Medient Studios, Inc., announced it will be producing “Kickback,” an espionage thriller inspired by real events in Russia.

Based on the autobiographical novel by journalist Rocky Utang, the film will be shot in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary this year. To be helmed by award-winning writer/director Raza Mallal, “Kickback” is the story about a renegade Moscow detective who defies government pressure to investigate the mysterious assassination of a maverick reporter.

The ensemble cast is set to star John Cusack and “Bond” girl Famke Janssen, along with Mischa Barton, Sean Astin and Rutger Hauer.

The crew include legendary director of photography Douglas Milsome (“Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” “Full Metal Jacket”), production designer John Collins (“The Hunger Games,” “Oceans Eleven”) and editor Derek Burgess (“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Quantum of Solace, Batman Begins”).

Manu Kumaran will produce the film for Medient.

Medient announced that the first movie in its 2014 slate will be “The Damned,” to be set in Savannah.

“The Damned” will be Medient’s 15th feature production and follows the successful production and release of the British horror film “Storage 24.”

Written by Georgia-based writer Chad Darnell, “The Damned” is a possession horror genre film. It is anticipated that principal photography will begin in third quarter of this year.

Savannah has been home to many films including “Midnight in the Garden of Evil,” “The General’s Daughter” and “Forrest Gump.” “The Damned” is a horror story that showcases Savannah, purported to be the most haunted city in America. The company expects to hire much of the production crew from the local area.

“We have lined up an exciting slate for the year,” said Kumaran. “We wanted to kick off the slate with ‘The Damned’ to underline our commitment to creating a sustainable movie business in the region. The focus will continue to remain on local talent even as we scale up our operations.”

Medient is building a massive studio, the largest in North America, on 1,550 acres in Effingham County.