EXCLUSIVE: Neon is gearing up to begin production on Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo in May, with Takashi Miike (Audition, 13 Assassins) set to direct. The thriller will star Shun Oguri (Godzilla v. Kong, No Longer Human) and Lily James (Pam and Tommy, Yesterday), and WWE star Liv Morgan (Gionna Daddio).
The film will be a US-Japan co-production, produced by Jeremy Thomas for Recorded Picture Company, Sam Pressman for Pressman Film, Naoaki Kitajima for Nippon TV, and Misako Saka for OLM. Executive producers include Tom Quinn, Yuzo Kuwahara, Tetsu Fujimura, Paula Paizes, Alainée Kent, Peter Watson, Ivan Kelava, Max Loeb, and Mike Apgar. Neon International will launch foreign sales at the Cannes Film Festival.
Written by Daisuke Tengan (Audition, 13 Assassins) and based on the IP first produced by Edward R. Pressman, Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo will follow the Bad Lieutenant (Oguri), a corrupt gambler in the Metropolitan Police Force, who finds himself thrown into a tangled case after an enigmatic FBI agent (James) arrives in Tokyo to investigate the disappearance of a politician’s daughter (Morgan). Meanwhile, a deviant killer operating in the yakuza underworld seems to be shadowing their moves.
Neon is coming in hot following a successful award season with Sean Baker’s Anora starring Mikey Madison, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Darya Ekamasova, and Aleksei Serebryakov. The film received 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Baker and Best Actress for Madison.
Additional Neon titles headed to the French film festival include Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, Julia Ducournau’s Alpha, Raoul Peck’s Orwell, and Michael Angelo Covino’s Splitsville.