Motion Picture: Missy Elliott and Janelle Monáe Join Pharrell Williams, Universal Musical, Yul Vazquez Joins ‘The Lost Bus’
Action/Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: The slasher film Mickey vs. Winnie is set to be directed by Glenn Douglas Packard (Pitchfork), who will also write and produce. Using the public-domain characters of A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh and Steamboat Willie’s Mickey Mouse, the film follows a group of friends at an Airbnb in a forest. They soon cross paths with a mutated Mickey and Winnie, who eventually clash themselves. The feature comes from Untouchables Entertainment and iHorror, and is currently undergoing production.
Warner Bros.’ upcoming supernatural thriller film, which is written, produced, and directed by Ryan Coogler, has added yao (#LookAtMe), singer Miles Caton, and musician Peter Dreimanis (July Talk: Love Lives Here) to its cast. The three’s roles are currently unknown. Also starring Michael B. Jordan, Jack O’Connell, Delroy Lindo, and Omar Benson Miller, among others, the feature is set for a theatrical release of March 7, 2025.
Helena Howard (Madeline’s Madeline/I Saw the TV Glow), Zion Moreno (Gossip Girl/Prom Dates), and Sophia Ali (The Wilds/Uncharted) will star in the thriller film Find Your Friends. The feature follows a group of friends visiting Joshua Tree but encountering toxic masculinity there, with the trip becoming focused around revenge. The feature is directed by Izabel Pakzad (Don’t Worry, It’s Gonna Be Ok) and produced by Allison Friedman, Andrea Iervolino, Monika Bacardi, Gary Michael Walters, and Luca Matrundola. Producing companies include Welcome to Italy S.R.L., WWPS.TV, Walters Media Group, and Angry Cloud.
Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange/3 Body Problem) has joined the cast of the horror thriller film Weapons. The feature is written and directed by Zach Cregger (Barbarian) and is produced by Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, J.D. Lifshitz, and Raphael Margules - all of whom also worked on Barbarian. The film’s plot is currently unknown, as is Wong’s role. The feature is also set to star Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, and Alden Ehrenreich, with Amy Madigan (Antlers/Penny Dreadful: City of Angels), Austin Abrams (The Line/Euphoria), and Cary Christopher (Days of Our Lives/NCIS) also announced to be joining. Weapons comes from New Line.
The Bluff has added Ismael Cruz Cordova (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power/Mary Queen of Scots), Safia Oakley-Green (Out of Darkness/Sherwood), and Vedanten Naidoo (Suzume/Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten) to its cast. Also starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Karl Urban, the feature follows a former female pirate protecting her family when past sins resurface. The feature is directed by Frank E. Flowers, who co-writes the film with Joe Ballarini. Jonas produces the project, while Flowers and Ballarini executive produce.
Zazie Beetz (Joker/Deadpool 2) and Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown) are set to star in the psychosexual sci-fi drama feature This Blue Is Mine. Set at a tropical resort, the film follows two women, Connie (Beetz) and Ivy (Debicki). After Ivy reveals herself to be an alien to Connie and invites Connie to return to her planet, the question of whether or not Ivy is truly an alien arises. The feature is directed by Iuli Gerbase (The Pink Cloud) and produced by Marissa McMahon and Ashley Schlaifer (A Private War). This Blue Is Mine is set to shoot this year in Colombia. Beetz also executive produces the film.
The horror film Tarot released in theaters. Starring Harriet Slater, Adain Bradley, Avantika, Jacob Batalon, and Larsen Thompson, the feature follows teenagers using a stranger’s tarot card deck, which unleashes evil from the cards. Tarot is written and directed by Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg and produced by Leslie Morgenstein, Elysa Koplovitz Dutton, and Scott Glassgold. The feature comes from Screen Gems and Alloy Entertainment.
Riddick: Furya is set to begin shooting on Aug. 26. Having begun development in 2014, the feature follows Riddick (Vin Diesel) returning to his home planet and facing a monster alongside others there. Riddick: Furya continues the sci-fi action franchise after 2000’s Pitch Black, 2004’s The Chronicles of Riddick, and 2013’s Riddick. Diesel stars in and produces Riddick: Furya, again working with David Twohy, director of the previous three films. The feature’s shooting locations will include the U.K., Germany, and Spain.
Samuel L. Jackson (The Piano Lesson/Fight Night) and Henry Golding (Nine Perfect Strangers/Crazy Rich Asians) are set to star in the sci-fi psychological thriller film Head Games. The feature follows a spy (Golding) attempting to steal an invention from the founder of a neuroprosthetics firm (Jackson). Head Games is directed by Anthony Mandler (Monster/Rihanna’s “Diamonds”), produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Fred Berger, Josh Glick, and Adonis Tountas, and written by Colin Liddle (Penny Dreadful: City of Angels). Principal photography is set to begin in October.
The international sales to the heist film Dutch & Razzlekhan are being handled by North.Five.Six. Based on a true story, the feature follows the story of Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan and Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, who stole $4 billion worth of cryptocurrency before being caught. The feature stars Chloë Grace Moretz (The Peripheral), Lewis Pullman (Lessons in Chemistry), and Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), and is directed by Jon S. Baird (Tetris), produced by Mad Chance (Nyad/George & Tammy), and written by Logan Miller and Noah Miller (G20/White Boy Rick). Dutch & Razzlekhan’s domestic rights are repped by CAA.
A film adaptation of the New York Times bestselling young adult dystopian novel Sky’s End is coming from Antoine Fuqua and his Hill District Media. The novel, written by Marc J. Gregson, follows a teenager attempting to rescue his sister from his murderous uncle. The film’s setting is that of floating islands above toxic clouds, where Conrad, the aforementioned teenager, will battle monsters in airships. Hill District Media’s Kat Samick will produce the feature with Sam Levine and Justin Bursch. Sky’s End is the first in a planned trilogy of novels; the trilogy’s second installment, Among Serpents, is set to release in 2025.
Peyton Jackson (Nobody’s Fool/Best Foot Forward) and Estella Kahiha (The Storied Life of AJ Fikry/Origin) have joined the cast of the feature The Woman in the Yard. The film’s plot is not yet known; it comes from Blumhouse and Universal. Also starring Danielle Deadwyler, Okwui Okpokwasili, and Russell Hornsby, The Woman in the Yard comes from Jaume Collet-Serra, is produced by Jason Blum and Stephanie Allain, and is written by Sam Stefanak. Collet-Serra and Deadwyler, among others, executive produce the film.
Comedy/Dramedy/Musical: Missy Elliott (Star/Honey) has joined the cast of Universal Pictures’ upcoming musical film. Janelle Monáe (Homecoming/Glass Onion) has also joined. Directed by Michel Gondry, produced by Pharrell Williams, Mimi Valdés, and Gil Netter, and written by Martin Hynes and Steven Levenson, the feature is set in Virginia Beach in 1977, and is inspired by Williams’ upbringing there. The feature also stars Kelvin Harrison Jr., Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Halle Bailey, and Brian Tyree Henry; currently, none of the cast’s roles in the film are known.
New Netflix stand-up specials from Michelle Buteau, Deon Cole, Gabriel Iglesias, Jo Koy, and Ali Wong are coming. Buteau’s special will tape at the Radio City Music Hall in the summer. One of Iglesias’ two announced specials will also tape in the summer in Hollywood, Fla. Wong’s special will tape at the Wiltern in Los Angeles during Netflix Is a Joke - Cole’s special will also tape during Netflix Is a Joke at the Los Angeles Theater. Koy’s special was taped at the Kings Theater in Brooklyn last year. All of the above comedians have previously released specials through Netflix.
Yul Vazquez - Pascal Le Segretain
Drama: Skepta spoke with Variety about his short film Tribal Mark. The short follows a Nigerian immigrant, Mark, adapting to London life upon discovering the Black Secret Service. As the short progresses, an adult Mark becomes the antihero Tribal Mark. According to Skepta, the inspiration for the project came from the creative’s musing on immigrants’ trauma and becoming a superhero by disassociating the mind. Skepta spoke about the film’s crew being composed of 90% ethnic minorities, and his appreciation that Nigerian crew members worked behind-the-scenes. Skepta, who co-directed Tribal Mark with Dwight Okechukwu, hopes that the short will draw attention to issues non-EU immigrants face, like mental health and racial prejudice.
The film Joyguru will launch its sales at the Cannes Film Market. Focusing on the life of Parvathy Baul, the film will follow the collaboration between Radhika Das Baul and Ritwik as they create a music album of Baul songs. The feature will shoot in India, the U.S., the U.K., and France, and is a co-production between the locales. The feature is written and directed by Soumyajit Majumdar (#Homecoming) and produced by Aparna Dasgupta, Aniruddha Dasgupta, and Majumdar’s LOK Arts Collective. Joyguru is set to begin shooting in 2025.
Yul Vazquez (O.G./Severance) has joined the cast of The Lost Bus. Based on the novel Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire by Lizzie Johnson, the feature follows bus driver Kevin McKay and schoolteacher Mary Ludwig leading a bus full of children through the 2018 Camp Fire that erupted in Paradise, California. Also set to star Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera, the feature is directed by Paul Greengrass, produced by Brad Ingelsby, Greg Goodman, Comet Pictures, and Blumhouse, and written by Ingelsby. The feature is the latest collaboration between Vazquez and Greengrass after 2013’s Captain Phillips; Vazquez’s role in The Lost Bus is currently unknown.
Exhibiting Forgiveness’ international sales have been boarded by Film Constellation. The feature, which comes from Titus Kaphar (Shut Up and Paint), follows the journey of an artist and his estranged father reconnecting. Exhibiting Forgiveness stars André Holland (Moonlight/Passing), Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday/The Deliverance), John Earl Jelks (Night Comes On/True Detective), and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Origin/The Color Purple). Kahar also produces the film with Stephanie Allain, Derek Cianfrance, Jamie Patricof, and Sean Cotton. Film Constellation will screen Exhibiting Forgiveness at Cannes for buyers, while it is expected to be theatrically released in the fall.
Yara Shahidi - Frank Micelotta
Documentary: Jalena Keane-Lee, whose documentary Standing Above the Clouds premiered in Hot Docs’ International Competition program, spoke with Variety ahead of the premiere. The documentary follows three Native Hawaiian families and supporters in their journey to protect The Big Island’s Mauna Kea from the development of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on its summit. The feature documentary comes after a short Keane-Lee created on the same subject in 2020. Others involved with the project include community organizer Pua Case, who is a cultural advisor and co-producer, filmmaker Erin Lau, who is a producer, and filmmaker Tracy Rector, who gave seed funding to the feature.
Yara Shahidi (Black-ish/Grown-ish) and her mother Keri will executive produce the documentary Paint Me a Road Out of Here. Featuring Faith Ringgold and Mary Enoch Elizabeth, the documentary focuses on the journey of Ringgold’s painting “For the Women’s House” from the Rikers Jail to the Brooklyn Museum. In a statement, Yara and Keri Shahidi expressed their admiration for Ringgold’s work and the artist’s inspiration on Black and Brown women in the carceral system. Paint Me a Road Out of Here will make its world premiere at the DC/DOX Film Festival on June 14.
A documentary on Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, a man who was killed in a prohibited chokehold by an NYPD police officer, will release around the 10th anniversary of Garner’s passing. The documentary, Ballad of a Black Mother, focuses on Carr’s becoming a justice advocate and the private toll she endured throughout her advocacy work, which includes her advocating for the Empire State’s Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act. The act makes police actions like the action that took Garner’s life illegal. Ballad of a Black Mother also focuses on other mothers who have lost their children to police violence.
Filmmakers Omar Majeed (Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam) and Peter Mishara spoke with Variety about their documentary Disco’s Revenge. The documentary examines the genre of disco, with multiple musicians and creatives connected to the genre appearing. In their discussion, the filmmakers discussed, in part, their relationship with Nile Rodgers and their use of archival footage of the 1970s disco scene in New York, some of which came from Nicky Siano. Disco’s Revenge had its world premiere at Hot Docs’ Pop/Life strand, and is set to release in 2024.
DNEG
Industry Update: At VFX outlet DNEG, hundreds of more layoffs are coming. In the UK and Canada, the company has begun consultations, and the layoffs may see approximately 5% of the company’s nearly 10,000-person workforce leave. In the UK, approximately 100 layoffs are expected to occur. The situation is the second recent layoff situation by the company following a layoff of approximately 70 people from its Fitzrovia, London office. Recent hits for the firm include 2024’s Dune: Part Two and 2023’s Oppenheimer and The Last of Us.
After criticism for working on the Disney live-action prequel film Mufasa: The Lion King, Barry Jenkins has defended his involvement. In response to a critique on social media that Jenkins is too good for Disney’s “soullessness,” Jenkins replied that The Lion King is not soulless, citing its continual impact on children. In response to another critique, Jenkins cited multiple projects he was crafting during the making of Moonlight that shared children as the common thread. In an interview with Empire, Jenkins explained that working on Mufasa: The Lion King was a process in creating creative freedom in an existing world. The feature theatrically releases on Dec. 20.
HMU Equality Now, a network devoted to improving hair and makeup department operations in British film and television, is advocating for reform regarding the aforementioned department. The need for reform comes after several actors noticed hair departments being unskilled in working with Afro-textured hair. Orchestrated by Ann Ogbomo (Justice League/The Sandman) and Cherrelle Skeete (Hanna/Danny and the Human Zoo), HMU Equality Now is advocating for, in part, producers ensuring that highly-skilled consultants work with a hair and makeup department if the producer cannot ensure suitable hair and makeup provisions, and that hair and makeup departments seek training with employers and unions. This year, British actors’ union Equity and producer trade body Pact will be developing new contracts; some of HMU Equality Now’s proposals affect Pact’s past contract.
John Terzian, Brian Toll, and Jeremy Allen are creating the production arm h.wood Media. The company originated after the trio’s collaboration on the 2022 Magic Johnson documentary They Call Me Magic. According to Allen, the company wants to work with their connections within the music industry. Their first project is the upcoming film Hell Naw!, which is written by the Lucas Brothers and stars Kid Cudi. Other upcoming projects from h.wood Media include projects with Machine Gun Kelly and Post Malone. From Sony Pictures Entertainment, Hell Naw! is set to begin shooting this year.
In a discussion with The Hollywood Reporter’s It Happened in Hollywood podcast, Karyn Kusama, the writer-director of the 2000 boxing film Girlfight, recalled auditioning Michelle Rodriguez for the film. Additionally, Kusama recalled Rodriguez’s foresight that the Fast & Furious franchise would be a global success after reading the first film’s script, and her interest in starring in a Resident Evil film. Rodriguez starred in the first Fast & Furious film in 2001 and seven others, and starred in 2002’s Resident Evil.
A Writers Guild of Canada strike may occur. After the Writers Guild of Canada’s members approved a strike-authorization vote last week - the first in the guild’s history - both the guild and the Canadian Media Producers Association are uncertain of whether or not a strike will occur. One issue the guild discovered was the decline of its Canadian citizens’ aggregate earnings across the last five years. Some of the guild’s demands include AI protection in regards to the animation industry and script-fee parity for animation writers with live-action writers.
Tyler Perry, DeVon Franklin, and Netflix are partnering to create faith-based films. The partnership - between Tyler Perry Studios and Franklin - entails a multi-film first-look deal for multiple years. Both Perry and Franklin will produce features under the partnership. The first feature to come from the partnership is R&B, a modern-day retelling of the Biblical love story of Ruth and Boaz. In R&B, which is written by Mike Elliott and Cory Tynan, a young woman leaves the Atlanta music scene and begins caring for an elderly woman, finding a mother figure in her. Perry’s current partnership with Netflix will expand under the new collaboration.
