Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Bezos. Bond. Scorsese. Seyfried.
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Bezos. Jeff Bezos.
Pending the deal closing, the beloved James Bond series has been sold to Amazon for a major sum—not $1bn, but a hefty amount.
Amazon technically captured the rights to release the films under their $8.45 bn acquisition of MGM in 2022.
But Barbara Broccoli, the rights owner and Bond steward behind every creative decision in the franchise since GoldenEye (1995), had stalled moving forward with any films because she viewed Amazon as a tech company that sells shoes, not to be trusted creatively and she was reluctant to stain her family’s legacy with a sub-par Bond (her father, Albert Broccoli, presided over all the films before her).
So what is the fate of this 63-year-old series, considered the last un-perverted franchise in cinema?
Already, Amazon delivered a Bond reality series, 007: Road to a Million, MC’d by Brian Cox, who was befuddled by the whole ordeal. And there may be many more blasphemous derivates along the way.
But what about the Bond films?
As a character, what made Bond so interesting was his unwillingness to adapt with the times, to follow authority blindly.
But, the Daniel Craig iterations of Bond, kicking off with Casino Royale (2006), took a major gamble: they allowed Bond to become self-aware of his flaws. And what was birthed was a whole new level of 007, whose adversaries were not just maniacal villains but also his stained self.
In Skyfall (2012), the best in the series since Sean Connery’s Goldfinger (1964), Craig clashes between his past and a new order of spies dominated by tech overlords. In that movie, Bond blows up the physical manifestation of his past, his childhood home—and prevails.
We must hope that Bezos’ blowing up of the 007 IP is not calculated by Amazon’s algorithms.
Bond needs to evolve. I just hope he can survive.
He usually does…
For More:
For a very silly take on James Bond, check out Casino Royale (1967). Bond was played by Peter Sellers, Woody Allen, David Niven, and more (trailer).
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Martin Scorsese's next potential film is a crime thriller set in 1960s Hawaii, starring Leo and Dwayne Johnson.
Mahershala Ali has signed on to lead Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother for Orion Pictures (Nickel Boys).
David Leitch (dir: The Fall Guy) has lined up a new heist action thriller with Amazon MGM.
Pitch Perfect director Jason Moore has officially been tapped to helm the upcoming Legally Blonde prequel series.
Tom Waits (the singer) was cast in Martin McDonagh’s upcoming Wild Horse Nine.
Alexander Skarsgård is a cyborg in Apple TV+’s Murderbot.
Amanda Seyfried gets sucked into the heart of darkness. She plays a cop in Peacock’s Long Bright River.
Tribeca gem Vulcanizadora has been acquired by Oscilloscope.
Magnolia Pictures has picked up 40 Acres, starring Danielle Deadwyler.
A champion of African cinema, Souleymane Cissé, has died at 84.
Netflix has pledged to spend $1B on Mexican production.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Scorsese wants a piece of the Rock: Martin Scorsese's next potential film is an untitled crime thriller set in 1960s-70s Hawaii, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Dwayne Johnson, and Emily Blunt.
Johnson plays the lead role as an aspiring Hawaiian mob boss fighting for control of the island’s underworld, with the story based on real-life figures and with a script written by documentarian Nick Bilton (Fake Famous).
Surprisingly, Johnson and Blunt pitched the idea to Scorsese and DiCaprio, leading to a major studio bidding war for the project between Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and Waner Bros.
This will be a big next step for Johnson, who, along with the upcoming Benny Safdie film The Smashing Machine, looks to be targeting more serious roles.
The script has not been written yet, due to the bidding war, but this is absolutely one to watch out for.
Two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) has signed on to lead Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother for Amazon MGM Studios’ Orion Pictures (Nickel Boys).
Written and directed by Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli), this will be the first collaboration between the filmmaker and Ali, who were originally supposed to work together in the anticipated Marvel’s Blade reboot has suffered multiple delays, keeping Ali but losing Tariq as director.
Plot details for Your Mother are currently being kept under wraps with the film currently in pre-production.
David Leitch’s Heist. The Fall Guy, Bullet Train, Atomic Blonde filmmaker has lined up a new heist action thriller.
The team is top-notch:
Studio: Amazon MGM
Prod Company: Imagine Entertainment (American Made, A Beautiful Mind) + Leitch’s 87North
Dir: Leitch
Writer: Mark Bianculli (upcoming Cliffhanger reboot)
Synopsis:
A group of savvy bank robbers that use social media to document their heists, playing a cat and mouse game with police.
Leitch’s films have definitely been heist adjacent, with Bullet Train and Atomic Blonde both revolving around transporting things that are illicit/stolen. It’ll be great to see him take the full plunge into the genre.
Tidbits:
Netflix is adapting Sloclap’s hit video game Sifu into a feature film. The game follows a martial artist avenging his master’s murder, aging each time he revives from death. Chad Stahelski and 87Eleven Entertainment already have multiple video game adaptations in the works, including Ghost of Tsushima.
Recently, Sifu was part of Amazon's Secret Level anthology you can watch it here.
First, they had to find a young Elle; next was a director… Pitch Perfect director Jason Moore has officially been tapped to helm the upcoming Legally Blonde prequel series Elle. Starring Lexi Minetree in the titular role, Moore will direct the first two episodes of the show from Amazon Studios and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine.
If you haven’t heard, there’s a new Holes series! The Disney+ project has just found a director, Jac Schaeffer (creator: WandaVision).
The Holes pilot has a stacked team:
Writer/EP: Alina Mankin (writer: The Mindy Project)
EP: Drew Goddard (Wri: The Martian)
Prod Company: Walden Media (OG Holes producer, Blitz)
Studio: 20th Televison
No word on cast or shoot dates but here’s the original trailer, fresh from 2003. Watch out for lizards!
Renewals:
CBS’s Tracker, Ghosts, NCIS, Fire Country
Hulu’s Paradise
Star: Sterling K. Brown
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Tom Waits waltzes into Wild Horse Nine: The gravelly-voiced musician turned-actor has joined the ensemble for Martin McDonagh's new movie with a stacked cast:
Sam Rockwell
John Malkovich
Mark Ruffalo
Parker Posey
There are no new details about the film, but it will be shot on Easter Island, which is a Polynesian island in the Pacific known for its moai statue.
Though Waits might be more known for his music, as of late, he has been known to appear in quite a few auteur films
This project has apparently been in development since 2021, so it's exciting to see the cast and mystery continue to build.
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Tidbits:
Alexander Skarsgård is a cyborg. Certainly, the ease at which he slips into an icy demeanor on Succession (scene) tilts towards that direction or his apathy towards his new wife, Kristen Dunst, in Melancholia (trailer). In the upcoming Apple TV+ series, Murderbot Skarsgård will play a half-human security robot. First look here.
Amanda Seyfried gets sucked into the heart of darkness. She plays a detective in Peacock’s Long Bright River, searching for a prostitute killer. If it sounds like standard network TV, Seyfried elevates the entire thing by personalizing it. And the trailer has the right dash of psychological intrigue to make us lean way in. Streaming March 13th.
Owen Wilson gave me an acid flashback. See, I used to caddy, so when I saw the first look photo of Wilson as a caddy in the Apple TV+ show Stick, it brought back some nightmares of some not-so-great times. But the series looks like it’ll cheer me up. Wilson plays an over-the-hill golfer who finds new young talent and offers to mentor him into his own redemption.
All the first look photos here.
Mini Tidbits:
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (The Matrix 4) joins Mark Wahlberg in By Any Means, a thriller about a mafia hitman secretly recruited by Hoover’s FBI.
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (King Richard) boards Apple TV+’s Lucky as Agent Billie Rand, joining Anya Taylor-Joy’s reformed criminal turned outlaw. Reese Witherspoon produces.
If you love Green Day, we have something great for you:
https://theindustry.co/p/new-years-rev
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Tribeca gem Vulcanizadora has been acquired by Oscilloscope for North American rights. The dark comedy comes from indie director Joel Potrykus, whose newest feature echoes his now signature rebellious style in a sequel story over a decade since his breakout film Buzzard (2014).
Synopsis:
Two friends trudge through a Michigan forest with the intention of following through on a disturbing pact. Once their plan goes shockingly awry, the haunting consequences of their failure can’t stay hidden for long.
Shot on a low-budget, Vulcanizadora was praised at Tribeca for its surprisingly yet shockingly disturbing depiction of a mid-life crisis.
Written, edited by, and starring Potrykus, his infinite talents have earned him critical acclaim and attention throughout his career as an independent filmmaker. His feature film debut, Ape (2012), was inspired by his short stint as a standup comedian, winning him the Best New Director prize at the 2012 Locarno Film Festival.
Over ten years in the making, Vulcanizadora is Potrykus’ fourth collaboration with Oscilloscope. Here’s a tiny trailer full of dread.
Magnolia Pictures has picked up 40 Acres Dir/Writer: R.T. Thorne.
Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic future, the last descendants of a Black family of farmers who settled in Canada after the American Civil War must protect their homestead from a band of hungry cannibals.
Magnolia Pictures CEOs stated:
“[The film is] an incredible, intense vision of a world on edge.”
Danielle Deadwyler stars. The film premiered at TIFF and is headed to SXSW.
Tidbits:
One to One: John & Yoko going worldwide: The documentary directed by Oscar-winner Kevin Macdonald (Last King of Scotland), along with Magnolia covering its US distribution, has achieved a big distribution deal through Europe, covering France, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and much more. If the trailer doesn’t get you toe-tapping, I’m not sure what will.
A champion of African cinema, Souleymane Cissé died at age 84, leaving a career that spanned over 50 years. The award-winning writer-director famously became the first Black African filmmaker to win the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987 for his Malian film Yeelen (Light or Brightness, trailer), a heroic quest narrative set in the 13th century. His impact on both African culture and the film industry as a whole is immeasurable.
There was something hilariously absurd about the grizzlyness of Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010). The director, Eli Craig, is back for Clown in a Cornfield. The trailer plays like a more typical horror fair, but there are flares of comedy that would be much welcome. In theaters May 9th.
Netflix’s pockets are bursting at the seams. The dominant streaming platform has pledged to spend a whopping $1B on Mexican production. Learn more here:
https://theindustry.co/p/netflixs-pockets
Plus, Max’s play in Southeast Asia.
ON THIS DAY
1925. Sam Peckinpah born in Fresno, California (d. 1984).
That’s all for the week! See you Monday.
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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"In Skyfall (2012), the best in the series since Sean Connery’s Goldfinger (1964), Craig clashes between his past and a new order of spies dominated by tech overlords. "
Sorry to be less than subtle: TECH OVERLORDS!
BBC: 'After Thursday's announcement, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos canvassed fans' opinion on social media, asking, external: "Who'd you pick as the next Bond?" '
If you've seen Muscles Bezos, he's clearly the latest Bond villain. I think there was a full team meeting of the crime syndicate in Washington last month.
Enjoying your work. Hoping to become a subscriber in the next month or two. It would be great if you could consider doing a small paragraph on production. Like what films are in production or going into production. If you have access to that schedule, just assured production section would be really great