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Russell Crowe is a Billion Dollar Spy

The Industry

Mar 13, 2025

Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:

Crowe. Hamm. Tap.

Let’s go!

Thanks everyone who attended our event with Clint and Greg. Their tremendous insight was quite illuminating for all the new and established film industry folks.

Three projects caught our attention today…

Russell Crowe is set to star in Billion Dollar Spy, based on the NY Times bestseller.

Here’s the synopsis:

The true story of a man who became the Pentagon's most valuable spy during the last years of the Cold War.

Crowe will play the Soviet electronics engineer Adolf Tolkachev, whose distrust of his government led him to pass invaluable documents about missile systems to the CIA.

We love to see Crowe in roles where his bravery is unwavering in the face of asymmetrical powers dynamics. In Gladiator, Crowe stands up to the Roman Empire; in Michael Mann’s The Insider, Crowe weighs heavily the decision to take down Big Tobacco. What Crowe does in this life echoes in eternity and we can’t wait to see what he does with this role.

Billion Dollar Spy is currently in pre-production. HanWay films is the sales rep.

Elizabeth Olsen will star in Seven Sisters (IMDbPro link), a pilot for FX from Sean Durkin (Dir: The Iron Claw).

Synopsis:

A large, tightknit family begins to unravel when a sister (Olsen) starts communicating with a voice no one else can hear — forcing each of them to confront long-buried secrets.

In Durkin and Olsen’s feature debut Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), there was a way in which Olsen disconnected from reality in a close-knit community that was personal yet scary. We hope this alchemy can forge similar results for Seven Sisters.

Ellen Burstyn & Taika Waititi form an unlikely friendship in Place to Be. Coming from director Kornél Mundruczó, who is the master of unlikely friendships (run and see White God).

Here’s the synopsis:

An elderly woman (Burstyn) and middle-aged man (Waititi) as they travel from Chicago to New York to return a lost racing pigeon home.

This sounds charming and delightful. Waititi is no stranger to odd friendships, he played a buffoonish imaginary Hitler in JoJo Rabbit who pals up with a child.

WME Independent is the sales rep.

THE INDUSTRY TLDR

Amazon MGM is developing a Tiger Woods biopic.
Netflix has snagged the Lizzy Caplan (Zero Day) led untitled PR drama series from A24.
David E. Kelley joins forces with bestselling author Harlan Coben for a sports agent series.
Apple TV+’s newest is Your Friends & Neighbors starring Jon Hamm.
Ang Lee plans to direct a Bruce Lee biopic.
Peacock dropped the first teaser for Season 2 of Rian Johnson’s Poker Face.
Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) joins Spider-Man 4.
Family Guy’s Seth Green is getting close with another family in The Conners.
Jeff Daniels will play Jason Segel’s father in Apple TV+’s Shrinking.
Slanted wins SXSW narrative feature competition award.
Bleecker Street has acquired U.S. rights to Spinal Tap II, the long-awaited sequel to the 1984 cult classic.
Sony Pictures Classics’ On Swift Horses starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Jacob Elordi shares a spicy trailer.
Sideshow and Janus Films have unveiled a five-city US tour for Misericordia, which premiered at Cannes.

THE INDUSTRY NEWS

Amazon MGM Studios is developing a Tiger Woods biopic, marking the first scripted film about the golf legend. The lineup has some big hitters:

Dir: Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard)
Prod Company: Winkler Films (The Irishman, Goodfellas)
In talks w/: Obama’s Higher Ground (Leave the World Behind)
Adapting the book: The Tiger Slam

No cast is attached yet, but Marcus Green has recently worked with Will Smith (King Richard) who could figure into the film, which follows 26-year-old Tiger winning four consecutive Majors from 2000-2001.

A24 has already had a presence on Netflix with films like Aftersun (2022) and Pearl (2022) but now they are entering the very busy TV game.

Netflix has snagged the Lizzy Caplan (Zero Day) led untitled PR drama series from A24 and created by American Horror Story: Delicate showrunner Halley Feiffer.

The show will follow New York’s premier crisis PR fixer, Abbey Abelman (Caplan), as she helps high-profile clients navigate the worst days of their lives while striving to maintain her own image as a happily married mother of three.

With much buzz about the world of PR in the industry zeitgeist, it seems like a smart pickup for Netflix, who has started development.

Tidbits:

David E. Kelley (creator: Presumed Innocent, Big Little Lies) joins forces with bestselling author Harlan Coben (who has 8+ Netflix shows based on his books) to adapt his beloved Myron Bolitar novels about sports agent into a Netflix series.

Deja-blue? After watching the live action trailer for Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, my brain feels kind of weird. We get more of a peek at the more intergalactic side of the film and some of the scenes are perfect recreations. It's bizarre, looks cute and fun, but these remakes are messing with my head. Trailer Here and He took the red one.

Peacock has released the first teaser trailer for the second season of Rian Johnson’s Poker Face and Natasha Lyonne has her hands full! The fast-paced (and long-overdue) teaser sees Lyonne’s Charlie Cale accompanied by a number of new A-list guest stars including Cynthia Erivo, John Mulaney, and Awkwafina. You can watch all of the mysteries unfold on May 8th.

Mini Tidbits:

Daniel Craig is rumored to have been offered a role in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Netflix Chronicles Of Narnia movie.

Hope Studios, led by veteran Fredrik Wikström Nicastro (prod: A Man Called Otto), tackles a lawyer's mid-life crisis after a tragedy with an adaptation of bestseller The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari.

Ang Lee plans to direct a Bruce Lee biopic starring his son, Mason Lee. It has apparently been in the works over at Sony’s 3000 Pictures, and has faced many delays but now Lee aims for a 2025 production start.

Renewals:

Paramount+’s Landman (for Season 2)
Netflix’s Beauty in Black (for Season 2)
Netflix’s The Perfect Couple (for Season 2, for possibility of an anthology series).

THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT

*Your Friends & Neighbors*. **Apple TV+**.

“That’s not savvy, that's stupidity!”

Apple TV+ released a new trailer for their upcoming white collar drama series Your Friends & Neighbors and it’s led by Jon Hamm and created by This is Where I Leave You author Jonathan Tropper.

The series revolves around Andrew “Coop” Cooper (Hamm), a hedge fund manager, who after being fired in disgrace, is still grappling with his recent divorce so he resorts to stealing from the wealthy homes of his neighbors.

Hamm is no stranger to playing a weaselish man and shines brightest in serious roles where he can play around (scene from his show-stealing role in the last season of Fargo as the wacky yet terrifying antagonist). He has the demeanor of an upstanding man and we relish in seeing how he can crumble.

This has all the makings of another hit for the streamer.

Hamm will EP Your Friends & Neighbors which was already renewed for a second season ahead of its April 11th series debut.

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Tidbits:

Family Guy’s Seth Green is getting close with another family joining The Conners (teaser trailer) for its seventh and final season. Green will play Chad, a new friend of Sara Gilbert’s Darlene in a three episode arc. The Roseanne follow-up series will kick off its final, abbreviated six episodes on March 28th on ABC.

Sadie Sink joins Spider-Man 4: I have a few ideas of who she will be playing. After joining the immensely popular Stranger Things in season 2 and becoming what can only be described as a cultural touchpoint in season 4, everyone is wondering what's next for the 22-year-old actress? Deep Dive here:
https://theindustry.co/p/sadie-sinks-spider-man

Clifton Collins Jr. is Lucky. The Traffic actor has been cast in a new TV series for Apple TV+ called Lucky. Cast includes: Anya Taylor-Joy, Annette Bening, and Drew Starkey. No word on who Collins Jr. will play.

Jason Segel has daddy issues with dad Jeff Daniels. Daniels will play Segel’s father in a guest role in Apple TV+’s Shrinking Season 3, which follows Segel as a therapist that goes a bit off the rails by telling patients what he really thinks. It’ll be great to see what Daniels did to mess up Segel. So many ways it could be played. No word on release date.

FESTIVALS

SXSW 2025 announced its winners:

NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION

Slanted

Dir/Wri: Amy Wang (creator: Netflix’s The Brother’s Son)

Synopsis:

An insecure Chinese-American teenager undergoes experimental surgery to appear white, hoping to secure the prom queen title and peer acceptance.

Check out the rest of the winners here:
https://theindustry.co/p/sxsw-2025-winners

INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Turn it up to 11 (again): Bleecker Street has acquired U.S. rights to Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, the long-awaited sequel to the 1984 cult classic.

Directed by Rob Reiner, the sequel reunites Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer as the fictional heavy metal band embarking on a final concert after a 15-year hiatus.

The first one is legendary at this point, with so many quotables and one-liners, it has been ingrained in our collective psyche. So much so that to celebrate the impending sequel, Bleecker Street also acquired the original This Is Spinal Tap, which has been newly restored, and will soon be available on digital and streaming platforms for the first time in years.

Teaser for sequel here (you probably know what it is).

An underrated scene from the original, Clip.

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues has set a theatrical release for September 12th.

The American Dream through a queer lens. Director Daniel Minahan’s On Swift Horses led by Twisters Daisy Edgar-Jones and Jacob Elordi, shows a complex queer love triangle, a dangerous pursuit for passion, and an overwhelming longingness for freedom.

Minahan’s most recent project was the western HBO TV movie Deadwood: The Movie (2019) with his other credits including directing episodes of Game of Thrones and the Showtime miniseries Fellow Travelers.

On Swift Horses had its debut at TIFF and will play as the closing feature at SXSW this weekend before riding into theaters on April 25th from Sony Pictures Classics. Here’s the teaser trailer.

Sean Penn’s production company, Projected Picture Works (Daddio, Asphalt City, September 5) has boarded a new indie film as EPs, The Gun on Second Street.

Here’s the synopsis:

Two police officers in Pittsburgh exchange lives after an unexpected, tragic event.

Penn and his partners at his production company stated:

“We gravitate toward grounded stories about the complexities of everyday lives intertwined.”

Sony Pictures’ Classics Daddio and Vertical’s Asphalt City, both starring Penn, are great examples of that. No word yet on shoot dates.

Tidbits:

Sideshow and Janus Films has unveiled a five city US tour for Misericordia, the psychosexual comedy from French filmmaker Alain Guiraudie. Dealing with themes of murder, deception, and longing desire, the trailer is as eerie and odd as it is intriguing in a weirdly humorous way. The film was celebrated at its premiere at Cannes and first opened at Lincoln Center in New York. Misericordia will be at the Nuart Theatre in LA on March 21st, then head to Boston and Chicago, concluding in San Francisco on April 4th.

A trio of projects from a Sundance winner, Dr. Who Showrunner and Dennis Quaid:
https://theindustry.co/p/sundance-dr-who-dennis-quaid

The VFX industry is in trouble. Another renowned company is going under:
https://theindustry.co/p/technicolor-shutters