American Film Market Dailies

KEANU REEVES TO STAR IN FUTURISTIC THRILLER REPLICAS FOR LOTUS ENTERTAINMENT AND DI BONAVENTURA PICTURES

Tanya Wexler to Direct with Lotus Handling International Sales Starting at the American Film Market

Lotus Entertainment and di Bonaventura Pictures announced today Keanu Reeves will star in REPLICAS from director Tanya Wexler, the follow-up to her successful hit (HYSTERIA). From a screenplay by Chad St. John, REPLICAS is produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura (GI JOE, TRANSFORMERS Franchises), Stephen Hamel, Reeves, and Fundamental Films. Company Films’ partners Hamel and Reeves developed the script based on Hamel’s treatment. Lotus will introduce the sci-fi thriller to foreign buyers starting at the upcoming AFM. CAA is handling domestic rights. 

After a car accident kills his loving family, a daring neuroscientist will stop at nothing to bring them back, even if it means pitting himself against a government-controlled laboratory, a police task force, and the physical laws of science themselves. Production is slated for spring 2015. 

No stranger to sci-fi action films, Reeves is possibly best known for his role as “Neo” in the wildly popular THE MATRIX TRILOGY. Reeves highly anticipated action film JOHN WICK opened this month.

Lotus Entertainment’s Bill Johnson and Jim Seibel said, “We loved the notion of taking the 'how far will a man go to save his family' story hook and then adding a high concept sci-fi twist. Keanu has obviously had a lot of success in the sci-fi genre and we are excited to have him anchoring a story which we believe will have great appeal to audiences across the globe.”

Di Bonaventura commented, “From my experience working with Keanu on THE MATRIX franchise through our collaboration on CONSTANTINE, I have always been impressed by Keanu’s ability to bring a genuine level of humanity to the sci-fi genre through his performance.  I am looking forward to collaborating with Keanu once again on this unique take on what lengths a person will go to alter the past, and the implications of those actions.” 

Director Wexler said, “I jumped at the opportunity to work with Keanu, Stephen, and Lorenzo.   I love near-future sci-fi and have always been drawn to stories about scientists on the cutting edge of technology whether that’s three years from now or 130 years ago.  These are the mavericks that change our lives.  This is a story about one who goes to extremes with his own family and is forced to confront that question--how far is too far?”

Lotus Entertainment’s current film slate includes: Luis Prieto’s KIDNAP starring Halle Berry; Tom Tykwer's A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING starring two-time Academy Award® Winner Tom Hanks; Scott Hicks' FALLEN based on the best-selling YA novel; Henry Hobson's MAGGIE starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Abigail Breslin, acquired by Lionsgate for North America; and Craig Zobel's Z FOR ZACHARIAH with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine.

Reeves is represented by CAA.  

About Lotus Entertainment

Lotus Entertainment is an international sales, production and financing company led by industry veterans Jim Seibel and Bill Johnson. They have arranged production financing on an expansive body of work over the past 10 years.  With a focus on commercially viable star and concept driven projects and an experienced management team, Lotus is a top destination for first-class feature films offering additional services such as packaging, development, marketing, publicity and delivery.