CHINESE actress Xu Qing and hip-hop-star-turned-actor Common have joined Ethan Hawke in Fundamental Films’ and Thunder Road Pictures’ upcoming thriller “24 Hours to Live,” directed by Brian Smrz.

    The film will begin shooting this June in Cape Town, South Africa, with Sierra/Affinity handling international sales at Cannes.

    “Both Common and Xu Qing are esteemed talents in their fields and we can’t wait to see them come together with Ethan Hawke in shaping this action-packed, explosive feature,” said Mark Gao, chairman of Fundamental Films.

    Xu, will take the role of Basset Lin in “24 Hours to Live.” She starred last year in Guan Hu’s commercial and critical hit, “Mr. Six,” and previously appeared in DMG Entertainment’s “Looper,” directed by Rian Johnson.

    Common most recently earned critical acclaim for his work on “Selma,” which earned him an Academy Award for best original song alongside John Legend. He will next appear in Warner Bros.’ “Suicide Squad.”

    Written by Zachary Dean and based on an original script from Ron Mita and Jim McClain, “24 Hours to Live” follows a career assassin who is given a chance at redemption after his employer brings him back to life temporarily, just after being killed on the job.

    Basil Iwanyk of Thunder Road and Fundamental Films are producing the film, with Fundamental fully financing.

    Iwanyk said: “Thunder Road is thrilled to have the enormously talented Common and Xu Qing join our friend Ethan Hawke in this fantastic project.”

    “24 Hours to Live” is the latest collaboration between Fundamental Films and Thunder Road Pictures. The two companies announced Scott Waugh’s “Outlaws Inc.” earlier this year.

    Established in Shanghai in 2008, Fundamental has a number of projects in the works, including Luc Besson’s big-budget graphic-novel adaptation “Valerian,” where Fundamental is the main financier, Matthias Hoene’s “Warrior’s Gate,” and Harald Zwart’s “Rally Car,” starring Keanu Reeves.

    (SD-Agencies)