Kim Jee-Woon Begins Shooting Schwarzenegger Actioner

Acclaimed S. Korean action-suspense director and screenwriter Kim Jee-woon began shooting The Last Stand, a Lionsgate feature starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. This will be Kim’s first Hollywood project and Schwarzenegger’s first since ending his term as California governor.

Shooting began October 17 in locations across New Mexico and Nevada.

Schwarzenegger stars as Sheriff Owens, a man who has resigned himself to keeping order in the sleepy border town of Sommerton Junction. He bears the emotional scars of a bungled LAPD operation that left his partner crippled. He is thrown back into serious action when a druglord who has made a spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy heads his way at 200 mph with a hostage and a formidable gang of killers.

Other cast members include Zach Gilford, Forest Whitaker, Luis Guzman, Rodrigo Santoro, Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Eduardo Noriega, Peter Stormare and Harry Dean Stanton.

The Kim Jee-Woon production is based on a spec script by Andrew Knauer rewritten by Jeffrey Nachmanoff. The producer is Lorenzo di Bonaventura working through his di Bonaventura Pictures. Lionsgate has domestic and international distribution rights, with the film having pre-sold well in several overseas territories prior to its production.

Kim Jee-woon was born May 27, 1964. He has become recognized as a leading action-suspense director based on visually stylized Korean suspense films like A Tale of Two Sisters, A Bittersweet Life and I Saw the Devil.