Borat to Unicorn
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Maria Bakalova’s mask, Roku’s hidden figures, and Gal Gadot’s war.
Let’s go!
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Oscar-nominee Maria Bakalova (Borat 2, The Apprentice) stars in Electra, a modern retelling of the Greek myth of the same name.
I sat down with Bakalova to unpack how she delivered a raw portrait of a performance artist who feeds off the megalomaniacal energy of a music star (Jack Farthing).
In the film, Bakalova and Farthing invite a young couple claiming to be journalists to their country estate in Rome.
Bakalova dissected the dynamic:
“These people are just putting on a mask to pretend that they can be a better version of something that they didn't need to be… because they’re all guided by fears, unfortunately.”
Each couple harbors the fear of being discovered as having a fraudulent relationship, albeit for vastly different reasons. So they turn elsewhere, finding solace away from their partners.
Bakaolva explained:
“When you don't know the person, somehow you can reveal more truths. It's a paradox, but this person comes without baggage, without judging you.”
What’s striking about Bakalova in Electra is how seamlessly she weaponizes performance as both armor and intimacy. In one standout moment, she feigns obsessive fandom—begging Farthing to autograph her inner thigh… to the horror of onlookers.
While her character finds power in being performative, she also finds the power to shed her mask and embrace pain.
Bakaolva stated:
“Human beings, have no idea how much pain they're capable to handle until the moment they have to handle it. So I'm always interested to see character and situations that are really troubled and how they overcome that type of moment… I guess that's what interests me in life as well.”
We wear masks to endure—only when they break do we learn the depths we were built to bear.
Electra premieres in theaters today, May 2nd.
For More:
Full interview with Maria Bakalova + trailer. Come for her Borat 2 story, stay for her voracious love of the Dogme 95 movement.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Roku Q1 revenue rises 16% to $1.02bn.
Reacher S3 scores 54.6M views in 19 days, Amazon’s biggest returning season yet.
AMC Networks CEO Kristin Dolan’s pay falls 40%.
Gal Gadot stars in WWII revenge thriller Ruin.
Lily James to lead emotional thriller Photo Booth from Tree Line Films (Walk the Line).
Adam Pearson (A Different Man) will star in The Elephant Man.
Danielle Deadwyler battles cannibals in Magnolia’s 40 Acres.
Matthew Lillard is in talks to join Mike Flanagan’s Carrie series at Amazon.
Penélope Cruz & Javier Bardem star in Bunker, their 5th film together.
Lionsgate unleashes Rats!, a killer rodent movie set in NYC.
A24’s Sorry, Baby, from Eva Victor, lands first trailer.
Pierce Brosnan & Samuel L. Jackson star in revenge Western Unholy Trinity.
Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone’s Bugonia sets Oct. 24th release.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Roku is copying Netflix. They’ve stopped reporting sub numbers (in their case, streaming households) for Q1 2025. Last quarter, they had 90M streaming households.
Here are their gains and losses for Q1 2025. And the comparison to Q1 2024:
$1.02bn revenue
↑ 16%
$27.4M net loss
↑ from $50.6M loss
$27.7M, CEO Anthony Woods’ total compensation
↑ 37.1%
35.8bn streaming hours
↑ 17%
Roku purchased Frndly TV for $185M, a streaming service with live cable channels like:
A&E
Hallmark
Lifetime
Roku stated:
“Frndly TV’s growth and expertise in direct-to-consumer subscription services make it a valuable addition to Roku.”
E.G., this will help reduce Roku’s churn.
Roku’s current scale exceeds half of broadband households and continues to grow.
Amazon doesn’t break out Prime Video separately, but there was one interesting tidbit from their Q1 2025 report:
Reacher Season 3 pulled in 54.6M views in 19 days.
That metric marks their largest returning season ever. And it’s a massive number, but still doesn’t compete with Netflix, although to be fair they Netflix has 50% more users and more popular shows. For comparison, Netflix racked up 68M views in four days for Squid Game Season 2.
AMC Networks CEO Kristin Dolan’s pay falls 40% to $8.7M. Yesterday, we reported AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aron’s pay fell 55% $11.4M. AMC shares were down 8.8% in the past year and 39% in the last six months, amid a still-recovering box office.
Renewal:
Canada’s CBC:
Saint-Pierre (for S2)
Wild Cards (for S3 +S4)
Allegiance (for S3)
Heartland (for S19)
Murdoch Mysteries (for S19)
New Season Trailers:
Max’s The Gilded Age Season 3 teaser
Release date: June 22
Starz’s BMF Season 4 trailer
Release date: June 6
USA/Syfy’s Resident Alien Season 4 trailer starring Alan Tudyk
Release date: June 6
Mini Tidbits:
Veteran Marvel producer Jeremy Latcham is making his animation debut as EP of Zita the Spacegirl, an upcoming feature from Sycamore Studios. Based on Ben Hatke’s bestselling graphic novel, the film follows a girl’s cosmic quest to save her friend.
Disney hacker Ryan Kramer, a.k.a. NullBulge, pleads guilty after leaking 1.1TB of Slack data and blackmailing a staffer.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Gal Gadot will star in Ruin, a World War II thriller directed by Niki Caro (Mulan). Set in postwar Germany, the film follows a former concentration camp prisoner (Gadot) who joins forces with a German soldier to hunt down a rogue SS unit.
The script, by Kaz and Ryan Firpo (Eternals), was a 2017 Black List favorite.
Gal Gadot made a big name for herself in the surprisingly iconic Wonder Woman, which also took place during World War 2. The film's setting did a great job of framing her Amazonian war princess as a fish out of water, a true warrior thrust into a war she didn't understand - clip.
Ruin is debuting at the Cannes Market. Triple threat domestic sales reps: UTA, WME, and CAA. Production kicking off this year.
Cinderella is headed to Cannes. Lily James is set to produce and star in Photo Booth, an emotional thriller and directorial feature debut of sibling filmmakers Spencer and Lloyd Harvey. From Cathy Konrad and her Tree Line Films (Girl Interrupted, Walk the Line), James will play the lead, a world-renowned performance artist.
Synopsis:
Jean Bouchet (James) has prioritized her career over having children. Her marriage begins to show strain, and the situation becomes complicated when her husband reveals he had a one-night stand with the young, free-spirited Millie, who is now pregnant.
The role seems close to her family-oriented Pam Von Erich in the biographical drama from A24, The Iron Claw (2023). In the wrestling feature, James gives a poignant and emotionally resonant performance, bringing warmth to a film otherwise steeped in tragedy and familial strife.
Hanway is handling international sales with UTA selling for North America, when Photo Booth launches at Cannes Market later this month.
Adam Pearson is set to star in The Elephant Man. Pearson is the incredibly charismatic (both on and off-screen) performer who co-starred in A24’s A Different Man. He shares the same condition as Joseph Merrick: neurofibromatosis that causes facial deformities.
Pearson stated:
“It’s been a cathartic journey of growing to love and respect a man who I as a child I avoided even thinking about. Now as a disability advocate and actor, I can think of no greater honour (yet heavy responsibility) than to tell the true story of Joseph Carey Merrick.”
This version (and a few are floating around right now, including Jack Huston’s version) is based on the play written by Bernard Pomerance, with the script coming from his son, Moby. Filming Spring 2026.
Tidbits:
Danielle Deadwyler (Till) leads a nightmarish, allegorical post-apocalyptic vision in Magnolia Pictures’ 40 Acres. She plays a family farmer who must protect her home and family from hungry cannibals. It sounds silly, but there is a strict verisimilitude in all the action. Deadwyler is not a matriarch, but her watchful eye over the property allows her to crank up her anxiety to a fever pitch. Check out the trailer here. In theaters July 2nd.
Matthew Lillard (Scream, Scooby Doo) is in talks to join Mike Flanagan’s Carrie series at Amazon MGM Studios, based on Stephen King’s debut novel. This could reunite him with Flanagan after they worked on another King story, The Life of Chuck.
Josh Hutcherson (Hunger Games) joins Rachel Sennott's (Bottoms) new HBO comedy show about a codependent friend group reunion. No word on his role.
Graham McTavish (Outlander) will star in Gunn, a survival action-horror film from Neil Marshall (dir: The Descent). Set on a North Sea oil rig overtaken by a pagan sect. Production begins this year in Bulgaria and the U.K., with sales launching at Cannes.
Maze Runner’s Rosa Salazar has officially dropped out of the upcoming CBS drama series Einstein, where she was set to lead opposite Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds). This decision is due to the Network deciding to delay the show.
FESTIVALS
Cannes Marche has some spectacular indies launching:
Bunker
Cast: Penélope Cruz & Javier Bardem
Dir/Wri: Florian Zeller (Dir: The Father)
US Sales Rep: CAA and WME
International Sales Rep: FilmNation (Conclave, Anora)
Synopsis:
When an architect accepts a morally ambiguous project — building a survivalist bunker for a tech billionaire — his wife begins to question their marriage after 17 years together.
Zeller wrote the film for Cruz and Bardem, who have been married 17 years. This marks their 5th film together after Jamón Jamón (1992), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Loving Pablo (2017), and Everybody Knows (2018).
Zeller’s The Father twists Anthony Hopkins' relationship with his daughter(s) through scenes which both stabilize and destabilize him; it’s brilliant. We look forward to how Zeller mines Bardem and Cruz’s marriage for similar fractures.
Rats!
Prod: Paul Brooks (Pitch Perfect)
Dir: Todd Strauss-Schulson (A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas)
Studio: Lionsgate
Synopsis:
A deadly swarm of rats terrorizes New York City, forcing officials and citizens into a desperate battle to save the metropolis before it's too late.
Having trouble visualizing? Check out Strauss-Schulson’s 2020 pandemic short. 4min of absurdist rat bliss.
More Cannes Market projects here, including one with a story by Steven Soderbergh:
https://theindustry.co/p/cannes-market-2025
2025 News and Doc Emmys Nominees:
Nat Geo has a staggering 46 nominations. Here’s how the rest of the distributors stacked up:
46 Nat Geo
37 PBS
33 CNN
30 ABC (w/ Hulu)
29 Netflix
28 CBS
The most nominated doc is Nat Geo’s Trafficked: Underworlds with Mariana van Zeller, a series that earned a whopping 29 nominations.
A very competitive Outstanding Direction - Documentary category with two films premiering at Sundance: Daughters, which took home the Festival Favorite and Audience Choice: U.S. Documentary & Frida, which took the U.S. Editing Award. Both were shortlisted for Best Doc Oscar but didn’t make the final nominations.
Here are the nominees:
https://theindustry.co/p/2025-news-and-doc-emmys-nominees
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A24’s Sorry, Baby gets its first trailer. The film premiered at Sundance, won the screenwriting award, was picked up by A24 for $8M, and is playing at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
It hails from comedian, writer, and director Eva Victor who stars in the film (her directorial debut) alongside Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea) and Naomi Ackie (Blink Twice). Produced by Oscar-winners Adele Romanski and Barry Jenkins (Moonlight).
Official Logline:
Something bad happened to Agnes (Victor). But life goes on - for everyone around her, at least.
Sorry, Baby depicts the aftermath of that “something bad,” with striking naturalism, vulnerability, and grace. Check out the trailer here. Coming Summer 2025.
Tidbit:
Saban Films and Roadside Attractions will release Gun-slinging sheriff Pierce Brosnan’s latest film, Unholy Trinity, a revenge western set in 1870s Montana. Co-starring Samuel Jackson. First look photo of Brosnan with a gun in his hand, not unfamiliar, but he’s gone full cowboy here.
Oscilloscope (distributor: We Need to Talk About Kevin) has moved up Aaron Katz from VP of Acquisitions to SVP of Acquisitions and Development. Also, Alexandra Fredricks has been promoted to VP of Theatrical Sales.
Inhumane's Best Friend: Shudder has acquired Good Boy, a supernatural thriller told entirely from a dog’s perspective, following its SXSW premiere. Directed by Ben Leonberg and starring his dog Indy, the film reimagines haunted house horror through a canine lens. The buzz on this one was palpable during SXSW. It seems like a great get by Shudder.
Sam Zimmerman has been promoted to SVP of Programming and Acquisitions at AMC’s Shudder, as the horror streamer celebrates its 10th anniversary.
A Desert, a neo-noir horror film, explores psychological terror in an isolated desert motel and hits theaters this week. The trailer looks absolutely haunting. Trailer here
Upcoming Indie releases:
Splitsville the new film by director/writer Michael Angelo Covino (The Climb) is being released Aug. 22nd by Neon. Dakota Johnson and Nicholas Braun (Cousin Greg, Succession) star.
Bugonia, the latest from Yorgos Lanthimos, is being released Oct. 24 by Focus Features. A sci-fi satire about aliens, CEOs, and conspiracy theorists. Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons star.
International:
ScreenSkills’ Kaye Elliot joined The Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) as their new CEO. Elliot previously oversaw all high-end television industry investments in support of UK freelancers and production companies.
Ex-Banijay (Peaky Blinders) UK boss Lucinda Hicks has become the new CEO of Black Doves producer Sister Group. In her new position, she will monitor strategy for both the production outfit and Sister partners, such as Dorothy Street Pictures (Pamela: A Love Story) and Stephen Curry’s Unanimous. She will begin her role effective immediately, replacing the interim CEO, Chris Fry.
Brussels-based Jonnydepony after the success of their crime caper The Big Fuck Up at Canneseries, the producer picked up, Boho, a light comedy-drama. From Belgian platform Streamz, the series follows a trio of 30-something friends as they navigate life in Borgerhout, an eclectic area of Belgium.
YES PLEASE! Luna Rosa: The Seventh Ascension of Atabey, which premiered at Rotterdam and will play at SXSW London, is a hallucinogenic tribalism blended with V for Vendetta-like futurism mixed with an alien spaceship, but it's shot with a surreal cinematic style that just sings (trailer). Alief (Aviva, Strawberry Mansion) has just picked up international rights.
ON THIS DAY
2008. Iron Man released.
That’s all for the week!
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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