‘Bad Boys' Directorial Duo Adil & Bilall's Saudi-Shot Action Thriller ‘Seven Dogs' Unveils First Images
The $40M project from the Bad Boys for Life directorial duo is being hailed as a gamechanger for Saudi Arabia as its continues its drive to become the Middle East and North Africa's biggest film and TV hub, following the lifting of its cinema ban in late 2017.
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Egyptian stars Karim Abdel Aziz (The Blue Elephant, Kira & El Gin, Abu Ali) and Ahmed Ezz (Kira & El Gin, The Cell, Welad Rizk) headline the thriller.
The movie is being shot at Alhisn Big Time Studios in Riyadh, one of MENA region's biggest film and television production facilities, with additional filming at Riyadh Boulevard. Riyadh will serve as a stand-in for multiple international cities, including Mumbai and Shanghai.
It is produced by Jeddah-based entertainment company Sela, with Ivan Atkinson (The Gentlemen, Wrath of Man) lead producing.
The thriller is based on an original story by Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority.
Alalshikh has been instrumental in driving his country's sporting and entertainment ambitions, and recently masterminded the boxing partnership with UFC and WWE parent company, the TKO Group.
Ezz plays Interpol officer Khalid Al-Azzazi who apprehends Ghali Abu Dawood (Aziz), a high-ranking member of the clandestine global crime syndicate known as 7 Dogs. A year later, the organization resurfaces, trafficking a dangerous new drug—Pink Lady—across the Middle East.
With time running out, Khalid reluctantly join forces with Ghali, the only person with intimate knowledge of the syndicate's operations. Their uneasy alliance propels them on a high-stakes mission across multiple global cities as they strive to dismantle the organization and prevent the drug from flooding Arab streets.
Belgian directorial duo Adil & Bilall are best known internationally as the directors of of the third and fourth installments of the Bad Boys franchise: Bad Boys for Life (2020) and Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) which together grossed over $830M at world box office.
Their other credits include 2018 Belgium set breakout Gangsta, and its recent sequel Gangstas and 2022 drama Rebel about a Muslim Belgian family dealing with the threat of radicalization at home and in Syria.
Seven Dogs is slated for a late 2025 release.
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New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
The ruthless reformer reinventing Saudi Arabia
If you want to understand the new Saudi Arabia, don't start with oil. Start with a video game. The 39-year-old crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman — better known as MBS — grew up obsessed with video games, and he continues to play every morning, despite his heavy workload and five young children. His favorite game, Final Fantasy XVI, features a young heir to the throne who must retrieve a stolen crystal and discover he is the 'True King.' 6 Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince of Saudi Arabia and the son of the current king has transformed his conservative nation at breakneck speed. EPA Advertisement 'Videogames squeeze the brain to think,' the prince told veteran journalist Karen Elliott House, according to her new book, 'The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia' (Harper), out July 8. In less than a decade, MBS has transformed the country with breakneck speed and no small measure of brute force. 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At the same time, dissent is not tolerated. 'Hundreds of Saudis have been imprisoned, many on imprecise charges, but essentially for offending MBS in some way or another,' House writes. And yet, despite the repression, the reforms appear wildly popular with Saudi youth. 'Most young Saudis enthusiastically support MBS,' House writes. 'They grew up in a Saudi Arabia where fun was a dirty word . . . thanks to the internet, these young Saudis saw — and sought — lives like youth elsewhere in the world.' Advertisement 6 Author Karen House. Karen Elliott House That's what makes MBS such a singular and confounding figure: a reformer remaking his kingdom from the ground up, and a ruler consolidating power with ruthless efficiency. 'He is in charge of absolutely everything in the kingdom, from policy to play,' writes House of MBS, who's cultivated a strong working relationship with President Trump. 'And nothing seems too small to escape his attention.' Even House's clothes didn't go unnoticed. 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Yahoo
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- Yahoo
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