Liev Schrieber is in negotiations for the lead in the new action thriller The Guns of Christmas Past, directed by Xavier Gens, with a script by Andrew Hilton. The film is produced by Navid McIlhargey and Erik Olsen, with XYZ Films also producing and financing with investment funding coming from IPR.VC. The film is set to go into production later this year. XYZ Films is handling world rights and will introduce the film to buyers at the upcoming Marché du Film in Cannes.
In the genre mash-up described as A Christmas Carol meets John Wick, ‘Ebb’ is a former hitman for the mob, brought out from hiding when his former best friend and partner (Jacob Marley) is killed. Ebb penetrates the compound of his enemy to exact revenge. The “Ghosts” of the Past, Present, and Future all arrive to thwart our hero’s plans.
Schreiber is best known for his role in the Showtime series Ray Donovan. He is also known for his work in The French Dispatch, Spotlight, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He will next be seen in Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City.
Gens is a veteran international director known most recently for his directing work on the action-packed series Gangs of London and for his innovative action/genre filmmaking on such features as Frontier(s), Hitman, The Divide, Cold Skin, and Budapest. He has also executive produced the thrillers Cell and Hostile.
Andrew Hilton grew up in the U.K. and studied film in England, New York, and Los Angeles, before working in development for several major studios. Over the last 15 years, he has read more than 15,000 scripts as “The Screenplay Mechanic,” one of the most sought-after independent screenplay analysts in Hollywood. He’s read material for writers, producers, actors, directors, and production companies all over the world, including many acclaimed features, such as the recent Land and The Paper Tigers.
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Andrew’s first produced credit as a screenwriter was the psychological thriller Fatal Trust. He was also a writer and co-producer on the indie thriller Brake and served as a co-executive producer on the feature documentary Why We Ride. Andrew’s science-fiction thriller The Metal Detective was recently adapted into an audio-drama utilizing Dolby Atmos and AI actors and will be released on all major podcast platforms in summer 2023.
“I am excited to work with Liev and XYZ Films and bring a modern design style to this unique and original script. I hope to follow in the tradition of classic holiday action movies like Die Hard, and create a really fun film that audiences will come back to year after year,” said Xavier Gens.
“Coming from XYZ, and given our experience delivering a fresh approach to action through such films as our Raid franchise, we see this as an action franchise vehicle akin to the breakout film Nobody, which was an enormous success,” said XYZ Films.
Schreiber is repped by UTA and Untitled Entertainment. Gens is repped by Anonymous Content and Agents Associes. Hilton is repped by Craig A. Kessler.
