭敬 明导演的《爵迹》系列电影中亮相。

　　据悉，《极限特工4》将于2019年1月正式开拍。范·迪塞尔将带领王源等新加入的特工们继续大展拳脚 。
编辑：

googtrans

TFBOYS Wang Yuan joined the starring "The Extreme Agent 4"
Van Diesel returns to lead the predecessor in China, selling in January next year
2018-08-30 13:54:56 Source: Mtime Time Network 75

TFBOYS Wang Yuan will join the starring "The Extreme Agent 4", and together with the directors DJ Caruso and Van Diesel will create a new chapter of "Limited Agents".


Time Network News "The Extreme Agent" movie series announced today: the mainland 00 star Wang Yuan will be one of the protagonists to join the "Special Agent 4" shooting, and the director DJ Caruso and Van Diesel together to create " A new chapter in "The Extreme Agent."

******Last year's "The Special Agent 3" starred by Van Diesel, and Chinese stars such as Donnie Yen and Wu Yifan also played important roles in the film. After the film was released in China, it took a box office of 1.128 billion yuan, and the Chinese market contributed more than half of the global box office.


2017 "The Special Agent 3" sold in the mainland

Wang Yuan, one of the TFBOYS members, has a high popularity in the mainland market. In recent years, he has appeared in the "Old Cannon", "Limited 21 Hours" and Guo Jingming's "Grand" series.

It is reported that "Limited Agent 4" will officially start shooting in January 2019. Van Diesel will lead Wang Yuan and other new agents to continue to show their strengths.
***edit:

[GeneChing]

Jay Chou Joins Vin Diesel in 'xXx 4'
12:37 AM PST 11/21/2018 by Patrick Brzeski


The H Collective
Jay Chou

Along with the "King of Mandopop" in a starring role, the action flick has several Chinese financing partners, including Jackie Chan's film banner.
Taiwanese pop star-turned-actor Jay Chou is teaming up with Vin Diesel to co-star in the upcoming fourth installment of the xXx franchise, which is to be directed by D.J. Caruso.

Known as the “King of Mandopop," Chou is a huge draw across Asia as a pop signer and beloved personality. But U.S. viewers will know him best for his transition to acting in features such as The Green Hornet with Seth Rogen, or in Jon Chu's action-comedy Now You See Me 2.

"This is an incredibly exciting film, which I’m beyond happy to join," Chou said in a statement.

xXx 4 will be produced and financed by growing mini studio The H Collective, with backing from investment partners including Jackie Chan's Sparkle Roll Media, iQiyi Pictures, Dadi Huarui, Star League Media and Fulcrum Management Co.

Together with Vin Diesel and his One Race Films Banner, The H Collective acquired the rights to the xXx franchise from Revolution Studios earlier this year.

The heavy Chinese investment participation in the film is no surprise considering that xXx: The Return of Xander Cage earned $168 million of its $346 million worldwide total at the Chinese box office last year. Thanks to The Fast and the Furious franchise, Diesel is one of the best-known Hollywood stars in the Middle Kingdom.

"We are very excited to be working on the fourth installment of xXx, which has always been such a fun, action-packed, global franchise," said The H Collective CEO Nic Crawley. "We are looking to build a well-rounded international cast and introduce bold new characters that are sure to have longevity in the continued franchise."

Chinese actress Zoe Zhang (Chinese Zodiac), a frequent collaborator of Jackie Chan, also has joined the film's international cast.

Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum are producing with Diesel and Samantha Vincent for One Race Films. The film is scheduled to begin shooting in 2019.

Zoe Zhang a.k.a. Zhang Lanxin is also a spokesmodel for Under Armour

[GeneChing]

Being from the band X Japan is cute, but I have no idea who this is. Anyone follow J-rock bands here?

Japanese Composer and Rock Star Yoshiki to Score xXx 4
XXX 4MOVIE NEWS XXX 4 YOSHIKI
BY CHRISTIAN LONG ON JANUARY 23, 2019



Japanese Composer and Rock Star Yoshiki to Score xXx 4

One of the biggest rock stars in the world will score the latest installment in the xXx franchise. Yoshiki, a prolific musician who fronts the legendary band X Japan, will score the upcoming xXx 4, which will include its theme song.

“I‘m excited to be part of the new xXx film and Spycies; composing the new theme songs and collaborating on the film scores,” Yoshiki said.

The xXx franchise, which includes xXx, xXx: State of the Union, and xXx: Return of Xander Cage has collectively grossed nearly $1 billion at the worldwide box-office. The film will see Vin Diesel reprising his role as secret agent Xander Cage, who will also produce alongside Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum along with Samantha Vincent of One Race Films.

The film is currently in pre-production, with casting underway The film will begin shooting this year.

D.J. Caruso, who directed the franchise’s previous installment, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, will direct the sequel. He’s also known for his work on DreamWork’s thriller Eagle Eye, starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan, as well as I am Number Four for Touchstone Pictures, and Disturbia for Paramount. His TV credits include The Shield for FX which earned two Golden Globe wins.

The H Collective, who will finance xXx 4 alongside investment partners including Sparkle Roll Media, HCH Media, Dadi Cinema, and Angeleno Studio, is currently in production on an Untitled Horror Feature produced by James Gunn starring Elizabeth Banks and is also in post-production on Christopher Cantwell’s The Parts You Lose.

(Photo credit: Getty Images)