Cannes: Christoph Waltz’s Hitman comedy ‘Old Guy’ sells big (exclusive)

Highland Film Group’s action comedy An old – starring Christoph Waltz, Lucy Liu and Cooper Hoffman – landed a number of major international deals.

Directed by Simon West (The Expendables 2, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Mechanic) and written by Greg Johnson (The last son), the film was sold to SND Films for France, Square One Entertainment GmbH for Germany, Vertigo Releasing and Lumiere Ventures for the UK, YouPlanet Pictures for Spain, Blue Swan Entertainment for Italy, Spentzos Film for Greece, NOS Lusomundo Audiovisuais for Portugal, SF Studios for Scandinavia, Vertical Entertainment for Eastern Europe, Aqua Group for Turkey, Falcon Films for the Middle East, Forum Film for Israel, California Filmes for Latin America , MovieCloud for Taiwan, Filmfinity for South Africa and Village Road Show for Australia and New Zealand.

In An old aging contract killer Danny Dolinski (Waltz) still believes he’s the best at what he does. Stuck in an impasse but vying for the love of club manager Anata (Liu), Danny is thrilled when The Company brings him back onto the pitch, but only to train Gen Z newcomer Wihlborg (Hoffman), a prodigy assassin with an attitude. The mismatched pair are asked to eliminate top members of a competing crime syndicate and, in the process, discover their employer’s real motive: to remove the old guard in a full-on takeover. Little did The Company foresee, however, that Danny’s experience coupled with the boy’s brilliance would create such an unlikely bond between the two, allowing them, with crucial help from Anata, to turn everything against The Company.

The film is produced by Jib Polhemus (The Last Son, The Expendables 2), Martin Brennan (One way, area 414), Petr Jákl of West and RU Robot Studio (Medieval, The last complete measure). Hal Sadoff (The Good Guys, Orphan: First Kill) and Norman Golightly (Warlord, Ghost Rider) will produce on behalf of Dark Castle Entertainment. The film is produced by Martin J. Barab of RU Robot Studio, Walter Josten of Blue Rider Pictures (Around the World in 80 Days, Holes) and Jared Underwood, Andrew Robinson and Dan Mandel of Aperture Media Partners. Hannah Leader and Frank DeMartini serve on the production legal team.

Production recently wrapped in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Highland Film Group is co-financing the action comedy and handling the worldwide rights. An old was filmed on location in Northern Ireland with support from Northern Ireland Screen.

“We are delighted to be working with such talented actors as two-time Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz, rising talent Cooper Hoffman and Lucy Liu in this fantastic action-packed comedy,” said Arianne Fraser, CEO of Highland Film Group.

“With the help of our wonderful international partners, we look forward to bringing this phenomenal project led by director Simon West to a global audience,” added COO Delphine Perrier.