How Legion M Invested in Mandy
Today, Legion M is proud to announce our involvement in Mandy, the first project in our Legion Midnight series (read more about Legion Midnight).
SYNOPSIS
Mandy, co-written and directed by Panos Cosmatos (Beyond the Black Rainbow), is a revenge thriller staring Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage. The official IMDB synopsis:
Mandy is set in the primal wilderness of 1983 where Red Miller, a broken and haunted man hunts an unhinged religious sect who murdered the love of his life.
In addition to Cage, Mandy stars Andrea Riseborough (Birdman, Black Mirror), Linus Roache (Homeland, Vikings, Batman Begins), Ned Dennehy (Good Omens, Peaky Blinders), Olwen Fouéré (Striking Out, Space Truckers), Richard Brake (Game of Thrones, Kingsmen: The Secret Service), Bill Duke (Predator, Commando, X-Men: The Last Stand) and Sam Louwyk.
The score for the film is being created by two time Academy Award nominee Jóhann Jóhannsson (Prisoners, Theory of Everything, Sicario, and Arrival)
The film is being produced by Daniel Noah, Josh C. Waller and Elijah Wood for SpectreVision, Nate Bolotin for XYZ Films, and Adrian Politowski for Umedia, and is being executive produced by Nick Spicer, Lisa Whalen, Todd Brown, Maxime Cottray, Martin Metz, Peter Bevan, Christopher Figg, and Robert Whitehouse.
LEGION M'S ROLE
The producers at SpectreVision (Lisa Whalen, Daniel Noah, Josh C. Waller, and Elijah Wood) have been friends and allies of Legion M since day one, and we've been searching for the right project to work on. For Mandy, Legion M has invested in both the film and Jóhann Jóhannsson's heavy metal soundtrack. It's a production stage investment (meaning that we haven't seen the film, as it's not yet complete), but we have had the opportunity to see some of the footage.
WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT THIS PROJECT
First off, how can you not be excited about Nic Cage starring in a quintessential Nic Cage movie? A good man is wronged, and spends a movie exacting his revenge. We could probably just stop there, but there are a few other reasons that make this Legion M material.
THE DIRECTOR
At Legion M, we love the idea of supporting up-and-coming directors. With Panos Cosmatos, we have a young director with a storied past (he's the son of George P. Cosmatos who directed a string of 80's and 90's hits including Tombstone, Cobra, and Rambo First Blood Pt II) and more importantly, an exciting future. Panos's first film, Beyond the Black Rainbow, showcases his uniquely singular visual style. Whether you love that film or hate it, you can't help but walk away with an appreciation of Panos' artistry. Spectrevision's Daniel Noah puts it best:
“Panos is one of the most vital young filmmakers alive, a pop-culture Kubrick in the making. Nicolas Cage is a veritable god to those of us who grew up watching his classic performances. Bringing these two together for this surrealist, heavy-metal-soaked story of battle axes and demon bikers is unfathomably exciting to us.”
THE SCORE
But wait, there's more!! Music plays an integral role in Mandy--a film that could easily be described as a "heavy metal fantasy (or nightmare)". With Jóhann Jóhannsson, we're teaming up with one of the hottest composers of the last decade to create a driving soundtrack to power the film. The matchup of Panos' spectacular visuals and Jóhannsson's thundering score has us salivating in our seats, and we're hoping it will be be the recipe for something truly extraordinary.
THE TEAM
As mentioned above, Lisa, Daniel, Josh, and Elijah from SpectreVision have been supportive of Legion M from the start. They truly understand the power of what a fan-owned company represents, and have been great allies. On top of that they are good people--the type that we believe represent the best of Hollywood, and exactly the sort of people that we want to be in business with.
From an investment standpoint, our deal for Mandy has good upside with little downside risk, with a return that is diversified across two revenue streams (film and soundtrack).
Bottom line--while we haven't seen the film yet, we believe it's got all the ingredients for something truly sensational. The dark and violent nature of the movie means that it won't be for everyone, but our hope is that this movie's story, soundtrack and aesthetic will resonate with passionate fans and become a Legion Midnight classic.