Though they’re distributed through Lionsgate, “The Expendables” films have been produced through Millennium Films, the closest modern equivalent to The Cannon Group. In an unintentional nod to that company’s B-movie history, Sylvester Stallone has once again decided to tap someone else to direct the third “The Expendables” film. And while he went with a veteran choice last time out in Simon West, this time he’s going with someone you probably never heard of.
Yesterday Stallone tweeted that the new director — oh, the times we live in — is none other than…Patrick Hughes. We’ll forgive you if that name means nothing to you, we had to rack our brains to figure out who he was too. Way back in 2010, Hughes’ directorial debut, the neo-western “Red Hill,” premiered at the Berlin Film Festival to mixed reviews but gained a bit of a following at some genre festivals due to its impressive visual flair and violence (though we didn’t particularly care for it).
It’s nice that Stallone has chosen an up-and-comer, but isn’t there someone more attuned to the material at hand? Couldn’t Stallone have thrown Walter Hill another bone? Nothing is final just yet as Hughes still has to get the approval of various executives involved, but with Sly in his corner, that likely won’t be a problem. Check out the trailer for “Red Hill” below. [THR]
