Lionsgate has come through today with a first look at their dramatic new thriller Semper Fi, which features a line-up of popular talent on the rise. The movie features Jai Courtney in the lead. He is joined by Nat Wolff, Finn Wittrock, Beau Knapp, Arturo Castro and Leighton Meester.
Semper Fi is directed by Henry Alex Rubin. He wrote the script alongside Sean Mullin. The story follows a police officer serving in the Marine Corps Reserves who is faced with an ethical dilemma when it comes to helping his brother in prison. The movie will be in theaters October 4, 2019. It will also be getting a simultaneous release On Demand and Digital HD release.
Co-writer and director Henry Alex Rubin is best known as a documentarian. He won acclaim for directing Who Is Henry Jaglom? in 1995. He would wait a full decade before releasing his second documentary feature with Murderball in 2005. In the meantime he worked as an actor, a cinematographer, a writer and a producer on a number of various projects. He wouldn’t direct again until 2012, with his first fictional drama Disconnect. Arriving six years later, Semper Fi serves as his follow-up, marking his second feature. Lionsgate has released this more detailed synopsis for the movie.
Cal (Jai Courtney) is a by-the-book police officer who, along with his close-knit group of childhood friends, makes ends meet as a Marine Corps reservist. When Cal’s reckless younger half-brother, Oyster, is arrested after a bar fight and given an unfair prison sentence, Cal – driven by his loyalty to family and fierce code of honor – fights for Oyster (Nat Wolff) in this gripping tale of brotherhood and sacrifice.
Henry Alex Rubin has released this statement on Semper Fi.
“Semper Fi‘ is the motto of the U.S. Marines, and means ‘always faithful. That motto also applies in deep friendships, where you are incapable of betraying each other, and stand up for each other no matter the pressure. If you’ve got just one person like that in your life, you’re lucky.”
The director also had this to say about the production.
“[We] wanted to write a film about that deep feeling of loyalty and love among friends. Before shooting, the cast spent lot of time training together, going out every night, cooking meals, partying, drinking, nearly getting into barfights, staying up till sunrise. It was the most fun we’ve ever had on a set and that sense of true camaraderie is reflected on screen.”
Rubin went onto say that, “From the outside, the film may seem like an action thriller,” but also describes the drama as, “a meditation on the emotions and struggles of a group of friends who grew up together.”& The trailer comes from Entertainment Weekly, with Lionsgate also providing the poster for this October release.
