Revolver shoots for two new Gunslinger productions

UK producer/distributor Revolver Entertainment is unveiling two new projects from its production arm Gunslinger. They are Kidulthood spoof Anuvarhood written and directed by Adam Deacon (pictured), and Nirpal Bhogal’s girl gang thriller Sket.

Both films will be shot in the autumn for under $728,000 (£500,000) each.

Anuvarhood will be written and directed by Adam Deacon, who previously starred in Kidulthood and Adulthood as well as recent Gunslinger hit Shank, will star as Jay, a wanna be gangster who is actually a guy working at Sainsbury’s supermarket. Revolver’s Nick Taussig will produce with Paul Van Carter (Shank). “We thought a spoof of all the hoodies stuff could be quite fun,” Taussig tells Screen. “Adam Deacon is a real talent and he’s definitely got a natural dispensation toward comedy.”

Sket is an East London-set retribution thriller – a teenage girl joins a gang to get revenge on a rival gang that attacked her brother, but then she finds it hard to leave. Writer/director Nirpal Bhogal previously made short film Cold Kiss starring Ray Winstone. Taussig will produce.

Gunslinger is using workshops, coordinated with the Damilola Taylor Trust, of former gang members to develop Sket.

Gunslinger got off to a strong start with its first project, low-budget action thriller Shank, which has made more than $850,000 since its March release and is on course to ship 75,000 DVDs in its first two months. AV Pictures is handling sales on Shank, which has now sold to 8 other territories.

Gunslinger currently aims to produce three films per year, many by first-time feature directors.

“The model at Gunslinger is about building projects up for UK exploitation first and foremost, and considering a budget which really does match its market value,” Taussig explains. “Because we are distributors we probably know better than an average producer what a film is actually worth. They make sense at this budget.”

The films are being developed with and for younger audiences. “It’s essentially reverse engineering – we went to the market to say, what do you want?,” Taussig says. “They said, ‘Our lives are pretty shit and we’d like some escapism.’ They thought other films were made about them, not for them. We listened to that and wanted to make something real, something made with them.”