09/07/2007

Entertainment Film Distributors have secured all UK rights for high-concept action thriller The Tournament from AV Pictures. The film begins shooting July 11 in Bulgaria.

This will mark the feature debut of Scott Mann, who is best known for his shorts Tug of War and Pocket Thief (both 2006) besides his extensive television work.

According to a statement by Mann, “Every ten years in an unsuspecting town, The Tournament takes place – a battle royale between 40 of the world's deadliest assassins. The last man standing receives the $10,000,000 cash prize and the title of World’s No. 1, which itself carries the legendary million-dollar-a-bullet price tag. All fights are monitored 24 hours a day on redirected CCTV cameras and broadcast secretly to a ring of high stake billionaire gamblers.

“A gritty, multi-stranded action-thriller, The Tournament brings together international killers from every imaginable discipline in a blood-bathed contest to the death. We follow the competition favourites through stories of love, betrayal, revenge and redemption as they finally discover the true value of life”.

Robert Carlyle, Ving Rhames and Kelly Hu headline the cast. Keith Bell (Dog Soldiers) will produce, while Sherezade Film Development is financing the film. AV Pictures have also entered into agreements with Scanbox for Scandinavia, Indies for Benelux and Lizard for CIS.