Jason Isaacs, Barkhad Abdi & Adan Canto Board Indie Spy Thriller ‘Agent Game’

April 30, 2021

EXCLUSIVE: Jason Isaacs, Barkhad Abdi, and Adan Canto have signed on for Agent Game, an indie spy thriller which is being directed by Grant S. Johnson. The new additions are joining previously announced cast Dermot Mulroney, Katie Cassidy, Rhys Coiro, Annie Ilonzeh, and Mel Gibson.

In the film, CIA officer Harris (Mulroney) is involved in missions to detain and relocate foreign nationals for interrogation. When Harris’ superior (Isaacs) is murdered, he finds himself the scapegoat for the killing of a detainee (Abdi) and must run from a team of operatives sent to bring him in (Canto, Cassidy, Coiro), led by a ruthless double agent (Ilonzeh). Gibson plays a rogue intelligence official running the off-book operation to hunt down and kill Harris.

Tyler W. Konney is producing the film, which he co-wrote with Mike Langer. Taylor & Dodge is handling worldwide sales.

Golden Globe nominee Isaacs, who is known for his role as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, is repped by Gersh and Silver Lining Entertainment. Abdi, an Oscar nominee for his breakout performance in the 2013 film, Captain Phillips, is repped by SMS Talent. Repped by UTA and Management 360, Adan’s credits include Designated Survivor and X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Dermot Mulroney, Katherine McNamara, Rhys Coiro, Annie Ilonzeh & Mel Gibson Join ‘Agent Game’ Spy Thriller

April 30, 2021

EXCLUSIVE: Dermot Mulroney, Katherine McNamara, Rhys Coiro, Annie Ilonzeh, and Oscar-winner Mel Gibson have signed on for the indie spy thriller Agent Game, which is being directed by Grant S. Johnson (Nighthawks). Mike Langer and Tyler W. Konney wrote the screenplay, which is set in the murky world of CIA renditions.

The plot follows Harris (Mulroney), a CIA officer involved in missions to detain and relocate foreign nationals for interrogation. When a political shift in Washington turns his allies into enemies, Harris finds himself the scapegoat for a detainee’s murder and must run from a team of operatives sent to bring him in (McNamara and Coiro), led by a ruthless double agent (Ilonzeh). Gibson has a small role as an intelligence official running the unsanctioned covert operation to hunt down the disgraced spy.

Tyler W. Konney is producing the pic via the Taylor & Dodge banner, which is also handling worldwide sales.

Gibson, repped by APA and Brecheen, Feldman, Breimer, can currently be seen in action-thriller Boss Level on Hulu and upcoming has the Tim Kirkby-directed action-thriller Last Looks as well as Mark Neveldine’s action film, Panama. Mulroney starred in the Sundance drama The Blazing World and has a recurring arc on the Fox series, Prodigal Son. He is repped by Luber Roklin and Paradigm.

McNamara, best known for starring in the YA series Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments and Arrow, has a recurring role in CBS’ The Stand, a series adaptation of the Stephen King novel. She is repped by Atlas Artists and CAA.

Coiro, whose credits include Entourage, A Million Little Things, The Walking Dead, and Ray Donovan, is repped by Luber Roklin, Paradigm and Brecheen Feldman Breimer. Ilonzeh appeared opposite Jennifer Garner in the action-thriller Peppermint and starred in the NBC/ Dick Wolf series Chicago Fire. She is repped by APA and Etcetera and Company.

Johnson is repped by Singh, Singh & Trauben and Untitled Communications.

The Life of a Cinematographer: A Prologue

March 11, 2019

I have to start this off by thanking everyone out there for the encouragement to bring back this blog. Staring at the last entry date of almost 5 years ago, the task seems overwhelming. The same questions run through my head that have for the last 5 years: “Why would anyone want to listen to me? What value does my experience hold for others? There are plenty of other cinematographers out there that are doing so much more, so what can I contribute?” I posted about it on my Instagram, wondering if anyone cared. Here’s how you answered:

Aside from a few jokers (you know who you are), I have to say the response was overwhelming. So I’m going to dive in to this full force.

A recap

I started the year off shooting a short film with my longtime friend and collaborator, director Stuart Valberg (@stuartvalberg), and now new friend (and collaborator), producer Brandon Lescure (@brandonlescure). We shot a short film near Baltimore called “The Last Job”, on the Sony Venice and a prototype Rialto sensor extension unit, provided by Paul Healy (@sonysayspro) from Sony.

I’ll do an in-depth breakdown of the film, and hopefully I’ll be able to show you some really cool stuff we did that I can’t talk about just yet.

After we wrapped, I headed down to Mexico City for a week of vacation - my first in almost 2 years. It’s an incredible city, full of life, culture, great food, amazing people and inspiration.

I’ll be touching on work/life balance, and the importance of mental and physical health in future posts. This has become an ever-increasingly important topic for me. And yes, #everydayislegday.

Working with friends and family unfortunately doesn’t happen frequently, but in this next project I got to do both.

Reunited with director Mike Pecci (@mikepecci), we shot my brother and chef Philip Kruta of Brassica Kitchen (@brassicakitchen) in a spot for a knife manufacturer. This was a pure collaboration on all parts, with another friend and collaborator, Patrick Biesemans (@patrickbiesemans), contributing the creative.

I’ll be doing a breakdown as well once the project is released.

Mike and I also sat down and recorded a podcast for In Love With the Process (@inlovewiththeprocesspod) about cinematography, DP and director relationships, our philosophies on filmmaking, and a few comments about beer and ribs - just some of our favorite topics.

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Soundcloud

Listen on Spotify

The future

With that said, my goals for this blog are still coming in to focus. I want this to be a place where discussions can begin. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the craft, updates and reviews of new equipment that I find interesting, technical breakdowns of how I light and shoot, the importance of networking, health, and other indirectly related activities, and hopefully some rib recipes.

I want to thank everyone that has so generously given their time, energy and knowledge over the years, and in bringing back this blog, I hope it can start to repay some of that debt.

I want to hear from you

As always, the conversation continues on my Instagram (@dkruta). Please feel free to send me any questions or comments. I love chatting about cinematography and I’m always interested to hear your thoughts.