Renny Harlin, the Finnish director of Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger, has launched Harlin House, a production company that will mentor emerging European directors and turn their projects into genre films with commercial reach. He announced the company on Friday 13 November at Night Visions, the Helsinki genre festival.
Harlin is, in effect, offering newcomers the route he once took himself. “I know what it means to arrive from Europe with a story to tell and no clear path into Hollywood,” he said. “Helping another filmmaker find that path is a central part of this company’s mission.” Harlin House wants to make its first film in 2027 and at least two a year after that, for seven to 10 features over its first five years. Part of the financing is meant to come from fans, who will be able to invest through Republic Film. Budgets, first projects and other financiers were not disclosed.
Key facts
- Founders: Renny Harlin, Johanna Harlin and Max Michael; launched 13 November 2026 at Night Visions, Helsinki
- Output target: a first film in 2027, at least two a year after that, seven to 10 features in five years
- Advisory board: Colin Trevorrow, Tim Miller, Kyle Balda and Janet Change Balda
- Fan investment: through Republic Film, opening a week after the launch
- Not disclosed: budgets, the size of the fan raise, investors’ revenue share, first projects
How the fellowship works
The company is built around the Harlin House Fellowship. Directors chosen for it will develop their projects with Harlin and an advisory board, and Harlin House will decide which of them to produce. The founding board brings together Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World, Jurassic World Dominion), Tim Miller (Deadpool, Terminator: Dark Fate), Kyle Balda, co-director of Minions and Despicable Me 3, and Janet Change Balda, who worked in business development at Illumination, the studio behind both films. Between them they cover live action, visual effects and animation.
Harlin’s partners split the work between audience and deal-making. Johanna Harlin, his wife and a producer, will run the company’s community and its podcast; she began in Finnish television, and her credits include The Strangers trilogy, The Bricklayer, Deep Water and The Beast. Max Michael of M3 Global Strategy, formerly head of Asian business development at the agency UTA, has spent almost 20 years developing talent and packaging projects. His brief is to connect creative development with packaging, financing and international partners.
The Helsinki launch doubled as the company’s first event. Later ones will travel to other international and genre festivals to scout local talent. European genre films do still find Hollywood buyers: this week New Line reportedly bought the remake and US rights to Italy’s Oscar entry, The Spiral.
Fans as investors
Through Republic Film, the film arm of the US investment platform Republic, fans will be able to join as founding investors and share in the films’ earnings alongside the Harlin House team. They will follow the fellows’ projects through development and production and are expected to help promote the finished films. Any investor may also pitch an original idea: Harlin House says it will option some of those pitches, give their authors a story credit, and invite members to suggest scenes and story ideas as projects move forward.
“Fans have been the driving force behind my career,” Harlin said. “With Harlin House, I want to bring them closer to the process and give them an opportunity to participate in what we build.”
The model already has a precedent on Republic. Robert Rodriguez’s Brass Knuckle Films raised $2m from 2,184 investors on Republic in 2025, selling revenue-participation interests in a slate of action films rather than shares, and it also let every investor pitch a film idea. That raise, through Rodriguez’s company RR Action LLC, was a Regulation Crowdfunding offering, with its terms set out in a Form C filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Republic, which describes itself as SEC-regulated, says investors on its film platform can put in as little as $100.
Harlin House has not yet published its terms. The announcement did not say how much it hopes to raise, what share of revenue investors would receive or which offering rules will apply. On Friday afternoon the SEC’s EDGAR database showed no filing under the Harlin House name, and harlinhouse.com carried only a “Launching soon” page. The investment window opens next week.
Harlin’s record
Harlin’s credits over four decades include A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, The Long Kiss Goodnight and Deep Blue Sea, and he has worked with Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Geena Davis and Jackie Chan. More recently he directed The Strangers, a horror trilogy released by Lionsgate, and this year his survival thriller Deep Water and The Beast, an action film with Samuel L. Jackson, both had limited releases. Finland, he said, is where his career began before he left for Hollywood, and “it feels right to come back to my roots to make this announcement”.
Sources
- Variety, Renny Harlin launches Harlin House Fellowship for emerging European filmmakers, 13 November 2026
- The Hollywood Reporter, Renny Harlin launches production company focusing on new directors, 13 November 2026
- Empire, Renny Harlin teams up with Johanna Harlin and Max Michael to launch Harlin House Fellowship, 13 November 2026
- Republic, Republic Film page (SEC-regulated platform, minimum investment $100), checked 13 November 2026
- Republic, Robert Rodriguez's Brass Knuckle Films offering page ($2m from 2,184 investors, closed 16 May 2025)
- Brass Knuckle Films (RR Action LLC), Revenue Participation Agreement, Regulation Crowdfunding offering, Form C dated 10 March 2025
- SEC EDGAR, RR Action LLC (CIK 0002045046) Regulation Crowdfunding filings (C/A 1 May 2025, C-AR 4 May 2026)
- BlenderNation, Behind the Scenes: ChouChou (Kyle Balda and Janet Change Balda), 19 November 2021
- Harlin House website, checked 13 November 2026
- SEC EDGAR full-text search for Harlin House, checked 13 November 2026