Here’s a hot fall package coming together. Greenland star Gerard Butler and Captain America actor Frank Grillo are set to star in Joe Carnahan-directed action thriller Copshop, which Open Road Films will release in the U.S. and STXinternational will shop to overseas buyers. STX will also release directly in the UK and Ireland.
In Copshop, a small-town police station becomes the unlikely battleground between a professional hitman (Butler), a smart rookie female cop, and a double-crossing con man (Grillo) who seeks refuge behind bars with no place left to run. Casting for the female lead is in process.
Principal photography is set to commence in October with the film slated to shoot in Georgia and New Mexico. STX will present the project to buyers virtually at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival.
Kurt McLeod wrote the original screenplay based on a story by McLeod and Mark Williams. Carnahan (The Grey) penned the most recent draft.
Mark Williams and Tai Duncan of Zero Gravity Management are producing alongside Warren Goz and Eric Gold of Sculptor Media, Butler and Alan Siegel’s G-BASE Productions, and Carnahan and Grillo through their WarParty Films banner. Executive producers are James Masciello, Matthew Sidari and Tom Ortenberg for Open Road.
Raven Capital Management, which acquired Open Road Films in 2018 and recently relaunched the theatrical distributor with former head Tom Ortenberg at the helm, developed the movie in partnership with Sculptor and Zero Gravity, and is fully financing. CAA Media Finance arranged the project’s financing and domestic distribution deal.
Grillo and Carnahan said: “WarParty is beyond excited to be teaming with Raven, Open Road, STX and G-BASE on Copshop. We feel that this is a movie that can play big globally but be made sensibly and we are always looking for this type of ‘elevated genre’ where the writing really drives the action and the drama. We also couldn’t be happier to have someone with the box-office power of Gerard Butler as our partner in crime on this film.”
Commented Ortenberg: “I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Joe Carnahan for the fifth time and Frank Grillo has been a good luck charm for Open Road since its inception, having been featured in Joe’s film The Grey, End of Watch and Homefront. Putting Joe and Frank together with one of the biggest action stars in the world in Gerard Butler in Joe’s exciting script for Copshop is a recipe for a big theatrical hit.”
Former Spotlight distributor Open Road re-entered the market earlier this year with Liam Neeson action pic Honest Thief the first movie on its slate.
Butler is represented by CAA and Alan Siegel Entertainment. Grillo is represented by CAA and Management 360. Carnahan is represented by CAA and Paul Hastings. Raven, Open Road and Sculptor are represented by DLA Piper. Kurt McLeod is represented by Zero Gravity Management and Weintrob Tobin.