Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Chris Pratt vs. AI, Bradley Cooper vs. a bank vault, and Elvis.
Let’s go!
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Minor spoilers for Minority Report follow.
When Minority Report came out, it examined the implications of a justice system out of control. In that film, three precogs, given demigod status, were able to predict murders before they would actually take place.
Now, in the AI era, this concept has been reconstituted into the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios film Mercy starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson.
It follows a detective (Pratt) who is put on trial for killing his wife. The twist is that the judge and jury have been replaced by an AI system that Pratt helped architect. The difference between this and Cruise’s Minority Report is that in Mercy Pratt’s executioner is not human, it is AI.
Of course, it speaks to our current era where AI is replacing large swaths of jobs across many industries.
But what’s striking about Mercy is that although Pratt is put in front of this system to decide his fate, the system gives him unlimited access to all of its surveillance information and accumulated knowledge.
To some extent, Pratt gets to be an AI-supercharged detective with unlimited resources at his fingertips. But he has only achieved this status as a superhuman detective by forfeiting his freedom.
It’s the Faustian bargain that we all make with AI.
We’re seemingly given unlimited powers, while at the same time, our freedoms and our human systems are being replaced by machines that don’t have our best interests at heart.
For More:
Mercy trailer.
Minority Report trailer.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Minecraft 2 officially greenlit, with Jared Hess returning to direct the 2027 sequel.
Ocean’s 11 series prequel film heats up as Bradley Cooper circles cast.
Disney revives Tangled live-action with Scarlett Johansson.
Sony developing Clue scripted series.
Apple Original Films acquires sci-fi/fantasy spec Five Secrets with Chernin Entertainment.
20th Century Studios wins bidding war for survival thriller Crush.
Paramount Skydance hires Jay Askinasi (ex-Roku) as Chief Revenue Officer.
Comcast’s Versant names Liz Melcher VP of Talent Strategy for Entertainment.
Amazon MGM adapting E. Lockhart’s Genuine Fraud.
Cynthia Erivo to voice lead in Warner Bros. Animation’s Bad Fairies.
Mia McKenna-Bruce joins Sam Mendes’ The Beatles as Maureen Starkey.
Magnolia Pictures acquires Maddie’s Secret.
1-2 Special acquires Rose of Nevada, starring George MacKay & Callum Turner.
Joachim Rønning (Tron: Ares) directing doc Keys of Life.
Signature Entertainment acquires UK & Irish rights to Primitive War, Vietnam-set dinosaur survival thriller starring Jeremy Piven.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
2 sequels. 1 live-action adaptation. And 1 board game adaptation are charging forward. Here’s the rundown:
The inevitable return of Chicken Jockey. With a total box office just missing a billion by a hair ($950M), of course, they are making a sequel to the Minecraft movie.
The movie memed its way into being the biggest event film in 2025. Drawing on Gen Z’s cynicism and nostalgia with a deft hand, the movie became more than a movie; in some cases, it became a bacchanal of popcorn and screaming clip.
To the absolute terror of movie staffers, Minecraft 2 has been announced for summer 2027 with Jared Hess returning. How will they top chicken jockey, or Lava chicken, now that they are aware of its impact on society? Where will we be as a culture when it comes to memes?
No answers, just keep digging.
Bradley Cooper is close to breaking into the Ocean’s 11 prequel film cast. He’d star across from Margot Robbie (playing Danny Ocean, e.g., George Clooney’s mother). The film will be directed by Lee Isaac Chung (Twisters, Minari) and is set in the 60s.
Disney has revived development on its live-action Tangled, with Scarlett Johansson in talks to play Mother Gothel and Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) still directing. The project previously paused after Snow White tanked at the box office, but I guess Lilo & Stitch’s live-action billion changed minds. Tangled isn’t yet greenlit, but remains in active development. Someone like Scarjo could push it over the line.
We have uncovered some facts about the Clue reboot: The charming mystery caper with multiple endings, Clue (1985), is getting a scripted series reboot treatment. Hasbro and Sony previously sold the unscripted version of this to Netflix. There seems to be a lot of promise with a new hour-long scripted series by Dana Fox (Wicked) and produced by Nicholas Stoller (You’re Cordially Invited). Ok chief take 'em away, I’m gonna go home and sleep with my wife.
Two specs acquired:
Apple Original Films has some secrets. They’ve acquired the spec script Five Secrets, based on a short story. Chernin Entertainment (Oblivion, Rise of the Planet of the Apes), which just signed a first-look deal with Apple, is the producing partner. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy story about a society where everyone has 5 secrets they take to the grave. The main character is trained to extract these secrets by staging near-death experiences. It feels like a sci-fi version of The Game, or a variation of Inception. Anyway, with two powerhouse companies and Transformers One (2024) writers Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari taking on the script, we couldn’t be more excited.
20th Century Studios has secured Crush, a high-stakes survival thriller penned by Temple Hill executive John Fischer (writing as J.W. Archer). The spec, inspired by true events, follows a woman trapped by a giant python in the Everglades, fighting to survive in real time. Fischer secretly wrote the script on weekends, later surprising his Temple Hill bosses when it landed on the Black List and sparked a studio bidding war.
Tidbit:
Amazon MGM knows how to pick its adaptations. The author behind Amazon’s We Were Liars, E. Lockhart, has a new book, Genuine Fraud, which is now also getting adapted for the streamer. Actress Rain Spencer, best known for (you guessed it) another Amazon YA series adaptation, The Summer I Turned Pretty, will lead the cast in Genuine Fraud. Not long after the series finale of Amazon’s hit love triangle drama, The Summer I Turned Pretty (trailer), heartthrob Christopher Briney is joining the season five cast of HBO’s Emmy-winning comedy Hacks.
Four Exec hires:
Roku’s former top advertising exec, Jay Askinasi, is joining Paramount Skydance as their new chief revenue officer. In a newly created role, Askinasi will cover the company’s long-term revenue model across its extensive portfolio of brands and streaming services, Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
Comcast’s Versant has found its VP of Talent Strategy for Entertainment in Liz Melcher, a former WBD exec. At the new company, she will oversee talent management and recruitment across the USA, Syfy, E!, and more.
Exec Valerie Meraz has been hired as SVP of content and acquisitions for Fox Entertainment Global. She brings years of experience from her leadership positions at WarnerMedia and Showtime and will lead acquisition strategies across scripted, unscripted, and the film division.
Global entertainment and talent company Wasserman has brought on Christa D’Alimonte as chief legal officer. The former Paramount Global exec will act as an advisor on both business and legal strategies, in charge of the mega network of attorneys.
Mini Tidbits:
Fox Entertainment has invested in Holywater, operator of vertical video platforms My Drama, My Passion, and My Muse (55M users). The deal includes producing 200 vertical series, like Billionaire Blackmail and Bound by Obsession. Fox is betting big on this, aiming to put down $8bn in this new exploding media.
Green really is gold. John M. Chu’s very highly anticipated Wicked: For Good holds the title for the biggest first-day ticket pre-sales of 2025. The sequel to last year’s $750M grossing stage adaptation is on track to be the largest opening weekend of the year. Wicked: For Good premieres Nov. 26th.
First Paris, now Rome. Ted Sarandos (CEO of Netflix) is helping restore Rome’s Cinema Europa movie theater with a $4.6M commitment. Not Netflix’s first time saving a theater from closure. Back in 2019, they extended the lease agreement with the Paris Theater in NYC.
The woman behind so many people’s childhoods, Leigh Anne Brodsky, has passed away at 67. Brodsky worked as a marketing executive who steered the development of popular characters like SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer.
Renewals:
Fox’s MasterChef (for S16 & S17)
Trailers:
Focus Features’ Hamnet
Dir: Chloé Zhao
Release: Thanksgiving
A24’s The Moment
Teaser (it’s just text but reveals the cast: xcx, Jenner, Sennott, Skarsgård)
Release: 2026
HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Release: Jan 18
Apple TV+’s and Sony’s Pluribus
Creator: Vince Gilligan
Teaser (the most substantial released)
Release: Nov 7
Prime’s Cross (S2)
Release: Feb 11
Mubi’s Father Mother Sister Brother
Dir: Jim Jarmusch
Trailer (the film is excellent)
Release: Dec 24
Paramount+’s The Pink Pill
Premiere: Doc NYC
My Father’s Scent
Premiere: Warsaw Film Festival
GKids’ Kokuho
Premiere: Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, TIFF
Japan’s Oscar Entry
Release: Nov
Netflix’s The Vince Staples Show (S2)
Release: Nov 6
First look:
BBC’s Lord of the Flies
Peacock’s All Her Fault
First look image of Sarah Snook Happy Mother / Upset Mother
Release: Nov 6
Release dates:
Amazon’s MGM’s Melania Trump doc
Dir: Brett Ratner
Theatrical release: Jan. 30, 2026
New Line’s They Will Kill You
Cast: Zazie Beetz
Release: March 27, 2026
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Wicked to whimsical.
Acclaimed singer and actress Cynthia Erivo is lending her magical voice to Warner Bros. Animation’s Bad Fairies, a musical film about a subversive gang of fairies.
The Emmy and Tony-winning actress will voice Jayne Staplegun, “a trailblazing fairy whose defiant streak sparks a rebellion” (hmm, sounds familiar).
From her powerful performance in Wicked (2024) to her previous vocal work on Boss Baby: Back in Business (2018-20), Erivo is no stranger to bringing characters vividly to life through her voice alone.
Built atop a score crafted by Grammy-nominated Isabella Summers of Florence & The Machine, and original songs by Tony winners Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss (Broadway’s Six), Erivo’s stage-honed musicality will most likely be the standout in her first leading role in an animated project.
Bad Fairies will fly into theaters May 21st, 2027.
Tidbits:
BAFTA Rising Star winner Mia McKenna-Bruce has joined Sam Mendes’ The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event as Maureen Starkey, Ringo Starr’s first wife. She joins Barry Keoghan, Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson, Joseph Quinn, and newly announced Saoirse Ronan (as Linda McCartney) in the ensemble. We will be seeing more of these announcements, as each of the Fab Four had a handful of wives, still on the lookout for Yoko Ono.
Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen returns to TV with Netflix’s Death by Lightning. In the trailer, he looks killer—wild, jolly, indignant, and increasingly manic. He stars across from Michael Shannon, who plays President Garfield. Releasing Nov 6th.
Shadow Dance, an upcoming coming-of-age film, casts Omari Hardwick (Starz’s Power) in a lead role. Hardwick will play a disapproving father of a young dancer who seeks solace in a mysterious benefactor. Filming is set to begin early 2026.
Netflix stars are switching on over to Apple. Stranger Things’ actor Brett Gelman and Bridgerton’s Jessica Madsen join Apple TV+’s Wild Things, telling the story of legendary magicians Siegfried & Roy (played by Jude Law and Andrew Garfield).
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert has been acquired by…
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