Johnnie To Makes English-Language Debut with 'Two Gun Cohen' as Veteran Exec Todd Brown Launches Rawk Moving Pictures
Hong Kong director Johnnie To will make his English-language debut with Two Gun Cohen, one of the first titles from Rawk Moving Pictures Corp, a new Canadian production house launched by film executive Todd Brown, according to Variety.
Brown spent 17 years as head of international acquisitions at XYZ Films, where his credits included The Raid: Redemption, Mandy, The Night Comes for Us, Mile End Kicks and The Furious. Now he is building his own slate from Canada, and To's involvement gives the new company an immediate calling card.
Two Gun Cohen is based on the true story of Morris Cohen, a Jewish immigrant to Canada who settled on the Prairies and met Dr. Sun Yat-sen before Sun rose to become the father of modern China. Cohen went on to serve as Sun's protector and confidant through the years of the Chinese Revolution. To has described the project as a "dim sum Western" — his first Western and his first film set in Canada, per IMDb.
The film is presented under the Chinese-language title Shuang Qiang Gao An, as listed on Instagram. Patrick Whistler is attached to write. Chris Yurkovich of Fiera Stranga and Michael Solomon of Band With Pictures round out the producing team, with Solomon serving as executive producer. The project has received development backing from Telefilm Canada.
In September, Two Gun Cohen heads to Frontières, the co-production and market showcase that runs alongside the Toronto film market — the gathering where sales agents, financiers and producers converge to put deals together. Rawk will use the platform to seek financiers, co-producers and sales partners. The title is one of seven being presented in the Frontières section, per Yahoo News, and is listed in the market's 2026 edition, according to the Frontières Market site.
Rawk's early slate extends well beyond the To project. Necropolis, a sci-fi horror feature, marks the directorial debut of writer-director Solmund MacPherson, with Lee Marshall of Returning Productions co-producing. Corey Adams, who directed Machotaildrop and the Markiplier series The Edge of Sleep, follows up with the cult comedy The Barbarian King, written by Tim Cairo, with Michael Peterson of Peterson Polaris as co-producer. And writer-director Hal Haberman returns to features with Mr. Magnificent, described as absurd yet heartfelt, following his Sundance-selected debut Special, produced in partnership with Amber Ripley of Goodbye Productions.
For a new production company, opening with a Johnnie To film is a serious statement of intent. To, now in his seventies, remains one of Hong Kong cinema's most influential figures, best known for crime dramas and action films like Election, Drug War and the Running Out of Time series. An English-language Western, set partly on the Canadian Prairies, is territory he has never entered.
Whether Two Gun Cohen lands a full budget in Toronto will depend on how buyers and financiers respond to the package — the script, the director, the true-story hook — when it is presented to the market in September.
