Alan Ritchson To Lead Timur Bekmambetov’s Action Thriller from Stampede Ventures

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Category: Entertainment News
Published on Thursday, 04 May 2023 12:30
Written by A&E Contributing Editor

Alan Ritchson ("Reacher," Fast X) is set as the lead in Motor City, a ground-breaking action thriller from visionary director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). Black Bear International to launch sales at Cannes.

Ritchson will play John Miller, a Detroit man released from prison, who unleashes a rampage of brutal vengeance on those who framed him. The Detroit-set film will be characterized by immersive visual storytelling, with stunningly choreographed and stylized action sequences.

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Greg Silverman and Jon Berg will produce for Stampede Ventures, alongside Cliff Roberts and Chad St. John, who also penned the script. Executive Producers include Chris Bosco and Gideon Yu for Stampede Ventures and John Friedberg for Black Bear International. Black Bear International will introduce the film to international buyers at the upcoming Cannes Marché du Film and WME Independent are co-repping domestic rights with Stampede.

Following the massive critical and consumer success and rapid season two pickup of "Reacher," Ritchson expanded his relationship with Amazon Studios with a three-picture film deal for acting. The series is the first Prime Video title to hit No. 1 on Nielsen's SVOD rankings and with many fans devouring the inaugural season in its first 24 hours of release, it became one of Prime Video's most-binged Original series ever, as well as its top five most-watched series in the U.S. and globally. Ritchson will soon be seen in the next installment of the blockbuster Fast and Furious franchise, Fast X, and the Lionsgate drama Ordinary Angels opposite Hilary Swank. Further to this, he recently wrapped production on Black Bear International's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare from director Guy Ritchie.

Motor City marks a highly anticipated return to the action genre for Bekmambetov, who is most known for directing Marc Millar's comic book adaptation Wanted (2008), which starred Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. The film grossed $342 million and was one of the most successful films of the year. He also produced Screenlife thrillers Unfriended (2015) for Universal Pictures and Searching (2018) and Missing (2023) for Sony. 

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Twelve-time Grammy Award-winner and Detroit native Jack White's Third Man Records will handle musical direction for the film, creating a unique sound that is authentic to Michigan's motor city.

"We have an incredible script that takes us into a gruesomely dark world. I'm thrilled to bring this story to life on the big screen. With the help of our amazing cast and the talented production team, we're poised to create a cinematic spectacle,' said Bekmambetov.

"Timur is a visual composer; he is one of the most innovative auteurs of our time with the ability to create stylistic action sequences," said Silverman and Berg. "Having worked with Alan before on the upcoming Ordinary Angels, his range and balance of the physical and emotional is what makes him an exciting new generation action star."

Friedberg added "I love this script, it's incredibly exciting and fast-paced and will be just the sort of distinctive action movie that audiences around the world are looking for. And having recently worked with Alan and seen what he is capable of, he is clearly going to be the next heavyweight action star."

Greg Silverman launched Stampede Ventures in 2018. In post-production, the global media company currently has Space Cadet with Emma Roberts and Lionsgate's Ordinary Angels feature with Hilary Swank and Ritchson. The international unscripted format Hungry for Love just premiered on the Israeli network HOT. Recent releases include the Mo Willems CGI-animated rock special Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience which premiered on HBOMax last year. Stampede's previous Willems' special Mo Willems & the Storytime All-Stars Present: Don't Let The Pigeon Do Storytime!, received two Daytime Emmy nominations in 2021. In addition, Stampede expanded its foundation in the kids & family space by partnering with UTA to launch HappyNest, an animation production company that incubates IP for kids & family content.

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Ritchson is represented by WME, Dan Spilo of Industry Entertainment, Shelter PR and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller. Bekmambetov is represented by WME.

About Stampede Ventures

STAMPEDE VENTURES is a global media company that creates and owns IP across film, television (unscripted and scripted), and digital with an eye toward franchise-first content to launch the next generation of blockbusters. The company was founded by media veterans Greg Silverman (CEO), Gideon Yu (Co-Chairman) and Jaeson Ma. The company has more than 150+ projects in development or set up with producing partners at Warner Bros., Netflix, Apple, FOX, Lionsgate, Peacock, MTV, HBO Max, Disney+, and Paramount+. Stampede Ventures introduced its first new franchise with world-renowned children's author, Mo Willems, that encompasses multiple content formats and media ancillaries. The company also has strategic partnerships with CBS Studios International, HappyNest (a joint venture with UTA), and Australia's KOJO.

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About Black Bear International

Black Bear International is one of the world's leading international sales and distribution companies, focused on creating and acquiring premium content for a global audience while offering filmmakers, producers and financiers an unparalleled destination for creative collaboration.  Based out of London, the company also distributes its films theatrically in the UK and Ireland through Black Bear UK.  Black Bear International's upcoming slate includes Craig Gillespie's Dumb Money starring Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan, Pete Davidson and Shailene Woodley; Sydney Sweeney's religious horror, Immaculate; Guy Ritchie's war epic The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare starring Henry Cavill and Eiza González; David Mackenzie's Relay starring Riz Ahmed and Lily James; Nicholas Cage and Maika Monroe thriller Longlegs from Osgood Perkins, and event musical Fred & Ginger starring Margaret Qualley and Jamie Bell. Black Bear International is a subsidiary of Teddy Schwarzman's Black Bear Pictures. Black Bear also owns Elevation Pictures, the leading independent film distributor in Canada.

For more information: www.blackbearpictures.com, Instagram: @blackbearpics, Twitter: @blackbearpics 

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