Sometimes you just need to watch Jason Statham in something. It’s not like his films differ all that much from one another: someone messes with Jason Statham’s stuff (his family, his things, his dog, etc.), he gets pissed and then he proceeds to systematically beat the shit out of everyone who was involved in it until he’s satisfied and we’re entertained. Not a bad formula to have and Statham has rode it to a very successful career to this point.
But after awhile, you want to try doing things a little differently, just to change things up. And Statham has been doing that lately, getting a shot to do comedy once again with his hilarious turn in SPY and now with the announcement that he’ll be starring in his first-ever project for television. Gaumont International Television has locked up Statham to headline their action thriller series VIVA LA MADNESS, which is based on the book of the same name by J.J. Connolly. That book also serves as the follow-up to LAYER CAKE, adapted back in 2004, putting Daniel Craig on the radar of so many.
Statham would play the anonymous hero at the heart of the story, stuck out in the middle of the Caribbean wanting to to get back to the criminal life that was a part of his past. The problem is he’s wanted back home, so he has to stay put. But he meets up with a pair of London gangsters and… let’s just say the madness invoked in the title isn’t just cleverly placed.
This sounds like the perfect match for the skills Statham has displayed much earlier in his career in Guy Ritchie’s films LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and SNATCH, and I for one am very interested in seeing how this all comes together.
No network is attached at this point, but it’s only a matter of time before one comes aboard. Gaumont’s previous efforts have landed on NBC (Hannibal) and Netflix (HEMLOCK GROVE and NARCOS), so, if anything, with the 10-hour format looking like the way VIVA LA MADNESS is going to go, the streaming giant would seem to be in play here.