Succession’s Successor
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Jesse Armstrong’s new project with HBO, Oscar delays, and a tap dance.
Let’s go!
Jesse Armstrong’s (creator: Succession) next project is an untitled movie for HBO. He will write and EP.
Here’s the very light synopsis:
Four friends reunite during the turmoil of an ongoing international financial crisis.
If these friends are anything like The Roy family in Succession, “reuniting” will be the furthest thing from a picnic.
Armstrong’s 19-Emmy-winning series Succession was a tour-de-force of jockeying for power between the snobbish children of a megalomaniacal titan of industry (played musically by Brian Cox). It was part King Lear and part Rubert Murdoch's story (actually!). What made the series so masterful was how well it dived into the details of the ultra-wealthy, from their broken psychology to their hat choices.
Although the tragicomedy tone of Succession felt unique, bolstered, of course, by the scale of the investment by HBO, Armstrong’s films have had iterations of this tone:
Downhill (2020)
Co-Writer
An adaptation of the fierce satire Force Majeure
The Day Shall Come (2019)
Co-Writer
Genre: Weaponized Comedy
In the Loop (2009)
Co-Writer
Like Veep but with more swearing and very very dry humor
With his knack for dissecting power dynamics and unraveling complex relationships with razor-sharp wit, Armstrong's next project promises to deliver another incisive, darkly comedic exploration of human frailty against the already precarious world of finance.
The untitled HBO film is being fast-tracked and is anticipated to shoot later this year.
For More:
Armstrong’s only Oscar nomination comes from co-writing In the Loop. Here’s the famous ashamed minister clip.
“My father was a brute.” In a long line of world-class writing in Succession, Strong’s eulogy of his father (scene) stands amongst the best.
Remember when Adrien Brody was on Succession (clip)?
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Oscar Nominations have been pushed to next Thursday, Jan 23rd, due to the LA wildfires.
More postponements include the WGA nominations. The majority of studios have pledged money to help the recovery efforts.
John F. Burnett (editor: Grease) has died at the age of 90.
NBCUniversal is closing down Universal Kids in March.
White Lotus breakout Leo Woodall plays a math genius in Apple TV+’s Prime Target.
Rosamund Pike takes a bad phone call in the upcoming horror thriller Hallow Road.
Five new cast members have been added to the cast of The Isolate Thief, an upcoming period western from director John Suits (3022).
Jeremy Piven tap dances to survive in The Performance.
Neon’s new Presence trailer (Dir: Steven Soderbergh) ups the scare factor!
Some great panels from Sundance this year, including one with Celine Song (dir: Past Lives).
Shout! acquires 156 iconic Hong Kong films, including John Woo's.
Mubi is theatrically re-releasing The Substance.
The 27th annual Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous with French Cinema gets a first look at all the films and projects slated for 2025.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
The Oscars nominations have been pushed again due to the LA wildfires. Here are the key dates:
Last day to vote for nominations
Tuesday, Jan 14th → Friday Jan 17th, 5 p.m. PT
Nominations announcement
Pushed: Sunday, Jan 19th → Thursday, Jan 23rd 5:30 a.m. PT
More closures due to the LA wildfires:
WGA nominations
Postponed 1.13 → ?
ACE Eddie Awards (editing)
Postponed 1.18 → ?
Companies have started pledging money:
Disney - $15 M
Warner Bros. Discovery - $15 M
Comcast NBCUniversal - $10 M
Netflix - $10 M
Amazon - $10 M
Sony - $5 M
Beyonce’s charity BeyGood - $2.5 M
The Eva Longoria Foundation - $1 M
Premieres/Events have also been canceled for:
Annual Oscar luncheon
Cancelled
Netflix’s With Love, Meghan premiere
Some productions are beginning to return, including:
Max’s Hacks
Apple TV+’s Loot
NBC’s Suits: LA
Get a full list of event cancellations:
https://theindustry.co/p/cancellations-la-wildfires
Tidbits:
Not long after Walmart acquired Vizio (for a whopping $2.3 B), AMC+ and Starz joined in on a new bundle available only through the purchase of a Vizio subscription. At just $13.99 a month, the bundle is cheaper than what you would pay for each of the streaming platforms individually.
Veteran film editor John F. Burnett, behind films like Grease (1978) and And Justice for All (1977) has died at the age of 90. Burnett originally got his start at Warner Bros. with his first big break assisting editor Bill Ziegler on the Audrey Hepburn-led movie musical My Fair Lady (1964). He will be missed.
The return of the king. Billionaire Barry Diller, who was the head of Paramount Pictures in 1974-1984 and the founder/chairperson of the media company IAC which owns:
Dotdash Meredith
People
Entertainment
Travel + Leisure
Daily Beast
Diller is stepping back in to run IAC after the departure of the CEO to help run a spinoff home services brand, Angi.
Sequels:
Den of Thieves 3
Status: Pitched, waiting for greenlight
Severance Season 3
In the works from director Ben Stiller and team
NBCUniversal is closing down Universal Kids in March. This is a result of Comcast/NBCUniversal’s spinoff of mid-level cable networks, “SpinCo,” as the company will still prioritize kids content, just on Peacock.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Apple TV+’s DaVinci Code (2006) meets A Beautiful Mind (2001) meets The Number 23. That seems to be the starting ingredients for the streamer's latest show, Prime Target, starring White Lotus breakout Leo Woodall as a math genius.
Here’s the synopsis:
A brilliant young mathematician is on the verge of a finding a pattern in prime numbers, which will hold the key to every computer in the world. When he realizes an unseen enemy is trying to destroy his idea. Together with a government agent who's been tracking him, he begins to unravel a troubling conspiracy.
It sounds a little pseudo-Y2K to me, but Woodhall is wildly watchable. He is slimy but charming in White Lotus Season 2, simultaneously making you feel safe but unsafe (clip). He’s so hedonistic in that series that it’s nice to see him play a cerebral character. Here’s the trailer.
The eight-episode series will premiere on Apple TV+ on January 22, 2025.
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Rosamund Pike takes a bad phone call (still): She will star in the upcoming horror thriller Hallow Road, where she and Matthew Rhys play parents racing against time after a late-night call reveals their daughter caused a tragic car accident. Written by first-time screenwriter William Gillies and directed by BAFTA winner Babak Anvari, the film was shot in Ireland and Prague, with production led by Anvari’s Two & Two Pictures. Rosamund Pike is probably best known in Gone Girl (clip) and as a reluctant Bond girl in Die Another Day (clip), and recently absolutely chewed through the scenery in Saltburn (clip.) While this role seems to be a bit more muted and grounded in a parent's desire to protect their child at all costs, Pike seems absolutely chilled in this first look.
Hallow Road will be releasing sometime in 2025.
Five new cast members have been added to the cast of The Isolate Thief, an upcoming period western from director John Suits (3022).
New cast additions:
Joe Pantoliano (The Sopranos)
Ty Simpkins (Insidious franchise)
Jack Kesy (The Strain)
Martin Sensmeier (The Magnificent Seven)
Country music star Bryan Martin
Previously announced:
Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings)
Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar)
Odeya Rush (Lady Bird)
The Isolate Thief began production in Little Rock, Arkansas, last month.
Tidbit:
Jeremy Piven tap dances to survive in The Performance (trailer) set in Nazi Germany. In theaters Feb 28th. Next up for Piven: fighting dinosaurs during the Vietnam War in Primitive War. We’re not sure about it either, but take a flier on this one (BTS Video).
The marketing department with Neon went in a different direction with the new trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s latest film, Presence. The film is a ghost story told from the POV of a ghost. Check out the much scarier trailer here. In theaters Jan 24th.
Bookends, 5X Media's debut feature directed by Mike Doyle, follows a millennial novelist who moves in with his grandparents after a breakup, grappling with family dynamics and his grandfather's cognitive decline. It looks like a cute little indie with some romance. Cast includes F. Murray Abraham (Grand Budapest Hotel), Noam Ash (The Other Two), and Caroline Aaron (21 Jump Street), currently in production.
FESTIVALS
We’re packing our bags for Sundance this year (if you’re going, drop us a line).
The festival has announced a few great events. Here are a couple of standouts:
Power of Story: On Success
Mstyslav Chernov (dir: 2000 Meters to Andriivka, 20 Days in Mariupol)
Celine Song (dir: Past Lives)
Chloë Sevigny (Atropia, Magic Farm)
Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)
The Big Conversation: Breaking Barriers
Cristina Costantini (SALLY, doc on the first American woman in space, Sally Ride)
Nicole Perlman (co-writer: Guardians of the Galaxy)
This is the Science and Art panel, and I have fond memories of previous years.
Full list of events here.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Shout! Scores big attaining rights to the Golden Princess movie library, featuring 156 iconic Hong Kong films by many Chinese directors, including a large catalog of John Woo's works, including classics such as Hard Boiled (1992), The Killer (1989), and Peking Opera Blues (1986). Previously, they acquired:
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)
Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1969-1974)
We’re looking forward to what they acquire next in their burgeoning library.
Mubi’s The Substance is coming back to 350 theaters on January 17th. Solid awards season play now that Demi Moore is riding high off the Golden Globe Best Actress win.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
All eyes are on Paris as local and international buyers (400 European film buyers and 100 TV buyers) head to the 27th annual Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous with French Cinema to get a first look at all the films and projects slated for 2025. With over 1,000 attendees representing over 44 countries, the market will launch with the world premiere of Grégory Magne’s The Musicians (Les musiciens), a musical film following a string quartet whose egos struggle to find harmony.
Mk2 Films (The Piano Teacher) has taken over international sales for Enzo, a French drama from Anatomy of A Fall (2023) producer Marie-Ange Luciani of Les Films de Pierre. The film follows a 16-year-old boy who defies his bourgeois family’s expectations by starting a masonry apprenticeship.
Memento International (Sick of Myself) is now attached to Belgian filmmaker Laurent Micheli’s (dir. Lola) French-language thriller Nino In Paradise (Nino Dans La Nuit). The coming-of-age story is based on the bestselling 2019 novel and is currently in post-production, with Memento launching sales at Unifrance.
Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous in Paris will last from Jan. 14th to the 21st.
Worldwide Box Office Check-in:
China: $5.8 bn in 2024
Projected to grow 40% by 2029
France: $1.41 bn in 2024
11 % drop in international Gross: $255 M
Indonesia: $126 M n 2024
10% growth in Cinema Admissions
ON THIS DAY
1941. Faye Dunaway is born in Bascom, Florida.
See you tomorrow!
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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Hi! Great stuff, mostly excited by the Shout Factory news. Many of Woo's films and other HK action films are not available to stream or buy digitally.
One note: IMO, this would serve better as multiple posts rather than one. A lot of Substacks are shorter in length. That's just my two cents, take it as you will.
Thanks for the hard work.