Robert Downey Jr. in Hiding
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
In The Industry News, Robert Downey Jr.’s new sci-fi, Apple and Amazon get cozy and a spork.
Actor Spotlight: Kevin Costner goes surfing, Henry Cavill gets a volt of no confidence, and Emily Mortimer bags Sony.
Festivals: New fellows at Sundance, Film Independent, and Cannes Labs. Plus, Stealing Pulp Fiction.
Indie Filmmaker Spotlight: Justin Kurzel is not out of order, Mubi steals Hamlet and Shudder’s Irish horror.
Let’s go!
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Universal Pictures has acquired the rights to Julianna Baggott's short story The Hider, with Robert Downey Jr. potentially starring and producing along with his wife, Susan Downey. Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari (writers: Transformers One) will adapt the story, with plot details still under wraps. Baggott signed with WME in 2023, and her website claims this is one of her 20 projects in various stages of development.
We’ll report back when we get more information. But her stories are pretty hot, having been sold to Netflix, Paramount, and Ryan Reynolds’ company. They all involve sci-fi topics like futuristic viruses, alternate realities, and AI prostitutes.
Keeping consumer interest in your streaming service is of key importance as companies are desperate to reach new customers and keep old ones from unsubscribing.
Today, five companies have announced partnerships:
Apple and Amazon
Apple TV+ will be available on Amazon for $9.99
DirectTV is launching a free ad-supported streaming service
This news comes days after they acquired their competitor Dish (although this is still pending regulatory approval)
Lionsgate’s Starz + BBC’s BritBox are bundling
Read further on each of the deals here:
https://theindustry.co/p/bundles-of-apple
Tidbits:
Streaming Cancellations/Renewals:
Renewal
Netflix’s The Diplomat - Season 3
Netflix’s Nobody Wants This - Season 2
IMAX’s latest hire is Jonathan Fischer, their new Chief Content Officer. He will be overseeing:
Distribution
Post-Production
IMAX Documentaries
He will be concentrating on finding new business to help diversify their content portfolio, examing new artists and IP owners.
Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX stated:
“Jonathan brings a wealth of proven experience that will be critical as more filmmakers and artists than ever seek to create for our platform.”
Fischer has an impressive resume:
Netflix (2019-2023)
Vice President, Content Strategy & Analysis, Global Films
Illumination (2018-2019)
Chief Operating Officer
New Regency Productions (2012 - 2017)
Chief Operating Officer
They’re feeling flush right now, rebounding from Q2 slumps when their revenue was down 9%, and their net income was down 57% because the recent Deadpool & Wolverine was the 5th highest-grossing IMAX film of all time, making them $84M.
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Amazon MGM announces two exciting new projects on the way!
The Audible podcast, My Mom’s Murder, hosted by Lauren Malloy, is being adapted into a new limited series for MGM Television starring Chloë Grace Moretz (Carrie).
Synopsis:
When Malloy was just an infant, her mother passed away and had grown up believing her passing was natural. When she discovers that her mother’s death was actually an unsolved murder, she sets out on a journey to discover the truth.
The Kick Ass actress will lead the unannounced cast in the upcoming murder mystery show based on AYR Media’s ten-part podcast that launched just yesterday.
Amazon MGM Studios presents Sporkinfeesten, a Bobby Farrelly (Dir: Champions) family vacation comedy, with Cobra Kai’s Counterbalance Entertainment producing.
The producer behind beloved comedies like Dumb and Dumber (1994), There’s Something about Mary (1998), Shallow Hal (2001), etc. has recently announced another directorial venture, the upcoming Jack Black led holiday comedy, Dear Santa expected this winter on Paramount.
Farrelly’s MGM project is penned by Cursed Friends (2022) duo Will and Aaron Eisenberg with a lot of details for whatever Sporkinfeesten is currently under wraps.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Kevin Costner looks for new Horizons. The actor/director is set to star in his first film, Headhunters, post-Horizons Pt 1, 2, and almost 3.
Costner also co-wrote the film. Here’s the synopsis:
A washed-up American expat (Costner) with a mysterious past who winds up living in Bali, Indonesia. He gathers a group of surfers led by a local photographer to find the perfect wave at an uncharted island — which winds up being the domicile of an ancient tribe of headhunters who are protecting their land at all costs.
I like the idea that he’s washed up in this film; it seems to go against the grain of his archetypal character of grandiose American West hero as seen in:
Yellowstone (2018-2023, trailer)
Star/EP
Dances With Wolves (1990, trailer)
Director/Producer/Star
Won 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture
What's interesting about Dances With Wolves is the kinship he develops with the native tribe. He’s a little looser and sillier in that film than we see him in later years.
Headhunters will be directed by Steven Holleran (DP: Missing). Costner’s company, Territory Pictures, will produce along with Scott Steindorff (EP: Chef, Producer: The Lincoln Lawyer).
There is no word on production start dates; Costner’s preference would be to continue shooting Horizons Pt 3. But after a lackluster box office reception for the first part and with Warner Bros. pulling the second part, he’s invested $100 M of his own money and, after exiting Yellowstone, may be eager for a paycheck and to fill his time.
A Volt of No Confidence: A few weeks ago, we announced that newcomer Daniel Quinn-Toye would star in Amazon MGM’s live-action Voltron, directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, and set to film in Australia.
Quinn-Toye will make his debut and for this relatively unknown young actor, this is a big deal.
But with the news of Henry Cavill joining the cast, one might reflect on the dichotomy of a career upswing and a career downswing. One actor's big break could be the other's first step into obscurity. Audiences love Cavill's overwhelming nerd pride, a true geek that loves the source material behind his video game-inspired turn as Geralt in The Witcher, Superman, and his long-awaited Warhammer franchise, which is… still happening, right?
We don't know who Cavill will play in Voltron. Usually, the pilots are all younger kids, so there is a chance he could camp it up as the villain, Emperor Zarkan. But you can't help but look at this as a demotion for an actor who has constantly been shafted. Jettisoned and replaced in The Witcher, fired and rehired only to get fired by Superman. Cavill needs a win, and Voltron feels more like a participation trophy.
Voltron, is based on the 1980s anime Voltron: Defender of the Universe, the adaptation follows five pilots commanding Robot Lions that form the mega-robot Voltron.
There were a lot of small robots make a big robot, some good early anime kaiju goodness.
Acting/producing couple Emily Mortimer (Match Point) and Alessandro Nivola (Kraven the Hunter) sign a first-look deal with Sony Pictures Television via their King Bee Productions. Under the agreement they will develop and produce scripted TV projects for both Sony U.S. and its international studio.
Most notably, King Bee produced the HBO/Sky comedy Doll & Em (2014), which Mortimer co-created and starred in alongside her husband. The English actress is currently in development on Noah Baumbach’s next untitled Netflix pic, a “coming-of-age film for adults” that she co-wrote and starred in.
Mortimer can be seen next in the much anticipated Paddington in Peru set for a premiere in January.
Tidbits:
Staffing Up: Peacock's new mockumentary series, rumored to be titled The Paper, has added Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Tim Key, and Eric Rahill to its cast with all four also acting as writers. The cast is ever-growing, joining rumored leads Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore, and Melvin Gregg. Co-created by Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, the show is set in the same universe as The Office, but focuses on a dying Midwestern newspaper. In a similar format, the series follows a documentary crew chronicling the publisher’s efforts to revive the paper with volunteer reporters.
Still waiting on a release date and a title confirmation!
It did in fact start with The Big Bang… The Big Bang Theory new spinoff series is officially in the works, with Max casting Kevin Sussman (Ugly Betty), Brian Posehn (Run Ronnie Run), and Lauren Lapkus (The Wrong Missy), all alums of the long-running sitcom. Co-creator Chuck Lorre’s untitled spinoff was announced over a year ago with Warner Bros. Television on board, yet it is still in the very early stages of development.
Fresh off his Lanterns casting, Damon and Affleck’s RIP adds Kyle Chandler to an already stacked cast, including the Goodwill Hunting duo, Catalina Sandino Moreno (Silent Night) and Néstor Carbonell (Shogun). Here is the synopsis:
A group of Miami cops discovers a stash of millions in cash, leading to distrust as outsiders learn about the huge seizure, making them question who to rely on.
The film is directed by Joe Carnahan (writer/director: Smokin Aces, writer: Bad Boys for Life (2020).
Production for RIP is underway.
Snatch’s Stephen Graham is the latest to join Netflix’s upcoming Peaky Blinders movie based on Steven Knight’s smash hit BBC series. The plot and specific roles for the film have not been announced, yet Graham is a Peaky alum having played previously a mysterious man named Hayden Stagg in the sixth and final season. Following this project, Graham will play Bruce Springsteen’s dad in the biopic Deliver Me from Nowhere opposite The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White.
FESTIVALS
Better than a $5 Milkshake? Stealing Pulp Fiction kicked off at the Newport Beach Festival. Done in the style of Pulp Fiction, it follows it follows a hyped up trio as they try to steal Tarantino's personal print of Pulp Fiction. Sadly it doesn’t look like Quentin appears instead he’s played by Seager Tennis. Jason Alexander also stars.
Here’s the trailer… with some pickles.
The film will play at the Newport Beach Film Festival Saturday, October 19th at 8:30 pm at the Lido Theater.
We have a trifecta of new Lab/Scholorship inductees.
Sundance’s Latine Fellowship & Collab announced its class of 2024. This project caught my attention:
Entre Sombras
Dir/Writer: Andrés Lira
Synopsis: After failing to secure a babysitter, a farmworker is forced to bring his two kids to work.
Check out the fellows and scholorship winners here.
Film Independent’s Producing Labs Documentary & Fiction Fellows. This doc in development caught my attention:
Watch the Circus Burn
Prod: Kat Nguyen
Synopsis: An eclectic clown car into the dusty and sparkling landscape of the American West. The cast of clowns step out of the vehicle and into the spotlight to joyously and publicly celebrate their failure while navigating the great wager of Nevada.
This narrative feature in post sounds fascinating:
Prod: Liz Daering-Glass
Synopsis: Siblings Raymond and Coco Zhang run an art forgery ring. When Miami millionaire Holden coerces them into faking masterpieces, they encounter a web of deceit.
A full list of fellows can be found here.
Cannes’ Résidence. Read more about the six residents here.
Noisy roommates are the worst. That concept is taken to the nth degree in Tribeca Film Festival’s Restless. The film just picked up an international sales agent APM (The Endless)
Here’s the official synopsis:
A mild-mannered care-worker’s peaceful existence is disturbed when an intimidating party animal moves into the house next door. Subjected to endless sleepless nights, she is pulled into an escalating war of attrition which tests her resolve and sanity to the limit.
No trailer yet but here’s a great first look image of a woman at her whit’s end.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Justin Kurzel (Dir: Nitram) is obsessed with bleak portrayals of mental illness. His new film The Order has dropped a terrifying trailer. The film was an official selection at Venice and TIFF.
Here’s the official synopsis:
A series of bank robberies and car heists frightened communities in the Pacific Northwest. A lone FBI agent believes that the crimes were not the work of financially motivated criminals, but rather a group of dangerous domestic terrorists.
The cast is very strong Law plays the FBI agent who seems to be both a risk taker and a little out of his depth. But the real transformation here is Nicholas Hoult as the neo-Nazi who becomes radicalized by dangerous dogma. There’s a blind passion in him that we often don’t see so realized in his work.
The extended cast includes Tye Sheridan, Jurrnee Smollet, and a very serious Marc Maron.
While The Order looks at how radicalized groups can poison an individual Kurzel’s Nitram looks at it from the other end. That film was an acid-soaked portrayal of mental illness. Earning the titular character Caleb Landry Jones an award at Venice for Best Actor (trailer).
Kurzel has two big projects lined up: the Australian epic The Narrow Road to the Deep North, starring Jacob Elordi, and Amazon’s Mice, starring Nicole Kidman.
The Order is out on December 6th. Here’s the trailer.
Mubi takes the US and global streaming rights for the SXSW favorite Grand Theft Hamlet. The directors/screenwriters are Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane.
Synopsis:
Have you ever staged Hamlet during a shootout with the cops? Shot entirely inside the video game Grand Theft Auto, this documentary charts the hilarious and profoundly moving story of two out-of-work actors as they try to stage a full production of Hamlet within this notoriously violent digital world.
This is glorious. I was waiting for this one to bag a distributor, so hats off to Mubi for seeing the potential in this. They’re making a killing with The Substance, which is nearing $21 M at the box office at the time of publication. So, I have high hopes for Grand Theft Hamlet.
Here’s a little clip from the film we dug up. The film will next be shown at BFI on October 15th with an official release date set for early 2025.
Shudder buys Fréwaka. Say that ten times fast. This is an Irish new-wave horror film that premiered at Locarno.
Here’s the official synopsis:
A student of nursing palliative care, who is plagued by a trauma from her past that has a disorienting effect on her present, her relationship, her career and her ability to function.
The first-look clip stops short of being disturbing, but the editing is highly executed with the right juxtaposition of seamless to psychological in an instant: https://cineuropa.org/en/video/rdid/464622/
Aislinn Clarke (The Devil’s Doorway) is the director, stating:
“I’ve followed Shudder since its inception and have seen it grow to become a world-leading platform for smart, daring, and exciting films, at the very cutting edge of new horror… I am thrilled to work with Shudder in bringing Fréwaka to an international audience.”
Next playing at BFI today, October 11th. Hitting Shudder 2025.
Oscar-winning scribe David S. Ward (writer: Sleepless in Seattle) is making his return to the director’s chair with Dr. Campbell, a biographical drama about plant-based nutrition pioneer Dr. T. Colin Campbell.
Official Logline:
From an unlikely starting point, and later battling his own illness, scientist Dr. Campbell discovers that an animal-based diet dramatically increases the risk of disease, which threatens government, corporate and academic groups more interested in power and profit than in truth and health.
Ward’s last directed feature was his 20th Century Studios buddy comedy film Down Periscope (1996, trailer) led by Kelsey Grammer and Rob Schneider.
The filmmaker’s unexpected next venture is slated to begin production in 2025 and is expected to have a 2026 premiere.
Tidbits:
Oscar-winning director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) is directing the first ever scripted short film for the Apple Vision Pro, called Submerged. It’s no wonder why Berger was tapped. All Quiet on the Western Front feels ultra immersive with its chilling, poetic, hauntingly scored rendition of war.
The first look BTS trailer looks wild.
Apple is asymmetrically spending on AI and Immersive content to keep consumers in their Vision Pro which completes their content flywheel.
Martha Stewart’s got bite. Netflix’s Telluride biopic Martha just dropped a trailer that gives us a provocative window into her entrepreneurial fire and no shits given attitude. The director is R. J. Cutler (Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry). Landing on October 30th on Netflix.
Mubi is releasing The Girl with the Needle on December 6th. The film was in competition at Cannes and is Denmark’s Best Foreign Film Oscar entry. Here’s a clip.
ON THIS DAY
1963. William Shatner stars in the Nightmare at 20,000 Feet episode of The Twilight Zone.
That’s all for the week. We’re off on Monday and will see you on Tuesday.
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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