AFM 2011: Jason Statham and IM Global Team on 'Hummingbird'

Stuart Ford's IM Global and Jason Statham are re-teaming on action-drama Hummingbird, which Oscar nominated screenwriter Steven Knight will direct in his feature directorial debut.

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IM Global will fully finance the $20 milion project, which Ford will shop to foreign buyers at the American Film Market, which gets underway Wednesday in Santa Monica. Knight will shoot on location in London in early 2012.

Oscar nominated producers Paul Webster (Atonement, Salmon Fishing in Yemen) and Tracey Seaward (The Queen, War Horse) are producing Hummingbird with IM Global. CAA is representing North American distribution rights.

"We had a great experience making Safe with Jason and we're excited to team him with a director/producer team as sophisticated as Steven, Paul and Tracey," Ford said.

In Hummingbird, Statham will star as a damaged ex-special forces soldier trapped in London's criminal underworld who is transformed into an avenging angel when an unexpected opportunity allows him to assume another identity. Once believing he was beyond redemption, he now seeks out his own version of justice.

“This is a perfect project for Shoebox Films.  Thank you to Stuart Ford and the IM Global team for their tremendous support for Steve and Jason.  I can’t wait for this brilliant script to make the leap from page to screen," Webster said.

The picture was pre-emptively acquired by several major international distributors prior to its AFM launch this week, including  Lionsgate in the U.K; Universum in Germany; Impuls in Switzerland; Scanbox in Scandinavia; and Hoyts in Australia.

Knight is co-represented by CAA and United Agents in London, and attorney George Davis at Nelson/Davis. Statham also is represented by CAA, and Current Entertainment.