Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
A24 + Neon’s Buys, John Turturro’s Steal, and a Rider.
Let’s go!
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Sundance Cliff Notes:
Two films have just been sold to big distributors:
A24 buys The Invite for $10M+, which is directed by Olivia Wilde and stars Edward Norton, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Wilde. Multiple bidders were involved, including Focus Features and Warner Bros.’ new film label led by the former Neon employees.
Neon has landed worldwide rights to Leviticus, Adrian Chiarella’s Sundance Midnight breakout, in a seven-figure deal. The distributor will release the film theatrically later this year and handle foreign sales.
It’s rare these days to get a festival bidding war going. So, great news for the indie market.
The Only Living Pickpocket in NY, starring John Turturro (as the pickpocket), premiered today. Turturro is sensational in it as a loner with a great heart who thinks he knows all the angles. The film really sings when we find out how much Turturro’s lifestyle has crippled those around him.
Turturro was also part of Sundance’s The Power of Story talk (also featuring Olivia Wilde and Alex Gibney), and he spoke about working with Spike Lee early in his career on Do the Right Thing and how, after his racist monologue scene, the caterer wouldn’t feed him.
But the best event of the day was an anniversary screening of Guillermo del Toro’s first film, Cronos. Del Toro was there for a sublime post-screening talk!
Some of my favorite del Toro one-liners:
“What is the scene I think needs to exist? The most difficult is when you reach up to heaven, and you grab an angel by the testicle and you grab it and pull it down.”
“The monsters made sense, they seemed to never lie.”
“I'm more interested in the human dimension than in the fucking myth. We already live in myths. Success, romantic love, power. It's all fucking mythology.”
And we have our first Sundance winners…
Short Film Grand Jury Prize winner:
The Baddest Speechwriter of All, which was co-directed and produced by Ben Proudfoot (Two-time short doc Oscar winner for The Last Repair Shop and A Concerto Is a Conversation) and Stephen Curry. This short centers on Martin Luther King Jr.’s 93-year-old lawyer & speechwriter.
Full list of short film winners here.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Lionsgate moves forward on a Dirty Dancing sequel.
Paramount’s ex-CEO Brian Robbins launches family animation prod co Big Shot.
Halle Berry lines up Apple Films’ The President Is Missing.
Liz Tegelaar (Little Fires Everywhere) signs a 3-year overall deal with Paramount TV.
Starz grabs U.S. rights to BBC miniseries The Listeners starring Rebecca Hall.
A+E Studios names Chris Sanagustin head of current programming.
Banijay’s Bunim/Murray promotes Nikki Cameron to VP of Development.
The Russo Bros’ AGBO cuts ~15% of staff.
Zoey Deutch joins Netflix’s The 99’ers as U.S. soccer exec Marla Messing.
Regina Hall boards Netflix crime drama series Rabbit, Rabbit.
Amy Madigan guest stars in Netflix/Amblin miniseries All The Sinners Bleed.
Julianne Nicholson + Coco Greenstone join Brad Pitt in A24’s The Riders.
Antonio Banderas joins supernatural thriller Unmerciful Good Fortune.
Diane Lane joins Mike Flanagan’s new The Exorcist (with Scarlett Johansson).
BAFTA Best Film Nominees: Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, One Battle After Another, and Sinners.
Concourse launches The Smack (Affleck, Rockwell, Bates) at EFM.
Justine Triet sets first English-language feature, Fonda, at MK2/StudioCanal.
Netflix unveils 2026 Japan slate.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
You could never put a baby in the corner for long. Lionsgate is officially moving forward with a Dirty Dancing sequel with Color Force’s Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson (Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes).
Forty years since the original 1987 classic romance, Jennifer Grey is set to EP and reprise her role of Frances “Baby” Houseman.
There is currently no director attached, with Dying for Sex writer Kim Rosenstock penning the script, and production aiming to begin later this year.
Brian Robbins, former Paramount Global co-CEO of AwesomenessTV, has launched Big Shot Pictures, a family-focused animation studio backed by about $100M from Greycroft, Sony, and others.
The company has a first-look theatrical distribution deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment and has secured rights to Eloise at the Plaza for its first major project.
Mini Tidbits:
Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere creator Liz Tegelaar has made the switch, signing a three-year overall deal with both Paramount TV Studios and CBS Studios. Tegelaar has spent most of her career at Disney, but started at CBS Studios in 2009, creating her first series the CW’s Life Unexpected.
Starz gets U.S. rights to the Rebecca Hall-led BBC miniseries The Listeners. From Fremantle’s Elemental Pictures, the film, based on a novel of the same name, embraces the unknowable with a unique mystery and an unlikely friendship that stems from it.
A+E Studios has named Chris Sanagustin, former Netflix Brazil originals chief, head of current programming. Sanagustin brings experience across Universal Television, SYFY, and WBTV, with a focus on global stories.
Banijay America’s Bunim/Murray Productions promotes Nikki Cameron to the new VP of Development. Bunim/Murray Productions is behind hit reality shows like MTV’s The Challenge and Hulu’s Vanderpump Villa.
The Russo Brothers’ AGBO has cut 15% of its staff (20 people). The roles are said to be mostly middle management. Many prod co’s are tightening their belts recently, like Coogler’s Proximity, Lena Waithe’s company, Blumhouse, and A24's Doc division.
Trailers:
Neon’s I Love Boosters
Cast: Keke Palmer, Demi Moore
Premiere: SXSW
Theatrical Release: May 22nd
Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again (Season 2)
Cast: Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter
Release: Mar. 24th
HBO’s Neighbors
Release: Feb. 13th
Sundance title: How to Divorce During the War
Dir/Wri: Andrius Blaževičius (The Saint)
Release: TBA
The Optimist
Cast: Stephen Lang (Sisu 2), Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade)
Trailer
Release: Mar. 11th
Storm Rider: Legend of Hammerhead
Cast: Marco Ilsø (Vikings)
Release: Mar. 13th
First Looks:
Netflix’s Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen
Exp. Prods: Duffer Bros (Stranger Things), Weronika Tofilska (Baby Reindeer)
Release: Mar. 26th
Netflix’s Vladimir
Cast: Rachel Weisz, Leo Woodall
Release: Mar. 5th
Renewals:
Apple TV’s Shrinking (for Season 4)
Cast: Jason Segel, Harrison Ford
Season 3 Release Date: Jan 28th (Trailer)
Plus, Ryan Reynolds is currently developing Deadpool 4.
Release Dates:
Amazon MGM Studios’ I Play Rocky
Dir. Peter Farrelly
Cast: Anthony Ippolito, Matt Dillon
Release: Nov. 21st, 2026 (on the same day as the Rocky 50th Anniversary)
In The Grey
Dir: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal
Sales Rep: Black Bear (The Monkey)
Release: Apr. 10th
End Dates:
Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show will officially end on Thurs. May 21st on CBS.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Netflix’s leading ladies:
Zoey Deutch joins Netflix’s The 99’ers, a sports drama where she’ll play the trailblazing U.S. Women’s soccer exec Marla Messing. After notably starring in Richard Linklater’s acclaimed black and white dramedy Nouvelle Vague and Sundance’s Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, the true-life soccer feature will be Deutch’s third leading role in under two years.
The film is an adaptation of Jeré Longman’s book The Girls of Summer: The US Women’s Soccer Team and How It Changed the World. Nicole Kassell (dir. HBO’s Watchmen) is attached to direct.
Deutch is brilliant as Gail Daughtry, channeling the “I just ate ice cream for the first time” energy of Naomi Watts at the start of Mulholland Drive. And if you want to see her in something very different, check out the Nouvelle Vague trailer.
Regina Hall (OBAA) is cast in Netflix’s upcoming crime drama series Rabbit, Rabbit. She will share the screen opposite Adam Driver. From director Philip Barantini (4 eps of Adolescence), Hall will play an FBI Crisis Negotiator in a heightened standoff with an escaped convict (Driver) who is holding hostages at an Illinois truck stop. With those two leading, count me in.
Amy Madigan is set to star in Netflix miniseries All The Sinners Bleed, amidst her hugely successful award run for her iconic part in Zach Cregger’s horror Weapons. From the Obamas’ Higher Ground and Amblin Television, the S.A. Cosby adaptation follows a trailblazing Black sheriff who leads the hunt for a serial killer who’s been preying on his community for years. Madigan will have a guest-starring role with production currently ongoing in Atlanta.
Tidbits:
Halle Berry has lined up a number of upcoming film and TV acting roles, including Apple Films’ The President Is Missing, a feature adaptation of James Patterson’s popular political thriller. Berry is also newly attached to Zero F***s, a new comedy from Peacock, with the Oscar winner producing each new project alongside her business partner Holly Jeter via HalleHolly.
Brad Pitt anchors A24’s The Riders as Fred Scully, a role that leans into his late career strength for wounded, introspective characters (Cliff Booth). He’s joined by the newly announced Julianne Nicholson and Coco Greenstone. Directed by Edward Berger (Conclave), production is currently underway across a variety of European locations.
Antonio Banderas joins an impressive cast for supernatural thriller Unmerciful Good Fortune. The Oscar winner will play Pito Cruz, the husband of Rosario Dawson’s high-end celebrity attorney Maritza. Scott Eastwood and Susan Sarandon are also attached while the film is in pre-production.
Prime Video’s Viking drama Bloodaxe has added Mads Reuther (The Commune) as scheming Norwegian jarl Sigurd and Saku Taittonen (Helsinki Syndrome) as Knut, the conflicted brother of Gunnhild (Jessica Madsen). Currently in production, the spiritual successor to showrunner Michael Hirst’s Vikings.
Mini Tidbits:
Diane Lane (Feud: Capote vs. The Swans) joins Scarlett Johansson and Jacobi Jupe in Mike Flanagan’s new The Exorcist, an all-new story separate from 2023’s Believer. Universal releases March 12, 2027.
A Crazy Ex-Girlfriend reunion. ABC’s upcoming comedy Do You Want Kids? adds Pete Gardner as a series regular alongside show co-creator, producer, and star Rachel Bloom. Gardner has joined the single-cam pilot, replacing the formerly cast Daniel Stern.
Australian actor, comedian, and musician Tim Minchin has joined the voice cast of animated feature Zac Power. Based on the popular book series, the family film follows a teenage spy forced to confront his mistakes after losing vital tech to a villain. The film will launch international sales at EFM.
FESTIVALS
The BAFTA nominations have dropped, and they are about what you’d expect, with a few notable surprises:
Best Film
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Full BAFTA breakdown of all the categories and surprises here.
The 78th Writers Guild Awards just announced their nominations.
Best Adapted Screenplay mirrors last week’s Oscar list exactly, while the Best Original Screenplay category sees some surprises:
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners
Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein’s Marty Supreme
David Koepp’s Black Bag
Zach Cregger’s Weapons
Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Big congrats to the Bronstein household.
TV is led by Apple TV’s Pluribus with 4 nominations and The Studio with 3. HBO’s The Pitt, The White Lotus, and Jio Hotstar’s Andor also received numerous nominations.
The WGA winners will be announced on March 8th.
Full list of WGA noms here.
Berlin:
Horror-comedy Ghost in the Cell has been secured by German distributor Plaion Pictures (OBAA) ahead of its Berlin festival premiere. From director Joko Anwar (wri. Gundala), the film is set in a violent Indonesian prison with a supernatural entity that kills “those with the darkest auras”.
Sales at EFM:
The Smack
Int. Sales Rep: Concourse Media (Tribeca’s Sovereign)
Dir: David M. Rosenthal (The Perfect Guy)
Cast: Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Marisa Tomei
Synopsis:
A con man stumbles onto a once-in-a-lifetime score-millions in stolen war cash hidden in plain sight and realizes it might be his last shot at redemption.
Keep Her Quiet
Int. Sales Rep: Beta Cinema (Amrum, Four Minus Three)
Cast: Jonathan Pryce, Amir El-Masry
Synopsis:
Follows A Washington D.C.-based journalist, whose investigation into unexplained disappearances in Western China puts her and her family in danger.
Rotterdam:
Asian Shadows (Paths of the Soul) has acquired the timely South Korean documentary The Seoul Guardians for international rights ahead of its Rotterdam festival. The feature-length doc follows the tense hours inside South Korea’s National Assembly following the 2024 declaration of Martial Law, directed by high-profile MBC journalists Jong Woo Kim, Shin Wan Kim, and Chul Young Cho. Trailer.
CPH: DOX, one of the biggest doc festivals, is opening with Mariinka. It follows young Ukrainians on the front line. More details on the film here.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Justine Triet, the director behind the genius Palme d’Or winner (and my favorite 2023 movie) Anatomy of a Fall, announces her first fully English-language feature.
Fonda synopsis:
A psychological thriller set in a seemingly idyllic huis clos (closed-door), Fonda takes us on a vertiginous dive into the shifting limits of a sound mind, as grief and obsession take hold.
Mia Goth (Frankenstein) will play the lead with Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers) and Oscar-winning Allison Janney (I, Tonya) in talks to join as major characters. Oh, and don’t be surprised if Sandra Hüller makes an appearance.
MK2 and StudioCanal are producing Triet’s fifth feature film, with shooting scheduled for this spring.
Tidbits:
Kino Lorber’s MHz Choice has acquired Zorro, an eight-episode French limited series starring Oscar winner Jean Dujardin (The Artist). Set in 1821 Los Angeles, the series follows Don Diego de la Vega, now the mayor, who revives his masked alter ego to fight corruption while hiding the secret from his wife. The reimagining premieres June 30 in the U.S. and Canada.
The Gotham Group (prod: Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere) secures rights to a feature film about the rise and fall of elite Supreme Court lawyer Thomas Goldstein, picking up the infamous Air Mail article “Tommy Supreme and the Blitz.”
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Netflix’s international takeover…
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