Christopher Tuffin’s Strong Island has secured worldwide feature film and television rights to the Inspector Blunt crime novel series from the estate of the late Irish author Ken Bruen. His role as a troubled London detective was first played on screen by Jason Statham in the 2011 film Blitz.
Under the agreement, Strong Island will develop a new cycle of Blunt films, starting with adaptations of Bruen’s Caliber and Vixen. British writer and director Tom Edmunds (Dead in a Week) will write and direct both projects. Edmunds recently cranked up Strong Island’s period action thriller The Butler, starring Jean Reno and Tom Hollander, with Molly McCann also on board. The film, set in 1920s London, was produced by Tuffin and is currently in post-production.
Tuffin will be producing a picture of Inspector Blunt through Strong Island. At the same time he is leading a busy program including the completed ‘Alpha’ with Martin Henderson. A remake of John Wayne’s western “Angels and Evil”. “The Last Meal” is headlined by Mads Mikkelsen (“Another Round,” “The Promised Land”) and Boyd Holbrook (“Narcos,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial”). and “Princess” starring Lucy Hale (“Pretty Little Liars,” “The Hating Game”). He’s also producing a remake of “The Others” at Universal.
Tuffin’s previous releases include Canary Black starring Kate Beckinsale (No. 1 on Amazon Prime), Freelance starring John Cena (No. 1 on Hulu, No. 2 on Netflix), and Jennifer Ghana. “Peppermint” (which debuted at No. 2 domestically before reaching No. 1 on Netflix), in which he starred, and “The Sound of Freedom,” which grossed $14 million on its opening day but grossed more than $250 million worldwide.
Joel Gottler represents Bruen’s estate in association with the Philipp Spitzer Agency and will serve as executive producer in conjunction with the late author’s estate. Jere Hausfurter represented Strong Island.
The promotional video for “The Butler” will be screened at 11 a.m. on November 11 at American Film Market at AMC Century City 13 at K5 International Airport. Handling sales.
