Austin Butler Time Traveler
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
In The Industry News: 20th Century’s Barrier Focus Features’ Lure.
Actor Spotlight: Ariana Grande and two obits.
Festivals and Resources: The Last Showgirl screenplay
Indie Filmmaker Spotlight: A Sundance short’s Trip.
International News: Spain’s Saturn Return.
Let’s go!
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
20th Century has outbid 10 studios to win the Edward Berger (dir), Austin Butler (star/EP) time travel film, The Barrier.
The 7-figure deal included MacMillan Hedges's short story, on which the film is set to be based + Hedges’ forthcoming screenplay adaption, + exclusive rights to a new script Hedges will write in the future.
The Barrier is said to be Interstellar meets Top Gun. So, futuristic supersonic planes flying towards the extreme gravitational barrier of an event horizon to achieve time dilation? It's kind of interesting, given Austin Butler got his fair share of flying as a fighter pilot captain in Apple’s Masters of the Air (real hairy landing clip).
This will be Berger’s first sci-fi film. Based on his masterful, sickeningly visceral war film All Quiet on the Western Front (2022), maybe The Barrier will be a time travel war film, like Slaughterhouse-Five (1972). I deep dive into how post-traumatic stress disorder, brought on by war, is a good metaphor for time travel in my essay:
https://theindustry.co/p/a-brief-history-of-time-travel-films
Berger is becoming prolific. His film Conclave is trying to run up the Oscar scoreboard. He has also been announced as taking on the next installment of Jason Bourne.
Focus Features has acquired global distribution rights (excluding Poland, Greece, and France) for the sentient AI thriller Hot Spot. Directed by Agnieszka Smoczyńska (The Lure) and starring Noomi Rapace (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo).
The film is set in a society governed by sentient AI and follows a private investigator who uncovers a rebel group while solving a murder case.
This is really exciting as The Lure is one of those bat-shit insane movies you see at a Sundance midnight screening; leave the theater dazed, believing you’ve witnessed something truly unique: A Polish Vampire Mermaid musical (trailer).
Smoczyńska has a fantastical, dark side and a beautiful sense of cinema.
Hot Spot is Produced by Madants with co-production support from multiple international partners, the film is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute and the Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center.
Hot Spot recently wrapped production on Nov 22nd in Greece.
Tidbit:
Prolific producer Adam Somner has sadly passed away at the age of 57. The high-in-demand AD has worked on heavily nominated films with some of Hollywood’s biggest names, like Steven Spielberg (12 films), Paul Thomas Anderson (six), and Ridley Scott (six). Plus, a 2nd AD on my favorite childhood film, The Mummy (1999).
Most Recent Films he served as 1st AD:
Blitz (2024)
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Licorice Pizza (2021)
Ford v Ferrari (2019)
Spielberg himself commented on his passing, saying:
“The job title ‘assistant director’ is insufficient to describe what Adam Somner was to me and the contribution he made to my films - just as my left arm is more than just an assistant to my right.”
His impact was greatly felt and he will be very missed.
Marshall Brickman, the Oscar-winning writer behind Annie Hall, has died at 85 in Manhattan. A versatile creative, he wrote and directed quirky films like Simon (1980) and co-penned Broadway hits Jersey Boys and The Addams Family. Born in Brazil, Brickman grew up in Brooklyn, initially pursuing music with a folk group, then later transitioning to TV writing for The Tonight Show. His collaboration with Woody Allen yielded classics like Manhattan and Annie Hall, two classics that lean heavily on Brickman's pen:
An innovator in writing and musicals, he will be missed.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Pop star Ariana Grande was not just the “Popular” choice but the right choice to play ‘good witch’ Glinda in John Chu’s (dir. Crazy Rich Asians) and Universal’s infamous witch origin story, Wicked (trailer).
Grande is supremely well cast, starring alongside Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) in the Broadway film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz tale, and while the film is being discussed ad nauseam for its unwieldy runtime and overwhelming marketing campaign, the performances were really magical.
Clearly taking inspiration from the original Broadway production as Glinda, played by Kristen Chenoweth, Grande uses her voice to the fullest extent (“Popular” song ), showing her range in a way her typical r&b/pop music would never allow.
What was really impressive was her physical comedy. With every bouncy hair toss and ditsy heel kick, audiences inevitably fell in love with a character that was otherwise an out-of-touch bully, making Grande’s performance that much more complex and thoughtful.
While many were introduced to the “God is a Woman” singer from her time on Nickelodeon’s Victorious (2010-2013) and its spinoff show Sam and Cat (2014), she actually began her career on Broadway in the coming-of-age musical show 13 (2008-2009) at the age of 15, which explains her seemingly innate musical theater instincts.
After a record-breaking holiday weekend, Wicked has become the highest-grossing movie musical Broadway adaptation of all time, making $359 M worldwide in its first two weeks. Grande will be reprising her role as the high-maintenance yet charming Glinda along with the rest of the cast in Wicked Part 2, expected this time next year.
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Tidbit:
The last great diva of Mexican cinema, Silvia Pinal, has died at the age of 93. The leading lady is best known for her role as the titular character in Palme d’Or winner Viridiana (1961, trailer) and a main part of the ensemble cast in the surrealist dramedy The Exterminating Angel (1962, trailer). Pinal is revered in the world of film, television, and theater. With a career spanning over seven decades, the industry truly lost one of its greats.
Morgan Lofting, the beloved voice actress behind the Baroness in G.I. Joe, passed away unexpectedly at 84 in Burbank. She is known for her captivating roles in Spider-Man (1981), Transformers (1985), Total Recall (1990), and many other cartoons.
She will be missed.
FESTIVALS AND RESOURCES
Read Kate Gerston’s The Last Showgirl screenplay here:
https://theindustry.co/p/prospective-best-screenplay-academy
Gia Coppola directs. Pamela Anderson stars.
Also, read The Apprentice screenplay at the same link above.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Gerardo Coello Escalante is a Mexican filmmaker working in CDMX and NYC whose most recent short Business Trip was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival. No easy accomplishment as the acceptance rate for short films is less than half a percent.
Here’s the synopsis:
Daniel, a Mexican boy, arrives at school wearing brand new sneakers from America, gifted to him by his father. When he sees another boy wearing the same sneakers, he begins to suspect that their shoes are the key to a terrible secret.
What Coello Escalante accomplishes so strikingly is bringing the viewer squarely back to their schoolyard days with such rich authenticity that a new pair of shoes can both be a source of triumph and torment.
Coello Escalante has served as an AD on:
Shiva Baby (2020)
Official Selection: TIFF, SXSW
HBO’s Reality (2023)
Star: Sydney Sweeney
Bardo (2022)
Dir: Alejandro Iñárritu
Coello Escalante recently launched the production company Thumper Films along with creative partner Amandine Thomas, who served as creative producer and editor of Business Trip.
Business Trip is eligible in the Best Live Action Short category in the 2025 Oscar race.
Next Saturday, December 7th, there will be a screening for Academy Members in West LA with Antigravity Academy at 7 PM. If you are interested in attending, find out more information here.
Check out the short film trailer here.
Tidbit:
Another short worth checking out is If You’re Happy, a British short film EP’d by actor David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus). Here’s the creepy trailer.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Spain submits Saturn Return for the International Oscar. The film has a vibrant heartbeat, centering on a bunch of 27-year-old musicians trying not to join the 27 club.
Here’s the synopsis:
Late 1990s. Art and culture are in full swing in Granada. Against that background, an indie band is about to change the music scene in Spain. Just before creating their new album, the band is going through its worst possible moment.
The edginess one might expect in this kind of film is balanced out with a nice surrealness in the trailer.
Red Butterfly takes flight with Studiocanal. Their new series is a gripping crime drama set in 1950s Singapore—Asia's "Wild West"—the series follows two sisters leading an all-female gang in a lawless, glamorous cityscape.
Asia Canal+ International stated:
“Singapore at this time was such a cosmopolitan city. In addition to the diverse local population, American agents and British officials were part of the intrigue.”
The production is said to be filmed across Singapore and Malaysia in English and Chinese, with fight choreography by Martial Club (Everything Everywhere All At Once).
ON THIS DAY
1994. Cobb, a film about baseball player Ty Cobb, starring Tommy Lee Jones, premieres.
See you tomorrow!
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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