- Notes provided by Universal Pictures. -

JAMES McAVOY (Atonement, The Last King of Scotland), MORGAN FREEMAN (Batman Begins, Million Dollar Baby) and ANGELINA JOLIE (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) tell the tale of one overlooked nobody's transformation into an unparalleled enforcer of justice in Wanted. In 2008, the world will be introduced to a hero for a new generation: Wesley Gibson.

Visionary director TIMUR BEKMAMBETOV (creator of Day Watch and Irony of Fate: The Continuation, the two biggest films in the history of Russian cinema) powers this twisted and visceral adventure of 25-year-old Wes (McAvoy), a slacker who hates his life-with good reason, because it sucks.

At work, his ballbuster of a boss lives to torment him in front of his fellow cube-dwelling drones. Back home, his skeezy girlfriend is a sexual magnet for everyone except him, including Wes' supposed best friend. No wonder this loser is on his 10th prescription for panic attack pills, which he downs like candy between cardboard meals of vegan tofu wraps.

Wes' pathetic excuse for an existence might just as well come to an end and save him a lifetime of prolonged misery.

Fortunately for Wes, his life is over-his old one, anyway...and all because of a girl. Enter hot Fox (Jolie), who crashes into Wes on the business end of a smoking gun. Seems Wes' long-lost and mostly forgotten dad was killed while working for the Fraternity-a centuries-old league of supersensory trained assassins pledged to carry out the unbreakable orders of fate. Their motto: Kill one, save a thousand.

Now it's Wes' turn to follow in his father's footsteps and release the caged wolf that's always lurked inside of him. Killing is in Wes' blood, and he trains under Fox and a motley-but-lethal crew that includes the Fraternity's enigmatic leader, Sloan (Freeman). The neophyte is forcefully pummeled into developing lightning-quick reflexes and superhuman agility. No one said becoming an assassin would be easy.

The former slacker is reborn as the golden boy of the Fraternity and Wes starts to relish his new life, even exacting some best-served-cold revenge on tormentors past. But soon, the sweet taste of power sours when he realizes that the intentions of his deadly associates aren't as noble as first presented. As he wavers between newfound heroism and soul-killing vengeance, Wes will come to learn what no one-neither cold-blooded father nor steaming-hot assassin-could ever teach him: He alone controls his destiny.

The film also stars TERENCE STAMP (Star Wars: Episode I -The Phantom Menace, The Limey) as Pekwarsky; THOMAS KRETSCHMANN (King Kong, Resident Evil: Apocalypse) as Cross; and COMMON (American Gangster, Smokin' Aces) as The Gunsmith.

Universal Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment present the visually stunning world of Wanted, based on the series of comic books by MARK MILLAR and J.G. JONES. The screenplay for Wanted is written by MICHAEL BRANDT & DEREK HAAS (3:10 to Yuma, 2 Fast 2 Furious) and CHRIS MORGAN (Cellular, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift), with a story by Brandt & Haas.

Wanted is produced by MARC PLATT (Broadway's Wicked, the Legally Blonde series), JIM LEMLEY (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Red Eye), JASON NETTER (television's Wolverine & the X-Men, the upcoming The Red Star) and IAIN SMITH (Children of Men, The Fountain). Executive producing are ADAM SIEGEL (The Perfect Man) and MARC SILVESTRI (The Covenant) and Spyglass Entertainment's ROGER BIRNBAUM and GARY BARBER (Eight Below, Bruce Almighty).

The filmmakers have assembled an international team of sterling behind-thecamera talent, including director of photography MITCHELL AMUNDSEN (Transformers, Transporter 2), Oscar®-winning production designer JOHN MYHRE

(Memoirs of a Geisha, Chicago), Academy Award®-winning film editor DAVID BRENNER (Independence Day, Born on the Fourth of July), costume designer VARYA AVDYUSHKO (Day Watch, Night Watch) and composer DANNY ELFMAN (Spider-Man 2, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

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