This just might be the best news you'll read all day. It was for me.
The Wrap is reporting that mega hunk Sharlto Copley has signed on to star in HARDCORE with Russian director Ilya Naishuller. His name might not sound familiar, but there's a very good chance you've seen one of his awesome short films. A lot of people have noticed the director's music videos for his band Biting Elbows (he's the frontman) and it looks like he's ready to do his first feature film. He released a video called "Insane Office Escape" back in 2011 and his most recent video "Bad Motherf*cker" (some described it as RESERVOIR DOGS on speed) has over 15 million views on Youtube, both of which I've included at the end of the article.
IIlya Naishuller is also writing HARDCORE and like his short films it will be in the first-person POV, although it isn't clear if the entire thing will be first-person or just most of it. Fellow Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (WANTED, NIGHT WATCH) is also attached to the project as a producer.
Plot details are limited at the moment, but apparently there will be some sci-fi elements in the actioner and there is a woman in trouble that Copley's character is trying to save. Which means plenty of bad dudes for Copley to beat on.
I do wonder though if an action movie entirely in first-person is sustainable. The recent horror movie MANIAC was done in the same style (I haven't seen it so I can't say how well it worked for that film), however I'm sure the action in HARDCORE will be at a much higher level. Naishuller is a very creative and talented director, and with Sharlto Copley as the lead I can't wait to learn more about HARDCORE.
