Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Fannings and Gyllenhaals and Maras, oh my!
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THE INDUSTRY TLDR
The Nightingale casts Dakota and Elle Fanning as sisters.
FilmLA reports on-location TV shoots are up, but feature work is down.
NBC greenlights cheerleading comedy Stumble.
Paramount will release its first American-made K-pop film.
Warner Bros. is adapting The Land of Stories.
Cristin Milioti (The Penguin) leads new survival horror film Buddy.
Naomi Ackie is in talks to join DC’s Clayface.
Taylor Swift doc in the works at Channel 4.
A24’s Ne Zha 2 English dub gets a very American trailer.
Pokémon teams with Aardman (Wallace & Gromit) for 2027 stop-motion series.
Outlander prequel Blood of My Blood sells wide.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle breaks Japan box office record.
HBO Max expands into 12 new markets in Europe and Asia.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
A Sister Act: On Screen and Off.
Both acclaimed and beloved in their respective careers, Dakota and Elle Fanning finally join forces for the highly anticipated feature adaptation of The Nightingale that will see the sisters both produce and share the screen together for the first time (in I Am Sam, they appear separately).
Kristin Hannah’s bestselling historical fiction novel tells a powerful sister story set during the Nazi occupation of France, where the pair embark on separate, dangerous paths of survival in hopes of being reunited.
This is not the first time real-life co-stars have shared the big screen with Kate (The Martian) and Rooney Mara (Carol), another example of sisters starring together in Werner Herzog’s upcoming film Bucking Fastard, a true story of identical twins who have a restraining order put on them by a man they both become involved with. One of Hollywood’s best-known siblings, Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, played brother and sister in the cult classic Donnie Darko (2001), which greatly added to the weight of the film, given their very natural, layered dynamic.
Michael Morris (Bridget Jones 4, To Leslie) will direct The Nightingale film with Dana Stevens (The Woman King) penning the script. The adaptation has been a long time coming since TriStar secured the film rights back in 2015; maybe they were just waiting for an opening in the Fanning sisters’ busy schedules.
You can see the family affair when The Nightingale premieres in theaters on February 12th, 2027.
TV production went up this quarter. But other production in LA continues to crater. FilmLA’s latest data shows a continued drop in on-location filming this quarter.
Here's the breakdown:
Q2 On-Location Shoot Days 2024 → 2025
Total: 5,749 → 5,394 Shoot Days (SD)
↓6.2%
TV: 1,901 → 2,224 SD
↑17.0%
Feature Films: 704 → 553 SD
↓21.4%
Commercials: 817 → 692 SD
↓15.3%
While TV saw a bump, driven by gains in dramas, overall production remains far below pre-pandemic norms.
Last year’s wildfires were thankfully minimal in impact, but the same can’t be said for the loss of industry work. Read the full report here.
NBC is expanding its comedy slate with Stumble, a show centered on a community college cheerleading team.
Logline:
Coach Courteney Potter (played by Claws’ Jean Lyon) is determined to rally her newly recruited junior college cheer squad to win her record-breaking 15th championship and improve their lives along the way.
Stumble may tumble its way into the network’s upcoming fall schedule.
Tidbits:
Paramount has scheduled its first-ever American-produced, fully South Korea–shot K–pop film. With the massive success of K-pop Demon Hunters on Netflix and just the overall takeover of K-pop culture across the globe, this is not surprising. Co-produced with Hybe America, it stars Ji‑young Yoo (KPop Demon Hunters, trailer) and Eric Nam, directed by Benson Lee. Yoo plays a Korean‑American competing in a televised audition. Expected debut: February 12, 2027.
Warner Bros. Pictures has scooped up the magical rights to Glee actor Chris Colfer’s book series The Land of Stories for a live-action adaptation. Academy Award nominee Phil Johnston (Ralph Breaks the Internet) will be writing the script with the bestselling series following twin boys in a world where classic fairy tales come to life.
Amazon MGM Studios taps Narcos series director Alejandra Márquez Abella to helm an untitled feature adaptation of Steve Fisher’s viral L.A. Time article “How a Mennonite Farmer Became a Drug Suspect”. The Breaking Bad-esque tale is a true story and is being adapted by Abella. The crime thriller is now in development.
John Hendrix’s The Mythmakers, his graphic novel about the friendship of prolific writers Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings) and C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia), is being adapted into an animated film. Their friendship started in Oxford and carried on for the rest of their lives as both men went on to write massive cornerstones in the fantasy genre. Produced by Burns and Co.
Taylor Swift is entering her documentary era with Channel 4. The British broadcasting network is working on a two-part doc that will explore the musician’s 20-year career from pop star to cultural icon. US and UK distributor and production company Sandpaper Films (Netflix’s A Deadly American Marriage) is behind the project.
Trailers:
Warner Bros.’ One Battle After Another
Dir: PTA
Release date: Sept 26 (it’s skipping Venice)
Apple TV+’s Loot (Season 3)
Cast: Maya Rudolph
Release date: Oct 15
VOD Release:
HBO Max’s Freaky Tales
Dir: Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden (Captain Marvel, Half Nelson)
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Tom Hanks
Premiere: Sundance 2024
HBO Release date: August 8th
Greenlit:
Starz’s Power: Origins (Power spinoff prequel)
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Fresh off her Emmy nomination as Gotham’s coldest queenpin in The Penguin, Cristin Milioti is diving headfirst into survival horror Buddy, from the creator of Adult Swim’s Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell, Casper Kelly.
The indie is described as a “new experience in horror.”
What could’ve been a typical mob heiress role, Milioti’s standout performance as Sofia Falcone in the HBO Batman spinoff was nothing short of unpredictable and explosive (scene). Whether quietly orchestrating murder or surviving something unspeakable, Milioti’s brilliance will lie in her ability to weaponize gradual silence, which makes her jump to full-on horror exciting.
Buddy has begun production in Ohio.
Naomi Ackie is in early talks to join Clayface, part of James Gunn's DCU. A villain origin story in the form of a body-horror directed by James Watkins and written by Mike Flanagan.
Starring Tom Rhys Harries as the titular villain, a disfigured actor who undergoes a transformative experiment gone wrong. We don't yet know the role Ackie is up for, but there are rumors she would play a scientist who falls in love with Harries.
The reported $40M project releases Sept. 11, 2026. Just racking up another big villain for Batman and Superman to punch.
Tidbits:
Ken Jeong will star in 52nd State, a crime thriller about a U.S. Postal Inspector investigating a tech scam targeting seniors. This is the pet project of two former Netflix execs who are stepping behind the camera. You can read more about that here.
MGM+’s crime drama The Westies had added two new series regulars to its ensemble cast. Stanley Morgan (The Serpent Queen) will play a troublemaker of the Westies gang and Sarah Bolger (The Lazarus Effect) a calculated IRA operative. Filming is ongoing.
Star Cree (Turtles All the Way Down) joins the new Fox medical comedy Best Medicine as the co-star opposite Josh Charles (The Good Wife). Based on the British series Doc Martin.
Production has begun on Season 2 of All of Us Are Dead, with a couple of Squid Game stars joining the cast. Kim Si-eun and Roh Jae Won will both be joining the Korean zombie outbreak action drama that was a breakout hit on Netflix. Currently in production. Season one trailer here
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
A24’s new trailer for their English dub of Ne Zha II ($2bn+ WW) is an interesting case study in what American audiences look for: a more human story with some light jabs at comedy, with very few of the anime elements. To help familiarize it even more, they got Michelle Yeoh (EEAAO) to lend her voice as Ne Zha's mother.
At the same time, the original trailer is more of an action onslaught straight into your eyeballs.
It will be really interesting to see how this lands, we will find out August 22nd.
Tidbits:
Rest easy, Prince of Darkness: Ozzy Osbourne, the trailblazing frontman of Black Sabbath and godfather of heavy metal, has died. His music and visage have found purchase in all sorts of pop culture. From redefining rock with Sabbath to launching a wildly successful solo career and reality TV stardom with The Osbournes. His final performance with Sabbath a few weeks ago is a great send-off on its own. He will absolutely be missed.
King Baby directing duo Kit Redstone and Arran Shearing cast Station Eleven standout Prince Amponsah to lead How Dare You, a satirical horror film, and their sophomore feature. The pair’s darkly comedic storytelling is dialed up a notch this time with ghosts literally possessing queer bodies. Set to shoot in Canada next spring. B Good Pictures (Doctor Jekyll) produces.
Simon Glassman’s Buffet Infinity, a horror comedy told entirely through fake commercials, has been acquired by Yellow Veil Pictures (Touch Me) ahead of its Fantasia debut. Inspired by SCTV and showcasing the strangest midnight ads that could be found. The film follows two battling restaurants, a cult, and a sentient brand. Premiere: July 28.
Pokémon will team up with Aardman, the stop motion animated team behind Wallace and Gromit. Teasing a new series called Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu. Their slappy, sticky, British deadpan works incredibly well with the little monsters in this teaser. Sadly, it's going to be a long wait, don't expect anything until 2027!
Emmy-nominated TV writer Rose Leiman Goldemberg, behind telefilms like Farrah Fawcett’s The Burning Bed or the Lucille Ball-led CBS film Stone Pillow, has died at 97.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood has been sold by Sony Pictures Television across major markets like EMEA, LATAM, and APAC. Ahead of its early August premiere, the Starz series has already been renewed for a second season, which will take fans of the Outlander universe from the battlefields of WWI to the rugged Highlands of 18th-century Scotland.
Following the overwhelming love of the seven-season spanning period drama, demand for the prequel story was clearly imminent, given its widespread sale prior to the series even launching.
Tidbits:
HBO Max is expanding its influence in nearly 100 markets, including 12 launches across Europe and Asia. In the new territories, subscribers will have unlimited access to major franchise films like Dune and The Lord of the Rings movies as well as original television like House of the Dragon, The White Lotus, and Succession.
BBC Studios appoints Amanda Jones as new CFO, where she will join the executive committee and become a member of the commercial board. She will be responsible for the overall financial strategy.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle has absolutely shattered Japan's box office records with $49.6M in four days, surpassing Demon Slayer’s previous record-breaking movie Demon Train. The story has been building on itself for years, and the animation has always been top-notch. Trailer.
Previously at Working Title Films (The Substance), Sarah-Jane Wright has been hired by Warner Bros. as Head of Physical Production in the UK. Wright will work directly with Warner Bros. Picture Group, planning the execution of the studio’s theatrical film slate from pre-production to post-production.
Argentine actor Javier Drolas (The Good Intentions) teams up with Colombian actor Marcela Mar (Dear Gentlemen) on a Spanish-language adaptation of Polish-Canadian author Jowita Bydlowska’s bestseller Drunk Mom: A Memoir.
ON THIS DAY
1967. Philip Seymour Hoffman born in Fairport, NY.
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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