Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Warner’s Cat, Amazon’s Wing, and a useful ghost.
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Bill Hader is explosively funny in the SNL sketch The Cat in the Hat and Linda (clip). He dons the full make-up and commits hard to the bit.
Now, it’s no longer a joke.
Bill Hader will voice The Cat in a Dr. Seuss-authorized reboot of The Cat In The Hat from Warner Bros Animation. Hader’s penchant for zaniness on SNL launched a formidable voice-acting career:
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)
Narrator (clip)
Inside Out (2015)
Fear (clip)
Sausage Party (2016)
Firewater (clip)
The president of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Bill Damaschke, stated:
“With this incredible voice cast led by Bill Hader as the fun-loving, agent of chaos himself and our filmmakers Alessandro [Dir: Kung Fu Panda 3] and Erica [Writer: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm] at the helm, we look forward to sharing this Seussian cinematic spectacle…”
The trailer (below) stretches the Seuss tale into Monsters, Inc. territory with Hader’s Cat trodding through the I.I.I.I. (Institute for the Institution of Imagination and Inspiration, LLC), that showcases a menagerie of imaginary creatures.
I think Warner Bros. may have gone too big with it, trying to create a Cat Cinematic Universe (CCU, LLC).
What I loved about the Seuss books was the narrow focus on The Cat, not just a disruptor but a spiritual mentor for two lonely children, whose imagination is waiting to be unleashed.
Luckily, the new Cat in the Hat trailer taps into that spirit. Hader’s ability to keep the bombastic grounded is what gives the character real weight: a cat conjuring chaos and catharsis.
We can’t wait for this one on Feb 27, 2026.
For More:
The Cat in the Hat trailer.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Paramount settles Trump/CBS lawsuit for $16M.
Amazon’s Fourth Wing adaptation loses showrunner Moira Walley-Beckett.
Greta Lee will star in Hulu’s Best Offer Wins.
AMC Theaters raises $223M.
FX renews The Bear for Season 5.
Alison Brie to star in FX’s Witness Protection.
Netflix’s Tires renewed for Season 3.
Jennifer Aniston to star in I’m Glad My Mom Died for Apple TV+.
David Dastmalchian cast as M. Bison in Street Fighter reboot.
Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) joins Fox’s Memory of a Killer.
Cineverse (Terrifier 3) acquires A Useful Ghost, Cannes Critics Week winner.
Neon grabs A Place in Hell, a legal thriller from Chloe Domont (dir: Fair Play).
FilmRise and Shout! Studios merge into Radial Entertainment.
Emmy-nominated director Jerry London (Shōgun) will direct The Art of Silence.
ITV Studios has greenlit a serial killer thriller adaptation titled The Dark.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Amazon’s attempt at a Game of Thrones series is in peril.
Their TV adaptation series of Fourth Wing has lost its showrunner, Breaking Bad writer Moira Walley-Beckett, who joined last year.
Jac Schaeffer (creator: WandaVision) is in talks to join as a writer and potentially take over as showrunner, not long after signing a multi-year deal with Amazon.
Despite being one of BookTok’s most viral series and attached to powerful players in Amazon MGM Studios and Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society (Creed III), the fantasy romance series has no cast and has yet to be ordered to series.
Rebecca Yarros’ bestselling 2023 novel, Fourth Wing, is set in a cruel war college where there is only one rule: graduate or die. A story filled with dragon riders and complex relationships.
The material has been in the works since 2023, when both Amazon and Outlier acquired the rights to the five-part series.
AMC raises capital (again) and restructures $1.2bn in debt.
Deal terms:
$223M in new cash to refinance 2026 debt
$590M in notes due 2029 will be rolled into a new $825M note
At least $145M in debt will be converted into equity, with the potential to equitize up to $337M
It’s nice to see this strong creditor support for AMC’s recovery, now in its fourth year post-COVID. AMC had a bad Q1, down 10% in revenue with a $202M net loss. Good news is that A Minecraft Movie, Sinners, and Lilo & Stitch should make for a great Q2.
Yes Chef! FX’s hit Chicago-set culinary drama The Bear has been renewed for a fifth season. Another ten episodes of extreme close-ups and longing stares from the lead, Jeremy Allen White (4th season trailer).
The latest season, dropped on Hulu late last month, served up a familiar meal, shot back to back with the prior season, the lauded drama feels repetitive, as if it's losing its steam. While the production quality remains one of the best on TV right now, it is still circling the question of whether troubled prodigy chef Carmy’s dream restaurant survives?
Christopher Storer’s The Bear and its ensemble cast have collectively won 21 Emmy Awards, so hopefully this next season they’ll get the kitchen back in order.
Tidbits:
Hulu has secured the series rights for thriller novel Best Offer Wins with Past Lives’ Greta Lee attached to star in the drama adaptation from 20th Television. A sharp exploration of class, ambition, and the modern housing crisis, Lee will play Margo, a publicist who, after a number of failed bids, resorts to stalking and scheming to land the home she truly wants. Best Offer Wins is the debut novel of former Washington Post journalist Marisa Kashino, with the series being adapted by Suzanne Heathcote (showrunner: Killing Eve).
Alison Brie (GLOW, Community) will lead FX’s untitled Witness Protection pilot, created by Hannah Fidell and Gina Welch, based on an unproduced script by David Chase. The drama follows a D.C. madam who enters witness protection in Maine with her daughter. This also coincides with David Chase leaving the project. Brie surprised everyone with her strong lead debut in GLOW, handling a healthy balance of comedic impulse and emotional depth.
The Newhouse Family, which owns 8% of Warner Bros. Discovery Stock, sold half of their shares: 100M shares for $1.1bn. That’s a big lack of confidence in WBD, which has lost over half its value since it merged with Discovery in 2022. The Newhouse Family owns Condé Nast.
Mini Tidbit:
Famously, Meryl Streep’s publicist, Ashton Fontana, has been named The Initiative Group’s new EVP. She brings a number of high-profile talents with her in the move to the bi-coastal PR group, like Rachel Zegler (West Side Story).
Paramount settles with Trump for $16M over Trump/CBS lawsuit. The money will cover Trump’s legal fees, with the rest going to his presidential library. This was perceived as holding up the Skydance/Paramount merger.
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook Inc. has partnered with new U.S.-based Studio Azuki to launch a next-gen anime production house. The venture will develop original IP and reimagine anime production.
Paramount renews its carriage deal with Mediacom (the 5th largest cable company), securing multi-year access to CBS, MTV, and Paramount+ Premium for 3M+ homes across 22 states.
Squid Game Season 3 hits 60.1M views in three days, a record for Netflix.
Renewals:
Netflix’s Tires (for Season 3)
Trailers:
Everyone looks unhinged in Paramount’s The Running Man trailer. Colman Domingo as the psycho game show host was a real standout. Edgar Wright directs. Glen Powell stars. Premiere date: Nov 7th.
Neon Palme d’Or 2nd place = Oscar gold? Judge for yourself in the Sentimental Value trailer. Also out Nov 7th.
We don’t see Whose Line is it Any Way? savant Ryan Stiles in much of these days, but he hams it up real nice in Netflix’s Leanne trailer, out July 31st.
Driving Miss Daisy director Bruce Beresford's new film is The Travellers from Sony Pictures Australia (trailer), out Oct 9th.
Prime’s The Terminal List: Dark Wolf starring Chris Pratt and Taylor Kitsch (trailer). Out July 31st.
Venice/TIFF official selection, Cure is going to be a nightmare for anyone with an Etsy shop (trailer). Janus Films releases.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Jennifer Aniston is set to play a self-absorbed stage mom in Apple TV+’s I'm Glad My Mom Died, based on the equally funny and heartbreaking memoir from iCarly‘s Jennette McCurdy. The upcoming 10-episode adaptation is written, executive-produced, and showrun by the eloquent child star alongside Ramy creator Ari Katcher.
The dramedy will center on the codependent relationship between an 18-year-old actress in a hit kids’ show, and her narcissistic mother (Aniston) who relishes in her identity as “starlet’s mother”.
Aniston already has a strong relationship with Apple TV+, having led their hit ensemble drama The Morning Show as the ambitious news anchor Alex Levy for four seasons (even through a pandemic). She has a manic but sweet energy that will translate well for this new Apple TV+ project.
Yes! Yes!: Friendly Hollywood super nerd David Dastmalchain (Late Night With the Devil) will step into the boots of Street Fighter's legendary villain M. Bison.
Dastmalchain has deep video game and comic cred, having parts in the Marvel universe and Gunn's Suicide Squad, among authoring a comic of his own. He’s an actor not afraid to absolutely lose his shit, he has a frenetic dramatism that feeds off anxiety and leads to larger than life performance. Exactly what he will need if he is to match Raúl Rafael Juliá's movie-stealing performance, a standout in the otherwise objectively terrible ‘80s Street Fighter.
With a larger-than-life cast so far, including Jason Momoa, 50 Cent, and Orville Peck among others, Dastmalchain takes the lead in a movie that will probably be pretty ridiculous.
Tidbits:
Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) has joined Fox’s upcoming thriller Memory of a Killer, starring alongside Patrick Dempsey. The series follows a hitman with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Digging back into his mob roots, Imperioli will play Dutch, a Bronx chef and criminal mastermind.
Just ahead of its final season, Stranger Things’ Charlie Heaton is joining a new Netflix project. Heaton has been cast in Netflix’s Untitled Newfoundland project opposite Josh Hartnett, created by Jesse McKeown (writer: The Umbrella Academy).
Being Heumann adds more to its ensemble: Madeline Delp, Rob Delaney, and Ray Fisher join the cast of Being Heumann, Apple’s civil rights drama about disability activist Judy Heumann. Directed by Siân Heder (CODA).
Priya Kansara joins Apple TV+’s For All Mankind space-race themed spinoff Star City as Lakshmi, a scientist in a series regular role.
Peter-Henry Schroeder, who passed away at 90, played a memorable producer in the Oscar-winning Argo.
FESTIVALS
Cineverse (distributor: Terrifier 3) picks up Cannes Critics Week Winner A Useful Ghost from director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke.
Synopsis:
A happily married couple, and their seven-year-old son Dot. Nat dies of respiratory disease caused by air pollution.
The trailer is just bonkers. Just in the way Cineverse loves.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Neon picks up the new legal thriller A Place in Hell (beating out Netflix).
They will co-finance the film written and directed by Chloe Domont (dir: Netflix’s Fairplay), produced by Rian Johnson’s T-Street, and starring Andrew Scott, Michelle Williams, and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Domont’s sophomore feature is said to follow two women at a high-profile criminal law firm. And there’s no one better at directing power dynamics in corporate environments than Domont, who turned Dynevor and Ehrenreich into almost Shakespearean characters by the end of Fair Play.
A Place in Hell has just concluded production.
What you’re missing…
A newly formed company, now controlling one of the largest independent catalogs (70K titles)
A Shōgun director’s new film
A chilling new ITV Studios serial killer thriller
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