Hong Kong-based ACT3 and Philippine manufacturing firm Blackops Studios Asia have set Cuba Gooding Jr., Luke Ford, Keith Duffy and multimedia artist Qymira in “Lotus,” a global motion thriller that marks the primary manufacturing beneath the businesses’ multi-year, five-film slate deal.
The challenge was launched to worldwide patrons and distribution companions on the Cannes Film Market. Principal images is scheduled to run from September by way of October in Manila, with further sequences to be shot in Brazil.
Filipino filmmaker Pedring Lopez, founding father of Blackops Studios Asia, directs from a screenplay he co-wrote together with his longtime producing and writing collaborator Rex Lopez. Pedring Lopez additionally produces alongside Rex Lopez and Maia Yambao-Lopez. Leslie Loh serves as govt producer for ACT3.
Gooding Jr. (“Jerry Maguire”), Australian actor Ford (“The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” “Animal Kingdom,” “The Black Balloon”) and Irish singer and Boyzone member Duffy headline alongside Qymira, who beforehand starred in Lopez’s “Shadow Transit.” Additionally forged are actor-producer Cristian Lavin (“NCIS”) and Brazilian actor Alberto Cowboy, a “Big Brother Brasil” alumnus.
“‘Lotus’ marks my first major project shooting in the Philippines and Southeast Asia,” Gooding Jr. stated. “There’s an energy to this project and to Manila that immediately pulled me in. The vision Pedring and the team have for this film is raw, dangerous and global.”
Ford added: “What drew me to ‘Lotus’ was how grounded and unpredictable the world felt. There’s a rawness to the story and the way Pedring wants to shoot the film that makes it feel immediate and immersive. Manila and Brazil are incredible backdrops for this kind of action-thriller, and I’m excited to be part of something that feels both intimate and global at the same time.”
“This film is bigger, darker and even more ambitious, and I’m excited to be part of a story that connects Manila and Brazil in such a visceral way,” Qymira stated. “Brazil has also held a special place in my heart especially after having performed at the Salvador Carnival and released several Portuguese and English songs with local artists which topped the Bahia radio charts, so bringing those worlds together in this film feels incredibly personal.”
Sonny Sison, a Filipino-American choreographer and producer, will deal with stunt and motion coordination, working together with his native crew and a global stunt crew drawn from the U.S. and Hong Kong. Noel Teehankee will shoot the movie, with the manufacturing drawing from a crew throughout the Philippines, Hong Kong and Brazil. Further Filipino casting is ongoing.
“This is a film designed for a global audience but rooted in the energy and chaos of Southeast Asia and Latin America,” Lopez stated. “We want ‘Lotus’ to feel dangerous, emotional and alive, the kind of film that throws you directly into its world.”
“Lotus” is the primary of 5 deliberate productions beneath the ACT3–Blackops Studios Asia collaboration. The partnership’s different cornerstone challenge, the China-set action epic “A Thread of Steel,” is scheduled to shoot in 2028.
