Colin Firth has signed on to star in STXfilms and Tencent Pictures’ action-comedy, tentatively titled New York Will Eat You Alive, it was jointly announced today by Adam Fogelson, Chairman of the STXfilms Motion Picture Group, and Edward Cheng, Vice President of Tencent Group, CEO of China Literature and Tencent Pictures.
Todd Strauss-Schulson (Final Girls) will direct the film from a screenplay by Alex Rubens with current revisions by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand. New York Will Eat You Alive will be co-produced by Tencent Pictures, STXfilms, and Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan’s Free Association. New York Will Eat You Alive is inspired by and based on characters created by Jia Haibo in Zombie Brothers one of the most popular titles on Tencent’s digital comics and animation platform. Since 2011, the digital comic book has garnered more than 28 billion views over 516 episodes, and its animated series has attracted more than 3.7 billion views across its first two seasons. The franchise has also been adapted into a popular stage play, which had a record-breaking run of sold-out shows across the region.
“We always wanted to cast this in a way that would give life to the source material and elevate the action and you can’t achieve that goal any better than hiring Colin Firth,” said Fogelson. “From The King’s Speech to Kingsman, Colin always gives an Oscar®-caliber performance. We’re thrilled to be reuniting with him on New York Will Eat You Alive in a role that will allow him to have fun while showcasing his deadpan humor and comic timing.”
STXfilms will distribute the film in the United States and UK, and through its international output partners, with Tencent handling distribution in China. Tatum, Carolin, Kiernan and Michael Parets are producing for Free Association. Edward Cheng is attached as executive producer, along with Conor Zorn and Wenxin She producing and overseeing for Tencent. Strauss-Schulson will also serve as executive producer. Ged Doherty is producing through his production company Above The Line Productions. Drew Simon is overseeing the production for STXfilms along with Patricia Braga and Katie Zhao.
COLIN FIRTH was honored with the Oscar®, the Golden Globe, and the BAFTA for his work in The King’s Speech; he also received a BAFTA and an Oscar® nomination for his performance in A Single Man. He most recently starred for STXfilms in the studio’s new adaptation of The Secret Garden, which debuted on Premium Video on Demand in August, and will next be seen opposite Stanley Tucci in Supernova. Firth’s other upcoming roles include Operation Mincemeat for director John Madden and Mothering Sunday opposite Olivia Colman and Odessa Young for director Eva Husson. He is represented by Independent Talent, CAA and Prosper PR.
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