Prisoners of the Ghostland to film in Japan

Japanese director Sion Sono’s English-language debut, starring Hollywood veteran, Cage, is set to commence principle photography in Japan this month.

The horror-action project was due to shoot in the Spring, but Sono suffered from a heart attack, and so it was delayed until this month.

Prisoners of the Ghostland will tell the story of a criminal (Cage) dispatched to rescue a kidnapped girl (Sofia Boutella) who has fallen into a dark alternative universe known as the Ghostland. Other cast members include Imogen Poots (Black Christmas) and Ed Skrein (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil).

Laura Rister of Untitled Entertainment is producing with Michael Mendelsohn of Patriot Pictures and Union Patriot Capital Management, which is fully-financing. Other producers include Ko Mori for Eleven Arts studios, Reza Sixo Safai, and Nate Bolotin for XYZ Films.

Aaron Hendry and Safai wrote the screenplay. Sono’s credits include Love Exposure, Tokyo Vampire Hotel, and The Land Of Hope.

XYZ Films also has the thriller, Gilded Rage, starring Christoph Waltz and Bill Skarskard, on its slate. The project is based on an article in Vanity Fair about the brutal murder of Manhattan hedge fund magnate Thomas Gilbert Sr by his son Tommy, Shooting is due to commence next Spring.