Release Date Set for Sylvester Stallone Action Movie Bullet to the Head
Posted 08.25.11 by Ryan
Over the past five years, Sylvester Stallone has taken charge of his movies by writing, directing and starring, but for his next movie, the action flick Bullet to the Head (formerly referred to as Headshot), Stallone will take a break from multi-tasking and play a New Orleans hitman who partners with a New York cop to get revenge on the men that killed their respective partners.
Walter Hill (48 Hours, Warriors) is directing the movie, which was adapted from the French graphic novel Du plomb dans la tête (or, Bullet to the Head) by screenwriter Alessandro Camon (The Messenger). Production on Bullet to the Head began in late June, and will require a quick post-production schedule to make the April 13, 2012, release date Warner Bros. has just set for the movie.
Partnering with Stallone for Bullet to the Head is Fast Five actor Sung Kang, who was cast as the New York cop in July, replacing Thomas Jane. In late June, Jane explained his departure from the movie to Collider.
Well, [producer] Joel Silver came onboard the project and said that he has a quote-unquote "formula" for these quote-unquote "buddy movies" and it has to be a white guy and a quote-unquote "ethnic guy." And they relieved me of duty and basically paid me off, which I was really upset about, you know? I didn’t get a call from Stallone. I was a little upset about that. Maybe they didn’t want anybody on the movie with a bigger d**k than him.
While losing a job would make anyone bitter, in the interest of fairness we should point out that Silver's most recent "buddy movies" are the upcoming Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and its predecessor, Sherlock Holmes. Perhaps the latter excuse had more to do with it.
As for the rest of the cast, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) is set to play the movie's villain, with Jason Momoa (Conan the Barbarian, HBO's Game of Thrones) another villainous role. Holt McCallany (The Losers) is playing Kang's dirty cop partner, while Christian Slater (Heathers) is playing a local handler and middleman. Sarah Shahi was cast in June as Stallone's daughter.