Lionsgate Acquires Kick-Ass

Last week it was reported that the Comic-Con presentation of Mark Millar's creator-owned title “Kick-Ass” had generated a ton of interest, and that several studios are all in the running to bid on the picture.

Lionsgate announced that it has acquired U.S. and Canadian distribution rights to “Kick-Ass”, the anticipated action-comedy from writer/director Matthew Vaughn (Stardust). Based on the groundbreaking, best-selling comic by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., “Kick-Ass” stars Nicolas Cage, Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Chloe Moretz. The screenplay is written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman. The producers are Matthew Vaughn, Brad Pitt, Tarquin Pack and Kris Thykier; Millar and Romita Jr. are co-producers.

Jason Constantine, Lionsgate President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions, said:

Matthew Vaughn is an amazing talent and a true original, and he has brought a whole new mindset to the action genre with Kick-Ass. Kick-Ass redefines the boundaries in terms of humor, action, story, character and tone — it's the kind of movie that reminds us of why we go to the movies in the first place. Lionsgate is thrilled to bring Kick-Ass home to give it the next-generation launching pad it deserves.

Matthew Vaughn:

“Making and financing Kick-Ass has been an amazing experience, and we've had two important goals from the start: make a singularly entertaining film and find the right studio to release it. With Lionsgate, I know that I've got a supportive and fearless team behind me. It's going to be fun working together to bring the film to audiences and those who are already fans of the comic book.”

Synopsis: Kick-Ass tells the story of average teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), a comic-book fanboy who decides to take his obsession as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. As any good superhero would, he chooses a new name — Kick-Ass — assembles a suit and mask to wear, and gets to work fighting crime. There's only one problem standing in his way: Kick-Ass has absolutely no superpowers.

His life is forever changed as he inspires a subculture of copy cats, is hunted by assorted violent and unpleasant characters, and meets up with a pair of crazed vigilantes, including an 11-year-old sword-wielding dynamo, Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) and her father, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage).