Young studio makes big CinemaCon debut among heavyweights

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Newbie film studio STX has a fresh creative partner in its ring: Sylvester Stallone.

The less than two-year-old company that specializes in mid-budget films like “The Gift” announced Tuesday at CinemaCon that it would be developing a film project with Stallone, who was on site at the annual gathering of theatre owners.

STX Motion Picture Group Chairman Adam Fogelson also brought out director Gary Ross, Matthew McConaughey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw to preview footage from this summer’s “The Free State of Jones,” a Civil War drama about Confederate rebellion leader Newt Knight.

In the presentation, Fogelson touted the company’s diverse range of movies, which includes the coming-of-age drama “The Edge of Seventeen,” the Jackie Chan action thriller “The Foreigner,” the raunchy comedy “Bad Moms,” and the Jonas Cuaron-directed border drama “Desierto.”