Actress Milla Jovovich and director Paul W.S. Anderson have been bestowed the prestigious Franchise Achievement Award in ceremonies held recently during the 2016 ediiton of the CineAsia exhibitors and distributors convention in Hong Kong.
The honor is in recognition of the tandem’s highly successful sci-fi, action horror film series Resident Evil whose sixth installment — Resident Evil: The Final Chapter – is confirmed to be the last, and bowing in Philippine cinemas on February 01, 2017.
The astoundingly successful film franchise adaptation of Capcom’s hugely popular video game series, has grossed over $1 billion worldwide to date.
“It is such an honor to be here and receive this award,” beams Milla Jovovich in her acceptance speech.
“We worked very hard to bring the franchise to its most explosive, emotional climax possible,” adds Anderson. “This is an amazing award. This franchise has been a huge part of our lives. It’s something we’ve worked on for fifteen years – it’s of massive importance to us, and its lovely to have it recognized. Especially in Cine Asia since Asia has been very important culturally and aesthetically for the movies.”
In a related development, Resident Evil fans will be able to get in touch with their heroes through a new interactive experience called Road To Raccoon City.
The immersive experience features haptic technology from Sony combined with motion picture content from Resident Evil – Final Chapter, and was launched at CineAsia.
Haptic technology generates tactile sensations in a user’s body through vibrations. In Road to Raccoon City, users wear a specially equipped vest and shoot at zombies on a projected screen. As the zombies attack, the vest generates physical and audio responses to simulate the attack. Jovovich provides a voice-over.
Designed as a complement to the movie, which itself is derived from a Capcom game, the sensory experience is result of cooperation between Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), video production company Sony PCL, and parent company Sony Corp.
“This is a wonderful example of when several of Sony’s divisions join forces to create one multi-faceted and dynamic project,” said Sony executive VP of marketing, Sal Ladestro. “We’re excited to support Resident Evil: The Final Chapter with this fun, immersive activation.”
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter picks up immediately after the events in Resident Evil: Retribution, in which Alice (Jovovich) is the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity’s final stand against the undead. Now, she must return to where the nightmare began – The Hive in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse.
The film also stars Ali Larter (Resident Evil: Afterlife) as Claire Redfield, Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Resident Evil: Extinction) in the role of Dr. Alexander Isaacs, Shawn Roberts (Resident Evil: Afterlife) as Albert Wesker, Australian actress Ruby Rose (Orange is the New Black) as Abigail, Eoin Macken (The Night Shift) as Doc, Cuban-American actor William Levy, as Christian; Fraser James (Law & Order: UK) as Michael, and Japanese model and TV personality, Rola, as Cobalt.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is distributed by Columbia Pictures, the local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.
