Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Ben Whishaw’s Day, Brendan Fraser’s Return, and two Carols.
Let’s go!
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I sat down with director Ira Sachs (dir: Passages, Little Men) to discuss his latest film, Peter Hujar’s Day, starring Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall, which premiered at Sundance.
The film is highly unusual: Whishaw spends the duration recounting in precise detail what he did the previous day, while Hall sits in almost complete silence.
And it all works. Because the film is a masterclass in character design, poetic lighting, and Brechtian editing.
Whishaw plays a real-life NYC photographer who, in the course of his jam-packed previous day, has taken a photo of renowned poet Allen Ginsberg, scheduled an appointment with William S. Burroughs (author: Queer), and chatted with Fran Lebowitz.
Sachs shared:
“What I think Ben did most deeply is really create for himself a relationship between the 50, 60 people that was personal. Like you actually believe he knows all those people. And that’s really a power of creativity… because Ben didn’t know any of those people. And it’s a huge kind of cosmology of a life.”
The film itself is a referendum on the creative process, something Sachs foregrounds through jump cuts, characters breaking the fourth wall, and even a shot of the clapper board.
Sachs stated:
“I didn’t want to hide process… beginning with the fact that Ben and Rebecca are both British playing American. By nature it’s a theatrical film.”
By the end of the film, we’re in rapture over Whishaw’s world, one filled not just with a travelogue of amazing encounters in 1974 NYC but also with his anxieties over the intersection between his art and the burden of producing work.
But there’s a comfort there. As Sachs told me, if Peter Hujar is worried about his art, then maybe it’s fine to be worried as an artist. Perhaps that’s all part of creating art.
Janus Films releases Peter Hujar’s Day on November 6th in NYC and LA.
For More:
Check out our full interview with Ira Sachs. It’s a mini masterclass on his methodology for directing actors to create characters: https://theindustry.co/p/ira-sachs-interview-directing-deep
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz return for The Mummy 4.
Apple TV+ greenlights espionage thriller Safe Houses from Homeland creator Gideon Raff.
Paramount exec shuffle continues as Don McGregor joins global TV-sales.
Hulu orders YA drama Foster Dade.
Tramell Tillman (Severance) joins Ti West’s Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol.
Sebastian Stan stars in Felipe Gálvez’s Impunity.
Road House 2 adds six real UFC fighters to its cast.
AFM lineup includes Phantom Son (Renée Zellweger), Ibelin (Anthony Hopkins), Queen of the Falls (Pamela Anderson, Guy Pearce), and Ultra (Shailene Woodley).
Doc Matter of Time spotlights Eddie Vedder’s EB awareness campaign.
Dree Hemingway EPs The Hemingway Files.
Saban Films acquires Vincent Grashaw’s Keep Quiet after Locarno premiere.
David Slade (Bandersnatch) directs horror Legacy starring Anjelica Huston.
Janus Films acquires Nathan Silver’s Carol & Joy short, starring Carol Kane.
Fantomas reboot assembles cast.
Disney+ Japan partners with CJ ENM.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz return for The Mummy 4. This is not a drill.
The iconic duo who starred in my childhood favorite film is set to return.
In the first movie, Fraser played an adventurer. He had a sullen quality that was at odds with his immense skill set (which often landed him in hot water). The revelation of the film is his linking with the charming Rachel Weisz (“I’m a Librarian clip”), who re-ignites his passion for treasure hunting. And sparks a romance.
Can these two pull off a franchise comeback together? Fraser’s acting has only gotten stronger (see The Whale and the upcoming Rental Family), and Weisz has bounced around in some auteur cinema (2x from Yorgos Lanthimos).
I’m confident they’ll crush this and can’t wait to see them back together on screen.
Apple TV+ has greenlit Safe Houses, an eight-episode espionage thriller based on Dan Fesperman’s 2018 novel.
Gideon Raff (Homeland, The Spy) serves as showrunner and EP. The series follows fugitive agent Sofia Jiménez and Ambassador Elizabeth Winthrop, the widow of a slain CIA officer, as they pursue separate investigations into his murder. Their efforts uncover a conspiracy threatening global stability.
Raff, an Emmy winner for Homeland, will also direct episodes alongside Otto Bathurst (Peaky Blinders), who will helm the pilot. This feels slightly like Apple leaning out of their more auteur-driven shows and trying to find something to appeal to a wider base.
Currently in pre-production.
Paramount is “reinventing” its biggest cable brands with new leadership named by the Chair of TV Media, George Cheeks. Laurel Weir will take charge of domestic and global programming across MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon.
Nickelodeon:
Jules Borkent will oversee Kids & Family’s business and strategy
Ashley Kaplan will lead the animation studio across digital and streaming
MTV:
Sitarah Pendelton will oversee scripted and unscripted series
Jeannie Scalzo, EVP of business
Comedy Central:
Ari Pearce, President, will oversee the late-night show and South Park
Cheeks shared:
“Our cable brands will focus on a more curated slate...”
Also, Executive Don McGregor is set to take on a top global TV-sales role at Paramount International, reuniting with former colleagues from his days at NBCUniversal.
McGregor has been consulting with the Skydance-owned company for over a year now and joins the growing list of new hires after Paramount’s extensive layoffs.
Mini Tidbits:
Hulu’s newest YA drama series Foster Dade marks a Fellow Travers reunion with director Daniel Minahan, producer Robbie Rogers attached alongside Matt Bomer (White Collar) leading the cast. Foster Dade is one of the first projects via Rogers’ overall deal with Berlanti Productions.
Paramount is in the early days of talks for a Star Trek reboot. This one would nix previous stars Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto.
Renewals:
Netflix’s Nobody Wants This (for S3)
Trailers:
Focus Features’ Song Sung Blue
Cast: Hugh Jackman & Kate Hudson
Release: Christmas Day
Roadside’s H is for Hawk
Cast: Claire Foy, Brendan Gleeson
Limited Release: one week in Dec
Wide release: Jan 23
Netflix’s A Man on the Inside (S2)
Release: Nov 20
Happy Birthday
Prod: Jamie Foxx
Tribeca Film Festival Best International Film
Netflix’s Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials
Release: Jan 15
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
From leading a marching band on the Severance floor to moving among holiday ghosts in Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, it’s high time we see Tramell Tillman everywhere. Not long after his historic Emmy win (speech!), Tillman is the newest actor to join Paramount and Ti West’s (Pearl) take on Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas horror story.
Tillman is set to play the Ghost of Christmas Present, the kind, booming spirit who, unlike his other visitors, arrives to confront Ebenezer (Johnny Depp) with the joy he’s long shut himself off from. Whether with generous warmth or the razor-edged composure of Severance’s Mr. Milchick (scene), if one thing is true, Tillman knows how to command a room.
Tillman is the rare type of actor who can shift from quiet intensity to full-bodied charisma (scene), making a familiar role feel newly alive.
Paramount is shooting for a November 13th, 2026 premiere.
Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice) will star in Felipe Gálvez’s Impunity, a 1990s-set spy thriller about the arrest of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London. Based on Philippe Sands’ 38 Londres Street, Stan plays a former spy tasked with preventing Pinochet’s escape amid mounting international tensions.
Half of his dialogue will be in Spanish, which he’s currently learning for the role.
The film continues Stan’s pivot toward auteur-driven foreign-language projects (Radu Jude’s Frankenstein, Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord).
Tidbits:
Madeleine Coghlan (The Rookie) will star in Puppet, a psychological horror film written and directed by Nick Peterson (Dark Mind). Inspired by Peterson’s Sundance short MuM, the film follows Ash, a woman trapped in a surreal nightmare of puppets and illusions as she confronts the trauma of her abusive marriage. Produced by Sean Patrick Burke (As You Are) for 222 Pictures.
The fourth season of Netflix’s hit political drama The Diplomat elevates Nana Mensah to a series regular role. Her part as White House Chief of Staff, Billie, has slowly evolved into a major player in the drama, with the newest season expected to drop late 2026.
AMC’s Mayfair Witches casts Michiel Huisman (Game of Thrones) to join as a mysterious figure connected to the Mayfair family’s tangled lineage. Production has recently begun in Vancouver.
FESTIVALS AND DOCS
AFM is launching some big projects, including new films starring Renée Zellweger, Anthony Hopkins, Guy Pearce, Shailene Woodley, Pamela Anderson, and Ed Helms.
Here’s a full breakdown of all the projects:
https://theindustry.co/p/afm-2025-renee-zellweger-anthony
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Matter of Time follows the global fight to cure Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a rare genetic skin disease, spearheaded by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder.
The doc presents itself as chronicling Vedder’s 2023 solo shows in Seattle to benefit research for the disease. It transcends the concert film format, blending personal stories, scientific breakthroughs, and emotional interviews.
Check out the teaser here.
Tidbit:
Who better to bring Ernest Hemingway’s prolific life to the big screen than his own great-granddaughter? Dree Hemingway (Starlet) is EPing The Hemingway Files, a film set to follow the last few years of the A Farewell to Arms writer’s life. The movie will be directed by Jessica M. Thompson (The Invitation).
Saban Films has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to Vincent Grashaw’s Keep Quiet after its Locarno premiere. The Indigenous-set thriller stars Lou Diamond Phillips (Longmire) and Nick Stahl (Sin City) as cops hunting a fugitive whose return ignites a gang war.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch director David Slade is directing horror movie Legacy, with Oscar winner Anjelica Huston (The Addams Family) and Pretty Little Liars’ Lucy Hale. Slade is a veteran of the horror genre, with Sundance titles Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night (2007). Production on Legacy is ongoing in the UK.
Mini Tidbits:
Janus Films has acquired U.S. rights to Carol & Joy, a short by Nathan Silver (Between the Temples) featuring Carol Kane and her 98-year-old mother, Joy.
LA’s Concourse Media (Sovereign) has brought on Kristen Harris as its new Head of Acquisitions. She hails from Vertical Entertainment.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The French reboot of the iconic crime series, Fantomas, sets its ensemble cast. A new take on the master of disguise, actors like:
Guillaume Canet (Love Me If You Dare)
Romain Duris (The Three Musketeers)
Lyna Khoudri (The French Dispatch)
will be joining the production as it begins filming early next year. The action reboot is slated for a 2027 release in France.
Mini Tidbits:
Disney+ Japan is partnering with Korean entertainment group CJ ENM to stream up to 60 Tving titles, including Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, Reply 1988, and a new thriller, Dear X. The partnership adds two new hubs, TVING Highlights and TVING Collection. Launching November 5th.
Left Bank, producer of The Crown, has hired Matt Jarvis (EP Baby Reindeer) as an EP and Acting Creative Director. Jarvis will focus on their current slate, including the BBC’s Dear England and season 2 of Netflix’s Department Q.
London’s Inspector Brant crime series gets film and television rights acquired by producer Christopher Tuffin’s Strong Island (Amazon Prime’s Canary Black). Author Ken Bruen will produce the collection of film adaptations alongside Strong Island.
In a “landmark” policy, Australia will require major streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video to invest 10% of local spending or 7.5% of revenue in Australian originals rather than just platforming non-Australian originals. Will other countries follow suit?
ON THIS DAY
1913. Vivien Leigh born in Darjeeling, Bengal Presidency, India
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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