Bug, Foodfight! and More New Film Previews From Lions Gate

Lions Gate continues to be at the forefront of innovative horror film releases. But they also continue show their versatility and eagerness to promote and distribute off-center films that have the capability to enlighten and enact change. Below are synopses for some of their upcoming slate of films, including The U.S. Vs. John Lennon, about U.S. government policy against John Lennon, Crank (starring Jason Statham), Bug (starring Ashley Judd) and Rogue featuring Jet Li as a highly trained assassin.

Borderland

Ed, Henry and Phil, three American college grads, on a road-trip south of the border in pursuit of a fun-filled weekend of drinking and debauchery. Instead, they find dismemberment and death in Borderland, a genre hybrid of horror, drama and true-crime.

Inspired by true events of a kidnapping by a cult which practices human sacrifice, Borderland spirals into the black terrifying world of predators hunting the dimly lit streets and dark alleys of Manzinita, Mexico in search of their next prey. The Mexican locals recently tortured and killed were strong and silent and did not cry out in pain. Instead, they need loud, terrified cries of an American to make the ritual stronger; one who will howl in agony as he looks into the face of death. They set their sites on the three American amigos, and the vacation across the border quickly becomes the trip from hell.

The Americans hook up with some Mexican girls and after a night of partying with Lupe and Valeria, Ed and Henry realize Phil never made it back to the hotel. When the police refuse to do anything, they soon learn they are dealing with powerful and dangerous people. No one will help, until an ex-cop on the trail of the cult joins forces with them in the manhunt for the cult and their friend. But it may prove to be too late for all of them.

Borderland is being directed by Zev Berman and stars Brian Presley, Martha Higareda, Jake Muxworthy, Rider Strong, Damián Alcázar, Sean Astin, Marco Bacuzzi, Roberto Sosa, Humberto Busto, Francesca Guillén, Beto Cuevas and Elizabeth Cervantes, and does not currently have a release date.

Bug

A lonely waitress with a tragic past, Agnes (Ashley Judd) rooms in a run-down motel, living in fear of her abusive, recently paroled ex-husband. But when Agnes begins a tentative romance with Peter, an eccentric, nervous drifter, she starts to feel hopeful again – until the first bugs arrive…

Probing the blurry lines between paranoia and nightmarish reality, Liongate Films Bug is an intense, mind-bending psychological thriller in which nothing is quite as it seems. Directed by Academy Award winner William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist) and adapted by Tracy Letts from his hit off-Broadway play, Bug stars Golden Globe nominee Ashley Judd, Harry Connick, Jr., Lynn Collins, Brian O’Byrne and Michael Shannon. It will be in limited release on December 1, 2006.

Crank

Chev Chelios (played by Jason Statham) is about to begin his morning with an unexpected wake-up call. Groggy, practically unable to move and with a heart that’s barely beating, he hears the voice of thug Ricky Verona, who reveals Chev has been poisoned in his sleep and only has an hour to live. 

As it turns out, Chev is a hit man who freelances for a major West Coast syndicate. *A run of the mill job the night before instead went awry: he let his target slip away in an effort to quit professional killing and start a new life with his girlfriend Eve.

Now, Chev must keep moving to stay alive: the only way to prolong the poison from stopping his heart is to keep his adrenaline flowing. As the clock ticks, Chelios cuts a swath through the streets of Los Angeles, wreaking havoc on those who dare stand in his way.* He must rescue Eve from danger, stay two steps ahead of his nemeses and search for an antidote to save his own life. Crank also stars Efren Ramirez, Amy Smart and Dwight Yoakam and is due for release on September 1, 2006.

Saw III

Jigsaw has disappeared.

With his new apprentice Amanda (Shawnee Smith), the puppet-master behind the cruel, intricate games that have terrified a community and baffled police has once again eluded capture and vanished.* While city detectives scramble to locate him, Doctor Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh) is unaware that she is about to become the latest pawn on his vicious chessboard.

One night, after finishing a shift at her hospital, Lynn is kidnapped and taken to an abandoned warehouse where she meets Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), bedridden and on the verge of death. She is told that she must keep the madman alive for as long as it takes Jeff (Angus Macfayden), another of his victims, to complete a game of his own. Racing against the ticking clock of Jigsaw’s own heartbeat, Lynn and Jeff struggle to make it through each of their vicious tests, unaware that he has a much bigger plan for both of them…

This Halloween, from Twisted Pictures and Lionsgate comes the latest chapter in the psychologically intense and disturbing horror franchise.*Saw III starsShawnee Smith and Tobin Bell. The film is directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II), with story by franchise originators Leigh Whannell and James Wan (Saw, Saw II) and screenplay by Whannell.

Saw III is currently lensing, with a release date scheduled for October 27, 2006.

P.D.R.

Based on true events, Lionsgate’s P.D.R. tells the inspiring story of Jim Ellis, a charismatic schoolteacher in the 1970s who changed lives forever when he founded an African-American swim team in one of Philadelphia’s roughest neighborhoods. Directed by Svinuari Obert Gonera, this life-affirming drama stars Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow, Crash, Ray), Bernie Mac (Guess Who, Oceans 12, Bad Santa) and Kimberly Elise (Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Manchurian Candidate, John Q).

The year is 1973, and Jim Ellis (Terence Howard), a college-educated African-American, can’t find a job. Driven by his love of competitive swimming, Jim fixes up an abandoned recreational pool hall in a Philadelphia slum with the help of Elston (Bernie Mac), a local janitor. But when the pool hall is marked for demolition, Jim fights back – by starting the city’s first African-American swim team. Recruiting troubled teens from the streets, Jim struggles to transform a motley team of novices into capable swimmers – all in time for the upcoming state championships. But as racism, violence and an unsympathetic city official threaten to tear the team apart, Jim must do everything he can to convince his swimmers that victory, both in and out of the pool, is within their reach…

By turns comic, rousing and poignant, P.D.R. is a triumphant story about team spirit and courage in the face of overwhelming odds. The film is produced by Paul Hall, Patrick Rizzotti and Brett Forbes.

P.D.R. marks the directorial debut of Sunu Gonera, and is scheduled for release on December 22, 2006.

Five Fingers

A shattering look at the shifting morals of terrorism and covert torture, Lionsgate’s Five Fingers stars Laurence Fishburne and Ryan Phillippe in a startling cat and mouse thriller that turns recent prisoner abuse scandals on their head.

An idealistic, Dutch pianist, Martijn (Ryan Philippe) travels to Morocco at the behest of his girlfriend to start a food program for malnourished children. But within moments of his arrival, Martijn and his British guide, Gavin, are abducted by terrorists who mistrust Martijn’s altruistic motives and proceed to interrogate him in an abandoned warehouse. Enduring unimaginable torture, Martijn desperately tries to prove his innocence to the group’s ruthless leader, Ahmat (Laurence Fishburne). Forced to question everything, and everyone, that brought him to Morocco, Martijn has only one choice: Solve the riddle of his captivity…or die trying.

An ingeniously constructed thriller, Five Fingers stares unflinchingly at the searing drama and ruthless politics that lie at the heart of global terrorism. The film is written by Chad Thumann, and Laurence Malkin, directed by Laurence Malkin, produced by Adam Rosenfelt, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland, Malcolm Petal, Dolly Hall, Josh Kesselman, Kelley Feldsott Reynolds, Laurence Malkin and Stavros Merjos, Executive Produced by Peter Block, Jason Constantine and Marc Schaberg, and stars Laurence Fishburne, Ryan Phillippe, Gina Torres, Touriya Haoud, Said Taghmaoui and Colm Meaney. Five Fingers premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this year, and there is no theater release date as of yet.

Foodfight!

When night falls on the supermarket aisles, and the humans all go home, the grocery store transforms into a teeming metropolis where the detergent aisle looks like Manhattan’s Seventh Avenue and the boxes of Tide resemble the Chrysler building. It is time for these product icons to come alive in this wild city and head towards the hottest club in town, the Copacabana, to party! However, all’s well until Brand X moves in. A showdown of gross (pro)portions, Foodfight! follows the epic adventures of some of the most famous branded characters in the world and some original super(market) heros as Dex Dogtective, Daredevil Dan and others as they wage battle against the evil Brand X for control of the store.

Foodfight! is the first full-length digitally animated feature film from Threshold Entertainment. Threshold has secured the exclusive rights to use products and character icons in the film from virtually all of the biggest consumer packaged goods companies in the world like Proctor & Gamble, Pepsi Co./Frito Lay, International Home Foods, Del Monte/Starkist, and dozens more—about $40 billion worth of Intellectual Property will be seen onscreen.

Foodfight! is scheduled to hits theaters in the Spring of 2007.

See pictures from Foodfight! RIGHT HERE

Rogue

After his partner Tom Wynne (Terry Chen) and family*are killed apparently by the infamous*and elusive assassin Rogue (Jet Li), FBI agent Jack Crawford (Jason Statham) becomes obsessed*with revenge as his world unravels into a vortex of guilt and betrayal. Rogue eventually resurfaces to settle a score of his own, igniting a bloody crime war between Asian mob rivals Chang (John Lone) of the Triad’s and Yakuza boss Shiro (Ryo Ishibashi). When Jack and Rogue finally come face to face, the ultimate truth of their pasts will be revealed.

Rogue is being helmed by Phillip G. Atwell and will hit theaters in 2007.

The U.S. Vs. John Lennon

The U.S. Vs. John Lennon is a compelling and provocative look at John Lennon’s transformation from beloved musical artist to anti-war activist to iconic inspiration for peace that also reveals the true story of why and how the U.S. Government tried to silence him. The film will also show that this was not just an isolated episode in American history but that the issues and struggles of that era remain relevant today.

Lionsgate and VH1 present in association with SKY The U.S. Vs. John Lennon. The U.S. Vs. John Lennon is written and directed LSL Productions’ David Leafand John Scheinfeld.