Signature, Carnaby team on 'Footsoldier' prequel, 'Krays' feature

UK distributor Signature Entertainment and UK sales outfit Carnaby International are teaming on two genre projects due to enter production this summer.

Rise Of The Footsoldier: The Beginning will act as a prequel to 2007 crime feature Rise Of The Footsoldier, charting the story of the Essex Range Rover murders and gang member Pat Tate.

The film will see the return of Craig Fairbrass (St. George’s Day) as Tate as well as Julian Gilbey (A Lonely Place To Die) who wrote and directed the original film as writer and producer. Zackary Adler (The Rise Of The Krays) will direct.

Signature will distribute in the first quarter of 2017 after striking a deal with Carnaby which is handling world sales rights.

Commenting on the deal, Signature owner and MD Marc Goldberg said: “Everybody at Signature and Carnaby are delighted to be working together again on this iconic British franchise.

“Rise of the Footsoldier Part II was an enormous UK success selling more than 45,000 physical units in its first week of release, beating multi-million pound box-office releases including Sinister 2 and The Transporter Refuelled and going on to win the best British movie at this year’s National Film Awards.”

Meanwhile Krays And The Mafia, will chart the story of the East End twins’ hunt for vengeance after their thriving business empire is rocked when a brutal murder leads them to suspect rival gang, The Richardson’s, are to blame.

The film marks the first co-production between Signature and Carnaby, who will distribute and sell, respectively. It follows on from home entertainment hits Rise Of The Krays – released in 2015 – and Fall Of The Krays – released in March this year.

Krays And The Mafia will reunite filmmakers Craig Tuohy and Zackary Adler and actors Simon Cotton and Kevin Leslie as the infamous East End twins.

Commenting on the co-production Carnaby International’s Andy Loveday commented: “Rise and Fall Of The Krays broke home entertainment records in the UK and both have sold more than 200,000 DVD’s and 200,000 digital transactions to date. The outstanding results are testament to the compelling story and quality filmmaking that will be delivered once again in Krays And The Mafia.”