Megan Fox is The Terminator
M3gan Fox, Squid Game 2, Kevin Costner is rejoicing, John Cusack’s nostalgia, Billy Crystal needs Therapy, and Oren Moverman’s enlightenment.
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
M3gan Fox, Squid Game 2, Kevin Costner is rejoicing, John Cusack’s nostalgia, Billy Crystal needs Therapy, and Oren Moverman’s enlightenment.
Let’s go!
AI has been causing a lot of anxiety in Hollywood.
Morgan Freeman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, and many more have been impersonated by nefarious deep fakes.
The CEOs of Netflix, Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros. have signaled their excitement about incorporating AI into their pipelines as the technology continues to burgeon at a double-exponential rate.
Now, SAG-AFTRA to protect its members, is throwing their support behind a bill cracking down on “AI Digital Replicas.”
To quell or enhance our collective concerns, a duo of upcoming films/series that mediate on our AI fears have just dropped trailers.
The first one follows the trend of recent films that utilize AI home assistants (AfrAId, M3GAN, Kimi) as an antagonistic force.
This is XYZ Films’ Subservience, starring M3gan Fox.
Sometimes, the best way to deal with fear of the future is to sit back and watch pure, unadulterated pulp.
XYZ Films, best known for Mandy (2018), The Last Stop in Yuma County (2023), and Tusk (2014)—if anyone saw that one, you can email me personally, and we can schedule group therapy—is setting its sights on an M3gan-esque upcoming film.
The plot is gloriously campy:
A dotting father goes to a tech fair, and buys an AI smart robot (Fox) for his home, as his wife is bedridden in the hospital. Of course, this robot does more than wash the dishes and is more than happy to “service” the husband, who doesn’t seem to mind until his wife comes home from the hospital (hopefully, that plot point will be ironed out). That’s when things get nasty, and M3gan Fox goes a little haywire (trailer).
As Apple mainlines ChatGPT into the upcoming iPhone (did you miss that one?) and governments race to deploy AI into their migrant surveillance systems (enlightening podcast), this possibility seems to be getting closer and closer.
The second project is…
https://theindustry.co/p/m3gan-fox
Subservience goes straight to streaming on September 13th.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Squid Game pinched a universal nerve when it was released in September 2021. The show was an apt metaphor for the rat race of capitalism. Its first season is the most-watched season of TV in Netflix’s history, with 1.65 billion viewing hours logged in the first month of its premiere (182,000 years).
Now a new trailer has dropped for Season 2. I’ve already watched it three times.
An excerpt from Hwang Dong-hyuk’s (Director, Writer, and Executive Producer of Squid Game) letter:
“On the first day, we began shooting Season 2, I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I’m back in the world of Squid Game.’ It almost felt surreal. I wonder how it will feel for you to be back in Squid Game after three years, as well.”
He continued:
“Seong Gi-hun, who vowed revenge at the end of Season 1, returns and joins the game again. Will he succeed in getting his revenge? Front Man doesn’t seem to be an easy opponent this time, either. The fierce clash between their two worlds will continue into the series finale with Season 3, which will be brought to you next year.”
Season 2 is releasing on December 26th. And Season 3 sometime in 2025.
KMR Talents, who owes their clients millions of dollars, has been unable to come up with the money.
This comes on the heels of them suspended their Franchise with SAG-AFTRA in March leading the SVP to resign as well as a top agent.
Even months before that, the 2500 talent that is repped by KMR (amongst them J.K. Simmons) has been unable to get paid.
All up, KMR’s clients are said to be owed upwards of $3M. The KMR Claimants Arbitration Committee has instructed clients that KMR’s owner, Mark Measures, does not have enough cash to cover the debt.
President’s reasons for non-payment:
Crashed payment database
Head of Talent Payment resigned
Strikes
The clients are now being instructed to go after Measures criminally. Good luck to all involved!
Kevin Costner is rejoicing as Horizon: Chapter 2 is selected to premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
Costner stated:
“My dream was always to show Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter Two at the Venice Film Festival. The fact that now they have decided to show Chapter One earlier in the day and then the World Premiere of Chapter Two that evening shows not only their belief in how the two films work together but their support of a director’s vision.”
This is creatively validating news for Costner after Warner Bros. pulled the break on the release of Horizon Pt 2 after the lackluster box office performance of Pt1.
Tidbits:
Unsolved Mysteries has been renewed for a fifth season. Co-creator Terry Dunn Muerer announced the new season for the almost thirty-five-year-old show, promising the most perplexing mysteries yet.
Five new episodes arrived yesterday (July 31st)
Did Zack Snyder go too far?
After the double bombing of Rebel Moon, his Star Wars-turned-original Netflix IP, the mockery of a new bloodier director cut mercy, killing the talk of a third. Zack Snyder is taking it easy, promising a smaller movie without any VFX. There is no word yet on what this actually is, but I'm thrilled to see Snyder's quieter, sensitive side. Wait a minute. Is slow-motion VFX?
Amazon, Sony, and Universal TV have all been snapping up new IP, including audiobooks and novels. Amazon MGM recently paid $450 K against $2 M for rights.
Read more about the five new projects here, including one that has caught Anne Hathaway’s attention:
https://theindustry.co/p/anne-hathaway-in-1805
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
For many he is a face associated with deep nostalgia. Actor John Cusack who’s starred in countless American classics joins CMC Pictures, a Chinese studio behind new cryptography thriller film Decoded (trailer).
Here is the Official Synopsis:
Set in the volatile era of the 1940s, Decoded chronicles the journey of Rong Jinzhen (played by Liu Haoran), an autistic young man with an exceptional talent for mathematics. His uncanny ability to untangle complex mathematical knots, showcased through a challenge set by his professor (Cusack), doesn’t go unnoticed. He is forced to give up his academic studies and is recruited as a codebreaker and spy.
While not as active in recent years, in Cusack’s three-decade career, he has starred in over fifty films, transitioning from goofy side roles to a fully capable leading man.
Sixteen Candles (1984)
Famously a part of John Hughes's coming-of-age directorial debut as the geek sidekick at just 17 years old.
Say Anything (1989)
Responsible for the iconic boombox serenade (scene) opposite Ione Skye in Cameron Crowe’s famous teen rom-com.
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Gave a critically acclaimed performance as a puppeteer who finds a portal leading into the mind of the eponymous actor.
scene
High Fidelity (2000, trailer)
Was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his performance as the lonely record store owner.
Chen Sicheng, the director behind the Detective Chinatown franchise, will direct Decoded, which will release in Chinese theaters on Saturday and is headed for an international rollout at the end of August.
While it's unlike anything he’s done previously, longtime Cusack fans I’m sure are excited to see his face on the big screen again!
New Line is set to distribute the new horror movie They Will Kill You, from Skydance’s Nocturna Pictures, starring Atlanta’s Zazie Beetz.
From director Kirill Sokolov and screenwriter Alex Litvak (Predators), known for his dark humor, They Will Kill You tells the story of a woman (Beetz) who takes a job as a housekeeper in a NYC high-rise, unaware of the building’s history of disappearances. She soon realizes the community is shrouded in mystery.
Beyond her Emmy-nominated work on FX’s Atlanta (scene), Beetz has impressively been a part of nothing but successful projects in her budding career. On the film front, she has starred in primarily action movies like as the mutant superhero, Domino, in Marvel’s Deadpool 2 (2018, scene) and The Hornet in David Leitch’s Bullet Train (2022).
The German-born actress’ credit that most resembles the upcoming horror film was her role as Arthur Fleck/Joker’s neighbor Sophie from Todd Phillip’s psychological thriller, Joker (2019), which she will be reprising in its highly anticipated sequel premiering this October.
Zazie Beetz and the crew of They Will Kill You is set to start production this fall in South Africa.
Billy Crystal needs Therapy:
Billy Crystal stars in and executive produces Before, a new Apple TV+ limited series. The 10-episode supernatural mystery series features Crystal as Eli, a child psychiatrist dealing with the loss of his wife, and his mysterious patient Noah.
This is a bit darker fair than we would expect from one of the kings of comedy. Known much more for his turns in romantic comedies like When Harry Met Sally (1989, still), and Forget Paris (1995, poster), not to mention the voice of Mike Wazowski in Disney's Monsters Inc. series (2001, green still life). Though the spooky supernatural element may be a bit out of character, Crystal has already had experience playing a shrink before, to mob boss De Niro in:
Though he is a master of harnessing his own neuroticism and channeling it into humor, it will be interesting to see how Crystal deals with the less funny topic of grief. First look still here.
Premieres on Apple Plus on October 25th.
Tidbit:
Great Shot! Christopher Lloyd is most famous for his Doc Brown in the Back to the Future Series. Will return for the normal guy/contract killer action sequel Nobody 2. Reprising his role as Hutch's (Odenkirk) father and a retired FBI Agent (still with fire power). Nobody 2 will arrive in theatres on August 15
EXEC MOVES AND SIGNED TALENT
Disney’s big loss, Pamela Anderson's big win, and a Carrie (1976) actress gets some sugar:
https://theindustry.co/p/exec-moves-and-signed-talent-81
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Richard Gere and Oren Moverman are getting wiser. The actor and director are set to EP a Dalai Lama documentary, Wisdom of Happiness.
They have frequently collaborated:
The Dinner (2017)
Dir: Moverman
Star: Gere
Norman (2016)
Prod: Moverman
Star: Gere
Time Out of Mind (2014)
Dir: Moverman
Star: Gere
The documentary centers on the Dalai Lama, 89, who discusses the universal search for inner peace and happiness in the modern era. This will be the first film of its kind to get up close and personal with the Dalai Lama.
Gere, a well-known Buddhist who has known the Dalai Lama, stated:
“This is a small movie that can have a big impact on the future.”
Moverman said:
“As a filmmaker I am deeply grateful for the invitation to join this truly unique movie that so beautifully paints loving kindness into a pictorial landscape. Gifting the audience a viewing experience like no other, Wisdom of Happiness celebrates our common humanity by way of a wise and surprisingly entertaining messenger.”
Barbara Miller and Philip Delaquis directed the film, which Autlook Filmsales will screen for buyers in September.
Toronto Film Festival gets new sponsor, averts shutdown.