CBS Films and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) announced today that Taylor Kitsch (Lone Survivor, True Detective) is joining Dylan O’Brien (Deepwater Horizon, The Maze Runner) and Academy Award®-nominee Michael Keaton (Birdman, Spotlight) in the adaptation of Vince Flynn’s massive bestseller AMERICAN ASSASSIN. Acclaimed filmmaker Michael Cuesta (Kill The Messenger, Homeland, L.I.E.) will direct the thriller from a screenplay by Stephen Schiff (The Americans, Ultimate Rush). Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers, Deepwater Horizon, Red) and Nick Wechsler (The Road, Magic Mike) are producing the film.
AMERICAN ASSASSSIN follows the rise of Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien) a CIA black ops recruit under the instruction of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). The pair is then enlisted by CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on both military and civilian targets. Together the three discover a pattern in the violence leading them to a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent to stop Ghost (Taylor Kitsch), a mysterious operative intent on starting a World War in the Middle East.
Published by Atria Books and in mass market paperback by Pocket Books, both imprints of Simon & Schuster, AMERICAN ASSASSIN is one of fifteen novels set in the world of counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp. Every single one has been a New York Times bestseller, the three most recent entries have been number one New York Times bestsellers and the series has sold nearly twenty million copies to date.
“For more than a decade Vince Flynn drew praise from the intelligence community for bringing his millions of readers into an intricately constructed world that refuted many of the tired Hollywood clichés about the clandestine services,” said Cuesta. “Authentically realizing that world means bringing together an extraordinary cast and letting them portray characters that defy audience preconceptions. We are incredibly fortunate to have an actor of Taylor’s talent joining Michael and Dylan and I believe that together this team will deliver the riveting realization of AMERICAN ASSASSIN that Flynn’s fans have always wanted.”
Senior Vice President of Production Mark Ross and Vice President of Production Alex Ginno are overseeing the project for CBS Films. AMERICAN ASSASSIN will be the latest release in the partnership between CBS Films and Lionsgate. The film will be co-financed by the two companies with CBS Films handling production and marketing and Lionsgate handling distribution.
Taylor Kitsch is represented by CAA and Untitled Entertainment. Like CBS Films, Simon & Schuster is a division of CBS Corporation. The studio’s latest release, the acclaimed action thriller Hell Or High Water is currently in theaters.
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ABOUT CBS FILMS
CBS Films is a division of CBS Corporation. The division develops, finances, acquires, produces and releases theatrical feature films spanning all genres. For more information, log on to www.cbsfilms.com.
ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms, video games and international distribution and sales. The Company has nearly 80 television shows on 40 different networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses. These include the critically-acclaimed hit series Orange is the New Black, the multiple Emmy Award-winning drama Mad Men, the hit broadcast network series Nashville, the syndication successes The Wendy Williams Show and Celebrity Name Game (with FremantleMedia), the breakout series The Royals and the Golden Globe-nominated dramedy Casual.
Its feature film business has been fueled by such successes as the blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, the first two installments of the Divergent franchise,Sicario, The Age of Adaline, CBS/Lionsgate's The DUFF, John Wick, Now You See Me, Roadside Attractions' Love & Mercy and Mr. Holmes, Lionsgate/Codeblack Films' Addicted and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.
Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com
