Can Donnie break Hollywood? He was raised in Boston, so his English is perfect.
[UPDATE: Maybe Not] Troy Nixey Directing Donnie Yen In English Language Action Picture PRIORITY RUN
Todd Brown, Founder and Editor
[UPDATE: Though Arclight sent out an email to attendees of the American Film Market just yesterday describing Priority Run as being in pre-production with Yen in the lead and more cast to be announced at the AFM, representatives of the company have now reached out to say Yen’s involvement is not yet confirmed and that they are currently in discussions with him. Time will tell if this long overdue English language leading role actually comes together for Yen.]
It’s amazing it’s taken so long, really. Though he has spent the bulk of his career in Hong Kong and China where his history in martial arts films has made him one of the most bankable action stars in the world, English language films have always been a sensible end game for Donnie Yen. Born and raised in Boston, Yen speaks flawless English to the point that he frequently conducts interviews for the bonus features on his Hong Kong releases in English rather than Chinese. And yet he’s never really crossed over thanks in large part to the restrictive contract he signed with Miramax back in the lead up to the handover of Hong Kong back to China - a period that saw Yen working as a fight coordinator in Hollywood while taking on small roles in films such as Blade 2 and Highlander: Endgame without ever really being able to show off what he could do on screen. But that’s ending now.
International sales company Arclight Films have announced that they are in pre-production on a new, English language action film with Yen in the lead to be directed by Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark’s Troy Nixey with additional cast to be announced at the upcoming American Film Market. Here’s the official synopsis:
Set to star fast rising action star Donnie Yen in his first English language movie, PRIORITY RUN takes us on highway to hell ride guarding the worst of the worst convicts as they're transported to a maximum security facility. But when the prison transport bus is ambushed on a remote stretch of highway by a sinister organization that appears intent on killing them all for some mysterious motive, the guards face a nightmare dilemma -- release the most vicious criminals in the state or allow them to be slaughtered. Outnumbered and outgunned, its the most dangerous convict of them all with whom the guards must forge a precarious alliance with if they have any chance of surviving.
Yen, of course, already has an incredibly full slate so time will tell when this will fit in.