THE LAST STAND Cast and Production Update

The new (and first in a very long time) Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle "The Last Stand" has rounded up quite an impressive cast. Besides The Ex-Governator, the modern western/thriller's cast will also include Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland"), Johnny Knoxville ("Jackass"), Eduardo Noriega ("Transsiberian"), Harry Dean Stanton ("Big Love"), Peter Stormare ("Constantine"), Rodrigo Santoro ("300"), Jaimie Alexander ("Thor"), Zach Gilford ("Friday Night Lights") and Luis Guzman ("Carlito's Way"). From the list of actors, it's easy to observe that they have a team of very talented character actors gravitating around Schwarzenegger's hero. Here is the official synopsis :

"Schwarzenegger stars as Sheriff Owens, a man who has resigned himself to a life of fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction after leaving his LAPD post following a bungled operation that left him wracked with failure and defeat after his partner was crippled. After a spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy, the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the hemisphere is hurtling toward the border at 200 mph in a specially outfitted car with a hostage and a fierce army of gang members. He is headed, it turns out, straight for Summerton Junction, where the whole of the U.S. law enforcement will have their last opportunity to make a stand and intercept him before he slips across the border forever. At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately accepts responsibility for one of the most daring face offs in cinema history."

"The Last Stand" is directed by Korean filmmaker Jee-woon Kim, who has earned a solid cult director rep with movies like "I Saw the Devil" and "The Good, The Bad, The Weird". This is his first Hollywood movie and if everything goes well, it won't be his last, either. The first draft of the script was penned by Andrew Knauer and underwent rewrites by Jeffrey Nachmanoff ("The Day After Tomorrow"). Production has begun on the 17th of October in Nevada and New Mexico, with an estimated budget of $30M, which is pretty modest for a Schwarzenegger movie. For example, another violent actioner, the 2004 movie "The Punisher" had a budget of $33M and it did suffer from some underwhelming technical values here and there. The movie is scheduled for release on January 18, 2013. The release date is pretty much outside the busy seasons, which means that the studio is cautious regarding the movie's box-office potential.

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