Saban Films Takes North American Distribution Rights to Simon West's "GUN SHY" Starring Antonio Banderas and Olga Kurylenko

SABAN FILMS TAKES NORTH AMERICAN DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS TO SIMON WEST’S “GUN SHY” STARRING ANTONIO BANDERAS AND OLGA KURYLENKO

LOS ANGELES – June 8, 2017 – Saban Films has acquired North American distribution rights to Simon West’s (The Expendables 2, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) Gun Shy (formerly Salty), starring Golden Globe Nominee Antonio Banderas (The Mask of Zorro, Desperado) and Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace, Oblivion). The action film was written by Toby Davies and Mark Haskell Smith.  West and Jib Polhemus produced under the Simon West Productions banner alongside Harry Stourton.

Adapted from the novel also written by Haskell Smith, Gun Shy follows Turk Henry (Banderas), an aging mid-level rock star whose supermodel wife (Kurylenko) is suddenly kidnapped while they are vacationing in Chile. Accustomed to his superstar lifestyle and lacking basic life-skills, Turk finds himself perplexed in having to navigate the back alleys of Santiago and South American jungles in order to save his wife from the renegades.

“Gun Shy is a supremely entertaining film,” said Saban Films’ Bill Bromiley. “Our audiences will delight in Antonio Banderas’ raucous performance and director Simon West’s unique and wild vision.”

Gun Shy will be released in theatres on September 8th in key cities throughout America and Canada. Ness Saban and Bill Bromiley negotiated the deal on behalf of Saban Films, with London-based Carnaby International handling worldwide rights.

Saban Films continues to be an active buyer following the acquisitions of John Travolta’s Speed Kills and the Ethan Hawke Action/Thriller 24 Hours to Live at the Cannes International Film Festival.

Earlier this year, Saban Films acquired FilmNation’s sci-fi film Kill Switch starring Dan Stevens and Bérénice Marlohe. Saban Films’ slate also includes: Ric Roman Waugh’s Shot Caller starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Lake Bell; John Stockwell’s Armed Response starring Wesley Snipes and Anne Heche; Alexandros Avranas’ True Crime starring Jim Carrey; Small Town Crime starring John Hawkes, Anthony Anderson, and Octavia Spencer; Roland Joffé’s The Forgiven starring Forest Whitaker and Eric Bana, Sean Penn’s The Last Face starring Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem; and Jonathan Mostow’s The Hunter’s Prayer starring Sam Worthington and Odeya Rush.   

About Saban Films
Saban Films, an affiliate of Saban Capital Group (“SCG”), is a film acquisition and distribution company which acquires high-quality, feature films to distribute in North America. Focusing on commercial, talent driven films, the company looks at projects in all stages of production for release across multiple platforms, including a day and date theatrical/VOD release strategy. Based in Los Angeles, Saban Films was established by Haim Saban, SCG Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and is led by Bill Bromiley who serves as president, Shanan Becker, Chief Financial Officer and Ness Saban, Director of Business Development.

Since the company’s launch in 2014, Saban Films has released 23 films.  The 2017 Saban Films slate includes: John Michael McDonagh’s War on Everyone starring Michael Peña, Alexander Skarsgård, Theo James, and Tessa Thompson; Colm McCarthy’s critically acclaimed apocalyptic thriller The Girl with All the Gifts starring Glenn Close, Gemma Arterton and Paddy Considine; Walter Hill’s The Assignment starring Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Anthony LaPaglia; Jonathan Mostow’s The Hunter’s Prayer starring Sam Worthington and Odeya Rush; and Sean Penn’s The Last Face starring Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem.

About Carnaby International Sales and Distribution PLC
Carnaby International Sales and Distribution PLC is an all rights UK distributor and International Sales agent, whilst also offering co-production and financing. Carnaby International PLC was established in 2001 and is dubbed an ‘Indie Giant’.  The company was originally set up with the specific purpose of financing and producing British feature films with 14 feature films and over 800 hours of TV programming - which has sold extensively worldwide - to its credit.  The company's Co-production, Sales and Distribution division is based in London's Soho and run by Sean O’Kelly and Andrew Loveday.  Whilst the Finance and Production Division is based in Essex and headed by Terry and Michael Loveday. The company has raised over $80M in the last 7 years and is continuously looking for commercial projects with strong talent.