Producer-director John Woo is moving his Lion Rock production shingle to Paramount from MGM.
Woo and the studio are finalizing a two-year first-look deal that will include producing and directing services.
The director helped score major hits for Par in 1997 with “Face/Off” and in 2000 with “Mission: Impossible 2,” which cumed $245 million and $546 million worldwide, respectively.
Woo is also attached to direct “Paycheck,” a Ben Affleck sci-fi thriller co-financed by Par and DreamWorks, and is developing a CGI version of “Mighty Mouse” for Nickelodeon to produce for Paramount.
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Woo and producing partner Terence Chang set up Lion Rock at MGM in a three-year first-look film and television deal in 2000. “Windtalkers,” which disappointed at the box office, was the only film released under that partnership.
MGM and Hyde Park acquired thriller pitch “Endgame” late last year for Woo to develop and produce.
Woo began his career in Hong Kong with a string of action films such as “Hard-Boiled,” acclaimed for mixing graceful movement, visceral force and never-before-seen stunts. He started working stateside with “Hard Target” in 1993 and “Broken Arrow” in 1996 and signed a two-year first-look deal with Sony in 1998.
Woo’s deal with Par is the first major production agreement since the studio tapped veteran exec Tom Jacobson as co-prexy last month. Par signed former Warner Bros. production chief Lorenzo di Bonaventura to a producing deal late last year.
