Colin Firth Boards STXfilms And Tencent Pictures "New York Will Eat You Alive"

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Nov 06, 2020, 09:24 ET

DOUGLAS, Isle of Man and BURBANK, Calif., Nov. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Colin Firth has signed on to star in STXfilms and Tencent Pictures' action comedy, tentatively titled New York Will Eat You Alive, it was jointly announced today by Adam Fogelson, Chairman of the STXfilms Motion Picture Group, and Edward Cheng, Vice President of Tencent Group, CEO of China Literature and Tencent Pictures.

Todd Strauss-Schulson (Final Girls) will direct the film from a screenplay by Alex Rubens with current revisions by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand. New York Will Eat You Alive will be co-produced by Tencent Pictures, STXfilms, and Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan's Free Association. New York Will Eat You Alive is inspired by and based on characters created by Jia Haibo in Zombie Brothers one of the most popular titles on Tencent's digital comics and animation platform. Since 2011, the digital comic book has garnered more than 28 billion views over 516 episodes, and its animated series has attracted more than 3.7 billion views across its first two seasons. The franchise has also been adapted into a popular stage play, which had a record-breaking run of sold out shows across the region.

"We always wanted to cast this in a way that would give life to the source material and elevate the action and you can't achieve that goal any better than hiring Colin Firth," said Fogelson. "From The King's Speech to Kingsman, Colin always gives an Oscar®-caliber performance. We're thrilled to be reuniting with him on New York Will Eat You Alive in a role that will allow him to have fun while showcasing his deadpan humor and comic timing."

STXfilms will distribute the film in the United States and UK, and through its international output partners, with Tencent handling distribution in China. Tatum, Carolin, Kiernan and Michael Parets are producing for Free Association. Edward Cheng is attached as executive producer, along with Conor Zorn and Wenxin She producing and overseeing for Tencent. Strauss-Schulson will also serve as executive producer. Ged Doherty is producing through his production company Above The Line Productions. Drew Simon is overseeing the production for STXfilms along with Patricia Braga and Katie Zhao.

COLIN FIRTH was honored with the Oscar®, the Golden Globe, and the BAFTA for his work in The King's Speech; he also received a BAFTA and an Oscar® nomination for his performance in A Single Man. He most recently starred for STXfilms in the studio's new adaptation of The Secret Garden, which debuted on Premium Video on Demand in August, and will next be seen opposite Stanley Tucci in Supernova. Firth's other upcoming roles include Operation Mincemeat for director John Madden and Mothering Sunday opposite Olivia Colman and Odessa Young for director Eva Husson. He is represented by Independent Talent, CAA and Prosper PR.

ErosSTX Global Corporation:
Eros STX Global Corporation, ("ErosSTX" or "The Company") (NYSE: ESGC) is a global entertainment company that acquires, co-produces and distributes films, digital content & music across multiple formats such as theatrical, television and OTT digital media streaming to consumers around the world. Eros International Plc changed its name to Eros STX Global Corporation pursuant to the July 2020 merger with STX Entertainment, merging two international media and entertainment groups. The combination of one of the largest Indian OTT players and premier studio with one of Hollywood's fastest-growing independent media companies has created an entertainment powerhouse with a presence in over 150 countries. ErosSTX delivers star-driven premium feature film and episodic content across a multitude of platforms at the intersection of the world's most dynamic and fastest-growing global markets, including US, India, Middle East, Asia and China. The Company also owns the rapidly growing OTT platform Eros Now which has rights to over 12,000 films across Hindi and regional languages and had 205.8 million registered users and 33.8 million paying subscribers as of June 30th, 2020. For further information, please visit ErosSTX.com.

STXfilms:
STXfilms, a division of Eros STX Global Corporation, is a next-generation film studio that produces, acquires, distributes, and markets motion pictures at scale. From blockbusters like Hustlers, Bad Moms, and The Upside to hits like The Gentlemen, Molly's Game, and The Gift, STXfilms produces star-driven films for a global audience. In just 5 short years, its slate of films has already grossed over $1.8b in global theatrical box office. With a wide range of partners including Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and Showtime (which handle the physical and premium television releases of STXfilms content, respectively), the studio is a fast-growing, industry powerhouse.

Tencent Pictures:
Tencent Pictures, established in 2015, is an owned subsidiary of Tencent that produces, invests, markets & distributes films and licenses IPs across multiple platforms and formats. Tencent Pictures, Tencent Games, Tencent Animation & Comics, China Literature, Tencent Music, Tencent E-sports and Tencent Sports jointly form a business platform for neo-cultural creativity.
Since 2015, Tencent Pictures has been involved in producing and distributing 41 movies, including Venom, Kong: Skull Island, Bumblebee, Wonder Woman, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood etc., exceeding 57.8 billion RMB in global box office. The company has also produced and distributed 28 TV series with over 84.2 billion views online. Tencent Pictures will continue to bring more quality works that enrich lives, warm the heart, and touch the soul.

About Free Association:
Free Association, with principals Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan, has produced box office hits including the 22 Jump Street and Magic Mike franchises. They are currently in production on their upcoming film, Dog, which Tatum will star in and co-direct with Carolin. MGM will release the film on May 7, 2021. They are in pre-production on Spaceman of Bohemia for Netflix, with Adam Sandler starring and Johan Renck directing. Most recently, they served as producers on Sony's Fatherhood, starring Kevin Hart which Sony Pictures will release on April 2, 2021. They are also producing Gorilla and the Bird for HBO, directed by Jean Marc Vallée and Netflix's first animated film America: The Motion Picture. In addition to their television and film projects, Free Association has produced the internationally acclaimed Magic Mike Live in Las Vegas, London, Berlin and the upcoming Australian production.