Dakota Johnson Undercover Comedian
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Dakota Johnson’s cover, Brad Pitt’s incentives, and a meadow.
Let’s go!
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An undercover comedian?
The trajectory of Dakota Johnson’s career shows she’s not just in on the joke but is the reason we’re laughing.
While she began her career as the reserved and emotionally contained Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, Johnson has gradually pivoted from dramatic sensuality to fully offbeat comedic chaos seen in the trailer for Neon’s upcoming Splitsville (premiere: Cannes), an unromantic comedy from Michael Angelo Covino (dir: The Climb).
Johnson plays Julie, a woman dealing with the inevitable confusion of being in an open marriage who appears almost unbothered in the face of serious infidelity. The trailer shows her deadpan style evolve from novelty to asset, never overselling the joke but sitting comfortably in the awkwardness.
Like her role in Celine Song’s sophomore film The Materialists, Johnson’s comedy is subtle, with the humor coming from her non-reactionary attitude to the situational ridiculousness surrounding her. As a matchmaker, her character is tasked with maintaining some sense of reality opposite irrational clients with unbelievably outlandish requests:
“Nothing over 20 BMI.”
The Fifty Shades actress excels in roles that embrace discomfort - whether emotional or social - and in Splitsville, a comedy built on group tension and awkward dynamics, seems perfectly suited to her strengths.
Neon’s Splitsville will hit theaters Aug. 22nd.
For More:
Splitsville trailer.
The Materialists trailer.
The Climb (trailer).
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
California Film Commission awards tax credits to 38 indie films.
Amazon MGM & Scott Stuber are developing The Seventh Man.
Ex-20th Century Fox exec Mike Southerly makes directorial debut.
Netflix is developing the apocalypse drama Dawn.
Marco Calvani (Netflix’s The Four Seasons) will co-star in Universal's Italianna.
Julie Benz leads horror-comedy Horrified alongside Ron Perlman.
Callina Liang cast as Chun-Li in Street Fighter live-action film.
Sheffield DocFest awards top prize to Welded Together.
Shane Meadows returns with Chork.
Tandem Pictures is developing a Great Northern hybrid film/video game project.
SXSW film Magic Hour acquired by Greenwich Entertainment.
The Traitors expands into Mexico & Brazil via NBCU.
Smashing Dandelions is adapting Ghost Season.
UTA’s Darnell Strom will lead the London office.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
The California tax incentive continues to provide strong support for indie films.
Less support than in March, their last funding cycle, but still amazing to see:
<$10M budget
38 films - Jun 2025
43 films - Mar 2025
15 films - Oct 2024
Here’s our full breakdown of the 48 projects they supported, including the David Fincher/Tarantino/Pitt film: https://theindustry.co/p/ca-tax-credit-june-2025
Amazon MGM Studios’ United Artists and former Netflix boss Scott Stuber is developing The Seventh Man, a twisty new action-thriller written by T.J. Fixman, reuniting the duo behind Netflix’s Carry On.
The project is described as a throwback in the vein of Speed and Inside Man, though plot and casting details remain under wraps. This marks another step in Stuber’s plan to revive the UA label, which is also prepping the Highlander movie we discussed yesterday.
Longtime former 20th Century Fox exec, Mike Southerly, is making his directorial/writer debut with indie romcom Where We Meet.
Official Logline:
Two heartbroken strangers go hiking together. Their chance meeting evolves into an emotional journey that tests their beliefs, creates an unexpected bond, and transforms them both.
The film is led by ex-Disney Channel actor Jake Short (A.N.T. Farm) and Madison Shamoun, the lead of Prime Video’s coming-of-age limited series The Lake.
Southerly has more than three decades of motion picture advertising experience, spearheading several global campaigns (X-Men franchise), before joining production company Fishbowl in 2023.
Tidbit:
Netflix is in development on the end-of-the-world film Dawn, adapted by The Minecraft Movie writers Neil Widener and Gavin James, and produced by Dylan Clark Productions (Bird Box, Carry On). Based on a short story by bestselling author Neal Shusterman, it follows a family’s effort to survive amid solar flares destroying the Earth.
Daniel Dreifuss (producer: All Quiet on the Western Front) has joined the series adaptation of A Boy's Own Story, the 1982 novel by the late great author Edmund White. A seminal landmark of queer literature, the autobiography was adapted into a graphic novel for Top Shelf Productions (Surrogates) who have been co-developing the series with Dreifuss since 2023.
Gore, a Gore Vidal biopic starring Kevin Spacey, finished around 2017, was shelved by Netflix after Spacey’s sexual misconduct allegations. The film, which cost $39M and was slated for a theatrical release, has been used as a tax write-off. It will never be released. Directed by Michael Hoffman (The Last Station), we hope this sees the light of day like Coyote vs. Acme.
Renewals:
Paramount+’s MobLand (renewed for Season 2)
Cast: Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren
Trailers:
Warner Bros.’ Weapons
Release date: Aug 8th
Hulu’s Washington Black
EP/Co-star: Sterling K. Brown
Release date: July 23rd
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Even alongside a powerful ensemble in Netflix’s The Four Seasons, Italian actor Marco Calvani delivered a breakout performance, and now he is set to star in Universal Pictures’ new romcom feature, Italianna. From Kat Coiro (dir. Matlock), Calvani will be joining The Little Mermaid’s Halle Bailey and Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page, with plot details still remaining under wraps.
Calvani made his American acting debut in Tina Fey’s The Four Seasons (trailer), a miniseries adaptation of the 1981 film of the same name, where the actor played the hilariously charming but obliviously over-the-top husband to Colman Domingo’s Danny.
Italianna will play in theaters beginning Apr. 10th, 2026.
If Dexter didn’t scare her, then Julie Benz must be really Horrified now. The actress is set to lead the feature debut of writer-director Michael Zara (SyFy’s Letters to Satan Claus), new horror comedy Horrified, set to start shooting this summer.
Official Synopsis:
A down-on-her-luck scream queen begrudgingly attends a horror convention only to find herself in a real-life slasher when a killer, disguised as her franchise's villain, starts to pick off her friends and fans one by one.
Benz will be joined by Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Jim Rash (Community), and Busy Philipps (Dawson’s Creek), all of whom are also producing.
Tidbit:
David Berry (Starz’s Outlander) will star in Gary Sinyor's (dir: New Line Pictures’ The Bachelor) new film Something Blue about a man getting married for the second time to a woman who is having her first marriage. In one scene in Outlander, Berry looks like he’s swallowing poison when he admits to sleeping with another man’s wife (clip). Berry should excel in this wedding comedy.
Callina Liang has been cast as Chun-Li in Legendary’s upcoming live-action Street Fighter film, directed by Bad Trip’s Kitao Sakurai. Best known for Presence, Liang takes on a popular character from the franchise, like the rest of the roster. Chun-Li has been there since the beginning and has been thoroughly fleshed out in the six main games of the franchise. The cast includes Jason Momoa and is currently in pre-production.
Johnny Knoxville is hosting Fox’s Fear Factor: The Next Chapter. Yes, he could probably win the entire show with the confidence of Dave Chappelle (you know that skit). Knoxville has a laid-back confidence in his surprise role as a talk show host in IFC’s Luckiest Man in America. He will very much hit the target on this assignment.
FESTIVALS
Thailand’s M Studio (Death Whisperer) unveils action thriller The Last Shot as part of their upcoming slate presented at the ongoing Shanghai Film and TV market. The film follows an assassin desperate to escape his violent job, but is forced into one final job. From rising director Puttipong Nakthong (In Youth We Trust), The Last Shot is set for release on Nov. 27th.
Welded Together winds Sheffield DocFest. The Jury stated:
“The film highlights the contrast between the generosity of the people and the harsh realities of alcoholism in the Belarussian society.”
No trailer yet, but here’s the full list of winners.
Words of War (EP: Sean Penn) sells to 4 territories, including Eastern Europe (minus Poland).
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Shane Meadows (Dir: This is England) is a staple of British Cinema. He returns with his first feature in over 15 years, Chork. The film is co-written by Jack Thorne (co-creator: Adolescence).
Synopsis:
Two foster siblings, Kit and Ani, flee along the coast seeking a better life. As police search nationwide, Kit must stay one step ahead to keep Ani safe and complete their journey.
We’re excited for the return of Meadows, who struck a chord with This is England (2006), which premiered at Berlin and won the Best British Film at the BIFAs. It’s a profoundly sweet yet gritty tale of a young lad who finds his tribe with a group of young skinheads—and the freedom and terror that that brings (trailer starring a young Stephen Graham) in graffiti-splattered 1983 England.
Chork has a great pedigree, produced by BBC Film, with funding from the BFI Film Fund.
Famed female wrestler Ronda Rousey is tagging in Euphoria director Augustine Frizzell to direct her upcoming biopic with Netflix. Based on Rousey’s memoirs, My Fight/Your Fight and Our Fight, the WWE champion herself is penning the screenplay with Chernin Entertainment (Ford v Ferrari) producing.
Frizzell is set to direct several episodes of their upcoming supernatural series, The Boroughs, produced by Stranger Things creators, the Duffer brothers. The Rousey biopic, originally at Paramount, has been in the works for years, with Netflix snatching up the rights as soon as they were made available again.
A new kind of double feature: Tandem Pictures and indie game studio Little Wooden Toys are teaming up for Great Northern, a dual project that merges a live-action choose-your-own-adventure video game with a standalone film built from the same footage.
Starring Megan Suri, the story follows a young woman riding across the U.S. to scatter her father's ashes, with player choices shaping the narrative. The game is planned for a 2027 release. Set to begin production shortly.
Very interesting development, and I wonder as we dive more into video game adaptations, we will see game companies cut out the middleman and do it in Tandem.
Greenwich Entertainment acquires SXSW film Magic Hour. The film is directed by Katie Aselton and co-written by her husband, Mark Duplass.
Synopsis:
Erin and Charlie escape to the desert to navigate an unexpected and challenging new phase of their relationship.
Aselton’s films upend superficial, friendly dynamics and descend into primal desires, whether carnal, as in her first film (The Freebie - 2010, trailer), or murderous, as in her second (Black Rock - 2012, trailer).
No word on release date for Magic Hour.
Mini tidbit:
Texas increases its tax incentive to $150M/year.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The Traitors is continuing its rapid international expansion. The format rights for the hit reality show have been acquired from All3Media Intl. by NBCUniversal International Networks & Direct To Consumer Latin America. With the pact, Mexico and Brazil are the newest additions to join over 30 territories that have commissioned local makeovers of the suspenseful competition show.
Michael Bronner’s (writer of The Mauritanian) production company, Smashing Dandelions, is set to adapt the novel Ghost Season into a feature film. Amid a war on the border, it follows five strangers forging fragile bonds when their lives unexpectedly intertwine through unlikely alliances. South Sudanese documentary filmmaker Akuol de Mabior (No Simple Way Home) will make her narrative debut, set to write and direct.
Darnell Strom, UTA partner and a top talent agent, is now leading the London Office.
Strom’s clients include:
Michaela Coel
Joshua Oppenheimer
Will.i.am
What makes Strom so effective is that he has strong ties across departments and cultures, enabling him to build out UTA’s London team as they expand to the Middle East and Africa.
ON THIS DAY
1971. McCabe & Mrs. Miller is released.
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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