"What's happening with them sausages, Charlie?"
– Turkish, Snatch
Many years after teaming for LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and SNATCH, it's been announced that director Guy Ritchie and action superstar Jason Statham are joining forces once again for a new and untitled project. Billed as a revenge-based action thriller from Miramax, the forthcoming feature will be a remake of the 2004 French film LE CONVOYEUR.
According to Deadline, who exclusively broke the news on Monday, the project follows H, a cold and mysterious character working at a cash truck company responsible for moving hundreds of millions of dollars around Los Angeles each week. Weaving through a suspenseful and carefully constructed narrative, the film shifts across timelines and between various characters’ perspectives for a thrilling and mind-bending experience.
“I’m looking forward to bringing this story to life and working with Jason while he still has the use of his knees.” said Ritchie with regard to the prospect of returning to the Cockney action-comedy formula that helped place him on the Hollywood map.
Most recently, Ritchie directed Disney's live-action version of ALADDIN starring Will Smith as Genie. The progressive update to Disney's animated classic had earned $1.048 billion at the worldwide box office, making the film one of the studio's most successful live-action offerings to date.
Up next for Ritchie is THE GENTLEMEN, starring Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Jeremy Strong, Henry Golding, Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant, among others. Billed as an action comedy with class, THE GENTLEMEN finds a very British drug lord trying to sell off his highly profitable empire to a dynasty of Oklahoma billionaires. A trailer for the film recently hit the web, promising a madcap movie filled with personality clashes, feisty fisticuffs, and plenty of territorial pissings.
“Working again with Guy Ritchie on our second collaboration together, alongside renowned actor Jason Statham, is a privilege, and we anticipate that the tone and flavor of these two longtime friends will resurrect nothing less than a true, genre classic,” said Miramax CEO Bill Block, who is set to produce Ritchie's newly-announced project alongside Ivan Atkinson.