Renée Zellweger’s Magical Thinking
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Renée Zellweger’s Magic and Conan O’Brien’s Pants.
Let’s go!
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Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy starring Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, and Chiwetel Ejiofor is a studio film with the heart of an indie.
We sat down with the director, Michael Morris, to discuss how he went from his directorial debut, a sub $1M indie Oscar-nominated film, To Leslie (2022), to the $50M studio movie Bridget Jones 4.
For Morris, the two share a lot of DNA:
“These are two strong women who… have to challenge everything that they think is the way they're going to live and take this really scary leap into this next chapter if they're going to find some kind of peace or future.”
The film opens on Bridget Jones, a widow with two kids whose sex life has ground to a halt. Vestiges of her old romantic life haunt her, sometimes literally with her deceased husband, Colin Firth, manifesting in her day-to-day life.
So in an attempt to move forward, Bridget Jones defaults to solving what she believes is her most pressing problem: her fading looks and “old” age by choosing a young partner.
But according to Morris, Bridget’s quest isn’t superficial:
“Bridget is a magical thinker. She believes in, like she says, ‘where does the soul come from poetry?’ She believes in the in-between, the chaos.”
And the chaos is glorious with over-the-top fantasy sequences, a surprise Bay-Watch-inspired slow-mo scene, and some wild pillow talk.
It’s brisk, bonkers, and it might be the most fun you’ll have watching a woman flirt her way through a midlife crisis.
The film is now available on Peacock.
For More:
Trailer for Bridget Jones: Mad About You, plus interview with Morris, complete with his insight on tips for directing Hugh Grant and Renée Zellweger.
Plus, his wild connection to Harry Dean Stanton and Paris, Texas.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Netflix becomes the home for Sesame Street.
Ryan Murphy taps Max Winkler to direct American Love Story and The Shards.
Kim Kardashian to star in Netflix comedy The Fifth Wheel.
Leslie Mann & Gabrielle Union in talks to lead Peacock’s Strangers.
Juliette Lewis stars as an ultra-religious mom in Jesus Land.
Mark Ruffalo joins Natalie Portman in Lena Dunham’s Good Sex.
FKA Twigs is in talks to play Josephine Baker in Maïmouna Doucouré’s biopic.
Conan O’Brien joins Toy Story 5 as Smarty Pants.
Denzel Washington honored at Cannes with a Palme d’Or.
Golden Globe Prize for documentary goes to The Six Billion Dollar Man.
Jimmi Simpson makes feature writing debut with horror-comedy Slay.
Shudder acquires Corin Hardy’s Aztec horror Whistle.
Rodrigo Teixeira to produce Beirut-set heist drama Wolves.
Carnal Vessels brings body-swapping romance to Australia.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
How do you get to Sesame Street? Ask Netflix: Netflix has struck a landmark deal with Sesame Workshop to become the global streaming home for Sesame Street, acquiring exclusive premiere rights to new episodes starting with Season 56, alongside 90 hours of older content.
Despite HBO exiting as a production partner, the show will continue airing for free on PBS.
The partnership also includes developing Sesame Street video games, reflecting Netflix’s push into preschool content and kids' gaming to help slow churn and service their audience, as 15% of Netflix’s viewership is kids' content. Peppa Pig will also be joining Netflix.
The letter of the day is N!
Tidbits:
Ryan Murphy has locked in his go-to TV director for two upcoming projects. Max Winkler (American Horror Stories, Grotesquerie, Feud) will direct the pilot for Murphy’s American Love Story starring Naomi Watts as Jackie Kennedy. Winkler will also direct Murphy’s The Shards, based on American Psycho writer Bret Easton Ellis's audiobook and novel of the same name. Both projects are for FX.
Kim Kardashian is fully embracing her new acting career with the media mogul set to star in a new Netflix comedy, The Fifth Wheel, with Eva Longoria attached to direct. The script comes from Saturday Night Live writer Paula Pell, and while the plot details are being kept under wraps, Kardashian will supposedly star alongside an all-female ensemble cast.
Thriller drama Strangers, being developed by Peacock, has Leslie Mann (This is 40) and Gabrielle Union (Bring It On) in talks to star as its leads. Written by Jon Harmon Feldman (Monarch), the 100% Productions (The Lincoln Lawyer) project follows a long-neglected housewife who befriends a mysterious woman who could not be more different than her.
Mini Tidbit:
Regal will add IMAX screens to four existing theaters and upgrade ten more with new IMAX laser projection systems. Village Cinemas will add one IMAX screen in Melbourne.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Juliette in Jesus Land: Juliette Lewis stars in Jesus Land as a rigid and abusive mother in a deeply fundamentalist household.
This is a pretty wild role for Lewis, who takes on characters who are the antithesis of slaves to the system. Just take her breakout role in Natural Born Killers, where she is a lovable, love-crazed serial killer (trailer). Most recently, in By Design, which premiered at Sundance (and is still looking for distribution?!), she is a lunatic obsessed with becoming a chair.
In Jesus Land, it’ll be interesting to see her play an authoritarian mother. She can definitely pull off extremism.
Saila Kariat (The Valley) directs. No word on release date.
Tidbit:
Mark Ruffalo is joining Natalie Portman in Good Sex, Lena Dunham’s upcoming Netflix rom-com, and it’s a great match. Ruffalo will likely play the older of the two men that Portman, a couple’s therapist, becomes entangled with. Ruffalo’s character description is simply “successful,” which feels dull until you imagine a turning point in the movie where he discovers Portman’s infidelity. Then he’ll turn on his Shakespearean pining, on full display in Poor Things. We’re excited for this one.
Kenneth Branagh (Belfast) is starring in a feature adaptation of the famous New Yorker article Atonement, alongside Hiam Abass (Succession) and Boyd Holbrook (A Complete Unknown). The movie is the feature directorial debut of Reed Van Dyk, following a troubled marine seeking forgiveness. Prioritizing his directorial work more these days, Branagh’s last acting performance was in the Best Picture-winning historical drama Oppenheimer (2023), which continues a theme in the type of works he’s choosing to star in.
Grammy-nominated musician FKA Twigs (The Crow) is in talks to star as French triple-threat musician Josephine Baker in a biopic from director Maïmouna Doucouré (Cuties). Twigs just recently transitioned into acting, with this potential casting possessing all the makings of a real breakout performance. A trailblazing entertainer, Baker became the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture (Siren of the Tropics), so whoever does secure the role will have major shoes to fill.
Mini tidbits:
William H. Macy plays a therapist in Brian, the feature directorial debut of Will Ropp. The film follows a crazy high school student who hatches a scheme to run for president to get close to his teacher.
Conan O’Brien joins Pixar’s Toy Story 5 as the voice of Smarty Pants, a new character in the “phones are going to replace toys” sequel, releasing June 19, 2026.
FESTIVALS
We finally have a trailer for Alpha from director Julia Ducournau (Palme d’Or winner Titane).
Synopsis:
Alpha, 13, is a troubled teenager who lives alone with her mother. Their world comes crashing down the day she comes home from school with a tattoo on her arm.
Ducournau elevates body horror into an art form. Here’s the terrifying teaser. No word on release date from Neon.
Denzel Washington builds and destroys the world. That’s his guiding philosophy that propels him through Spike Lee’s epic update of Kurosawa’s Highest 2 Lowest. In addition to the A24/Apple film premiering yesterday at Cannes (Out of Competition), Washington received an honorary Palme d’Or for his contribution to cinema.
Hong Kong remake of Tape, the 2001 Richard Linklater film starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Robert Sean Leonard (House), will premiere at Raindance. It has also been picked up for UK distribution. Here’s the trailer.
The Golden Globe Prize for Documentary was launched this year at Cannes. It was awarded to The Six Billion Dollar Man from Dir/Co-Writer: Eugene Jarecki (Dir: Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winners: Why We Fight, The House I Live In).
Netflix’s Adolescence Ep3 script here. HBO Max’s The Pitt episode 1 script here. Hulu’s Paradise Ep1 here.
Cannes Market, including a new project starring Penélope Cruz and a first-time director teams with John Wick production company 87Eleven: https://theindustry.co/p/cannes-market-2025
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Jimmi Simpson (actor: Black Mirror) makes his feature writing debut with Slay. The film follows seven high school friends who spend a weekend with mean jokes and some literal backstabbing.
It fits for Simpson, who has played a string of undesirable characters from the ultra odd McPoyle on It’s Always Sunny to the evil head of the company in Dark Matter and USS Callister Black Mirror, the latter is so myopic in saving his own skin.
No word on release date.
Rodrigo Teixeira (I’m Still Here, The Witch, Call Me By Your Name) is producing Wolves, a Beirut-set bank heist drama inspired by Lebanon’s 2019 financial collapse.
Directed by Rami Kodeih and co-written with Nora Mariana (On the Road, Motorcycle Diaries), the film follows a woman desperate to access her frozen savings for her sister’s cancer surgery. Enlisting a trucker and ex-militia fighter, she stages a risky all-night heist.
The film is now in production.
Body swapping is in vogue. Australian Filmmaker Angus Kirby finds the sensual heart of body swapping in his directorial debut Carnal Vessels.
Synopsis:
Two friends swap bodies the moment they fall in love and are thrust on different sexually-charged adventures as each other over one long, hot weekend.
There’s a little bit of Being John Malkovich thrown in here, with wanting to experience sex in someone else’s body.
Here is the trailer.
Currently available to rent/buy on Apple/Amazon/Google.
Tidbits:
Independent Film Company and Shudder have acquired U.S. rights to Whistle, a new horror film from Corin Hardy (The Nun), starring Nick Frost. The film follows teens haunted by an Aztec Death Whistle (explainer video). A theatrical release is planned for later this year.
Ketchup Entertainment (Hellboy: The Crooked Man) has acquired North American rights to Misdirection, a thriller starring Frank Grillo and Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace). Directed by Kevin Lewis (Willy’s Wonderland), the film follows a couple entangled in deadly consequences after a botched heist. It's set for release later this year.
Warner Bros. Pictures has brought on veteran distribution executive Sirena Liu as the new general manager of its China office after an impressive five-year stint as the president of Legendary East.
Oscar-nominated producer Laura Imperiale (The Crime of Father Amaro, Nicotina) of Cacerola Films has joined Black Sheep, White Sheep, a romance film between a white tourist and a young Caribbean man over the course of a 12-hour layover, from director Flavio Florencio (Made in Bangkok).
ON THIS DAY
1991. Barton Fink wins the Palme d'Or at Cannes.
See you tomorrow!
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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