Gwyneth Paltrow’s Return, Angelina Jolie’s Deviation
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Return, Angelina Jolie’s Deviation
Gwyneth Paltrow’s return to cinema in a new A24 film.
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Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
A Cover Story on Gwyneth Paltrow’s return to cinema in a new A24 film.
In The Industry News, we explore A24’s juicy Venice purchase. We also look at a content company that’s generated $33 bn at the box office. And we examine Union leaders' salaries. Are those fair? Plus, six more news items.
In Actor’s Spotlight, we look at Angelina Jolie’s new role. We believe it may win her the Oscar. And new projects featuring Nicole Kidman, Carrie-Anne Moss, Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman and Rebecca Ferguson.
In Festivals, we look at four films at Venice, including an absurdist comedy starring an actor from the very serious All Quiet on the Western Front.
For Indie Filmmaker Spotlight, we deep dive a Hungarian filmmaker’s English-language debut with Greta Lee (Past Lives) and Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers).
Let’s go!
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Thanks to everyone who came out for our virtual live event last night with Ted Hope. And a special thanks to those in the UK who stayed out well past their bedtimes! Ted’s thoughts, not just about pitching but his holistic insight on how to sustain a long-term career in the film industry, were inspiring.
GWYNETH PALTROW’S RETURN
Gwyneth Paltrow is starring in the upcoming A24 film Marty Supreme.
No word yet on who Paltrow will play, but here is the official synopsis:
The real-life tale of Marty “Supreme” Reisman (Timothée Chalamet), considered one of the greatest ping-pong players of all time, winning 22 major titles in his nearly 60-year career.
This marks a major return to the cinema for the Academy Award-winning actress, who has mostly been running her Goop empire while hopping in and out of the MCU, playing Pepper Potts, the smart, savvy Tony Stark secretary-turned wife, six times from her character’s launch in Iron Man (2008) to most recently in Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Paltrow’s breakout role was in Flesh and Bone (1993). Her magnetic slyness is on full display as she steals the ring from a dead man (clip).
Never one to be pigeonholed into simplistic love interest roles, she was more often seen in some of the most challenging thrillers of the 90s.
In Se7en (1997), there is a desperation for her to paint her crummy circumstance in a positive light. Remember the twinge of pain in her laughter as she recalls getting tricked by a real estate broker into buying a home so close to a train that it sends the entire apartment shaking?
Re-watch The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and marvel at her jaded sensitivity that moves from perceiving Matt Damon like a puppy to a mortal threat. Her embodiment of terror was supremely dialed in.
Her work is a tour-de-force, and it will blend perfectly with the hyper-intense style of Marty Supreme director Josh Safdie (Uncut Gems, Good Time).
For More:
A full breakdown of the Safdie Brothers’ A24 film Marty Supreme and the mad hatter ping pong hustler Timothée Chalamet is lined up to play:
https://theindustry.co/p/safdie-brothers-uncut-sports
Paltrow’s pained laughter in Se7en (clip).
The Talented Mr. Ripley trailer.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Venice goes Queer. A24 has just purchased the rights to Luca Guadagnino’s (Dir: Challengers, Call Me By Your Name) new film Queer which is premiering at the Venice Film Festival.
Here’s the official synopsis for Queer:
Lee (Daniel Craig) recounts his life in Mexico City among American expatriate college students and bar owners surviving on part-time jobs and GI Bill benefits. He is driven to pursue a young man named Allerton, who is based on Adelbert Lewis Marker.
For a full breakdown on how Daniel Craig’s hypermasculinity,
informed Queer: https://theindustry.co/p/daniel-craig-goes-queer
Content Partners (co-owner: CSI Franchise) is launching Content Partners Capital. Their IP has generated $33 bn of total box office revenue, and their 500 film library includes:
13 Going on 30 (2004)
Black Hawk Down (2005)
Black Swan (2010)
CPC has already provided debt financing to Media Capital Technologies to support its film slate with Lionsgate.
They are said to be primarily focusing on supporting high-value IP in the film, TV and music space.
Steve Harvey is getting a biopic, Seventy-Two. The comedian and well-known Family Feud TV host is getting the SNL 1975 treatment as the biopic will center on a pivotal 72-hour period in Steve Harvey's career, leading to his iconic 1993 Apollo Theatre performance (clip where he dismisses saving the Buffalo). Objectively Good Media (producer Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown’s 2022 comedy Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul is developing the film.
No writer or actor is yet attached to the project.
Union leaders' salaries were just released:
$8.2M - DeMaurice Smith (NFLPA)
Not in film, for reference only
$3.3M - Carol Lombardini (AMPTP)
$1.02M - Duncan Crabtree-Ireland (SAG-AFTRA)
$1.0M - Mathis Dunn (SAG-AFTRA)
$860K - David Young (WGA West)
$775K - Russell Hollander (DGA)
$680K - Ellen Stutzman (WGA West)
$550K - Matthew Loeb (IATSE)
$240K - Lindsay Dougherty (Teamsters, Hollywood Branch)
Fair, not fair? Tell us what you think.
Tyler Perry’s sweeping, emotionally evocative epic on the women’s army core, The Six Triple Eight, is launching on Netflix.
Here’s the official synopsis:
55 women joined the war to fix the three-year backlog of undelivered mail. Faced with discrimination and a country devastated by war, they managed to sort more than 17 million pieces of mail ahead of time.
Kerry Washington (Django Unchained) leads the cast along with Oprah Winfrey, Susan Sarandon, and Dean Norris (Breaking Bad).
This is part of Perry’s multiyear, first-look feature pact with Netflix.
Here is the teaser.
The Six Triple Eight will debut on Netflix on December 20th.
As the contract deadline looms, Disney and DirecTV find themselves at an impasse, with Disney accusing DirecTV of not earnestly engaging in negotiations. If a deal isn’t reached by Sunday, DirecTV subscribers could lose access to Disney’s networks, including ESPN and ABC, just as the NFL season kicks off.
Apple TV+'s thriller series Down Cemetery Road has announced ten new cast members, including BAFTA winners Adeel Akhtar (Murdered by My Father) and Darren Boyd (Spy), as well as Emmy nominee Tom Goodman-Hill. The series, based on Mick Herron's novel, follows Sarah Tucker's quest to uncover a conspiracy involving the living and the presumed dead in a quiet Oxford suburb.
Michelle Mendelovitz has exited Mattel Television after nine months, leaving her role as the Head of TV Studios, where she oversaw the new Barney reboot. With Warner Bros. and Paramount writing down their TV assets to the tune of billions, even Mattel with their boundless IP is struggling.
Nikki Glaser will host the Golden Globes on Jan 5. The comedian crushed in the Tom Brady Netlix roast, and we’ll see if she can match the punch of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler or Ricky Gervais.
RESOURCES
USC offers online filmmaking courses for storytellers of all ages. Develop your skills and advance your interest in film through flexible, online courses that allow you to work at your own pace. Whether you're a high school student looking to build your portfolio, or an adult interested in exploring your passion of filmmaking, these courses offer the perfect opportunity to earn a Certificate from the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
"Directing: Creating Your Short Film." Do you want to create a professional-looking film without a Hollywood budget? Enroll in the online directing course and learn from USC alum and industry veteran Sanford Bookstaver. Bookstaver, known for directing and producing TV hits like Dexter: New Blood, House, M.D. and Chicago Fire, will guide you through the entire production process. Gain practical skills, discover insider tips and bring your cinematic vision to life.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Angelina Jolie’s performance as “the world’s greatest opera singer” in the upcoming musical biopic Maria is already getting lots of attention, and it's headed to Netflix after an intense bidding war.
Here’s the synopsis:
Based on true accounts, Maria tells the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story of the life of the ill-fated but iconic opera singer, Maria Callas, relived and re-imagined during her final days in 1970s Paris.
Ultimately, though, it is the story of the first diva.
For more on how Jolie transformed into a character that may win her the Oscar, continue reading here. Plus a first look clip: https://theindustry.co/p/angelina-jolie-is-a-diva
Remember when Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldaña did a Paramount+ show? Well, that was Lioness (2023), which is now getting a Season 2.
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