Matt Damon’s Odyssey
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Matt Damon’s journey, Kate Winslet’s goodbye, and other people’s money.
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Matt Damon will star as Odysseus in Christopher Nolan’s new film The Odyssey.
The role seems very fitting as Damon’s career, if nothing else, is epitomized by extreme stamina.
What makes Damon so continually watchable across his 3+ decades on screen is that we hunger to see shades of his vulnerability—and the rare glimpses we get come as epiphanies.
Damon has understood the value of this since the start.
Writing in the production notes of Good Will Hunting (1997), a film he co-wrote, starred and won an Oscar for, he stated:
“Instead of a thriller, we decided to use this character as the basis for a story that really said something about engaging in life, experiencing it to the fullest and allowing yourself to be vulnerable to people who you care about.”
In that film, Damon flips from a guarded genius to a weeping young man on his therapist Robin Williams’s shoulder, in one of the greatest on-screen catharsis moments in cinema.
And that dynamic of us aching to see him shed his mask is what makes his greatest role, The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), so compelling. It is a film all about Damon’s inability to be the honest version of himself. So much so that when he confronts Jude Law about his feelings… well, if you’ve seen the movie, you know.
Although Damon flirted with the blockbuster machine, The Bourne series, he continued to challenge himself with auteur directors—choosing Steven Soderbergh, the Coen brothers, and, of course, Christopher Nolan.
The Odyssey marks Damon’s third collaboration with Nolan, following his role as the crafty astronaut in Interstellar and the pragmatic Lt. General in Oppenheimer.
But The Odyssey is something different.
It positions him at the center of an epic that, by its very definition, demands he stretch his physical limits and the unguarded corners of his heart.
For More:
First look image of Matt Damon in The Odyssey.
It’s not your fault scene, Good Will Hunting.
How Jason Bourne changed cinema:
https://theindustry.co/p/how-jason-bourne-changed-cinema
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Kate Winslet makes her directorial debut with Goodbye June, a contemporary family drama produced by Netflix.
We now have a first look at Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights and László Nemes’ Orphan.
Max has renewed The Pitt for Season 2.
Musician turned-actor Dominic Fike is reprising his role in season three of Euphoria.
Sharon Stone is in talks to join Euphoria.
Lena Dunham’s next project, Good Sex, starring Natalie Portman, has sparked a bidding war at EFM, with some bids topping $45 M for worldwide rights.
The cast of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey just keeps growing. The latest addition is Mia Goth.
The Tasters was picked up at EFM by multiple international distributors. The film is produced by Joseph Rouschop (Co-P: Io Capitano).
Berlin’s How to Be Normal and the Oddness of the Other World caught our attention. It plays like a combo of Requiem for a Dream and FX’s Baskets.
Conclave wins BAFTAs, and Anora wins the WGA Awards.
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired East of Wall (Sundance Audience Award) and Vie Privée, which stars Jodie Foster.
Mubi picked up The History of Sound starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor and Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother.
Enlight’s animated fantasy sequel, Ne Zha 2, is now the 10th highest-grossing film of all time, hitting $1.6bn.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
One of the industry’s most beloved actresses, Kate Winslet, is finally set to make her directorial debut with Goodbye June, a contemporary family drama being produced by Netflix. In addition to directing and producing, the English actress will also star alongside a pretty solid cast made up of:
Helen Mirren (The Queen)
Toni Collette (Hereditary)
Andrea Riseborough (Birdman)
With production beginning later this year, the movie is set in present-day England and revolves around a fractured group of siblings pulled together under sudden and trying circumstances. Winslet’s son, Joe Anders, penned the script, marking the second collaboration between the mother-son duo who starred together in last year’s Lee (2024).
While the Oscar winner hasn’t yet sat in the director’s chair, she produced and was heavily involved in Lee, Ellen Kuras’ WWII TIFF film where Winslet starred as the titular war photographer in a vulnerable and moving performance (clips) that further solidified her unmatched ability as a leading lady and a filmmaker.
Netflix’s Goodbye June does not yet have a release date.
First looks:
Wuthering Heights (Warner Bros)
Dir: Emerald Fennell (Saltburn)
Cast: Jacob Elordi, Margot Robbie
Orphan
Dir: László Nemes (Son of Saul)
Renewal:
Max’s The Pitt (Season 2)
Cancellations
Hulu’s A Court Of Thorns And Roses (fantasy series)
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Musician turned-actor Dominic Fike is officially reprising his role in season three of Euphoria, Sam Levinson’s HBO high school drama.
The “3 Nights” singer’s character Elliot joined the show in its second season, developing a complicated love triangle relationship with Zendaya’s Rue and Hunter Schafer’s Jules.
Fike, who has been involved in the soundtracks of movies like Barbie (2023) and Anyone But You (2023), was able to utilize his musical abilities to give depth to his otherwise very guarded and mysterious character, like in this emotional scene.
Production has finally begun in LA on season 3.
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The acclaimed Sharon Stone (Casino) is in talks to join HBO’s highly anticipated next season of Euphoria alongside returning cast members like Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, and, now, Dominic Fike.
Furthering her relationship with the network, the Oscar-nominated and Emmy award-winning actress’ last role was a three-episode arc on HBO’s The Flight Attendant (2022) as the estranged mother of Kaley Cuoco’s titular Cassie, in a performance that deeply showcases the damage substance abuse can do to a relationship.
Almost four years after the show’s last season ran, Euphoria season 3 is set to premiere in 2026.
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
Lena Dunham’s next project, Good Sex, starring Natalie Portman, has sparked a bidding war at EFM between:
Amazon
Apple
Netflix
Warner Bros.
And many more.
Offers are coming in at $45 M or more for worldwide rights.
We found the project fascinating based on Dunham’s power to create asymmetrical relationships:
https://theindustry.co/p/lena-dunhams-asymmetrical-relationships
One more EFM Pickup:
The Tasters:
Prod: Joseph Rouschop (Co-P: Io Capitano)
Acquired by distribution in: Latin America, Brazil, Yugoslavian territories, Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Israel, and Greece
Synopsis:
A women conscripted to be Adolf Hitler's food tasters.
The poster is haunting.
There is one more great gem in the Berlin Film Festival’s daily drop of new trailers: How to Be Normal and the Oddness of the Other World.
Official synopsis:
After leaving a psychiatric hospital, Pia moves back home and navigates life's challenges - from work to relationships - while managing her mental health and society's perceptions in her quest for stability.
There’s a solipsistic nature to the trailer. Like someone crossed FX’s Baskets and Requiem for a Dream. Trailer.
We also enjoyed the series Other People’s Money, which felt like Berlinale’s version of Soderbergh’s The Laundromat. This film explores a fictionalized tax fraud scam across Europe. The trailer has a prime amount of absurdity and heightened tension.
Brief BAFTA’s Recap:
Best Film. Best British Film. Adapted Screenplay. Editing.
Conclave
Best Director. Best Leading Actor.
The Brutalist
Casting. Leading Actress.
Anora
We’re really happy to see Kneecap won outstanding debut film by a British director. It had the most energy of any release this year with its flippant doesn’t give a fuck attitude (trailer).
Also, David Jonsson, our favorite part of the new Alien film, won the Rising Star Award.
Anora won the WGA award for Best Original Screenplay, and Nickel Boys won Best Adapted Screenplay. However, since you have to be a WGA member to be nominated, the competition was lighter.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Sony Pictures Classics double. Sony’s indie film distribution label has picked up two films:
Dir: Kate Beecroft
Winner: Sundance Audience Award
Synopsis:
After the death of her husband, Tabatha - a young, tattooed, rebellious horse trainer - wrestles with financial insecurity and unresolved grief while providing refuge for a group of wayward teenagers on her broken-down ranch in the Badlands.
Cast: Jodie Foster
Dir: Rebecca Zlotowski (Grand Central)
Synopsis:
The renowned psychiatrist Lilian Steiner mounts a private investigation into the death of one of her patients, whom she is convinced has been murdered.
Shot in Paris and Normandy, the French murder mystery is currently in post-production and will likely world premiere in the festival circuit.
SPC’s newest additions showcase feminine strength when least expected, which falls in line with their best picture contender, I'm Still Here.
The company continues to back stories that speak to the beauty and faults of relationships and the power of self-discovery told in truly impactful and imaginative ways (i.e., The Room Next Door, 2024; The Father, 2020; Call Me by Your Name, 2017).
SPC is among a few companies to have some really major pickups recently, especially with a slower-than-usual Sundance and Berlin market this year.
The Koln Concert has an interesting workaround: Director Ido Fluk’s new film Köln 75 (premiere: Berline)wanted to tell the story of Vera Brandes, the young promoter who organized Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert. Which stands as the best-selling solo jazz album ever; however, the 18-year-old at the time, Brandes, has remained largely unrecognized.
It was interesting ground for a biopic to cover, but Fluk found licensing of the music prohibitively expensive, and Jarret's estate did not clear the rights to the music, leading to a new, very indie interpretation.
Without rights to Jarrett’s music, Fluk incorporates the broader musical landscape of the era, encouraging audiences to rediscover The Köln Concert after watching the film.
With the growing popularity of biopics dipping into the indie sphere, could these interpretive cheaper options be the way to celebrate music?
Listen to the music that inspired it here.
Mubi Grabs 2:
Mubi has acquired North American rights to The History of Sound, a gay romance drama starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor. Directed by Oliver Hermanus (Living), the film follows two men recording voices and music during WWI while falling in love. Set for a 2025 theatrical release. Focus will release internationally.
Mubi has also acquired Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother, potentially set for a Cannes debut. Featuring Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, and Adam Driver, it explores familial relationships across three countries. Jarmusch’s first film in six years. Production wrapped in June 2024.
No company has been more explosive than Mubi, hitting the stratosphere at Cannes 2024, buying a trio of films:
The Substance
The Girl With the Needle
Bird
They aggressively entered the US market with the theatrical release of The Substance, which opened at $3.2 M, earned $16.4 M domestically, and grossed $78 M globally.
While streamers like Apple and Netflix are shelving their theatrical distribution strategies, I’m hopeful Mubi will fill the market gap and conquer.
Enlight’s animated fantasy sequel, Ne Zha 2, is now the 10th highest-grossing film of all time, hitting $1.6bn.
Read more about the film, plus a Sundance winner gets a surprise update and MK2 films’ key hire:
https://theindustry.co/p/10th-highest-grossing-dj-ahmet-mk2
ON THIS DAY
1932. Miloš Forman (dir: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus), born in Czechoslovakia (d. 2018).
See you tomorrow!
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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Thank you for articulating some reasons why he would make a good Odysseus. I'm struggling to see him in this role. He will have to channel his Bourne days for the physical work, but the clever, deceitful part of Odysseus is where I'm having the most disconnect of seeing him play this classic character.