COLOGNE, Germany – Splendid Film continues its push back into the ranks of Germany’s leading indie distributors with a Cannes shopping spree that includes two Sylvester Stallone action films, a Gerard Butler/Jessica Biel romcom, a thriller starring up-and-comer Amanda Seyfried and the latest blow-em’ up feature from Con Air helmer Simon West.
Splendid picked up German rights to Stallone’s The Expendables 2 and to Kim Jee-Woon‘s Mexican drug thriller The Last Stand, also featuring the aging action star. Arnold Schwarzenegger had been attached to the in-development project before his illegitimate child scandal and resultant marital problems with estranged wife Maria Schriver forced him to put his plans for an acting comeback on hold.
Splendid also scored German rights to the soccer-themed romantic comedy Playing the Field starring Bulter, Biel, Uma Thurman and Catherine Zeta-Jones; to the serial-killer thriller Gone with Amanda Seyfried; to West’s actioner Medallion featuring Nicolas Cage, Malin Akerman and Danny Huston.
The Cologne-based distributor has been a pioneer in bringing Asian cinema to Germany and continued with that tradition in Cannes this year, securing rights to two high-profile Jackie Chan projects: the historic epic 1911: The Revolution and global treasure hunt adventure tale Chinese Zodiac, which Chan will co-direct with long-time collaborator Stanley Tong (Rumble in the Bronx, The Myth). Other Asian titles in Splendid’s shopping cart include Malaysian 3D animated feature Seafood and fantasy action film Vikingdom and Thai historic auctioneer Yamada: The Samurai of Ayothaya.
In a completely different vein, Splendid landed German rights to the Finnish “Nazis on the Moon” feature Iron Sky. The sci-fi drama, which received much of its funding from online fans, hits theaters next year.
