Oscar Award winning actor Nicolas Cage will be starring in sci-fi martial arts movie ‘Jiu Jitsu’ to be filmed entirely in Cyprus.
Invest Cyprus announced Friday that international film producers have decided to shoot the entire Hollywood production on location in Cyprus which is an endorsement of its ‘olivewood’ promotion drive to make the island a filming destination.
Invest Cyprus said the EUR 24.6 mln production will contribute to the development of the country’s audiovisual industry, putting Cyprus on the movie map.
This maybe proof that recent legislation voted in to attract international producers, including tax incentives, is paying off.
The Cabinet gave Invest Cyprus the exclusive responsibility for the development of the Audiovisual Industry and the chair of the Incentive Plan Evaluation Committee (EASO).
The EUR 24.6 mln "Jiu Jitsu” movie, to be produced by Martin J. Barab and Dimitri Logothetis, who will be also the director, will see Oscar winner Cage taking the leading role in a science fiction meets martial arts movie.
Other cast members include Hollywood actors Frank Grillo, Alain Moussi, Rick Yune, Marie Avgeropoulos and JuJu Chan.
Invest Cyprus said, “the film will be a turning point for the development of the Cypriot Audiovisual industry but will also benefit the Cypriot economy as a whole, since it is a significant investment with multiple benefits that will promote our country worldwide”.
Invest Cyprus consider it particularly important that, shortly after undertaking the task of developing the island’s audiovisual industry, they have succeeded in attracting the first big film production.
“The production of this film will place our country on the global cinematic map and will be the first and essential step for the further development of the industry”.
Nicolas Cage will star alongside Alain Moussi, who headlined the last two Kickboxer movies, in which Logothetis was also involved.
Based on the comic book of the same name, which Logothetis wrote with Jim McGrath, the film features Moussi as a Jiu Jitsu fighter who every six years must face-off against an alien invader, Brax. Cage’s character teams up with him in a battle to defeat Brax.
