Back in October came the news that filmmaker Guy Ritchie and actor Jason Statham would re-team again for a sixth time with the action-thriller “Viva La Madness”.
The film will be based on a novel of the same name by author J.J. Connolly and is a direct sequel to his earlier book “Layer Cake” which became the well-regarded 2004 Daniel Craig-led and Matthew Vaughn-directed crime drama feature.
This film adaptation of ‘Madness’, however, will be a stand-alone and original feature with no ties to any previous adaptation of Connolly’s work.
Now, production on the film has begun around London with the full cast announced. Joining Statham will be returning Ritchie alum Vinnie Jones along with Jason Isaacs (“The White Lotus”), Babs Olusanmokun (“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”), Camila Mendes (“Riverdale”), Ben Foster (“Hell or High Water”), Jonny Lee Miller (“T2: Trainspotting”), and Raúl Alejandro (“La Reina del Flow”).
The 2011 “Viva La Madness” book follows a once-powerful London drug dealer who has been living in exile in the Caribbean and is brought back to London’s underworld for a big score.
Teaming up with a pair of volatile British gangsters, he’s soon entangled in a labyrinth of trans-Atlantic drug deals, electronic fraud, betrayals, and power plays stretching from London to Colombia.
Connolly co-wrote the script with Ritchie, while Statham and Thomas Benski will produce the film. Black Bear will handle U.S. distribution while Amazon MGM Studios is dealing with the international release.
Source: The Playlist
