Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Sundance’s Sunshine, Apple’s Storm, and a double rabbit.
Let’s go!
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Little Miss Sunshine just had its 20th anniversary screening at Sundance, and it was one of the most sensational screenings I've ever been to, not just at the festival, but of all time.
There's something special about seeing that film, with its love for humanity, as we watch five people with their own selfish goals turn back towards each other.
To see that film full in a crowded theater, the same theater it played 20 years ago, where people applauded every time the family pushed the bus, was incredibly heartwarming.
Afterwards, there was a panel with the cast, Paul Dano, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Abigail Breslin, directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the producers, and the writer, Michael Arndt.
Arndt shared that he had gone through 100 drafts of the script in the five years that it took to make the film. For me, it compounded the idea that any filmmaker out there, if they have a project they believe in, that is personal, it can get made, and it will get made.
But the most touching moment of the evening came from one of the producers, David T. Friendly, who shared this:
“The world's pretty fucked up right now. Let's agree on that. And the moment when Abigail goes down to see Paul [after he has the panic attack learning he’s color blind], and she's going down with her red cowboys, and she just puts her arm around him. And that moment, she doesn't say anything.”
He continued:
“And tonight, what that told me was we're going to get through these crazy times. We need our family. We need our friends. We have to support each other. And there's a depth in this movie that, quite honestly, I didn't see initially. But it came out beautifully tonight.”
For me, it re-cemented the idea that we must see films in the theaters.
As someone who has seen Little Miss Sunshine multiple times on DVD and then, eventually, on a laptop. There is nothing like being in a room full of people, united by a love for cinema, and the collective audience experience to heighten every sound, every note, every syllable, every frame. It is the most undeniable sensation in the entire industry of motion pictures.
For More:
Relive the magic of Little Miss Sunshine with the trailer.
My iPhone cast photo from the event:
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Apple TV+ lands rights to Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere.
Netflix buys Lainey Wilson: Keepin’ Country Cool doc.
L.A. rolls out a $5M microdrama subsidy for vertical/short-form productions.
NCIS: Origins: showrunner Gina Lucita Monreal exits after S2.
Studio exec Leonard Kornberg (EP Hacksaw Ridge) dies at 75.
Anthony Starr to lead Netflix’s Breakers.
Netflix lands Legendary’s live-action Gundam with Sydney Sweeney.
Julia Garner joins Charlize Theron in Tyrant.
Ana de Armas leads the influencer thriller Sweat.
Will Poulter joins Rabbit, Rabbit.
Sam Worthington/David Duchovny board The Exiles.
Berlinale jury includes Wim Wenders and Reinaldo Marcus Green among others.
Once Upon A Time In A Cinema sells multiple territories.
Mubi acquires epic Oscar-shortlisted documentary My Undesirable Friends.
BBC: Rhodri Talfan Davies named interim DG.
Hulu has acquired Australian thriller Watching You under Disney ITV Studios.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Apple TV+ has acquired rights to fantasy author Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere universe: A shared mythology spanning multiple book series, with early plans for a Mistborn feature film and a The Stormlight Archive series.
Netflix has picked up the documentary Lainey Wilson: Keepin’ Country Cool, all about country music’s newest chart-topping pop star. From Teton Ridge Entertainment (Riding Hurt), part concert tour, part film about the singer’s personal journey with fame, the doc will drop on the streamer on April 22nd.
Los Angeles is creating a $5M subsidy for Microdrama Productions, the short vertical drama format that has gone viral this past year. Due to the majority of these projects not qualifying.
Showrunner Gina Lucita Monreal (prod. Paradise) is exiting the CBS prequel series NCIS: Origins by the end of its second season. Recently getting renewed for a third season, creator David J. North will remain on the series.
Nielsen’s top streaming titles of 2025 in watch minutes:
Disney+’s Bluey: 45.2bn
Netflix/Hulu’s Grey’s Anatomy: 40.92bn
Netflix’s Stranger Things: 39.95bn
Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy: 33.37bn
Netflix and Sony’s award-winning KPop Demon Hunters is, by no surprise, the most-streamed movie of 2025 with 20.55bn minutes of viewing. Also impressive:
Moana 2: 9.43bn
Despicable Me 4: 8.70bn
Happy Gilmore 2: 7.07bn
Wicked: 6.82bn
But live events are really picking up steam:
UFC/Paramount’s event last Saturday pulled in 5M views. And 20% conversion rate on sign-ups (1M).
Netflix’s free solo climb with Alex Honnold brought 6M views (but likely many more viewers).
Comedy has also been performing well for Netflix. Tom Segura’s Sledgehammer brought in 18M views since it aired in 2023.
Longtime Studio exec, Leonard Kornberg (EP Hacksaw Ridge) has died at 75. He spent a large chunk of his career as a story analyst at Universal and worked on films like The Mummy (1999) and Paddington (2014).
Trailers:
HBO’s DTF St. Louis
Cast: Jason Bateman, David Harbour, Linda Cardellini
Release: Mar. 1st
Hulu’s Paradise (Season 2)
Cast: Sterling K. Brown, Shailene Woodley,
Release: Feb. 23rd
BBC’s Lord of The Flies
EP: Jack Thorne (Adolescence)
Release: Feb. 8th
Netflix’s Berlin and The Lady with an Ermine Drops (Money Heist spinoff)
Release: May 15th
Rotterdam title Yellow Cake
Dir: Tiago Melo (Azouge Nazare)
Premiere: Rotterdam
IFC Films and Shudder’s Dolly
Dir: Rod Blackhurst (wri. Night Swim)
Release: Mar. 6th
Wardriver
Dir: Rebecca Thomas (Dir. Stranger Things)
Cast: Dane De Haan (Chronicle)
Release: Mar. 20th
CBC’s Cirque Life
Prod. Co: Cineflex Productions (Summer Quamp)
Release: TBA
First Look:
Amazon MGM’s Highlander
Dir: Chad Stahelski (John Wick)
Cast: Henry Cavill, Russell Crowe
Release: TBA
Renewals:
Netflix’s Lincoln Lawyer (for Season 5)
Also, Guillermo del Toro is working on an extended cut of Frankenstein. Including a sequence where they re-created the bloody and disturbing crucifix that was at del Toro’s church when he grew up.
Release Dates:
Apple TV’s Ted Lasso (Season 4)
Cast: Hannah Waddingham, Jason Sudeikis
Release: Summer 2026
Apple TV’s Criminal Record (Season 2)
Cast: Peter Capaldi, Cush Jumbo
Release: Apr. 22nd
Focus Features’ Pressure
Dir: Anthony Maras (Hotel Mumbai)
Cast: Andrew Scott, Brendan Fraser
Prod. Co: StudioCanal
Release: May 29th
Netflix Germany’s The Empress (Season 3)
Cast: Devrim Lingnau (Hysteria)
Release: late 2026
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
The Boys fans won’t have to wait long to see Anthony Starr’s devilish grin on their screens anymore, with the actor set to lead Netflix’s Breakers.
From Clerkenwell Films (Baby Reindeer) and writer-producer Peter Jackson (Somewhere Boy) the series follow two best friends on a backpacking trip who get entranced by a chill, mysterious surfing community led by none other than Starr’s Brando.
The final season of Amazon Prime’s The Boys premieres April 8th, closing out the graphic, satirical superhero comedy that skyrocketed Starr into stardom. He played the deeply narcissistic and immature, laser-eyed super-antagonist, Homelander, for all five seasons of the record-breaking show.
Production on Breakers is ongoing in Australia, with things set to wrap up this June.
Legendary’s long-gestating live-action Gundam feature has landed at Netflix, with the streamer set to distribute the film.
Sydney Sweeney and Noah Centineo (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before) are attached to star, with Sweet Tooth creator Jim Mickle directing from his own script. The anime adaptation of the popular mecha series will apparently focus on two star-crossed lovers from different warring factions.
Gundam has it all: action, violence, impactful death, and some really cool robot fights. It’s a big swing, but Sweet Tooth was incredibly ambitious world-building that more or less landed, and I think fans are pretty happy with Netflix’s anime adaptation chops with the most recent One Piece series.
Tidbits:
Ana de Armas will headline AGC Studios’ psychological thriller Sweat, starring as Emma Kent, a rising fitness influencer whose carefully controlled online persona unravels after a fateful encounter with an obsessive fan. The role builds on de Armas’ momentum following Ballerina and Ron Howard’s Eden, positioning her at the center of a fame and fixation story that turns increasingly dangerous. Directed by J Blakeson, the film begins production on March 30, 2026, in Los Angeles and the UK.
Amazon MGM Studios’ Tyrant finds its second lead in Julia Garner (Weapons, Ozark), set to star opposite Charlize Theron. Described as Whiplash, but in NYC’s cutthroat culinary world, Tyrant sees Garner furthering her career trajectory away from prestige TV to leading high-stakes psychological thriller features. Shooting is expected to begin later this year.
Kayvan Novak (What We Do in the Shadows), Bonita Friedericy (Chuck), and Jon Pointing (Big Boys) have joined Amy Poehler’s Peacock comedy series Dig in recurring roles. Based on Kate Myers’ book Excavations, the series centers on four women at an archaeological dig in Greece whose discovery triggers a high-stakes international conspiracy.
The Phoenician Scheme breakout Mia Threapleton is joining Damien Chazelle’s untitled prison movie, with the newcomer set to share the screen with an acclaimed ensemble. Threapleton will star alongside Daniel Craig, Cillian Murphy, and Michelle Williams in the film, said to be inspired by “70s New Hollywood cinema”.
Sam Worthington (Avatar) and David Duchovny have joined Ke-Xi Wu (Nina Wu) to star in The Exiles, the English-language debut of Taiwanese filmmaker Midi Z (Ice Poison). The Taipei-shot expat crime thriller is inspired by true events and follows a Westerner whose pursuit of opportunity in Asia spirals into murder.
Corey Hawkins (The Piano Lesson) co-stars opposite Mila Kunis in Nightwatching, a Scott Free and Picturestart thriller for Amazon MGM, adapted from Tracy Sierra’s novel. The film follows a mother trapped inside her home during a brutal winter storm as a break-in spirals into a tense fight for survival.
Mini Tidbit:
The Bear’s Will Poulter has joined Netflix’s hostage series Rabbit, Rabbit. Just yesterday, we reported on Regina Hall joining Adam Driver as the series leads, with Poulter’s role currently unknown. Created by Peter Craig (wri. The Town), Rabbit, Rabbit is still casting.
Gritty thriller The Savior is set to be led by Kate Beckinsale (Underworld) as a mother struggling with addiction who must pull it together to save her kidnapped daughter. Compared to films like Sicario and Man on Fire, The Savior is in its early stages of production.
Phil Dunster (Ted Lasso) has joined Universal’s live-action How to Train Your Dragon 2 as Eret, the swaggering dragon trapper. Dean DeBlois returns to write and direct. The sequel opens June 11, 2027, following the franchise’s $636 million 2025 hit.
CBS legal drama Cupertino casts Rachel Keller (Legion, FX’s Fargo) in a leading role. Keller will play a recent law grad, an underdog in the Silicon Valley-set series.
Nevermind! The Marty Supreme actress has apparently dropped out of Sean Durkin’s Deep Cuts movie, revealing the news on her Instagram story. The Iron Claw director’s movie also stars Cailee Spaeny and Drew Starkey.
FESTIVALS
Berlin:
The upcoming Berlin Film Festival has shared its full roster of main jury members, including filmmakers like:
Wim Wenders
Reinaldo Marcus Green (Dir. King Richard)
Hikari (Dir: Rental Family)
Ewa Puszczynska (Prod: The Zone of Interest)
Full list of jury members for the 76th Berlinale found here.
Out of Rotterdam:
No butt is safe. Anticipated Rotterdam horror title, Bowels of Hell, gets worldwide sales picked up by the UK’s Blue Finch Films (Oddity, Frances Ha). If you’re not familiar, this is the movie about a curse that turns toilets into deadly monsters. Watch the teaser trailer here, if you dare.
David Gleeson’s Once Upon A Time In A Cinema is sold to multiple international territories by Myriad Pictures (Margin Call). Led by Belfast’s Colin Morgan as a beleaguered cinema owner wrestling with the legacy of the past and the challenges of the future. The film is set to have its world premiere opening night of the Dublin International Film Festival next month.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Two-time Oscar winner and king of the arthouse dramedy Alexander Payne finalizes details on his third feature with Searchlight.
Somewhere Out There is a Danish friendship comedy led by Oscar nominee Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value) and Jacob Lohmann (The Promised Land). It is not only the first film Payne has directed in Europe, but it is also the first shot in a language other than English.
Production officially starts next month.
Mubi acquires epic Oscar-shortlisted documentary My Undesirable Friends from director Julia Loktev (Day Night Day Night). The global distributor is acquiring both My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow (Trailer) as well as its forthcoming sequel: My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile. The 2024 NYFF title will debut on Mubi this fall.
Mini Tidbits:
Ariel Lawhon’s 18th-century mystery novel The Frozen River has been optioned by Trudie Styler’s Maven Screen Media (Eleanor The Great) for film rights. Set in a post-Revolutionary community, the story follows a midwife’s journey against the system in pursuit of justice.
Argentina, 1985 writer-director Santiago Mitre’s next film is a political thriller for Netflix. Much like his Oscar-winning Venice title, Mitre’s newest film revisits a turbulent chapter in Argentine history, exploring life under military rule and the rise of organized civil resistance.
Saban Films acquired U.S. rights to Houston Bone’s horror Son of Sara: Volume 1. Visit Films sealed the deal and continues international sales. Starring Chloe Van Landschoot, the film opened Blood in the Snow 2025, where she won Best Lead Performance.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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