Steven Soderbergh will turn up in Ireland to shoot Knockout which was specifically written for Dublin and will start a 3 week shoot in and around Dublin and Wicklow next month.
‘Knockout’ tells the story of Mallory Kane, a young, tough, beautiful freelance covert operative, played by Carano. She is hired out by her handler to various global entities to perform jobs which governments can’t authorize and heads of state would rather not know about. For all her looks and youth, Mallory is still the best in her field, and her skills are in constant demand. After a mission to rescue a hostage in Barcelona, Mallory is quickly dispatched on another mission to Dublin. There she partners with another operative, the suave and debonair Paul.
When the operation goes awry and Mallory finds she has been double crossed, she needs to use all of her skills, tricks and abilities to escape an international manhunt, make it back to the United States, protect her family, and exact revenge on those that have betrayed her. Fassbender will be a member of her commando spy unit, and a potential candidate for Kane’s betrayer. McGregor is set to play the owner of the private military company who Mallory works for. The film will also shoot on location in New Mexico, Turkey and Barcelona.
Politicians never miss a beat and our Minister for arts and tourism etc. Martin Cullen said “I am delighted this new international feature will begin shooting in Ireland next month. We welcome international actors Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender and Gina Carano as they begin filming in Dublin and Wicklow. I am also particularly pleased that over 100 film industry jobs will be created for Irish cast and crew. ‘Knockout’ will give a great boost not only to the Irish audiovisual industry but to the Irish economy in general.” Minister Cullen added: “Section 481 is a key element in facilitating film and filmmaking in this country. Our attractiveness as a film location is also built around our home-based expertise and the reputation which we have gained throughout the world in both the technical and acting arenas. I wish all those associated with this important, new Irish Film Board-supported production every success.”
Either way though, fantastic news for the Irish film industry and no doubt we’ll try and sell a few Aran jumpers to the cast and crew! 2010 is gonna be a good year! Where’s my knitting needle!!!!
