EXCLUSIVE: Hacksaw Ridge backer Argent Pictures has joined upcoming action-comedy Kung Fury 2 as a financier and producer, with shoot due to get underway in September.
Michael Fassbender stars in the previously announced pic alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Eiza Gonzales, David Hasselhoff and writer-director David Sandberg who is adapting his popular YouTube short. Tyler Burton Smith is co-writer.
This is a wild one. According to the production, “the feature is set in 1985, the best year ever. Miami is kept safe under the watchful eye of Kung Fury, the greatest damn cop of all time. His Thundercops are the ultimate police force assembled from across history to defeat the villainous Kung Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler. After the tragic death of one of their members causes the group to disband, a mysterious villain emerges from the shadows to aid in the Fuhrer’s quest to attain the ultimate weapon. Kung Fury must travel through space and time to save his friends, defend the prestigious Miami Kung Fu Academy, and defeat evil once and for all.”
Sandberg plays Kung Fury, Fassbender will be his partner Colt Magnum, Schwarzenegger is the ‘Viking King’, David Hasselhoff plays part of the Kung Fury cop team who will transform into a car and Eiza Gonzales plays a reporter with a complicated relationship to Fury. Hitler has yet to be cast.
The movie refashions Sandberg’s OTT 80’s nostalgia-driven martial arts action-comedy short, which has been watched more than 40 million times, demanded its own ComicCon panel, spawned a David Hasselhoff music video and even played at the Cannes Film Festival.
Argent, the P&A investor in box office hit Hacksaw Ridge whose credits also include American Made and Chasing Coral, is run by former real-estate investors Jill Ahrens and Ryan Ahrens, and former business consultant and attorney Ben Renzo. All three will produce the pic. Executive producing the film will be Argent’s quartet of partners/superstar athletes: Super Bowl-winning QB Drew Brees, NBA all-star Tony Parker, retired NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks and retired NBA all-star Michael Finley.
Sandberg is producing under his Laser Unicorns banner, while David Katzenberg, Seth Grahame-Smith, and Aaron Schmidt are producing for It outfit Katzsmith Productions. PhilipWestgren produces for B-Reel Films, and Michael Fassbender and Conor McCaughan on behalf of DMC Film. Pelle Strandberg is executive producing on behalf of Laser Unicorns. Bloom is handling international sales for the project, while CAA Media Finance and Endeavor Content are handling North American rights.
Argent’s Renzo said, “In many ways Kung Fury 2 is a love letter to the 80s in a unique, genuine and super creative tone that is refreshingly different and will standout for moviegoing audiences. We absolutely love it and love that Michael, Arnold, Eiza and David are going to be bringing Sandberg’s fantastic creation to life in epic fashion. Clearly, audiences of every age love this as well, as evidenced by the over 40 million online views and a rampant and growing fanbase asking for more ‘Kung Fury’. This is an amazing bundle of content and we’re excited to join the super talented producing team to deliver a fan-pleasing movie that stays true to the original.”
Argent’s burgeoning slate includes upcoming western The Good Time Girls, boxing doc They Fight, which Argent is producing with rapper Common, and children’s novel adaptation Look Out For The Fitzgerald-Trouts. Also coming up are action-thriller Nomis, Rob Reiner’s drama Shock & Awe, starring Jessica Biel and Woody Harrelson; the next two installments of Sylvester Stallone’s Escape Plan franchise, and First To Do It, a documentary about the first African American professional Basketball player, Earl Lloyd.
On Kung Fury 2, Attorney Lisa Nitti negotiated the transaction documents on behalf of Argent. Alan Sacks negotiated on behalf of Sandberg’s Laser Unicorns.
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