Lionsgate emerged victorious this week, as the studio acquired the auctioned films rights for an upcoming thriller titled 16 States, penned by John Requa & Glenn Ficarra of Jungle Cruise and This is Us fame according to Deadline.
The film is set to be directed by Fede Alvarez, who oversaw massive projects such as Don’t Breathe and Evil Dead, with Roy Lee and Miri Yoon of Vertigo Entertainment tasked with production. Requa Ficarra and Charlie Gogolak of Zaftig Films will also have a hand in the film’s production alongside Alvarez. Shintaro Shimosawa and Rodolfo Sayagues of the Bad Hombre banner will also be prevalent.
The auction of 16 States was competitive, proving to be a major bidding war for Lionsgate. According to reports, Lionsgate members Joe Drake, Nathan Kahane and Erin Westerman held a strong relationship with Alvarez that the deal was able to be a success. Drake and Kahane’s history with Alvarez traces back to their collaborations on Don’t Breathe and Evil Dead, in which they teamed-up with the original Evil Dead trilogy Sam Raimi under his Ghost House banner. Westerman was an executive producer on Don’t Breathe, while Lionsgate marketing head Damon Wolf supervised the film’s production, churning out a major success for Screen Gems.
The studio failed to comment on a release date for 16 States.
Leave a Comment