RLJE Acquires North American Rights to Action Thriller “Muzzle,” Featuring Diego Tinoco

Diego Tinoco will help bring the thrill to American theaters…

RLJE has acquired the North American rights to Muzzle, an action thriller starring Aaron Eckhart and featuring the 25-year-old Mexican, Colombian and Ecuadorian American actor.

Diego TinocoDirected by John Stalberg Jr. and based on a script by Carlyle Eubank from a story by Eubank and Stalberg Jr., the film is set to debut in theaters and will be made available on all rental platforms on September 29.

RLJE is a business unit of AMC Networks.

Muzzle is a fully charged ride led by a gripping performance from Aaron Eckhart,” said RLJE Film Chief Acquisitions Officer Mark Ward, “We can’t wait to unleash the film to audiences this fall.”

“We are thrilled to have Mark and the outstanding team at RLJE come on board to distribute Muzzle. They are the perfect partner to introduce this exciting action-packed thriller to audiences in the U.S,” said Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser.

Muzzle is an intense and compelling actioner full of twists and turns – we are so proud to be a part of this fantastic project!” added Highland Film Group COO Delphine Perrier.

Eckhart starsas LAPD K-9 officer Jake Rosser who has just witnessed the shocking murder of his dedicated partner by a mysterious assailant. Blocked by Internal Affairs, muzzled by his own superiors from finding the shooter’s identity, Jake resolves to go rogue and partners with “Socks”, a violent K-9. Together, the pair works to unravel a vast conspiracy.

The ensemble also includes Stephen Lang, On My Block star Tinoco, Penelope Mitchell and Kyle Smithson.

First Full Trailer Released for Zoe Saldana’s “Avatar” Sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water”

Zoe Saldana is heading the way of water

The first full official trailer for James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, starring the 44-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress, has been released.

Zoë SaldañaDisney will begin the overseas rollout of the sequel to the highest-grossing film ever on December 14 with its U.S. release set for December 16.

The Way of Water is set more than a decade after the events of the first Avatar film. It follows the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri [Saldana] and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure as they fight for their home on Pandora. Brimming with stunning visuals and new creatures, the trailer also features a callback to the original movie with the signature Na’vi line: “I see you.”

Zoe Saldana, Avatar: The Way of Water,The sequel stars Sam Worthington, Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh, Edie Falco, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Oona Chaplin, Jermaine Clement and more.

Disney previously previewed a teaser trailer at CinemaCon in April before playing it exclusively in theaters on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessand then put it online in May.

The studio, Cameron and producer Jon Landau have been making the rounds with footage from the film, screening during June’s CineEurope conference in Barcelona and at D23 in September as well as for executives from China Film Group (a release there is still unconfirmed).

Disney also released a remastered 4K HDR version of the original film in September to set the table for the sequel, and included sneak footage tagged onto the end.

Sources indicate The Way of Water will clock in at more than three hours, but no exact final run-time has been decided. The original was two hours and 41 minutes.

In total, four sequels are planned. Said Landau in Vegas, “The journey across all four movies will create a connected saga.”

Said Cameron at the time, the new films are “pushing limits even farther with high frame rate, higher resolution 3D and greater reality in our visual effects. I wanted our return to Pandora to be something really special. Every shot is designed for the biggest screen, highest resolution and most immersive 3D available. I think we pulled it off.”

Rosario Dawson to Star in Apple TV+’s Genre-Bending Auditory Adaptation of Canal+’s “Calls”

Rosario Dawson is placing some calls

Apple TV+ announced the cast, which includes the 41-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress and activist, and set the premiere date for its genre-bending auditory adaptation of Canal PlusCalls.

Rosario Dawson

In addition to Dawson, the stars featured in the first season of the nine-part drama, include Nick JonasPedro Pascal, Lily Collins, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Aubrey Plaza are among the stars featuring in the first season of the nine-part drama.

Launching on Friday, March 19, the show uses audio and minimal abstract visuals to tell nine short-form stories. Each episode follows a dark mystery that unfolds through a series of seemingly average, unconnected phone calls that quickly become surreal as the characters face growingly unsettling experiences.

Based on a French series created by Timothée Hochet, it is directed by Fede Álvarez, who directed 2013’s Evil Dead feature and 2016’s horror film Don’t Breathe.

Nicholas Braun, Clancy Brown, Mark Duplass, Karen Gillan, Judy Greer, Paul Walter Hauser, Danny Huston, Riley Keough, Joey King, Stephen Lang, Jaeden Martell, Paola Nuñez, Edi Patterson, Danny Pudi, Ben Schwartz and Jennifer Tilly also appear in the first season.

Calls was the streamer’s first international series order back in June 2018 and it also marks its first global co-production – a tie up with French pay-TV broadcaster Canal+. Apple will launch the series, which is produced with Studiocanal and Bad Hombre, in 100 countries, while Canal+ will premiere a French-language version in a number of markets.

Apple will launch the series in a number of Spanish-speaking Latin America markets as Llamadas with Spanish-language custom graphics.

Sigler to Star in the Period Western “Justice”

It’s justice for Jamie-Lynn Sigler

The 34-year-old half-Cuban American actress and former The Sopranos star has been cast in in Justice, a period Western to be directed by Richard Gabai.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler

Set in 1868, the action adventure film centers on an old abandoned mine that’s being transformed into a military stronghold by a corrupt mayor and a band of bloodthirsty outlaws hell-bent on re-energizing the just-ended Civil War. When a U.S. Marshal comes to town and finds out that his brother has been murdered, his search for the killer takes him on a life-or-death struggle for a much greater cause.

Sigler’s co-stars include Robert Carradine, Stephen Lang, Ellen Hollman and John Lewis.

Lewis and Shawn Justice wrote the script, and principal photography kicks off next week at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Albuquerque.

Sigler’s previous credits include appearances on CSI Cyber, Dads and Last Man Standing.

Saldaña to Star in the Next Three “Avatar” Films

Zoë Saldaña will be a little blue for years to come…

The 33-year-old half-Dominican/half-Puerto Rican American actress and her Avatar co-star Sam Worthington have finalized deals to reprise their characters for the next three installments of the epic sci-fi action film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron.

Zoe Saldana

The trio of films are being made back-to-back-to-back by Cameron, who last August enlisted Josh Friedman, duo Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, and Shane Salerno to help him work on the screenplays.

Zoe Saldana in Avatar

The first actor who signed on for all three new movies was Stephen Lang, who played mad Marine Colonel Quaritch in the 2009 film.

His character dies in the first film, but Cameron will be resurrecting him somehow.

Other plot details are being kept under wraps on Pandora, although The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Jake Sully and Neytiri, the characters played by Worthington and Saldana, respectively, have kids.

Said Cameron: “Jake Sully is a rare combination of passion, strength, street smarts and soul, which requires a lot from an actor. Sam brought to the role a combination of sensitivity, vulnerability and strength. Zoe captured every aspect of the character I envisioned, bringing to Neytiri a mix of delicacy, fierceness and incredible physicality. I am beyond pleased they’ll be returning with us to Pandora.”

Cameron and Jon Landau will produce through their Lightstorm Entertainment banner.

The first sequel is scheduled to hit theaters in December 2016, with the second to follow in December 2017 and the third a year later.