David Leitch: Last News

Marta Balaga It was all about Aaron Taylor-Johnson at Locarno’s opening ceremony, as the actor received the 2022 Excellence Award Davide Campari and introduced “Bullet Train.”“Sometimes, people ask me what I do. I say: ‘I am a dad and I do acting on the side, part time,” he told the crowd gathered at Piazza Grande before the screening.“Recently though, I have been feeling a subtle shift.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorJoey King hit the zeitgeist hard with 2018’s Netflix rom-com “The Kissing Booth,” and scooped up an Emmy nomination for her work in 2019’s “The Act,” a heart-wrenching limited series about the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard by her daughter, Gypsy Rose. She can now be seen in Hulu’s “The Princess,” where she learned action-hero stunts, and is set to appear in Hulu’s adaptation of Holocaust-themed “We Were the Lucky Ones.” Up next for King is David Leitch’s “Bullet Train,” a high-octane thriller out now. The heavyweight cast includes Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Zazie Beetz, Bad Bunny, Michael Shannon and Brian Tyree Henry.

Jon Burlingame editorA musical hint comes at the very start of “Bullet Train,” out now, when a new version of the Bee Gees’ disco classic “Stayin’ Alive” is sung in Japanese – because an American assassin code-named Ladybug (Brad Pitt) is going to spend the next two hours attempting to do just that, battling half a dozen other killers on a high-speed train from Tokyo to Kyoto.An over-the-top movie like “Bullet Train” demanded an over-the-top score, composer Dominic Lewis (“The King’s Man”) decided, and he spent more than a year not only writing the entire score but also producing (and in several cases co-writing) the songs heard throughout David Leitch’s action thriller.Leitch’s previous movies (“Atomic Blonde,” “Deadpool 2”) have been littered with songs, Lewis knew (“he’s a needle-drop guy”), so his concept became: “Can I write something in the style of a needle-drop, that feels like a song but is doing the job of scoring, following the peaks and troughs of what’s going on?” While Lewis trained in classical music at London’s Royal Academy of Music, he also spent time in rock bands before launching a career in movie music. “I became a mad scientist,” he says, noting that the “Bullet Train” assignment began during COVID lockdown, so he is playing guitars, bass, keyboards and singing throughout the entire score.“It’s very raw and deliberately messy,” Lewis concedes.

Sony’s Bullet Train, starring Brad Pitt, saw $4.6M in Thursday previews which began at 3pm at 3,596 locations. The pic is estimated to bring in around $30M this weekend as summer’s last big tentpole.

Jordan Moreau Sony’s “Bullet Train” has left the station, picking up $4.6 million at the domestic box office in Thursday night previews.With star Brad Pitt in the conductor’s chair, “Bullet Train” is hoping to ride out the weekend with a $30 million total and a No. 1 spot on the box office charts.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is opening up about the bloody injury he suffered while filming a stunt for Bullet Train, which is in theaters now.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor87North, the production company behind such action films as “Nobody,” the John Wick series, “Atomic Blonde” and the upcoming “Bullet Train,” is unique in that it coaches stars such as Charlize Theron, Keanu Reeves and Brad Pitt to perform their own fight scenes. Now, the company is paving the way for the next generation of stunt performers with a state-of-the-art training facility in the heart of Hollywood.The new 87North location, a converted church on Sunset Boulevard with high beams and stained-glass windows, is a step up from the company’s 87Eleven facility near El Segundo.

As competition like HBO Max seemingly is going through a major change in the coming weeks, it appears that Netflix is still moving full steam ahead, even if the streamer is cutting jobs and supposedly cutting costs.

Ryan Reynolds is getting ready to reprise one of his most popular cinematic creations — and his first stop is the gym.

With just days before it speeds its way into theaters around the world, Sony Pictures' Bullet Train seems to be on the right track for a strong box office debut.The R-rated action-thriller starring Brad Pitt is expected to be the last big box office movie of the summer season, when it hits theaters on August 5.The new film from Deadpool 2 director David Leitch is expected to take $60 million worldwide in its opening weekend, with $30 million in North America, via Deadline. Box office hit:With just days before it speeds its way into theaters around the world, Sony Pictures' Bullet Train seems to be on the right track for a strong box office debut Starring Brad:The R-rated action-thriller starring Brad Pitt is expected to be the last big box office movie of the summer season, when it hits theaters on August 5The film was shot before the COVID-19 pandemic, with a budget of roughly $90 million before publicity and advertising.While the critics' reviews are mixed at 58% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film is reportedly tracking well among males over the age of 35.

Netflix and Dark Horse Entertainment have inked a multi-year, first-look film and TV deal extending their creative partnership, at the same time announcing the launch of development on two new projects—a film titled Bang! and a series called Mind MGMT.

Locarno kicked off its latest edition on Wednesday evening with the international festival premiere of David Leitch’s latest action-comedy Bullet Train and a surprise video call from Brad Pitt to celebrate the event’s 75th anniversary.

Selome Hailu Netflix has extended its multi-year partnership with Dark Horse Entertainment, through which Dark Horse gives the streamer a first look at IP for film and TV. Among their active development slate is a “Bang!” movie starring Idris Elba and “Mind MGMT” from Curtis Gwinn.“Bang!” is based on the comic series of the same name by Matt Kindt and Wilfredo Torres and will be directed by David Leitch.

This is it. This is pretty much the end of summer.

As the blockbuster season winds down, August is always an odd time for new releases. While there are still a few tentpole-style films on the radar, starting off with this week’s David Leitch-directed, star-studded “Bullet Train,” there’s plenty more to explore on the smaller scale.

Bullet Train” star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, working on set of the action-packed Brad Pitt film was a strenuous yet hilarious adventure. That is, until an on-set accident landed him in the hospital.“I was on some crazy mad Keto diet,” Taylor-Johnson told Variety at the Los Angeles premiere of “Bullet Train” on Monday night. “Because I got all scrawny and lean for this, so I basically had low blood sugar levels.

David Leitch's action comedy Bullet Train starring Brad Pitt doesn't hit UK theaters until Wednesday and US theaters until Friday, but critics are not exactly loving the 'high-octane bore.'Many reviewers singled out their praise for the 58-year-old Oscar winner, the fight sequences, and performances from Hiroyuki Sanada, Brian Tyree Henry, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson - but not much else.THR's David Rooney called the Japan-set two-hour flick 'soulless' and wrote it was 'so busy delivering violent action with a self-satisfied wink that its contorted plotting and one-note characters get real tedious real fast.' Reviews are in! David Leitch's action comedy Bullet Train starring Brad Pitt (R) doesn't hit UK theaters until Wednesday and US theaters until Friday, but critics are not exactly loving the 'high-octane bore'Rooney added: 'It's dispiriting to see so many capable actors put to such poor use...We don't care about who gets pounded to a pulp or shot to pieces because there are no characters to root for - good guys or bad.'Variety's Peter Debruge called Bullet Train 'a Kill Bill-like mix of martial arts, manga, and gabby hitman movie influences, minus the vision or wit that implies.' 'It's essentially a live-action cartoon, with high-profile cameos sprinkled in for added laughs,' Debruge noted.'Stylistically, Leitch is trying his darnedest to channel the likes of Tarantino and Ritchie, even if the dialogue and mock-British accents aren't nearly strong enough to earn such comparisons.' Standouts: Many reviewers singled out their praise for the 58-year-old Oscar winner, the fight sequences, and performances from Hiroyuki Sanada (pictured), Brian Tyree Henry, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson - but not much else 'There are no characters

Brad Pitt has explained what he meant when he said he’s on the ‘last leg’ of his career as he attended the Bullet Train premiere in LA.The legendary actor and producer surprised fans when he insisted that he was ‘designing’ the final stages of his career and believed he was on the ‘last leg’ of it.However, speaking to press at the premiere, he admitted: ‘I really have to work on my phrasing.’Clarifying what he meant, Brad, 58, told Deadline: ‘I was just saying, “I’m past middle age and I want to be specific about how I spend those last things however they may be.”‘I’ve never been a five-year plan kind of guy. I’m just, whatever feels right for the day.

Brad Pitt picked up an adorably offbeat pandemic hobby. But It wasn't sourdough starters, dalgona coffee or tie-dye keeping him occupied while the world slowed down around him — it was pottery making. The 58-year-old actor opened up to ET's Nischelle Turner about his newly acquired skillset with a self-deprecating laugh at the Los Angeles premiere of his new film, , on Monday night. «It was lockdown, you know,» he says.

Right from the start, you know exactly what you are in for with Bullet Train, a non-stop mix of violence, comedy, and more violence, Japanese-style, as filtered through the lens of director David Leitch, a stuntman turned filmmaker whose past credits of Atomic Blonde, Fast & Furious: Hobbs And Shaw, and Deadpool 2 pretty much prepare you for what to expect here. However, even though this was mostly shot on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City, with some killer production design and a cool train courtesy of David Scheunemann, it undoubtedly feels we are in Tokyo where I am sure the Sony bosses were delighted with the dailies as they came in. Unfortunately, from my vantage point this just seems like a lark for star Brad Pitt, coming off an Oscar for the far superior Quentin Tarantino masterpiece, also from Sony, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and the underrated Ad Astra, both pre-pandemic in 2019. His most notable appearance since has been in a comedic supporting role in The Lost City with Sandra Bullock who returns the favor here in a mostly voiceover role as his “handler,” therapist, self help guide, guru – whatever you want to call her – who is constantly guiding him through the messes he gets himself into.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticThe bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto takes about two hours and 15 minutes — just the right amount of time to pull off a cartoonishly over-the-top action movie, in which half a dozen assassins shoot, stab and otherwise perforate each other’s pretty little faces in pursuit of a briefcase stuffed with cash. It’s a high-stakes game of hot potato, choreographed and executed by “Atomic Blonde” director David Leitch, in which a self-deprecating Brat Pitt wears a bucket hat and oversized specs, Bryan Tyree Henry and Aaron Taylor-Johnson play bickering “twin” hitmen Lemon and Tangerine, and “The Princess” wedding crasher Joey King (known here as “the Prince”) is a cunning killer who can fake-cry on command.