Joaquin Phoenix’s Doomscroll
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Joaquin Phoenix’s doom, Apple’s light.
Let’s go!
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Wednesday Workshop:
How to Make Documentaries that Matter & Get Them Seen. Strategies and tactics to get your feature-length documentary through production and into theaters:
https://theindustry.co/p/workshop-how-to-make-documentaries
Joaquin Phoenix re-teams with director Ari Aster for A24’s Eddington.
The teaser trailer doesn’t give much plot beyond what’s already been revealed:
In May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff (Phoenix) and mayor (Pedro Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico.
From what I’m seeing in the trailer, the town has some distinct characters:
COVID conspiracy theorists
Anti-political influencers (Emma Stone)
Protesters of the town’s rampant murders (likely police shootings)
False prophets (Austin Butler)
All this boils over for Phoenix’s character as he is caught up by his total lack of control, despite having a position of authority.
At the end of the teaser, he looks deep into his phone, grasping for some meaning in the doomscroll.
We saw a similar stasis play out for Pheonix in Ari Aster’s previous film, Beau is Afraid. Phoenix plays an anxiety-plagued man-child who is trapped inside his mental spiral. By the end, Phoenix becomes slightly more self-aware because, in an Ari Aster film, the world is a horrific place, and the only semblance of hope is to succumb to it.
In Eddington, the badge on Phoenix’s chest feels devalued—a bygone token of authority—in a town where any citizen with a cell phone can command an audience.
Eddington will premiere at Cannes. It will be released on July 18th.
For More:
Eddington trailer.
Beau is Afraid trailer.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Apple acquires Sundance Doc, Come See Me in the Good Light.
Johnny Depp & Penélope Cruz star in Lionsgate’s upcoming Day Drinker.
FilmLA shows location shooting dropped 22% in Q1 2025.
Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale is set to star and EP Dead Letters.
Severance’s Britt Lower to lead psychological horror Sender with Jamie Lee Curtis co-starring/producing.
Max confirms the cast for their upcoming Harry Potter TV series.
Untitled comedy at Amazon MGM adds Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Michael Peña to cast.
Vera Farminga (The Departed) will play Russell Crowe’s wife in Billion Dollar Spy.
Emma D'Arcy (House of The Dragon) joins Tom Cruise in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's upcoming film.
Cannes Critics’ Week drops its selection.
The Oscar-nominated documentarian Andrea Blaugrund Nevins has passed away.
Briarcliff Entertainment (The Apprentice) will release the true-crime thriller Sovereign.
Saban Films has acquired North American rights to Stuart Ortiz’s horror film Strange Harvest.
Prime takes US rights for Jacob Elordi's series The Narrow Road to the Deep North.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Apple acquires Sundance Doc, Come See Me in the Good Light which won the Festival Favorite Award.
Here’s the synopsis:
Facing an incurable diagnosis, two poet lovers embark on a poignant yet unexpectedly humorous exploration of love, mortality, and life's moments.
It’s billed as being funny, though. To make sure comedian Tig Notaro produces.
Although Apple had a doc at the festival (Deaf President Now!), this is their only buy.
It’s a stark contrast from their strategy in previous years, where they paid big bucks for narrative features:
Sundance 2023
$20M - Flora and Son
Sundance 2022
$15M - Cha Cha Real Smooth
Sundance 2021
$25M - Coda
Neither of those buys generated the buzz Apple was hoping for, so it seems they’ve pivoted to docs, which is the safer (read: cheaper) option.
Apple will release Come See Me in the Good Light this fall. Ryan White, director of The Case Against 8 (2014), Ask Dr. Ruth (2019) directs.
From Snow White to Johnny Depp. Marc Webb, who is just coming off directing Disney’s Snow White, is making a new film, Day Drinker. Here’s the line-up:
Cast: Johnny Depp & Penélope Cruz
Writer/Producer: Zach Dean (The Gorge, The Tomorrow War)
Prod: Basil Iwanyk (Sicario, John Wick 1-4)
Prod Company: 30 West (Triangle of Sadness, The Crow)
Studio: Lionsgate
Synopsis:
An enigmatic stranger forms an unlikely bond with a grieving bartender who lost her lover, their lives intertwining in unexpected ways.
It’s a giant rebound for Depp, who hasn’t starred in a studio film since Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018). It also marks the fourth time Depp will act on screen with Cruz. They previously worked on Blow (2001), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), and Murder on the Orient Express (2017).
It also marks a welcome reprive for Webb, who will surely be looking for a comeback after Snow White.
TV production in LA continues to crater. FilmLA’s latest data shows a seismic drop in on-location filming this quarter.
Here's the breakdown:
Q1 On-Location Shoot Days 2024 → 2025
Total: 6,823 → 5,295 Shoot Days (SD)
↓22.4%TV: 2,402 → 1,670 SD
↓30.5%Feature Films: 634 → 451 SD
↓28.9%TV Pilots: 66 → 13 SD
↓80.3%
With TV down 58.4% from its 2021 peak, FilmLA is urging lawmakers to make good on their promise to double the CA Tax Credit to $750M annually.
FilmLA President Paul Audley says the average shoot brings 1,500 jobs and $670K a day into the local economy.
Last year’s wildfires were thankfully minimal in impact, but the same can’t be said for the loss of industry work. Read the full report here.
Tidbits:
Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale is set to star and EP Netflix’s Dead Letters, a series adaptation of Caite Dolan-Leach’s 2017 whodunit novel from Shining Vale director Liz Friedlander. The psychological thriller follows two identical twins (Hale), with one using letters left behind to solve the mystery of her sister’s sudden death. Netflix ended up as the highest bidder, with the project being produced by Kapital Entertainment and Alex Cooper’s Unwell Productions.
Murder mystery overseas! The full-length trailer for Paul Feig’s Another Simple Favor was just released, which sees Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively reprising their respective roles set seven years after the events from the original 2018 black comedy, A Simple Favor. The sequel sees Lively’s character getting remarried and reunited with Kendricks in Capri, Italy, where not everything is as it seems. Following its world premiere at SXSW, Another Simple Favor is set to premiere only on Prime Video on May 1st.
Mini Tidbits:
Following a decade-long tenure at Disney Jr., Bryan O'Connell has been brought on by The Jim Henson Company as VP of Children’s TV. O’Connell will oversee the creative development of children’s animated and live-action shows.
Fabula (prod co: Maria, Jackie, Spencer) is getting into bed with Runway AI. The Chilean production company from Oscar-winning Chilean brothers Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín is said to be using AI for “Early concept ideation and storyboarding to production-ready VFX workflows.”
Warner Bros. sets up a website for their upcoming film Weapons, which teases some plot info and connects it to director Zach Cregger’s previous Barbarian.
The Brutalist will stream on Max on May 16th. The film has made $49.2M at the box office.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Britt Lower to lead psychological horror Sender with Jamie Lee Curtis co-starring/producing.
Based on first-time feature director Russell Goldman’s award-winning short Return to Sender, the story follows a woman targeted by a deeply unsettling package scam, driving her to uncover the sender's identity (full short).
Recently, Lower has been catching fire due to Severance, but before that, she was a pretty familiar face in the indie comedy show circuit with parts in High Matinence and Man Seeking Woman -clip.
The project comes amid a busy stretch for Lower, who recently wrapped Severance Season 2 and is set to lead Netflix’s Harlan Coben adaptation I Will Find You. While the world desperately waits to catch up with Helly R, this looks like a well-deserved time in the spotlight for Lower.
Max confirms the cast for their upcoming Harry Potter TV series. Four series regulars and two recurring roles:
John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore
Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall
Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape
Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid
Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrel
Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch
Production is set to begin this summer in London, with the casting process still underway.
Nicholas Stoller’s upcoming untitled comedy at Amazon MGM Studios continues to round out its cast, adding Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Michael Peña alongside stars Will Ferrell and Zac Efron. The film, previously titled Judgment Day, follows a newly released convict (Efron) who storms a TV courtroom to confront a judge (Ferrell) whose past ruling ruined his life.
Michael Pena always brings an affable charm to any cast he is put in. A standout is his winding stories from the first Antman movie - Clip.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas is one of India's top-earning actresses but most recently has been in American headlines for Prime’s Citadel.
Chopra, Jonas, and Peña’s roles are under wraps, joining a cast that also includes Regina Hall, Jimmy Tatro, and Billy Eichner as a bailiff. The project, formally known as Judgement Day, is filling out and looks promising from these adds alone.
Tibdits:
Vera Farminga (The Departed) will play Russell Crowe’s wife in Billion Dollar Spy, a Cold War thriller directed by Amma Asante. Based on a true story, the film follows Soviet engineer Adolf Tolkachev (Crowe), who risked everything to spy for the CIA. Billion Dollar Spy is currently in production.
Billion Dollar Spy is currently in pre-production. HanWay Films is the sales rep.
Emma D'Arcy (House of The Dragon) has joined Tom Cruise and the stacked cast of Alejandro G. Iñárritu's upcoming untitled film. The ensemble includes Tom Cruise, Jesse Plemons, Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, and John Goodman. This marks Iñárritu's first English-language film since The Revenant (2015). Currently scheduled for release on October 2, 2026.
Blumhouse is calling Anna Lore (Hysteria!) to join the cast of Scott Derickson’s highly anticipated sequel Black Phone 2. The Blumhouse feature will follow up the popular 2021 original (trailer), which unexpectedly grossed $161 M worldwide and was one of the first movies to get people back into theaters following the pandemic. While her role has not been disclosed, this will be Lore’s third collaboration with Blumhouse. The Universal sequel film will hit theaters on October 17th.
Simon Helberg and Raegan Revord join NBC's Night Court Season 3 finale. Helberg, known for The Big Bang Theory, and Revord, from Big Bang’s prequel series Young Sheldon. Airing May 6.
FESTIVALS
Cannes Critics’ Week (La Semaine de la Critique) drops its selection. The parallel selection of the Cannes Film Festival focuses on first and second-time feature directors.
Here are the seven competition films:
Dir: Shih-Ching Tsou (Prod: Red Rocket, The Florida Project Tangerine)
Co-Writer/Editor/Producer: Sean Baker (Anora)
Synopsis:
A single mother and her two daughters relocate to Taipei to open a night market stall, each navigating the challenges of adapting to their new environment while striving to maintain family unity.
She’s a long-time collaborator with Baker and co-directed her first feature with him, Take Out (2004).
Kika
Dir. Alexe Poukine
Prod: Benoit Roland (Utopia’s Omen)
Sybopsis:
While pregnant with her second child, Kika faces the sudden death of her partner. Totally heartbroken, and broke, she sets her priorities straight: stay strong and make money fast.
Full breakdown here:
https://theindustry.co/p/cannes-critics-week
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
The Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning writer, director, and documentarian Andrea Blaugrund Nevins has passed away after a battle with breast cancer. Her range was extensive, with the filmmaker tackling everything from the legacy of the iconic Mattel doll in Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie (2018, trailer) to a group of punk rockers contending with becoming dads in the SXSW gem The Other F Word (2011, trailer).
Her most recent feature doc, The Cowboy and the Queen (2023) took a look at horse trainer Monty Roberts and his unexpected friendship with Queen Elizabeth II.
Nevins, of course, was well known for her filmmaking but, for some, even more so for her philanthropy work, speaking out on education and helping up-and-coming filmmakers and designers.
Briarcliff Entertainment (The Apprentice) will release the true-crime thriller Sovereign. The cast is pretty awesome, including Nick Offerman, Dennis Quaid, and Jacob Tremblay. Offerman and Tremblay play a father and son who identify as Sovereign Citizens (people who refuse to recognize the powers of the Government) and find themselves in a deadly standoff with a police chief (Quaid). Written and directed by Christian Swegal, the film is based on real events like the Bundy Ranch Standoff.
The first look of Offerman makes this look like a big departure for him.
Tidbits:
Saban Films has acquired North American rights to Stuart Ortiz’s horror film Strange Harvest, following a festival run including Fantastic Fest and Beyond Fest. The film follows detectives investigating a gruesome murder linked to a killer from 15 years ago.
Variance Films (Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, RRR) has just named their new co-heads of theatrical distribution in Ryan Markowitz, a theatrical sales consultant for the company, and Andrew Carlin. The latter spent a decade at Oscilloscope Laboratories in a similar role and will be starting his new position with Markowitz by the end of this week.
Netflix is developing a series adaptation of Carrie Soto Is Back, Taylor Jenkins Reid’s bestselling novel, with Serena Williams EPing. Written by Amanda Kate Shuman, the show follows a retired tennis legend’s dramatic return to reclaim her record.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Prime takes US rights for Jacob Elordi's series The Narrow Road to the Deep North, a five-part Australian war drama directed by Justin Kurzel (Nitram). Elordi will play a young Ciarán Hinds (Belfast).
It's not as vibrant as Apocalypse Now and not as claustrophobic as Schindler’s List, but Kurzel evokes something a little rawer, even more beautiful. It's a style that the director cultivated in Nitram, which was an acid-soaked portrayal of mental illness.
Based on Richard Flanagan’s Booker Prize-winning novel, the series follows Dorrigo Evans—a young man in a passionate love affair, a POW in Burma, and later, a revered yet troubled surgeon.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North will debut on Prime Video on April 18th.
Watch the trailer. I had a hard time looking away.
Australia’s Magpie Pictures (Swift Street) scores the rights to Pictures of You, a mystery novel by Emma Grey, to adapt into a series with no network yet attached. The story follows a forensic linguist who loses her memory and her husband in a car crash, leaving her to have to rediscover who she is. The pickup of Grey’s novel comes as part of a plan to develop a slate of scripted series through funding from Screen Australia Enterprise.
Accomplished Japanese director Masaaki Yuasa (Mind Game, trailer) presents his debut project, Daisy’s Life, from his newly established animation studio, Ame Pippin. Started this past Feb. the Tokyo based studio aims to be a major force in the global animation space. Daisy’s Life follows six-year-old Daisy as she navigates tragedy and the magic of friendship set to premiere in 2026.
Ricky Norwood (East Enders) joins the cast of Aladdin and the Monkey’s Paw, a new indie film taking advantage of public domain for a modern retelling. Blending the classic tale with a dark twist. It will begin filming in London this summer.
ON THIS DAY
2012. Girls premieres on HBO.
See you tomorrow!
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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