Overnight Productions today said it wants to cut ties with Robert Rodriguez’s Quick Draw Productions over the rights to Machete Kills. If successful, the court action could stop the release of the film – which Open Road acquired for distribution from Quick Draw last month.

The complaint filed Tuesday (read it here), the producers of 2010’s Machete are seeking to terminate the April 2012 agreement in which they granted director/producer Rodriguez the rights to make another action movie about the rogue Mexican Federale. The rights would revert back to Rick Schwartz’s Overnight.

The plaintiffs are seeking $2 million in damages Overnight claims that earlier this month they were not provided with Texas tax credit information as required under the agreement with Rodriguez’s company. And then there is the matter of Schwartz’s fee. “Defendants have also failed and refused to provide the required budget information to Overnight Productions so that it can determine the producer fee owed with respect to the sequel”. The plaintiffs estimate that they are owed in excess of $250,000 in this aspect of their legal action. Overnight Productions has been involved in the making of films such as 2008’s The Lucky Ones and 2010′s Darren Aronofsky-directed Black Swan.

— Deadline.com

Open Road Films has acquired all U.S. distribution rights to Machete Kills, directed by Robert Rodriguez and starring Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga, Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, Demian Bichir, Alexa Vega, Vanessa Hudgens, Cuba Gooding, Jr., William Sadler, Marko Zaror and Mel Gibson. The film is expected to have a wide release in 2013.

Machete Kills is the sequel to the 2010 hit film Machete – which has built a devoted legion of fans since its release – and is the second film in a trilogy. The film is produced by Robert Rodriguez, along with Aaron Kaufman and Iliana Nikolic through their QuickDraw Productions banner, as well as Sergei Bespalov of Aldamisa Films, Alexander Rodnyansky of AR Films, and Rick Schwartz of Overnight Films.

In Machete Kills, Danny Trejo returns as ex-Federale agent Machete, who is recruited by the President of the United States for a mission which would be impossible for any mortal man – he must take down a madman revolutionary and an eccentric billionaire arms dealer who has hatched a plan to spread war and anarchy across the planet.

— ComingSoon.net

Variety is reporting that actress Amber Heard is in talks to join ‘Machete Kills’. It also looks like Alba and Michelle Rodriguez are officially signed up aswell. I am Ready.

“The Rum Diary” star Amber Heard is in talks to become the latest femme fatale to join the cast of Robert Rodriguez’s sequel “Machete Kills,” which will be distributed by 20th Century Fox.

Danny Trejo stars alongside returning thesps Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez and series newcomers Mel Gibson and Demian Bichir.

Pic, which starts production this month in Heard’s hometown of Austin, Texas, finds the titular ex-federale (Trejo) recruited by the U.S. government to stop an arms dealer (Gibson) from launching a deadly missile. Heard will play a manipulative assassin code-named Miss San Antonio.

Thesp, whose breakout perf as the title character in Jonathan Levine’s still-unreleased 2006 horror film “All the Boys Love Mandy Lane” led to a starring role on Kevin Williamson’s USA series “Hidden Palms,” was last seen playing Johnny Depp’s love interest in “The Rum Diary.” She recently starred on NBC’s “The Playboy Club” and has wrapped the indie pic “Syrup.”

Some good news! Bloody-Disgusting.com is reporting that Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez are ‘in talks’ a.k.a contract negotiations to sign up for the sequel to the cult classic ‘Machete’ . Read the full article below:

Now that director Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Predators) and producer Alexander Rodnyansky are in full pre-production swing on Machete Kills a bit of significant casting news is beginning to trickle in. Word has it that Jessica Alba (Idle Hands, Fantastic Four; pictured inside), and Michelle Rodriguez (The Fast And The Furious, Resident Evil: Retribution; pictured inside) are in talks to appear in the sequel. One would presume this means they’re reprising their respective roles as Sartana and Luz, but you never know in the topsy turvy creative universe of Robert Rodriguez.

Machete Kills (as teased in the closing credits of the first Machete), the film is the second in a planned trilogy. Danny Trejo returns as the title character. The first film starred Trejo as Machete as a Mexican, an ex-Federale with a gift for wielding a blade, who hides out as a day laborer, and is double-crossed by a corrupt state senator. The sequel will be the first U.S. picture to be produced and financed by Alexander Rodnyansky, whose Hollywood expansion plans include a $120 million film fund with Media Talent Group’s Geyer Kosinski. AR Films U.S. is a new partnership between AR Films and Aldamisa Entertainment, whose Sergei Bespalov will manage worldwide sales of Machete Kills in Berlin.

Rodriguez has hinted that the third film in the trilogy will take place in space. We’ll see on that one. Machete Kills starts filming soon, with Rodriguez set to take the reigns on Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For immediately afterward.

While we have, and still are patiently waiting for Sin City 2, a  sequel to the 2010 cult classic ‘Machete‘ is already in the works according to Deadline.  An April production start is being eyed. Talks are underway for Danny Trejo to reprise the title role. Rodriguez expects many of the original cast to return.

Here is how Deadline.com is reporting it:

Robert Rodriguez is teaming with producer Alexander Rodnyansky to hatch a sequel to the 2010 action film Machete. Titled Machete Kills, the film is the second in a planned trilogy with what, for my money, is the best ever trailer tag line: “This time, they fucked with the wrong Mexican!” The film will be produced and financed by Alexander Rodnyansky, whose Hollywood expansion plans include a $120 million film fund with Media Talent Group’s Geyer Kosinski. AR Films U.S. is a new partnership between AR Films and Aldamisa Entertainment, whose Sergei Bespalov will manage worldwide sales of Machete Kills in Berlin.

“The fan response to the Machete character has been fanatical since his first appearance,” Rodriguez said. “Machete is truly a super hero and Machete Killswill be bigger and more ambitious than the first time.”

An April production start is being eyed. Talks are underway for Danny Trejo to reprise the title role. Rodriguez expects many of the original cast to return, at least those who didn’t end up sliced and diced in the first film by Trejo. The film is a Quick Draw Production, produced by Rodriguez, Rodnyansky, and Quick Draw’s Aaron Kaufman and Iliana Nikolic, and Sergei Bespalov and Rick Schwartz. A script has been written by Kyle Ward, and developed by Rodriguez and Marcel Rodriguez. The aim is to get Trejo back into a signature role that began with a parody movie trailer that was featured between features in Grindhouse, the B-movie feature homage made by Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino in 2007. Machete, the feature, came out in 2009, and starred Trejo, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey and Robert De Niro. It grossed $44 million worldwide on a $10.5 million budget and showed, among other things, that a bad guy’s intestines can be employed as a rope ladder if you work it just right.

The new film finds Machete recruited by the U.S. Government for a mission which would be impossible for any mortal man. Machete must battle his way through Mexico to take down a madman cartel leader and an eccentric billionaire arms dealer who has hatched a plan to spread war across the planet with a weapon in space. Machete takes on an army in an effort to dismantle a plan for global anarchy.

“Alexander has a tremendous background in moviemaking and huge enthusiasm for continuing the Machete legend onscreen,” Rodriguez said. “I’m really looking forward to working with Alexander and Sergei Bespalov.”

I’m Ready!