Saban Films Takes U.S. Distribution Rights To Ethan Hawke Action/Thriller “24 HOURS TO LIVE”

Saban Films has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Brian Smrz's 24 Hours to Live, starring Academy Award® Nominee Ethan Hawke (Boyhood, Magnificent Seven and Golden Globe® Winner Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner, Batman Begins).

The upcoming thriller from the producer behind the John Wick franchise and Sicario also stars Chinese actress Xu Qing (Mr. Six, Looper), Paul Anderson (The Revenant, "Peaky Blinders"), Liam Cunningham ("Game of Thrones", The Guard), and will receive a theatrical release later this year.  

Penned by Zachary Dean and based on an original script from Ron Mita & Jim McClain, 24 Hours to Live follows a career assassin who turns rogue after his latest mission goes awry. Thunder Road's Basil Iwanyk and Fundamental Films' Mark Gao and Gregory Ouanhon produced the film, with Fundamental Films fully financing. Kent Kubena, Jon Kuyper, Jonathan Fuhrman and Gary Glushon are executive producing.

Saban Films' Bill Bromiley said: "We love the film – it's the kind of high octane thriller we've come to know and understand.  We've been following this project from the script stage, and are very excited we were able to make a deal."

Fundamental Films' Mark Gao said: "We're thrilled to be partnered with the team at Saban, who are just as passionate and excited as we are to share this wild ride with everyone."

Ness Saban and Bill Bromiley negotiated the deal on behalf of Saban Films. CAA handled U.S. rights, with Sierra/Affinity handling international sales and will screen the film in Cannes.

Most recently, Saban Films acquired North American distribution rights to: Ric Roman Waugh's Shot Caller starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Lake Bell; John Stockwell's Armed Response starring Wesley Snipes and Anne Heche; Alexandros Avranas' True Crime starring Jim Carrey; Small Town Crime starring John Hawkes, Anthony Anderson, and Octavia Spencer; FilmNation's sci-fi film Kill Switch starring Dan Stevens and Bérénice Marlohe; and Roland Joffé's The Forgiven starring Forest Whitaker and Eric Bana.

24 Hours to Live is the first collaboration between Fundamental Films and Thunder Road Pictures. Fundamental Films continues to grow beyond distribution in the Chinese market, becoming an international player in film financing, funding and production of international projects. The company is currently preparing for the summer release of Luc Besson's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, where Fundamental is the main financier and Chinese Distributor, is in post-production on the sci-fi thriller Replicas, and is in pre-production on Rally Car starring Keanu Reeves and directed by Olivier Megaton.

About Saban Films

Saban Films, an affiliate of Saban Capital Group ("SCG"), is a film acquisition and distribution company which acquires high-quality, feature films to distribute in North America. Focusing on commercial, talent driven films, the company looks at projects in all stages of production for release across multiple platforms, including a day and date theatrical/VOD release strategy. Based in Los Angeles, Saban Films was established by Haim Saban, SCG Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and is led by Bill Bromiley who serves as president, Shanan Becker, Chief Financial Officer and Ness Saban, Director of Business Development.

Since the company's launch in 2014, Saban Films has released 36 films.  The 2017 Saban Films slate includes: John Michael McDonagh's War on Everyone starring Michael Peña, Alexander Skarsgård, Theo James, and Tessa Thompson; Colm McCarthy's critically acclaimed apocalyptic thriller The Girl with All the Gifts starring Glenn Close, Gemma Arterton and Paddy Considine; Walter Hill's The Assignment starring Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Anthony LaPaglia; Jonathan Mostow's The Hunter's Prayer starring Sam Worthington and Odeya Rush; and Sean Penn's The Last Face starring Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem.

About Fundamental Films

Fundamental Films is an international feature film production, financing and distribution studio founded in 2008 and headquartered in Shanghai, China with offices in Beijing and Los Angeles. The company began by distributing numerous blockbuster titles in China, and has since expanded into film development, finance and production for both English and Chinese language titles. Fundamental is currently in post production on the Ethan Hawke starer 24 Hours to Live and the Keanu Reeves pic Replicas.  It recently became the second-largest shareholder of EUROPACORP and is the lead financier and China Distributor on Luc Besson's upcoming sci-fi pic VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS.  Fundamental is listed on Shanghai's NEEQ.

Fundamental films has handled the successful theatrical releases of Lucy, American Hustle, The Little Prince, Taken 3, among others, in China.

About Thunder Road Films

Basil Iwanyk is the founder and owner of Thunder Road Pictures, which he started in 2004. Thunder Road's films have collectively grossed over $2 billion worldwide. Upcoming film credits include WIND RIVER starring Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen and directed by Taylor Sheridan, which will screen in the Un Certain Regard competition at the upcoming Cannes 2017 Film Festival ; the Dev Patel and Armie Hammer starrer HOTEL MUMBAI, which is based on the Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008; and THE CURRENT WAR, an upcoming American biographical historical film directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Tom Holland and Katherine Waterston. 

Past films include: the epic action adventure CLASH OF THE TITANS, and its sequel, WRATH OF THE TITANS; three installments of THE EXPENDABLES; BROOKYLN'S FINEST; WE ARE MARSHALL; and FIREWALL. Iwanyk most notably produced the critically acclaimed drama THE TOWN, directed by Ben Affleck, the actioner JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 and JOHN WICK starring Keanu Reeves, both of which were critical and commercial successes. In 2015, he released the Oscar nominated SICARIO, with its sequel SOLDADO in post.

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