Has the Armie Hammer comeback begun?
Citizen Vigilante, a new indie action thriller, starring Hammer, has closed its first international sales deal. The project, directed by German indie king Uwe Boll (Rampage, Postal) was snatched up ahead of the American Film Market by new distributor Free Wind for German-speaking Europe.
Kinostar, which is selling the film at AFM, said several U.S. buyers are circling the film, with offers on the table.
“We´re very happy about the great demand for Armie Hammer in Citizen Vigilante,” said Boll in a statement. “In difficult times for the movie business it is very encouraging to see that with the right story and the right star independent movies can still work.”
Citizen Vigilante stars Hammer as Sanders, a vigilante who takes justice into his own hands. He become a hero to the public but Interpol chief Henry (played by Saw V actor Costas Mandylor) believes he is a threat to society and is determined to bring him to justice. The film shot in Croatia in January. The project was originally known as The Dark Knight. The name change should keep Warner Bros. lawyers from calling.
Free Wind is the new distribution company from veteran exec Benjamin Krause, who previously ran indie outfits KSM and Dolphin Medien.
“We are very happy to continue our long collaboration with Uwe with Citizen Vigilante,” said Krause in a statement, “ a collaboration which we had already started with [Boll’s feature] Max Schmeling in 2010.”
Citizen Vigilante is one of several low-budget indies Hammer has lined up as he attempts to restart his career, which was derailed amid sexual misconduct allegations. The Social Network and Call Me By Your Name star was dropped by his agency, WME, and publicly ostracized in 2021 after multiple former partners came forward to accuse Hammer of sexual assault and other disturbing accusations. Hammer strongly denied the allegations and, following a lengthy probe, Los Angeles prosecutors in 2023 declined to charge the actor with any crime.
Alongside Citizen Vigilante, Hammer has the period western Frontier Crucible, from director Travis Mills and Bone Tomahawk producer Dallas Sonnier; and the neo-noir film Night Driver from director John Bevilacqua (My Funny Valentine) coming up. Both films are in post. In an email interview with The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year, Hammer said he didn’t mind having to restart his career from the bottom up. “I don’t need to be back making big studio films,” he said. “I’m happy just making fun, smaller movies for now.”
Boll, who returned to filmmaking with crime drama First Shift last year, is churning them out. His latest, the refugee drama Run, starring Amanda Plummer, James Russo, Ulrich Thomsen, and Barkhad Abdi rolls out worldwide Nov. 14 and he has two First Shift sequels: First Shift: Vengeance and First Shift: Redemption, currently in post.
