‘Violence Of Action’ Thriller Reuniting Chris Pine And Ben Foster Lands At STX
After frequently popping up in blockbusters and critical darlings in the 2010s,Chris Pinehas slowed down his workload following his scene-stealing role in theWonder Womanfilms. TheWonder Woman 1984actor has only appeared in a handful of feature films since 2019, instead appearing to pick and choose his roles with more discretion, executive producing and starring in the Patty Jenkins-directed limited seriesI Am the Night, for example.
So it feels like it’s about time for Pine to show his handsome mug again and re-establish the dramatic acting chops that he gave us a glimpse of inHell or High Water. And what better way to do that than with a reunion with hisHell or High Waterco-starBen Foster, in a thriller directed byTarik Saleh(The Nile Hilton Incident) which had been put up at theVirtual Cannes Marketlate last year? Pine and Foster will co-star in the thrillerViolence of Action, which has now landed at STXfilms.
STXfilms has acquired the U.S. distribution rights toViolence of Action, the STX Global Corp. announced Thursday. The Chris Pine-starring thriller will be directed by Tarik Saleh (Westworld,Ray Donovan) from a script byJP Davis, and will also star Foster,Gillian Jacobs,Eddie Marsan,Fares Fares,Nina Hoss, andAmira Casar. The acquisition announcement doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as STXinternational had recently acquired international rights to the film for distribution in the U.K. and Ireland.
Violence of Actionstars Pine as “James Harper who, after being involuntarily discharged from the Green Berets, joins a paramilitary organization in order to support his family in the only way he knows how. Harper travels to Berlin with his elite team on a black ops mission to investigate a mysterious threat. Barely into his first assignment, he finds himself alone and hunted across Europe, where he must fight to stay alive long enough to get home and uncover the true motives of those who betrayed him.”
It sounds like a promisingBourne-style thriller that will play well to Pine’s leading-man charisma, and hopefully give him a vehicle worthy of his talents. Though he’s shined in theWonder Womanfilms and given us some pleasantly surprising supporting turns in films likeInto the WoodsandSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, it feels like Pine is on the cusp of being recognized as the versatile actor that he showed he was inHell or High Water.
STXfilms chair Adam Fogelson’s praise for the film, which is currently in post-production, at least seems to point to my hopes coming true: “We’re incredibly impressed by what we’ve seen so far ofViolence of Action. Chris gives the kind of unforgettable performance that will resonate with audiences everywhere.”
Violence of Actionis produced by Thunder Road Films’Basil IwanykandErica Lee(John Wickfranchise,Greenland, Sicario), with 30WEST fully financing the film. 30WEST’sDan Friedkin,Micah Green, andDan Steinmanare executive producing along with Pine,Jonathan Fuhrman,Tom Lassally,Josh Bratman, and Thunder Road’sEsther Hornstein.
