Pioneer filmmaker Walter Hill has finally completed a project that he has spent nearly 40 years developing, The Assignment. The film has been described as “electrifying” and delivering a “neo-noir twist to audiences. Known specifically for his fantastic action movies, Hill has spent some time in the science fiction and horror realm as well. In 1979, Hill co-produced the science fiction blockbuster Alien, starring Sigourney Weaver, and served as producer or executive producer on three sequels. From 1989-1996 he served as Executive Producer of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt, including the two spin-off films, Demon Knight & Bordello of Blood. Hill’s illustrious career has allowed him to work as a writer, director, and producer on many projects for the last 50 years, and he continues to move forward with no evidence of slowing down. When asked about Sigourney Weaver in this newest venture she was described as “very different in this one.” The film also stars The Fast and Furious franchise star, Michelle Rodriguez.

The Assignment is available NOW on Ultra VOD and in select theaters April 7^th

Film Synopsis:

Director Walter Hill gives the revenge film a modern neo-noir twist with this electrifying thriller. Hitman Frank Kitchen (Michelle Rodriguez) is given a lethal assignment, but after being double-crossed, discovers he’s no longer the man he was.  Having been surgically altered, Frank now has the body of a woman. Seeking vengeance, he heads for a showdown with his assailant (Sigourney Weaver), a brilliant surgeon with a chilling agenda of her own. The Assignment has been Rated R with a run time of 95 minutes.

Here is your chance to see Walter Hill in person and watch the film, The Assignment! Details below.

Thursday, April 6 – 7:30 PM                                        WALTER HILL IN PERSON

Los Angeles Premiere! THE ASSIGNMENT, 2017, Saban Films, 95 min. Director Walter Hill gives the revenge film a modern neo-noir twist with this electrifying thriller. Hitman Frank Kitchen (Michelle Rodriguez) is given a lethal assignment, but after being double-crossed, discovers he’s no longer the man he was. Having been surgically altered, Frank now has the body of a woman. Seeking vengeance, he heads for a showdown with his assailant (Sigourney Weaver), a brilliant surgeon with a chilling agenda of her own. Discussion following with director Walter Hill

 

 

Interview with Walter Hill – Director/Writer

 

Walter Hill: Hello.

Ryan T. Cusick: Hi Walter, how are you?

WH: I’m fine Ryan, how are you?

RTC: I am doing well, thank you.

WH: Where are you?

RTC: I’m over in Lancaster [California].

WH: California?

RTC: Yeah, it is about sixty miles north of LA.

WH: Oh yeah, I know where it is.

RTC: Kind of in the middle of nowhere.

WH: I drove by there on my way to Vegas not too long ago.

RTC: I read that the name of the film was originally Tom Boy: Revenger’s Tale before it became The Assignment. Do you believe that is going to have an adverse effect on your film?

WH: Changing the title?

RTC: Yeah.

WH: Well I don’t know. That is kind of unknowable, isn’t it? If you ask me did I prefer the original title?, I did, but these are commercial things that have to do with distribution, etc. The movie in England is called Tomboy, in France, it is called The Revenger, the graphic novel in France is called Body and Soul. I don’t know about other countries, so it is a film right now with many titles. It was made under the title Tomboy: Revenger’s Tale so in my head, it is still kind of that. But they seemed very pleased with The Assignment, so “you role with the punches” and you…what is the other one since I am dealing with clichés here?

RTC: [Laughs]

WH: ..”You play the hand you’re dealt.”

RTC: I am sure that it will be fine. It just seems like I have been seeing that more lately with films – getting changed, I am sure that has always occurred over the years.

WH: Well I am not going to try and run away from it, it’s not my style. You know the word Tomboy is felt to be politically incorrect in certain circles I think that is pretty limiting. At the same time, you don’t want a title that is going to go out there and offend people.

RTC: Exactly.

WH: In the time between when the script was written, and the film was shot, and now, somehow the word [Tomboy] had slipped into disrepute in America, it is not in England. So, I do think political correctness is a terrible thing that is becoming very infectious; I am not fond of identity politics, political correctness and all that, I think we are all in the same boat, and we should kind of operate that way. But I am a product of a different time I guess we have to say, like the interview process, like this. You find yourself talking to people constantly, I have been a director over 40 years. I’ve got to be talking to people who I have been a director longer than they have been alive! So the reference points are somewhat different in lives and experiences, shared culture.

RTC: You have had to have seen so much. I was looking at that this morning, the many years you have been involved with film, and over forty years that is quite amazing.

WH: That is as a director. As a writer it is very close to fifty years I have been making a living with all this. Well listen, its been a lot of fun and I am not complaining the last thing I appreciate is people who complain about their lot in life. I’ve had a good run, and you know, you do the best you can with what you got, and it has worked out pretty well. I know that I am constantly running into people, they are amazed that I’ve got another movie coming out. So many of my peers are no longer active.

RTC: You do have this one, and I saw that you are producing the new Alien film.

WH: Well, I really don’t have anything to do with that. My name is on it for a contractual thing. There will be an announcement of what I am up to; next, I am not supposed to say anything, I think within the next day or two there will be an announcement of what I am going to do next. I am also working on a script with an author of an off-Broadway play I’m trying to convert into a low budget feature. So there is plenty of stuff to do.

RTC: Walter can you describe the movie The Assignment.

WH: Well I can. It is a revenge story where a doctor, a medical doctor who lost her license seeks revenge against a hit man who killed a member of her family. She is an intellectual, superior type. She is pitted against this fellow who is a Darwinian survival of the lowest part of the criminal world, it is done in a neo-noir comic book style I think it’s rather reminiscent of the Tales From The Crypt that I did, and it is a piece of entertainment.

RTC: That is great, I am looking forward as I am sure everyone else is to seeing Sigourney Weaver again on the screen.

WH: Well she is very different in this one, as we see her and I hope you enjoy it.

RTC: I am sure I will. Thank you, and just before we depart one of my favorite projects you have worked on has been Tales From The Crypt.

WH: Oh really? Well, there is a good chance you will like this [The Assignment] then because this is very much in that spirit and in style.

RTC: Perfect, well thank you so much for talking with me today, and hopefully, we can do this again in the future.

WH: Okay Ryan, I look forward to it.

RTC: Take Care.

 

 

 

-About The Author-

Ryan T. Cusick is a writer for ihorror.com and very much enjoys conversation and writing about anything within the horror genre. Horror first sparked his interest after watching the original, The Amityville Horror when he was the tender age of three. Ryan lives in California with his wife and Eleven-year-old daughter, who is also expressing interest in the horror genre. Ryan recently received his Master’s Degree in Psychology and has aspirations to write a novel. Ryan can be followed on Twitter @Nytmare112