YouTube’s Peacock, Amazon’s Hatter, and a Wish.

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THE INDUSTRY TLDR

• YouTube Premium users will get access to Peacock via a new distribution deal.

• Amazon MGM develops an animated Mad Hatter film directed by Scott Mosier.

• FX orders Wildwood, a New Jersey-set comedy from Derry Girls creator.

• SAG-AFTRA formally opposes the Paramount-Skydance-WBD merger.

• Netflix acquires int’l rights to the first four series in Starz’s Power franchise.

• John Wells (ER/The Pitt) renews his overall deal with Warner Bros. TV.

• Regina Hall joins Dwayne Johnson in Benny Safdie’s film Lizard Music.

• Obsession breakout Michael Johnston in talks to join the next The Mummy film.

• Whoopi Goldberg will star in Netflix’s Women Like Us.

• The TV Academy and NATAS explore reuniting nearly 50 years after separating.

• Obscured Releasing acquires North American rights to SXSW’s Ugly Cry.

• Prime signs a deal with CJ ENM to bring more than 100 Korean titles to India.

• Chinese animated feature All Wishes Come True! tops China box office w/ $112.5M.

Yesterday’s correct answer: Goosebumps. Ryan Gosling starred in a 1996 episode.
43% got it correct. However, Gosling recently appeared in a social video with Elmo.

THE INDUSTRY NEWS

Peacock is finding a new perch on YouTube. Beginning early next year, YouTube Premium subscribers in the U.S. will gain access to Peacock through a new multi-year partnership with NBCUniversal and Google. The service offers NFL and NBA games and other live sporting events from NBCUniversal, as well as hit reality series like Love Island USA, The Traitors, and The Real Housewives franchise, as well as scripted series like All Her Fault and The Office.

This deal marks Peacock’s largest wholesale distribution agreement to date, coming shortly after the streamer’s first profitable quarter (Q2 2026), during which time it also added 2M paid subs. The move also comes ahead of Comcast gearing up to spin off NBCUniversal over the next year into a separate company.

The price of the new YouTube Peacock Premium bundle has yet to be announced.

Tidbits:

Amazon MGM is developing an animated Mad Hatter film, directed by Scott Mosier (Universal’s 2018 animated The Grinch). No info on the plot of the film as of now, other than the fact that the film will be based on the Mad Hatter from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The film will be produced by Aniventure (Prod: Netflix’s Klaus). Nothing beats the original’s very wild, acid-trip style (clip).

Derry Girls but set on the Jersey Shore. FX and 20th Television have won the rights to Wildwood, a comedy series in development from Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee. This will be the BAFTA winner’s first project out of the UK. McGee describes it as a spiritual successor to her coming-of-age Irish series but set in the early 2000s in Wildwood, New Jersey. Turns out the only thing louder than Derry teenagers is a Jersey Shore boardwalk crowd.

Nearly 50 years after splitting into separate organizations, the Television Academy and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) are exploring a potential reunion. The proposed merger would reunite Emmy divisions coast to coast, with all current governors’ terms extended by one year “to ensure continuity in the deliberations.” There is no clear deadline set for a decision.

Mini Tidbits:

SAG-AFTRA is taking a stand against the freshly delayed PSKY-WBD merger. The union’s national board officially adopted a resolution opposing the deal while stopping short of joining the multistate antitrust lawsuit blocking the acquisition.

Starz’s Power will be available on Netflix this Nov. The global streamer just struck a deal with Lionsgate TV and gained the international rights to the first four series of the Power franchise: Power, Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and Power Book IV: Force.

John Wells (EP: The Pitt) has renewed his overall deal with Warner Bros TV. He has been with Warner Bros for 40 years, producing iconic series like ER and The West Wing. Under the new deal, Wells will continue to develop and produce shows for HBO and HBO Max.

First Look:

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s short film Flesh Impact

• First Look at Dakota Johnson as Marilyn Monroe

• Premiere: Venice

Netflix’s Possible Love

• Dir: Lee Chang-dong

• First Look

• Cast: Sul Kyung-gu (Memoir of a Murderer)

• Premire: Venice/TIFF

• Streaming release: Nov. 6

Trailers:

Prime Video’s The Chosen (S6)

• Trailer

• Release: Nov. 15

ComicBookPros’ Bill Sienkiewicz: That Polish Guy

• Trailer

Release Dates:

Neon’s A Place in Hell

• Dir: Chloe Domont (Fair Play)

• Cast: Michelle Williams, Andrew Scott, Daisy Edgar-Jones

• Release: Dec 25, 2026 → Apr. 23, 2027

CBS Fall Dates:

Survivor (S51)

• Release: Sept. 23

NCIS (S24), NCIS: New York (Series Premiere), NCIS: Origins (S3)

• Release: Oct. 6

George & Mandy’s First Marriage (S3), Eternally Yours (Series Premiere), Elsbeth (S4), Cupertino (Series Premiere)

• Release: Oct. 8

GHOSTS (2 ep Halloween Special)

• Oct. 29

ABC Fall Dates:

Dancing with the Stars (S35), R.J. Decker (S2)

• Release: Sept. 15

Abbott Elementary (S6)

• Release: Oct. 7

9-1-1 (S10), 9-1-1: Nashville (S2), Grey’s Anatomy (S23)

• Release: Oct. 15

Prime Video India’s Vadhandhi - The Mystery of Mani (S2)

• Release Aug. 7

The Traitors (S2)

• Release Aug. 13

THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT

Regina Hall (Scary Movie) joins Dwayne Johnson on Amazon MGM’s family adventure film Lizard Music, directed by Benny Safdie (The Smashing Machine). The film will be a live-action/CGI hybrid film, following a boy (Theo Clark Leber) who stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing music. Dwayne Johnson plays an eccentric 70-year-old man called The Chicken Man, and Hall plays The Chicken Man’s friend and co-worker.

Regina Hall hasn’t really starred in traditional family-oriented films, and luckily this won’t be one! Her sharp comedic timing and energetic screen presence in the Scary Movie films make us think that she could be a strong fit for the film’s eccentric atmosphere.

From girl issues to Mummy issues, Obsession’s Michael Johnston is in talks to join Universal’s next The Mummy movie. Earlier this summer, Johnston’s career did a complete 180, breaking out in Focus Features’ $460M-grossing horror feature Obsession as Bear, an unconfident music store employee whose wish for love triggers a terrifying and deadly obsession.

Johnston’s Bear was selfish, reckless, and far more complicated than your average horror player.

If the casting is made official, Johnston would join Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, both returning to reprise their roles. While there is no word on who he would play, it’s possible that his casting signals this film will tilt a little more into the horror space than previous Weisz/Fraser Mummy films.

The fourth installment will start shooting this fall, scheduled for an Oct. 2027 release.

Netflix and the Obamas’ Higher Ground have formed quite the girl group. EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg, alongside Jenifer Lewis (GOAT), Vanessa Williams (Soul Food), and Vivica A. Fox (Kill Bill) are slated to star in the comedy feature Women Like Us. In the same vein as Peacock’s The Five-Star Weekend, the film follows a recently widowed woman dragged to the Hamptons by her sister and lifelong best friends for a weekend of grief, love, and sisterhood.

The ensemble brings together decades of highly acclaimed work across genres, from the Oscar-nominated The Color Purple to Tarantino’s Kill Bill; this group has a collective star power that should be as much of a draw as the comedy itself. Women Like Us is beginning production this fall in NYC.

Tidbits:

David Oyelowo (Selma) joins indie film Little Five, produced by Anne Hathaway’s production company Somewhere Pictures. The film follows the legendary Little 500 cycling race at Indiana University. Oyelowo plays a former cycling champion who becomes a mentor for the protagonist. Oyelowo played Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma (2015) with a tortured sense of conviction. For a quick dose of his acting, check out his heart-wrenching silent performance, suffering through voicemails in this trailer for The After. He’s going to bring real depth and gravitas to this new role.

From one mother to the next, Crystal Fox (The Big Door Prize) is joining the cast of Hulu’s untitled Cable Guy pilot. Inspired by the 1996 Jim Carrey movie, Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. will lead, with Fox set to play the warm but overprotective mother of Wayans’ character. Fox just recently portrayed Tessa Thompson’s complex and independent mother in Netflix’s hit thriller miniseries His & Hers, with the actress now tasked with channeling her maternal instincts for a comedy series.

Obit:

Prolific choreographer and actress Hope Clarke (Sidney Poitier’s A Piece of Action) has sadly passed away at 85. When she wasn’t dancing, Clarke appeared in several films, including playing the mother of Jeffrey Wright’s Jean-Michel Basquiat in Julian Schnabel’s Basquiat (1996).

INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Obscured Releasing (Dist: Blue Film) acquires NA rights to the psychological horror comedy Ugly Cry. Emily Robinson (Eighth Grade) directs and stars in the film that follows a young Hollywood actress as she struggles to fulfill impossible beauty standards. The film premiered in SXSW’s Narrative Spotlight section.

Brooklyn-based Story Syndicate (Netflix’s Maternal Instinct) is expanding its scripted team by hiring veteran producer Robin Schwartz as Head of Scripted. The documentary-heavy studio will use Schwartz’s background on series like Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit and HBO’s Sharp Objects to grow the company’s slate of original, non-biographical series.

Prime Video’s India arm signs a multi-year licensing deal with CJ ENM (Prod: Parasite) that brings more than 100 Korean titles to Indian subscribers over the next two years. The new deal includes a slate of 26 new titles and a wide range of library titles, all of which will be available with Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu subtitles. India has become one of the biggest markets when it comes to consuming Korean content, with K-dramas like Queen of Tears and Extraordinary Attorney Woo earning over 600M hours watched on Netflix.

Chinese animated feature All Wishes Come True! (2026) takes over the top position at the Chinese box office, garnering $112.5M over two weekends. The film follows eight mortals who must outsmart mythical deities.

ON THIS DAY

1954. On the Waterfront is released.

Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.

Editor: Gabriel Miller.

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We had a great opportunity to interview four of the top Emmy-nominated directors for this year’s Emmys in collaboration with the DGA.

I had a wonderful time learning how each of them problem-solves on set, works with actors, and plans ambitious shoots with very limited time.

We spoke with:

• Randall Einhorn

  • 2026 Emmy Nomination: Comedy Series - ABC’s Abbott Elementary

  • Lifetime Emmy nominations: 9

  • Total episodes of Abbott Elementary directed: 39

  • Previous shows directed: Fear Factor, Modern Family, many episodes of The Office and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Parks and Rec

• Hanelle M. Culpepper

  • 2026 Emmy Nomination: Drama Series - Hulu’s Paradise

  • Total episodes of Paradise directed: 4

  • Previous shows directed: Criminal Minds, Empire, Quantico, How to Get Away with Murder, Lucifer, Supergirl, Star Trek: Discovery, Westworld, and Matlock

• Alexandria Stapleton

  • 2026 Emmy Nomination: Doc Series - Netflix’s Sean Combs: The Reckoning

  • Lifetime Emmy nominations: 2

  • Directed full 4-part series

  • Previous shows: Senior Producer on CBS's The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey, HBO's God Save Texas, and ESPN's The Brittney Griner Story

• Mary Lou Belli

  • 2026 Emmy Nomination: Comedy Series - BET’s The Ms. Pat Show

  • Lifetime Emmy nominations: 4

  • Total episodes of The Ms. Pat Show directed: 23

  • Previous shows directed: Sister, Sister, Monk, Wizards of Waverly Place, Bull, NCIS: New Orleans, Sweet Magnolias, and Elsbeth.

RANDALL EINHORN
Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series

Randall Einhorn is a master planner.

In Ballgame, his episode of Abbott Elementary, he pulled off shooting an episode of the hit comedy during a live Phillies game.

Knowing it would be impossible to get usable dialogue during the game, he had to architect a plan to blend a pre-shoot at the stadium without the crowds with his cast’s live reactions on game day.

It involved 450 extras, multiple cameras, planning 70 to 80 moments in the script where he could whip-pan out of pre-recorded story beats and into the live action of the ballgame and then architecting it in the edit.

And to boot, he was able to deliver it on time because of his seamless, fastidious planning.

There are also some amazing unplanned moments, like Phillies MVP Kyle Schwarber hitting a rare four home runs in the ballgame they filmed live. After the game concluded, Einhorn filmed a scene where Schwarber met the teachers.

Einhorn broke down how he directed Schwarber:

"Yeah, he was full of energy, but my direction to somebody like that is just do what Kyle Schwarber would do and say what Kyle Schwarber would say. I mean, here's the script and use what you would like, but you be you. Don't let me tell you who you are.”

Einhorn’s episode of Abbott Elementary is a testament to ambitious directing.

HANELLE M. CULPEPPER
Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series

Hanelle M. Culpepper is an expert at the relationship of time and cinematic TV. Paradise is a show steeped in flashbacks that also contends with a quantum supercomputer that's predicting the future.

As Culpepper architects these differing realities, she keeps things very grounded with her camera work. One stunning sequence in her episode Exodus involves a complex escalator rescue (indicative of Speed) with a meaty character revelation afterward.

Culpepper stated:

“The elevator sequence requires four different set pieces to create this seamless experience for the audience that keeps you on the edge of your seat.”

She continued:

“I want to give you the spectacle and all the suspense and all the action and thrills, but I really wanted to be grounded in what these people are experiencing and making sure that ultimately that's what my camera captures.”

In one moment in the episode, the main characters Sterling K. Brown and Julianne Nicholson, who have come to despise each other, are thrust together on a short-term mission and share a brief but poignant look of disgust.

Culpepper expanded:

“And one thing that I loved about the theme of my episode and of the show is that it really is also about unity and coming together and two opposite sides, finding that way to work together so that we can all basically survive and win and doing that for the greater good. And that’s something that happens in that scene as well.”

Exodus is one of the rare TV show episodes that looks like it’s out of a blockbuster film. The scale of production is immense, and that’s why it’s so impressive that Culpepper has kept everything so grounded.

ALEXANDRIA STAPLETON
Outstanding Directing For A Documentary/Nonfiction Program

What Alexandria Stapleton has done in Sean Combs' The Reckoning is create a complex, visceral, multifaceted portrait of Combs.

Part of it is her vibrant telling of hip-hop history in the 90s, especially the East vs. West rap battles that would emerge as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac from the West became massive artists whom Biggie and Sean Combs, e.g., Puff Daddy from the East, tried to emulate and master through their own styles.

The Reckoning is also a powerful telling of Sean Combs' story, from his life growing up in a fractured home to his immense confidence, hustler mindset, and the very sharp taste that propelled him to massive heights.

In each interview with Combs’ inner circle, Stapleton is able to pull out these complexities. And this is what is powerful about her technique: she's able to capture the bliss, tragedy, and terror of Combs' life.

It’s doubly impressive because all this was happening during the media circus that occurred during Sean Combs’ arrest:

Stapleton shared:

“It was chaos. And a lot of people were having—just every day was a challenge for them—because the media was just like, relentless.”

She continued:

“So once I would start talking to them, and they would start telling me their story… my goal is to not have the interview only rest in the trauma of what happened. Like, I want to understand the whole, the 360, like experience of being, knowing Sean Combs.”

She continued:

“And I think that honestly, that was probably what made my approach a bit different than everyone else's and potentially what made people feel a little bit comfortable.”

Stapleton’s sacred bond between her and her subjects combined with the live-wire element of when this was directed creates an emotional and propulsive watch. I found it addicting as hell.

MARY LOU BELLI
Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series

Mary Lou Belli has a unique talent for mixing the high-wire hilarious with the heartfelt.

That balance is particularly sharp in her Emmy-nominated episode, Give It a Rest.

Belli explained:

“When you’re doing drama and you infuse comedy, you surprise the audience, and you humanize all the characters. When you do comedy and you add drama, it sort of makes it a little bit more pithy. And that’s what attracted me to The Ms. Pat Show.”

The most hilarious sequence is when Pat’s sister, Denise, offers to do the hair of her nephew’s girlfriend who is 20+ years older than him. It quickly becomes a surreal interrogation scene where Denise becomes imbued with the ability to read the girlfriend’s mind.

Belli stated:

“When you trust your actors and know your actors can achieve that, you don’t have to push as a director. You just go, ‘Let it play.’”

The flip side of the episode is that Pat is very punitive toward her young son, but by the end of the episode she comes to grips with her own mortality and gains empathy.

For Belli, the episode is an exploration of a difficult question:

“Kids screw up, and there’s a real tough balance between tough love and empathy for them and what they’re going through and knowing which way to apply it and when.”

Belli’s real art in this episode is watching the peaks and valleys of scenes move from comedy to drama, making everything feel heightened and honest.

The DGA has made some great gains this year that have contributed to the success of these TV directors.

First, they negotiated the first new credit since the 1970s: the TV Pilot director credit. Moving forward, shows are required to give an on-screen credit to the director of each show’s pilot to underscore the work they do in setting the show’s tone and visual style.

The DGA has also won a concession requiring that directors be kept in the loop for the entire post-production process. This was not always the case, with TV directors often hopping to another studio for a new project.

On AI, they’ve come down pretty hard as well, saying that directors can’t get cut out of the loop if AI is being used by the studios. So, for instance, a studio can’t take away a project from a director and finish it with AI. That’s going to be even more crucial as the technology continues to burgeon.

Thanks to the DGA for all the help orchestrating these interviews!

Written and edited by Gabriel Miller.

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Paramount’s Delay, Ryan Gosling’s Ghost and Netflix’s Nuit.

Let’s go!

If you enjoy today’s edition, please hit the like button or leave a comment.

The merger is delayed.

That is, Paramount has hit pause on its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery to let the lawsuit brought by the 12 state AGs proceed. Paramount’s new date to close the deal is June 1, 2027.

This is a big setback for Paramount, as whether this deal closes or not, it has just become more expensive for them.

If it closes:

• Paramount will owe WBD $0.25/share every quarter ($650M/quarter) starting September 30, 2026

If it doesn’t close:

• Paramount will owe WBD a $7bn fee

• WBD can force Paramount to pay after June 4th, 2027

The leader, CA Attorney General Rob Bonta, stated:

“Great news for audiences, movie theaters, and the many people who write, build, and create the art, news, and entertainment so many of us enjoy.”

Paramount said:

“Today’s agreement is a significant win because the result is exactly what we have sought from the outset: a direct path to a trial based on the evidence.”

We’re now living in a new timeline. One that feels like an echo of Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount, and likely one to get played out countless times in the future as the tectonic plates of the film industry shift between mergers, spinoffs and sales.

For More:

Read the full 12-state lawsuit here.

Here are the full details on Paramount’s plan for Warner Bros.

THE INDUSTRY TLDR

• Ryan Gosling will play Ghost Rider in Shawn Levy’s 2028 Marvel film.

• David Jonsson will star as T’Challa’s son in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther 3.

• Charter’s pay-TV losses fall 74% year over year.

• Netflix adapts Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s autobiographical novel Happy Old Year.

• Sky Yang joins Siân Heder’s adaptation of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.

• La La Land in Concert will headline Venice’s Cartier Cinema Club program.

• Filmmaker Chuck Russell, director of The Mask and The Scorpion King, dies at 74.

• Jacques Audiard reunites w/ Netflix for supernatural horror film La Nuit Ravagée.

Friday’s correct answer: 1950s, NBC adapted rainbow logo.
56% got it correct.

THE INDUSTRY NEWS

Two major casting announcements have come out of Comic-Con:

Ryan Gosling will play Ghost Rider.

Gosling is revving up the flames and riding into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After years of speculation, Gosling will officially play the fiery antihero in a standalone film, reuniting with director Shawn Levy shortly after they wrapped on Star Wars: Starfighter (2027).

Levy famously holds the title of having directed the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time with his Marvel debut Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). While its rating is unknown, the pair’s presumed good chemistry and Gosling’s excitement to trade in his Drive getaway car for a much hotter set of wheels could make for one hell of a movie, coming in 2028. Reveal video.

David Jonsson is the star of Black Panther 3.

• Role: Chadwick Boseman’s character T’Challa’s son

• Dir: Ryan Coogler

• Release: Dec 2028

We could not be more excited for Jonsson. He was the highlight of the new Alien film, Alien: Romulus (2024), and was also astonishing in The Long Walk (2025). Reveal video.

Less major but still boatloads of fun: In Hulu’s Family Guy Halloween special, Kieran Culkin will voice the devil.

Charter, the leading U.S. pay-TV operator, sees losses slow in Q2 2026:

• 12.5M total video customers

  • ↓21K subs since last quarter

On the positive side, Charter reduced its pay-TV losses by 74% year over year, after losing 80K subs in Q2 2025.

Charter Communications’ $34.5bn acquisition of Cox Communications, now the nation’s largest cable and broadband provider, will close by the end of August. The megamerger will take the Cox name and expand cable and internet services nationwide.

Tidbits:

Netflix is working with Brazilian novelist Marcelo Rubens Paiva, whose beautifully tragic childhood story was adapted in the Oscar-winning film I’m Still Here (2025, trailer). Paiva’s 1982 coming-of-age novel Happy Old Year is now being developed into a series by the streamer detailing the life-altering accident that left him tetraplegic by age 20. The news comes just months after Netflix’s newest office opened in Brazil.

Amazon MGM Studios has tapped former Netflix and HBO Max executive Pia Barlow as VP of Original Series Marketing, where she’ll oversee campaigns for the studio’s television slate. The hire, however, has already sparked some legal drama, with WBD now suing Amazon, alleging it unlawfully poached Barlow while she remained under contract.

Renewals:

AMC’s Interview with the Vampire (for S4)

• Season name: Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned

• Trailer

Adult Swim’s President Curtis (for S2)

• Rick and Morty spinoff

Cancellation:

Paramount+’s Crutch (after S1)

• Star: Tracy Morgan

Trailers:

Prime’s Blade Runner 2099

• Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Hunter Schafer

• Trailer

• Release: Nov 25

Ok, another iconic Ridley Scott film made into a series. The world is so iconic that this feels like it may dilute the power of the original. But Yeoh looks tremendous in this, so we’ll give it a shot.

Apple’s Dark Matter (S2)

• Cast: Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly

• Trailer

• Release: Aug 28

Apple’s Neuromancer

• Cast: Callum Turner, Peter Sarsgaard

• Trailer

• Release: Jan 22nd

Apple/Mattel/Skydance’s Matchbox: The Movie

• Cast: John Cena and Jessica Biel

• Trailer

• Release: Oct 9

Prime’s Carrie (series)

• Showrunner: Mike Flanagan

• Trailer

• Release: Oct 7

Prime’s Neagley (S1)

• Reacher spin-off

• Trailer

Prime’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (S3)

• Simon Pegg voices a Balrog

• Trailer

• Release: Nov 11

HBO Max’s Lanterns

• Cast: Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre

• Tr​​ailer

• Release: Aug 16

Hulu’s Futurama (S14)

• Trailer

• Release: Aug 3rd

Release dates:

New Line’s Gladys

• Dir: Zach Cregger

• Weapons prequel

• Release: Sept 8, 2028

New Line’s The Flood

• Dir: Zach Cregger

• Prod: Steven Spielberg

• Release: Nov 11, 2028

THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT

Rooney and Kate Mara are the creepiest of twins in Bucking Fastard.

In the first look clip, we can see them speaking in perfect synchronization during a court case where they explain how they met Orlando Bloom’s character.

There’s a chipperness to the wild co-dependence that these two share, as if some sort of parasitic mind-meld.

The film is based on real-life twins Freda and Greta Chaplin, and you can see that the Maras have done a great job capturing them (Maras, Bucking Fastard trailer) vs. Chaplins clip.

We’ve seen Rooney go wonderfully unhinged in everything from Side Effects to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and Kate Mara’s role of Zoe Barnes in House of Cards becomes more effective as she goes off-kilter.

Director Herzog has brought out their unison in a remarkably haunting way. Premiering at the Venice Film Festival.

The star of Justin Lin’s Last Days, Sky Yang, has just been cast in Siân Heder (dir: CODA)’s new project, ​Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. He will play Sam, a prodigy game designer who suffers from afflictions of the heart and body.

He’s ripe for the role.

In Last Days, he tells his father, a lifelong doctor, to return to his passion for painting as if radiating wisdom. But his character’s proclaimed self-enlightenment is deadly delusional. Watching him canoe full force into certain death is heartbreaking because it makes tangible how lost this kid really is.

Mini Tidbits:

Remember Backyard Baseball? Well, my high school friend Lindsay Barnett is adapting the old 90s game into an animation with voices from Tiffany Haddish and Arturo Castro. There will be 20x 11-minute episodes of Backyard Sports: The Animated Series. Play on!

Robin Givens (CW’s Batwoman) has joined the cast of Prime Video’s Cross for its upcoming third season. In the James Patterson drama series, Givens will star as the overbearingly conservative Senator Mulrooney who keeps her personal problems a closely guarded secret. Production for season three has begun in Toronto.

INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT

Filmmaker Chuck Russell has died at 74. Far from a household name, he directed two of my favorite childhood films. They couldn’t be more different:

• The Mask (1994)

• The Scorpion King (2002)

But both films do have something in common: they were the first real films of two superstars: Cameron Diaz and Dwayne Johnson.

Russell’s work in The Mask is of the highest caliber. There’s an electricity to every scene. And the sexual tension between Cameron Diaz and Jim Carrey is titillating.

And, of course, it’s Cameron Diaz’s first on-screen role. She is the electric yet sensitive love interest to Jim Carrey (​iconic entrance scene​). Diaz’s character, which could easily have fallen victim to overly simplified 90s typecasting, is surprisingly layered. And Carrey is in his finest form as a man who believes he’s a superhero and temporarily becomes one.

The Scorpion King was a bit of a childhood obsession of mine. I tried to prove to my parents that it wasn’t violent, only to show them this grisly death scene.

Rest in peace, Chuck.

Mini Tidbits:

Toronto-based New Mountain Films has scooped distribution for House of Hope for North American theatrical and streaming rights. Set in a pacifist Waldorf school in the occupied West Bank, the documentary follows a teaching couple striving to protect their students’ innocence amid escalating regional conflict. The Oscar-qualifying doc won Best International Feature at Hot Docs this past May.

Eli Roth’s The Horror Section is set to produce Burger Night: Luli, Magda, & Lore, an Argentine spinoff feature of Joe Begos’ alien horror Jimmy and Stiggs (2024). The film is set to follow two friends, one of whom believes they were once abducted by aliens.

Blue Bloods TV director Ralph W. Hemecker has sadly died at 65. The longtime writer, producer, and showrunner has a three-decade-spanning career directing episodes of everything from fantasy series Once Upon a Time and The Vampire Diaries to comic book adaptations like The Flash.

Three short updates from the Venice Film Festival and a zombie comedy. Full breakdown here.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Oscar-winning French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez) is reuniting with Netflix for a feature adaptation of La Nuit Ravagée, based on Jean-Baptiste Del Amo’s acclaimed novel.

While some may argue his 13-time Oscar-nominated film Emilia Pérez already ventured into horror territory, this marks Audiard’s first foray into the genre. Set in the outskirts of 1990s Southern France, the film follows a group of teenagers drawn to an abandoned house, unaware of the supernatural force within that feeds on their trauma and becomes inescapable.

The novel was described as a loving homage to old-school horror works, especially Stephen King. Audiard is an intriguing choice as he shares King’s ability to merge social realism with elements of the fantastical.

Unlike Emilia Pérez (2024, trailer), which was acquired by Netflix following its Cannes premiere, La Nuit Ravagée is expected to premiere directly on the streamer, though production has not yet begun.

Tidbits:

One of the last projects to star the late Eric Dane (Euphoria) is headed to the BBC. Kabul is a Mediawan drama series set against the terrifying environment of Afghanistan in 2021 after American troops withdrew and the Taliban wreaked havoc on the city. The six-part drama lands on the BBC next month.

After a decade at Sony Pictures, Jamie Stevens is stepping down as EVP of Worldwide Consumer Products. During his tenure, Stevens helped greatly expand the studio's IP portfolio, working on iconic brands like Ghostbusters, Jumanji, and The Boys. Stevens’ last day will be the first week of Sept., with no word yet on her replacement.

ON THIS DAY

1922. Norman Lear born in New Haven, Connecticut.

Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.

Editor: Gabriel Miller.

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Peacock, IMAX and Ramayana.

Let’s go!

If you enjoy today’s edition, please hit the like button or leave a comment.

THE INDUSTRY TLDR

• Peacock reports $189M in profit and $1.9bn in revenue.

• IMAX is up for the quarter with $103M in revenue and $15.9M in net income.

• Universal secures the rights to develop Atari games into feature films.

• Rebelle Media and MGM Television acquire Sarah Adams’ When in Rome series.

• A judge extends the order blocking the PSKY WBD merger through August 18.

• Los Angeles on-location production falls 12.7% in Q2.

• Apple TV orders its first dating series.

• Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, and Laura Linney join rom-com The Joy of Sex.

• Zosia Mamet joins the fifth and final season of HBO’s Industry.

• Rick Kumazawa joins Season 2 of FX’s Shōgun.

• TIFF unveils the lineup for its Primetime Program.

• Bleecker Street acquires concert film George Michael: The Faith Tour.

• Sony acquires global rights to Indian epic Ramayana.

Yesterday’s correct answer: 6x Tony Scott/Jerry Bruckheimer films.
74% got it correct.

THE INDUSTRY NEWS

Comcast’s Peacock Q2 2026. Here are the stats for the NBCUniversal streamer, plus the difference from last year:

• $1.9bn revenue

  • ↑ 58%

• 48M subs (↑ 2M).

  • Good result after three straight quarters of additions

• $189M profit

  • ↑ from $101M in losses last year

  • First-ever profitable quarter

Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh hedged his bets, stating that profitability had to be judged yearly:

“Managing event-driven churn effectively by bringing users in around major moments and keeping them engaged with the broader content slate.”

E.g., much of the gains are due to FIFA World Cup, NBA Playoffs and Love Island.

The media unit of Peacock’s parent company, Comcast, had a profit of $708M (↑3.7%) and $5.7bn revenue (↑25.3%).

NBCU’s movie and TV studio had $3.04bn in rev (↑ 25%) and $972M theatrical revenue (↑242%). Profit is up 3x to $202M.

This is due to the breakout success of Michael, which they distributed internationally, as well as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ($1.01bn WW) and Obsession ($443.7M WW).

Here are the full Q2 2026 financials.

IMAX Q2 2026. We broke down their numbers and how they stacked up against last year:

• $285M global box office

  • ↑1% overall

  • ↑24% internationally

• $103M revenue

  • ↑12%

• $15.9M Net Income

  • ↑30%

The top earners:

• $69M, Michael

• $42M, The Mandalorian & Grogu

Look, this may get blown out of the water by next quarter as The Odyssey earned $52M in its opening weekend for IMAX; that’s their most ever for a title. We’ll see if that comes close to last year’s top earner, the Chinese film Ne Zha 2, which earned IMAX $190M.

Welcome back to the Golden Age of Arcade Video Games. American Video Gaming company Atari signs a deal with Universal Pictures, giving the studio the right to develop Atari video game IP into feature films. The iconic game properties include Asteroids, Berzerk, Centipede, and Crystal Castles. Longtime Universal exec Matt Reilly and Carl Hampe (Prod: Hellboy) will write the first screenplay from one of the IPs.

Atari was a pioneer in the commercial video game space in the 70s, even controlling 80% of the market with their iconic Atari 2600 home console. We can surely expect an action-adventure film where Atari’s biggest gaming IPs appear as characters and obstacles for the main characters to overcome.

There’s already a really good example of blending nostalgic IP into a single film – Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One (2018) successfully incorporated iconic characters and settings from films like The Shining (1980) and Mobile Suit Gundam into its story.

Maybe we’ll be able to see our main characters sucked into the world of 8-bit games where they must survive through arcades’ most iconic games.

Hollywood’s production comeback is proving slower than hoped. According to FilmLA’s latest report, on-site production in LA dipped slightly in Q2:

4,711 total on-location production days for Q2

• ↓ 12.7% (5,394 SD in Q2 2025)

Television

• 1,607 shoot days

  • ↑ 34% (1,196 SD in Q1 2026)

Feature Films

• 443 shoot days

  • ↓ 19% (553 SD in Q2 2025)

As of right now, 170 projects have been awarded tax credits through the California Film & Tax Credit Program. The new report echoes LA’s “new normal”, a smaller industry that is more heavily supported with state incentives.

Full details here.

EEAAO filmmakers Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan’s next sci-fi movie gets a confusing new insight from the film’s lead, Matt Damon.

He said:

“The way they pitched it to me was: if The Breakfast Club meets Inception meets an anime film meets an episode of The John Oliver Show that never aired.”

The untitled Universal film will hit theaters Nov. 19, 2027.

Tidbits:

A judge has ordered an additional 2-week temporary restraining order blocking the merging of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. That means the deal cannot close before August 18th. During this time, the court will review the antitrust lawsuit brought by 12 state AGs. Full details here.

Apple TV is making its first dating series, The Last Person on Earth with Esther Perel (Podcast: Where Should We Begin?) as host. In the show, Perel and her team will bring together couples who appear to be complete opposites and send them to one of the world’s most romantic destinations.

Sarah Adams’ bestselling When in Rome romance series is headed to television. Rebelle Media (Hulu’s Tell Me Lies) and MGM Television have secured the adaptation rights, set in Rome, Kentucky. Plot: “Princess of pop” Amelia Rose spontaneously decides to take a vacation to the small city in Kentucky (sort of) inspired by her favorite film, Roman Holiday.

Jeff VanderMeer’s strange worlds are expanding. The Annihilation author’s upcoming four-part book series Strange Architect has been acquired by an American publishing company, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG), in a seven-figure deal. The uncanny mystery series will follow Arthur Bream, a man whose dreams were destroyed when his daughter suddenly went missing, who still spends his remaining years attempting to contact the spirit realm where he believes his daughter is trapped.

Renewal:

Netflix’s Beauty in Black (Renewed for Season 4)

Cancellation:

Apple TV’s The Morning Show (Canceled after Season 5)

Trailers:

Sony Pictures’ Resident Evil

• Dir: Zach Cregger

• Trailer

• Cast: Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry

• Release: Sept 18

Paramount’s Ebenezer

• Cast: Johnny Depp, Ian McKellen, Rupert Grint

• Trailer

• Release: Nov 13

Netflix’s Tires S3

• Trailer

• Cast: Shane Gillis, Steve Gerben

• Release: Aug 13

Erotic Drama Brave New Love

• Trailer

• Locarno Premiere: Aug

• US Release: TBD

Scottish Ballet’s These Violent Delights

• Trailer

• Edinburgh Premiere: Aug 14

Ketchup Entertainment’s Coyote vs. ACME

• Trailer

• Cast: Will Forte

• Release: Aug 28

Paramount+’s Avatar: Seven Havens

• Trailer

• Release: Oct 9

Release Dates:

A24’s Primetime

• Cast: Robert Pattinson, Phoebe Bridgers

• Release: Sept 25

Damai Entertainment’s Dear You

• Trailer

• Chinese Release: April 30

• Chinese Box Office: $290M

• Well Go USA acquired US rights, releasing: Sept 4

Artists Equity’s Shot in the Dark

• Trailer

• Subject: U.S. Paralympic Blind Soccer Team

Warner Bros.’ Supergirl

• Digital Release: July 28

Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians S3

• Cast: Walker Scobell, Aryan Simhadri, Leah Sava, Tamara Smart

• Release: Nov 20

Neon’s Artificial

• Dir: Luca Guadagnino

• Cast: Andrew Garfield, Monica Barbaro, Yura Borisov

• US Release: Dec 2026

ESPN+’s The Trade with Kelly L. Carter

• Host: Kelly L. Carter

• Guests: John Cena, Marshawn Lynch

• Release: July 29

THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT

HBO’s Industry brings on old network regular Zosia Mamet (Girls) for its fifth and final season. Mamet will play a motivated fitness influencer turned wellness CEO. Her new role is not far removed from the overly ambitious, career-driven Shoshanna Shapiro, capturing her perfect out-of-touchness across all six seasons of Girls (2012-17). While the Lena Dunham-created HBO dramedy series looked at the growing pains of twenty-somethings, Industry follows the cutthroat careers that come after, making it a natural evolution for Mamet. Production on the last eight episodes will begin in the UK next month.

Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, and Laura Linney (The Truman Show) join Sharon Maguire’s (Dir: Bridget Jones’s Diary) new love triangle romcom film The Joy of Sex. Based on the 1972 sex manual that became a worldwide hit, the film will follow the incredible story of how the infamous book was born. Sharon Maguire is the mastermind behind one of the most successful love triangle franchises of all time, the Bridget Jones series. She knows how to create heartfelt romantic situations with ingenuity. With Firth, Moore, and Linney at its center, the film feels perfect for an older version of Bridget Jones.

Casting Tidbits:

• Toheeb Jimoh

• The White Lotus’ Natasha Rothwell

• Rick Kumazawa

All these casting tidbits and more here.

FESTIVALS AND DOCS

The Toronto Film Festival’s 11th annual Primetime Program unveils its upcoming lineup.

The section has shows from Netflix, Amazon, Peacock and A24. Here’s the full breakdown: https://theindustry.co/p/tiff-primetime-program

Sarajevo Film Festival reveals its full lineup of 51 films set to screen in its 32nd edition of the festival. This includes 21 world premieres and 6 international premieres across four competition selections: narrative feature, feature and short documentary, narrative short and student short.

INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Sony acquires global rights to the most expensive Indian film ever made: Ramayana. The film centers on the ancient tale of Rama, a prince who spends years in exile while his wife Sita is kidnapped by the demon king Ravana.

The film boasts some of the best talent in Hollywood, including the visual effects company DNEG (VFX: The Odyssey, Interstellar) and music from Hans Zimmer.

Nitesh Tiwari directs the project, with Ranbir Kapoor (Animal), Yash (K.G.F. Franchise), and Sai Pallavi (Amaran) starring. The first film is scheduled to be released during Diwali 2026.

The two-part epic Ramayana is speculated to be the most expensive film in Indian cinema history, with producer Namit Malhotra announcing a combined budget of $500M.

The biggest Indian films have been big box office earners; Dhurandhar (2025) made $137.2M WW and RRR (2022) garnered $166.6M. Ramayana is positioned to be a statement project, declaring that Indian cinema can compete with Hollywood in the global event-film space.

Tidbit:

Concert film George Michael: The Faith Tour gets acquired by Bleecker Street. The company’s event cinema division Crosswalk will release the film in North America. Shot during the European leg of the Faith Tour in 1988, the doc film will feature never-before-seen footage of George Michael. Bleecker Street continues expanding its concert film slate, having released Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience (2026), which featured a global K-pop icon in their SoFi Stadium performance.

Mini Tidbits:

Billkin Putthipong Assaratanakul (The Red Envelope) stars in an Untitled Thai Snooker Project. The feature film will be directed by Wattanapong ‘Jack’ Wongwan (Dir: Netflix’s The Believers) and follow the rise of a professional snooker player.

Isabel Davis has been named the director of BFI National Lottery Filmmaking Funds. She will oversee £20M ($26.8M) each year to support independent UK filmmakers.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel set decorator Mary Kate Golding has tragically died.

ON THIS DAY

1998. Saving Private Ryan is released.

Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.

Editor: Gabriel Miller.

Follow us on: Facebook | Instagram

Want to advertise with us? Email: clarke.scott@theindustry.co

Tom Cruise’s Day, Glen Powell’s Star, and Stewie.

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If you enjoy today’s edition, please hit the like button or leave a comment.

Two massive updates on two massive projects. Both produced by Jerry Bruckheimer:

Tom Cruise will star in Paramount’s Days of Thunder sequel, with Jonathan Levine set to direct.

That would mark the second Tony Scott-directed (Top Gun 1) 80s/90s film to get a Cruise sequel. Days of Thunder (1990) co-starred Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, and Randy Quaid. It’s a NASCAR racing movie and a Tarantino favorite that packs high adrenaline into every scene (trailer). Days of Thunder ($87M WW box office) never reached the iconic level of Top Gun ($357M WW box office), but the action was top-notch.

Levine is an ace in the hole for Paramount. He directed a few Seth Rogen comedies, 50/50 (2011) and Long Shot (2019). But now he’s helmed Mr. Irrelevant starring David Corenswet as the last player picked in the NFL draft. I saw the trailer at CinemaCon and thought it was the most powerful project in Paramount’s lineup.

Levine’s got a real tendency to tell underdog stories, so paired with Bruckheimer, we could imagine an analog to Pitt’s role in F1.

Second project:

Sony is in talks to acquire the new Treasure Island starring Hugh Jackman as Long John Silver, directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Jack Thorne (Adolescence).

That triple threat will likely birth a darker, more psychological tale than the previous dozen film incarnations of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel.

For more:

Get our full take on Treasure Island here.

THE INDUSTRY TLDR

• The WGA seeks a preliminary injunction to block the PSKY WBD merger.

• The European Commission approves the PSKY WBD merger.

• YouTube reports $11.1bn in Q2 ad revenue.

• Apple TV acquires Rebecca Yarros’ upcoming romance novel Peculiar Stars.

• Prime Video develops a series adaptation of graphic novel Stillwater.

• Netflix expands the Parasyte universe with Parasyte: Tamiya.

• Kenneth Branagh joins Paramount+’s Scottish family drama Laird.

• Glen Powell reunites with Linklater to play Lou Gehrig in a Universal biopic.

• Fox expands the voice cast of Family Guy spinoff Stewie.

• TIFF announces 24 projects for its Discovery program.

• Darren Aronofsky’s AI company Primordial Soup raises $11M.

• Casey Affleck will write and direct gothic mystery Company, starring Nick Nolte.

Yesterday’s correct answer: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Louise Fletcher’s Oscar role. 88% got it correct.

The WGA seeks a preliminary injunction, escalating its lawsuit to block the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. This is a separate lawsuit from the one filed last week by the 12 states and focuses more on the labor impact, like PSKY’s proposed $6bn in “cost savings,” which could mean mass reduction in staff.

Paramount responded:

“We are confident the evidence will demonstrate that this merger is pro-competitive and will expand opportunities for writers and creative talent alike.”

While state AGs and guilds are intent on slowing down the PSKY WBD merger, the story is different across the pond.

The European Commission has approved the merger. They similarly fast-tracked the Paramount Global–Skydance merger, well before the FCC tied the knot. That’s because there are more TV and theatrical competitors in the European market. One caveat: Paramount’s distribution partnership with Universal Pictures in Europe will need to be canceled in the next year.

YouTube Q2 2026 results:

• $11.1bn ad revenue (vs. Netflix’s $12.56bn)

  • ↑ 13% from last year

  • 350M paid subs (including Google)

• 13.4% Total TV Usage (Nielsen)

  • Up from 12.7% last quarter

  • 72% larger share than Netflix

  • 272% larger share than a combined WBD + Paramount

We’re at an interesting inflection point with YouTube and, by proxy, Google. Right now, they haven’t quite mainlined their Gemini AI tools into YouTube, but they’re getting close. We’d love to see a breakdown from these platforms of how much human-generated vs. non-human-generated content is being watched.

Three big adaptations/expansions:

• Apple TV’s Peculiar Stars

• Prime’s Stillwater

• Netflix’s Parasyte TV

Details on all three here.

Mini Tidbits:

Paramount+ orders Scottish drama Laird, created by Jez Butterworth (Showrunner: MobLand) and starring Kenneth Branagh. The series will be an epic family saga that follows the Laird of Castle Drummoch (Branagh) as he tries to protect his ancestral lands from a shady American billionaire. This will be the third Paramount+ series coming from Jez Butterworth, after MobLand and The Agency.

Disney keeps its Mary Poppins IP alive with a doc on Julie Andrews. Giving the film the Midas touch is director R.J. Cutler (Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry). Releasing in 2027. For those wondering, Andrews is alive and well with her latest role in Netflix’s Bridgerton.

Prime Video is developing a feature doc about English singer-songwriter and actress Lily Allen. The doc will paint an intimate portrait of the life and career of Lily Allen, following her growth as a global icon with hits like “Smile” and “LDN”.

Just days after The Deb finally set a release date, director Rebel Wilson has won the defamation case brought by her co-star Charlotte MacInnes, with the Australian Federal Court dismissing the lawsuit. The Deb will get a VOD release Aug. 25.

Trailers:

A24’s Misty Green

• Dir: Chris Rock

• Trailer

• Cast: Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, Chris Rock

• Release: Oct

Neon’s It Ends

• Trailer

• Release: Aug 21

Warner Bros.’ Clayface

• Trailer

• Cast: Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie

• Release: Oct 23

First Look:

Fable’s AI-generated film Gods Don’t Give Gifts

• Dir: Gossip Goblin

• First Look

• Release: Oct 30

Release Dates:

Amazon MGM’s Ali G: Who Iz I?

• Dir/Star: Sacha Baron Cohen

• Teaser

• Release: Oct 23

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Unmasking A Monster: Aileen Wuornos

• Release: Sept 30

THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT

Benicio Del Toro is put in Protective Custody. That’s the name of a new show he’s starring in for Apple TV. His co-star will be Ben Stiller, and Mike Judge (Silicon Valley, Office Space) will direct.

The show follows a fallen financier facing major fraud allegations who lands in protective custody.

Del Toro in a work by Judge just screams high-strung and zany. Something Del Toro has been excelling in well before he gave a wonderfully maximalist performance in One Battle After Another (clip). See him as Johnny Depp’s drugged-up buddy in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (clip), enough said.

Glen Powell is trading hitmen for pinstripes, set to take on Yankee first baseman Lou Gehrig in Richard Linklater’s upcoming biopic.

The new Universal project reunites Powell with the Hit Man (2023) and Everybody Wants Some!! (2016) filmmaker, looking at Gehrig’s extraordinary life from his historic 17-year baseball career to his battle with ALS and ultimately his death in 1941 at age 37.

For such a remarkable life, his story has only been told on film once in The Pride of the Yankees (1942), earning Gary Cooper an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Gehrig, nicknamed “The Iron Horse.”

Universal’s new take will be written by SNL’s youngest-ever staff writer Simon Rich and produced by Lorne Michaels, bringing one of baseball’s most celebrated figures back to the big screen.

Fox’s new Family Guy spinoff, Stewie, expands the voice cast. Aside from Seth MacFarlane in the titular role, they’re bringing in:

• Kenan Thompson (playing Stewie’s new friend with a bad attitude)

• Vanessa Bayer (playing Stewie’s teacher who loves to party)

• Mike Henry (playing a gossipy classmate)

The series, which has been ordered for two seasons, follows Stewie, who is forced to attend a boring school, only to discover a device that can take him anywhere in time and space. Thus making his lessons more interesting. Sounds like it will be a naughty Magic School Bus.

Tidbits:

“I’ve got to do Fred proud.” In a busy July for Tom Holland, the actor shared that production has begun on the upcoming Fred Astaire biopic. Holland shared that he has been spending his time in the dance studio preparing to perform all of Astaire’s dance numbers himself. While he certainly has some massive tap shoes to fill, the film marks a full-circle moment for Holland, who began his career in the titular role in the West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical (clip).

Casting Tidbits:

• Vanessa Marano

• Louis Cancelmi

• Johnny Knoxville

All those casting tidbits here.

FESTIVALS AND DOCS

The upcoming Toronto Film Festival has announced its Discovery program lineup consisting of 24 new projects from rising filmmakers.

Here are a few that stood out to us:
https://theindustry.co/p/tiff-discovery-2026

Venice Days, the independent sidebar of the Venice International Film Festival, has unveiled the titles for its 23rd edition, the first since the passing of section founder Giorgio Gosetti.

Venice Days Opening Film:

My Notes on Mars

• Dir: Lili Horvát (Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time)

• Cast: Rupert Friend (The Phoenician Scheme)

Synopsis:

A brilliant scientist, Margot, mysteriously disappears while hiking with her husband Sam and friends. She reappears weeks later, changed, and Sam sees it as a chance to rekindle their marriage and rediscover each other.

Venice Days and its Italian-centered companion section, Venice Nights, include 25 world premieres with more than half directed by women.

Venice will run from Sept. 2-12.

TECH SECTION

Darren Aronofsky’s AI company Primordial Soup has raised $11M on its path toward a planned total of $15M.

I ranted last year about this company when they partnered with Google. Here’s the full breakdown.

INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea) is writing and directing a gothic mystery titled Company. Set on a cold winter night in 1975, the film follows a mysterious woman named Evelyn who arrived unexpectedly at a holiday gathering and tells an old tale of wary travelers and grisly murders.

The cast for this film is full of talent, with Nick Nolte (Cape Fear), Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One), Adelaide Clemens (R.J. Decker), and Scoot McNairy (Speak No Evil). This will be Casey Affleck’s third feature film as director.

While Casey Affleck’s previous two films couldn’t be more different on paper, his ability for intimate atmospheric storytelling shines in both of them. Whether it’s following the unhinged career change of Joaquin Phoenix in I’m Still Here (2010) or painting an apocalyptic world where most of the female population has been wiped out by a deadly disease in Light of My Life (2019), Affleck’s films focus on creating a certain mood through their characters rather than following genre tropes.

As an actor-turned-director, he is also able to bring out naturalistic performances from his cast (that usually includes himself), often blurring the line between film and reality. I’m Still Here is a perfect example of how Affleck was able to create an environment where Joaquin Phoenix could fully be in character. With actors like Nick Nolte and Ben Mendelsohn, Affleck’s gothic mystery film will surely be a deep character study.

Vertical picks up The Saviors starring Adam Scott and Danielle Deadwyler, which premiered this year at SXSW.

Synopsis:

An estranged couple rents out their Airbnb, but soon start to suspect their guests might be plotting something nefarious. As the couple investigates, they rekindle their relationship and discover something stranger than they could have imagined.

Releasing March 26, 2027.

Mini Tidbits:

• British Academy rule changes

• Japanese action star

• France’s National Centre for Cinema

All these tidbits and more here.

ON THIS DAY

1961. Woody Harrelson was born in Midland, Texas.

Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.

Editor: Gabriel Miller.

Follow us on: Facebook | Instagram

Want to advertise with us? Email: clarke.scott@theindustry.co

Disney lets go, Plan B’s silence and a Dark Objet.

Let’s go!

If you enjoy today’s edition, please hit the like button or leave a comment.

THE INDUSTRY TLDR

• Disney is laying off several hundred employees across Pixar, Nat Geo, and ESPN.

• Sony, Annapurna, and Plan B are adapting bestselling thriller The Silent Patient.

• A-CAP’s Film Finances will acquire CAC Group’s Media Guarantors.

• Amazon MGM officially orders RoboCop series.

• Catherine Zeta-Jones returns to TV in AMC+’s thriller series Kill Jackie.

• Joseph Lee joins Imogen Poots in Prime Video’s Sex Criminals.

• June Squibb cast in COVID-era indie dramedy Turn the Lights Back On.

• Will Forte in talks to join Kenneth Branagh in A24’s buddy comedy Goblin.

• Corey Stoll and Ralph Ineson cast in Apple TV’s Monsterverse series.

• TIFF Platform expands to 12 films and gains a new pathway to Oscars.

• Ava DuVernay’s 14th will close NYFF.

• Quiver picks up Bella Ramsey-led coming-of-age dramedy Sunny Dancer.

• Oscilloscope acquires North American rights to Locarno selection Objet a.

• Moses Bwayo directs Kenyan refugee-camp soccer doc Champions of Nowhere.

Yesterday’s correct answer: Moonraker, not a Norman Jewison film.
71% got it correct.

THE INDUSTRY NEWS

Disney isn’t the happiest place on Earth for a few hundred employees, who are being laid off across:

• Pixar (≈150 cuts)

  • Production and operations

• Nat Geo

  • On the Disney Entertainment Television side

• ESPN

  • On-air talent

  • Layoffs connected to ESPN’s acquisition of NFL Network

• ABC

The Pixar cuts are happening as Toy Story 5 is set to hit $1bn by next weekend, and in the aftermath of two back-to-back films that underperformed, Hoppers ($389.5M WW on a $150M budget) and Elio ($154M WW on a $300M budget).

This past April, Disney let go 1000 staffers amid new CEO Josh D’Amaro’s streamlining push.

At the same time, Disney signed a deal with Kraft Heinz (yes, the ketchup). So we now expect to see more product placement across Disney film and TV. Splat!

Sony Pictures, Annapurna (American Hustle), and Brad Pitt’s Plan B (F1) are finally bringing Alex Michaelides’ bestselling psychological thriller The Silent Patient to the screen, adapting one of modern fiction’s most unforgettable mysteries.

The novel follows Alicia Berenson, a celebrated painter who murders her husband and then falls completely silent, refusing to utter another word. Her motives are unknown; the story is a blend of Hitchcockian suspense with a complex unreliable narrator that quickly shot Michaelides’ novel into a global phenomenon.

From Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us to the upcoming Fanning sisters-led adaptation of The Nightingale, Sony Pictures is steadily building a reputation for high-profile literary adaptations.

The merger is complete! Ok, not the PSKY WBD ordeal, but from two goliath film guarantors working in completion bonds:

• A-CAP’s Film Finances (sister company: STX Entertainment)

  • Films: Fargo, Black Swan, Pulp Fiction, The Whale

Will acquire:

• CAC Group’s Media Guarantors

  • Films: Roofman, Over Your Dead Body

Media Guarantors founder Fred Milstein will serve as CEO. Film Finances President Greg Trattner will take over as Executive Chairman of the merged companies, which are now controlled under A-CAP.

Mini Tidbits:

FOX One got a big FIFA boost. They gained 2.8M sign-ups in June. Many records were broken during the five-week run of the World Cup, with the final match between Spain and Argentina reaching 62.8M viewers in the US on Fox and Telemundo.

The DGA has officially set the timeline for its 2027 awards season, with the 79th Annual DGA Awards set for Jan. 30, 2027. See the full schedule here.

Amazon MGM officially orders the RoboCop remake series. More here.

Ryan Reynolds confirms that another Deadpool film is in the works at Marvel Studios.

Avengers: Doomsday already earned $16.5M in advance ticket sales after the first day of availability.

Trailers:

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day

• Final Trailer

• Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Mark Ruffalo

• Release: July 31

IFC’s The Stunt Driver

• Trailer

• Cast: Jay Baruchel, Ben Foster, Ed Helms

• Release: Sept 25

HBO Max’s Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks

• Trailer

• Release: Aug 4

Universal Pictures’ Other Mommy

• Trailer

• Cast: Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass

• Release: Oct 9

Disney+’s Camp Rock 3

• Trailer

• Cast: Joe Jonas, Nick Jonas, Kevin Jonas

• Release: Aug 14

First Look:

Bleecker Street’s Tender Loving Care

• Dir: Mike Leigh

• First Look

• Release: Dec 4

Release Dates:

Disney+’s UK 20/20

• Release: July 30

Bleecker Street’s HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL

• Release: July 24

Universal Pictures’ Snoop

• Dir: Craig Brewer (Song Sung Blue)

• Prod: Snoop Dogg, Brian Grazer

• Release: Aug 6, 2027

Production Wrapped:

Indie Thriller Runaway

• Cast: Josh Duhamel, Summer H. Howell, James Franco

• Filming dates: June 22, 2026 – July 20, 2026.

THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT

Catherine Zeta-Jones (Wednesday) is returning to the small screen in AMC+’s Kill Jackie, a series adaptation of Aidan Truhen’s thriller The Price You Pay. Zeta-Jones will play Jackie Price, a wealthy woman traveling the world and mastering the art of exploiting tax loopholes to stay afloat after fleeing her dangerous past as an international cocaine dealer.

The role recalls her iconic Oscar-winning turn as the glamorous, fiery, and resourceful Velma Kelly in Chicago (2002), a woman who, despite spending time behind bars, always managed to land on her feet and come out on top.

This time, however, Zeta-Jones is on the other side of the chase: instead of outsmarting the justice system after the fact, she’s evading both law enforcement and a relentless team of hitmen tasked with killing her.

Fremantle is handling sales, with Kill Jackie airing on Prime Video in Europe.

Joseph Lee (Netflix’s Beef S1) joins the cast of Amazon Prime Video’s Sex Criminals. Based on the comic book of the same name, the show will follow Suze (Imogen Poots) and Jon (John Reynolds), who discover that they can stop time while having sex and decide to rob a bank.

Lee will play Detective Franklin, an investigator who also has the ability to stop time.

In Beef, we saw Lee as a rich stay-at-home husband who was lovable but suffocatingly oblivious, and we can’t deny the fact that seeing him get robbed was one of the most interesting sequences of the show. It’d be a fun reversal to see him as a charismatic antagonist leading the chase. His physical presence and charisma tell us that he can ace the part.

Oscar-nominated legend June Squibb isn’t slowing down. The Eleanor the Great actress is joining Alex Borstein in the indie dramedy Turn the Lights Back On, a story inspired by the real-life experiences of families during the COVID era.

Described as being in the vein of Little Miss Sunshine, Squibb headlined her own indie dramedy last year in Scarlett Johansson’s Cannes-premiering directorial debut Eleanor the Great (2025).

While each is completely different, Eleanor carried a similar balance of lighthearted humor with serious grief, with Squibb as the titular 90-something woman who unknowingly convinces a support group she was a Holocaust survivor.

Filming on Turn the Lights Back On is expected to begin later this year.

Tidbit:

The Four Seasons’ Will Forte is in talks to join the cast of A24’s Goblin, an offbeat buddy comedy joining Skyler Gisondo and Kenneth Branagh, the latter providing the voice of the titular green critter. Forte’s role is unknown, but after eight seasons on SNL, The Last Man on Earth actor has experienced his fair share of puppetry. Despite not knowing how he’ll play a part in the absurd hijinks expected to come from a goblin-human friendship, his knack for eccentric, over-the-top comedy with genuine heart makes him a perfect fit for Goblin.

Actress Kaylee Hottle, most known for her performance as Jia from Godzilla vs. Kong films, has tragically died at 18. Her big break came in 2021 in Godzilla vs. Kong when she played Jia, a small girl and Skull Island native who could communicate with King Kong through sign language. Her performance conveyed both compassion and emotional depth. Rest in Peace, Kaylee.

Casting Tidbits:

• AnnaSophia Robb

• Corey Stoll

• Ed Harris

All those and more here.

FESTIVALS AND DOCS

TIFF Platform, the only juried competition program at the Toronto International Film Festival, has expanded to 12 films (see them all here).

Under the new rules of the 99th Oscars, TIFF Platform was also selected as one of the six international film festivals that grant its winner eligibility to enter the Best International Feature Film race, even if the films are not chosen as the country’s official submission. This could mean that films not selected by their countries’ national selection committees can still have a pathway into the category. It does not mean that the film will receive an automatic nomination.

Most notable films in this year’s slate include Sundance Short Film Grand Jury Prize-winning director Amanda Kernell’s Brace Your Heart and Berlinale FIPRESCI Prize-winning director Ferit Karahan’s Djinn Wedding. Miwa Nishikawa’s Children Untold will open.

NYFF will close with Ava DuVernay’s (Selma, Origin) new doc 14th. This will explore the Equal Protection and Citizenship Clauses. DuVernay’s ability to weave history and politics into compelling cinema is no small feat, with 14th a clear continuation of the conversations she began through her filmography over a decade ago. Streaming on Netflix this fall.

INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT

Quiver (distributor: Cleaner starring Daisy Ridley) picks up North American rights for Sunny Dancer, starring Bella Ramsey, Neil Patrick Harris and Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer).

The coming-of-age dramedy follows Ivy, a teen in cancer remission, reluctantly attending a summer camp.

First launching at Cannes 2024, Sunny Dancer is a deeply personal coming-of-age comedy romance reminiscent of director George Jaques' debut film Black Dog (2023), a reflective road trip story between two teenage boys who build an unlikely friendship.

Sunny Dancer is getting a theatrical release later this year. Here’s the trailer.

Oscilloscope picks up North American rights to Objet a starring Louis Hofmann (Dark).

Synopsis:

Follows two hand surgeons with differing desires, before one suffers an accident that forces her to slow down.

The film will premiere at Locarno.

Tidbit:

There have been some crazy incidents on Grey’s Anatomy, but nothing quite like a body swap. Morenike Joela Evans (dir. Grey’s Anatomy, iCarly) is directing the feature film Switch, a romcom following a black woman and white man who switch bodies and must spend a week in each other’s lives. The twice Emmy-nominated director joins the gender-swap comedy just ahead of filming.

Mini Tidbits:

• Woody Harrelson’s doc

• Black Bear

• Richard M. Rawlings Jr. RIP

All those tidbits here.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Moses Bwayo, co-director of Nat Geo’s Bobi Wine: The People’s President, which plays like a Ugandan version of Navalny, is directing a new film.

Champions of Nowhere is a doc that centers on a Kenyan soccer league that springs up in a refugee camp.

Bwayo feels uniquely suited for this; he’s able to find hope in the grimmest of places. This is part of a 3-picture deal from Pierce Capital Entertainment (EP: The Brutalist, The Wizard of the Kremlin) and FilmCrew Media (Nawi).

Mini Tidbit:

All3Media International’s Sales Manager of Finished Programs, Jonathan Hughes, is exiting the company. He is now joining ITV Studios (Prod Co: The Chase) as the Vice President, Germany and Benelux Sales.

ON THIS DAY

1934. Louise Fletcher born in Birmingham, Alabama.

Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.

Editor: Gabriel Miller.

Follow us on: Facebook | Instagram

Want to advertise with us? Email: clarke.scott@theindustry.co

PSKY, AMC, TIFF.

Let’s go!

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THE INDUSTRY TLDR

• A judge halts the PSKY WBD merger for at least 2 weeks.

• AMC Theatres has $1.59bn in Q2 revenue and an $11.4M net loss.

• The Kissing Booth filmmakers are adapting Gordon Korman’s Son of the Mob.

• Disney+ is developing zombie drama Afterlife with Archie.

• Brave director Mark Andrews joins the animated John Carter of Mars series.

• Lewis Pullman joins Julia Garner in Apple TV’s true-crime series Guilty Creatures.

• Toni Collette cast in Daniel Roher’s Netflix heist film Positano.

• Liza Colón-Zayas joins Elisabeth Moss in Hulu’s legal drama Conviction.

• Bill Nighy co-stars in The Portrait of a Lady.

• TIFF announced premieres for I Play Rocky, Misty Green, and A Talent for Murder.

• Deon Taylor directs biopic on streetball star Grayson “The Professor” Boucher.

• Pathé picked up international distribution for Bong Joon Ho’s animated Ally.

Friday’s top answer: Inception, our reader’s favorite Nolan film.
33% voted for it. 2nd place was The Dark Knight with 29%.

THE INDUSTRY NEWS

Don’t skip the footnotes. A judge has ordered a 2-4 week temporary restraining order blocking the merging of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.

During this time, the court will review the antitrust lawsuit brought by 12-state AGs.

The Court seems to be pushing back on Paramount’s argument that they aren’t really consolidating the studio market (e.g., Universal, Disney, Sony, Paramount, Warner Bros.) but instead creating a new competitor in the streaming market (Netflix, Apple, Amazon).

In a footnote, the judge stated:

“The Court notes separately that it cannot accept Defendants’ argument that the Transaction will produce efficiencies in the streaming market.”

They continued:

“Courts have expressly and repeatedly rejected the defense that a challenged merger will result in economic efficiencies ancillary to competition in the relevant market.”

This will likely move to a longer delay, resulting in a trial next year. It seems that Paramount has already sent a list of concessions to the state AGs, but it’s unlikely the State AGs will concede.

It’s going to be one battle after another, as the chances of Paramount closing this transaction by September 30, 2026, are starting to look less certain. That’s a key date: if the deal doesn’t close by then, Paramount will owe WBD $0.25/share every quarter ($650M/quarter).

AMC Theatres Q2 2026 earnings. Plus, the change from last year:

• $1.59bn revenue

  • ↑ 14%

• $11.4M net loss

  • Up from $4.7M loss in Q2 2025

• 52.2M domestic attendance

  • ↑ 13%

CEO Adam Aron stated that:

“Nolan’s The Odyssey with an encouraging media reported $124M domestic opening, is the latest reminder of the strength of today’s theatrical marketplace. It follows a second quarter in which six different films delivered impressive domestic opening weekend grosses exceeding 75 million,”

2026 has been a bit of a boon theatrically with Lionsgate’s Michael and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hitting a billion with Toy Story 5 very close.

Three adaptations:

The filmmaking duo behind The Kissing Booth trilogy (starring a younger Jacob Elordi) are reuniting for Son of the Mob, a YA romantic comedy adaptation of Gordon Korman’s bestselling novel. Vince Marcello and Jay Arnold will direct and adapt the project, respectively, telling the story of a teenager born into a mob boss family desperate for a normal life but unable to escape his family’s deep criminal ties. Red Sage Studios, the young adult-focused production company from former Amazon MGM Studios head James Farrell, is collaborating with Sun Distribution (Telefilms Group) on the feature film adaptation, with production beginning in Canada later this year.

Supernatural novel Grim Death and Bill the Electrocuted Criminal, written by Mike Mignola (Creator: Hellboy comic franchise) and Thomas E. Sniegoski, is being developed as a TV series by Echoverse, an audio content studio. The original novel is a dark comedy following a man named Bentley who has agreed to work for Death in order to release his parents from purgatory.

Disney+ is developing a drama series Afterlife with Archie, aiming for a Halloween 2027 premiere on the streamer. Based on the comic of the same name, the show will follow Archie Comics characters in the town of Riverdale, which has turned into a hellscape after a zombie outbreak.

Mini Tidbits:

Back to Barsoom. Oscar-winning Brave director Mark Andrews has joined the upcoming animated series John Carter of Mars as supervising director and co-showrunner. Andrews is returning to the interplanetary hero’s story after penning the live-action feature adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic sci-fi series back in 2012 (the flop).

PBS Chief Programming Executive Sylvia Bugg has passed away at just 55. Spending decades in public broadcasting, Bugg worked as General Manager for General Audience Programming, overseeing all non-children’s content and leading PBS’ programming strategy.

The king of late-night producers, Peter Lassally, has died at 93 years old. From Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show to David Letterman’s Late Show to Craig Ferguson’s The Late Late Show, Lassally’s producing career in late night spanned over five decades. Dubbed the “host whisperer.”

Trailers:

Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday

• Trailer

• Release: Dec 18

After much delay, Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut:

Sunrise Films’ The Deb

• Trailer

• Cast: Rebel Wilson, Natalie Abbott

• Release: Aug. 25 (on VOD)

Release Dates:

Sony’s Skeletons

• Cast: Brie Larson, John Goodman, Kyle Gallner, Willa Fitzgerald

• Dir: JT Mollner

• Prod: J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot

• Release: June 4, 2027

THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT

Toni Collette (Mickey 17) joins Netflix film Positano, directed by Daniel Roher (Dir: Tuner). The film follows a suave jewel thief who stumbles into a heist that will change his life when he decides to help a mysterious woman on a high-stakes score. Collette stars alongside Matthew McConaughey and Zoe Saldaña, though the character details are under wraps.

Daniel Roher’s most recent film Tuner was also a heist movie with pizazz, with great chase sequences, killer soundtracks, and unexpected romcom elements. This is exactly the type of film that Collette thrives in, an energetic genre film like Knives Out (2019). We’d love to see her again in a villain role like Mickey 17 (2025), where she can walk the line between funny and intimidating.

Lewis Pullman (Marvel’s Thunderbolts*) joins Apple TV’s series Guilty Creatures, alongside Julia Garner. Based on Mikita Brottman’s true crime book Guilty Creatures: Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee, Florida, the show follows two God-fearing lovers whose forbidden affair ends in murder and a lifetime of guilt.

His performances as characters with the same name, “Bob,” in Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and Thunderbolts* (2025) perfectly portrayed a likable everyman who hides a dark secret. Pullman has a knack for playing characters who seem harmless on the surface but carry a quiet intensity underneath. That hidden quality should make him a strong fit for a series centered on faith and guilt.

Tidbits:

Emmy winner Liza Colón-Zayas has found her next project post FX’s The Bear. David Shore’s upcoming Hulu drama series Conviction will follow Elisabeth Moss as a criminal defense attorney who finds herself closely involved in a high-profile murder case that forces her to compromise every legal and moral obligation to gain an acquittal. Colón-Zayas’ role is undisclosed, but if it’s anything like her scene-stealing The Bear character, she is sure to pull on the audience’s heartstrings.

Mini Tidbits:

PBS and the BBC’s The Portrait of a Lady has cast BAFTA winner and British staple Bill Nighy (Love Actually) in the upcoming TV adaptation. Nighy will star as Mr. Touchett, whose infatuation with the titular Isabel completely consumes his final days, so much so that he leaves her a massive fortune. Filming has begun in the U.K.

Matthias Schweighöfer (Army of Thieves) joins New Line’s horror The Conjuring: First Communion. The plot is being kept under wraps, but we know that the film is a prequel that follows the younger years of The Conjuring franchise’s exorcist duo Ed and Lorraine Warren. No info on Schweighöfer’s role.

After stealing the show in Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme (2025), Mia Threapleton is joining the historical drama The Price of Peace from director Anthony McCarten (wri: The Theory of Everything). She’ll portray Winston Churchill’s youngest child Mary, who would accompany her father to numerous historic summits.

10-year-old Theo Clark Leber to lead Amazon MGM’s feature Lizard Music, alongside Dwayne Johnson.

FESTIVALS AND DOCS

TIFF is bringing in some massive films for its Gala and Special Presentations sections.

Plus a few well-known actors are back to directing:

• Amazon MGM’s I Play Rocky

  • Trailer

• Misty Green

  • Dir: Chris Rock (5th feature)

  • Cast: Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, Anna Kendrick

• Evil Genius

  • Dir: Courteney Cox (2nd feature)

  • Cast: David Harbour, Patricia Arquette

• Girl Group

  • Dir: Rebel Wilson (2nd feature)

• The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd

  • Dir: Tim Blake Nelson (6th feature)

  • Cast: Amanda Seyfried and Scoot McNairy

• John Madden’s Onwards and Sideways

  • Cast: Laura Linney, Rhys Ifans

• Bleecker Street’s A Talent for Murder

  • Cast: Helen Mirren, Alden Ehrenreich

Full line-up here.

Tidbit:

The international film community has lost one of its great pioneers. Simon Field, the former director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, has died at the age of 80. One of the first champions of acclaimed filmmakers like Wang Bing, Christopher Nolan, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, he even produced the latter’s Palme d’Or-winning film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010). Field has been incredibly influential behind the scenes, helping to shape the landscape of both international and independent cinema.

TECH SECTION

AI studio Utopai is betting that fart jokes never go out of style. The studio is developing The Most Serious Fart, an animated feature adaptation of Not Another Teen Movie screenwriter Mike Bender’s bestselling children’s book. A silly story with the central message being not to take yourself too seriously, unlike the rest of Utopai’s upcoming slate, the movie will only be using AI as a tool to help an undisclosed studio of human animators and illustrators.

INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Deon Taylor (Dir: Black and Blue starring Naomie Harris) is making a feature film adaptation of streetball star Grayson “The Professor” Boucher’s life story. The film will follow a young Boucher – a college basketball player – who walks into an open tryout with the world’s greatest streetball players. Grayson Boucher is a world-famous streetball player and influencer who has appeared in films like Semi-Pro (2008) and gained a social media following for making videos where he coaches NBA players.

The Terminator screenwriter William H. Wisher Jr. has died at 71. Wisher also co-wrote the sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), redefining the science fiction genre alongside director James Cameron. Subverting classic sci-fi cliches, Wisher’s writing popularized tech-noir dystopia, completely changing how filmmakers approached futuristic storytelling.

Pathé picks up international distribution for Bong Joon Ho’s (Dir: Parasite) first animated feature Ally. Set in the deep ocean, the film follows a piglet squid named Ally who dreams of one day seeing the sun and becoming a star in a wildlife documentary. The film’s cast includes Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), Ayo Edebiri (The Bear), and Werner Herzog.

ON THIS DAY

1926. Norman Jewison born in Toronto, Ontario.

Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.

Editor: Gabriel Miller.

Follow us on: Facebook | Instagram

Want to advertise with us? Email: clarke.scott@theindustry.co

Nolan, Netflix, NYFF.

Let’s go!

If you enjoy today’s edition, please hit the like button or leave a comment.

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey shares shades of Memento, Inception, and Dunkirk.
Yet, Memento, Inception, & Dunkirk are all influenced by The Odyssey.

Let me explain this paradox…

Watching Nolan’s The Odyssey, I interface with all of his older films, like Guy Pearce in Memento, who uses his memory loss as a tool to clear his conscience. I see the liminal spaces of forgotten time from Inception. And the ship battles in Dunkirk.

And in the ever-growing pantheon of Odyssey takes, Jon Stewart saw Oppenheimer and Manohla Dargis saw The Prestige.

Perhaps, in a very Nolan-esque way, this type of thinking is backward: it is all of Nolan’s work that has always been influenced by Homer’s epic.

A true statement, if we are to take Joseph Campbell (author: The Hero with a Thousand Faces) at his word:

“The great Homeric epics… [Campbell lists other texts as well] were the support of all human life and the inspiration of philosophy, poetry, and the arts.”

Perhaps what we’ve been watching in Nolan, whose thematic interests tackle the way time dislocates us, is a core essence not just of his 13 features, but an idea as old as storytelling itself.

The Odyssey, in other ways, feels very modern. But that is best left for another cover story once more people have seen his masterwork.

Now in theaters.

For More:

The Odyssey trailer.

THE INDUSTRY TLDR

• Netflix reported $12.56bn in Q2 revenue and $3.4bn in profit.

• Ava DuVernay’s Netflix documentary 14th will examine the 14th Amendment.

• Julius Avery will direct 20th Century Studios’ Crush, a real-time thriller.

• Rose Byrne & Jenna Ortega star in Mary Bronstein’s WB gymnastics drama Nasty.

• Rufus Sewell will star in Netflix’s Queenstown.

• Chloe Fineman is exiting Saturday Night Live after seven seasons.

• Venice will open with Danny Boyle’s Ink, NYFF with James Gray’s Paper Tiger.

• Amazon MGM hires Chris Besseling to lead theatrical marketing in the U.K.

• Bell Media signed a first-look development deal with Jeff Frost’s Bristol Circle.

Yesterday’s correct answer: Jonathan Pryce, villain in Bond/ G.I. Joe.
46% got it correct.

Or to make your case for another Nolan film, email us at hello@theindustry.co

THE INDUSTRY NEWS

Netflix continues to prove why they’re the king of streaming. The company delivered its full Q2 report, with a rising revenue fueled by subscription growth, advertising, and, of course, higher pricing:

• $12.56 bn Q2 revenue

  • ↑ 13.6%

• $3.4 bn Q2 profit

  • ↑ 9% from Q2 2025

Projections:

• $51bn - $51.4bn full-year revenue

  • vs. $45.18 bn (2025 total)

• $3 bn ad revenue by end of 2026

  • ↑ 100% from 2025

Most-watched Q2 titles:

• His & Hers with 104M views

• Alan Ritchson’s War Machine with 146.9M views

Netflix said viewers watched 97bn hours, up 2% from the same period in 2025, yet it gained only 2.7M new subscribers in Q2, short of its 5M forecast.

Netflix stopped reporting sub numbers quarterly, but they will be published annually in Q1 of each year, beginning in 2027.

Tidbits:

Everyone is trying to get a piece of the Odyssey. An independent European-American TV series, Odysseus, is in the works, produced by Tanweer (Greece Distribution: The Odyssey). Karl Gajdusek (EP: Stranger Things S1) is the showrunner. The show is being described as a muscular rendition of the Odyssey with an emphasis on the real history of the war. The drama will be shot on location in Greece and Armenia.

Ava DuVernay (Selma, Origin) is returning to Netflix. Following her Oscar-nominated documentary 13th, her new doc 14th will explore the Equal Protection and Citizenship Clauses. DuVernay’s ability to weave history and politics into compelling cinema is no tiny feat, with 14th a clear continuation of the conversations she began through her filmography over a decade ago. 14th will premiere on Netflix this fall.

Julius Avery (Dir: The Pope’s Exorcist starring Russell Crowe) is making a python thriller, Crush, for 20th Century Studios. The film will follow a woman hiking alone in the Everglades who finds herself coiled up by a massive python, told primarily in real time. Avery is a director who knows how to blend different genres within the horror/thriller space. His second feature – Paramount’s Overlord (2018, trailer) – was a bloody action horror film about American soldiers fighting Nazi zombies behind enemy lines with strong elements of body and sci-fi horror.

Mini Tidbits:

Jon M. Chu’s (Dir: Wicked) production company Electric Somewhere hires Jana Helman as Head of Television and Aimee Rivera as SVP of Motion Pictures. Electric Somewhere has been trying to expand into other areas of content, under its new Film and TV deal with Paramount.

Vox Media Studios (Prod Co: Netflix’s Full Swing) signs a multi-year first-look deal with 20th Television. The studio will be making scripted and unscripted TV content through all platforms with 20th Television, focusing on developing shows that resemble the format of Vox Media properties like New York Magazine.

Renewals:

MGM+’s Robin Hood (Renewed for S2)
CW’s Sullivan’s Crossing (Renewed for S5)

Cancellation:

BBC’s The Claudia Winkleman Show (Canceled after S1)

Trailers:

Paramount+’s Lioness S3

• Trailer

• Cast: Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman

• Release: Aug 2

Starz’s Power: Origins

• Trailer

Release Dates:

Rich Spirit’s If I Go Will They Miss Me

• Premiere: Sundance

• Release: Sept 18

Apple TV’s Stillwater S5

• Release: Aug 21

BritBox’s Cooper & Fry S1

• U.K. Release: Nov 18, 2026

THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT

One Oscar nomination later, Rose Byrne is reteaming up with filmmaker Mary Bronstein (dir. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You). From a massive hole in the ceiling to an absolute food tube nightmare, things got pretty hairy in Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs… but none of it compares to their next collaboration, a feature film titled Nasty.

Set to be released by Warner Bros’ indie label Clockwork, Nasty follows a young athlete fighting for a spot on the Olympic gymnastics team who realizes her greatest opponent is her coach.

Byrne delivered one of my favorite performances of last year in Bronstein’s sophomore feature, as a mother and therapist stretched so impossibly thin that it felt like any interaction could send her over the edge. Rarely leaving the screen, Byrne carried her character’s anxiety in her posture, voice, and increasingly frayed composure, showcasing a physicality unlike anything we’ve ever seen from the actress.

In Nasty, Jenna Ortega has also been cast, presumably as the young athlete, and if Byrne can channel the same all-consuming intensity into playing a coach obsessed with perfection, Ortega’s path to Olympic glory will be anything but easy.

Cameras will pick up this fall with an expected 2027 theatrical release.

“The greatest love stories aren’t always romances.” Sophie Nélisse (Heated Rivalry) has become one of television’s brightest young stars, and now she’s leading the feature adaptation of Carley Fortune’s bestselling novel This Summer Will Be Different.

The story follows the reckless Lucy (Nélisse), who breaks the ultimate girl code by sleeping with her best friend Bridget’s younger brother.

Nélisse’s breakthrough role as young Shauna in Paramount’s Yellowjackets shares DNA with Lucy. Just as Lucy risks her closest relationship by falling for the one man she swore to avoid, SPOILER: Shauna’s affair with her best friend’s boyfriend became the Yellowjackets’ defining betrayal.

Production on This Summer Will Be Different kicks off in Prince Edward Island and Toronto this summer.

Tidbit:

Rufus Sewell (The Man in the High Castle) will star in Netflix’s new drama series Queenstown, set in Queenstown’s luxury ski scene, where a privileged family and their employees collide over power. No info on Sewell’s role as of now. Whether it be a powerful ambassador in The Diplomat or a high-ranking Nazi official in The Man in the High Castle, Sewell’s charisma makes him an intimidating and somewhat sinister person in power, a perfect fit for a piece about the clash of social classes.

Casting Tidbits:

• Chloe Fineman

• Hamish Linklater

• Taylor Ortega

All those casting tidbits and more here.

FESTIVALS AND DOCS

Venice. TIFF. NYFF.

It’s that time of the year when all the fall festivals are coalescing and offering an early look at their line-ups.

Venice is opening with Ink, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Guy Pearce. There is a direct line from his movie, about two young newspaper owners, to the modern media landscape. I saw the opening scene at CinemaCon, and Boyle uses a unique cinematic style, so this will be a very dynamic take.

NYFF will open with Neon’s Paper Tiger, directed by James Gray. Adam Driver and Miles Teller play brothers trying to make a quick buck, which gets them deeply involved with the Russian mafia. Scarlett Johansson internalizes her family's fear, disappointment, and rage, which boil up within her in the most profound and distressing ways.

TIFF announces four films:

• Love of Your Life

  • Dir: Rachel Morrison

  • Star: Margaret Qualley

  • First look

• Neon’s The Housewife

  • Star: Naomi Watts

• Amazon MGM’s Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother

  • Star: Mahershala Ali

• Alpha Gang

  • Dir: Zellner brothers (Sasquatch Sunset)

  • Cast: Cate Blanchett, Jon Hamm, Léa Seydoux

  • First look

INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT

Papa Greengrass takes his shaky kinetic camera right to the Middle Ages with The Uprising.

It’s the new Focus Features film starring a very, very angry Andrew Garfield, who, despite some of the spit and fire and self-righteousness of some of his previous work, e.g., The Social Network or even tracking back earlier, the British series Red Riding, hits his zenith here. There’s a very specific type of malice that burns deep in his current work, which sees him lead a rebel uprising against a solipsistic king.

The trailer very quickly moves into just pure action, which is often one of the pitfalls of Greengrass’s work, where the characters get swallowed by the world. Sometimes that can be to great effect, like Matthew McConaughey enveloped in large thickets of smoke for Apple’s The Lost Bus.

In this, though, the battle imagery feels a little bit more conventional, and thus we’re hoping that even though the trailer foregrounded the action, the heart of the movie foregrounds Garfield.

Trailer. Releasing September 11th.

Mini Tidbits:

Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title Atonement is picked up by Kino Lorber. It’s an Iraqi war drama starring Kenneth Branagh and Succession’s Hiam Abbass. Directed by Reed Van Dyk in his directorial debut.

Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s (Dir: Infrarouge) French thriller Sambre is picked up by MHz Choice (Streamer: The Art of Crime). Based on a novel of the same name, the series follows an investigation after multiple women are sexually assaulted along the same road by the Sambre River. The show broke records, garnering 13M total views per episode.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Amazon MGM hires Chris Besseling as Head of Theatrical Marketing, U.K. & Ireland. Besseling previously was the Head of Theatrical Distribution at True Brit Entertainment, bringing extensive knowledge of the U.K. theatrical landscape. Unlike streaming rivals Netflix and Apple, Amazon has embraced wide theatrical releases, finding box-office success with its latest blockbuster, Project Hail Mary ($683.9M WW). And watch out for their upcoming film Verity, starring Dakota Johnson and Anne Hathaway.

Canada’s Bell Media (Heated Rivalry) signs a first-look development deal with Pluribus producer Jeff Frost’s Bristol Circle Entertainment. The former president of SPT Studios, Frost, is now focused on his own production banner, creating original scripted series for CTV and Crave.

ON THIS DAY

1959. North by Northwest premieres in LA.

Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace, and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.

Editor: Gabriel Miller.

Follow us on: Facebook | Instagram

Want to advertise with us? Email: clarke.scott@theindustry.co

Paramount’s Joe, Lionsgate’s Show, and a Bicycle Thief.

Let’s go!

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$205M at the box office, and he just launched a theatrical distribution and streaming service.

Check out my interview with EKKL Entertainment founder Michael Scott: https://theindustry.co/p/ekkl-entertainment-founder-michael

THE INDUSTRY TLDR

• Danny McBride’s feature directorial debut is Paramount’s new G.I. Joe film.

• Banijay and Mediawan circle a potential acquisition of Lionsgate.

• Amazon develops London underground-rave drama Code.

• The FCC proposes replacing the national TV-ownership cap.

• Versant will relaunch Fandango at Home as a free streaming service.

• Gabriel Luna joins Dexter: Resurrection S2 as a serial killer.

• Jason Schwartzman and Kate Mara join Netflix’s Vegas drama The Roman.

• America Ferrera and Kit Harington star in Channel 4 thriller Army of Shadows.

• Jessica Alba boards Netflix’s upcoming 13 Going on 30 reboot.

• Daniel Radcliffe and Peter Dinklage voice Netflix’s animated film Steps.

• Hannah Waddingham co-stars in meta action-comedy Jason Statham Stole My Bike.

• The Venice Film Festival unveils its Immersive lineup.

• PBS’s Independent Lens acquires four documentaries.

• SkyShowtime announces Spanish murder-mystery series Death in Llanes.

Yesterday’s correct answer: George Clooney played Michael Clayton.
88% got it correct.

THE INDUSTRY NEWS

Paramount gets a new judge. For today’s preliminary injunction, Paramount has successfully gotten Judge P. Casey Pitts recused from the case against them, the one filed by the 12 state AGs. Their complaint is that Pitts was the longstanding counsel for the WGA (the guild also sued to block the merger). Now, Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín will preside over the case. Although I don’t expect her to be much more lenient.

At the same time, a Paramount shareholder, Paul Robbins, is suing David and Larry Ellison for colluding with Trump.

It’s going to be one battle after another, as the chances of Paramount closing this transaction by September 30, 2026, are starting to look less certain. That’s a key date: if the deal doesn’t close by then, Paramount will owe WBD $0.25/share every quarter ($650M/quarter).

Paramount Skydance moves forward with its new G.I. Joe film. Danny McBride (wri: The Righteous Gemstones) has written the script, and now he will direct. That’s a great gig for McBride as it will be his feature directorial debut.

The first two G.I. Joe films in the franchise grossed $675M WW on a combined budget of $305M. They’re not great pieces of art, but they have been graced by many artists. Jon M. Chu directed the second film, and Channing Tatum acted in both.

Lionsgate for sale! Ever since the split from Starz back in May 2025, Lionsgate has been angling for a sale. And now two of the largest media companies in Europe are circling:

• Banijay

  • $5.6bn annual rev

  • Assets: 130 production companies

  • 260,000 hours of content

  • Recently acquired: All3Media

  • Biggest hits: Peaky Blinders, Black Mirror, The Traitors, and MasterChef

• Mediawan

  • $1.5bn annual rev

  • Assets: 100+ Production Companies, including Brad Pitt’s Plan B

  • Recently acquired: Peter Chernin’s North Road Company

  • Biggest hits: F1, Adolescence, Slow Horses, UK’s Love Is Blind

Lionsgate would be very tasty to either party; they release 12 films theatrically per year, with their last film, Michael, making $1bn. And they have a new Hunger Games film this year, with the franchise making $3.3bn worldwide so far. They also have a 20,000-title film and TV library to boot.

Tidbits:

Amazon is giving London’s underground rave scene the TV treatment. Code is a new series being written by Industry director Ed Lilly and produced by Daisy Jones & The Six showrunner Will Graham. An “euphoric” coming-of-age, the show will follow an American girl who falls in love with a young entrepreneur who decides to open a London nightclub with her. Casting is ongoing. The series is the first in Amazon MGM Studios’ first-look pact with Graham’s Invitation Media (Trust the Man).

The FCC is proposing a new rule that could revive the blocked Nexstar-Tegna merger. If adopted, the new rule would replace the current 39% cap on the share of U.S. TV households that a single broadcaster can reach. If approved by the FCC, Nexstar-Tegna would reach 80% of US TV households.

Comcast spinoff Versant is relaunching its free streaming service “Fandango At Home” as “Fandango”, expanding its library with premium films, TV, sports, and originals. With more than 50M monthly users, it is trying to battle free streamers like Tubi and Pluto.

New York production spend in Q2 2026 is up a remarkable 57% to $1.58bn total. Remarkably, Georgia’s is down 43% to $405M.

DO NOT SNOOZE ON THIS FILM:

Amazon MGM’s I Play Rocky

• Trailer

• Cast: Anthony Ippolito

• Release: Nov 20

Trailer:

Kino Lorber’s Filipiñana

• Trailer

• Release: Aug 28

First Look:

Apple TV’s Where’s Wanda? S2

• First Look

• Release: Oct 21

Big Shot Pictures: Alvin and the Chipmunks

• First look

• Release: Late 2028

Release Dates:

Neon’s All of a Sudden

• Dir: Ryusuke Hamaguchi

• Premiere: Cannes

• Winer: Cannes Best Actress

• Release: Nov 25

Netflix’s documentary The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare

• Release: July 29

FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia S18

• Release: Aug 17

Netflix’s ice-bath interview show Cold as Balls

• Cast: Kevin Hart

• Release: Fall 2026

Paramount+’s The Challenge: Cutthroat

• Release: Aug 5

Release dates pushed:

Warner Bros’ The Batman Part II

• Dir: Matt Reeves

• Cast: Robert Pattinson

• First Look

• Release: Oct 1, 2027 → Feb 18, 2028

Warner Bros’ The Great Beyond

• Dir: J.J. Abrams

• Cast: Glen Powell, Jenna Ortega

• Release: Nov 13, 2026 → Oct 1, 2027

THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT

Dexter Morgan has a new nightmare waiting for him. Gabriel Luna (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) has joined season two of Showtime’s Dexter: Resurrection. Luna will play serial killer Ray Ballard, otherwise known as “The Sleepy-Eyed Stranger.”

In HBO’s The Last of Us, Luna plays Tommy Miller, the ferociously loyal brother to Pedro Pascal’s Joel. Tommy’s moral compass gradually erodes, unlike his brother, due to his inability to accept the ruthless and inhumane means needed to survive the apocalyptic wasteland.

While Tommy’s arc continues to grow in darkness, Luna showed early on the character’s buried capacity for violence, much like a methodical serial killer. The emotional complexity Luna can bring to troubled characters should make Ray Ballard far more than just another killer for Dexter to hunt.

Production on Dexter: Resurrection season two is ongoing in New York.

Jason Schwartzman
Kate Mara
Vincent D’Onofrio (Full Metal Jacket / Daredevil)
Clancy Brown (Shawshank Guard / Sal in HBO’s The Penguin)

This quartet has been cast in The Roman, Netflix’s Vegas drama. Each of these actors, on their own, can be quite endearing or terrifying (see that side of Mara in House of Cards and Schwartzman in Mountainhead). So their chemistry has an unpredictability much like the roulette table.

The eight-episode drama will focus on the president of the hottest hotel/casino on the Strip (Oscar Isaac), with back-door negotiations and high-stakes power plays. EP’d by Scorsese and created by Ocean’s Thirteen writers Brian Koppelman and David Levien.

Barbie meets Game of Thrones? Channel 4’s thriller series Army of Shadows casts Oscar-nominated actress America Ferrera, Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington, and Paddy Considine, who played the terribly missed Viserys in HBO’s ongoing spinoff The House of the Dragon.

Written by Ronan Bennett (The Day of the Jackal), the new series reimagines an occupied, near-future Britain following a former soldier who builds a covert resistance cell recruiting people to reclaim their country and their futures.

While Harington and Considine are right at home, the six-part British thriller is new territory for Ferrera, who is working with Channel 4 and Canal+ for the first time.

Tidbits:

Jessica Alba wants to be “thirty, flirty, and thriving!” The Trigger Warning actress is set to join Netflix’s upcoming 13 Going on 30 reboot from director Brett Haley (People We Meet on Vacation). While specific character descriptions and story details are being kept secret, the sequel is said to be a modern take on the 2004 cult favorite film about a 13-year-old girl who magically wakes up as her 30-year-old self. Production is ongoing in Los Angeles.

Ella Anderson (the daughter in Song Sung Blue) has Conviction. Anderson joins the cast of Hulu’s Conviction, a legal drama starring Elisabeth Moss from creator David Shore (House). No word on Anderson’s role, but she had an endearing quality in Song Sung Blue that was quite magical.

Daniel Radcliffe, Young Mazino (Beef S1), and Peter Dinklage join the cast of Netflix’s Steps. The animated feature will be a reimagining of the classic Cinderella story, as one of the evil stepsisters of Cinderella gets hold of the Fairy Godmother’s magic wand to wreak havoc. While voice acting has been a relatively small part of Radcliffe’s career, he surely has experience voicing a royal, like his part in King Jeremy Fitzhogg in Netflix’s Mulligan. His versatile tone, ranging from soft to threatening, could be well-suited to a Prince Charming in this twisted version of Cinderella.

Emmy-winning Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) joins David Leitch’s (Dir: Bullet Train) action-comedy Jason Statham Stole My Bike, alongside Jason Statham. No info on the plot or Waddingham’s role, but the film will be a meta comedy piece where Jason Statham plays the role of global action superstar Jason Statham. Waddingham is the perfect foil for Statham, who will likely be playing an exaggerated version of himself. Statham could be the ever-so-serious action superstar with a big ego, and Waddingham could play someone who could break his macho facade.

More casting tidbits:

• Luke Wilson

• Vanessa Hudgens

• Aimee Lou Wood

• Michael Gandolfini

All those tidbits and more here.

FESTIVALS AND DOCS

Strap on your headsets and head to Venice! The Venice Film Festival announces its Immersive selection.

Highlights include:

• Nevatars

  • Dir: Andy Serkis

  • Voice Cast: Daisy Ridley

• The Last Eden

  • Voice Cast: Margot Robbie

Here’s the full breakdown.

INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The award-winning PBS series, Independent Lens, has picked up four new docs to be featured in its 28th season. The lineup spans topics from agriculture and civil rights to disability advocacy and fading traditions, continuing the long-running series spotlighting timely nonfiction stories from around the world.

1. Jane Elliott Against the World

• Dir: Judd Ehrlich (Tribeca’s Keepers of the Game)

• Premiere: Sundance

Official Synopsis:

Educator Jane Elliott faced decades of backlash and national debate over her 1968 classroom experiment. At age 90, she refuses to back down from the fight for racial justice.

2. Seeds

• Dir: Brittany Shyne (cinematographer for The Debutantes)

• Premiered at Sundance

Official Synopsis:

A look into the lives of Black generational farmers, unveiling the challenges of maintaining legacy and the value of land ownership.

3. My Omaha

• Dir: Nick Beaulieu (PBS’ American Portrait)

• Grand Jury Prize nominee for Best Doc feature at Slamdance

Official Synopsis:

Against the backdrop of Omaha’s racial justice movement, a filmmaker navigates the deep political and emotional divide separating him from his dying, conservative father.

4. The Other Side of Memory

• Dir: Nick Capezzera

• Premiered at Tribeca

Official Synopsis:

Spanning from New England to Seoul, a Korean adoptee’s decade-long hunt for the truth behind his abandonment redefines what it means to belong.

Independent Lens will return to PBS this fall.

Mini Tidbits:

• Idris Elba’s production company

• SkyShowtime’s Spanish series

• Singapore Sci-fi

All those and more here.

ON THIS DAY

1967. Will Ferrell born in Irvine, California

Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace, and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.

Editor: Gabriel Miller.

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Behemoth! Shifter. First Communion.

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If you enjoy today’s edition, please hit the like button or leave a comment.

Yesterday was kind of heavy, with Sam Neill’s passing. So today, here are some new and notable trailers:

Searchlight’s Behemoth!

• Dir/Wri: Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton)

• Cast: Pedro Pascal, Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor, Will Arnett

• Release: Dec 4th

Synopsis:

A gifted cellist, Alex Serian (Pascal), returns home to LA after 20 years on the road. Music, which has been the constant, all-consuming river of his life, begins to carry Alex on an adventure that will change him forever.

This has prestige written all over it. The trailer dips into the world of Tár (2022) and Netflix’s Maestro (2023). Gilroy has a special talent for ripping men who wish to be immortalized down to psychological ribbons.

Trailer.

Netflix’s The Whisper Man

• Dir: James Ashcroft (The Rule of Jenny Pen).

• Cast: Robert De Niro, Adam Scott, Michelle Monaghan

• Release: Aug 28th

Synopsis:

When his eight-year-old son is abducted, a widowed crime writer looks to his estranged father, a retired former police detective, for help, only to discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer known as “The Whisper Man.”

Falling somewhere between Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners and The Black Phone, this somewhat recycled plot is elevated by an extremely talented cast. Scott, for one, has been in the horror realm recently with Neon’s Hokum. And the director James Ashcroft has a great eye.

Trailer.

Apple’s Mayday

• Dir: Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves)

• Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Kenneth Branagh

• Streaming: Sept 4

Synopsis:

Lieutenant Troy Brennan’s (Reynolds) reconnaissance mission over Soviet territory goes awry, forcing him to crash-land and survive in Russian wilderness while evading capture or rescue.

This is a fun buddy action comedy. Reynolds and Branagh are mismatched enough to drive each propulsive scene. This could have made a mint at the box office, but Apple is sending it straight to streaming.

Trailer.

For More:

A teenage coming-of-age story, filtered through the minds of creators Ryan Murphy and Bret Easton Ellis, author of American Psycho. FX’s The Shards trailer.

Ok, so it’s a bit like Julia Ducournau’s Raw. But Fantasia Fest’s Ferine is still a fun, pulpy watch. Here’s the trailer.

Oh, and here’s the final trailer for The Dog Stars, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Jacob Elordi.

THE INDUSTRY TLDR

• Hulu is developing sci-fi series Shifter, w/ Adam Scott and the Severance writers.

• Warner Bros. signs a first-look deal with Backrooms producer Chris Ferguson.

• James DeMonaco will direct Miramax’s dystopian thriller Vigilant.

• The WGA files a separate lawsuit to block the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger.

• Carey Mulligan joins Billie Eilish in Sarah Polley’s The Bell Jar.

• Steve Buscemi joins FX’s series adaptation of video-game franchise Far Cry.

• Garrett Wareing & Amanda Fix star in The Conjuring: First Communion prequel.

• Ellen Burstyn will receive Venice’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

• Abramorama nabs Alex Gibney doc Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie.

• 1-2 Special acquires Cannes Best Screenplay winner A Man of His Time.

Yesterday’s correct answer: Untamed, Sam Neill’s Netflix show.
42% got it correct.

THE INDUSTRY NEWS

Another season of Severance can’t come soon enough, but Hulu’s Shifter might be the next best thing. Reuniting actor Adam Scott with Severance writers Ezra Claytan Daniels and Eli Jorné, the new sci-fi series is based on a graphic novel by Koren Shadmi.

Set in the near future in an underground industry of “Shifters”, the series will follow Rose, an aspiring actress who uses a facial implant to become anyone for hire. Rose has made a name for herself as one of the best, slowly losing herself and blurring the line between performance and identity. Daniels and Jorné will write and EP alongside Scott via his Great Scott Productions.

The news of the upcoming series comes just ahead of filming for season three of Severance, with the gang returning to Lumon later this summer.

WGA tosses its lawsuit into the ring to block the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. This is a separate lawsuit from the one filed Monday by the 12 states and focuses more on the labor impact, like PSKY’s proposed $6bn in “cost savings,” which means a mass reduction in staff.

Separately, a federal court will have a preliminary injunction hearing for the 12-state AG lawsuit this Thursday.

Tidbits:

Weapons out, Backrooms in. Warner Bros. inks a first-look deal with Chris Ferguson (Prod: Longlegs, Backrooms) and his studio Oddfellows. Warner’s needed another big-name horror producer in-house after their deal with Weapons producer J. D. Lifshitz ended in 2025. As part of the deal, Warner Bros. will have access to Ferguson’s Vancouver studio.

James DeMonaco (Dir: The Purge) will direct Miramax’s thriller Vigilant. The film follows what happens after a pilot program begins giving cash rewards to people who hunt down wanted criminals. The film very much feels like it is in the same vein as The Purge franchise. We know DeMonaco can create dystopian cityscapes that blend a realistic future with hyper-violent what-ifs.

Mini Tidbits:

Netflix acquires YouTube variety show Good Mythical Morning (19.6M subs). The show follows Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal as they face off in crazy challenges and games.

Tubi has brought on Shannon Olivas as Head of Communications and Publicity.

2026 Daytime Emmy Awards noms. Full list here.

Trailers:

Rubberhead: The Life & Monsters of Steve Johnson

• Trailer

• Subject: Steve Johnson

• World Premiere: July 23

Odysseus: The Fall

• AI-generated film

• First Look teaser

Release Dates:

Bleecker Street’s doc Musk

• Subject: Elon Musk

• Release: Oct 16

Bleecker Street’s A Talent for Murder

• Cast: Helen Mirren, Alden Ehrenreich

• Release: Oct 23

Bleecker Street’s Tender Loving Care

• Dir: Mike Leigh

• Cast: Marion Bailey, Kate O’Flynn

• Release: Dec 4

Bleecker Street’s Harmonia

• Cast: Carrie Coon, Lily James

• Release: Jan 8, 2027

A24’s Club Kid

• Dir: Jordan Firstman

• Cast: Firstman, Cara Delevingne

• Release: Nov 6

Paramount’s Boys for Life

• Dir: Tyler Falbo (Almost Friday TV)

• Release: April 9, 2027

THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT

A perfect pairing of actress and author. Three-time Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan is set to star in The Bell Jar, Sarah Polley’s (dir. Women Talking) feature adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s autobiographical novel.

Mulligan will star alongside ten-time Grammy-winning global superstar Billie Eilish, making her feature-film acting debut as Esther Greenwood, a brilliant student and aspiring poet whose promising future begins to unravel amid her growing depression.

Mulligan feels like a natural fit for Plath’s world. My favorite role of hers, Cassie, from Emerald Fennell’s revenge thriller Promising Young Woman (2020), was brilliant and perceptive but trapped by a devouring pain she could never escape, with no amount of revenge able to heal her trauma.

Expected to play Esther’s mother, Mulligan will now be on the other side of the suffering. As an expert in the world of emotionally complex characters, she’ll serve as a strong anchor for Eilish in her acting debut.

Production began on The Bell Jar in Toronto earlier this summer, with Focus Features eyeing a 2027 premiere.

Steve Buscemi (Nucky Thompson in Boardwalk Empire) joins FX’s series adaptation of the popular game franchise Far Cry. The show will follow a similar storyline to the games in which the playable character must team up with local rebel factions to overthrow a powerful enemy.

From oppressive dictators to crazy cult leaders, Far Cry villains have become the defining element of each installment. Buscemi is perfect for a villain role with his unpredictable, manic menace that hides behind a fast-mouthed persona. We can expect a tropical version of Tony Blundetto from The Sopranos, where Buscemi played a ruthless mobster with a subtle yet terrifying calm.

The series’s showrunner is Noah Hawley (FX’s Fargo).

The Conjuring is getting younger. New Line casts Garrett Wareing (The Long Walk) and Amanda Fix (Lowlifes) as the young Ed & Lorraine Warren in the prequel The Conjuring: First Communion.

Ed and Lorraine Warren were played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in the original films. While Farmiga’s Lorraine was more maternal, Fix’s emotional intensity could portray a less seasoned exorcist. The physically expressive and versatile performance by Wareing could hint at a different take on a younger Ed Warren, one who is less composed than the reserved father figure portrayed by Patrick Wilson.

The prequel will take place before the events of the iconic first The Conjuring (2013) film. Releasing September 10, 2027.

Tidbit:

• Blue Beetle returns

• Rosario Dawson

• Keith Carradine

All those casting tidbits here.

FESTIVALS AND DOCS

While she just needs a Grammy to join the elite EGOT club, Ellen Burstyn is being honored by the Venice Film Festival with a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement. The Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974) actress will be presented the award during a screening of Maggie Gyllenhaal’s new short film Flesh Impact, in which Burstyn stars alongside Dakota Johnson.

Anglo-French film company Alief acquires world sales rights for horror feature Godhead. The film tells the story of strange twins who proclaim that they are prophets to a suspicious priest. Premiering this weekend at Fantasia Fest.

INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT

Abramorama picks up North American rights to Oscar-winner Alex Gibney’s new doc Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie.

Synopsis:

Previously unseen footage captured by Salman Rushdie’s wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, documents his journey. Following not just his physical rehabilitation, but also the restoration of his spirit and optimism.

Like all of Gibney’s docs, including Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, it explores human cruelty and an enlightened response. Get this: Rushdie actually visited his attacker in prison.

Premiere: Sundance. Opening Sept 17th in NYC.

New York-based indie distributor 1-2 Special (Urchin) scored a major win, acquiring all North American rights to A Man of His Time (clip), winner of the Best Screenplay Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Inspired by the life of filmmaker Emmanuel Marre’s own great-grandfather, it follows a penniless man’s pursuit of acceptance within France’s Nazi-collaborating Vichy regime.

1-2 Special had a very successful time at Cannes, picking up Everytime (clip), winner of the top prize in the Un Certain Regard competition, as well as Critics’ Week Best Film winner La Gradiva (clip).

A Man of His Time will play in theaters later this year.

Mini Tidbit:

Jeff Barker, father of Curry Barker (Dir: Obsession), is writing and directing a horror short, Medium Rare, starring comedian Dane Cook. Horror filmmaking runs in the Barker family.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The BBC’s commercial business is booming, thanks in large part to Bluey.

BBC Commercial reported a 9% increase in profits for 2025/26, with the global children’s phenomenon and BritBox International helping drive revenue growth. BBC Commercial, the broadcaster’s revenue-generating arm, brings in additional income through international sales, licensing, streaming, and merchandise, helping support the BBC to the tune of $505M this year.

At the same time, the BBC confirmed that future seasons of Doctor Who will be open to competitive bids from outside producers, yet they remain confident in their ability to obtain the rights and continue serving as the home of the long-running series for another 60 years.

Mini Tidbits:

• Iceland’s Áróra

• Portuguese series Cold Haven

• Czech-Indian zombie romcom Cold Feet

All those tidbits and more here.

ON THIS DAY

1961. Forest Whitaker born in Longview, Texas.

Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace, and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.

Editor: Gabriel Miller.

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Want to advertise with us? Email: clarke.scott@theindustry.co

Actor Sam Neill, Paramount’s Street, and a Bagworm.

Let’s go!

If you enjoy today’s edition, please hit the like button or leave a comment.

Passion has no limits.

Sam Neill, the wonderful actor who captivated us in Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, has passed away at 78.

I’ve been grappling with his death all day. Not because I was the number one Jurassic Park fan in the world. Although I deeply loved the magic that those films brought to my life as a kid, and boy, did Sam Neill’s charm and reverence for an extinct species make an impression on me.

Before I wanted to be a filmmaker, I wanted to be a paleontologist.

But as I grew up and out of that phase, I grew into watching more Sam Neill films.

He’d crop up where you’d least expect him, like in a four-and-a-half-hour Wim Wenders road trip movie, Until the End of the World (1991), which I saw right before I took my own road trip through the country when COVID hit in March 2020.

Neill was able to play the courageous protector facing dinosaurs with as much passion as he did a real lover, in one of the greatest, strangest, darkest films of the 20th Century, Possession (1981). Although it is Isabelle Adjani who gets the attention (and in fact she won Cannes Best Actress), it is Neill who must shepherd the burden of her mounting terror and insanity. And to watch this prim businessman be pushed to the brink was its own horrific delight.

And talk about range, in the same year as the original Jurassic, Neill starred in Jane Campion’s Oscar darling The Piano (1993) as the deeply controlling colonial settler Alisdair Stewart. A character both incredibly despicable and somehow sympathetic all at once.

Just earlier this year, Neill shared the joyful news that he had beaten stage 3 blood cancer. Though his final curtain call came far sooner than the world wanted, his legacy will be fossilized not in sandstone but in celluloid.

For More:

Loved Neill in Peaky Blinders? We did too. Read our companion piece here.

“More like a 6-foot turkey” Jurassic Park - Scene

Possession - Trailer

A 4K restoration of Palme d’Or-winning The Piano (trailer) will screen at Lincoln Center next week.

THE INDUSTRY TLDR

• Paramount acquires the original A Nightmare on Elm Street screenplay.

• Twelve states sue to block the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger.

• Marvel Studios is developing a Nova film with Michael Waldron attached.

• TriStar Pictures adapts Trevor Henderson’s viral horror character Cartoon Cat.

• California Film Commission director Colleen Bell steps down.

• Tyriq Withers and Isabel May will star in Amazon MGM romcom Love Love.

• Mae Whitman and Emily Meade will lead Prohibition-era comedy Whisper Sisters.

• Michael Douglas’ son, Dylan, makes his feature acting debut in Killing Hitler.

• Oscilloscope Laboratories acquires SXSW body-horror comedy Bagworm.

• Cinema Guild acquires Hong Sang-soo’s Nowhere to Lay My Eyes.

Friday’s correct answer: Cannes, where The Da Vinci Code premiered.
44% got it correct.

THE INDUSTRY NEWS

Will Freddy Krueger become the face of Paramount’s horror label?

Paramount takes the rights to adapt the original screenplay of A Nightmare on Elm Street. With J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules (Prods: Zach Cregger’s Weapons) EPing the new project as part of the new horror banner, Paramount Primal, that they launched after completing their deal with Warner Bros.

The original A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) is a slasher horror classic that follows a group of teenagers trying to escape an undead entity named Freddy Krueger, who seeks revenge against their parents, who burned him alive. The film was followed by eight sequels and reboots, and was one of the key pieces of IP for New Line Cinema, which owned the films’ rights at the time.

Paramount is on the lookout for its next billion-dollar horror IP. The A Quiet Place trilogy has garnered more than $893M worldwide, and the Smile franchise grossed $335M worldwide with only a $45M budget for both films. With the legal issues out of the way and Weapons producers producing for Paramount Primal, the iconic Freddy Krueger is a perfect calling card of their new label.

But is A Nightmare on Elm Street still relevant today? The original film touched on generational sin and teenage angst, turning sleep and dreams into something terrifying. With social media making teens more anxious and sleep-deprived than ever, a Freddy Krueger haunting them in the 2020s doesn’t seem too far-fetched.

The moment has come. 12 states have filed a lawsuit to block the Paramount Warner Bros. merger.

The leader, CA Attorney General Rob Bonta, stated that a combined PSKY WBD would lead to:

“Higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the U.S.”

Here are their main points about the magnitude of the combined companies:

• 27% market share for theatrical films

  • 4 studios would control 86% of market

• 30% share of blockbusters

  • 4 studios would control 90% of market

• 27% market for basic cable

At the same time, David Ellison is trying to win favor in the film industry by backing a federal film tax incentive.

Read the full 12-state lawsuit here.
Here are the full details on Paramount’s plan for Warner Bros.

Also, David Zaslav sold $59M worth of Warner Bros. Discovery stock.

Tidbits:

MCU’s new star. Marvel Studios is developing a Nova film with writer-director Michael Waldron (Showrunner: Chad Powers) attached. Nova is a Marvel cosmic superhero who is a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Nova Corps. The organization made an appearance in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), but the stellar main character Nova was never mentioned in the MCU. With superhero fatigue, this seems like a difficult moment for Nova to arrive at Marvel. But Nova could serve as the key to the MCU's outer-space storyline, which was largely unexplored after Guardians of the Galaxy.

Another Trevor Henderson monster film. Cartoon Cat, one of the most popular viral horror entities (drawing) created by Siren Head creator Trevor Henderson, is getting a feature adaptation by TriStar Pictures. Cartoon Cat is an ancient monster that uses old cartoons to seep into the minds of its victims and has often been referred to as the “king of creepypastas” by its fans. This acquisition is the second feature deal for Henderson, following a long 5-way studio bidding war for Siren Head in which Zach Cregger and Warner Bros. won.

Mini Tidbits:

HBO Max wants to turn docuseries U.S. Against the World: Four Years with the Men’s National Soccer Team into an ongoing franchise, even though their World Cup run is over. Rand Getlin, the EP of the show, teased creating a similar series for the 2030 World Cup.

California Film Commission director Colleen Bell is stepping down after six years of working in the role. Bell oversaw the Commission during tumultuous times like the pandemic and the 2023 labor strike.

YouTube’s Alan’s Universe (101M Subscribers), created by American actor Alan Chikin Chow, is heading to Netflix. The popular YT series is a scripted high school anthology about love, friendship, and self-growth.

First Look:

Amazon Prime’s Carrie

• First Look

• Dir: Mike Flanagan

• Release: Oct. 2026

Searchlight Pictures’ Behemoth!

• First Look

• Cast: Pedro Pascal, Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor

• Dir: Tony Gilroy

Trailers:

Warner Bros. Digger

• Trailer

• Cast: Tom Cruise, John Goodman, Riz Ahmed, Sandra Hüller

• Dir: Alejandro G. Iñárritu

• Release: Oct. 2

• Trailer breakdown - Cruise goes full Dr. Strangelove: https://theindustry.co/p/tom-cruises-dr-strangelove

Peacock’s Crystal Lake (Friday the 13th prequel series)

• Teaser

• Cast: Linda Cardellini

• Release: Oct. 15

Buffalo 8’s A Social Contract

• Trailer

• Cast: Sean Astin

• Release: Aug. 7

Netflix’s Mourinho

• Trailer

• Release: Aug. 11

Release Dates:

Sony Pictures Animation’s The Haunting of Hotel Transylvania

• Release: Oct. 8, 2027

Brainstorm Media’s Without Blood

• Dir: Angelina Jolie

• Cast: Salma Hayek Pinault

• Release: Sept. 18 (premiered at TIFF 2024)

THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT

Tyriq Withers (Him) stars and EPs Amazon MGM romcom Love Love, alongside Isabel May (Paramount+’s 1883). The film follows a struggling tennis star who falls in love with a charismatic local ball boy at the US Open.

Joey Power (Dir: Banana Split) directs the film, which will start production this fall in New York.

Withers showed his charisma as a romantic lead in Universal Pictures’ Reminders of Him (2026) as a character who is gentle yet deeply emotional. The film has a strong dramatic tone of redemption and forgiveness to it, which Withers nailed with his intense performance. It would be interesting to see if he can play a lighter yet equally suave character in a romantic comedy.

Mae Whitman knows about sisterhood, but what does she know about bourbon? New half-hour comedy Whisper Sisters pilot has cast Whitman (Good Girls) and Emily Meade (The Leftovers) following the women as they navigate the male-dominated world of Kentucky bourbon during the Prohibition era.

Whitman’s chemistry with her fellow mothers-turned-robbers in NBC’s Good Girls, along with her beautifully realistic bond with Lauren Graham’s character in the Parenthood series, demonstrates the actress’s ability to make on-screen relationships feel authentic and lived in. Whisper Sisters will begin filming this summer in Kentucky.

Tidbits:

British singer-songwriter PinkPantheress (aka Victoria Walker) is joining the top-secret Daniels’ film at Universal alongside a growing cast led by Matt Damon. The “Stateside” singer has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, becoming the youngest-ever recipient of the BRIT Producer of the Year Award and picking up two Grammy noms. Her addition poses even more questions as to what the EEAAO filmmakers have up their sleeves.

Dylan Douglas, the son of Hollywood legend Michael Douglas, gets his first movie role in the Jewish mobster film Killing Hitler. The film follows an American gangster named Ben who plans to assassinate Hitler in 1933 Berlin. Douglas will portray the early years of Ben, while the later years will be played by David Arquette (Scream franchise). It’s great to see Dylan picking up the acting mantle.

Obit:

Josh Grisetti, best known for his appearance in Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, dies at 44. He was also a prolific Broadway actor, performing in the musical Something Rotten!, which was nominated for 10 Tony Awards.

INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Oscilloscope Laboratories gets into body horror. They’ve just picked up North American rights to the SXSW indie horror drama/comedy Bagworm, the feature debut of director Oliver Bernsen.

The film follows a sexually frustrated hammer salesman whose life begins to collapse when he steps on a rusty nail.

We like this pickup for them. Oscilloscope tends to do more drama, but with the resurgence of horror they’re charging in with a strong entry.

South Korean director Hong Sang-soo’s new film Nowhere to Lay My Eyes has been acquired by Cinema Guild (U.S. Dist: On the Beach at Night Alone, Winner of Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival). This acquisition was made before the film’s premiere at the Locarno Film Festival next month.

Japan’s TBS and A. Smith & Co. Productions (Prod Co: American Ninja Warrior) is bringing a luck-based competition, Dumb Luck, to the U.S. Originally titled Kisuke, the series will follow a group of contestants as they try to overcome various obstacles based on pure luck.

ON THIS DAY

1969. Easy Rider is released.

Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.

Editor: Gabriel Miller.

Follow us on: Facebook | Instagram

Want to advertise with us? Email: clarke.scott@theindustry.co

Netflix’s Secret, Fanning’s Flame and a Portal to Hell.

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THE INDUSTRY TLDR

• Rebecca Hall attached to lead Netflix’s The Secret of Secrets (author: Dan Brown).

• State AGs may sue to block the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger this week.

• Elle Fanning and Julianne Moore will star in Rebecca Miller’s new film.

• Ariana Grande exits American Horror Story Season 13.

• Myanmar drama Fruit Gathering wins the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.

• Department M acquires a significant stake in Neon.

• Cineverse acquires Slamdance’s Portal to Hell, starring Richard Kind.

• Stefano Mordini will direct a biopic about CERN physicist Fabiola Gianotti.

• All3Media CEO Louise Pedersen exits following its Banijay merger.

Friday’s correct answer: Actor. It was Paul Feig’s first profession in the industry.
36% got it correct.

THE INDUSTRY NEWS

Robert Langdon may have found a new face. Netflix’s series adaptation of Dan Brown’s newest novel The Secret of Secrets is in talks with The Gilded Age’s Morgan Spector to step into the role of famed religious symbologist Robert Langdon. If cast, Spector would succeed Tom Hanks, who portrayed Langdon across Ron Howard’s three film adaptations The Da Vinci Code (2006), Angels & Demons (2009), and Inferno (2016).

While Spector’s Gilded Age character George Russell is more concerned with expanding his railroad empire than his academic pursuits, both men can be just as gritty as they are dapper when they find themselves in over their heads. Rebecca Hall (The Town) is also in talks to star as the female lead opposite Spector.

The Oregon attorney general’s office has withdrawn its request for a 60-day delay in the upcoming completion of the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. Meanwhile, California, New York, and other state AGs will likely file a lawsuit this week to stop the merger.

The combined company has been approved in 20 countries internationally (China and Australia but not the UK). If California doesn’t play ball, David Ellison (CEO: PSKY) has threatened to move the studio out of the state, which would be a massive economic blow.

Mini Tidbits:

Letterboxd’s four favorites: Netflix, Sony, Paramount, and Versant. These parties, and more, are in talks to buy the hugely viral film-centered platform from the majority owner, Canadian holding company Tiny.

Scripps Local Media’s 54 stations return to DirecTV after a five-week blackout over a dispute over retransmission rates.

Donald Iwerks, who spent more than six decades as a camera technician at The Walt Disney Company, died at 96. He also founded his own studio, Iwerks Entertainment, and was the model for the hands of the Abraham Lincoln Audio-Animatronics figure in Disneyland.

Renewal:

Prime Video’s House of David (renewed for S3)

Trailer:

AMC+’s Mayfair Witches S3

• Cast: Alexandra Daddario

• Trailer

• Release: 2027

First Look:

Disney’s Avengers: Doomsday

• First Look

• Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans

• Release: Dec 18

Release Dates Pushed:

Amazon MGM’s How to Rob a Bank

• Dir: David Leitch

• Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, Pete Davidson

• Release: Sept 4 → Nov 13

Black Bear’s Wife & Dog

• Dir: Guy Ritchie

• Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rosamund Pike

• Release: Oct 23, 2026 → Feb 19, 2027

TriStar Pictures’ The Nightingale

• Cast: Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning

• Release: Feb 12, 2027 → March 19, 2027

Release Dates:

Focus Features’ Obsession

• Dir: Curry Barker

• Cast: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette

• Peacock Release: July 17 (63-day theatrical run)

CBS’ Boston Blue S2

• Cast: Donnie Wahlberg, Sonequa Martin-Green

• Release: Oct 9

THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT

Before there was “Goodnight stars, goodnight air” there was Margaret Wise Brown. Julianne Moore and Elle Fanning are attached to star in Moonsong: A Life In Seven Verses, a feature biopic about the beloved children’s author behind bedtime classics like Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny.

Much like the ambitious and fierce new mother Fanning portrayed in her freshly Emmy-nominated series Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Brown was known for her fiery temperament, boundless imagination, and refusal to conform. Fanning would be a terrific fit as a young Brown, an outsider who completely revolutionized children’s literature alongside her trailblazing editor Ursula Nordstrom.

Just as children’s book publisher Ursula Nordstrom sought out and championed new minds and fresh ideas, Moore’s Oscar-nominated performance in Boogie Nights (1997) or her role as the complicated matriarch in The Kids Are All Right (2010) showcase the actress’ ability to play someone who can recognize the potential and brilliance where others may overlook it.

Maggie’s Plan filmmaker Rebecca Miller is attached to direct and write Moonsong, reuniting her with the subject of her acclaimed documentary series Mr. Scorsese who is on board to produce. No plot or character descriptions have been shared, but Fanning and Moore on screen together could bring the same warmth and wonder to Brown’s story that she brought to generations of readers.

Mini Tidbits:

Chris Kattan (Hotel Transylvania 2) joins indie horror feature Trash Queen. No info on Kattan’s role or the plot of the film, but we know that the film will be a female-led horror comedy. Kattan thrives in the genre, just look at his performance in House on Haunted Hill (1999), where he was a terrified caretaker and the comic relief of the film.

Wicked actress Ariana Grande is putting acting on pause, exiting American Horror Story season 13 due to conflicting schedules with her ongoing Eternal Sunshine tour. The FX anthology series will return this September.

Four obits:

Wai Ching Ho, who played Madame Gao in MCU’s Daredevil, Iron Fist, and The Defenders, dies at 82. She also voiced the stern Grandma Wu, who perfectly shifted the film’s atmosphere from comedy to drama in Pixar’s Turning Red (2022).

Randolph Mantooth, best known for his performance as an L.A. paramedic on NBC’s Emergency!, dies at 80. He also appeared in many daytime soap operas, such as The City, and earned four Soap Opera Digest Award nominations.

Peter Van Norden, the Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985) and The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) actor, dies at 75. He also had a prolific resume in theater throughout his career.

Antoinette Bower, best known for her performance as Sylvia in Star Trek: The Original Series, dies at 93. She also played Jamie Lee Curtis’ mother in the slasher classic Prom Night (1980) and appeared in the iconic “Probe 7, Over and Out” episode of The Twilight Zone.

FESTIVALS AND DOCS

Myanmar drama Fruit Gathering wins Karlovy Vary Film Festival.

The festival stated that the film:

“Oscillates in a captivating rhythm between tenderness and harshness while reflecting on how women’s desires survive in a country where intimacy and love between women remain socially unacceptable.”

Here is the trailer. Czech premiere: July 10

INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT

7-time Palme d’Or-winning studio Neon makes its next big move. The production company Department M (The Christophers) has acquired a significant stake in the distributor.

Department M was founded by the former president of the Russo Brothers’ AGBO (Avengers: Endgame), Mike Larocca (now on Neon’s board), and former New Regency president Michael Schaefer (now Neon’s Chief Content Officer). It was launched in 2024 with significant backing from Qatar-based investors. The deal with the indie prod co strengthens Neon’s already deep ties with Qatar, following Neon’s partnership with Qatar's film committee last year.

Taking a stake in the Anora studio gives Department M, which also produced the upcoming Regé-Jean Page-led The Count of Monte Cristo, direct access to quality distribution, marketing expertise, and credibility.

The investment will help Neon expand its reach as it launches a new TV division, Neon TV. As such, Department M’s Carina Sposato is now Neon’s EVP of TV.

It mirrors A24’s move from two years ago, involving a number of outside investors, like Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital, investing $75M into the studio. The total investments have now led A24 to a $3.5bn valuation, majorly expanding their global scale.

We hope Neon can maintain its indie identity with the strengthened financial and strategic support.

Tidbits:

A famous footballer disappears. No, this is not World Cup coverage, but the seed that spurred The Last Guest of the Holloway Motel, which premiered at Tribeca last year. The doc follows 1970s and ‘80s football star Tony Powell, who dropped out of the public eye 35 years ago. The doc starts off as a sleek true crime thriller until it capsizes its own style to dig into the raw emotional territory of identity. It’s tragic and beautiful. Check out the trailer here. Now available on VOD.

Cineverse goes to hell. No, not really. But they did pick up Portal to Hell, a film that premiered at Slamdance, which features Richard Kind as the devil. It’s a delight to see the character actor featured in A Serious Man, Argo, and Beau Is Afraid take on pure pulpy fare. Keith David (Requiem for a Dream) also stars. Cineverse has a love affair with these gooey, squishy horror films, like The Toxic Avenger (2025) and, of course, Terrifier 3 (2024).

Barbara Ling, the Oscar-winning production designer of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), dies at 73. She also worked with director Joel Schumacher to recreate the vibrant yet comical cityscape of Gotham in Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997). Her work in Tarantino’s love letter to 1969 Hollywood meticulously blended preexisting structures with miniatures and set design. For example, the Van Nuys drive-in theater was created by mixing miniature murals and VFX. Her final project was Michael (2026), directed by Antoine Fuqua, which faithfully recreated the pop-star glam of the 1970s and ‘80s.

Mini Tidbit:

I dreamed a dream. Anthony Hopkins is releasing an album, Life Is a Dream, on August 21st. Don’t worry, he’s not pulling a Joaquin Phoenix; these are classical music compositions he’s been working on for 6 decades. Want a taste? Here’s the first single.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Italian director Stefano Mordini takes on the God Particle. He will direct a biopic about Fabiola Gianotti, the particle physicist who was the Director-General of CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), which operates the world’s largest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, a 17-mile machine that smashes particles together.

Gianotti was one of the main people responsible for the discovery of the Higgs Boson, a particle which helped unlock our understanding of how the universe works.

Mordini’s previous film, The Lesson (2026), stars Matilda De Angelis (Citadel: Diana, Dracula) as a young lawyer defending a professor against a sexual assault charge from his university. But it plays like a pure high-stakes thriller (trailer). De Angelis would be great as a young Gianotti, who reached a pivotal point in her education when she turned from music and philosophy to experimental particle physics.

Tidbits:

Directing duo Chike Ozah and Coodie Simmons (Netflix’s Jeen-yuhs) are bringing the story of double threat Ernie Barnes to the big screen in a new doc. Who Is Ernie Barnes? will take a look through archival footage at the amazing life of Barnes, a professional offensive lineman and acclaimed painter. In select theaters, the doc will screen alongside a three-part “immersive experience” each highlighting a significant stage in Barnes’ career.

All3Media International (Dist: The Traitors) CEO Louise Pedersen leaves the company following its merger with Banijay Entertainment (Prod Co: MasterChef franchise). Cathy Payne will remain CEO of Banijay Rights and lead the combined global distribution business, bringing Banijay Rights and All3Media International together.

ON THIS DAY

1940. Patrick Stewart born in Mirfield, Yorkshire, England.

Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace, and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.

Editor: Gabriel Miller.

Follow us on: Facebook | Instagram

Want to advertise with us? Email: clarke.scott@theindustry.co

Paul Feig’s Detention, Warner’s Free Willy, and a Bunker