French actor Jean Reno, 69, arrived in Ukraine on Feb. 23 to star in the new action thriller “Last Step” where he plays the leading role of a retired killer hiding from the authorities in a mountain cabin.The film is co-produced by Ukraine and France.
“Honored to meet Jean Reno in the Carpathians,” Phillip Illenko, the head of Ukraine’s State Film Agency wrote on Facebook on Feb. 25, posting a photo with Reno.
“Cooperation with the movie stars of his scale marks a new stage in Ukraine’s film production as well as the growing level of trust and interest from our European colleagues,” he added.
Reno is a movie industry veteran with the number of iconic leading roles in world-famous movies, such as “Nikita,” “Leon: The Professional,” “French Kiss,” “Ronin” and many more.
The producers of “Last Step” don’t reveal any details about the shooting that started early in February in the Carpathian Mountains in western Ukraine. Even the exact location of the filming is unknown.
Oleg German, the “Last Step” producer from the Ukrainian side, told the Kyiv Post Reno arrived in Ukraine on Feb. 23 and left the next day to be back in March, revealing no more details.
“Last step” is a story of a most-wanted killer Henry (Reno) enjoying retirement in a cabin on a bank of a mountain lake in Canada (in reality filmed on a bank of the Ukrainian lake Synevyr). One day Henry shelters a woman who suffered in an accident, marking the first time he saves someone’s life instead of taking it.
The role of Henry will become the conclusive role in Reno’s movie career, Ukraine’s State Film Agency said on Jan. 26.The Kyiv Post wasn’t able to confirm this information since Reno couldn’t be reached for comment.
In January, Ukraine’s State Film Agency signed an agreement with Ukrainian East West Production movie studio, providing Hr 22 million for the movie with a total budget of Hr 74 million.
French film studios East 35 and Seven 52 paid the rest. French moviemaker Frederic Petitjean was named screenwriter and director of the movie.
Award-winning cinematographer Thierry Arbogast, who worked on “Leon: The Professional” and “Fifth Element,” also joined the crew.
According to Ukraine’s State Film Agency, Reno is not the only international film star in the cast. British actor Tom Hopper, famous as DickonTarly of the “Game of Thrones” HBO hit TV series is also to star in the movie.
