AFM: Millennium Boss on Casting ‘Expendables 4’ and Small-Screen Plans (‘Rambo’ TV?)

An ever-present market flagbearer (a flag perhaps clutched by a bruised and bloodied hand), action film overlord Millennium Media appears to have emerged from the coronavirus pandemic even more battle-hardened than usual.

The indie studio may have seen a Milli Vanilli biopic with Brett Ratner go up in smoke earlier this year, but the wheels are now firmly spinning on another long-gestating project, sword and sorcery feature Red Sonja, now with Joey Soloway at the helm (they replaced Bryan Singer), Hannah John Kamen in the lead role and a shoot planned for spring 2022.

Then there’s arguably the biggest product in Millennium’s arsenal, The Expendables. A fourth installment – coming some seven years after the third — is now in production, boasting a typical oversized ensemble of stars. This time, joining returnees Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Sylvester Stallone in the brawl are Megan Fox, 50 Cent, Scott Waugh and Tony Jaa.

Juggling both major titles and smaller-budget action offerings at this year’s virtual AFM, while quieter than usual, Millennium launched Wanted Man, which Lundgren is set to star in and direct.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Millennium president Jeffrey Greenstein discusses how the company’s Nu Boyana facility in Bulgaria came to its aid during the pandemic, the struggles of scheduling Expendables 4’s heady lineup of stars as casting becomes more complex and why we might soon see its biggest franchises — including Rambo, Has Fallen and Hellboy — on TV.

How is Millennium looking coming out of the pandemic? Are you back to pre-COVID levels of production?

I wouldn’t say we’re back to pre-COVID levels. But The Expendables is the sixth film that we’ve been shooting since the pandemic. But we’re ramping up for next year. If I can achieve what I want to, I’m going to do six films between now and May 2022. Obviously, a lot of things need to fall in place, and we still need to monitor the COVID situation. But using our studios and our COVID protocols, my hope is, we’ll be able to achieve it.

Has anything changed for your business given what happened over the last 18 months?

The biggest thing that has changed for us is that we’ve really learned how to live with this virus. And we’ve learned how to conduct our business safely — we have rigid protocols that keep everything as locked down as possible. And the other thing is our new output deal with Screen Media. There’s now an appetite for these smaller, premium content films that we’ll be making. So that gives us the opportunity to make more of them, films such as The Outpost, Blackbird and now Til Death with Megan Fox. Til Death and Barracuda and The Piper, that we just shot, were all products of having to make smaller films during COVID. And it turns out that that’s become a really good business.

How much did having your own studio, the Nu Boyana facility in Bulgaria, help you out when production ground to a halt around the world?

It was the single most important thing that we had in our arsenal. We worked very hard with the various ministries in Bulgaria to get clearance for non-EU members and those who normally wouldn’t be able to enter the EU to get in and to shoot right. At the very beginning we had to instill a three-day quarantine and rigid testing procedures to allow people to commence work. Getting that up and running was huge and they have done, I believe, over 12 films in total there at the studio, probably more.

So you’re still hiring it out as a facility and not just using it for your own films?

Correct. That studio is constantly jamming with or without us. We also have the problem of scheduling because there’s so much going on there. We’ve got Disney there, Legendary there, Lionsgate did two movies there.

This year, with films like The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard and Rambo: Last Blood, you had a couple of major franchise titles that didn’t perform as well as might have been expected. Is this a sign of a changing industry and has it changed how you approach these bigger titles?

The theatrical game is always a challenge. It’s always subject to dating and competition and timing. I remember when we released Olympus Has Fallen there was a hurricane that knocked out I think 300 screens for us. So, it’s always a factor of timing, and I think timing did impact us. We were one of the earlier ones out of the gates theatrically. But I have seen that The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard has performed top of the charts across all digital platforms, so I’m eager to see those numbers and see what this maturing, changing industry looks like. But my hope and confidence in theatrical is still high. I think the bigger issue is the divide of what makes a movie theatrical and that certainly is growing.

You’ve amassed another fairly ridiculous ensemble cast for Expendables 4. How difficult was it to secure this?

It really was a scheduling nightmare. Because everyone has something and there are pre-existing commitments and family things that they’d like to attend and we have a legit pop star who has engagements planned and Megan Fox who is a big star and personality. So really we had to plan around every little thing for every single person to make it work. But we did it. And it’s been worthwhile. And we’ve got a great cast that we can really bank on, but one that’s really fun and also really diverse and unique. So it’s very exciting.

On the subject of casting, given the bottleneck of productions and studios and streamers trying to tie big names into exclusive deals, does that make the job a lot more difficult when it comes to booking stars?

It certainly doesn’t make it easier. The finite pool of talent is a challenge. But from my perspective we’re in need of some newer, younger action stars. And I would like to help build those stars. So we’re willing to take risks with newer talent.

Speaking of new talent, you’ve got Hannah John-Kamen playing Red Sonja. She’s obviously been in some big films, but not in a major lead role. How did that casting come about?

It was an incoming call from a good friend. We met Hannah and jumped at the opportunity.

Are you lining this up to be a potential franchise?

That’s the idea. I think the story is really compelling. Joey Soloway set a really beautiful story about the divided feminine, a coming-of-age story of someone who comes from nothing, from Mother Nature, into a world that is so man-made. And it’s about how she rises up to become a leader, and I think it’s a beautiful story that, set up properly, will lend itself to a franchise.

Many of your fellow production companies have moved heavily into TV over the last few years, whereas Millennium has stayed pretty firmly in the film business. Is there a reason for that, or is it something that might change?

Our focus has always been on feature film, we do have a slate of TV that we’re developing. But my plan is to focus on our IP within the TV space and build out Has Fallen TV, Rambo TV, Expendables TV. We’re playing around with Hellboy TV. So there are lots of opportunities, but I really want to launch something IP-driven first before we start developing original content. But we also have Undisputed television, from the MMA action franchise, which we’re working on launching soon and would like to shoot next year.