Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Anne Hathaway’s Pop, Angelina Jolie’s Star, and a Mosquito.
Let’s go!
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Final Call - Tim Blake Nelson’s Superhero - Exclusive Book Launch.
Anne Hathaway’s newest film, A24’s Mother Mary, is a kaleidoscopic tale of the perils of fame and codependency.
It seems to borrow much of the visual style and thematic tendencies from Trey Edward Shults’ Hurry Up Tomorrow by way of A24’s Under the Skin.
There’s something quite convincing about seeing Anne Hathaway as a pop star (in the film, she plays a music icon in the midst of a comeback performance). Hathaway has an ease and a grace of moving through celebrity spaces. Perhaps her much-practiced poise is derived from the many films in which she gets a vast makeover:
Princess Diaries 1 & 2
Ella Enchanted
The Devil Wears Prada
And of course, she plays an A-lister in Ocean’s 8, who has no other function (or so we think) than to be a vessel for glitzing around the Met Gala with a $150M diamond necklace.
But the same narrative tendencies that dress her up make her so compelling when she’s emotionally stripped down.
Take Rachel Getting Married (2008). She showcases her most vulnerable side while navigating life post-rehab amidst changing family dynamics. It’s raw, and we feel her self-destructive tendencies at every turn. More recently, in Eileen (2023), Hathaway possesses a similar self-destructive nature but conceals it as best as she can.
Mother Mary seems to stretch Hathaway’s dichotomy of high life poise to psychological torment further than any film previously. And if director David Lowery can tap into the light horror elements to explode a troubled partnership (as he did in A Ghost Story), we’re in for a real treat.
Releasing April 26th.
For More:
A24’s Mother Mary trailer.
Rachel Getting Married trailer.
The Devil Wears Prada trailer.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Angelina Jolie will star in Sunny (dir: Eva Sørhaug), a Norwegian gangster thriller.
Nicholas Hoult & Daisy Edgar-Jones star in Tony McNamara’s dark comedy series Mosquito for Disney+.
Netflix acquires Mark Wahlberg action thriller The Operator (wri: Harrison Query, Heads of State).
David Matalon dies at 82 after decades leading Columbia, TriStar & Regency.
Ian McDonald (wri: Woman of the Hour) sells new cult-world thriller to Netflix.
Fifth Season takes global rights to MGM+ Irish-gang drama The Westies.
Jeff Shultz (ex-Paramount) named CEO of Radial Entertainment after FilmRise–Shout! merger.
Paradigm’s Jennifer Millar joins Brillstein, taking her top client, Sydney Sweeney.
Regé-Jean Page returns to Netflix to star in erotic thriller Hancock Park.
Matthew Macfadyen & Charlie Hunnam lead BBC’s Cold War thriller Legacy of Spies.
Hulu’s Foster Dade casts Jack Alldridge as the anxious boarding-school outsider.
Lori Loughlin returns to Hallmark’s When Calls the Heart for Season 14.
Sonoya Mizuno makes her directorial debut with Stages, backed by A24 and Film4.
Leslie Odom Jr. to adapt and star in horror feature Dance With the Devil for Rolling Stone Films.
Amplify Pictures self-finances mockumentary comedy Mt. Mystic Rangers.
BBC Studios hires Fernando De Jesus to lead true-crime and docs content label.
BritBox promotes Alana McGaughey to SVP of publicity and communications.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
From Hollywood to Oslo, Angelina Jolie is embracing international storytelling once again. The Oscar winner is set to headline and produce Sunny, a thriller from Norwegian director Eva Sørhaug (Tokyo Vice, Yellowjackets). “In the spirit of Mafia films,” Jolie will play a female gangster fiercely protecting her sons from the treacherous and violent criminal underworld, with deadly consequences.
The film continues Jolie’s pattern of working with international filmmakers:
Couture (2025)
Dir: Alice Winocour (Proxima, wri: Mustang)
Premiere: TIFF
Maria (2024)
Dir: Pablo Larraín (Spencer, Jackie)
Role: World-famous opera singer
Hats off to Jolie, who is taking on risky, unusual roles, championing indie filmmakers.
Nicholas Hoult and Daisy Edgar-Jones are set to headline Mosquito, a Disney+ comedy series from Tony McNamara (writer: Poor Things). The six-episode dark comedy explores the unraveling of a young couple’s relationship after a single intrusive mosquito breaks down their carefully maintained facades. Relatable.
Produced by 20th Television, the show will channel the absurdist humor of McNamara and Hoult’s previous collaboration, Hulu’s The Great (2020-23, scene). Led by Hoult and Elle Fanning, the hilarious period series thrived on its unhinged, unpredictable comedy, blending historical absurdity with chaotic, quick wit, always keeping the audience off-balance.
With a duo made up of two of Britain’s strongest young actors, McNamara’s sharp writing pedigree, and a premise this bizarre, Mosquito is so intriguing it may actually be brilliant.
Netflix has acquired The Operator, an action thriller from Harrison Query (co-writer: Heads of State) with Mark Wahlberg starring as an ex–Tier One Operator turned CIA clean-up man tasked with protecting a despised target.
The deal follows Query’s recent Netflix showrunner pickup, Trigger Point (Joel Edgerton). Query’s slate also includes scripts for Code Black (Jake Gyllenhaal) and the JonBenét Ramsey limited series (Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen). It further cements Query as one of the industry’s most in-demand action storytellers.
Latest on the Warner Bros. Discovery sale:
A minority of Paramount’s funding to buy the company (some are putting their latest bid at $70bn for the all of WBD) is from:
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund
Qatar Investment Authority
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Interestingly, Saudi Arabia’s funds are already backing some of the $100M budget for Paramount's Rush Hour 4.
A big loss for Hollywood. David Matalon has passed away at 82. He had a remarkable career:
Columbia Pictures (EVP)
1970s – 1983
TriStar Pictures (co-founder; EVP → President)
1983 – 1989
Regency Enterprises (senior executive → CEO)
1995 – 2008
And he was in the room when David Fincher screened the first cut of Fight Club to the executives at Regency. Apparently, everyone was pretty appalled by what they saw.
Tidbits:
Woman of the Hour screenwriter Ian McDonald has sold his next project, an untitled thriller, again to Netflix. Nothing is known of the plot besides it being set in the world of cults, yet McDonald’s film has some heavy-duty support from Oscar-nominated writers Andrea Berloff (Straight Outta Compton) and John Gatins (Flight), both attached to produce through their overall deal with the streamer.
Fifth Season is bringing Irish gangs out of New York and to the world. The Severance studio now controls global rights to MGM+’s The Westies, a crime drama series. From Narcos creator Chris Brancato, the show traces New York’s infamous 1980s Irish gang as they struggle for power against the Italian Mafia. Fifth Season feels like a suitable home for yet another gritty, character-driven saga with clear international appeal.
Recently, Netflix saved Sesame Street, and now we get a peek at how they are going to use the muppets to crossover with their other projects. Case in point, Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc from Knives Out, solving a mystery in glorious felt form. We can most likely expect more Netflix Muppets crossovers, and personally, I am all for it! Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man will be streaming Dec 12th. Watch it here.
Mini Tidbits:
Paradigm agent Jennifer Millar is moving to Brillstein Entertainment Partners to become a manager. Millar’s top client is Sydney Sweeney, who will join her. It’s kind of cool to see that Sweeney wasn’t lured by CAA, WME, or UTA, perhaps signifying she’ll continue taking on challenging roles, like Christy.
Paramount’s former Streaming Chief Strategy Officer, Jeff Shultz, is moving over to Radial Entertainment as their new CEO. The global company formed by the merger of FilmRise (The Room) and Shout! Studios (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) are hoping to leverage their vast catalog to become a major force in global distribution.
Paramount Global’s tenured head of global public policy, DeDe Lea, and government relations is exiting the company. Lea is just the most recent high-level exec to depart the company following the Skydance acquisition, with her last day set for Jan. 5th.
David Letterman’s Season 6 of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction arrives December 16 with 3 episodes focussed on each guest Michael B. Jordan, MrBeast and Jason Bateman. Trailer here.
Stranger Things 5, part 1, set a Netflix record with 59.6M views in five days, briefly even crashing the streamer. Part 2 arrives on Christmas, series finale New Year’s. So far, it’s been a great way to say goodbye to a much-loved series.
AMC lands multiyear rights to TNA’s live Wrestling - Thursday Night Impact! This is a pivot for them as they have recently seen scripted shows fall in ratings overall. Starts airing January 15.
Erik Messerschmidt (DP: The Killer, Ferrari) is stepping in to DP The Batman: Part II for Matt Reeves.
Cancellations:
NBC’s Deal or No Deal Island
Trailers:
Arcadia
Greece’s Oscar Submission
Cast: Angeliki Papoulia (Dogtooth)
Disney+’s Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show
Streaming release: Dec 12
CNN’s Death Cap: The Mushroom Murders
Streaming Release: Dec 19
Netflix’s People We Meet on Vacation
Cast: Emily Bader and Tom Blyth
Release: Jan 9
Return to Silent Hill
Release early 2026
Focus Features’ Obsession
Blumhouse has just come on board as EP
Focus picked up the film at TIFF: https://theindustry.co/p/focus-features-new-focus
Release: May 15th, 2026
Previous Blum/Focus Features collabs include BlacKkKlansman and Insidious: Chapter 3.
First look:
Look Back
Dir: Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters)
Release Dates:
Marquee TV’s Front Row
Premiere: Doc NYC 2024
EP: Sarah Jessica Parker
Release: Dec. 8
Netflix’s Stranger Things
Theatrical release (500 screens): Dec 31st
BBC’s The Traitors (S4)
Release: Jan 1
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
From the regal halls of Bridgerton to the elite gated communities of LA, Regé-Jean Page is back at Netflix for Hancock Park, an in-development erotic thriller series. Since his unexpected departure following the first season of Bridgerton back in 2020, this will be the actor's first time back with the streamer.
Synopsis:
A charismatic stranger rents an LA family’s guest house, revealing dark desires and secrets within their upscale neighborhood.
Page broke out as the charming Duke of Hastings in the first season of Netflix’s hit English period drama (scene), a role that was initially subtle with his words and actions but quickly grew in passion and erotic intensity by the series’ end. Hancock Park, however, presents a darker, more dangerous version of this magnetic, seductive persona audiences have come to expect from the actor.
Matthew Macfadyen (Succession) and Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) make a striking Cold War duo. For the upcoming BBC series Legacy of Spies, Macfadyen will play a calculating spymaster George Smiley, and Hunnam counters him as field agent Alec Leamas, pushed beyond his limits.
The story follows Leamas, a worn-down British spy stationed in Berlin, who watches his final agent die at the Wall. Offered one last mission, he goes undercover as a disgraced ex-operative to lure an East German intelligence leader into a trap.
Macfadyen’s mix of quiet authority, emotional restraint, and a slightly bruised humanity could give Smiley a real weight and a steely resolve that would play nicely off Hunnam’s hot-headedness.
Currently in production.
Tidbits:
Hulu’s upcoming boarding-school mystery Foster Dade cast British actor Jack Alldridge in the titular role. Alldridge can be seen in Netflix’s miniseries Death by Lightning (trailer) as Harry, the son of President James A. Garfield (Michael Shannon), a supporting but emotionally complex character living in the shadow of his all-powerful father. The role seems to be good preparation to play Foster Dade, a “lonely, anxious student” who must navigate the cliquey and intimidating world of a prestigious East Coast boarding school. From You creator Greg Berlanti, Foster Dade is set to start shooting sometime this month.
Not worried about singing anymore, she’s focused on real-world stakes. Glee’s Dianna Agron has joined the cast of The Gun on Second Street, a Pittsburgh-set film centered on the gun crisis in the U.S. Agron is playing the widow of a former cop who was shot and killed years prior to the events of the movie.
The fourth season of CBS’s Fire Country casts comedian turned actor Josh McDermitt (The Walking Dead) in a series regular role. McDermitt will play a shy man grappling with the loss of his home to a wildfire and his son’s unexpected disappearance. Fire Country returns Dec. 5th.
Lori Loughlin is making her return to the Hallmark Channel for season 14 of When Calls the Heart. An original character who left the show in its sixth season, the Full House actress is reprising her role as devoted school teacher Abigail Stanton. Season premiering in 2027.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Backed by A24 and Film4 (The Zone of Interest), Ex Machina actress Sonoya Mizuno is making her directorial debut with Stages, a film inspired by her background as a trained ballet dancer.
Director Alex Garland is on board to produce, continuing their collaborative partnership, after Mizuno delivered a standout performance in her debut acting role in his classic AI sci-fi Ex Machina (2014, scene) and as the inquisitive, determined software engineer in his FX miniseries Devs (2020, trailer).
With her past as a professional dancer shaping her visual sensibility, and A24’s signature atmospheric, dreamlike style, Stages could emerge as a hypnotically captivating debut.
Tidbits:
Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr in Hamilton) will adapt and star in a horror feature based on Rolling Stone’s August 2024 article Dance With the Devil, which chronicles Sammy Davis Jr’s surprising friendship with Anton LaVey of the Church of Satan…
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