Legendary KISS bassist and co-founder produces new survival film starring Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley<\/p>\n
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Published Apr 30, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 2\u00a0days ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, KISS icon Gene Simmons fired back at fans who were critical of him for launching another business venture.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Even before the legendary rock band he co-founded in 1973 wrapped up their final concert tour in 2023, Simmons, 76, was already readying his next project \u2014 producing movies alongside Gary Hamilton.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n As he plugged their first release, Deep Water, which is now playing in theatres, some fans groused about Simmons\u2019 penchant for finding new ways to make money.<\/p>\n \u201cHow about this. Stop looking at my plate,\u201d Simmons told one complainer on X. \u201cWhat makes me happy, is to never stop, and continue to add value to my family, their future generations, to charity, and to these blessed United States of America. Sending good wishes to you.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking to Postmedia this week from Los Angeles, Simmons said his foray into the business of making movies is part of his ongoing passion to continually challenge himself.<\/p>\n \u201cYou and I know the same thing. At the end of today, we\u2019re going to be alive one less day,\u201d he said, before posing a question. \u201cSo what do you want to do? If God gave you one extra day of life. What do you want to do? Do you want to coast your way through it, and do the usual stuff, the ordinary stuff? Or do you want to be associated with extraordinary things so at the end of the night you go, \u2018Wow, what a day that was.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Your Midday Sun<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n When Variety<\/a> announced the venture in 2023, Simmons\/Hamilton Productions stated its goal is to release 25 movies over an initial five-year period.<\/p>\n Simmons is looking for titles with box office potential, and Deep Water is the type of summer blockbuster that fits the bill.<\/p>\n Inspired by 1970s disaster movies, Deep Water casts Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley as pilots captaining an airliner flying from Los Angeles to Shanghai that crashes into shark-invested waters in the Pacific Ocean mid-flight.<\/p>\n As they wait to be rescued, the survivors have to fend off hungry sharks who are continuously circling in for the kill.<\/p>\n Simmons was hooked when he read the script and immediately tapped Die Hard 2 filmmaker Renny Harlin to direct the survival thriller.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I can\u2019t physically do it myself, or if I don\u2019t have the imagination or the ability to do that, I certainly want to get close to the greats. People who can do great things, so I can be a part of that. I can tell you after all this hard work, the script, the talent, Sir Ben Kingsley, Aaron Eckhart, what Renny has been able to achieve with this motion picture, I\u2019m so proud of it \u2026 It\u2019s a killer. It\u2019s gonna rock everybody\u2019s world,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u2018Everybody wants to go see this movie\u2019<\/p>\n Harlin is no stranger to the shark genre, having also directed 1999\u2019s Deep Blue Sea.<\/p>\n The underwater predators have become Hollywood\u2019s most bankable on-screen villains because they allow moviemakers to put ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances, the Finnish director says.<\/p>\n \u201cAny time we go in the water, it\u2019s the great unknown,\u201d the 67-year-old says, seated alongside Simmons. \u201cWhen we go into their world there\u2019s nothing we can do about it, but just hope for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n Sharksploitation flicks have continually found audiences in the multiplexes because the stories are \u201cendlessly fascinating.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the whole element of the ocean. It\u2019s not our environment. But sharks are not evil \u2026 they\u2019re not bad animals, they are just animals. It would be the same thing if you were dropped into a jungle full of lions. They would just make a meal out of you,\u201d Harlin says. \u201cThe same thing will happen in the ocean if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Ahead of the Los Angeles premiere Monday night, Simmons was planning to welcome \u201cfriends and enemies\u201d to see Deep Water in cinemas.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody wants to go see this movie. You\u2019ve seen it, you know what I mean. This is gonna rock everybody\u2019s socks off,\u201d Simmons says.<\/p>\n As for the next mountain he wants to climb, Simmons, who is set to tour parts of Canada later this year, will decide on his next move a little bit later.<\/p>\n \u201cTomorrow, I\u2019ll figure everything else out,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a word we don\u2019t say enough, and that\u2019s \u2018pride.\u2019 This is a movie to be proud of. It\u2019s a great film for people of all ages and all walks of life,\u201d Simmons says.<\/p>\n But he offers up another piece of advice before signing off. \u201cDon\u2019t go alone. Bring people with you,\u201d Simmons says, flashing a smile. \u201cThis is one of those communal things that you have to see with other people.\u201d<\/p>\n Deep Water is now playing in theatres.<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Gene Simmons slams fans complaining about his wealth: ‘What have you accomplished in life?’<\/p>\n <\/a> Gene Simmons rips celebs wanting to talk politics: ‘Shut the f*** up’<\/p>\n![\"Gene](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2250333965_300296846-e1773230988957.jpg\")
Gene Simmons, a founding member of the rock band KISS, is seen on Capitol Hill on Dec. 9, 2025. Photo by Andrew Harnik \/Getty ImagesArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/21.1.1\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-tsun.svg\"){kind=logo}
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Aaron Eckhart battles a hungry shark in the new survival thriller \u2018Deep Water.\u2019 Photo by Sherry Media Group<\/p>\n![\"Gene](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/gene-simmons-suv-crash_299202770.jpg\")
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