Lionsgate has acquired the U.S. distribution rights for two films from European production house and distributor StudioCanal, one a suspense thriller called The Commuter, starring Liam Neeson, and the other being an international thriller based on John Le Carré’s Our Kind of Traitor, starring Ewan McGregor.
In The Commuter, written by Byron Willinger and Phil de Blasi, Neeson will play a businessman whose daily commute home gets him caught up in a criminal conspiracy as he learns of a deadly plan unfolding on the train. (It was previously attached to Nigerian director Olatunde Osunsanmi but there’s been no news on this project in nearly five years.)
Ewan McGregor (who appeared with Neeson in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace) headlines Our Kind of Traitor, which is based on the John Le Carré spy novel and it co-stars Stellan Skarsgard (Thor), Damien Lewis (“Homeland”) and Naomie Harris (Spectre). Adapted by Drive writer Hossein Amini, it’s directed by Susanna White (Nanny McPhee Returns).
Lionsgate’s co-COO and Motion Pictures Group President Steven Beeks stated in the press release:
“The Commuter and Our Kind of Traitor are two suspenseful, action-packed, star-driven additions to our film slate that we expect to continue our successful partnership with STUDIOCANAL dating back to our breakout hit The Last Exorcist. We look forward to working closely with Rodolphe and the entire STUDIOCANAL team as they continue to supply us with a commercially exciting roster of high-profile, branded event properties.”
StudioCanal President of International Distribution & Marketing Rodolphe Buet added:
“Lionsgate has emerged as a major creative force in the global marketplace with a deep pipeline of blockbuster franchises, star-driven event films and specialty releases. We’re delighted to tap into their world-class marketing and distribution organization that has achieved success across a broad portfolio of films, and we look forward to continuing to partner with them on the distribution of our exciting line-up of movies.”
This deal continues the partnership between Lionsgate and StudioCanal who handles distribution of most of Lionsgate’s films, including the upcoming The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, in Germany.
