http://www.screendaily.com/news/distribution/keanu-reeves-to-star-in-john-wick/5054693.article?blocktitle=Latest-News&contentID=1846



EXCLUSIVE: A resurgent Keanu Reeves will star in Thunder Road’s revenge action tale, which Lionsgate will introduce to buyers next week as one of the hot titles on the Croisette.

Thunder Road head Basil Iwanyk is producing and David Leitch and Chad Stahelski will direct. The pair have served variously as second unit directors and stunt coordinators on The Hunger Games franchise, The Expendables, the upcoming release of The Wolverine and the upcoming Will Smith release After Earth through Columbia Pictures.

Derek Kolstad wrote the screenplay about a former hitman whose killer instincts are reawakened after a thug steals his 1969 Ford Mustang and in the process kills the dog given to him by his late wife. Wick tracks the man to New York, where the thug’s father, a crime boss, puts a bounty on his head.

Thunder Road has been busy of late and Iwanyk’s production slate includes French remake 36th Precinct, Valkyries and Gang Story to star Liam Neeson. Iwanyk has personally produced The Town and Wrath Of The Titans, among others, and served as executive producer on The Expendables.

Reeves is making a strong return to the independent space and will star opposite Reese Witherspoon in the sci-fi romance Passengers, which Exclusive is selling in Cannes.

besides, Chad Stahelski is his long-time stunt double... and the man who helped him get the Taurus Award ;)

if anything, this sounds like a fun cross-over between Gran Torino and Lake House :D if the dog is named Jack, I think they'll kick me out of the theater for laughing like an idiot :D

also, in the sweet tradition of hyper-analyzing the character name/s:

wick
Noun
A strip of porous material up which liquid fuel is drawn by capillary action to the flame in a candle, lamp, or lighter.
A town, hamlet, or district: "Warwick".
Verb
Absorb or draw off (liquid) by capillary action: "these excellent socks will wick away the sweat".
Synonyms
fuse - fuze

or/and
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/wick

;)

It looks to me that Keanu is going with his commitments to collaboration with friends in the business and I love him all the more for that. Maybe that tendency is why he split from Stoff? Anyways this synopsis does not sound like my dream movie but as always I trust him to get to me, on some level, whatever he plays. Sometimes levels I did not even know I had...

can't say exactly why, but looking forward to see this film. then again, I hope that in spite of the action-thriller label, it will have a touch of humor... just like Gran Torino has...

https://twitter.com/okka_nyan/status/368766071714508800

John Wick (Action) When a thug steals his vintage Ford Mustang and kills his dog, a former hit man begins a search for the perpetrator and in doing so has a bounty put on his head by the thug’s father. With Keanu Reeves. Directed by David Leitch and Chad Stahelski. Casting: Suzanne Smith Crowley and Jessica Kelly, Chrystie Street Casting, 55 Chrystie St., Ste. 501, New York, NY 10002. Shoots Sept. 25–Dec. 4 in New York.

https://specscout.com/homepage.php?mod=screenplay&smod=coverage&cmd=cvgd&sp_id=766

In the beginning, JOHN (60s) recieves a call while at home. He goes to the hospital, where he is forced to take his wife, NORMA (?) off of life support. That night, he receives a delivery. Before she died, Norma arranged to have a puppy sent to John, should she pass away. The dog, MOOSE, energizes John and the two become inseparable. One day, John and Moose are out in John's pristine '69 Mustang. He and Moose stop at a gas station, where he is approached by IOSEF (20s), a Russian gang member, who asks John if he'll sell the car. John says no, and drives away.

Later that night, Iosef and two other gunmen come to John's home and kill his dog before stealing the car. John is emotionally destroyed, but quickly gains his focus. His quest is to avenge Moose's death and retrieve the car they stole from him.

Iosef takes the car to a chop-shop run by AURELIO (60s). When Aurelio sees the car he recognizes it and refuses to let Iosef stay there with it. When Iosef argues, he punches Iosef in the face to show him he means business. Iosef and his henchman, KIRILL (30s) and Viktor...

http://theactionelite.com/2012/07/derek-kolstad-interview/

Derek: I don’t know. Sometimes, I suppose. More often than not, though, I see a number of different actors in the role amidst the various scenes of the story. For instance as I wrote SCORN (the next spec script to go out), the main character-in my mind- was a revolving door through which any number of actors (both living and dead) fell into the role: Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, George Clooney, Burt Lancaster, Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, and Lee Marvin, to name a few. They each share moments of brutal solemnity in their work, and I love that.

I hope it has some wit and humor though, because as far as originality is concerned... :|

many, many thanks for the links :)

http://www.deadline.com/2013/09/willem-dafoe-joins-keanu-reeves-hitman-thriller-john-wick/

EXCLUSIVE: Keanu Reeves has a new friend and an enemy in John Wick. Two-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe is set play a hitman in the Thunder Road pic. The thriller sees DaFoe's Marcus character hired to take out the Reeves-portrayed title character, who is a former contract killer himself. And Marcus also happens to be a close friend of the Wick character He was the one who encouraged Wick to leave the life after his wife dies. Only later do things turn sour when Marcus gets the job to kill his friend. In the film, Reeves stars as the retired hitman who goes after the guy who stole his car and in the process killed Wick's beloved dog - a present from his late wife. Turns out the thief's dad is a crime boss in New York, who puts a contract out on Wick. Derek Kolstad wrote the script for John Wick. Dafoe recently joined The Fault In Our Stars and also will appear in Scott Cooper's Out Of The Furnace, Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac and Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel. Willem DaFoe is repped by ICM Partners and Circle of Confusion.

http://www.backstage.com/casting/john-wick-13521/sexy-bath-house-girls-41363/

http://upandcomers.net/2013/09/20/assassin-flick-john-wick-adds-adrianne-palicki-and-game-of-thrones-alfie-allen/

http://instagram.com/p/eqfcjUoESf/#

http://instagram.com/p/eqfcjUoESf/#