Movie News


NINJA ASSASSIN Begins Production for McTeigue

By: Jarrod Sarafin
Date: Friday, May 30, 2008
Source: Warner Bros. Press Release

The team behind V for Vendetta are back in action and one has to wonder if the Wachowski brothers will have better luck as producers this time around than they did as directors for Speed Racer, the lowest cash producing film of May. Warner Bros. has sent out a press release stating that director James McTeigue is once again behind the camera as their martial arts extravaganza Ninja Assassin officially begins production in Berlin. See below...

Filming is underway on Ninja Assassin, being directed by James McTeigue (V For Vendetta) from a screenplay by Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski. Joel Silver, Grant Hill, Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski are producing, with Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni and William Fay serving as executive producers.

Ninja Assassin stars Korean pop star Rain (Speed Racer) as the central character, Raizo; Naomie Harris (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End) as Europol researcher Mika Coretti; Ben Miles (V For Vendetta) as Europol Agent Ryan Maslow; legendary martial arts performer Sho Kosugi (Revenge of the Ninja) as the ruthless leader of the Ozunu Clan; and Rick Yune (Die Another Day) as Raizo's rival, Takeshi.

Principal photography is taking place at Babelsberg Studios and on location in various parts of Berlin.

Ninja Assassin follows Raizo (Rain), one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. But haunted by the merciless execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free from them... and vanishes. Now he waits, preparing to exact his revenge.


In Berlin, Europol agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) has stumbled upon a money trail linking several political murders to an underground network of untraceable assassins from the Far East. Defying the orders of her superior, Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles), Mika digs into top secret agency files to learn the truth behind the murders. Her investigation makes her a target, and the Ozunu Clan sends a team of killers, led by the lethal Takeshi (Rick Yune), to silence her forever. Raizo saves Mika from her attackers, but he knows that the Clan will not rest until they are both eliminated. Now, entangled in a deadly game of cat and mouse through the streets of Europe, Raizo and Mika must trust one another if they hope to survive…and finally bring down the elusive Ozunu Clan.

The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Karl Walter Lindenlaub, production designer Graham "Grace" Walker, costume designer Carlo Poggioli and editor Giancarlo Ganziano. The Wachowski brothers’ longtime stunt coordinators Chad Stahelski and David Leitch are also on board as second unit co-directors.

Ninja Assassin is a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation in association with Legendary Pictures and Dark Castle Entertainment.


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Comments/Responses
1 2 > >>
ponyboy76 • May 30, 2008, 06:03am •
Sho Kosugi? Dude! I'll go check this out just to see him. I used to love all those 80`s ninja movies he was in. There was that one where he had to go after a ninja spirit in some hot chick. Whatever it was called, he was bad ass. I didn't even know he was still alive.

Rick440 • May 30, 2008, 06:12am •
I Like V alot, I hope James McTeigue spends the Wachowskis money but hold the reigns more tightly than they did on Speed, I still think Speed will be abetter view on DVD, just for the ability to slow things down for my ever aging eyes to get it all in... I think they should of release it around the Holidays... the colors looked like a xmas tree on fire half the time.

css1022 • May 30, 2008, 06:32am •
Sho Kosugi and written by JMS??!! Yeah you have my attention.

monkeyfoot • May 30, 2008, 06:57am •
"Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan"

Oh wow, it's my life story!

goatartist • May 30, 2008, 07:02am •
I am a ninja.

fft5305 • May 30, 2008, 10:06am •
Joe Straczynski is the shit and V was pretty incredible. The rest sounds fairly routine, but really... who doesn't like ninjas? I'll probably check it out.

TheStormrider • May 30, 2008, 11:03am •
was that one where he had to go after a ninja spirit in some hot chick.

As ashamed as i am, it was like 'Ninja 3: The domination'.

Thats the one where he died, and prayed, and sent his spirit in the short haired blond, and the other dude tracked him down the whole movie.

I loved those.

I think it should be said now. Why not 'The last dragon?' Would it be a hit? SHO NUFF!

almostunbiased • May 30, 2008, 02:53pm •
I'll check this out. Love Ninjas.

gutsmgee • May 30, 2008, 04:31pm •
WOW....Blast from the past!!!! I'm 34 now. When I was 16 I spent a summer at my sisters a few states away. She had a VCR and a two videotapes of some copied movies ( I believe they call that piracy today...blahhh) One of the tapes had "Ninja 3: The Domination" and "The Last Dragon" on it. I swear I watched ALL of the movies on the tapes about 1 billion times. Man, I love both of those flicks. Yes I know they are crappy, campy, foolishness, but The stormrider is right....Although it's not ninja related, one of the other flicks I saw that summer there was Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.....I'm just wondering if the Adventure will ever Continue or at least in this day and age....get remade?

velgron • May 30, 2008, 05:00pm •
Yeah! Ninja 3 has the chick from the breakdance movie "Breakin". We used to re-enact those two movies in a long long ago summer. Those are real 80's classics.

Rain was ok in Speed Racer (yes I saw it with my kids, don't judge me!!!). I would not mind seeing more of him.

PS... I Loved V for vendetta (I said don't judge me!!!) ;p

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