“THE EQUALIZER” To Be Shown in PH IMAX Theaters Starting Oct 1

IMAX Corporation and Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that “The Equalizer,” the highly anticipated reteaming of Academy Award® winner Denzel Washington and acclaimed director Antoine Fuqua, will be digitally re-mastered into the immersive IMAX® format and released in IMAX® theatres worldwide, including the Philippines.

Fuqua directed Washington in the critically lauded 2001 box office hit “Training Day,” for which Washington won the Academy Award® for Best Actor.

In “The Equalizer,” Denzel Washington plays McCall, a man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when McCall meets Teri (Chloe Grace Moretz), a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can't stand idly by – he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.

Based on the television series created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim, “The Equalizer” also stars Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, with Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo. Film is written by Richard Wenk.

"Antoine Fuqua is one of the most provocative filmmakers working today, and Denzel Washington is nothing short of being one of the greatest American movie stars," said Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. and CEO of IMAX Entertainment. "We're excited to be working with our long time partners at Sony Pictures Entertainment to bring this exciting film to IMAX moviegoers worldwide."

Rory Bruer, President, Worldwide Distribution for Sony Pictures, said, "The Equalizer is a visceral action-thriller, and Denzel's character – a man driven by a relentless pursuit of justice – is one that is compelling for everyone. It's the kind of picture that is perfectly suited for The IMAX Experience®."

The IMAX release of The Equalizer will offer consumers the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with its proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

Opening across the Philippines in October 01, 2014, “The Equalizer” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Odds Stacked Against You? Call “THE EQUALIZER”

From Antoine Fuqua, director of “Training Day” and “Olympus Has Fallen” comes Columbia Pictures' new action thriller “The Equalizer” starring Denzel Washington.

In the film, Washington plays McCall, a man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him to lead a quiet life in peace. But when McCall meets Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by – he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.

Based on the television series created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim, “The Equalizer” also stars Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, with Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo. Film is written by Richard Wenk.

For director Antoine Fuqua – who re-teams with Denzel Washington after directing the actor to his Oscar®-winning performance in “Training Day” – McCall shares some of the archetypical heroic traits that have been passed down. “I saw this movie as a throwback, like the westerns that Sergio Leone made,” he explains. “There’s an antihero, in a struggle, reluctant and ashamed to pick up his gun... but when he gets a chance to help other people, he does. He uses his skills for that.”

The film takes its title from the 1980s television series and shares its central premise – a man, highly trained, who can “equalize” the odds when they are stacked against the helpless. Though the filmmakers took only the premise and title from the original show, Blumenthal says that the premise is one that has only become more relevant. “The word ‘equalizer’ is a very strong, powerful word,” he notes. “A lot of people believe that there’s a lot of imbalance in the world, so the idea of creating a balance – equalizing something – is very meaningful. If anything, I think that title means more now, in 2014, than it did in the 1980s. People can get behind this kind of hero: a man who does heroic acts for the people who need them the most.”

In seeking out a director, Washington was excited to be re-teaming with Fuqua. After their experience together on “Training Day,” Fuqua says, it was clear that “The Equalizer” lent itself to a good match of actor and director. “Part of what I discovered in `Training Day' is that I can read something on the page that sounds like an action piece, and I know that Denzel will see the acting in that – he can take an action beat and create great drama, as if it’s a dialogue scene,” says Fuqua. “He’s unpredictable, in the best way possible – he’s in his world, and you’re a fly on the wall, to capture it, if you can be smart enough to know when to continue in the scene.”

Similarly, Washington felt great confidence in his director. “He’s very talented,” says the actor. “We sent him the material and he responded – we sat down and he had tons of ideas – and it was a done deal.” Later, on set, that confidence paid off. “Antoine had the vision for the film – he was doing close work with specialized cameras, all of that stuff. But I never worried about any of that. The camera is Antoine’s area of expertise – I don’t have to worry about that. I just worry about the acting,” he smiles.

“We had a rhythm and an understanding,” concludes Fuqua. “There were times when we didn’t need to talk; we both knew where each other was going.”

Opening across the Philippines on October 01, 2014, “The Equalizer” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

‘Chloë Grace Moretz’ Hit Girl is back in Kick-Ass 2

Kick-Ass wouldn’t be half the hero he is without Hit Girl, and no sequel would begin production without her in the mix.  Imagined by Award winning writer Mark Millar as a tribute to his eldest daughter, Hit Girl has struck a chord with readers since her introduction and grown exponentially in popularity.  The young woman who brought her to life, Chloë Grace Moretz, has been working up a storm—earning critical acclaim in such fare as Let Me In, as well as working with the likes of Martin Scorsese in Hugo and Tim Burton in Dark Shadows and soon to be seen starring opposite Julianne Moore as the title character in the remake of Carrie.  Like her co-stars, she was thrilled to step back into her Kick-Ass role as Hit Girl, unfazed by the commotion caused by her appearance the first time around.

"The obvious difference is that I'm older now, and the difference between 11 and 15, which is how old I was when we finished, is that you're a different person, obviously," Executive Producer Neal H. Moretz reveals. "You're calculating more ideas, you're experiencing more things in your own life, you're not just living through other people's eyes, you're making your own decisions."


For the 2010 film, the now 16-year-old actress took the world by roundhouse kick with not only her acting abilities, but her phenomenal mastery of weaponry and martial arts.  Indeed, Moretz didn’t know she was prescient when she joked at the premiere of the first film that she wanted to ride a purple Ducati: Hit Girl’s bike of choice in Kick-Ass 2.  Laughs Moretz: “To get in the costume again and do all the stunts was pretty amazing.  I’ve had such a great time reliving the character and bringing in more dimensions, while taking an older approach to the role.  I liked seeing what I could play within the part.”