“The Fast and the Furious” and “XXX” director Rob Cohen has set his next project, an adaptation of the ’90s cult hit comic series “Razor,” and its follow up, “Stryke.”
Created by writer Everette Hartsoe, “Razor tells the story of Nicole Mitchell, a young woman who loses her father and sister to violent crime and vows to rid her city of crime. Mitchell adopts the superhero name “Razor” (after blades worn on her arms), and confronts the crimelord who killed her family, with unforeseen consequences both earthly and mystical. Introduced in 1992, comics featuring the character Razor have collectively sold over 6 million copies worldwide.
Cohen also wrote the screenplay for “Razor, and is partnering with “The Crow” producer Jeff Most of Most Films to produce.
Number 11 Films is fully financing and handling worldwide sales on the project, with “Razor” set as the first film under a new sales and financing partnership with Lotus Entertainment. The companies will be introducing the project to buyers at the upcoming Marché du Film.
“I have loved ‘Razor’ since its first publication. It has operatic themes, female empowerment, revenge, action, a love story, all shrouded in a delicious darkness that fits our time,” said Cohen.
Most added, “Rob is one of the great visionary action directors of our time. There’s no one better to deliver the visceral and resonant character of ‘Razor’ and her triumphant story of becoming a dark heroine to the big screen.”
In addition to sharing the same producer as “The Crow,” there is a shared history between the “Razor” and “The Crow” characters, and the graphic novelists themselves. Everette Hartsoe and James O’Barr were inspired to create the comics, “Razor” and “The Crow”, respectively, due to the loss of someone dear to them. In James O’Barr’s case, it was the unsolved loss of his fiancé by a hit and run driver that lead to the creation of “The Crow”. With Everette Hartsoe, it was the tragic murder of his younger sister when Everette was 15 years old. To mourn his sister’s death, Everette created, “Razor”, a dangerous young woman who is impervious to pain. “Razor” and “The Crow” appeared in a series of crossover comics that lead to a shared universe and a #1 selling graphic novel, “The Crow/ Razor.” Other producers on “Razor” include Philip Lee (“The Dark Knight,” “The Revenant”), Jim Steele (“The Arrival”) and Sean Lydiard (“Office Uprising”).
Lotus co-chairmen Bill Johnson and Jim Seibel and Keith Wells’ Number 11 Films new sales and financing partnership will look to produce and finance 3-4 films annually with budgets in the $5M-$40M range. Wells is a successful entrepreneur who has launched and exited businesses in several industries and has a strong network of relationships in the finance and investment communities. Executives are taking meetings in Cannes during the Marché du Film.
“I’m excited to be announcing ‘Razor’ as the debut project under this new venture with Lotus. I look forward to this being the first of many projects on which we collaborate in both film and television”, says Wells, the President and Founder of Number 11 Films.
“‘Razor’ is a fast paced, high concept action movie based on a very successful underlying IP and with a director who has proven himself in this genre time and again. We are pleased to be launching this new venture with Number 11 Films with RAZOR and look forward to working together on this and many other projects in the future” stated Jim Seibel co-chairman of Lotus Entertainment.
Best-known for creating and directing the debut films for” The Fast and the Furious” and “XXX” franchises, Cohen’s films have collectively grossed more than $1.4 billion. His other credits include “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story,” and “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” among others. Cohen also created the critically praised comic book series “Red Dog”. He’s repped by WME, and Zero Gravity Management.