Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
PSKY +WBD, AS + EB, and SPC’s TOLPI NY.
Let’s go!
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THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Paramount sweetens its bid for WBD: $31/share all-cash.
Andrew Scott joins Emily Blunt in Netflix’s Walk the Blue Fields.
Sony is rebooting Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter.
Etan Frankel signs a first-look producing deal with Fox Entertainment Studios.
Disney communications chief Kristina Schake will exit next month.
Paramount+’s NOLA King relocates to Texas and becomes Frisco King.
J.K. Simmons will play a priest in indie coming-of-age film Purgatory.
Aimee Lou Wood will lead a TV adaptation of Jane Eyre.
Mark Rylance joins TriStar’s The Nightingale.
Jared Harris joins Scorsese’s What Happens at Night.
Sundance reveals more Boulder location details.
Sony Pictures Classics acquires Sundance’s The Only Living Pickpocket in New York.
WBD acquires EMEA rights to docuseries Days That Shocked the World.
HBO Max expands to 12 more Asia Pacific countries.
Disney+ LatAm names Daniel Burman head of original content.
Canal+ buys 51% of Lucky Red.
Monday’s correct answer: 25 years ago was Kate Hudson’s last Oscar nomination.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Paramount sweetens its bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. This is now their 10th offer. And it seems like WBD may actually break their deal with Netflix to take this:
$31.00/share (Enterprise Value: $112bn) - all cash
+$7bn fee if deal doesn’t close
+$2.8bn to cover the Netflix/WB break-up fee
+$1.5bn in debt refinancing fees
+$.25/share for every quarter post Sept 30, 2026, if the deal doesn’t close. ($650M/quarter).
If WBD takes the deal Netflix will have four days to counter.
WBD has always been playing the long game to see how high Paramount and Larry Ellison’s ($209bn net worth) endless funds will go. Plus, they have the safe option of Netflix, currently undergoing its own hellish grilling by lawmakers.
Full Paramount bid details here.
Andrew Scott is walking with Emily Blunt. Scott has just been cast in Netflix’s Walk the Blue Fields. This is a film adaptation of author Claire Keegan’s (Small Things Like These) short story.
Logline:
On her wedding day, a woman (Blunt) faces an agonizing choice when a past love triangle risks exposure.
No word on which of the two men Scott will play. But tangled romantic relationships are a bit of a specialty for Scott, after his gut-wrenching portrayal in All of Us Strangers (trailer). Scott can be compassionate, megalomaniacal, courageous, cowardly, tender, and sadistic. That’s why whoever he plays in this, it’ll be great.
Blunt is also producing through her Ledbury Productions, with John Crowley (We Live in Time) directing.
Tidbits:
Three Book Adaptations, including one for Amazon MGM Studios. And another that is a modernized Sleepless in Seattle. And for our execs, two of these haven’t been bought.
Sony is rebooting Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter. That makes sense as they’ve had massive success with some of their Spider-Man offshoots like Venom (total box office: $1.8bn WW) and less so for others. That trio above grossed a combined total of $330.1M with a total production budget of $285M. We’re hoping the new teams in place can make something that reimagines them in as beautiful a way as their Spider-Verse films.
The creator behind Peacock’s Joe vs. Carole, Etan Frankel, signs a first-look producing deal with Fox Entertainment Studios to develop and produce scripted series. He has written and produced a number of shows from TNT’s Animal Kingdom (2016-22) to Showtime’s long-running Shameless (2011-21), gearing up to serve as showrunner on the Millie Bobby Brown led Netflix series Prism.
Mini Tidbits:
Back in October, Disney locked in Kristina Schake as its communications chief through June 2027. But now she’ll exit the company next month. Her leaving coincides with Bob Iger’s exit. Full breakdown on what that means for the fate of Disney.
Paramount+’s NOLA King changes locations to Texas. Now retitled Frisco King, Taylor Sheridan is taking over writing all the episodes after the departure of the showrunner last summer. Samuel L. Jackson is still starring. Now shooting in Fort Worth, TX in March. These shows are expensive but they’re Paramount+’s bread and butter… at least until 2029 when Sheridan hops to NBCUniversal.
Former Hallmark Media exec Alyssa Zeisler will serve as general manager of Critical Role’s (Fireside Chat) D&D-inspired streaming service Beacon. Launched in 2024, Zeisler will have a range of roles, like overseeing content strategy and business performance across VODs and podcasts.
MPA is making moves at the right time. They’ve just brought on Disney’s top anti-piracy officer, Thomas Limouzin-Lamothe, as their VP of content protection in EMEA. Let’s hope he can help add some weight to their threat to stop Seedance 2.0’s blatant IP stealing.
Renewals:
MGM+’s Robin Hood (S2)
Trailers:
Paramount+’s The Madison
Creator: Taylor Sheridan
Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell
Release: Mar 14
Crunchyroll at SXSW
Apple TV+’s For All Mankind (S5)
Release: Mar 27
Vertical’s Hamlet
Cast: Riz Ahmed
Release: April 10
A24’s Backrooms
Release: May 29th
Netflix’s Pride and Prejudice
Cast: Emma Corrin, Jack Lowden
Release: 2026
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
J.K. Simmons is going to play a priest. Purgatory is an indie 80s-set coming-of-age film and feature-length directorial debut of Lindsay Lanzillotta (prod: The Invitation). Simmons will be joined by The Bear’s Abby Elliott, John Reynolds (HBO Max’s Search Party), and an ensemble of newcomers.
He will play Father Malone, the loyal confidante to 13-year-old Beatrice who is struggling with the sudden departure of her mother (Elliott) and her spiraling father (Reynolds). Simmons has memorably starred as teachers (Whiplash) and law enforcement (Justice League), but with his strong voice and undeniable moral authority, I could very clearly see Simmons able to convincingly play a welcoming priest.
Filming is expected to begin in Newfoundland, Canada, shortly.
Aimee Lou Wood, the star of last year’s The White Lotus season, is set to play the titular role in a TV adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
In her turn as the astrology-obsessed, free-spirit on the HBO anthology series, Wood’s Chelsea, even after numerous scary encounters, believes in the bond (scene) she shares with her reckless boyfriend Rick (played by Walton Goggins). The role echoes Jane Eyre’s longing, both brave characters that are consumed by their hearts yet defined by their moral convictions.
Written by WGA winner Miriam Battye (Succession), there is no word on when they will begin filming.
Art imitates life, imitating art.
Tèa Leoni and Tim Daly are Newlyweds. Well, they literally just got married in July, and they co-starred in Madame Secretary as husband and wife but now they’re back at it. Playing the titular couple in NBC’s new pilot, Newlyweds.
Synopsis: a “later-in-life” love story about a free-spirited woman and a buttoned-up professor who marry impetuously after a whirlwind courtship.
The project hails from Gail Lerner (EP: Black-ish). Jamie Lee Curtis EPs (and may possibly guest star) in NBC’s new pilot, Newlyweds. Want a glimpse of their chemistry? Check out this.
Tidbits:
Mark Rylance joins the Fanning sisters in TriStar’s The Nightingale. Kristin Hannah’s bestselling historical fiction novel tells a powerful sister story set during the Nazi occupation of France, where the pair embark on separate, dangerous paths of survival in hopes of being reunited. Michael Morris (Bridget Jones 4, To Leslie) will direct. In theaters on Feb 12th, 2027.
Martin Scorsese’s What Happens at Night adds actor Jared Harris (HBO’s Chernobyl), another great character actor, joining Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. His iconic Mad Men character, Lane Pryce (scene), was unforgettable not just for the series but for Harris’ career, showcasing quiet desperation and one of television’s most compelling supporting presences. His role in the Apple and Studiocanal film is unknown, with filming ongoing in Prague.
Mini Tidbits:
Comedian and actor Adam Pally (The Mindy Project, GOAT) will play an eccentric billionaire hiding from the law in The Sanctuary. The new comedy series is set to air on Sky’s New Zealand network. From LA-based producers Happy Accidents (Gnomes), there is no word on U.S. distribution yet.
Prime Video has cast Ed Skrein as Baldur, in its two-season God of War series. Baldur is a bit of a hot head, wildly volatile and violent. And son of Mandy Patinkin’s Odin. We’re excited to see who faces off against him in Ryan Hurst’s God of War.
FESTIVALS
Sundance is moving to Boulder, and now they’ve got some granularity on the locations. For their full breakdown on where the screenings and panels will be, click here.
New Australian production outfit Filmbarr is debuting at SXSW this year with And Her Body Was Never Found, a thriller about a filmmaking couple making a dangerous movie. The film is among a four-title slate for Filmbarr.
More Festival News:
London TV Screenings
Berlin Sales
BAFTA fallout
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Sony Pictures Classics makes the latest Sundance buy with The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, starring John Turturro.
I saw the film at Sundance and loved how it captured the gritty hustle of NYC. Turturro’s refusal to modernize bled into all aspects of his life. The film is really about a man who can’t let go.
Synopsis:
Harry (Turturro), a career pickpocket, is forced into a desperate, high-stakes race against time through the streets of his city.
Releasing this fall.
The prolific indie producer Sophia Banks is directing her sophomore film, Tilt. First, a short list of her producing credits:
In the Hand of Dante (2025)
Dir: Julian Schnabel
Role: Co-Producer
The Luckiest Man in America (2024)
Star: Paul Walter Hauser
Role: EP
Oh, Canada (2024)
Dir: Paul Schrader
Role: Co-EP
Tilt Synopsis:
A struggling freelance reporter and her cinephile cam op investigate a citywide conspiracy against the backdrop of a roaring L.A. wildfire.
We have a suspicion it’s way darker than the synopsis lets on. Her first film is Vertical’s Black Site starring Jason Clarke and Michelle Monaghan. It played like a twist on an Alien film with Monaghan getting trapped in a Jordanian black site with the world’s most dangerous terrorists set loose (trailer).
Tilt shoots in LA in early April.
Tidbit:
Submarine, the studio behind Sony Pictures Classics’ They Shot the Piano Player, is gearing up for a new animated film, Hilo. Based on the graphic novel series, it follows a boy who crash-lands on Earth. No spoilers but check out some of the pages here. Mediawan Kids & Family is also backing the project.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Warner Bros. Discovery has acquired EMEA rights for the documentary series Days That Shocked the World. From production company Britespark (Handsome Devils), through archival footage and witness accounts, the special looks at major devastating international disasters like Fukushima, Chornobyl, and 9/11, made to educate younger audiences.
Sky New Zealand has also picked up the powerful documentary with the series dropping on WBD channels (including discovery+ and HBO Max) across Europe beginning next month.
HBO Max officially launched in 12 new Asia Pacific countries, continuing the long-awaited expansion of its international reach. Some of these new countries include Bhutan, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga, marking the first time HBO, WBP, WBT, the DC universe, and Max originals like The Pitt and The White Lotus will all be available on the same platform in these territories.
Drastically scaling up its streaming service, the deal comes just five weeks after it launched in Italy and Germany. They’re following the Netflix playbook of expanding into as many countries as possible. They’re now offered in 124 territories. With Netflix in over 190.
Tidbits:
Disney+ in Latin America names Daniel Burman (So Far So Good) as Head of Original Content. An Argentine native, Burnam produced Netflix’s first-ever Argentinian series, Edha, and will lead all creative, working with new talent, and extending Disney’s catalog even further in his new position.
The UK government announces that Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and more major streaming services will be under a new set of regulations. Similar to TV broadcasters like the BBC and ITV, any platform with more than 500,000 UK users will now be under close inspection and protection through the media regulator Ofcom responsible for all user complaints, breaches, and system issues.
Mini Tidbits:
Canal+ Group secures 51% of the leading Italian distribution company Lucky Red (Nouvelle Vague). The acquisition is valued at $31M, following a series of French groups cutting deals with Italian production companies like Our Films (Portobello) with Paris’ Mediawan (F1).
Literary franchise The Saddle Club is hitting the small screen from Paris’ Frog Box (PJ Masks) and Milan’s Red Monk Studio (Netflix’s Spirit Rangers) into a new animated series. The story follows a group of friends’ transformative horse riding-filled summer. The TV adaptation is scheduled for a spring 2027 release.
Disney and ITV are now bedfellows. Hulu’s series The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox and The Stolen Girl will air on ITV1 and stream on ITVX. This is part of their cross-platform licensing deal.
ON THIS DAY
1971. Sean Astin born in LA.
Written by Gabriel Miller and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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Terrific daily roundup. The structure of Paramount's WBD bid stands out more than the price, they've essentially made rejecting the offer financially costly at every turn with that breakup fee ladder. It's a reminder that in M&A, negotiation architecture often matters as much as valuation. What's interesting is wether Netflix wants to actually counter or is happy to let Paramount overpay and absorb the integration risk, I've watched simillar consolidation waves where the apparent 'loser' often ends up better positioned.