Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Angelina Jolie’s spy, Mark Ruffalo’s agent, and a Fairyland.
Let’s go!
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Angelina Jolie will star as a villainous spy in The Initiative.
The project, in early development at Universal, is being directed by Doug Liman.
Two decades ago, Jolie burned bright in Liman’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith. What I loved about that movie was the perverse joy Jolie got from trying to extinguish her husband, Brad Pitt.
That film cemented Jolie as the most intense actress of her generation. In fact, that’s her defining on-screen trait. That characterization has carried many a film, including her trio of spy flicks:
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)
Salt (2010)
The Tourist (2010)
But The Initiative will be different if it is to live up to its logline:
“Training Day set in the world of spycraft.”
Jolie will play a mysterious operative training a rookie spy. Her methods are said to tilt so far past what is standard practice as to devolve into Machiavellian cruelty. That would push past her characterizations in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Maleficent (2014) towards Training Day’s hyperbolically diabolical Denzel Washington, who won the Oscar for the role.
The most interesting part of Training Day is when Washington’s intensity is turned inward at the end of the film. And like any star reaching critical mass, it collapses in on itself under its own weight. We felt a similar ego death in Jolie’s portrayal of the famous opera singer in Maria (2024). So we know she’s more than capable.
The Initiative will be written by F. Scott Frazier, who wrote xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017). Not a lot of character range in that, but then again, Jolie has a way of compensating for a lackluster script by diverting our attention, patching plot holes with her gaze.
For More:
Mr. and Mrs. Smith Trailer.
Maleficent clip.
Training Day trailer.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
HBO is developing Blackout Room, a high-concept thriller. Craig Mazin EPs.
Fifth Season-financed Docu-series Odyssey on Apollo 13 from Jim Lovell’s POV in the works.
New Line in talks for Weapons prequel.
Juli Goodwin is now Amazon MGM’s Head of Awards Campaigns.
Mark Ruffalo stars in HBO’s Task (Sept 7), from Mare of Easttown’s Brad Ingelsby.
LaKeith Stanfield co-stars in WB’s F.A.S.T.
Stavros Halkias joins A24’s Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony.
Chris O’Dowd joins Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial.
NYFF will world premiere Daniel Day-Lewis’s return to acting, Anemone.
TIFF adds & Sons and The Fence.
Lionsgate partners with Willa on Zoetrope’s Fairyland.
Richard Stanley writing Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 3.
Money Heist’s Jaime Lorente directs El Mal Hijo.
Music Box Films acquires Swiss Oscar entry Late Shift.
HBO partners with China’s Viu for bundled global streaming.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
HBO is developing Blackout Room, a high-concept mystery thriller with The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin set as EP.
Set in a near future where life is streamed 24/7, the story follows a woman trying to find her son who vanished without a trace. Nine Days filmmaker Edson Oda writes and directs.
Last of Us would've been a tough job for anyone having to deal with such a beloved road map any detour would irk fans, it would be interesting to see something less creatively constrained.
Less than a week after the death of Jim Lovell (97), there’s a near-complete docu-series on the Apollo 13 disaster from Lovell’s POV called Odyssey.
The team is sensational:
Financier: Fifth Season (prod co: Severance)
Prod Co: Delirio Films (Netflix’s Will & Harper)
Dir: Avi Belkin (Dir: Magnolia’s Mike Wallace Is Here)
Sales Rep: Fifth Season/CAA.
We’re hoping the heart of the series delves into his family’s harrowing journey while he was stuck in space.
Mini Tidbits:
The worst pirate you’ve ever heard of. Johnny Depp is said to be interested in reprising his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6, a reboot, which is still being rewritten. Of course, this is pending his liking what they do with the character and Disney bringing him back into the fold.
Weapons 2. After Weapons scored $70M globally its opening weekend, Warner Bros. and New Line are looking to expand the world. Early talks are happening for a prequel film following the bizarre and crafty central antagonist, Aunt Gladys, whose backstory was ultimately cut. While it is unclear right now if Gladys will get her chance in the spotlight, the mere idea has already earned cult potential.
Juli Goodwin is now the Amazon MGM Studios’ Head of Awards Campaigns, Strategic Activations, and Talent Management. She was previously the CCO at AFI for 7 years. Before that, she worked for 17 years at Warner Bros. doing publicity.
Juried Winners for 77th Emmy Awards Announced. Categories include Best Animation, Best Color, and Best Costumes. Netflix won 7 out of 9 awards. Check the winners out here.
Cash Cab producer Lion TV US just laid off six of its employees. They are a standalone company that produces for All3Media America (Fox’s Accused).
Anime streamer Crunchyroll announces layoffs. No headcount as of yet. Blame falls on restructuring and shifting to markets outside the US, like India, Brazil, and Europe.
Trailers:
Netflix’s With Love, Meghan (Season 2)
Release: Aug 26
Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building (Season 5)
Release: Sept 19
Sony Pictures Classics’ Eleanor the Great
Dir: Scarlett Johansson
Cast: June Squibb
Premiere: Cannes Un Certain Regard
Release: Sept 26
Janus Films’ Peter Hujar’s Day
Dir: Ira Sachs
Cast: Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall
Premiere: Sundance
Release: Nov 7
Release dates:
1-2 Special’s Urchin
Dir: Harris Dickinson
Premiere: Cannes Un Certain Regard
Release: Oct. 10
First Look:
Fuze
Dir: David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water)
Star: Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Premiere: TIFF
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Mark Ruffalo does his best work on HBO series.
His latest is the upcoming Task, from Brad Ingelsby (creator: HBO’s Mare of Easttown). Ruffalo stars as a reluctant task force FBI chief who hunts down a group of thieves in a Philadelphia suburb.
The trailer grips into the psychic melancholy that is pervasive in Ruffalo’s best work.
Just check out his previous HBO series, the gutting I Know This Much Is True (2020) from Derek Cianfrance (dir: Blue Valentine). Ruffalo plays two twin brothers, one a paranoid schizophrenic and the other a falsely upbeat man hiding a deep rage. The result is a sensational counterplay between two Ruffalos (trailer).
In Tape, Ruffalo will double back on the investigator role, which he played with great zeal in Zodiac, Spotlight , and Collateral.
But if it’s anything like his previous HBO performance or the showrunner’s Mare of Easttown, we’ll see Ruffalo pillaging the depths of emotional dysfunction.
Task releases September 7th.
Tidbits:
LaKeith Stanfield is co-starring in Warner Bros. action thriller F.A.S.T. Brandon Sklenar (It Ends With Us) will star as a DEA agent or ex-Delta Force. Stanfield brings extreme life into every character he’s given (Sorry to Bother You, etc.) F.A.S.T. follows a former special forces commando who leads a strike against drug dealers. Jason Clarke (Terminator 5) and Sam Claflin (Me Before You) will co-star. Longtime DP Ben Richardson (Mare of Easttown) directs.
Comedian Stavros Halkias joins A24’s 1970s Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony. He made an impact on comedy podcasts with his easy-going crowd work shows, where he was genuine and warm. Halkias joins Dominic Sessa and Antonio Banderas as director Matt Johnson shows Bourdain's early life.
Spanish model Fernando Lindez has been cast in The Last Sunrise, Amazon MGM’s film adaptation of author Anna Todd’s bestselling young romance novel. Lindez will become the object of desire in the film, a man from Majorca who falls in love with Eva Longoria’s daughter (Maia Reficco). Filming later this month.
Randall Park will star in Jessica Liu’s debut feature Better Life, a dark comedy inspired by Liu’s immigrant father. With an apparent sci-fi bend, Park should feel right at home; his Marvel character, Agent Jimmy Woo, has dealt with all sorts of weird things, especially in WandaVision - clip. Production begins in September in LA.
Mini Tidbits:
USA Network drama Anna Pigeon has added Paulina Alexis (Ghostbusters: Afterlife) and Tricia Helfer (Walk All Over Me) as recurring characters. Helfer will play Anna’s older sister, and Alexis plays a young ranger who sees Anna as her mentor.
Chris O’Dowd joins the cast of Amazon MGM’s Artificial, directed by Luca Guadagnino.
Liev Schreiber stars as Sam Fisher in Netflix’s animated Splinter Cell: Deathwatch. Even in animated form, you can see his deadly likeness. First look. Releasing late 2025.
FESTIVALS
NYFF adds a strong trio of world premieres:
Anemone
Star: Daniel Day-Lewis
Distributor: Focus Features
Mr. Scorsese
Dir: Rebecca Miller
Doc on Martin Scorsese
Distributor: Apple TV+
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost
Dir: Ben Stiller
Doc on Stiller’s parents
Distributor: Apple TV+
Other additions include a Cannes Acid Doc, a film starring Jodie Foster, and an upcoming A24 film. Full list of additions here.
TIFF adds 6 titles to its lineup of 209 feature films. Including two world premieres:
& Sons
Dir: Pablo Trapero (The Clan)
Starring: Bill Nighy, Matt Smith, George MacKay
Writer: Sarah Polley (dir/writer: Women Talking)
The Fence
Dir: Claire Denis
Cast: Matt Dillon, Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex), and Isaach de Bankolé (Chocolat)
Plus, the post-Venice premiere of The Wizard of the Kremlin starring Jude Law and Paul Dano.
TIFF unleashed its full schedule here.
Sales Rights Acquisitions:
Raven Banner grabs international rights to Steven Kostanski’s Deathstalker reboot, premiering at Locarno. Deathstalker was a cult classic, weird sci-fi fantasy that was clearly inspired by the likes of He-Man, Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth. Trailer. Releasing late 2025. This deal follows Shout! acquiring rights for English-speaking territories.
Sales Rep Pluto Films has grabbed international sales rights for Funeral Casino Blues (what a name!). The film is premiering in Venice Horizon’s section and is directed by the writer of Oscilloscope’s mind-bending The Universal Theory (2024, trailer).
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Willa is growing up. For those unfamiliar, Willa is the indie distributor behind my favorite film of last year, La Cocina, starring Rooney Mara. Willa has partnered with Lionsgate for the release of Fairyland.
Synopsis:
A young girl recounts growing up in San Francisco in the '70s and '80s with her gay dad. Their relationship evolves from an era of bohemian decadence to the heartbreaking AIDS crisis.
It’s not the first time Lionsgate has partnered with a smaller distributor. The last time was for Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, where co-distributed with Utopia (co-founded by Coppola’s nephew, Robert Schwartzman).
Fairyland is also an American Zoetrope production. Sofia Coppola is a producer, as is Zoetrope regular Liz Destro.
Willa focuses on social campaigns that tug on social issues raised in the film. For La Cocina, it was engaging restaurant workers.
Fairyland premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is scheduled for release October 10th.
A match made in eldritch heaven: Color Out of Space writer Richard Stanley will write Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 3, directed by Scott Chambers.
These low-budget slashers have been pushing the public domain to its limits, taking advantage of old out-of-copyright ideas like Pooh and Steamboat Mickey. Combine this cheeky IP skirt with Stanley's knowledge of the eldritch horror, and you can definitely see an upgrade for BH3, given its new, bigger budget.
BH2 Trailer.
Color Out of Space Trailer.
Tidbits:
Denver Directs. Jaime Lorente, who played the naive but volatile Denver in Money Heist, will make his directorial debut with El Mal Hijo. It’s a super twisted tale about a grandma (Susi Sánchez from The Skin I Live In) who holds her son captive, which she shows her grandson.
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