Thursday, April 28, 2016

Upcoming Lionsgate Premiere and Focus Feature Theatrical Releases For Summer, 2016.

Urge
Release Date: June 3, 2016 - In Theaters and On Demand
Cast: Justin Chatwin, Ashley Greene, Alexis Knapp, Bar Paly, Chris Geere, Nick Thune, introducing Kea Ho, with Danny Masterson and Pierce Brosnan
Directed By: Aaron Kaufman
Screenplay By: Jerry Stahl
Story By: Aaron Kaufman, Jason Zumwait, Guy Busick
Genre: Thriller
Distributor: Lionsgate Premiere

A weekend getaway takes a dangerous turn when a mysterious nightclub owner (Pierce Brosnan) introduces a group of friends to a new designer drug. Stripped of their inhibitions, they start living out their wildest fantasies - but what starts out as a fun night of partying quickly turns deadly, as the island paradise deteriorates into a tropical madhouse.




The Duel
Release Date: June 24, 2016 - In Theaters and On Demand
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth, Alice Braga, Emory Cohen
Directed by: Kieran Darcy-Smith
Written by: Matt Cook
Genre:Western
Distributor: Lionsgate Premiere

THE DUEL stars Liam Hemsworth as a Texas Ranger who investigates a series of murders in a small town led by a charismatic preacher played by Woody Harrelson. However, the routine undercover investigation soon turns personal for the ranger who must solve the case before he loses everything to the mysterious town.



Kicks
Release Date: July 2016
Cast: Jahking Guillory, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Christopher Meyer, Kofi Siriboe, Mahershala Ali
Directed by: Justin Tipping
Written by: Justin Tipping & Joshua Beirne-Golden
Genre: Drama, Adventure
Distributor: Focus World

In Justin Tipping's feature debut Kicks, nothing is as simple as it seems. Fifteen-year-old Brandon longs for a pair of the freshest sneakers that money can buy; assuming that merely having them on his feet will help him escape the reality of being poor, neglected by the opposite sex and picked on by everyone -- even his best friends. Working hard to get them, he soon finds that the titular shoes have instead made him a target after they are promptly snatched by local hood, Flaco. Seemingly the embodiment of menace, Flaco harbors complexities of his own that will be revealed when Brandon goes on a mission to retrieve his stolen sneakers with his two best friends in tow.
 
Boasting a strong ensemble cast and featuring a memorable lead performance by newcomer Jahking Guillory, the film transcends a deceptively traditional hero's journey to deliver an entertaining and sobering look at the realities of inner-city life, the concept of manhood and the fetishization of sneaker culture. Visually and thematically rich, with an amazing soundtrack of both hip-hop classics and Bay Area favorites, Kicks creates an authentic and original portrait of a young man drowning in the expectations of machismo.


Blood Father
Release Date: August 26, 2016 - In Theaters and On Demand
Cast: Mel Gibson, Erin Moriarty, Diego Luna, Michael Parks and William H. Macy
Directed by: Jean-François Richet
Screenplay by: Peter Craig and Andrew Berloff
Based on the novel by: Peter Craig
Genre: Action
Distributor: Lionsgate Premiere

BLOOD FATHER stars Mel Gibson as Link, an ex-convict who fights to protect his estranged daughter from the drug cartel that is hunting her down. In this thrilling action film, John must use his connections from his past life and his skills as an ex-criminal to keep him and his daughter alive.



Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Release Date: Summer 2016
Cast: Julian Dennison, Sam Neill, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House, Oscar Kightley, Rhys Darby, Stan Walker, Cohen Holloway, Mike Minogue, Troy Kingi, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne
Written & Directed by: Taika Waititi
Based on the novel by: Barry Crump
Genre: Adventure Comedy
Distributor: The Orchard 

Raised on hip-hop and foster care, defiant city kid Ricky gets a fresh start in the New Zealand countryside. He quickly finds himself at home with his new foster family: the loving Aunt Bella, the cantankerous Uncle Hec, and dog Tupac. When a tragedy strikes that threatens to ship Ricky to another home, both he and Hec go on the run in the bush. As a national manhunt ensues, the newly branded outlaws must face their options: go out in a blaze of glory or overcome their differences and survive as a family.  


Titles previously circulated.


Manhattan Night
Release Date: May 20, 2016 - In Theaters and On Demand
Cast: Adrien Brody, Yvonne Strahovski, Campbell Scott, Jennifer Beals, with Linda Lavin and Steven Berkoff
Written & Directed By: Brian DeCubellis
Based On The Novel By: Colin Harrison
Genre: Thriller
Distributor: Lionsgate Premiere

Adapted from The New York Times' Notable Book of the Year by Colin Harrison, MANHATTAN NIGHT tells the story of Porter Wren (Adrien Brody), a Manhattan tabloid writer with an appetite for scandal. On the beat he sells murder, tragedy and anything that passes for the truth. At home, he is a dedicated husband to his wife (Jennifer Beals) and father. But when Caroline (Yvonne Strahovski), a seductive stranger asks him to dig into the unsolved murder of her filmmaker husband Simon (Campbell Scott), he can't resist. In this modern version of classic film noir, we follow Porter as he is drawn into a very nasty case of sexual obsession and blackmail  - one that threatens his job, his marriage, and his life.


Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Release Date: June 3, 2016
Cast: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Sarah Silverman, Tim Meadows, Maya Rudolph, Joan Cusack
Directed by: Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone
Written by: Jorma Taccone, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer
Genre: Comedy
Distributor: Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures' Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is headlined by musical digital-shorts superstars Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, collectively known as The Lonely Island. The comedy goes behind the scenes as singer/rapper Conner4Real (Samberg) faces a crisis of popularity after his sophomore album flops, leaving his fans, sycophants and rivals all wondering what to do when he's no longer the dopest star of all. 

The latest comedy from blockbuster producer Judd Apatow (Trainwreck, Superbad, Knocked Up) co-stars Sarah Silverman, Tim Meadows and Maya Rudolph and many of the biggest names in comedy and music in cameo performances.  Co-directed by Schaffer and Taccone and written by The Lonely Island trio, POPSTAR is also produced by Rodney Rothman (producer of Get Him to the Greek, Forgetting Sarah Marshall; co-writer of 22 Jump Street), as well as Samberg, Schaffer and Taccone.


Now You See Me 2
Release Date: June 10, 2016
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Daniel Radcliffe, Lizzy Caplan, Jay Chou, Sanaa Lathan, David Warshofsky, Tsai Chin with Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Written by: Ed Solomon
Genre: Suspense 
Distributor: Lionsgate 

THE FOUR HORSEMEN [Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan] return for a second mind-bending adventure, elevating the limits of stage illusion to new heights and taking them around the globe. One year after outwitting the FBI and winning the public's adulation with their Robin Hood-style magic spectacles, the illusionists resurface for a comeback performance in hopes of exposing the unethical practices of a tech magnate. The man behind their vanishing act is none other than WALTER MABRY [Daniel Radcliffe], a tech prodigy who threatens the Horsemen into pulling off their most impossible heist yet. Their only hope is to perform one last unprecedented stunt to clear their names and reveal the mastermind behind it all.


Puerto Ricans in Paris
Release Date: June 10, 2016 - Theatrical & VOD
Cast: Luis Guzman, Edgar Garcia, Alice Taglioni, Rosie Perez and Rosario Dawson
Directed by: Ian Edelman
Written by: Ian Edelman and Neel Shah
Genre: Comedy
Distributor: Focus World

"Puerto Ricans In Paris" is a story of friendship, loyalty and a life-changing trip to Paris. Detectives Luis Lopez and Eddie Garcia are childhood best friends, brother-in-laws, and partners in the New York Police Department Luxury Goods Recovery Unit tasked with hunting down Canal Street's infamous bootleggers. With Luis as the slick, self-styled "brains" of the operation and Eddie as the shy, quiet "muscle," they've been running through the streets of the Lower East side in search of fake Louis Vuitton for 20 years - long enough for them to be the best in the business. While their work mostly keeps them below 14th Street, a random visit from a celebrated French designer and her business partner set in motion a sequence of events that take them on a wild goose chase through the streets of Paris - from fashion parties to hipster nightclubs - in search of a stolen handbag (and delicious French macarons).

As the investigation deepens with no sign of the bag, our two best friends start to grow suspicious of everyone around them - including each other. "Puerto Ricans in Paris" is a fashion whodunnit with laughs, drop-crotch pants, and a lot of heart.



The Infiltrator
Release Date: July 15, 2016
Cast: Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane Kruger, Benjamin Bratt, Amy Ryan, Joseph Gilgun
Directed by: Brad Furman
Written by: Ellen Sue Brown
Based On The Novel By: Robert Mazur
Genre: Crime, Drama
Distributor: Broad Green Pictures

Based on a true story, U.S. Customs agent ROBERT "BOB" MAZUR (Bryan Cranston) goes deep undercover to infiltrate Pablo Escobar's blood-soaked drug trafficking scene plaguing the nation in 1985 by posing as slick, money-laundering businessman Bob Musella. Teamed with impulsive and streetwise fellow agent EMIR EBREU (John Leguizamo) and rookie agent posing as his fiancé KATHY ERTZ (Diane Kruger), Mazur befriends Escobar's top lieutenant ROBERTO ALCAINO (Benjamin Bratt). Navigating a vicious criminal network in which the slightest slip-up could cost him his life, Mazur risks it all building a case that leads to indictments of 85 drug lords and the corrupt bankers who cleaned their dirty money, along with the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, one of the largest money-laundering banks in the world.