Production is underway on filmmaker Richard Linklater’s next film “Hitman” in New Orleans, and Retta (“Good Girls”), Molly Bernard (“Younger”) and Austin Amelio (“The Walking Dead”) have been added to the ensemble opposite Glen Powell and Adria Arjona (“Morbius”).
Based on an article in Texas Monthly, the screenplay hails from Linklater and “Top Gun: Maverick” co-star Powell and tells the true story of “the most sought-after hitman in New Orleans, but if you pay him to rub out a cheating spouse or a sadistic boss, you’d better watch out: he works for the cops.”
The official synopsis continues, “When he breaks protocol to help a desperate woman (Arjona) trying to get away from an abusive boyfriend, he finds himself living the life of one of his false personas, falling for the woman and flirting with becoming a criminal himself.”
The production announcement and additional casting were announced by AGC Studios Chariman and CEO Stuart Ford, whose company will co-finance “Hitman” with leading indie financiers Shivani Rawat’s ShivHans Pictures and Monarch Media.
The action comedy is produced by Linklater and Michael Blizzard for Detour Pictures, Michael Costigan and Jason Bateman for Aggregate Films, and Powell for BarnStorm Productions in association with Cinetic Media.
Powell and Linklater – both Texas natives – first worked together on “Everybody Wants Some!!” (in which Amelio also starred), and this marks yet another genre shift for a filmmaker who’s made a career out of being a chameleon. Linklater most recently directed the animated Netflix film “Apollo 11 ½,” which also starred Powell.
Linklater, Powell, and Arjona are repped by CAA; Amelio is repped by UTA; Retta is repped by UTA and Silver Lining Entertainment; and Bernard is repped by APA and D2 Management.
