Sovereign Distribution Launches Action Content Label (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Manori Ravindran International EditorSovereign Distribution has launched a new label to develop action content for film and TV.Action Xtreme will be headed up by writer and director Chee Keong Cheung, with Sovereign founder and CEO Andreas Roald joining the board.

The label will join the U.K. outfit’s various other arms, which span film production, distribution, television, theater and music publishing.The company has said Action Xtreme will “create content featuring spectacular physical action and stunts, with a targeted focus on grassroots talent growth, development and training, and a remit to develop franchisable content for a worldwide audience.”Action Xtreme will develop talent and action-based content across feature films, TV series, graphic novels, novels, multi-platform computer games and merchandise.

It will also tap into a U.K. fan base for action content via social media, as well as recruiting brand ambassadors and collaborating with prominent figures in the action industry.

Cheung currently heads up operations for Sovereign’s film distribution division, with recent releases including Radu Jude’s “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn,” which won the Golden Bear at the 2021 Berlin Film Festival; “Memoria” from Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul, starring Tilda Swinton, which was one of the Cannes Jury Prize double winners last year; and Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Petrov’s Flu.”Cheung will continue his role overseeing the distribution activities for Sovereign, as well as identifying talent for the action label.Cheung made his debut with the micro-budget feature film “Underground,” which he wrote, directed and produced, working with fight choreographer David Forman, whose credits include “Batman Begins” and.