Hong Kong-based ACT3 and Philippine production company Blackops Studios Asia have set Cuba Gooding Jr., Luke Ford, Keith Duffy and multimedia artist Qymira in “Lotus,” an international action thriller that marks the first production under the companies’ multi-year, five-film slate deal.
The project was introduced to international buyers and distribution partners at the Cannes Film Market. Principal photography is scheduled to run from September through October in Manila, with additional sequences to be shot in Brazil.
Filipino filmmaker Pedring Lopez, founder of Blackops Studios Asia, directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with his longtime producing and writing collaborator Rex Lopez. Pedring Lopez also produces alongside Rex Lopez and Maia Yambao-Lopez. Leslie Loh serves as executive producer for ACT3.
Gooding Jr. (“Jerry Maguire”), Australian actor Ford (“The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” “Animal Kingdom,” “The Black Balloon”) and Irish singer and Boyzone member Duffy headline alongside Qymira, who previously starred in Lopez’s “Shadow Transit.” Also cast are actor-producer Cristian Lavin (“NCIS”) and Brazilian actor Alberto Cowboy, a “Big Brother Brasil” alumnus.
“‘Lotus’ marks my first major project shooting in the Philippines and Southeast Asia,” Gooding Jr. said. “There’s an energy to this project and to Manila that immediately pulled me in. The vision Pedring and the team have for this film is raw, dangerous and global.”
