Black Bear Pictures’ Liam Neeson-Guy Pearce Actioner ‘Memory’ Acquired For U.S. By Briarcliff Entertainment & Open Road For April Theatrical Release – Deadline
By Mike Fleming Jr
Co-Editor-in-Chief, Film
EXCLUSIVE: Briarcliff Entertainment, in partnership with Open Road Films, has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Memory, an action vehicle that stars Liam Neeson and is directed by Martin Campbell. Pic is financed by Teddy Schwarzman’s Black Bear Pictures. This marks the fourth pic for Neeson and Briarcliff/Open Road, following Honest Thief, The Marksman and the upcoming Blacklight. They’ve set a wide U.S. theatrical release on April 29, 2022, per Briarcliff and Open Road’s Tom Ortenberg and Black Bear’s Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler.
In Memory, Neeson plays Alex Lewis, an expert assassin with a reputation for discreet precision. Caught in a moral quagmire, the assassin refuses to complete a job that violates his code and must quickly hunt down and kill the people who hired him before they and FBI agent Vincent Serra (Guy Pearce) find him first. Alex is built for revenge but, with a memory that is beginning to falter, he is forced to question his every action, blurring the line between right and wrong.
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“I can’t say enough good things about Liam,” said Ortenberg. “Now into our seventh collaboration together since The Gray, he continues to deliver iconic, charismatic and high intensity performances that keep theatrical audiences coming back time and time again. With a strong supporting cast including Guy Pearce and Monica Bellucci, and Martin Campbell directing, we look forward to taking moviegoers on another wild ride.”
Black Bear’s Schwarzman and Heimler said they sparked to “partnering with Tom and his team on bringing Memory to audiences in the US. Martin Campbell has delivered yet another gripping and entertaining film with a dynamic performance from Liam at the center, and we are very excited to work with the Open Road/Briarcliff team on bringing this to theaters next year.”
Said Campbell: “I am looking forward to debut this film with our partners at Open Road/Briarcliff, and I can’t wait for audiences to see Liam Neeson’s outstanding performance and the film’s excellent supporting cast. As this year comes to a close, we’re excited to start the new year with a bang, and premiere in theaters for all to enjoy.”
Pic is scripted by Dario Scardapane and produced by Cathy Schulman through her Welle Entertainment banner, along with Moshe Diamant, Rupert Maconick, Michael Heimler and Arthur Sarkissian. Schwarzman, Ben Stillman, Peter Bouckaert, Rudy Durand, James Masciello, Matthew Sidari Tom Ortenberg are the exec producers.
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Neeson is repped by CAA. CAA Media Finance arranged the financing and brokered the deal.
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