Lionsgate Makes the Move to Replace Fox as the Worst Studio
Transporter 3 gets picked up and look at the rest of this mess
Photo: 20th Century Fox
Someone recently told me they were upset that Jason Statham has decided his career is going to be centered on frenetic and mindless thrillers as opposed to advancing his career into more serious films. When I asked him if he had seen The Bank Job his answer was, “No,” and the conversation didn’t really go much further. However, it is hard to argue against someone if they say that Statham really does seem to have fit himself into the “thriller” genre as he is set to return as Chev Chelios in Crank 2 later this year and has played the role of Frank Miller in two Transporter films and is now set for a third.
Today Lionsgate announced they have acquired the rights to release Transporter 3 starring Statham as Frank Miller, the ex-Special Forces operative who specializes in high-risk deliveries. The film has been set for a November 26, 2008 release.
This is the second film Lionsgate seems to have “stolen” from 20th Century Fox, which may be a sign that Lionsgate was not happy with the $74.0 million net loss they suffered in fiscal 2008 despite recording record revenues north of $1.3 billion. Instead they are going to tackle the Fox mold and release any old thing that comes along. As much as I am interested in both Crank 2 and Transporter 3, Lionsgate’s acquisition of Disaster Movie is not a good sign.
Fox, on the other hand, is making a move for the better by releasing M. Night Shyamalan’s first R-rated film, The Happening, as well as bringing Baz Luhrmann’s epic Australia to the big screen. Could we be seeing a shift in the lesser ranks of studio released films?
Lionsgate is also the company that shills Tyler Perry films as well as is set to release more Saw films, Punisher: War Zone and Repo: The Genetic Opera. I am interested in seeing Oliver Stone’s W, which Lionsgate will release, but it’s place on their release slate is due primarily to the fact that they have nothing to lose in releasing a controversial title more than they are a studio to respect for doing so.
As for Transporter 3 no synopsis is known as of yet, but Statham is set to return along with Francois Berleand and Robert Knepper. Filming completed in early May and is currently in post-production.
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