Marilyn Monroe and the Golden Gun
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
In The Industry News, John Wick’s doppelganger, The Last of Us teases, and Miramax’s big sale.
Actor Spotlight: Idris Elba + A24, Maika Monroe rocks the cradle, Alan Tudyk is a great super man.
Tech Section: My rant against taking a $1M AI check.
Indie Filmmaker Spotlight, Sony Picutres Classics lets the dogs out, Neon scoops TIFF, and Crystal’s Bulgarian sugar mama drama.
International News, Indonesian horror, Paramount+ in Thailand and Netflix goes big in Norway.
Let’s go!
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Thanks to everyone who tuned into our John Cooper live event last night. Not only was there a wealth of actionable knowledge for festival submissions but I was also inspired to hear that festivals like Sundance are very much hungry for the next big director.
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THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Lionsgate Lionsgate Lionsgate. The beloved John Wick Studio has finally dropped a trailer for Ballerina e.g. Ana de Armas playing a John Wick type in the John Wick universe.
Before you snooze on this, which might be easy given the o.g. Wick director Chad Stahelski was flown in to film new sections of the movie, Armas has already established herself as an action star.
If you haven’t seen her as the skittish agent who teams up with Daniel Craig to take out a whole party full of bad guys (epic 7-minute scene) in No Time to Die (2021), do so.
The issue I’m having with the From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (yes, that’s the real title) trailer is that Armas, who is excellent at playing meek and hyperconfident (see: Blonde), doesn’t seem to have a character who earns it. If she’s adept at taking out 100s of bad guys (someone e-mail me on the body count of that trailer), why is she so timid?
Who knows but I’d like to give the film the benefit of the doubt as Lionsgate isn’t slowing down on expanding this universe:
John Wick: Under The High Table
John Wick-spinoff TV serires
The Continental: From the World of John Wick
Peacocks’ John Wick TV series spin-off Trailer
Hopefully, Ballerina will fare better than Lionsgate’s last few releases when it lands in theaters on June 6, 2025.
The Last of Us Season 2 teases some new characters and a big time skip: The short teaser introduces several new cast members, including Kaitlyn Dever as deuteragonist Abby and Isabela Merced as new love interest Dina.
The season picks up five years after the events of Season 1, with Joel and Ellie confronting their past and facing a more dangerous world.
Those that have played the source material know that we are about to hit a brutal pinnacle for the series. In the world of The Last of Us, people are just as much of a monster as the infected, and the story paints a tapestry of violence that continues to feed on itself. Season 2 arrives sometime in early 2025.
Tidbits:
The debut fiction novel, Some Parts of Her, from journalist-showrunner Amy Chosixk has been picked up by Fifth Season prior to its release.
Official Synopsis:
The novel follows a lonely new mother living in Manhattan who becomes obsessed with finding her college roommate-turned-high-end-escort, only to find the truth of where she’s been is beyond what she’d ever imagined.
Some Parts of Her is expected to be published by Penguin Random House in 2026, and the production company will fully finance the feature.
Previously a commissioning editor and Channel 4 digital exec, Karl Warner, has joined BBC Studios as Executive Vice President of UK Entertainment and Digital Development. Warner has worked in senior industry positions in the UK for the past 15 years, holding his commissioning roles and running his own indie, Electric Ray, with backing from Sony. The news comes soon after Sky’s Zai Bennett was named as the new chief of BBC Studios Productions.
Amazon made $1.8bn from ad sales. Their upfront were similar to Netflix’s, which saw 150% growth, and Disney’s, which saw a 10% increase in sales. Much of this is being accelerated by Amazon’s Thursday Night Football, which is a hot property for advertisers.
Miramax has sold worldwide rights for the Tom Hanks, Robin Wright $50 M reunion film Here (dir: Robert Zemeckis). Amazon MGM plucked this up for the UK, German-speaking Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. This is supposed to be an awards contender. Sony’s TriStar Pictures is distributed in the US, and it will be released on November 1. Here trailer.
Read more on why we’re infatuated with watching Tom Hanks grow up:
https://theindustry.co/p/forrest-gump-gets-big
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Idris Elba + A24 = Things Fall Apart. Here’s the studio’s latest and greatest TV project:
EP/Star: Elba
EP: Gina Carter (24 Hour Party People)
EP: David Oyelowo (Selma) and Amanda N’Duka (Things Fall Apart)
Studio: A24
Synopsis, based on the book by Chinua Achebe:
Africa's cataclysmic encounter with Europe as it establishes a colonial presence on the continent. Told through the fictional experiences of Okonkwo, a wealthy and fearless Igbo warrior of Umuofia in the late 1800s, Things Fall Apart explores one man's futile resistance to the devaluing of his Igbo traditions by British political and religious forces and his despair as his community capitulates to the powerful new order.
The book is a cornerstone of African literature, selling 20 M copies and being translate in 50+ languages. Plus it made it onto Time’s 100 Best English-language Novels.
There is no word on the writer/director/showrunner/start date.
Maika Monroe is set to star in 20th Century's remake of the 1992 thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, directed by Michelle Garza Cervera and written by Micah Bloomberg.
Monroe will take on the role originally played by Rebecca De Mornay in the story of a vengeful woman targeting a family. Original Trailer
Monroe's recent success in Longlegs, the highest-grossing indie horror of the year, has made her a top choice for this iconic villain role. Including the hype about her returning to her breakout role in the It Follows sequel.
Monroe has had a packed few years, consistently sticking within the horror genre in films like:
The Guest (2014)
Greta (2018)
Watcher (2022)
Significant Other (2022)
Cradle still has not announced casting of it's other lead role but it should star production later this year.
Last year’s The Boys in the Boat (trailer) star Callum Turner and actress Riley Keough of Daisy Jones & the Six (2023, clip) fame have joined the cast of director Karim Aïnouz’s upcoming thriller Rosebush Pruning, with filming currently underway in Spain. Aïnouz’s film is a remake based on Marco Bellochio’s Italian satirical drama, Fists in the Pocket (1965), with the new script written by reliable industry screenwriter Efthimis Filippou (Kinds of Kindness, The Killing of a Sacred Deer). Starring alongside The Great’s Elle Fanning, the new additions replace actors Josh O’Connor (Challengers) and Kristen Stewart (Love Lies Bleeding) for scheduling conflicts.
Katy O’Brian will star in the new romcom Maintenance Required opposite Riverdale star Madelaine Petsch and Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) star Jacob Scipio for Future Artists Entertainment, Luber Roklin Entertainment, and Amazon MGM Studios.
Synopsis:
The film follows Charlie (Madelaine Petsch), who is forced to reconsider the viability of her beloved all-female mechanic shop. Seeking connection on an online car forum, little does she know her confidant, Beau (Scipio), is in fact her real-life business rival.
O’Brian will play one of Petsch’s all-female mechanics in Maintenance Required, which is currently in production.
O'Brian stars alongside Kristen Stewart in A24’s Love Lies Bleeding. In the film, Stewart falls in love with O'Brian, who plays a no-fucks-given, sensual bodybuilder who gets wrapped up in criminal violence (trailer).
O'Brian got widespread praise for the role and recently signed with Gersh. She has also recently been cast in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 2, helmed by Tom Cruise.
Tidbits:
Alan Tudyk joins James Gunn's upcoming Superman film in an undisclosed role. A bit of double casting: Tudyk already voices Doctor Phosphorus in Gunn's Creature Commandos series, which launches DC's Phase One. He also voices Clayface in the animated Harley Quinn, seeing as Gunn's plan for DC was to use actors for all media of the character; those are two likely suspects. But it could also be a completely different character. Tudky is amazing and has the versatility to do basically anything.
Barbra Streisand is producing a multipart documentary about her life and career, directed by Frank Marshall and produced by Alex Gibney. The film will explore Streisand’s life, from her Brooklyn upbringing to her Oscar-winning career, featuring a wide variety of archival materials and even some home videos she supplied herself. Part of a growing trend of Artists being around to produce their own docs, kind of like an auto-documentary. (If we invented that word you are welcome.)
If you were hoping to hear Angelina Jolie sing in the new Maria trailer you’d be very disappointed. If you were looking to read an in-depth breakdown of the film, including a full scene from the film, look no further:
https://theindustry.co/p/angelina-jolie-is-a-diva
Netflix greenlit an East of Eden series, which stars Florence Pugh and Chris Abbott.
TECH SECTION
AI's Big money is Trojan Horsing creators. Runway AI, which signed a partnership with Lionsgate a couple of weeks ago, is now offering filmmakers up to $1M to make their films if they use their AI.
From their website:
We believe that the best stories are yet to be told, but that traditional funding mechanisms often overlook new and emerging visions within the larger industry ecosystem.
This is a statement I largely agree with. But it plays on filmmakers desires in a nefarious way.
The site continues:
The Hundred Film Fund sets out to change that by helping to fund and produce one hundred films which are making use of AI to tell their stories.
If you are a professional director, producer, screenwriter or creative professional looking to tell new stories with an AI-augmented project in need of funding, we invite you to apply.
This is a very generous open call, but there’s a massive vagueness around “AI-augmented project,” but in the Terms and Conditions it clarifies:
“Projects submitted must, to some degree, employ generative media technology developed by Runway. Films”
It concludes:
Funding grants range from $5K to $1M+ alongside up to $2M in Runway credits.
Is resistance futile? Their fund is $5M, which could potentially double. Lionsgate took the bait, giving Runway access to all their projects.
Here’s my fear: by using AI we are outsourcing our creativity to an entity that we cannot collaborate with.
Yes, I can put in new prompts into the system, and it can regurgitate out an image that is a composite of all of Lionsgate’s content (isn’t this what a lot of the studios are doing already). But what’s lost in the process is a roughness around the edges.
Think about what made David Fincher’s earlier work so great. There was a human messiness to it that spoke to our humanity.
AI cannot make something this real, only a simulation. And in an industry where most executives are obsessed with redundancy (see Lionsgate’s John Wick plans above) for security, there is a massive danger of this sentiment hijacking creators' mentalities.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Fresh off of nothing but success from both Telluride and TIFF, Schindler’s List actress Embeth Davidtz’s directorial debut, Don’t Let Go to the Dogs Tonight has been snatched up by Sony Pictures Classics for worldwide distribution. Based on Alexander Fuller’s powerful bestselling memoir, Davidtz, in addition to directing, both wrote the script and stars in the adaptation.
When asked of her film, Davidtz shared:
“This film is a tribute to all who have lived during difficult historical times.”
Official Film Synopsis:
Depicts 8-year-old Bobo's life on her family's Rhodesian farm during the Bush War's final stages. It explores the family's bond with Africa's land and the war's impact on the region and individuals through Bobo's perspective.
A spokesperson for SPC said,:
“Embeth Davidtz has become a triple threat: formidable director, screenwriter, and actress. Don’t Let Got to the Dogs Tonight is the complete theatrical film experience that is beautifully directed and features one of the finest performances by a child you will ever see.”
Davidtz will portray Nicola Fuller, the mother to the young and perceptive Bobo, played by the wonderful young star Lexi Venter.
This also marks the second collaboration between Davidtz and Sony as she starred in their 2005 rated R comedy, Junebug, which is now more well known for being actress Amy Adams’ breakthrough role.
Brooklyn based distributor Dekanalog (Sweet Dreams) has picked up North American rights to Blue Sun Palace. The film won Cannes Critics Week.
Here’s the synopsis:
When tragedy strikes, an unexpected bond forms between two migrants in the Chinese community of Queens. Far from home, their labor-filled lives intertwine as they grieve and search for familial connections.
The clip doesn’t give much away, but there’s something interesting bubbling under the surface.
Lysa Le, co-founder of Dekanalog, stated:
“Tsang’s beautifully expressive work lingers with the audience long after the final images have left the screen.”
No word on the release date.
UK producer Jeremy Thomas is eyeing a move to TV with a series version of his Best Picture winner, The Last Emperor (1987, trailer). When speaking about the potential project at the San Sebastian International Film Festival Thomas shared:
“I am a cinema guy. I haven’t invaded television yet… I never thought about The Last Emperor as a TV series but suddenly I saw (Emmy award winning Disney+ drama) Shogun and thought why can’t I do that…”
The Last Emperor, an epic biographical drama about the life of Puyi, the final Emperor of China is not officially yet being reimagined for TV, however, Thomas, despite financing issues, is still trying to make Wilder & Me the Christopher Hampton scripted drama feature with Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), Jon Hamm (MadMen), and Maya Hawke (Do Revenge) already attached.
Crystal Moselle’s (dir: Sundance’s The Wolfpack, Skate Kitchen) Bulgarian sugar mama film is coming to Metrograph.
Here’s the synopsis for The Black Sea:
A man journeys to a small Eastern European coastal town where he finds unexpected connections despite being the only black person in the area.
The trailer hinges on the swing from outsider to community. And pushes hard in both directions for maximum narrative propulsion.
Hitting theaters Nov 22nd. We really like this one!
Tidbit:
Neon continues to hang its hat on festival winners. Their latest acquisition is TIFF’s People’s Choice Award (top honor), The Life Of Chuck. This TIFF awards has been a strong barometer for Oscar Best Picture nominations,.
Here’s the official synopsis:
A life-affirming, genre-bending story based on Stephen King's novella about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz.
The film stars Tom Hiddleston as Krantz as well as Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay, and Mark Hamill.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Indonesian horror films are a special blend of sick.
I’m not sure what’s going on in the trailer for Sorop, but it involves a reanimated corpse causing havic to a family. The imagery is blue-saturated and covered with blood (Trailer).
Korea’s Barunson E&A (Production company: Parasite, Mother) is now an investor and international sales agent for the film.
Barunson E&A, stated:
“Over the past two years, we’ve witnessed tremendous potential in Indonesian filmmakers and are confident that their stories can resonate with audiences worldwide.”
The project launches at Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) next week.
Paramount+ is coming to Thailand in November. The studio is partnering with Thailand’s MONO, whose CEO stated:
“By partnering with Paramount Global Content Distribution, we are able to elevate our offerings significantly. Paramount has an impressive catalog of content that has consistently garnered popularity among Thai viewers.”
Paramount’s chief content licensing officer, Dan Cohen stated:
“Our core strategy at Paramount Global Content Distribution continues to focus on delivering audiences the best quality entertainment, across multiple content pillars and genres, in innovative and accessible new ways, and this new deal with Mono does just that.”
Paramount is continuing to expand with Paramount+ already available in Japan, Greece, Africa and India.
Netflix goes big on Norway with 12+ new projects. These include:
La Palma (series)
Synopsis: A Norwegian family vacationing in La Palma faces chaos when a researcher discovers imminent volcanic eruption signs that could trigger a massive tsunami.
Synopsis: The Helicopter Heist is a reality-based and character-driven suspense series in eight parts about the drama behind one of the most spectacular heists in history, a grand and fast paced Icarus tale about winning, or losing, it all.
The Habitat
Synopsis: A young Filipino au pair disappears in a wealthy Danish neighborhood
Netflix continues to be the prime driver of foreign investment in the region.
ON THIS DAY
1982. Filming begins on Never Say Never Again with Sean Connery playing James Bond for the final time.
That’s all for the week. See you Monday!
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.