Good morning: In today’s edition of The Industry, we look at:
Paramount’s Bond, Lionsgate’s Horror, and A24’s Harold and Maude.
Let’s go!
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THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Paramount wants 12 states to post a $1.88bn bond in its WBD antitrust fight.
Jon Stewart and Paramount are discussing a Daily Show renewal.
David F. Sandberg will direct Lionsgate horror film Mommy’s Home.
Katie Martin Kelley joins Netflix as VP of Film Communications.
Obituary: Hayden Panettiere.
Whitney Peak joins Universal’s Miami Vice ’85.
Pierce Brosnan boards Netflix’s Extraction 3.
Diane Kruger and Tim Roth join Netflix’s Nazi-hunter drama Project K.
Hollywood’s MPA and ByteDance strike an AI copyright deal.
Ramy Youssef makes feature directing debut with A24’s Martha & Muhammad.
Amy Schumer stars in Best Divorce Ever. She will also produce.
Greenwich acquires Cannes Competition title Nagi Notes.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Larry Ellison (net worth: $200bn) is asking the 12 states + WGA suing over his PSKY/WBD merger to pick up the $1.88bn tab.
At this point, we all know Paramount will have a $650M/quarter ticking fee, which kicks off October 1st and runs until the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger closes.
Paramount is saying that should be the responsibility of the states. Their reasoning is that the court has delayed their whole process by setting a March trial. Also, Paramount claims it may lose some international regulatory approvals as the deal stretches on.
They want the court to require the plaintiffs to post a bond of at least $1.88bn, which Paramount would collect in full if the states lost their case.
Check out their full legal argument here, which at one point quotes Webster’s Practical Dictionary.
Rob Bonta, the CA A.G. who is leading the charge against PSKY, rebutted:
“Bottom line: Paramount went into this process with eyes wide open… They are lying in a bed of their own making, and once again, trying to blackmail us to get us to back down.”
On a separate note, if Paramount can’t have John Stewart, the name of the backup Green Lantern superhero in HBO’s newly launched Lanterns series, they’ll have to settle for the real Jon Stewart. Jon’s contract for Comedy Central’s The Daily Show is set to expire at the end of December, and Paramount wants to renew.
Tidbits:
David F. Sandberg (Dir: Until Dawn) is set to direct a Lionsgate horror film, Mommy’s Home. The film follows a young dad whose family life becomes unhinged when his cryogenically frozen mom is released and sent to live with him. Until Dawn got mixed reviews from the original fans of the game, focusing too much on expanding the universe and trying to innovate the structure of the game rather than respect it. Sandberg was always better with original material, such as his hit horror film Lights Out (2016), so we’re hoping to see more of his originality in this new film.
Mini Tidbits:
Katie Martin Kelley is jumping from Warner Bros. to Netflix. She will serve as VP of Communications, Film, under film chief Dan Lin. She’s got a good pedigree, having worked on Women Talking, No Time to Die, and Licorice Pizza at MGM.
Blake Levin joins Independent Artist Group as Head of Media Finance & Sales. Levin will work with filmmakers and producers to structure financing and distribution for IAG projects.
Peacock has launched a beta for a new membership program that will offer subscribers rewards when they watch NBCUniversal’s content. A randomly selected group of Peacock Premium members will receive benefits from select partners.
Nick Reiner’s hearing to determine whether he can access $1.5M in trust money left by his parents, who he is accused of killing, is set for Oct. 23rd.
Renewal:
HBO’s It: Welcome to Derry (for S2)
Trailers:
FX’s The Drop: A Snowfall Saga
Cast/Characters: Wanda Bell (Gail Bean) and Leon Simmons (Isaiah John)
Release: Sept 18
Netflix’s The Diplomat S4
Release: Oct 15
Netflix’s A Different World
Follow-up series to NBC’s 1987–1993 sitcom (a Cosby Show spinoff)
Release: Sept 24
Terrestrial
Dir: Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine)
Cast: Jermaine Fowler (Ricky Stanicky)
Release: Oct 16
NBC’s The Traitors: New Blood
Release: Sept 17
Kino Lorber’s My Brother’s Wedding
Dir: Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep)
Original release: 1983
4K release: Sept 18th
The Last Photograph
Dir: Zack Snyder
BBC’s Vigil (S3)
BBC iPlayer and BBC One release: Aug 30
Prime India’s Clean Up Company series
Release: Aug 21
A Bit of Light
Premiere: Venice, in Competition
Dir: Ali Asgari (2 years in a row he’s had films in competition)
First look:
Warner Bros.’ The Batman Part II
Star: Robert Pattinson
Prime’s The Terminal List S2
Star: Chris Pratt
Release: Oct 21
Black Sunflowers
Ukrainian doc
EP: Sean Penn
Premiere: TIFF
Release dates:
Marvel’s Ghost Rider
Dir: Shawn Levy
Star: Ryan Gosling
Release: July 28, 2028
Prime India’s Babita Singh Reporting
Release: Aug 28
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
From child stardom to TV regular, actress Hayden Panettiere has died at just 36.
The Nashville actress began her career as a baby with some pretty notable early credits, including a recurring role on ABC’s daytime soap One Life to Live when she was four, a scene-stealing turn as the little girl in the football drama Remember the Titans (2000, clip), and voicing the adorable Princess Dot in the Pixar classic A Bug’s Life (1998, clip).
Her real breakout came as Claire Bennet, a cheerleader with regenerative powers, on NBC’s Heroes (2006-10), a role that solidified her as one of that era’s most recognizable young stars. Not long after, she starred as the ambitious emerging country star Juliette Barnes on all six seasons of ABC/CMT’s Nashville (2012-18), for the first time being able to show off her singing abilities as much as her acting.
Countless famous friends, from Viola Davis to Scream co-stars David Arquette and Emma Roberts, to her Nashville co-lead Connie Britton, have paid tribute, with the latter writing:
“I have no words for this sad song. Just heartbreak.”
An immeasurable loss of great talent that has left us far too soon, Panettiere will be remembered by the generations of audiences that grew up with her on their television screens.
Tidbits:
Universal’s Miami Vice ’85 is adding Whitney Peak (Gossip Girl reboot) to its cast, with the actress set to play Michael B. Jordan’s Tubbs’ love interest. The major casting comes just ahead of her highly anticipated prequel, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, in which Peak also plays another love interest, but opposite the devastating Haymitch Abernathy. Also starring Austin Butler and Alden Ehrenreich, Miami Vice ’85 is set to begin production in New York and Miami this November, with more casting news expected shortly.
Move over Idris Elba and Chris Hemsworth. Former 007 Pierce Brosnan joins them in the cast of Netflix’s Extraction 3. Sam Hargrave, the director of the previous two installments, is back to direct. Extraction (135.7M views) and Extraction 2 (129.3M views and counting) are two of Netflix’s most popular English films. They’re non-stop action, which is part of what made the 90s Brosnan Bond films so thrilling. He’ll fit right in. The film is currently shooting in Australia.
Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) and Tim Roth (The Hateful Eight) join Netflix’s Nazi Hunter drama Project K. The film will follow a German-Jewish couple who tracked down former Gestapo officer Klaus Barbie. Tim Roth will play the infamous Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, and Diane Kruger will play Beate Klarsfeld, who pursued Barbie with her husband, Serge. Kruger previously gave a great performance as a German Allied Spy in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, perfectly balancing the character's charismatic facade with the hidden angst beneath it.
Mini Tidbits:
After a scene-stealing performance in Hulu’s English Teacher, Stephanie Koenig has joined Apple TV’s Platonic in a recurring role for its third season. In her next TV comedy spot, Koenig will play a new lawyer at Charlie’s (played by Luke Macfarlane) law firm. The series was renewed for a third season almost a year ago with no word on a release date.
Paramount+’s Clueless series hopes to get the original cast back together. Alicia Silverstone is already back to reprise her iconic role. But the studio is also looking at getting Paul Rudd back as well, although he is not attached. Filming in LA in 2027.
TECH SECTION
Something Hollywood and ByteDance can agree on? The Motion Picture Association and Seedance 2.0’s parent company, ByteDance (owner: TikTok), struck a deal to protect film and TV IP across its AI video and image models.
This comes months after the MPA sent a cease-and-desist letter following the viral Brad Pitt vs. Tom Cruise vids that accused ByteDance of stealing IP.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
It’s been a long time coming. Comedian and actor Ramy Youssef (Poor Things) is making his directorial debut with feature comedy Martha & Muhammad.
For A24, Youssef will star as a young Muslim man who begins a relationship with a white, freshly widowed older woman played by the remarkable Sharon Stone.
From a script he wrote, the film will confront topics like class, religion, immigration, and age gaps, not far off from his painfully truthful semi-autobiographical dramedy series Ramy (2019-22) also from A24.
With an extensive background in producing, Youssef will finally sit in the director’s chair this fall when Martha & Muhammad begins production.
Amy Schumer will star in and produce Break-Up Comedy: Best Divorce Ever.
The film follows Clarissa (Schumer) and Franklin, who decide to divorce after 20 years of marriage. They throw an “Untying the Knot” party to show how they are pulling off an amicable divorce, only to have friends, dates, and strangers turn it into chaos.
The film will be written and directed by Sean Mullin (Amira & Sam).
Mini Tidbits:
Greenwich Entertainment picks up North American rights to Cannes Competition title Nagi Notes, the newest feature from Cannes award-winning director Koji Fukada (Love on Trial). Clip. Releasing in the US in early 2027.
Cineverse (Dist: Terrifier 3) takes the domestic rights to Eugene the Marine starring Scott Glenn (The White Lotus) and Jim Gaffigan. The film follows a former Marine who is threatened with being kicked out of his home by his hostile son (Jeremy Bobb).
ON THIS DAY
1936. Robert Redford is born in Santa Monica, California.
Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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