INVINCIBLE (Daniel Zirilli, 2013) (unproduced) (false rumor)

[Jox]

Dolph vs Ving Rhames in a UNISOL rip-off / cop thriller? Hummm. Sometimes you wish D had not done EXP and was still forced to direct his own projects...

EDIT: Cinando plot below names Michael Jai White as the other guy, sounds more appealing already...

http://www.thefilmcatalogue.com/catalog ... p?id=15315

Invincible

Company
Studio City Pictures, Inc.
Cast
Dolph Lundgren, Ving Rhames
Director(s)
Daniel Zirilli
Writer(s)
Daniel Zirilli
Producer(s)
Rich Salvatore
Production Status
Pre-Production
Completion Year
2013
Synopsis
A soldier brought back to life goes rogue and only his genetic equal can stop him.

http://www.cinando.com/DefaultControlle ... IdF=145252

A thrilling action film, based on top secret military experiment in Nanotechnology that has resulted in the creation of the invincible killer - Brock Mason- (Dolph Lundgren) a former soldier who was killed in Afghanistan - but brought back to life. Testing gone awry stateside, he escapes and begins to terrorize the city. Detective Cam Brooks (Michael Jai White) is a hero cop who’s reckless Kill or Be Killed attitude has driven away the one thing he loves - his soon to be ex-wife, Michele. In a violent shootout against Brock, Cam is killed. Being the city’s only hope, the same invincibility serum that created Brock is now used on Cam, who is made equally invincible in order to stop Brock’s ruthless rampage. Brock and Cam go head to head - with the invincibility and strength of super-heros in several down and dirty clashes. Cam must choose between repairing his marriage or risking it all in the dangerous life that keeps the “bad guys” off the street. Now that he’s invincible he believes he can have both… but can he?

http://moviehole.net/201364085exclusive ... XU8E2pb.99

Dolph Lundgren and Ving Rhames will bump muscles in Canadian actioner “Invincible”, currently in pre-production under the guidance of writer/director Daniel Zirilli.

In what sounds like a crafty cousin to Lundgren’s own “Universal Soldier”, “Invincible” will feature the action icon – whose showiest role of late has been in the “Expendables” films – as an unconquerable science-experiment/killer created by the military using Nanotechnology that eventually stops taking orders. Like his character in the “Soldier” films, Brock Mason was a soldier before his reanimation, and just as Andrew Scott did in the former, this chap also gets loose and starts terrorizing the city.

Instead of another Universal Soldier going after him though, it’s a cop who is charged with the mission of bringing the big guy down. In a shootout with Brock, the detective is killed but is given another opportunity at life by way of the same invincibility serum that created Brock. Now, as strong and as powerful as his adversary, the cop hits the street under his super heroic new guise – ready to take down the previously unstoppable Brock.
Should be fun!

Filming on “Invincible” gets underway soon. Richard Salvatore (“Give ‘Em Hell Malone”, “The Big Wedding”) is among the film’s producers.

Zirilli is one of the exec producers on THE PACKAGE and BLOOD OF REDEMPTION.
Studio City Pictures is the old Nasser Entertainment (Austin's HUNT TO KILL, RECOIL, TACTICAL FORCE).

[preacher]

Hmm... this really sounds like an 80's C-movie. And if you look at the directors credits this is the kind of films he does. Is this to be shot like NOW before the TV-show? Dolph is really working his ass off in that case.
Is there a special reason for this?
Is he trying to up his profile by maxing his exposure?
Saving cash for something special?

Really hope the concept has a twist to it because all the obvious comparisons to UniSol is making it seem ridicilous.
Ving Rhames is super cool though. Jai White also. So any of them is a good co-star though White seem to fit this concept better. A showdown between the two is the natural conclusion to the story ofcourse.

Kinda funny with White also having been in a UniSol film. Scott vs. Seth.
If they handle the charaters right and don't just make them unisol/terminator-clones and at the same time let loose some serious damage, this could be good.
But the director does not instill great hopes.

[Jox]

I dunno but it's sounds like a quick cash-in and if White is in it then they share the same manager who's been wanting to out them together in a movie for a while.

Dolph kinda laughs and isn't too sure about a possible return as Andrew Scott so why would he be more excited about a UNISOL rip-off? ("sort of" because it sounds more realistic and contemporary, less sci-fi-esque and more of a thriller)

The one similar project I wouldn't mind him doing is a 2008 script he had developed for UNISOL 3 with directing it in mind, for which he said he took it in a different direction using his own scientific background, in a way that he could also make it as different movie without calling it "UNISOL" (that was before Hyams came on board and he turned their offers down several times)...

PS I don't know what's going on with the TV show but should find out soon.

[Tom]

This to me sounds like one of those shoddy mid-90's movies that would star Brigitte Nielsen or something similar.

It sounds like a cheap and bad attempt at copying Universal Soldier. This should be a forgotten 90's film that starred Jeff Wincott. It's just far too similar. It's as if Dolph has decided to star in the Asylum rip off of one of his own films.

Still...Ving Rhames and Michael Jai White? Now that does get my interest somewhat.

Sadly the director is pretty terrible. I've seen a couple of his films and they were both pretty awful. Circle of Pain in particular was painful to watch. Locked Down was just totally average. To me he's a producer who directs occasionally to get films done quickly and efficiently without necessarily having any real directing flair. Like Danny Lerner for example.

I really don't get why Dolph does any old shit for the money and still claim he's trying to forward his career with interesting roles. Okay he's doing about 50 films a year so there's a real mix of stuff, but seriously, we could do without stuff like this to be honest.
All you can say though is that expectations are probably 1/10. If the film is a 2/10, it's still exceeded expectations.

Obviously though, we have to take every rumour with a pinch of salt. As for a Dolph and White film, I'd much rather see the Repeater.

[Nathan]

It's not the plots or the casts or the actual over concept of the movies that are getting me down. Yes, this does sound like something that Don "The Dragon" Wilson would do in the mid-90's and it would likely have a bigger budget than this will, ironically. I had hopes Repeater might start up again, that one sounded at least interesting. But this is just a replay of dozens of other movies that will probably have been done better thanks to more acceptable conditions. Let's face it, for the past few movies Dolph's plots have been very generic (The Package - some dude tries to deliver something, guys try to stop him, OITC - assassin vs. assassin) and even the concepts where were interesting (Stash House, ITNOTK2) turned out horrible.
But no, that's not what bugs me. It's knowing Dolph has huge talent as a director but instead he is forced to work with idiots. Partially, because William Kauffman and Jesse V. are actually pretty good, especially considering what they are given. But I've been waiting with baited breath for Skin Trade, even if Dolph doesn't direct, it was potentially the most promising, if again not thoroughly original (what is these days?) and would have no doubt been a huge cut above generic drivel like "Invincible." I movie hasn't even been made and I know it will be underwhelming. And with titles like that, it just keeps turning Dolph into a joke and a C-grader.

[Jox]

And it's projects he would have turned down years ago. It's sounds also like "connections projects", he seems trapped with some people, like now it sounds the Italian connection with the Zerafini projects and this guy seems linked to them as well. The movie industry certainly works like the mob: films are made because of who's the Godfather behind them and the money and who's linked to whom...

[Moltisanti]

Let's hope it's Jai White instead of Rhames, though the idea of a "husky" invincible Rhames would be worth some chuckles.

Hard to expect much from this given the behind the scenes people involved. But yeah I'd still watch it.

[DRC2013]

Dolph's role in this sounds like a carbon copy of Andrew Scott.

The only thing I like about it so far is the name "Brock Mason" Now if that isn't the perfect silly action movie name, then I don't know what is.

That reminds me, there's this blogger "Direct to video connoisseur" who reviews DTV movies, and he once came up with the perfect B-action movie hero name, "Lump Beef Broth".
Brock Mason is not too far from that.

The entertainment industry, much like any other industry I suppose, is all about connections.

People frequently work with the same people over and over again.

Theoretical situation: Dolph's manager gets two offers, same money, same time commitment, the other one is a vastly better script, but the producers/director are unknown, and haven't worked with Dolph Before, the other script is barely above god awful, but the producers have worked with Dolph before.

The manager and Dolph will probably pick the one with the producers they are friendly with.

It's not only a bit of "I' scratch your back, you'll scratch mine" but also, even though the movies might have turned out less than great, Dolph might have had a great time working with the producers and directors, and he and his manager know they'll get stuff done and it'll be a pleasant experience.

They don't have that knowledge beforehand with someone they haven't worked with before.

But I guess that's why actors sometimes have to take chances.

This sounds like a quick paycheck, nothing more. From the sounds of it they'll probably hire Dolph for 1-2 weeks like usual for these villain roles.

I also wonder when he will have time to film this, before Rescue 3? Before or after EX3?

Dolph is definitely working a lot lately. He will have to be careful that he doesn't sign up for too many movies .
If a name actor does too many movies, that means that their name value in the market place will go down, and they might not get the same level offers they once got.

[Jox]

The manager and Dolph will probably pick the one with the producers they are friendly with.

It's not only a bit of "I' scratch your back, you'll scratch mine" but also, even though the movies might have turned out less than great, Dolph might have had a great time working with the producers and directors, and he and his manager know they'll get stuff done and it'll be a pleasant experience.

They don't have that knowledge beforehand with someone they haven't worked with before.

It's not the question and it's rare I heard Dolph say "oh my god I had such a great time with these guys" (the opposite usually) it's more like they get the money, the projects sold and going... Unfortunately he's started and made his career mostly around exploitation B producers and agents, and hasn't been exposed enough to the real artsy independent world where the producers care as much as the directors about the final product, so for better and worse and he's always been around the Cannon, Nu Image, MPCA of the day.

Here who else is producing but Richard Salvatore who's done a number of projects with Nu Image and was on board 9 years ago for the aborted project THE CONTROLLER (somewhat similar actually)...

If this is really happening, it's sure D is doing it for the paycheck: has "RESCUE 3" fallen through or is postponed? Is he planing to get re-married and throw a huge wedding?

[Sgt.AndreaScott]

Sorry, but I'd to laugh when I read the plot summary. It's almost screamin': I'm a rip-off. Sure, there are some minor plot differences from the original UniSol flick but it's still a rip-off nonetheless. 'N' I'd probably watch it anyway...just for the laughs.

[savagesketch]

I've begun to wonder for the past couple years if maybe The Expendables, while it did revitalize Dolph's career, if it's also hurt it in a weird way... It's like he can't say no to any project that's coming his way... And these are projects that he wouldn't have done back in the '90's. He seems confused and is signing on to these projects out of some weird obligation... If he's taking a break from directing, fine. But could he find a decent script and put his all into it?

Him starring in a bad rip off of one of his own biggest hits? Come on... But then again, seeing him team up with either Rhames or Jai White does have some appeal to it.

[Jox]

Totally.

[Geoff]

Is it just me but apart from the casting of White (hopefully) this has ITNOTK 2 written all over it.

[Tom]

It's possible that could be wishful thinking mate!

[Geoff]