Sono Sion's TOKYO TRIBE Hits The U.S. This Fall!

Long celebrated as a film festival favorite since its release last year, director Sono Sion's latest induction, Tokyo Tribe has grown into a phenomemal hit with movielovers and festivalgoers with reviews that have been nothing short of electric. With this, the film has earned a place among fans who follow manga lore as one of the best examples of adapting a live-action work of any graphic novel, which has been more than rewarding for those behind this latest gem.

The film recently garnered a release in the U.K. a few weeks ago and now it's finally heading to North America thanks to the folks at XLrator media who have made a killing with this and a few other titles as of late. Without a doubt, Sono has grown a fanbase in the states, and now following last year's limited release of his previous film, Why Don't You Play In Hell?, American audiences will finally get plenty more where that came from.

via Dread Central

XLrator Media (Jimi: All Is by My Side, The Machine) has acquired North American distribution rights to the street-gang/martial arts action/hip-hop musical epic TOYKO TRIBE, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). 

XLrator Media will release the film in fall 2015 on its “TURBO” action label. TOKYO TRIBE was written and directed by Sion Sono, whose previous film Why Don’t You Play in Hell? won TIFF’s People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award. 

TOKYO TRIBE stars Ryohei Suzuki and Young Dais and is based on the manga by Santa Inoue. It was produced by Yoshinori Chiba, Kinya Oguchi, and Nobuhiro Iizuka. “Audiences have never seen anything like TOKYO TRIBE and will be blown away by its originality, energy, and mind-blowing action and musical sequences that pay homage to everything from Quentin Tarantino to Scarface to West Side Story,” said XLrator Media CEO Barry Gordon. 

In a futuristic, alternate Tokyo made up of ghetto slums and nightclub playgrounds, territorial street gangs rule the city. The opposing factions – each with their own distinctive style — control different neighborhoods, and crossing territorial lines leads to riots and rumbles. When a megalomaniacal gang leader tries to invade the other gangs’ turf, the city explodes into an all-out war. The deal was negotiated by XLrator Media’s Barry Gordon with XYZ Films’ Nate Bolotin for Nikkatsu Corporation.

EFM 2015: Scott Adkins Actioner, CLOSE RANGE Gets U.S. Distribution

Be ready for what comes later this year when cult action directorial favorite Isaac Florentine releases his latest new action thriller, Close Range. Production wrapped last week reuniting our dear director with elite Brit kicker and cinematic action hero, actor Scott Adkins who plays Colton McReady, a former soldier-turned-vigilante forced to defend his sister and niece in their own home against a ruthless drug cartel and a swarm of police under the command of their courrpt sheriff.

Such a plot line bodes perfectly well for the Adkins/Florentine duo whose work dates back close to twelve years of making solid and memorable action movies together, now with co-star and martial artist, actor Jeremy Marinas taking the reigns as the action director. It's an exciting feat to welcome this year, and even more so as it gained ground over at this year's European Film Market in Berlin where the film, represented by international sales agents, Blue Box International, has just closed a raft of distribution deals worldwide, including XLrator Media in North America and VVS in Canada.

The news should excite plenty of fans ahead of the new year as Close Range aims for another return to hard-hitting, pulse pounding action for the lead star as word awaits on a potential return to the fray as Russian kickboxer, Yuri Boyka in a hopeful forth installment of the Undisputed franchise among others. In the meantime, Adkins has a batch of other films on the way this year as well, so keep a look out for more information as it comes.

Close Range is a production of Bleiberg Entertainment's own Company B with Ehud Bleiberg and Richard Donnermeyer producing from a script by co-producers Chad Law and Shane Dax Taylor. Actress Caitlin Keats and actors Nick Chinlund, Madison Lawlor, Jake La Botz and Tony Perez round out the cast.

H/T: Screendaily