Guillermo del Toro's Passion Project
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
A Cover Story on Guillermo del Toro’s Monster.
In The Industry News: Max gets procedural. A $3.25 M spec. Paramount dishes out millions.
Actor Spotlight: Navu Mau joins Dregs. Samuel L. Jackson’s new galaxy.
Festivals: IDFA crowns Trains.
Indie Filmmaker Spotlight: Paolo Sorrentino’s Parenthrope. Ernest Cole is not sorry to bother you.
Let’s go!
Join our live event with Ted Hope (former Amazon Studios Head of Motion Picture Development, Production, and Acquisition) on how to build a career in the film industry next Tuesday. Details here:
https://theindustry.co/p/live-workshop-ted-hope-on-how-to
Some great movies are coming in 2025. Here’s a breakdown of three with wildly captivating first looks:
Dir: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth
Producer: Scott Stuber (Former Chairman of Netflix Film)
Studio: Netflix
Synopsis:
Dr. Pretorious (Waltz) who needs to track down Frankenstein's monster (Elordi) who is believed to have died in a fire forty years before in order to continue the experiments of Dr. Frankenstein (Isaac).
Mia Goth is slated to play The Bride of Frankenstein.
If anyone can find a fresh angle on this material, it will be del Toro, whose cinema of monsters shows us the bleeding heart behind the creature.
Frankenstein has always been del Toro’s passion project:
“It’s a movie I have been wanting to do for 50 years since I saw the first Frankenstein.”
He’s referring to the most iconic adaptation of Frankenstein (1931), starring Boris Karloff (watch the classic over-the-top It’s Alive! clip).
Del Toro’s Frankenstein promises to be visually sumptuous. Photo from the set of Frankenstein that is absolutely mind-blowing.
Dir: Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front, Conclave)
Cast: Colin Farrell, Tilda Swinton
Studio: Netflix
Synopsis:
When his past and his debts start to catch up with him, a high-stakes gambler (Farrell) laying low in Macau encounters a kindred spirit (Swinton) who might just hold the key to his salvation.
Post-All Quiet on the Western Front’s Oscar reign (4 wins), Berger is becoming prolific. His film Conclave is trying to run up the Oscar scoreboard. He has also been announced as taking on the next installment of Jason Bourne. Currently, he is pitching a new time travel film, The Barrier, with Austin Butler.
He started as an assistant working for Ted Hope’s company, Good Machine, in the 90s.
Set photo of a very purple-looking Colin Farrell.
Dir: David Lowery (The Green Knight, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints)
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer
Prod: Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston (Lowery’s OG producers)
Studio: A24
Synopsis:
Follows the relationship between a fictional musician, Mother Mary (Hathaway) and a famous fashion designer (Coel).
This marks the third film Lowery is doing with A24 after A Ghost Story (2017) and The Green Knight (2021).
Gold-glittering Anne Hathaway first look photo.
For More:
Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic Park (still).
Celine Song (Dir: Past Lives), new A24/Killer Films project The Materialists. Song with Chris Evans and Dakota Johnson.
A remake of Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet (1993), starring Lily Gladstone. Killer’s on the dance floor first look.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Max gets procedural. They’ve released the first trailer for The Pitt. An ER-style show that may be a little too close to ER’s style.
The widow of the NBC hit medical show ER creator Michael Crichton has sued Max for The Pitt (2025). The lawsuit states:
“The Pitt is ER, It’s not like ER. It’s not kind of ER. It’s not sort of ER. It is ER with the exact same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network as the planned ER reboot.”
It continues:
“Rather than afford Crichton the ‘created by’ credit he deserved, Defendants would pretend their reboot was not his creation at all, thereby enriching themselves to the tune of millions of dollars — potentially hundreds of millions or several billion dollars in success — and depriving Crichton’s heirs of their rightful share.”
That’s still tracking with the trailer, which leaves Crichton’s name out completely, instead favoring John Wells, EP of ER (here’s his title card cued up in the trailer). We’ll see what comes out in litigation and how much the show derives or deviates from ER.
For his turn, HBO’s CEO and Chairman Casey Bloys discussed the strategy shift to procedurals:
“I think a good template for a Max drama would be what John Wells is doing with The Pitt which is, for lack of a better word, network drama, ongoing, close-end storytelling done at a price that is reasonable,”
In this vein, Max is also developing a cop show from filmmakers Liz Garbus (Dir/Prod: What Happened, Miss Simone?) and Dan Cogan (EP: The Invitation), who are producing the project through their company Story Syndicate (Netflix’s Harry & Meghan).
Tidbits:
Natan Dotan goes from complete unknown to a fully represented screenwriter $3 M richer, in about a week. His AI Thriller Spec Script Alignment draws on the world's growing fear of artificial intelligence.
Fifth Season and Makeready preemptively acquired the project for $3.25 M in a groundbreaking Hollywood deal. Despite having no prior representation, Dotan leveraged connections to secure interest from major players like Damien Chazelle and Matt Damon.
This is kind of an insane deal; usually, only 30 specs get sold a year, and usually for much, much lower fees, sometimes as low as $5 K. The only other spec script that sold for anything close to that was Basic Instinct for $3 M, only to be topped in 2006 by Deja Vu when it sold for $5 M. But since the general death of mid-budget movies, spec scripts have not been a viable option for studios. Maybe this win for Natan signals a return to studios looking at specs more earnestly. Or maybe it was just a damn good script.
Speaking of hot projects, Lionsgate has acquired Rager. The talent is strong:
Prod Company: Imagine Entertainment (founders: Brian Grazer and Ron Howard)
Director: Jon Kasdan (writer: Solo: A Star Wars Story)
Writer: Dan Klein (Consultant: Search Party)
No plot details, but it should be similar to The Hangover.
Paramount dishes out millions. The two lucky Paramount employees who will collect $1 M each if they stay on through the Skydance transition are:
Doretha F. Lea, EVP, Global Public Policy and Government Relations
Nancy Phillips, EVP, Chief People Officer
According to Paramount’s SEC filing, the idea is to:
“Ensure the successful operation of the Company during the period prior to the completion of the Transactions and to promote the retention of certain key employees through the closing date of the Transactions.”
As Paramount is gutting $500 M/year and laying of 15% of the workforce, it’s nice to know that a few people are coming into a bunch of money if they can grit their teeth through the consolidation.
HBO’s unscripted comedy series It’s Florida, Man is getting a second season. The first season explores bizarre Florida stories through reenactments by stars like Anna Faris, Sam Richardson, and Jake Johnson. Check out the trailer.
Andy Paley, celebrated songwriter and producer, died of cancer at 72. Known for collaborations with Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys), Madonna, and the Ramones, Paley also scored SpongeBob SquarePants. A versatile musician, he co-wrote Wilson’s 1988 solo debut and shaped iconic soundtracks. Some of his songs found new life in the Spongebob Musical when it went to Broadway:
He will be missed.
Netflix is holding up a magnifying glass on Boiling Point director Philip Barantini to direct the third installment of the successful mystery franchise Enola Holmes. Plot details for Enola Holmes 3 (IMDBPro link) are unknown, as well as the status of Millie Bobby Brown’s expected reprisal, but it is expected this will be her next project after completing production on the long-awaited final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. Along with Legendary Entertainment, the titular actress will also be producing with her label PCMA Productions.
The company behind Fox’s New Girl, Chernin Entertainment, has promoted two longtime producers, Tracey Cook and Kaitlin Dahill, to lead its TV division. Veterans with Chernin, Cook, and Dahill are behind several upcoming projects for the company, including Netflix’s Man on Fire and Apple’s Chief of War, created by and starring Jason Momoa.
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Mini Tidbit:
Sylvester Stallone is finalizing a deal to return to Seasons 3 & 4 of his hit series Paramount+’s Tulsa King, which hit 2 M views on the first episode of season 2. Stallone may also be in for a raise from the $1.5 M he made/episode.
Paramount’s upcoming films push their release dates for prime Oscars season slots:
Open: Nov 29 → Dec 13
Open: Dec 25
Wide Release: Jan 20 → Jan 1
September 5 is considered a serious awards season contender and has shades of Spielberg’s Munich (2005).
New Trailer, Pixar’s Elio. Release date: June 13, 2025.
New Trailer, Paramount+’s Fassbender-led series The Agency. Release date: Nov 29th.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Nava Mau, fresh from her historic Emmy nomination for Baby Reindeer, will soon star in the comedic thriller The Dregs.
BAFTA Breakthrough honoree Navu Mau has joined the cast of The Dregs, a Tuscany-set comedic thriller, and the directorial debut of writer Connor Martin.
The film follows a friend's trip derailed by past conflicts and a cursed bottle of Vin Santo.
Since the success of the Netflix series, she has been attached to multiple projects. She also recently filmed a guest starring role on Netflix's final season of You.
The Dregs starts shooting in March.
Tidbit:
The Boroughs a new series by The Duffer brothers (Stranger Things), and showrun/created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, adds some new and old faces to the cast:
Rafael Casal (Loki)
Ed Begley Jr. (Young Sheldon)
Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle)
Dee Wallace (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial)
Eric Edelstein (Twin Peaks: The Return)
Mousa Hussein Kraish (American Gods)
More casting soon to follow and we will be sure to follow up.
While their paths didn’t cross in the Star Wars galaxy, Mace Windu, otherwise known as Samuel L. Jackson, is in negotiations to star in a key role in J.J. Abrams’ upcoming sci-fi mystery feature. If he joins, Jackson will star alongside some of Hollywood’s most in-demand young talent, including Glen Powell (Twisters), Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega, and Sex Education star Emma Mackey.
The Marvel alum has had a busy year, leading the cast of Netflix’s The Piano Lesson (trailer), reprising his role as Doaker Charles from its 2022 Broadway revival, starring in Matthew Vaughn’s silly spy film Argylle, and was featured in the star-studded Peacock miniseries Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist (trailer).
Abrams’ untitled film is expected to start shooting in the UK next spring.
Buckle up! Jessica Biel is in talks to star in Matchbox, a live-action feature from Apple, Skydance, and Mattel Films, the next in line in a string of toy-inspired films. John Cena is already on board to star, and Sam Hargrave (dir. Extraction) is attached to direct and bring the iconic Matchbox cars to life. The Candy actress is currently shooting the Amazon MGM Studios series The Better Sister with Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games) and Kim Dickens (Gone Girl).
FESTIVALS
The world’s biggest doc festival, IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam), just announced their winning films:
Best Film in the International Competition
Trains (Poland)
Dir/Editor: Maciej J. Drygas
Synopsis: A contemplative journey through the twentieth century, composed entirely of archival film footage. In this wordless film, full of beauty and bitterness, the excitement of adventure becomes a curse, and tears of joy mingle with the pain of despair.
The Jury stated:
“The jury was unanimous. This is a bold and inventive use of archive. The film shows us routes to the positive and negative consequences of modern industrial innovation. It harnesses the magic of cinema and as an audience we are haunted by our present historical time, even while we bear witness to the past.”
Trailer. The film also won the Best Editing Award.
Best Directing
An American Pastoral (France).
Dir: Auberi Edler
Synopsis:
The struggle within a rural central Pennsylvanian community over the future of their public schools, where a vitriolic debate over books cloaks a more fundamental question: the future of America' secular democracy.
A vast rural poster with a splash of color.
The jury stated:
“By simply looking and listening, this director reveals the current complexity at the heart of the United States. Her deep commitment to observation allows the viewer to come face to face with the communities in the film and provides critical insight into the results of the last U.S presidential election.”
Check out the full list of winners here.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Paolo Sorrentino is a master of mesmerizing, ethereal, and thoughtful cinema. His latest, Parthenope, an official selection at Cannes, acquired by A24, now has a trailer.
Parthenope stars Gary Oldman and is a film noir set in Capri, Italy, about a young woman who is a siren or myth.
The trailer is a siren song, with Parenthrope wading her way through the various men in Capri, attracting their attention wither her beauty while being concerned about the fleeting nature of youth. All this, of course, as in every great Italian film, is tied up with deep feelings of unhappiness.
Sorrentino had directed many films with aching yet exuberant protagonists:
The Great Beauty (2013)
Academy Awards, Best International feature
Official selection, Cannes
The Young Pope (2016)
HBO
A24 will release Parthenope on Feb 7th, one week shy of Valentine’s Day.
Just weeks after the world premiere of his endearing sophomore feature, A Real Pain, actor turned director/writer Jesse Eisenberg teases up his next film, an untitled musical comedy with one hell of a duo leading the cast in Julianne Moore (The Room Next Door) and Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers).
Synopsis:
The film follows a shy woman who is unexpectedly cast in a local production of an original musical. Under the spell of the strong-willed and enigmatic director, she loses herself in the role and the high-stakes world of this community theater production.
This film marks the return of Eisenberg and Moore, the latter of whom starred in his directorial debut, the dramedy When You Finish Saving the World (2022), as an uptight and formal mother to Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard.
Sundance gem, A Real Pain, a film he wrote, directed, and stars in, follows two cousins, the other played by Succession’s charming Kiernan Culkin, who travel to Poland together after their grandmother’s death. From Topic Studios and Fruit Tree (who will also be joining Eisenberg on his next film), you can see A Real Pain (trailer) in theaters now, and then after that, get excited about seeing Moore and Giamatti on screen together!
Tidbits:
There was a photographer by the name of Ernest Cole. His remarkable work, capturing South Africa’s Apartheid and the Black experience in the 60s in the US, is captured in a powerhouse documentary by Oscar-nominated Raoul Peck (Dir/Prod/Writer: I Am Not Your Negro). The film is narrated by the meditative Lakeith Stanfield (Sorry to Bother You), and it feels like each image is unlocking a piece of raw culture. Ernest Cole: Lost and Found is currently out in theaters.
Distributed by Magnolia Pictures. Feel the photos in the trailer wash over you.
The many lives of Popeye the Sailor Man. The original cartoon is now being re-adapted into the horror, Popeye The Slayer Man from ITN Studios (Bambi: The Reckoning). That’s one murder-crazed Popeye in a still from the film. 2025 release. Very much in the vein of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, which pulled $7.7 M worldwide from a 3% RT score and a $100K budget.
What’s even weirder: the IP expired temporarily years ago, and Popeye got turned into this terrifying animated short of Popeye as a drunk.
ON THIS DAY
1995. Toy Story is released.
That’s all for the week. We have a special post on Saturday, so look out for that.
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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