Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Cannes’ Neon, 20th Century’s Persona, and Gable.
Let’s go!
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Cannes is about 2/3rds finished, with about 8 of the 22 films in the official selection still left to premiere. The one film to look out for: Minotaur, which is debuting in just a few hours. It’s supposed to be one of the best at the festival. That film hails from Andrey Zvyagintsev, who wrote and directed Leviathan (Cannes, Best Screenplay, 2014) and Loveless (Cannes Jury Prize, 2017).
So far, All of a Sudden is still the strongest film at the festival. Elsewhere, Léa Seydoux turned in two sensational performances in Neon’s The Unknown, which plays like a French auteurist Freaky Friday. It’s strange, hard to follow, but anchored by Seydoux going mad over a unique type of body dysmorphia. And in Gentle Monster, Seydoux anchors a very troubling film about a wife who retreats after learning something unthinkable about her husband. The scene where she confronts him is held much too late in the film, but Seydoux is able to draw from deep wells of emotional power and is piercing.
Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell, playing Out of Competition, is as startlingly cinematic as Blade Runner, if it were drained of plot and doused in neon. It’s alluring and stupefying, with the closest parallels to his film Only God Forgives (2013). The actors, Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton, are connected to a deeper story that is never portrayed on screen but makes their glances, fright, and mischievousness all the more compelling.
Also, Netflix has made its first buy, meaning its first awards-ready pickup with In Wave. They grabbed the worldwide rights (outside of France) to the Cannes Critics’ Week opener, an animated romance film led by Stephanie Hsu (EEAAO) and BAFTA winner Will Sharpe (A Real Pain). From director Phuong Mai Nguyen (dir. short Chez moi), the film is based on the graphic novel of the same name, an emotional coming-of-age story about young love and navigating tragedy set against a beautiful ocean backdrop.
For More:
Neon’s Her Private Hell Teaser. Release: July 24.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
20th Century Studios lands seven-figure thriller Persona, w/ Paul Feig directing.
New Line/WB sets David Derrick Jr. and Josh Aoshima to direct Hello Kitty.
Disney+ developing Ella Enchanted prequel series, w/ Anne Hathaway EPing.
FX orders Very Young Frankenstein, w/ Zach Galifianakis starring.
Marvel names Brad Winderbaum Head of Marvel TV, Animation, and Comics.
Paramount hires Google vet Barak Turovsky as EVP of Consumer AI.
Sony Pictures Television acquires majority stake in Alex Baskin’s 32 Flavors.
Danielle Brooks leads Apple TV+ soul food comedy American Comfort.
Leslie Bibb and Ben Foster join Olympic wrestling drama Gable.
Tony Hale joins Nancy Meyers’ untitled Warner Bros. ensemble.
Amazon lands international rights to Cannes Market Pumping Black in $20M+ deal.
Paulina García’s feature directing debut is The Passion According to Carmen.
Greenwich Entertainment acquires U.S. rights to Xu Zao’s Berlin title Light Pillar.
Juanjo Giménez sets supernatural romance Pínkala as his next feature.
Studiocanal signs 3-year English-language distribution deal with Sun Africa.
Yesterday’s correct answer: Babel - Iñárritu told Blanchett and Pitt take 1 was shit.
37% got it right.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
20th Century Studios wins a competitive auction for Persona, based on a novella from CW series Arrow EP Marc Guggenheim. Though the concept is under wraps, the deal is said to be seven figures. Paul Feig (Dir: The Housemaid) is attached to direct. The film is said to be a modern thriller resembling Fatal Attraction (1987, Trailer). This is the second seven-figure contract for Guggenheim, along with Netflix feature film An Innocent Girl starring Kerry Washington (Django Unchained), James Marsden (Sonic the Hedgehog franchise), and Colman Domingo (Sing Sing).
The success of Lionsgate’s The Housemaid (2025) has made director Feig and the sexual thriller genre a hot buy now, with that film hitting $367M worldwide on a $35M budget. We hope to see the same secrets and obsession in this new 20th Century film.
Tidbits:
Hello Kitty’s big-screen animated debut is officially moving forward with New Line Cinema and Warner Bros announcing the official directors. Moana 2 helmer David Derrick Jr. and on-the-rise director Josh Aoshima, best known for Netflix’s animated monster movie Ultraman: Rising (2024), are set to bring the adorable cat to life through their overall deals with Warner Bros. Animation. While not much is known of the plot, it’ll follow Hello Kitty and all of her Sanrio friends going on adventures, hitting theaters in the summer of 2028.
A Very Young Frankenstein. FX has just ordered the series Very Young Frankenstein, inspired by the classic comedy Young Frankenstein (1974, Trailer). The show will follow a brilliant neurosurgeon as he inherits his grandfather’s Transylvanian estate, ultimately leading him to reanimate a corpse. Zach Galifianakis, Dolly Wells (Dracula), and Spencer House (Tell Me Lies) will star in the series. Taika Waititi (Dir: Thor: Ragnarok), Stefani Robinson, and Garrett Basch – the trio from FX comedy series What We Do in the Shadows – will EP the show.
Disney+ is developing a series adaptation of the cult classic fairytale movie Ella Enchanted (2004). The original film saw a young Anne Hathaway as the cursed Ella of Frell forced to obey every command, with the actress now set to executive produce the upcoming prequel series. Ilana Wolpert (Anyone But You) and Ben Schwartz (Dead Boy Detectives) will write and serve as co-showrunners.
Marvel announces Brad Winderbaum as Head of Marvel Television, Animation, Comics & Franchise. He will oversee the creative direction of Marvel’s publishing as well as its global branding efforts. He joined the Marvel Universe during the production of Iron Man (2008) and was the EP for Thor: Ragnarok (2017). Winderbaum will replace Dan Buckley as the Head of Marvel Television, positioning him as one of the possible successors to Kevin Feige should Feige eventually step down.
Mini Tidbits:
Paramount hired former Google executive Barak Turovsky as EVP of Consumer AI. Turovsky has worked as the Head of Product at Google for 11 years. He will now oversee the growing AI and machine learning teams for Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
Bravo, SPT! Sony Pictures Television has acquired a majority stake in Alex Baskin’s 32 Flavors (The Real Housewives, Vanderpump Rules), the production company responsible for some of Bravo’s biggest hits.
Jafar Panahi has been summoned to an Iranian court hearing for his Palme d’Or-winning film It Was Just an Accident (2025). He’s a hero for what he’s doing.
Acquisitions:
Fox’s Baywatch (reboot)
Sky buys for UK/Ireland
Trailers:
HBO/DC Studios’ Lanterns
Cast: Aaron Pierre
Release: Aug 16
Madman Entertainment’s The Fox
Cast: Emily Browning, Jai Courtney
Release: Oct. 29
Premiering at Sydney Film Festival
Prime Video UK’s Clarkson’s Farm S5
Release: June 3
Netflix’s Room to Move
Dir: Alexander Hammer (dir: HBO’s Expecting Amy)
Prod: Amy Schumer
Premiered at Tribeca (2025)
Release: May 27
Release Dates:
Brainstorm Media’s The Floaters
Cast: Jackie Tohn
Release: July 10
Disney+ and Hulu’s Adventure Time: Side Quests
Prod: Cartoon Network Studios (Adventure Time)
Release: June 29
Comedy Central’s South Park (S29)
Release: Sept 16th
Amazon MGM Studios’ Vibe
Indian Action Comedy
Release: Sept 18
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Apple TV+ is cooking up a new soul food restaurant comedy series, with the Oscar nominee Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple) set to star.
American Comfort (working title) from Black-ish creator Kenya Barris, Oprah Winfrey, and Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment (HBO’s Divorce), is inspired by the life of legendary Harlem restaurateur Melba Wilson, who became embedded in the cultural fabric of the community through her mind-blowing cooking.
Brooks first broke out as a scene-stealing heart of the Orange Is the New Black ensemble, carrying that same commanding warmth into powerhouse performances like in The Color Purple (2023) remake and the Depression-era set The Piano Lesson (2024), while casually mixing in box-office smashing sidequests like The Minecraft Movie (2025).
Underrated and underutilized, Brooks can balance both a comedic energy with real, genuine emotional depth, making her a great fit for a heartfelt series about food, family, and community.
Tidbits:
Gable, the extraordinary true story of an Olympic underdog, has added actors to star opposite Peaky Blinders’ Finn Cole in the titular role. The White Lotus’ Leslie Bibb and Ben Foster, in unknown roles, are joining the drama that will look at gold medal-winning wrestler Dan Gable, who overcame an unthinkable family tragedy to become one of the most dominant athletes in the world at the height of the Cold War.
The queen of rom-coms, Nancy Meyers, has expanded the cast of her upcoming untitled Warner Bros. film. Veep’s Tony Hale is set to join an overflowing ensemble led by Penêlope Cruz, Kieran Culkin, Jude Law, and Owen Wilson with a primarily under wraps logline. Hale has become Hollywood’s go-to for neurotic, wacky sidekicks; even his Toy Story character Forky is an anxious wreck, so it’s safe to assume he’ll bring that energy to Meyers’ universe.
Netflix’s wishes came true! Bette Midler will lend her voice to the streamer’s reimagined Cinderella movie, Steps, as the Fairy Godmother. She joins a female ensemble of Ali Wong, Amanda Seyfried, and Stephanie Hsu that sees the Fairy Godmother’s wand get stolen from Cinderella’s evil stepsister. The animated fairytale feature is scheduled to be released before the end of the year.
Casting Tidbits:
Laura Linney
Rob Delaney
Fernanda Torres
All those juicy casting tidbits and more here.
FESTIVALS AND DOCS
Amazon is full speed ahead on Pumping Black, securing international rights to the psychological thriller in a more than $20M deal, the biggest so far at Cannes Market.
Led by Jonathan Bailey and Natalie Portman, the film is in the same vein as the latter’s Black Swan, following an aging-out professional cyclist who is manipulated by a power-hungry doctor. From Fresh (2022) director Mimi Cave, Anton (Fuze) will continue handling sales and financing.
Production is set to begin this fall.
Two new Cannes Market projects, including one with Cara Delevingne, John Boyega + a sale. Full breakdown here, along with the rest of the projects in the Cannes Market.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Paulina García (Berlinale Silver Bear winner for Gloria) is directing her first feature, The Passion According to Carmen. The film will follow a journalist named Carmen, whose life appears happy on the surface, with a husband and a 20-year-old daughter. But when she is attacked at a feminist protest, she receives an unexpected awakening that turns her towards a more sensual and liberated worldview.
Marina Loyola (Rara) is co-writing the film, and she will also star in the feature. García and Loyola launched a new production company, Cautiva, which will focus more on femme-focused original content. Though the cast is not fully formed, talks are going on with renowned Latin actors to complete the cast.
Greenwich Entertainment (The Critic) has scooped up the U.S. distribution rights to the Berlin title Light Pillar, the debut feature from Chinese director Xu Zao. The film mixes 2D animation and live-action sequences following a down-and-out film studio janitor who retreats into a virtual world and finds love. The deal was negotiated by sales agent Cercamon (Omaha) at Cannes.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Palme d’Or-winning Spanish director Juanjo Giménez is gearing up to begin shooting his next feature, Pínkala. From Spain’s Frida Films (Titanic Ocean), the supernatural love story is centered on a lonely man who has the extraordinary ability of reading people’s minds, until he meets the one person capable of truly connecting with him.
Giménez’s Cannes short Timecode (2016, trailer) not only won big at the festival, but went on to earn an Academy Award nomination, with his new full-length, English-language film a passion project he’s been quietly working on for over a decade. Madrid-based BTeam Pictures (Spain dist. Sirat) will be handling national distribution.
Studiocanal and Sun Africa Group (SAG) sign a 3-year deal. SAG will distribute all of Studiocanal’s top English-language films, including:
Pressure
Full Phil
Ink (Dir: Danny Boyle)
ON THIS DAY
1989. Do the Right Thing premieres at Cannes.
Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace, and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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