Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
HBO’s The Shore, Neon’s Artificial, and a wrecker.
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THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Neve Campbell reunites with Party of Five creator for HBO Max’s The Shore.
Disney+ orders a live-action The Last Kids on Earth pilot.
Starz is developing Bone Parish with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson producing.
Point Grey signs a first-look deal with The Studio EP Alexandria McAtee.
Authentic Brands Group acquires the Care Bears IP.
Paul Dano joins Parker Finn’s Possession remake.
Dylan O’Brien will lead and EP Hulu comedy pilot Lex.
Colin Farrell, Steve Coogan, and Domhnall Gleeson join Netflix’s Bad Bridgets.
Monica Barbaro joins Bradley Cooper’s Ocean’s Eleven prequel.
Allison Williams joins sci-fi thriller Homewrecker.
Tom Hardy returns for Mobland Season 3.
Neon acquires worldwide rights to Luca Guadagnino’s OpenAI drama Artificial.
Yesterday’s correct answer: GE previously owned NBCUniversal.
73% got it correct.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
4x Adaptations:
A family reunion nearly three decades in the making. Neve Campbell is reuniting with Party of Five (1994-2000) creator Chris Keyser for his HBO Max series adaptation of the coming-of-age novel The Shore. Set over the course of a transformative and turbulent summer on the Jersey Shore, Campbell will most likely star as the dedicated mother who shields her two daughters from the weight of their family’s deep-rooted secrets. Campbell will executive produce with Anonymous Content and Brad Falchuk’s Teley-Vision.
The small screen welcomes back The Last Kids on Earth. Disney+ has just given a pilot order to adapt Max Brallier’s bestselling adventure books into a live-action series. The Last Kids on Earth sees a group of mismatched teens who band together to stop the end of the world when it becomes overrun by monsters. The books were previously adapted into a short-lived animated series at Netflix back in 2019. The new series comes from Gotham Knights co-creators Chad Fiveash and James Stoteraux and Kevin Tancharoen (The Book of Boba Fett).
Starz is developing a TV series based on the graphic novel Bone Parish, EPed by Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson (Get Rich or Die Tryin’). Set in New Orleans, the original comic follows the Winters family, who try to build an empire around a new drug, made from the ashes of the dead. Starz and 50 Cent are already in business with Fightland.
YA-focused production company Red Sage Studios (Let’s Play) is gearing up to adapt She’s With Me, the bestselling first installment of Jessica Cunsolo’s 5-book series. A mix of a teen romance and heart-racing thriller, the book follows Amelia, an on-the-run teenager who is able to keep a low profile until she falls for her town’s notorious bad boy, Aiden.
Mini Tidbits:
Point Grey Pictures (Prod Co: Sausage Party) signs a first-look deal with Alexandria McAtee (EP: The Studio). McAtee is currently developing a comedy feature starring Carmen Christopher (Adult Best Friends).
The sports and media platform Authentic Brands Group acquires the IP of Care Bears. The Care Bears were first introduced in the 1980s and have evolved into a multi-platform franchise that consists of various toys and animated shows. All three Care Bears films were released in the 80s, with the first film making $23M domestically.
SpongeBob’s birthday is right around the corner! Nickelodeon has declared Jul. 14 “SpongeBob Day” with a marathon of episodes, movies, and other surprise specials to be announced.
Renewals:
Netflix’s Nemesis (for S2)
CBBC’s The Lady Grace Mysteries (for S2)
Trailers:
Illumination’s Not Alone
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Selena Gomez
Release: April 2027
ABC’s Teenage Boss: Next Level
Release: Jul. 31
Release Dates:
Mubi’s Cannes-winning titles:
Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur
Grand Prix winner
U.S. Release: Nov. 20
Lukas Dhont’s Coward
Cast: Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne (both won Best Actor at Cannes)
U.S. Release: Dec. 25
Hulu’s Furious
Cast: Emmy Rossum, Jake Lacy
Showrunner/Wri: Elizabeth Meriwether (Hulu’s Dying for Sex)
Release: Jul. 27
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Paul Dano is stepping into marital chaos. The There Will Be Blood actor is set to join Smile director Parker Finn’s Possession remake, alongside Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley as the film’s fractured couple.
The 1981 original was a disturbing body horror, a terrifying allegory for divorce, following a man watching his wife slowly descend into madness right after learning of her affair. While not confirmed, Dano would most easily fit in the role of the older private detective hired to follow the increasingly erratic wife.
Unlike the unhinged nature of most of his characters, like his fanatical Prisoners role or as The Riddler in The Batman, here the chaos is happening around him. The detective has the same patience and composure as his heartwarming father in Spielberg’s The Fabelmans (2022), a film that could not be more different than his newest project.
Regardless of his role, Dano has an unlimited range, sorry Quentin, seeming like a good fit for the horror genre. The Paramount film is set to start shooting this month.
Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner) joins a Hulu comedy pilot, Lex, as the lead. The show follows Lex (O’Brien), a disgraced former reality show star, who accidentally films a murder on his camera and finds himself in the center of a global conspiracy. O’Brien will also EP the pilot. 20th Television is the studio behind the project.
This seems to hearken back to O’Brien’s earlier work, like his TV debut with Teen Wolf as Stiles Stilinski, the best friend and a brainy sidekick to the protagonist Scott McCall. Lex could also push him to the psychological edge, something we saw a horror version of in Send Help.
O’Brien has a boyish charm and angst in his performances that make him a perfect fit for a role like this.
Tidbits:
For a film called Bad Bridgets, it’s suddenly become a very male affair. Netflix’s Irish period thriller has cast Colin Farrell, Steve Coogan (Philomena), Domhnall Gleeson, and Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things) in unknown roles in director Rich Peppiatt’s upcoming dramedy. Set in the 19th century, the film follows two young Irish girls (played by Emilia Jones and Alison Oliver) who escape the Great Famine and head to New York, only to be met with a new kind of struggle. The four European actors are gearing up to begin filming in Northern Ireland later this month.
As the shooting start date nears, the Ocean’s Eleven prequel casts Oscar nominee Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown) in Warner Bros.’ highly anticipated return to the franchise. The star-studded lineup now features Barbaro, Wagner Moura, Margot Robbie, and her LuckyChap prod co, as well as Bradley Cooper, who is writing, directing, and starring in the film. Barbaro’s breakout performance as the super badass female fighter pilot in Top Gun: Maverick (2022) proved she can hold her own in a legacy franchise, with the untitled Ocean’s film slated for a June 2027 premiere.
Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) joins sci-fi thriller Homewrecker, directed by Xavier Gens (Dir: Netflix’s Under Paris). The film will follow three star-crossed Americans trying to survive a global catastrophe that threatens to destroy all life. Allison Williams (Get Out) and Michelle Randolph (Scream 7) also join the cast.
Mini Tidbits:
Juilliard’s own Jack Cameron Kay (Netflix’s Boots) is set to star in Until the Time We Die, a queer love story. Plot: After his troubled older brother makes a life-altering decision, a lonely man (Kay) is forced out of isolation to search for his purpose in the colorful chaos the city of New Orleans has to offer. Kay was just seen at the buzzy Cannes premiere of A24's Club Kid, his first leading feature role.
Tom Hardy returns to season 3 of Paramount+’s MobLand after some behind-the-scenes drama. Hardy previously had a conflict with the showrunner, Jez Butterworth, and was looking to exit the show, but they seem to have reached an agreement.
One of the breakout stars of Hulu’s Tell Me Lies, Sonia Mena, is joining the next Paranormal Activity from Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Paramount. Set to join Chase Yi (Mythic Quest), the plot and character details are being kept under wraps for now, hitting theaters next summer.
Michael Byrne, who played an elderly Gellert Grindelwald in the Harry Potter franchise, dies at 82. Byrne also had roles in other big films, like the evil Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) and soldier Smythe in Braveheart (1995).
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS
This year’s The Social Network is undoubtedly Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial. With Sam Altman being played by Andrew Garfield, who previously played Eduardo Saverin - Zuck’s only friend in The Social Network.
The film just officially changed hands with Neon acquiring worldwide rights after Amazon dropped it last week.
The film centers on OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, during the tumultuous days when he is fired and then rehired.
Guadagnino’s last film, Amazon’s After the Hunt, was sleek and intellectually heady. However, Artificial seems like it’ll lean the opposite direction, into comedy, as it’s from writer Simon Rich (American Pickle, SNL). If Guadagnino can spin the intensity of the AI topic into comedic and perhaps absurdist gold, perhaps he can begin to collapse some of the power structures that made this film change hands in the first place.
N.A. Distribution deals:
Watermelon Pictures (U.S. Distribution: Palestine 36) takes North American distribution rights to the biopic El Sett. The film follows the life of the legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum and how a girl from a small village in Egypt became one of the most recognizable voices in the Arab world.
New York-based distributor Several Futures acquires the rights to Venezuelan drama Lost Chapters. Mixing fiction and autobiography, the film follows a woman named Ena who returns home after years abroad and sets out to find a long-forgotten writer. It is the feature debut of writer-director Lorena Alvarado.
Cleopatra Entertainment (Distribution: Di’Anno: Iron Maiden’s Lost Singer) acquires the North American rights to the documentary Twiggy. The film follows the life of the legendary supermodel Dame Lesley Lawson, or “Twiggy,” and her rise from a teen model to a cultural icon.
International:
The already infamous Citizen Vigilante movie lands at Quiver Distribution (The Cleaner) for worldwide rights, excluding the U.K., Germany, South Korea, and Taiwan. From German filmmaker Uwe Boll, Quiver already holds N.A. rights, releasing the Armie Hammer-led thriller in the States (and temporarily on X) last week.
Disney+ strikes a content-swapping deal with Malaysia’s leading Pay-TV platform Astro. Disney+ IP, like Pirates of the Caribbean, Maleficent, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, will be on Astro’s streaming platforms, like Astro TV. As part of the deal, Disney+ in Malaysia acquires local titles like Polis Evo 1 & 2 and Zombi Kampung Pisang. Disney+ is continuing its international spread, having partnered with the UK’s ITV and Germany’s ZDF previously.
Studiocanal Germany is going under the sea, announcing it will adapt the classic children’s book The Rainbow Fish into an animated feature. Author Marcus Pfister’s story follows a beautiful fish who learns the importance of sharing and that true joy comes from giving and not just superficial beauty. The production has come together in partnership with Germany’s 80-year-old Augsburg Puppet Theatre.
ON THIS DAY
1952. Dan Aykroyd born in Ottawa, Ontario.
Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace, and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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