Good morning: In today’s edition of The Industry, we look at:
A24’s Fly, Paramount’s Final and a Searcher.
Let’s go!
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THE INDUSTRY TLDR
A24 UK acquires TV rights to Josh Silver’s novel Fruit Fly.
Crunchyroll and Starz launch a $17 monthly bundle on Prime Video.
Christopher Landon will write & direct Paramount’s The Final Girl Support Group.
Lynette Howell Taylor is re-elected president of the Academy.
Oscar-winning Once star and musician Glen Hansard dies at 56.
Madeline Brewer joins Paramount’s Possession remake.
Michael J. Fox will receive the TV Academy’s Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.
Jay Baruchel joins S5 of Prime Video’s Reacher.
Joe Miñoso exits NBC’s Chicago Fire after 15 seasons.
Sundance will reinstate New Frontier FLUX for 2027.
Penélope Cruz, Sian Heder, Isabelle Huppert will receive TIFF Tribute Awards.
Banijay reports $1.56B in half-year revenue, down 2.2%.
Pathé acquires a 50% stake in Benelux distributor The Searchers.
South Korea’s first-half box-office revenue rises 41.9% to $396.6M.
Yesterday’s correct answer: Living in Oblivion, first Dinklage film w/ Steve Buscemi.
60% got it correct.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
A24 UK acquires TV rights to author Josh Silver’s novel Fruit Fly. The book follows Mallory, a star author who is struggling with seven years of writer’s block. Her luck changes when she meets Leo, a young addict living under a bridge who is trading sex for survival. She’ll tell his story, which will become her story.
This is an A24 film, of course, so it’ll get pushed to the bitter end of heightened absurdity. The book’s tagline is “Go gay. Go sad. Go dark.” and Mallory’s husband is a Netflix executive. So there may be some friendly studio v. studio skewering.
We can’t wait to see what they do with the property. Some of their TV shows, like The Curse, have been equally wild as their films.
Fruit Fly was featured by the BBC as one of their “12 Books to Read in 2026.”
Tidbits:
Anime fans and prestige TV lovers no longer have to choose. Crunchyroll and Starz have teamed up to launch a discounted bundle on Prime Video, giving subscribers access to both services for $17 a month. A division of SPT, the anime-focused streamer has skyrocketed in popularity, growing by 5M subscribers since Crunchyroll was acquired back in 2021. Starz, meanwhile, has increasingly embraced bundle deals, recently partnering with Peacock for an in-app add-on subscription.
Christopher Landon is sticking with horror. Paranormal Activity and Drop (2025) filmmaker has signed on to write and direct Paramount’s adaptation of Grady Hendrix’s bestselling novel The Final Girl Support Group. Previously at HBO Max as a series, the slasher thriller follows a group of massacre survivors whose weekly therapy sessions are interrupted when they become targets once again. “The project reunites Landon and Hendrix, who previously worked together on Amazon Studios’ original film My Best Friend’s Exorcism (2022), in a producer and author capacity.
Mini Tidbits:
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has re-elected Lynette Howell Taylor (prod: Blue Valentine, A Star Is Born) to a second term as president.
Emmy-winning costume designer Jean-Pierre Dorléac, known for ABC’s Battlestar Galactica and AMC’s The Lot, has died at 83.
Renewal:
ABC’s American Idol (for S25, 10 total w/ ABC)
Release: Jan. 2027
Greenlit:
Disney+’s House of Fates
Spinoff of Korea’s Battle of Fates competition series
Trailers:
Sony Pictures Classics’ Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!
Dir: Josef Kubota Wladyka (Manos sucias)
Premiere: Sundance 2026
Winner: Directing Award, Dramatic
Release: Sept. 25
Locarno Title As Light as Air
Dir: Umair Bilal (debut)
Premiering Aug. 11 in the Critics’ Week section
Netflix’s Outer Banks (S5)
Cast: Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline
Release: Aug. 20
Release dates:
Hulu’s Chad Powers
Cast: Glen Powell, Steve Zahn
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Release: Sept. 3
Blue Harbor Entertainment’s American Summer
Dir/Wri: Michael W. Gray
Cast: Steve Guttenberg, Christie Brinkley
Release: Sept. 4
And…
Amazon MGM’s The Thomas Crown Affair
Dir/Prod/Star and co-writer: Michael B. Jordan
Co-star: Adria Arjona
Composer: Jon Batiste
Release: March 5th, 2027
At CinemaCon this April, Jordan got on stage and spoke about what he drew from the previous two iterations of the film. For him, the 1999 Pierce Brosnan version was stylish, smart, and sophisticated. The original 1968 McQueen version was effortless, cool with a rebellious edge.
Jordan wanted to give the Crown a real reason, a real driver. And the trailer shows that he’s a man who loves living on the edge, while also being effortlessly cool. The chemistry with Arjona is great.
Prime knows this is a valuable piece of IP in their war chest.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Angelic Irish actor, singer, songwriter, and frontman of The Frames, Glen Hansard has died in a tragic motorcycle accident at just 56 years old.
Hansard broke through internationally with Once (2007), starring as the lead and co-writing “Falling Slowly,” the tender ballad that earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Song and later inspired the eight-time Tony-winning musical. Despite the critical glory, Hansard was a busker at heart, a man of the people, admired for his charitable generosity and prioritizing his small-time shows rather than big-time blockbusters.
From Bono to Bruce Springsteen, celebrity friends and fans alike are mourning the loss of such a singular creative and thoughtful voice.
“Falling Slowly” video.
Paramount’s buzzy Possession remake has added more young talent to its growing cast. The Handmaid’s Tale’s Madeline Brewer and Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story) are joining Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley in the reimagining of the 1981 psychological horror, which follows a crumbling marriage where the wife begins to exhibit increasingly disturbing behavior.
Both Brewer and Chavez are pros at bringing high tension to the small screen. Brewer was Emmy-nominated for her role as the trauma-ridden Janine in Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. She plays a tragic character forced to endure the darkest sides of humanity.
Similarly, Chavez made a lasting impression in his depiction of the deeply troubled Lyle Menendez, which was unflinching in its intensity. Both actors have more than proved their ability to navigate psychologically demanding material, perfect for the new take on Possession. Currently filming.
Mini Tidbits:
Billy Zane (Titanic) joins the cast of neo noir thriller Milliseconds, directed by Philippe Caland (Dir: Repentance starring Forest Whitaker). The film follows a reclusive painter who becomes intrigued with an investigation that involves a suicide hotline. No info on his role.
Five-time Emmy winner Michael J. Fox will be honored with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award by The Television Academy. From Family Ties to ABC’s Spin City to opposite Harrison Ford on Apple’s Shrinking, he will receive the much-deserved recognition at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 14.
Graeme Thomas King (Greta) gets promoted to a series regular for MGM+’s action drama Robin Hood. King plays Prince John – the younger son of King Henry II whose ambition sets fire to the kingdom’s political turmoil. This could mean that we will get to see more of a royal power struggle in the upcoming season.
Jay Baruchel (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) joins the cast of Prime Video’s Reacher Season 5. The new season will follow Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) as he finds himself in a small town of Mother’s Rest where he must crack a deadly criminal conspiracy. Baruchel will play Chief Buck Bauer, a small-town policeman. Baruchel in a more serious action role will be fun to watch.
After 15 seasons, Chicago Fire series regular Joe Cruz, played by Joe Miñoso, is exiting the show. A staple firefighter since the pilot in 2012, Cruz was fiercely loyal to his family and quickly became one of the respected leaders of the firehouse. The fictional Chicago Fire Department will miss him.
FESTIVALS AND DOCS
As the Sundance Film Festival prepares for its Boulder, Colorado debut, director Eugene Hernandez has filmed a fun walk-through video of some of the new venues for 2027.
Beyond the new locale, the expected changes also include reinstating New Frontier FLUX, the AI-centered experimental and emerging technology section that is focused on storytelling through new, innovative tech. Also, the primary competition categories will expand from 10 to 12 titles.
To read more about the January 2027 Sundance Film Festival, click here.
Mini Tidbits:
Penélope Cruz, Sian Heder (Dir: CODA), Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher), and Lee Chang-dong (Dir: Burning) will receive TIFF Tribute Awards at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival. Most of the TIFF Tribute Award recipients tend to have a film in Toronto’s official lineup.
Bloody Tennis, a Tunisian horror film from director Nikias Chryssos (Dir: Rave On), will premiere next month at the Locarno Film Festival. The film follows a woman who joins an elite tennis academy only to find out that the institution may be hiding something more sinister than she had expected.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Banijay Entertainment (Peaky Blinders, Survivor) may have hit a slight speed bump, but the TV production giant is forecasting a stronger second half after completing its merger with London-based All3Media (Traitors).
$1.56bn total half-year revenue
↓ 2.2%
Total Production Revenue ↓11.9% year over year
Total Distribution Revenue ↑ 10.5% year over year
Boosted by a major format sale in the first quarter, though Banijay did not disclose the title or buyer behind the deal.
These reports do not yet include the performance of All3Media, with Banijay expecting a significant increase in numbers for the second half of the year.
Mini Tidbits:
Pathé (Prod Co: Parthenope starring Gary Oldman) acquires a 50% stake in the top-grossing independent film distributor in the Benelux region, The Searchers (Benelux Distribution: Everything Everywhere All at Once). Pathé will strengthen the partnership between its preexisting companies Pathé Belgium and Pathé Netherlands with The Searchers.
South Korean box office posts a 41.9% increase in revenue in the first half of 2026. The Korean Film Council just reported that the overall box office from January to June 2026 was $396.6M.
There’s something inside of you. It’s hard to explain. Kavinsky, the French artist behind Drive’s Nightcall song, has sadly passed away at 50.
ON THIS DAY
1939. Peter Bogdanovich born in Kingston, New York.
Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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This is interesting, as I have been on many of the sets from the mentioned actors and production companies as a bg actor.
Has Fruit Fly even hit book stores yet?