Lexi Alexander in Production on Netflix Martial Arts Pic “Absolute Dominion”
Deadline reports that filmmaker Lexi Alexander is currently in production on a new martial arts feature film set in a post-apocalyptic future. Alexander is directing from a script she wrote, which portrays the world in turmoil following religious warfare. Details are currently light on the action-drama: “Desperate to save humanity, global governing forces host a gripping, no-holds-barred, martial arts tournament. Last fighter standing wins Absolute Dominion for one faith.”
Among the cast are Andy Allo (“Chicago Fire”), Jennifer Jajeh (“Transparent”), Juliana Joel (“American Gigolo”), Julie Ann Emery (“Better Call Saul”), June Carryl (“Y: The Last Man”), Nora Armani (“The Blacklist: Redemption”), Reagan Gomez (“Queen Sugar”), and Oluniké Adeliyi (“The Expanse”).
Alexander is also taking on producing duties, along with Jason Blum, John McKeown, and Scott Putman. Chris McCumber and Jeremy Gold from Blumhouse Television are on board to executive produce.
A former World Kickboxing Champion who went on to become a stuntwoman, and then directed the 2002 Oscar-nominated short film “Johnny Flynton,” Alexander quickly made a name for herself as an accomplished action director. She was hired to helm feature films “Green Street Hooligans” — which won the SXSW Jury and Audience awards — and 2008’s “Punisher: War Zone,” marking her as the first woman to direct a Marvel comics feature, before the reformation of Marvel Studios and the introduction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Palestinian-German filmmaker has also long been an outspoken critic of the racism, sexism, and Islamophobia endemic to the film industry — both on-screen and off — and as her Twitter followers will know, has not been shy about the work and opportunities that it has cost her over the years. When she was hired to direct an episode of The CW’s “Arrow” in 2015, she described in an interview with Indiewire the struggle to find a balance between sticking to her principles, and to “not have [execs] worry that you are a walking lawsuit. It’s an issue, because oftentimes … there is this thing where I am actually achieving something by them hiring women. But if they do need to hire women, they certainly don’t come to me because I’m this loudmouth.”
Alexander’s other credits include feature film “Lifted,” and she has also directed episodes of “Supergirl,” “Limitless,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” and “L.A.’s Finest.”
