Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Scarlett Johansson, Mikey Madison, and a drugged-up dragon.
Let’s go!
If you enjoy today’s edition, please hit the like button or leave a comment.
Two big Scarlett Johansson news items.
First, she will replace Anne Hathaway in the upcoming film:
Cast: Johansson, Adam Driver, Miles Teller (replacing Jeremy Strong)
Prod: Rodrigo Teixeira (RT Features)
Dir/Wri: James Gray (Ad Astra, We Own the Night)
Synopsis:
Two brothers pursue the American Dream but get entangled in a dangerous Russian mafia scheme that terrorizes their family, testing their bond as betrayal becomes possible.
Filming next month.
No word on who Johansson will play, but she shared the screen with Driver previously in Marriage Story, which was wonderfully operatic yet tender.
What’s more intriguing is that her directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, just dropped a clip that suggests a return to her indie cinema roots. Premiering at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, it follows a 90-year-old woman (June Squibb) rebuilding her life in NYC after losing her best friend and stumbling into an unexpected friendship with a 19-year-old student.
Johansson could have coasted on her formidable acting résumé:
8x Marvel films
The upcoming Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)
Collaborations with auteurs like Wes Anderson, Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Glazer, Spike Jonze, and Sofia.
But her directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, is a modest, character-driven narrative that strips cinematic pyrotechnics and embraces saucy old ladies looking for connection at the end of their lives. Because if they can find a sense of belonging at their age, there’s hope for the rest of us.
Sony Pictures Classics is releasing Eleanor the Great. No word on the date.
For More:
June Squibb is one saucy 90-year-old in the Eleanor the Great clip.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
AMC Networks’ Q1 2025 revenue dips.
NY ups film tax incentive to $800M.
Sony CEO Tom Rothman renews multi-year contract.
Peacock orders Ted: The Animated Series, with Seth MacFarlane returning.
Oscar-nominated The Fighter writers scripting WW2 action-drama Skyway.
Mikey Madison follows Anora with a Florida-set mermaid thriller, Reptilia.
Carrie Coon leads cult drama Harmonia.
Magnolia buys Nic Cage’s The Carpenter’s Son
A24 drops $30M on Dev Patel’s The Peasant.
Jane Schoenbrun’s next, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, is acquired by Mubi.
La Cocina director lands Hulu pilot starring Edgar Ramírez.
A24’s Friendship sold internationally to Paramount’s Republic Pictures.
Toni Collette and Joel Edgerton lead black comedy Fangs.
Brandon Cronenberg returns with space horror, Dragons.
Guan Hu’s (dir: Black Dog) next film is an $80M WW2 epic.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
AMC Networks (parent company: Sundance TV and IFC Films) Q1 2025 revenue losses, compared w/ last year:
$555.2 M revenue
↓ 6.9%
$119 M ad revenue
↓ 15%
$18M net income
↓ 60.6%
↓ 200K subs from last quarter
10.2M total
As TV viewership has declined, AMC Networks has dealt with a challenging ad market and declining original programming. In addition to bundles, like the newly launched ad-supported AMC+ for Spectrum customers, leaning deeper into the horror niche is key to AMC’s future.
Big changes to NY’s tax incentives:
$800M set aside for incentives (↑$100M)
$20M for indies w/ budgets < $10M
$80M for indies w/ budgets > $10M
Producers can recoup the full incentive in 1 calendar year
40% incentive to productions with $100M spend
Previous rate: 30%
The incentives run through 2036. Full details here.
Tidbits:
Peacock has ordered Ted: The Animated Series, a sequel to Seth MacFarlane’s hit film franchise, following the success of its live-action prequel. MacFarlane returns as Ted, joined by OG cast members Mark Wahlberg, Amanda Seyfried, and Jessica Barth. Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh serve as showrunners; plot details remain under wraps. This seems like a smart way to continue the adventure, but with budget in mind.
Action filmmaker Ric Roman Waugh (dir. Angel Has Fallen) has signed a first-look deal with Lionsgate. The relationship between Lionsgate and Waugh began with his 2001 thriller In the Shadows.
Oscar-nominated writers Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson (The Fighter) will script Skyway, a WW2 action-drama about Captain Moon Chin, a Chinese-American aviator who braved the treacherous “Hump” airlift. We loved their work on The Fighter.
Legendary has revealed Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, set for theatrical release on March 26, 2027. Directed by Grant Sputore, the film reunites Kong and Godzilla to battle a cataclysmic threat. The returning cast includes Dan Stevens, with a script by Shang-Chi’s Dave Callaham. The title reveal. Side note, am I the only one tired of these title reveal teasers showing us little to nothing?
Mini Tidbit:
Sony’s CEO, Tom Rothman, has signed off on a multi-year extension to his contract. Full details here: https://theindustry.co/p/tom-rothman-sony-ceo
Continuing its domination of horror, Cineverse (Terrifier 3) has acquired U.S. rights to Return to Silent Hill, Christophe Gans’ film adaptation of Silent Hill 2, starring Jeremy Irvine and Hannah Emily Anderson. The adaptation promises to be faithful to the video game and teases the first onscreen appearance of Pyramid Head.
Three obits:
A Universal veteran, exec Mark Gaines, has died, leaving behind an impressive 40 years with the company. Beginning his career with Universal back in 1976, Gaines quickly rose from local booker to EVP, retiring back in 2015.
Rosanna Norton, the costume designer behind sci-fi classic Tron (1982), has passed from cancer at 80 years young. She was nominated for an Oscar for her work on Tron and even before then, notably worked on Badlands (1973) and Carrie (1976).
The Oscar-winning makeup artist behind Mrs. Doubtfire, Greg Cannom, has died at the age of 73. A trailblazer in the field, the veteran prosthetics artist spent almost fifty years in the business working on films like Hook (1991), Vice (2018), and Titanic (1997) just to name a few.
Series orders:
Fox’s medical procedural, Doc Martin
Cancellations:
NBC’s Suits LA (after 1 season)
NBC’s The Irrational (after 2 seasons)
NBC’s Found (after 2 seasons)
Renewals:
Fox’s Krapopolis (for season 5)
Fox’s Universal Basic Guys (for season 3)
Fox’s Grimsburg (for season 3)
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Not sure if anyone saw this coming. Oscar-winning best actress, Mikey Madison, is throwing out the bubble gum and stilettos for a mermaid tail? In her first project since the modern-day Cinderella story, Anora took home five Oscars, Madison is set to star in Reptilia, a fanciful dark thriller opposite Kirsten Dunst.
Official Logline:
A dental hygienist is seduced by a mysterious mermaid into the dark and wet underworld of Florida’s exotic animal trade.
Directed and written by Landes Echavarría (Monos), Madison’s specific role is unknown, but from the logline, this is unlike anything we’ve seen from her thus far.
In Sean Baker's gem Anora (trailer), she played an impulsive but ambitious young sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Her performance was one of the best of last year, heartbreakingly moving and memorable.
The Florida-set indie has a producing team of Pastel (Moonlight) and Imperative Entertainment (Killers of the Flower Moon) with Black Bear (Sing Sing) financing. Reptilia launches at Cannes Market, expected to begin production this fall.
Carrie Coon joins a cult. The White Lotus Season 3 actress joins Guy Nattiv’s Harmonia.
Here’s the synopsis:
Set in the 1980s, Rita (Coon) is entranced by the mesmeric leader and renounces her family to embrace the world of Harmonia commune. Her daughters, Ella (Bella Ramsey), and Jo (Odessa Young) , put everything on the line to visit their mom and bring their mother back home.
Coon, who replaces Naomi Watts in the role, has a brilliant way of resisting the charms of other’s in scenes, creating narrative tension. Just watch how she is viscerally put off by her girlfriends in The White Lotus (scene). We look forward to seeing her be repulsed and then entranced by the Harmonia cult. Bleecker Street will release theatrically in 2026.
Tidbit:
Max’s favorite vigilante, John Cena’s Peacemaker, is back for a second season with DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television dropping a new teaser trailer. The James Gunn action series features a number of colorful heroes kicking evil butt as much as they can whenever they can. The new season premieres Aug. 21st only on Max.
The 100 actors Sachin Sahel and Brady Roberts have teamed up to develop a new heist series called Sideshow (working title). The show will see a young street performer recruited into a travelling sideshow, only to discover its circus performers use their unique skill sets to commit high-stakes heists. Network attachment coming soon.
Hulu’s tumultuous college-set dramedy Tell Me Lies casts newcomer Costa D’Angelo (East of Eden) for a series regular role in its upcoming third season. No premiere date set.
We love seeing Andy Richter on Conan as the talk show host’s well–meaning goofball foil. Richter is co-starring as a “well-meaning but deeply insecure and jittery small-town public defender” in the upcoming indie Caroline.
FESTIVALS
Some major acquisitions from A24 and Magnolia at the Cannes Market:
Buyer: Magnolia (US rights)
Star: Nicolas Cage
Co-star: FKA Twigs & Noah Jupe (Honey Boy)
Prod Co: Anonymous Content (True Detective)
Wri/Dir: Lotfy Nathan (Charm City Kings)
Synopsis:
Family hiding in Roman Egypt. Son known as 'the Boy' (Jupe) doubts guardian 'the Carpenter' (Cage), rebelling with mysterious powers. As he uses abilities, they face natural and divine horrors.
Magnolia releases later this year.
Buyer: A24 (worldwide rights)
Deal Price: ≈ $30M
Wri/Dir/Prod/Star: Dev Patel
Co-Writer: Will Dunn (The Marvels)
Prod Co: Fifth Season (Severance) Thunder Road (John Wick)
Synopsis:
Set in 1300s feudal India and follows a shepherd who wages a brutal campaign against mercenary knights who razed his village.
Sounds a bit insane and full of action, pretty much on par with Patel’s Monkey Man. This high-octane, mythic Indian saga is intended to launch a franchise.
A trio of major films just hit the Cannes Market. Read more details about these projects starring Demi Moore, Colman Domingo, and Michelle Yeoh. Plus a $100M Trump biopic: https://theindustry.co/p/cannes-market-2025
Mini Tidbit:
Promised Sky, Cannes Un Certain Regard opening film debuts a vibrant trailer that casts rich purple and blue hues across the terrain of a tale about immigration, trafficking and how love dies at great distances.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
I Saw the TV Glow auteur Jane Schoebrun’s next film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, has announced its lead roles in Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) and Gillian Anderson (The X-Files), acquired by MUBI.
Official Synopsis:
A queer filmmaker is hired to direct a new installment of a slasher franchise. The director fixates on the prospect of casting the ‘final girl’ from the original movie, and the two women descend into a frenzy of psycho sexual mania.
Feels like Portrait of a Lady on Fire set in a Friday the 13th sequel with a touch of Black Swan.
With just two films under their belt, Schoebrun’s stylistic voice is impeccable. Their sophomore feature, the introspective I Saw the TV Glow (2024, trailer), not only quickly became a cult favourite but also dealt with powerful and often unexplored themes like the struggle for identity and the importance of human connection. Similarly, in their debut, the Sundance standout, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021), Schoebrun takes a deeper look at the dangers of isolation fueling online obsession, triggering reality merging with fantasy.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is scheduled to begin filming this week.
Alonso Ruizpalacios, who directed my favorite film of last year, La Cocina, is directing a Hulu pilot. Edgar Ramírez (Emilia Pérez) stars.
Synopsis:
In a cutthroat battle to dominate the Manhattan skyline, two rival real estate developers risk everything — wealth, family and their souls — as their ambition turns into obsession, and their partnership turns into war.
Ruizpalacios rules at making the terrestrial sickeningly dizzying. In the world of real estate, he should have no problem finding the grime. Roberto Patino (Max’s DMZ, EP: Westworld) and Cassius Corrigan (dir: The Unbreakable Tatiana Suarez) are the showrunners.
Tidbits:
A24’s Friendship is scooped up by Republic Pictures (Subsidiary: Paramount) for international rights, including a theatrical release. The film had the top per-screen average of the year this weekend with $75K/screen. The film had nothing but great reviews from its screening at TIFF, two standout comedic actors, Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson. Click here for the very dark and very funny trailer: https://theindustry.co/p/friendship-a24
Golden Globe nominees Joel Edgerton and Toni Collette will star in Fangs, the feature directorial debut of Australian filmmaker and star Lucy McKendrick. Described as a “thrilling black comedy,” the film centers on the daughter of a prison mogul whose obsession with the charming inmate Fangs (Edgerton) drives her to unravel. This is a hell of a way to debut, brought on by the sheer strength of the script and buoyed by Screen Australia putting its weight behind the project. Fangs begins filming in Sydney this August.
Brandon Cronenberg (Infinity Pool) is set to direct Dragons, a long-delayed space-horror project. The premise revolves around a far future where the discovery of dragons has led to a widespread drug. The film will follow a crew chasing these dragons to extract more of the drug. Crazy premise for sure.
Harris Dickinson goes hard with Devisio Pictures. The company that he launched with Archie Pearch, who served as David Heyman’s assistant on Wonka and Barbie, is building a slate of 20 films, many first-time directors with US/UK appeal. They’ve gotten financing from Tricky Knot, which invests in talent-led production companies.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Guan Hu returns to form with WW2 epic Dong Ji Island. Hu typically directs mega-budget films like this one. slated to have an $80M budget.
Synopsis:
In 1942, Japanese ship "Lisbon Maru" carrying British POWs was torpedoed. Dongki fishermen rescued 300 Britons, protected 3 during Japanese search after Lisbon Maru shipwreck near Zhoushan Islands.
Sales rep: Seventh Art Pictures.
Don’t snooze on Hu’s previous, the astounding indie Black Dog (cover story)
Following her award-winning documentary Half Way (2015), the impressive Daisy-May Hudson is making her feature debut in Lollipop, backed by BBC Film and the British Film Institute.
Led by The Outrun’s Posy Sterling, the film tells the story of a young mother who, after being released from a short stint in prison, realizes getting her child back wouldn’t be as easy as she was led to believe. The film will play in UK theaters beginning in June 13th.
You can watch its powerful trailer here.
The studio behind Angry Birds, Red Animation, has opened its newest facility, Red Canarias, in, where else: The Canary Islands.
At a time of change for the studio, Universal International has been making layoffs, specifically in its London, Sydney, and LA hubs. This news comes after a number of switchups impacted by the launch of NBCUniversal’s spinoff company SpinCo (now Versant).
ON THIS DAY
1994. Pulp Fiction premieres at Cannes.
See you tomorrow!
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
Follow us on: Facebook | Instagram
Want to advertise with us? Email: clarke.scott@theindustry.co