Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Timothée Chalamet’s Playground, Chuck Norris’ RIP, and Don Cheadle vs. Goliath.
Let’s go!
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THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Warner Bros. is adapting Playground, with Timothée Chalamet and Plan B.
Netflix is developing an adult animated adaptation of Brian Bendis’ Powers.
Disney promoted Erin Barrier to SVP of Communications for film.
Starz cuts 40 staff.
Grey’s Anatomy alum Jake Borelli returns to franchise, w/ TV directing debut.
Netflix and Warner Music Group struck an exclusive multi-year first-look deal.
The Crown EP Robert Fox died at 73.
Chuck Norris died at 86.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer actor Nicholas Brendon died at 54.
The Last of Us S3 cast Michelle Mao and Kyriana Kratter as Yara and Lev.
Don Cheadle will EP doc series Vs. Goliath.
Peter Chernin launched North Road Films, naming Kori Adelson president.
A Jim Marshall biopic is in the works about the iconic rock photographer.
Quiver acquired U.S. and U.K. rights to romantic drama A Love Like This.
Radial will distribute sci-fi feature Signal One.
Yesterday’s correct answer: They Will Kill You 2 references Dante’s 9 circles.
30% got it right.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Timothée Chalamet has the right of first refusal to star in Warner Bros’ film adaptation of the Booker Prize-nominated book Playground.
The novel follows four characters – a tech tycoon, a poet, a sculptor, and a teacher - who meet on the island of Makatea. Their lives get intertwined amidst a proposal for floating cities over the ocean, touching on themes like environmental protection and colonialism.
No word on who Chalamet will play, but it may be someone who is morally opposed to empire-building, the spiritual opposite of his most recent incarnation of Paul Atreides in Dune 3 (trailer).
Plan B and Chalamet are attached to produce.
The US government unveils a policy framework for AI. Regarding IP, it says:
“The creative works and unique identities of American innovators, creators, and publishers must be respected in the age of AI. Yet, for AI to improve it must be able to make fair use of what it learns from the world it inhabits.”
These two things seem completely at odds. And we despise any AI system that blatantly steals creators’ work. Which is pretty much every system. Welcome to the Slop-a-verse.
Tidbits:
Powers gets an adult animation treatment. Netflix is developing an adult animated series adaptation of the indie comic series of the ongoing Powers comic-book franchise. It follows two homicide detectives who work together in the dark streets of Chicago, investigating super-power-related homicide cases. Dark Horse Entertainment (Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, The Mask) will produce the show with Brian Bendis, the original creator of the comic, writing the pilot.
The Walt Disney Studios has promoted Erin Barrier to SVP of Communications. With over a decade at the studio, Barrier will now oversee communication for each of the company’s production banners, i.e., Disney Animation, Pixar Animation, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Searchlight, 20th Century, etc. Her promotion is just one of the many leadership changes kicked off from new CEO Josh D’Amaro.
Starz is hit hard with layoffs, cutting 40 roles (7% workforce). They’ve had a rough Q4 2025 with revenue down 6%, streaming revenue down 11.9%, and a $20.7M net loss and over half a billion in debt. One of their cost-cutting measures is pumping AI into their production pipeline on one of their hit shows, Spartacus: House of Ashur. I think those production savings will create long-term harm as viewers become allergic to AI content.
Netflix has formed a partnership with Warner Music Group for an exclusive multi-year first-look deal. Perhaps after the success of the Netflix premiering Becoming Led Zeppelin, the streamer will now make documentary series and unscripted films exploring the music company’s extensive catalog of artists, including everyone from Fleetwood Mac to Bruno Mars.
Mini Tidbits:
CBS News was also hit with layoffs. 6% of the staff, or 60-70 people, have been let go, including the entire CBS News Radio team. This may be a bit of foreshadowing of what will happen if Paramount Skydance’s CBS combines with Warner Bros. Discovery’s CNN.
Believe it or not, the people want more Naked and Afraid. The Discovery Channel just introduced its eighth spinoff show, Naked and Afraid: Global Showdown. The new series will feature survivalists from all over the world competing in honor of their homelands. The series will launch on May 17th.
Former Grey’s Anatomy actor Jake Borelli is returning to ABC’s long-running medical drama, but this time behind the camera. After playing the compassionate Dr. Levi Schmitt for over seven seasons, Borelli’s TV directorial debut will air on ABC on April 2nd.
EP of The Crown, Robert Fox, has died at age 73. He was a prolific producer on both Broadway and in the West End, finding new plays for major talent like Judie Dench, Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren, and many more
Trailer:
Wolfram
Premiere: Berlin
Dir: Warwick Thornton (Samson and Delilah)
Sales rep Paradise City closed 7 territories, including Greece
Release date:
Tubi’s The Haunting Hour. R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2
Release date: Oct
Shooting now:
Netflix’s Assassin’s Creed (series)
Shooting in Rome
Setting: Rome 64 A.D.Dir: Johan Renck (Chernobyl)
Takashi Miike’s film
Shooting in Japan
Cast: Charli Xcx, Milly Alcock, and Hailey Benton Gates
EP: Live Nation Studios
Left Seat
Shooting in Germany
Cast: Michelle Rodriguez and Richard Gere
Prod Co: Mandalay Pictures (Air, The Birth of a Nation), A/Vantage (Highest 2 Lowest)
Synopsis:
A traveling salesman is forced to land a plane after its pilot dies.
Sounds like a Twilight Zone episode. But it will play more like A24’s Locke.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
If anyone was immortal, I would’ve believed Chuck Norris was. The legendary Carlos Ray “Chuck” Norris passed this weekend at 86.
By the ‘70s, Norris was one of the most recognizable faces in action films, going on a legendary streak with:
The Way of the Dragon (1972)
Good Guys Wear Black (1978)
Flying kick! scene
Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)
Missing in Action (1984)
Code of Silence (1985)
In Walker, Texas Ranger (1993-2001), he found his most iconic role yet, as the stoic Texas Ranger Cordell Walker. He was no-frills, all justice, taking matters into his own hands, the show would go on to become a cultural landmark, cementing Norris’ place in television history (cool fight scene in a mall of all places).
Dolph Lundgren, who starred alongside Norris in one of his last roles, The Expendables 2 (2012), paid tribute, saying:
“Ever since I was a young martial artist, I always looked up to him as a role model. Someone who had the respect, humility, and strength that it takes to be a man. We will miss you, my friend.”
A commanding presence but sparing with words, Norris embodied a distinctly old-school kind of heroism: physically formidable but always morally righteous.
His legend will be with us forever.
Tidbit:
The heart of the show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Nicholas Brendon, has passed away at 54. Across all seven seasons, he played Xander Harris, Buffy’s loyal and supportive best friend, who, as a human in a supernatural world, often provided needed comedic relief. He later starred on Criminal Minds as an FBI agent and love interest to the wacky Penelope. In recent years, Brendon focused on his true passion: painting.
The Last of Us S3 casts Michelle Mao (Bridgerton) and Kyriana Kratter (Star Wars: Skeleton Crew) as Yara and Lev. The two “seraphites” – fanatic cult followers in the apocalyptic world of the series – will play a huge role in Abby Anderson’s (played by Kaitlyn Dever) story, which will be the primary focus of the final season of The Last of Us.
Mini Tidbits:
Fox’s Baywatch reboot has just added another to the team. Nadia Gray (Netflix’s Bright) will play a recurring EMT who has a romantic connection to one of the lifeguards down at Venice Beach. Filming is ongoing in LA.
Stand-up comedian Li Jin Hao joins the cast for Judd Apatow’s (This is 40) country music comedy. Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) will play the lead as a country-western star in free-fall. Li is the second stand-up comedian to join this film, following Stavros Halkias (Bugonia).
Vannessa Vasquez (Say a Little Prayer) joins Efren Ramirez (Napoleon Dynamite) and Michael Raymond-James (Godfather of Harlem) in crime noir Motives. The film will follow two detectives who investigate the murder tied to the city’s elite youth.
Don Cheadle will EP doc series Vs. Goliath. The series explores stories from working-class Americans who are taking bold action against the fossil fuel industry.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / FESTIVALS
Peter Chernin’s The North Road Company (Netflix’s Bad Boy) is expanding with a new film label, North Road Films. One of Chernin’s busiest producers, Kori Adelson (prod. A24’s Backrooms), has been named President of the freshly launched operation. North Road Films will work alongside Chernin Entertainment to financially back both established and new filmmakers, developing projects that appeal to a global audience.
The new label comes shortly after leading European studio Mediawan (Sales Rep: F1) has announced they’d be acquiring North Road, greatly increasing the value of both companies expected to be completed this spring.
The “Godfather of Rock ‘n’ Roll photography”, Jim Marshall, is getting his own biopic. His resume is legendary, being the only photographer backstage at The Beatles' final concert, responsible for capturing the iconic photos of Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, and this list goes on and on. The film will explore the birth of rock-and-roll through Marshall’s literal lens made in collaboration with Marshall’s estate and filmmakers Jason Noto (Beyond the Night) and Tim Cronin (The Things We Carry).
Quiver Distribution acquires US and UK rights for romantic drama A Love Like This. The film stars Emmanuelle Chriqui (Superman & Lois) and Hayes MacArthur (Dear Santa) as a couple tangled in a game of love and lies during a weekend in Malibu.
Crime feature Fox Hunt has secured a number of global distribution deals. By sales rep. Cappu Films (Shattered), Blacktop International (House) is on for German-speaking territories and Global Media Distribution (Beast) across Latin America. Led by Internal Affairs actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai, the thriller follows two cops hunting down a dangerous money-trafficking cartel.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
South Africa’s Both Worlds (Prime Video’s The Morning After) and France’s Paradoxal (Acorn TV’s Recipes for Love and Murder) are adapting two Deon Meyer books as premium series.
The film adaptation of his crime fiction book Heart of the Hunter became the first African film to hit No. 1 on Netflix’s global English-language film chart.
One of the novels being adapted is Dead at Daybreak, a 1996 Cape Town noir following ex-cop turned private investigator Zatopek van Heerden as he rebuilds his life inside a country struggling to reinvent itself.
Mini Tidbits:
Philippine production companies Fusee and Studio 360 teamed up for the Tokyo-set action thriller One More Night to Live. The film follows an undocumented Filipino immigrant who goes up against the Tokyo Yakuza when his teenage sister gets tangled up in their trafficking network.
Jamie Blanks dies at 54. The Australian filmmaker and composer is most famous for his work in cult slasher films such as Urban Legend (1998) and Valentine (2001).
ON THIS DAY
1998. Titanic wins Best Picture.
Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace, and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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