Todd Brown's departure from XYZ Films after 17 years represents a natural career evolution, with his new venture Rawk Moving Pictures Corp positioned as an exciting opportunity to develop fresh creative projects. Johnnie To's English-language debut is framed as a prestigious artistic milestone.
Industry insiders are watching closely to see if Brown's split from XYZ Films was amicable or contentious. Sources note that 17 years is an eternity in the indie film distribution world, and Brown's choice of 'Two Gun Cohen' as his flagship project signals serious ambitions beyond typical international sales territory.
Rawk Moving Pictures Corp launched August 2026 with Todd Brown as founder—he spent exactly 17 years heading international operations at XYZ Films. The company's debut title is Johnnie To's 'Two Gun Cohen,' marking the acclaimed Hong Kong director's first English-language feature film.
Johnnie To finally making an English-language film after decades of iconic Hong Kong crime dramas is a major industry event—and Todd Brown betting his entire new company on it as launch material tells you everything about how serious this move really is.
Hollywood just got a little more interesting. Johnnie To, the legendary Hong Kong filmmaker behind some of the most acclaimed crime thrillers in cinema history—including 'Election,' 'Drug War,' and 'Life Without Principle'—is finally making his English-language debut with 'Two Gun Cohen.' But here's where it gets juicy: this prestigious project isn't coming through a major studio or streaming giant. Instead, it's serving as the launch title for Rawk Moving Pictures Corp., the brand-spanking-new Canadian production house founded by former XYZ Films executive Todd Brown.
Brown spent 17 years building XYZ Films into an international sales powerhouse, serving as head of international operations and becoming synonymous with getting Asian cinema—particularly Hong Kong action and crime films—in front of Western audiences. His departure from that post marks the end of an era for a company that's been instrumental in bridging Pacific Rim filmmaking talent with global distribution. The fact that he's chosen Johnnie To's English-language debut as his very first production under the Rawk Moving Pictures banner tells you exactly how ambitious this venture is from day one.
'Two Gun Cohen' represents more than just another notch on anyone's belt. For Johnnie To, who's spent decades perfecting his signature style of moral ambiguity, dark humor, and unflinching depictions of criminal underworlds in Cantonese-language films, stepping into English-language production is a massive creative risk. The director has maintained complete artistic control throughout his career by working primarily within the Hong Kong film ecosystem.
Now he's trusting not only a new language but an entirely new production infrastructure helmed by someone who's been on the sales side of the business rather than in the director's chair. The choice of 'Two Gun Cohen' as Rawk Moving Pictures' opening salvo also raises questions about Brown's strategic vision for his new company. Is this the first of many Asia-focused productions, or is he signaling a broader international slate?
Either way, industry watchers will be tracking every development closely. XYZ Films built its reputation on international sales and co-production deals—now Brown has the chance to prove he can do more than just sell films from other territories. He wants to make them.
For film fans who've been following Johnnie To's work for years, 'Two Gun Cohen' represents a tantalizing possibility: what happens when one of cinema's most distinctive voices attempts to communicate across languages? The director has proven masterful at directing actors, building tension, and exploring themes of loyalty and betrayal regardless of budget or language. Whether that translates to English-language production remains to be seen—but with Brown backing him and Rawk Moving Pictures' resources behind the project, this is one debut worth watching closely.
