Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Chris Pratt, Lucy Liu, and Amazon MGM’s double romance.
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THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Chris Pratt returns as Garfield in a sequel to the 2024 surprise hit.
Disney & Hearst will try to sell A+E Global Media (History, Lifetime).
Apple is adapting Funny You Should Ask with Regé-Jean Page producing and possibly starring.
Amazon MGM is developing multiple romance series, The Shift and Every Year After.
Sony hires Ross Klein (ex-Paramount) as SVP of Domestic Sales.
Devil Wears Prada 2 adds Lucy Liu and B.J. Novak.
Freddie Highmore may star as Edgar Allan Poe in Augustine & Edgar.
Locarno Film Festival 2025 line-up includes Radu Jude’s Dracula.
Hot Docs loses its director of programming.
Theo Rossi (The Penguin) makes his directorial debut with Shell Game.
Utopia’s Circle Collective picked up Pools.
Focus Features promotes Niels Swinkels to president of international distribution.
Sovereign (premiere: Tribeca) picked up by Signature for UK/Irish distribution.
French toy company Wyncor bets big on toy IP.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Chris Pratt continues to hate Mondays: Chris Pratt will return to voice Garfield, the iconic lasagna-loving cat, in Alcon Entertainment’s animated sequel to The Garfield Movie.
The first film was a surprise box office hit in 2024, grossing over $260M worldwide, even though the public perception was that Pratt's presence was a bit saturated, especially due to his voicing of Mario.
But credit where credit is due, Pratt really gave a lot of heart to the notoriously grumpy cat, allowing Garfield to navigate a strained relationship with his absent father. Pretty heavy stuff for a cartoon cat movie, which is possibly why it resonated with audiences so much (trailer).
Chris will also serve as a producer, with Jim Davis, Alcon executives, and Prime Focus Studios backing the project while casting and creative team discussions are still underway.
Disney and Hearst are selling A+E Global Media. That’s the parent company for the following linear channels:
A&E Network
History
Lifetime
Vice TV
The timing makes sense, as linear channels are tanking industry-wide.
Comcast and NBCUniversal have spun off TV networks like MSNBC, USA, and E! into Versant Media. The Warner Bros. split is leading them to sever their Global Linear Networks (CNN, TBS, Food Network, Cartoon Network, HGTV). Although, we’ve just learned that Turner Classic will stay with David Zaslav on his Warner Bros. Studios (film/TV) + HBO and Max side.
Funny You Should Ask… Apple is developing a TV series based on Elissa Sussman’s best-selling romance novel with Regé-Jean Page (Black Bag) to produce via his A Mighty Stranger production banner.
Funny You Should Ask is a love story that follows a restless journalist with big dreams who reunites with a Hollywood heartthrob years after she interviews him, where he reveals his real feelings. Page is in talks to star as the celebrity character, which would be his first TV role since his breakout performance in Bridgerton, also a novel adaptation.
Outer Banks writer Rachel Alter is penning the adaptation that is still said to be in its very early stages.
Tidbits:
Netflix’s Monster series is eyeing a fourth season centered on Lizzie Borden, with a fall shoot in development despite no official renewal. Season 3, starring Charlie Hunnam as Ed Gein, is expected in late 2025. The previous seasons on the Menendez brothers and the season that kicked it all off, Dahmer, both have received hype, acclaim, and even a bit of controversy.
Amazon MGM with Kapital Entertainment (The Neighbors) is developing a rom-com series based on The Shift, the bestselling debut book from popular podcaster and social media influencer Tinx (aka Christina Najjar). Described as an advice book that was written as a gentle guide to a new way of thinking about life, Tinx will be co-writing the adaptation while the search for a showrunner is underway.
Amazon MGM’s upcoming series adaptation titled Every Year After taps Amy B. Harris (wri. Sex and the City) as its new showrunner under her overall deal with the studio. Harris, currently a showrunner on the platform’s drama series The Wilds, will be replacing Leila Gerstein (who wrote The Handmaid’s Tale), who dropped out of the project. Every Year After is based on Carley Fortune’s viral novel Every Summer After, a coming-of-age romance story about nostalgic first loves.
Sony Pictures has brought on distribution vet Ross Klein as SVP of Domestic Sales. Most recently, he served as Paramount Pictures’ VP of Sales, playing a key role in major blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick, Mission Impossible, and A Quiet Place, among others. In his new role with Sony, he will oversee theatrical distribution licensing and sales operations across North America.
Mini Tidbits:
Netflix’s Squid Game (Season 3) hits 106.3M views in 10 days. The top-performing series of all time in that time span.
Max becomes HBO Max today... again.
Trailers:
Netflix’s Untamed
Co-Wri: Mark L. Smith (co-wri: The Revenant)
Cast: Eric Bana, Sam Neill
Release date: July 17th
Apple TV+’s Acapulco (Season 4)
Release date: July 23rd
Peacock’s Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy
Netflix’s The Monster of Florence
Dir: Stefano Sollima (Sicario 2)
Release date: Oct 22nd
Disney+’s sizzle reel gives some fresh looks and long-awaited new shows:
Along with briefly teasing shows like Amanda Knox, Zombies 4, and Chad Powers, we got some looks at what might end up being Disney+'s heavy hitters:
Alls Fair
Synopsis: Dark comedy, law drama about a dynasty of lawyers.
Notable Cast: Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, Glenn Close
King of the Hill
Synopsis: The return of Hank Hill, after many years selling propane in Saudi Arabia, Hank and Debbie return to Arlyn, where things have changed, and Hank doesn't take too kindly to that.
Notable Cast: Mike Judge, Kathy Najimy, Pamela Aldon
Wonder Man
Synopsis: Marvel’s newest superhero is also a struggling actor, auditioning for the part of a superhero.
Notable Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ben Kingsley
Fx’s Alien Earth
Synopsis: Noah Hawley's take on Aliens touching down on Earth in the far future, killing people.
Notable Cast: Sydney Chandler, Timothy Olyphant
Percy Jackson
Synopsis: A modern-day tale of the son of Poseidon, who goes on his own Odyssey, based on the popular book series, which led to the less popular movies.
Notable Cast: Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries
Renewals/Cancellations:
Apple TV+’s Slow Horses (renewed for Season 7)
PBS and ITV’s Grantchester (canceled after 11 seasons)
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
The highly anticipated Devil Wears Prada sequel has just announced some very trendy cast additions. What could be more perfect than one of Charlie’s Angels getting into the fashion business?
The Emmy-nominated Lucy Liu is now attached to the sequel and is joined by the leading lady of Bridgerton’s second season, Simone Ashley, both in undisclosed roles. And in much more unexpected casting news, The Office’s B.J. Novak, best known as the paper company’s ambitious yet cynical temp worker, has also signed on.
They will appear alongside the original film’s stars all back to reprise their roles. The Devil Wears Prada 2 will strut its way to theaters May 1st, 2026.
ABC’s The Good Doctor’s Freddie Highmore is in talks to portray Edgar Allan Poe in Augustine & Edgar, a prestige detective series from TF1. Set in Paris during the tumultuous mid-19th century, this will be Highmore’s French-language acting debut despite being fluent in the language.
While it isn’t an obvious connection, Highmore’s breakout role as Dr. Murphy, a surgeon with autism, is seen as an unconventional genius (trailer), a lot like Poe, making him a good fit for the role.
Filming begins 2026.
Tidbits:
Netflix’s new series Trinity from Jed Mercurio (creator: Netflix’s Bodyguard), adds Marcia Gay Harden. The show centers on a Navy officer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) who uncovers a dangerous Pentagon conspiracy while entangled with the Defense Secretary (Richard Madden). Harden will play a CEO and matriarch. Generic, but we like this Oscar-winner (Pollock) for any role where she can rip apart anyone’s confidence. Just watch her takedown of Ed Harris’ Jackson Pollock.
Hayat Kamille has joined the cast of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, a new horror-focused reboot from Atomic Monster, Blumhouse, and New Line. Produced by James Wan and Jason Blum, the film’s plot remains under wraps (ha ha), but Cronin promises a darker take following his success with Evil Dead Rise. Set for release on April 17, 2026.
Brent Comer is cast in Netflix’s Mosquito Bowl from Peter Berg and Brian Glazer (Creators: Friday Night Lights). Full cover story on the project. Comer will play a football star, not a big stretch as he also plays one in Broadway’s The Outsiders. This will mark his big screen debut.
FESTIVALS
The Locarno Film Festival’s 2025 lineup includes films starring Willem Dafoe, Judy Greer and Emma Thompson. Directors premiering films include Abdellatif Kechiche (Blue is the Warmest Color) and Radu Jude (Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of World).
Full Locarno Film Festival’s 2025 breakdown, including a Cannes scandal and Willem Dafoe’s birthday party.
The financially struggling Hot Docs has lost its director of programming (Heather Haynes) and its director of industry programming (Elizabeth Radshaw).
More bad news for the festival. Last year, Hot Docs went from 14 to three board members and, closing its Toronto cinema for the summer, faced significant challenges. The festival plunged into chaos as artistic director Hussain Currimbhoy and 10 programmers resigned last March due to the ongoing post-pandemic financial distress.
It had been looking better, as in March, when Hot Docs found an executive director in Diana Sanchez. She has a strong pedigree, having served as the former senior director of film and international programmer at TIFF.
Hot Docs is the largest documentary festival in North America, championing the likes of Erroll Morris, Werner Herzog, and Barbara Kopple (Shut Up and Sing). So we hope it survives!
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Theo Rossi is making his directorial debut, Shell Game. You might remember Rossi as the actor who played a brilliantly odd prison psychologist in The Penguin or the head scammer in Emily the Criminal (trailer). Now he slips behind the camera to try his hand at the genre in which he frequently appears.
Shell Game synopsis:
Former partners in crime reunite years after going their separate ways, rekindling old bonds and tensions as they plan one last heist.
It feels generic, but Rossi’s portrayal of criminals has an undercurrent of mania that feels ready to burst open under a calm demeanor. This is Rossi’s second feature as a writer, after Tubi’s Play Dirty (trailer with Rossi and Ron Perlman). We look forward to seeing what he makes of this.
Utopia’s Circle Collective (Divinity, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, Sick of Myself) picks up Pools. The film, which premiered at SXSW Sydney, is the directorial debut of Sam Hayes.
It’s got a zany style. Just check out all these crash zooms in a scene where Odessa A’zion (Netflix’s Grand Army) shouts at Michael Vlamis (Nolan’s The Odyssey) to fix her AC unit (crash zoom clip). The film centers on A’zion attempting to reconnect with her dead father during a wild, pool-hopping escape through her college town.
Going nationwide Sept 5th.
Tidbit:
Langley Perer, who Co-EP’d Dreamworks’ I Am Number Four (2011) passed away at 44 from cancer. She worked at Mosaic as a talent manager, with a client list including Olivia Milch, who co-wrote Ocean’s 8.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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