Lionsgate's 'Now You See Me: Now You Don't' Brings Some of Its Movie Magic to Abu Dhabi in Collaboration with Abu Dhabi's Creative Media Authority, Abu Dhabi Film Commission and Miral Destinations
ABU DHABI, UAE, April 24, 2025 /CNW/ -- Abu Dhabi residents might have captured an exciting glimpse of several scenes from Lionsgate's highly anticipated movie Now You See Me: Now You Don't, which wrapped an action-packed 13-day shoot across iconic locations in the capital.
The star-studded cast of the film, including Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt, with Rosamund Pike, and Morgan Freeman, brought their magic to life across Yas Island and other Abu Dhabi landmarks, including breathtaking locations like Louvre Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed Bridge, and the stunning Liwa desert. When the film hits screens later this year, fans will recognise landmarks including CLYMB and Ferrari World Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, Yas Marina Circuit, W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island, and several Abu Dhabi streets, where thrilling scenes and stunts have been filmed.
With the assistance of 175 local crew including the team at Epic Films, six UAE based aspiring filmmakers secured internships on set through the talent development arm of the CMA, creative lab. These interns were exposed to on-set learning experiences and were able to apply their creative lab training, whilst seeing how an anticipated international blockbuster shoots on location.
Matt Leonetti, president, physical production for the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said:"The Now You See Me films have always taken audiences on global adventures, and this film is no exception. Abu Dhabi's iconic locations and incredible people will be part of what makes this film so enjoyable and memorable for worldwide audiences."
Mohamed Dobay, Acting General Director of Creative Media Authority, said:"We are thrilled to have been a key filming location for the Now You See Me: Now You Don't, seamlessly facilitating and wrapping yet another international Hollywood production in just 13 days across multiple iconic locations. The Lionsgate team benefited not only from Abu Dhabi Film Commission's financial rebate offering, but also from the support of our key partners, Miral Destinations, facilitating key filming locations and last but not least the expertise of our local crew, led by Epic Films. The involvement of 175 skilled local crew members and six enthusiastic young talents from our community further highlights the growing strength of Abu Dhabi's film industry. We eagerly anticipate the release this November, when audiences will see some of Abu Dhabi's most iconic locations come to life on screen."
Liam Findlay, CEO, Miral Destinations, which manages several of the production locales, said:"At Miral Destinations, we are proud to collaborate with global productions like Lionsgate's next Now You See Me film, further establishing Yas Island as a premier destination for world-class entertainment and leisure. This accomplishment reflects the seamless cooperation with ADFC and key Abu Dhabi stakeholders, providing unrivalled access to iconic locations on Yas Island and Saadiyat Island. Building on the success of previous international projects, as well as our high-profile Yas Island campaigns featuring A-list ambassadors such as Kevin Hart, Jason Momoa, and Ryan Reynolds, we remain committed to creating unforgettable experiences for both visitors and production partners."
Set for release this November, the heist thriller film benefits from Abu Dhabi Film Commission's leading support including a cashback rebate and multi-layered logistical advice. Ruben Fleischer, the superstar director of the blockbuster hits Zombieland, Venom, and Uncharted, takes the helm. The film's screenplay's is by Seth Grahame-Smith and Michael Lesslie and Paul Wernick & Rhett Reese, with a story by Eric Warren Singer, based on characters created by Boaz Yakin & Edward Ricourt. The film is produced by Bobby Cohen, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci.
Now You See Me: Now You Don't is among more than 180 major productions that have used Abu Dhabi as a location in recent years, benefiting from the diversity of its locations, pool of talented professionals, award-winning facilities and generous 35%++ cashback rebate. Alongside hotly anticipated future releases like F1, the major productions include Hollywood hits such as Dune, Dune: Part Two, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Netflix's 6 Underground and War Machine as well as franchises Mission: Impossible, Star Wars and Fast and Furious.
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Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Toronto Sun
REVIEW: Something ‘Wick'-ish this way comes in 'Ballerina'
Published Jun 04, 2025 • Last updated 5 minutes ago • 3 minute read Ana de Armas as Eve in "Ballerina." Photo by Lionsgate Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. You probably already know where you stand on the John Wick action movies. Either you think they're dazzling displays of state-of-the-art fight choreography and darkly detailed world-building or they're deplorable wallows in gun fetishism and ultraviolence – the apex of R-rated commercial entertainment or the nadir of a culture that's been numbed by video game carnage and can only cheer on the cleverness of the kill. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account This being America, of course, they're both. 'Ballerina' – technically titled 'From the World of John Wick: Ballerina' – is more and less of the same, a spinoff that stars Ana de Armas ('Knives Out,' 'Blonde,' 'No Time to Die') as Eve Macarro, a dancer/killer in the secretive Ruska Roma school for assassins. The character turned up briefly in the third John Wick film played by Unity Phelan, a ballet dancer who has since been unceremoniously jettisoned for lacking the necessary star power and oomph. Here the character has been reenvisioned as a wide-eyed yet steel-nerved dispenser of mayhem and vengeance. An opening scene sees little Eve (Victoria Comte) traumatized by the death of her father (David Castañeda) at the hands of a secretive cult led by the Chancellor (a sepulchral Gabriel Byrne) and vowing revenge as she rises in the Ruska Roma ranks. Her mentors include the school's Director (Anjelica Huston, doling out the ham with the finesse of a third-generation pro) and Winston (Ian McShane), the proprietor of the New York Continental Hotel for Hit Men and Ladies and a welcome holdover from the canonical films. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. How's de Armas? She handles the stunts with skill and enthusiasm, the acting chores less notably. (In her defence, Shay Hatten's script is strictly functional, with all the best lines given to the colourful array of supporting characters.) Besides the baroque action scenes and the franchise's vision of a global steampunk bureaucracy of evil, the main asset of the John Wick movies has always been Wick himself, as played by Keanu Reeves with a Zen exhaustion that's a rare and mighty thing. De Armas simply doesn't have a purchase on the cultural affection that Reeves has built over four decades of stardom, and that lack keeps 'Ballerina' firmly in the minor leagues for about two-thirds of its running time. At a certain point, however, two things happen. One is a special guest appearance that reenergizes the film, and the other is director Len Wiseman's unexpected commitment to slapstick humour. Maybe call it slap-death. We've had a taste in a midmovie sequence in which Eve is beating on a fellow assassin with a TV remote, causing a nearby screen to flicker on with clips of the Three Stooges, 'Airplane!' and Buster Keaton. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Later, there's a marvellous game of dinnerware three-card monte with a gun hidden somewhere beneath a pile of fallen plates. The many, many disposable extras are dispatched with a grim merriment you will find either to your liking – the audience at my screening hooted in approval – or actively depressing, and even a doubter may have to admit that the creative gymnastics with which people here get shot, stabbed, blown up, impaled, garroted, dismembered or finished off with an ice skate to the head are impressive and often enlivening, like a Bob Fosse dance routine with gallons of fake blood. (A scene in which Eve visits a munitions specialist is standard gun porn, though, and notably dull until someone has the bright idea to open a case of grenades.) This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Likewise, the series's vision of an underworld bound by arcane pacts of honour and maintained via dusty pneumatic tubes and CRT terminals from the 1970s would be pompous if it weren't so engagingly silly. All those rules about who gets to kill whom and when and how! I thought the whole point of being a villain was that you didn't have to follow rules. 'Ballerina' takes this bizarro-world civic mindset to a logical extreme in a bravura third act set in a Czech mountain village, where every last inhabitant down to the schoolchildren is a professional assassin and where ordering a cafe latte is an invitation to a knife fight. It's lunatic and just slightly too close to home in these fraught and fractured days. The world of 'Ballerina' is one where everybody knows your name – and it's written on every bullet. – – – Ty Burr is the author of the movie recommendation newsletter Ty Burr's Watch List at – – – Three stars. Rated R. At area theatres. Contains strong/bloody violence throughout and language. 125 minutes. Rating guide: Four stars masterpiece, three stars very good, two stars OK, one star poor, no stars waste of time. Celebrity Columnists Toronto & GTA Canada Canada
Toronto Sun
01-05-2025
- Toronto Sun
After 'The Idol,' The Weeknd's new movie 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' brought 'joy back into filmmaking'
Published May 01, 2025 • 4 minute read This image released by Lionsgate shows Barry Keoghan as Lee, left, and Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye as Abel in a scene from "Hurry Up Tomorrow." Photo by Andrew Cooper/Lionsgate via A / AP Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. LAS VEGAS — Abel Tesfaye has always known he wanted to pursue a career in cinema. He sees his meteoric rise to fame as one of today's biggest pop superstars under the moniker The Weeknd as a detour to make that happen. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Nearly two years after he made his acting debut with HBO's 'The Idol,' which he co-created with Sam Levinson, Tesfaye said his latest experimental musical film which also stars Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan 'brought the joy back into filmmaking.' 'Hurry Up Tomorrow,' a Lionsgate release hitting theatres May 16, is a kind of companion piece to the final album of the same name released earlier this year in the artist's record-breaking trilogy. Along with director Trey Edward Shults, Tesfaye, 35, spoke with The Associated Press about retiring The Weeknd, losing his voice onstage in 2022 and lessons learned from making 'The Idol.' The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. AP: How has cinema and long-form storytelling through film influenced you as an artist? TESFAYE: Cinema, for me, it's always been my number one passion. And then I happened to sing and make music and it kind of felt like a little detour, a little cheat code to kind of get into this. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. I always wanted to make movies and I always want to make music with movies. You always kind of hear and see the DNA of cinema in my albums and my music videos, my performances and my stage. So it's always just been a part of me. AP: You come in with this very vulnerable, personal project, and you enlist Trey to make it. How did you guys navigate that and why did you trust him? TESFAYE: Well, first and foremost, I was a fan of his work. So I knew that he was gonna, whatever I gave him, he's gonna make something incredible. But when we met, we just were kind of inseparable. We became really, really close friends and family. And the trust just came natural after that. It's like no one else can tell the story but Trey. So it was very easy for me. SHULTS: For me too, it was like my first movie I made for $30,000 with literal family members acting in it and friends in it. It was this beautiful, magical experience and I told myself going forward, doing bigger projects, I only wanna work with humans that I truly feel connected to and you feel that kismet good energy connection and when I met Abel, I felt that. And it was just natural and organic and he was a genuine fan and I could tell his genuine trust and like wanting to embolden me and try to make this my own film. And I just got crazy inspired. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. AP: Did you always see this as the third part in the trilogy? TESFAYE: It was always the third part, yeah. I didn't know what I wanted to say at the time, but I knew I was making some sort of saga. But that was more just for myself. I kind of wanted to establish that I wanted to make something that can end a story. And lo and behold, something actually happened to me that I felt like, whatever I had in store, whatever plans I had prior, threw it out the window aocused 110% on this story. AP: How did what happened change your understanding of you as an artist? You said cinema has always been the goal. Do you feel like it kind of helped you see your priorities in some ways? TESFAYE: Absolutely. I mean I was juggling a million things at the time, you know, and I was on tour, dealing with personal stuff as well. But that's happened before. I was able to still rely on my super power. You know, I can go on stage and it's this cathartic experience with the fans. I can shut my world off for an hour and a half, two hours and just lose myself in my performance. And when it got to a point where the lines were blurring, it was affecting my stage performance — people spend a lot of money to come to these shows. They save up for a year, and it got a point where, oh my God, I can't give them what they want, my voice is failing me. And I knew at that moment, I needed to sit down and figure out what was going on up there. Because it wasn't a physical injury. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. AP: Did that influence your decision to retire The Weeknd? TESFAYE: That kind of helped it. AP: So now you're bringing yourself? Abel is who you want people to know? TESFAYE: It's not even that. I mean, I've always been Abel. The Weeknd's always been a performance. I'm gonna be super hyperbolic here a little bit, but it felt like I had nothing else to say. That's what it kind of felt like to me. I was on stage and it's like I've said everything I can say as this person, and now it's time for me to take that next step. And this film was kind of like that guiding light for me. AP: Were there any lessons from 'The Idol' that you took into this project? TESFAYE: Yeah, I mean, naturally you learn. That was the first thing we had ever done. You always learn. You're working with great, great artists at the time and I'm still really close with everyone from the set. But it was a learning experience. This felt a little bit, had a little more joy making it. Felt a little but more personal. 'Idol' didn't really feel like mine at the time. This one felt very much personal and I'm saying this now, that Trey really brought that, and Jenna, of course, brought the joy back into filmmaking. Like, 'Yeah, I do want to do this. This is great.' (Laughs) Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto & GTA Editorial Cartoons Ontario NFL
Winnipeg Free Press
28-04-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
After ‘The Idol,' Abel Tesfaye's new movie ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow' brought ‘joy back into filmmaking'
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Abel Tesfaye has always known he wanted to pursue a career in cinema. He sees his meteoric rise to fame as one of today's biggest pop superstars under the moniker The Weeknd as a detour to make that happen. Nearly two years after he made his acting debut with HBO's 'The Idol,' which he co-created with Sam Levinson, Tesfaye said his latest experimental musical film which also stars Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan 'brought the joy back into filmmaking.' 'Hurry Up Tomorrow,' a Lionsgate release hitting theaters May 16, is a kind of companion piece to the final album of the same name released earlier this year in the artist's record-breaking trilogy. Along with director Trey Edward Shults, Tesfaye, 35, spoke with The Associated Press about retiring The Weeknd, losing his voice onstage in 2022 and lessons learned from making 'The Idol.' The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. AP: How has cinema and long-form storytelling through film influenced you as an artist? TESFAYE: Cinema, for me, it's always been my number one passion. And then I happened to sing and make music and it kind of felt like a little detour, a little cheat code to kind of get into this. I always wanted to make movies and I always want to make music with movies. You always kind of hear and see the DNA of cinema in my albums and my music videos, my performances and my stage. So it's always just been a part of me. AP: You come in with this very vulnerable, personal project, and you enlist Trey to make it. How did you guys navigate that and why did you trust him? TESFAYE: Well, first and foremost, I was a fan of his work. So I knew that he was gonna, whatever I gave him, he's gonna make something incredible. But when we met, we just were kind of inseparable. We became really, really close friends and family. And the trust just came natural after that. It's like no one else can tell the story but Trey. So it was very easy for me. SHULTS: For me too, it was like my first movie I made for $30,000 with literal family members acting in it and friends in it. It was this beautiful, magical experience and I told myself going forward, doing bigger projects, I only wanna work with humans that I truly feel connected to and you feel that kismet good energy connection and when I met Abel, I felt that. And it was just natural and organic and he was a genuine fan and I could tell his genuine trust and like wanting to embolden me and try to make this my own film. And I just got crazy inspired. AP: Did you always see this as the third part in the trilogy? TESFAYE: It was always the third part, yeah. I didn't know what I wanted to say at the time, but I knew I was making some sort of saga. But that was more just for myself. I kind of wanted to establish that I wanted to make something that can end a story. And lo and behold, something actually happened to me that I felt like, whatever I had in store, whatever plans I had prior, threw it out the window aocused 110% on this story. AP: How did what happened change your understanding of you as an artist? You said cinema has always been the goal. Do you feel like it kind of helped you see your priorities in some ways? TESFAYE: Absolutely. I mean I was juggling a million things at the time, you know, and I was on tour, dealing with personal stuff as well. But that's happened before. I was able to still rely on my super power. You know, I can go on stage and it's this cathartic experience with the fans. I can shut my world off for an hour and a half, two hours and just lose myself in my performance. And when it got to a point where the lines were blurring, it was affecting my stage performance — people spend a lot of money to come to these shows. They save up for a year, and it got a point where, oh my God, I can't give them what they want, my voice is failing me. And I knew at that moment, I needed to sit down and figure out what was going on up there. Because it wasn't a physical injury. AP: Did that influence your decision to retire The Weeknd? TESFAYE: That kind of helped it. During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. AP: So now you're bringing yourself? Abel is who you want people to know? TESFAYE: It's not even that. I mean, I've always been Abel. The Weeknd's always been a performance. I'm gonna be super hyperbolic here a little bit, but it felt like I had nothing else to say. That's what it kind of felt like to me. I was on stage and it's like I've said everything I can say as this person, and now it's time for me to take that next step. And this film was kind of like that guiding light for me. AP: Were there any lessons from 'The Idol' that you took into this project? TESFAYE: Yeah, I mean, naturally you learn. That was the first thing we had ever done. You always learn. You're working with great, great artists at the time and I'm still really close with everyone from the set. But it was a learning experience. This felt a little bit, had a little more joy making it. Felt a little but more personal. 'Idol' didn't really feel like mine at the time. This one felt very much personal and I'm saying this now, that Trey really brought that, and Jenna, of course, brought the joy back into filmmaking. Like, 'Yeah, I do want to do this. This is great.' (Laughs)
