Renny Harlin, Fixture of ’90s Blockbusters, Launches Production Company Focusing on New Directors

Renny Harlin, the Finnish filmmaker who stormed Hollywood in the 1990s with big-budget action blockbusters, has launched Harlin House, a production banner that aims to give a boost to up-and-coming European directors.

The company, whose launch was announced by Harlin at Helsinki’s Night Visions International Film Festival, is intended to give rising filmmakers the mentorship and backing to turn their ideas into commercial genre films. Harlin co-founded the new company with wife and producer Johanna Harlin, who leads the company’s community and the Harlin House podcast, and Max Michael of M3 Global Strategy.

“I know what it means to arrive from Europe with a story to tell and no clear path into Hollywood,” said Harlin, who became known for movies Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, The Long Kiss Goodnight and Cutthroat Island, in announcing the new company. “Helping another filmmaker find that path is a central part of this company’s mission.”

At the center of the endeavor is the Harlin House Fellowship, which will see members’ projects developed by Harlin and the company’s advisory board. Harlin House will then choose which projects to produce. The company hopes to make its first movie next year and then two films a year after that. Ideally, the goal is to produce seven to 10 films over the first five years.

The founding advisory’s members bring experience from the worlds of live-action, visual effects and animation and include Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow, Deadpool director Tim Miller, and Kyle Balda and Janet Change Balda (Minions, Despicable Me 3).

The banner also has a fan-investor component to its operations. Through global investment platform Republic Film, film fans can join Harlin House as founding investors and, per the announcement, earn a share of what the films make, alongside the Harlin House team.

And, as the announcement stated, every Harlin House investor can also pitch an original film idea. Harlin House will then select ideas to option for development, with a story credit for its author, and will invite members to share ideas for specific scenes and stories along the way.

Harlin in recent years directed The Strangers, a horror trilogy released by Lionsgate, and this year had survival thriller Deep Water and Samuel L. Jackson action movie The Beast in limited release.