XYZ Films and GFC Films to produce, with XYZ co-financing with IPR.VC
Eiza González and Aaron Paul are attached to star in the new sci-fi thriller ASH, directed by Flying Lotus and based on an original screenplay written by Jonni Remmler. Paul and González will replace Tessa Thompson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt who were previously announced. XYZ Films and GFC Films are to produce, with Neill Blomkamp (DISTRICT 9) and Echo Lake onboard as exec producers. XYZ Films is co-financing alongside IPR.VC. Flying Lotus is also set to compose an original score, with production commencing in New Zealand in May.
When a woman (Gonzalez) wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed, she must decide if she can trust the man (Paul) sent to rescue her.
Eiza González will soon be seen in David Benioff and D.B Weiss’s (“Game of Thrones”) series, THREE BODY PROBLEM for Netflix and is currently filming MINISTRY OF AN UNGENTLEMENLY WARFARE directed by Guy Ritchie. Eiza is best known for starring in Edgar Wright’s BABY DRIVER. She can also be seen in J. Blakeson’s I CARE A LOT and AMBULANCE. She can currently be seen in the Apple TV+ series “Extrapolations.”
Paul recently starred in the sci-fi film DUAL, a Sundance official selection also from XYZ Films. He starred in HBO’s “Westworld” and is best known for his iconic role of Jesse in AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” and “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.” He has also been seen in THE PARTS YOU LOSE and TRIPLE 9.
ASH serves as a follow up collaboration between XYZ and GFC, having successfully worked together on NZ Oscar entry THE DEAD LANDS from Toa Fraser, which was presented to the US market by James Cameron and Toa’s next feature 6 DAYS starring Jamie Bell, Mark Strong and Abbie Cornish which was a global hit on Netflix.
Flying Lotus aka Steven Ellison is a genre-bending Grammy Award-winning producer, composer, filmmaker, rapper and founder/owner of Brainfeeder Records. Originally from Los Angeles, California, he has defined an entire creative generation by synthesizing his vast range of musical and narrative visual influences into an expansive yet unmistakable world of sound and imagery. Since 2006, Ellison has released six studio albums to global critical acclaim and composed much of the bumper music heard on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. An alumnus of The Los Angeles Film School, his debut film KUSO premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017, and last year he executive produced and scored the successful Netflix anime series YASUKE, directed by LeSean Thomas (“The Boondocks”) and starring LaKeith Stanfield (Sorry to Bother You, “Atlanta”) based on the real historical figure of a famed Black samurai from 16th century Japan. Most recently Steven wrote, directed and scored a segment for the latest installment of the anthology franchise V/H/S/99. Ellison has worked with celebrated visionaries from David Lynch and Alma Harel, to Hiro Murai, Khalil Joseph and Shinichiro Watanabe, and has been mentored by legendary filmmaker, Terence Malick.
“We are building something fresh and unique with ASH and having Eiza and Aaron in this world just makes it flames. They are absolute magic makers, brave and equally inspiring. All that to say… We ‘bout to kill this shit,” said Flying Lotus.
Matthew Metcalfe and Nate Bolotin stated: “At the helm of the visionary artist Flying Lotus, and now in collaboration with the incredibly talented Eiza González and Aaron Paul, we are excited to embark on this journey to bring the unique world of ASH to life.”
XYZ’s current projects include Berlin competition film BLACKBERRY from director Matt Johnson, SEVEN VEILS starring Amanda Seyfried and directed by Atom Egoyan, Sundance selection RUN RABBIT RUN with Sarah Snook, THE WINTER KILLS with Kiefer Sutherland, DANIELA FOREVER with Henry Golding and THE BLACK KAISER with Mads Mikkelsen. Its current slate also includes Nic Cassavetes’ GOD IS A BULLET starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maika Monroe and Jamie Foxx, NOCEBO directed by Lorcan Finnegan with Eva Green and Mark Strong, and ACCUSED from BAFTA-nominated BOILING POINT director Phillip Barantini. XYZ is in post-production on the Netflix Original HAVOC, directed by Gareth Evans and starring Tom Hardy and Forest Whitaker.
Current titles for GFC Films include A MISTAKE, Christine Jeffs medical drama currently in post-production with Elizabeth Banks in the lead, THE SUBTLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK based on Mark Manson’s global and No.1 New York Times best seller. While previous titles include THE DEAD LANDS (film and TV adaptation), the feature adaptation of Thomas Piketty’s #1 NY Times Bestselling book CAPITAL IN THE 21st CENTURY in partnership with Canal Plus and Studio Canal and MOTHERS OF THE REVOLUTION, produced in conjunction with Universal Pictures and narrated by double Academy Award winner, Glenda Jackson.
Echo Lake Entertainment currently produces “The Great” for Hulu which was nominated for numerous awards in its first two seasons. Season 3 has just been ordered by Hulu. Nominated for two Emmy’s in its 1st season, the series stars Elle Fanning and Nicolaus Hoult. Recent credits include ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES and OXYGEN for Netflix, VAN HELSING for Syfy and THE SECRETS WE KEEP distributed by Bleecker Street.
Gonzalez is repped by CAA, Linden Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein. Paul is repped by UTA and Viewpoint.
About XYZ Films:
XYZ Films is an independent studio whose mission is to empower visionary storytellers from every corner of the planet. As a producer, financier and distributor, the company is uniquely suited to identify talented filmmakers and bring their stories to life. XYZ recently expanded into talent management, working with a global roster of
filmmakers. XYZ was founded in 2008 by Nate Bolotin, Nick Spicer, and Aram Tertzakian. The company’s titles include THE RAID franchise, 2017 Sundance winner I DON’T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE, and Panos Cosmatos’ psychedelic revenge thriller MANDY.
About GFC Films:
GFC Films is an Auckland based production company responsible for some twenty-five feature films and drama series.
The company’s titles include classics such as DEAN SPANLEY, THE DEAD LANDS franchise and adaptations of global best-sellers such as CAPITAL IN THE 21st CENTURY and THE SUBLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK.
GFC Films is headed by producer Matthew Metcalfe.
About Really Happening Management:
Really Happening Management, is an Artist Management company, representing a roster of internationally distinguished Artists who have worked with Flying Lotus since 2007. Founded by Dominic Smith and Alison Theophilus with offices in Los Angeles and London, Really Happening’s aim is to enable the work of truly independent artists to achieve global success. Their clients have performed to hundreds of thousands of people around the world, received three Grammy wins, seven nominations, and have been streamed over 2 billion times.
About Echo Lake Entertainment
Echo Lake Entertainment, founded by CEO Doug Mankoff in 1998, is a management, production and finance company based in Beverly Hills, California. The company has produced and financed over forty films, earning 8 Academy Award® nominations and 1 Academy Award® win. Echo Lake’s management division represents established and emerging actors, writers, IP creators and directors from all over the world and is led by former MGM chief Mike Marcus.
