Lois Smith 94 & Still Working
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Lois Smith, Matthew McConaughey, and a Dead Lover.
Let’s go!
FINAL CALL - Workshop with Oscar Nominated Writer Director Duo.
Last chance to get tickets for our workshop with Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar today at 6pm - 8pm EST.
Their last two projects, Sing Sing and Train Dreams, were nominated for an Oscar and sold to Netflix for millions in the "high teens."
In this workshop you’ll learn:
Finding the right producers
How to attract key talent to your film
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Lois Smith is a legend. At 94 she comes roaring back to the screen in The Uninvited.
She plays an elderly woman who rolls into a high-class party (hosted reluctantly by Walton Goggins and wife Elisabeth Reaser) completely befuddled as to why she showed up at the door.
All the while she exerts a seismic force on these hosts. Their marriage seems to be a thin shell, intended to be reinforced by their glitzy party (guests include Pedro Pascal). Smith though needs real care, not just the coddling that party guests receive. And whether or not this will force Goggins and Reaser to see past their own unhappiness is what makes the film remarkable.
Smith kicked off her career with a small part in East of Eden (1955), which starred James Dean and later played Jack Nicholson’s eccentric sister in Five Easy Pieces (1970). In the past couple of decades, she’s been embraced by the indie community and found her way into Lady Bird (2017), The Nice Guys (2016) and The French Dispatch (2021).
My favorite Smith role is in Minority Report (2002). She plays an inhospitable botanist who shows Tom Cruise what it means to trigger a biological survival mechanism by squeezing the life out of her aggressive plants.
Smith’s presence is commanding yet intimate across all her roles.
The Uninvited debuted at SXSW last year, and will release first in NY on April 11th.
For More:
The Uninvited trailer.
Lois Smith and James Dean romantic screen test.
Lois Smith almost lets Tom Cruise die - scene.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Netflix is adapting Stephen King’s Cujo.
A new film on the Elephant Man is being shepherded by legendary producer Mike Medavoy.
Steve Wiener, founder of Cineworld, has died at 73.
Former Village Roadshow exec Alix Jaffe joins Miramax as President of TV.
Legendary CAA agent Tony Ertz has passed away.
Catalina Saavedra (The Maid) is set to star in A Decorous Woman.
Lewis Pullman joins Netflix’s Remarkably Bright Creatures.
Steve Buscemi has joined Wild Horse Nine (dir: Martin McDonagh).
Apple will premiere Sundance’s Deaf President Now! on May 16th.
SXSW’s most popular film may be The Rivals of Amziah King, starring Matthew McConaughey.
Cartuna x Dweck acquire Sundance hit Dead Lover.
Aftersun producer Amy Jackson and former Film4 exec Lauren Dark launch, Unified.
Shudder has acquired the home invasion thriller Push.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
All Cujo's go to heaven: Netflix is adapting Stephen King’s Cujo into a new feature film, with Roy Lee (Companion, Barbarian) producing and writers being sought.
The original 1981 novel was previously made into a 1983 thriller about a rabid St. Bernard terrorizing a mother and her son trapped in a broken-down car - Trailer here.
King’s work remains highly sought after and there is an endless thirst for adaptation with recent and upcoming adaptations including:
The Monkey (2025, Neon)
The Life of Chuck (2025, Neon)
Fairy Tale (2025, A24)
The Long Walk (2025, Lionsgate)
The Running Man (2025, Paramount)
Welcome to Derry (2025, HBO)
The Institute (2025, Amazon)
Carrie - series (2026, Amazon)
Though Cujo is definitely one of King's more out there stories, hopefully Netflix sticks to the material and we get our new fluffy friend from hell in all of his glory.
Mike Medavoy takes on the Elephant Man. The prolific producer worked at United Artists overseeing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, co-founded Orion Pictures that released The Silence of the Lambs, became chairman of TriStar (Terminator 2) and co-founded Phoenix Pictures (Black Swan). Medavoy just brought on Jack Huston to direct Joseph Merrick, a film about the man whose deformities led him to be named, The Elephant Man.
Medavoy stated:
“I knew he was the perfect choice to tell the story… the way Jack sees this story reminds me of Milos Forman when we made Cuckoo’s Nest.”
Grandson of the legendary John Huston, actor turned director Jack Huston’s Venice premiering Kubrick remake Day of the Fight was raw and humanistic. We’re excited to see his rendering of Merrick.
Raised by Wolves is a new production banner and finance company launched by The Umbrella Academy actress Jordan Claire Robbins and Longlegs producer Andrea Bucko. The banner has quietly begun backing high profile films like:
Sci-fi action Alpha Gang with Cate Blanchett and Channing Tatum
Crime thriller Captivated starring Al Pacino and Katie Holmes
Historical drama Dead Man’s Wire with Colman Domingo, Bill Skarsgård, and Al Pacino
Along with investing through Raised by Wolves, Bucko produces these films through her Sugar Rush Pictures company, all shooting or pre-production.
Tidbits:
Skydance Media’s legal team sent a letter to the FCC, ridiculing Project Rise’s $13.5 M bid to acquire Paramount as a fake ploy, stating:
“Project Rise is seeking to hijack this Commission proceeding to buy time for litigation to proceed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, in an effort to force Paramount’s Board to consider Project Rise’s belated—and unserious—bid”
Project Rise's objections are concerning as they may make it to trial, which could slow the Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount.
Legendary CAA agent Tony Ertz just passed from a multi-year battle with cancer. Veteran writer Paul Attansio (Donnie Brasco) remembers the one man who always believed in him:
“The world is very much diminished without Tony, he was really a beautiful soul.”
Ertz served as the agent for Spike Jonze amongst many others and was a saint.
Former Village Roadshow and CBS executive Alix Jaffe joins Miramax as new President of TV. Jaffe will oversee teams across LA, London, and Doha nurturing both existing IP and original content. She will be taking on her new position effective by the end of the month.
Steve Wiener, founder of Cineworld, has died at 73. A cinema veteran, he launched Cineworld in 1995, growing it into the UK’s top chain. He led acquisitions, including UGC and Picturehouse. Known for his business acumen, and innovation, he will leave a lasting influence on the cinema industry.
Mini Tidbits:
Zach Creggar (dir: Barbarian, Weapons - upcoming) is being paid $20 M to write and direct Sony’s Resident Evil.
Trailers:
Max’s Hacks (Season 4)
MGM+’s Godfather of Harlem (Season 4)
Kino Lorber’s Being Maria
Trailer (featuring Matt Dillon as Marlon Brando)
50 Cent EPs produces Chicago gangland drama, Moses The Black, starring Omar Epps (House) as a gang leader, Wiz Khalifa as his volatile protégé; filming set for this spring.
Mufasa: The Lion King hits Disney+ on March 26. That’s a 96 day theatrical window. The film has made $712 M worldwide.
Lionsgate TV and Universal TV are developing a new show for NBC starring Jon Huertas (NBC’s This is Us star) & EP’d by Alexi Hawley (creator: ABC’s The Rookie). The show is Fire with Fire, based on the book of the same title.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Catalina Saavedra (The Maid), a staple of Chilean indie film, is set to star in A Decorous Woman.
Here’s the synopsis:
A 55-year-old hairdresser (Saavedra) in Chile, who copes with her loneliness when her only daughter moves abroad, immersing herself in the gossip and stories told by her clients. However, learning her daughter will not return to Chile, she is forced to stop fantasizing.
Marta is sensational in Sebastian Silva’s debut The Maid (2009) where she picked up the Sundance award for Best Actress (trailer). She was last spotted in Silva’s Rotting in the Sun (2023).
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Tidbit:
Lewis Pullman (Top Gun 2) and Joan Chen (Didi) join Van Pelt’s viral novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures, for Netflix. It tells the unique relationship between a lonely aquarium janitor whose son was lost at sea and a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus living at the facility who helps her deduce what happened to her son. No word on their roles.
Steve Buscemi has joined Wild Horse Nine, a Searchlight feature directed by Martin McDonagh, he will be replacing Mark Ruffalo. More on the project here.
FESTIVALS
Apple will premiere Sundance’s Deaf President Now! On May 16th.
Here’s the official synopsis:
During eight tumultuous days in 1988 at the world’s only Deaf university, four students must find a way to lead an angry mob — and change the course of history.
The film is co-directed by Davis Guggenheim (dir: An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman). Apple was the studio behind Guggenheim’s latest doc Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.
SXSW’s most popular films so far may be The Rivals of Amziah King starring Matthew McConaughey in his first role in a film since The Gentlemen (2019).
Here’s the synopsis:
Kateri loses her mother, leaves foster care. Reunites with former foster parent Amziah who mentors her, revealing hidden skills. Faces devastating situation, relies on newfound strength to seek justice.
At the Q&A McConaughey applauded the director Andrew Patterson (The Vast of Night, trailer) for turning down easy money jobs and sticking to his vision, which is said to be bathed in sunlight and contain musical numbers.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Dweck Productions and Cartuna acquires Sundance and SXSW hit Dead Lover for distribution in the US. Here’s the synopsis:
A lonely gravedigger who stinks of corpses finally meets her dream man, but their whirlwind affair is cut short when he tragically drowns at sea. Grief-stricken, she goes to morbid lengths to resurrect him through madcap experiments.
Dweck Productions has made a name for itself as an investor in ultra low budget indies like:
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021)
Sundance premiere
Streams on Max
First feature of Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow)
The Adults (2023)
Starring: Michael Cera
Tribeca premiere
Christmas Eve at Miller’s Point (2024)
Cannes Directors Fortnight Premiere
Starring: Michael Cera
Cartuna is best known for releasing physical media (Hundreds of Beavers). We’re excited to see them partner on this title. No release date has been set.
Aftersun producer Amy Jackson and former Film4 exec Lauren Dark (prod: The Father), form an enthusiastic fresh UK production company, Unified. Currently working on a slate of film and TV projects, the new company will have an emphasis on international collaboration, global co-productions, and support in creative development, financing, and physical production.
Both Dark and Jackson have extensive experience producing award-winning films and have spent a number of years in executive positions in some of the most active studios in the business, making Unified a company to look out for.
Shudder has acquired the home invasion thriller Push, directed by David Charbonier and Justin Powell, ahead of its U.S. premiere at Cinequest. Starring Raúl Castillo (Smile 2), the film follows a high-stakes standoff between a realtor and a killer during an open house, which escalates when the pregnant protagonist goes into premature labor. Shudder plans for an exclusive release later this year.
A doc on Stan Lee, a former Bad Robot exec finds their next project and an indie from India that blends social media stars and wild alligators:
https://theindustry.co/p/gators-stan-lee-bad-robot
ON THIS DAY
2002. Ice Age premieres.
See you tomorrow!
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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