Motion Picture: ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ Trailer Revealed, ‘Moana 2’ Announced By Disney
Action/Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: The trailer for Paramount’s A Quiet Place: Day One has been released. Starring Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn, the film serves as a prequel to the other two films in the horror franchise: A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II. While those films followed the Abbott family (led by John Krasinski and Emily Blunt), A Quiet Place: Day One follows Nyong’o’s character in New York when the franchise’s monsters first begin to attack. According to the trailer, the film will release in theaters in June. Written and directed by Michael Sarnoski (Pig), the film comes from an original idea by Krasinski, who will produce.
Mike Tyson will play himself in Bunny-Man, a superhero film being produced in Italy. Written by Enrico Remmert and produced by Andrea Iervolino (Ferrari, Waiting for the Barbarians), Bunny-Man follows a superhero who, wearing a bunny mask, fights adversaries and is driven by a desire to avenge his late sister. According to Iervolino, 95% of the film will be shot in a virtual environment. The rest of the film’s cast, and its director, are currently unknown.
Fan Bingbing will star in Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky, the sequel to the 2021 film The Ice Road. Returning for the sequel are actor Liam Neeson and director Jonathan Hensleigh, who will also write the sequel. Bingbing plays Dhani, a Mt. Everest guide with a unique fighting style. The film will follow ice road driver Mike McCann (Neeson) attempting to traverse the “Road to the Sky” on his way to Everest to honor a wish by his late brother. Encountering Nepalese mercenaries, he is forced to fight to save himself, fellow travelers, and the homeland of the local villagers. The film’s international rights, except in Germany, are held by Prime Video. Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky is currently in production.
Anna Diop has joined the cast of Nadia Latif’s The Man in My Basement. The film follows Charles Blakey (Corey Hawkins), who, after receiving a mysterious offer to clear his debt by businessman Anniston Bennet (Willem Dafoe), finds himself confronting his family’s ghosts in a scary puzzle that involves race, trauma, and the root of all evil. In the film, Diop will play an antiques expert, Narciss Gully, who has a passion for African American women’s histories, and finds herself interested in Charles’ family history. An adaptation of Walter Mosley’s novel, the film marks the latest collaboration between Diop and Hawkins after the two starred in the series 24: Legacy. Produced for Andscape, Disney and ESPN’s Black-led content studio, the film will release on Hulu through Hulu and Andscape’s partnership.
The Tubi horror-thriller My Bloody Galentine starred Ella-Rae Smith (Foundation, The Stranger). Released on February 13, My Bloody Galentine follows three single women (Smith, Cassie Clare, and Miriam-Teak Lee) at a skincare company around Valentine’s Day who discover, whilst planning revenge, that their exes are suddenly dying. The three then realize that a killer is after them. My Bloody Galentine was written by Eliza Maher and directed by Traci Hays.
Dave Bautista will star in the post-apocalyptic action film Afterburn, an adaptation of the comic of the same name. Samuel L. Jackson will also star in the film, which is set to showcase Bautista as an ex-soldier retrieving artifacts on Earth 10 years after a solar flare wiped out all technology. Tasked with retrieving the Mona Lisa, Bautista races against a warlord, while Jackson will play a freedom fighter. Through Dogbone Entertainment, Bautista will produce the film, which will be directed by J.J. Perry. Bautista and Perry previously worked together on The Killer’s Game. Afterburn’s producers first tried to begin production on the film in 2018.
Leila Ben Khalifa will star in Danny A. Abeckaser’s indie film Mob Cops. Based on true events, the film follows a detective who, finding two NYPD cops on his radar, sets his sights on bringing them to justice. Written by Kosta Kondilopoulos, produced by Kyle Stefanski and Gustavo Nascimento, and executive produced by Julian Brass, the film is currently shooting in Los Angeles. In addition to Khalifa, the film will star Abeckaser, David Arquette, Kevin Connolly, and Jeremy Luke.
Mia Tharia and Aran Murphy have joined the cast of Taika Waititi’s adaptation of Klara and the Sun. Based on the bestselling novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, the film follows a robot, Klara (Jenna Ortega), who is designed to prevent loneliness. When Klara’s teenage companion, Josie (Tharia), suffers from a mysterious illness, Klara sets out to save her. In addition to directing, Waititi will produce the film, while Ishiguro will executive produce; the film is to be written by Dahvi Waller. Tharia’s upcoming screen debut will be in the feature Sisters, while Aran Murphy portrayed the title role in the play Hamnet from 2018-2019.
Paapa Essiedu will star in Carl Tibbetts’ crime-thriller film Sweet Dreams. The film is looking to be shot in October, and follows the English seaside town of Claypole as it is overrun by violence and lies. The film will also star Aimee Lou Wood, Nick Frost, Niamh Algar, and Billy Howle. While Deadline reported the project back in 2020, cast and production changes have since ensued.
Charles Melton is in talks to join Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland’s new film at A24. A currently untitled war film, it will be written and co-directed by Garland and Mendoza, who also collaborated on Garland’s Civil War - Mendoza served as that film’s military supervisor. Talk of Melton joining comes after the actor’s critical praise for his performance in May December. Garland’s Civil War is set to release on April 12.
The rights to Olivia Gatwood’s debut novel Whoever You Are, Honey are being optioned by LuckyChap and Indian Paintbrush. The novel, which will publish in July 2024, follows a woman on the Santa Cruz waterfront whose life is disrupted by the arrival of a couple next door, revealing to her that what she believed to be dystopian has become reality. The project is the newest collaboration between LuckyChap and Indian Paintbrush after the film My Old Ass. Gatwood will adapt the novel into a script.
Max Minghella’s sophomore directorial effort Shell has added Arian Moayed, Este Haim, Lionel Boyce, and Ziwe to its cast, one that already features Elisabeth Moss, Kate Hudson, and Kaia Gerber. Shell, a thriller, follows a struggling actress (Moss) who is given a free trial opportunity at a health and beauty company. With the promise that the company keeps its employees looking young forever, the actress begins to fear for her life when employees end up going missing. Among other producers, Moss will also produce the film.
A remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 feature High and Low is being made by Spike Lee, reteaming with Denzel Washington. An English-language reinterpretation of the crime thriller starring Toshiro Mifune, the film is a partnership between A24 and Apple Original Films; A24 will develop, produce, and release High and Low theatrically, while Apple will co-finance the project and initiate a global launch of the film on Apple TV+. High and Low marks the fifth collaboration between Washington and Lee, the latest collaboration between Washington and producer Todd Black, and the second collaboration between Washington and Apple Original Films. Lee will direct, executive produce, and co-write the film, which is set to begin production in March.
Stefan Ruzowitzky’s (The Counterfeiters) thriller Ice Fall is set to star Joel Kinnaman (The Suicide Squad, For All Mankind) and Cara Jade Myers (Killers of the Flower Moon, This Is Us). The film will be written by Chief of Station’s George Mahaffey, and will follow a poacher and game warden’s attempts to escape criminals and dirty cops while looking for a crashed plane carrying millions in a frozen lake. Arclight Films, which holds worldwide rights and is producing Ice Fall, will begin the film’s sales at the European Film Market.
The crime-thriller She Rides Shotgun has added Rob Yang to its cast. Directed by Nick Rowland (Calm With Horses) and written by Jordan Harper (who wrote the novel the film is inspired by), with revisions by Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski, and Rowland, She Rides Shotgun follows a recently-released prison inmate (Taron Egerton) on the run with his 11-year-old daughter from a criminal gang the inmate worked for in jail. Egerton will also executive produce the feature; accompanying Egerton and Yang in the cast is Ana Sophia Heger, John Carroll Lynch, Odessa A’zion, and David Lyons.
The upcoming Karate Kid film has casted its Karate Kid. The role will be played by Ben Wang (American Born Chinese) after an extensive casting call for the part. In addition to being fluent in Mandarin, Wang has skills in martial arts, including karate, gumdo, kempo, wing chun/kung fu, and taekwondo. The film, which is to be directed by Jonathan Entwistle (I Am Not Okay With This, The End of the F–ing World) and written by Rob Lieber (Peter Rabbit), will feature Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso from the original trilogy and Netflix’s Cobra Kai, and Jackie Chan as Mr. Han from 2010’s The Karate Kid. The film is to be theatrically released by Sony Pictures on Dec. 13, 2024.
The first installment of The Lost Book of Creation trilogy is set to star Matt Hookings (Prizefighter), Madalina Diana Ghenea (Deep Fear), Bobby Lee (The Dictator), and Eddie ‘The Beast’ Hall (Expend4bles). Directed by Roel Reine (Line of Fire) and written by Hookings, the film follows two archaeologists (Hookings and Ghenea) who set out to look for the titular book. The film comes from Camelot Media, which, under Malta Enterprise, will be filmed at Camelot’s production base in the country. In addition to shooting in Malta, the film will shoot across Europe and the Middle East at the end of the summer.
The international rights to the Sundance Caroline Lindy-Melissa Barrera horror comedy Your Monster have been acquired by Bankside Films. Following an actress (Barrera) meeting a monster living in her closet, the film is the feature debut for writer-director Lindy, whose previous short, Aspirational Slut, won the Narrative Shorts Audience Award at SXSW in 2022. Rounding out the cast with Barrera is Tommy Dewey, Meghann Fahy, Edmund Donovan, and Kayla Foster.
Comedy/Dramedy/Musical: A trailer for the first part of the feature adaptation of Wicked was released during the Super Bowl. Directed by Jon M. Chu, the film - sharing its title with the Broadway musical inspired by Gregory Maguire’s novel - serves as a prequel to the story of The Wizard of Oz, and showcases Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba (later the Wicked Witch of the West) and Ariana Grande as Galinda Upland (later Glinda the Good Witch). Other members of the film’s cast include Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, and Jeff Goldblum. Wicked’s first half is set to release on Nov. 27, 2024, with the second to follow on Nov. 26, 2025.
Celine Song’s romantic comedy The Materialists is being taken to the European Film Market by A24. Dakota Johnson is in talks to be in the film, with Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal circling. According to Deadline, the film’s story deals with a matchmaker harboring feelings for a past partner while becoming involved with a wealthy man. Song will write the film, while 2AM’s David Hinojosa and Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler are additionally involved. Vachon and Koffler produced Song’s Past Lives, which has been nominated for Best Picture. The team is eyeing to begin work on the film as early as the spring.
The romantic comedy Lola and Freddie is set to star Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Joel Fry (The End We Start From), Jameela Jamil (DC League of Super-Pets), and Olivia Lee (Dirty, Sexy, Funny). Being billed as a British reimagining of Celeste and Jesse Forever, the film follows a couple (Harris and Fry), who, after a divorce, begin to realize that they may still have feelings for each other. The film is being helmed by writer-director Dean Craig of The Honeymoon and Netflix’s Love, Wedding, Repeat.
Netflix has acquired the stand-up comedy special Chappelle’s Home Team - Donnell Rawlings: A New Day. According to the special’s synopsis, Rawlings discusses toxic relationships, aging, and co-parenting, among other topics. Directed by Stan Lathan (an Emmy and Grammy award winner) and executive produced by Lathan, Chappelle, and Rikki Hughes, the special is the third in the Home Team series. Rawlings’ first stand-up special for Netflix, it will release on February 27.
A sequel to 2016’s Moana is coming this year; Moana 2 has a theatrical release date of November 27. Originally developed as a TV series, Bob Iger decided to make the series a feature film based on its footage. According to Disney, the film will follow Moana and Maui answering a call from Moana’s ancestors that causes them to journey into new waters of Oceania. Directed by Dave Derrick Jr., it is expected that Auli’i Cravalho will return to voice the titular character. Concurrently, the studio is also developing a live-action adaptation of the first Moana, in which Dwayne Johnson will reprise his role as Maui. While Cravalho will not portray Moana in that film, she will executive produce.
Andrew Dice Clay has joined the cast of Amazon MGM Studios’ The Pickup. Described as a heist comedy, the film also stars Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson, and Keke Palmer. When the film is released, it will be available on Prime Video in over 240 countries and territories throughout the world. Murphy will also produce the film; as will the film’s director, Tim Story. Recently, Clay has been seen in A Star Is Born and Pam & Tommy.
2023’s The Color Purple will debut on Max on Feb. 16. The film’s streaming debut comes after the musical’s multiple award nominations, including nominations at the Academy Awards, SAG Awards, and the NAACP Image Awards. The Warner Bros. film, directed by Blitz Bazawule, stars Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Taraji P. Henson, and Halle Bailey. Based off of the Broadway play that, in turn, is based off of Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel, the film features Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders, and Quincy Jones as producers.
Gender Agenda, a comedy special featuring genderqueer comics, has set its lineup. With Hannah Gadsby serving as curator, host, and an executive producer, the special will feature Jes Tom, Alok, Asha Ward, Chloe Petts, DeAnne Smith, Krishna Istha, and Mx. Dahlia Belle as its comedians. Having taped at the Alexandra Palace Theatre in London, the special will debut on Netflix on March 5. Gadsby hopes the special will curate more representation for genderqueer comics and bring the spotlight to those featured in the special.
Kogonada - Tommaso Boddi / Stringer
Drama: The Sweet East has received a U.K. theatrical release date. With Utopia acquiring the U.K. rights to the film, the road movie - starring, among others, Ayo Edebiri, Talia Ryder, Jacob Elordi, and Simon Rex - will premiere in the U.K. at the Institute of Contemporary Arts on March 10, followed by a theatrical opening on March 29 at the ICA. Additionally, Utopia has partnered with Gotham Photochemical to produce 35mm prints of the film for its upcoming U.K. and North American theatrical releases. The first screening with the new print will occur on February 23 in New York City.
The global rights to the drama Fancy Dance have been acquired by Apple Original Films. Starring Lily Gladstone and Isabel Deroy-Olson, the film follows two Seneca-Cayuga women searching for a missing family member. While doing so, the two unearth truths about the treatment of Indigenous women in a colonized world. The film will be co-written, produced, and directed by Erica Tremblay in their feature directorial debut, while Gladstone will also executive produce. The film will debut in theaters and on Apple TV+ in 2024.
Kogonada’s A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is set to star Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell. The film will mark the next collaboration between Farrell and Kogonada after the two’s work on 2021’s After Yang. The film, written by Seth Reiss (The Menu), is described as following two strangers and the journey that connects them. Kogonada will also executive produce the film, while Reiss will also produce. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey shoots in California in spring 2024. The news was first reported by Deadline.
The memoir of professional dancer Johannes Radebe, JoJo: Finally Home, is getting a feature adaptation. The film, sporting the working title Finally Home, will be a family film, with musical elements. Radebe will executive produce the film; growing up in the South African township of Zamelda, he became a professional ballroom dancer and celebrity with the support of his mother, sister, and a dance coach. Part of the film is expected to shoot in South Africa. Anthony Kimble’s Arrested Industries and Helena Spring Films have acquired the memoir’s rights.
Kim’s Convenience’s Andrea Bang will executive produce and star in the feature debut of writer-director Jess Dang, Surrender. The film follows a blackjack addict (Bang) and the effects her hiding of her addiction has on her mental health. Beginning as a short film (starring Bang and Keiko Agena, who will also star in the feature) that secured a licensing deal with NBC Universal via Comcast, the feature version of Surrender participated in Film Independent’s Fast Track Fellowship Program, where it was selected for fiscal sponsorship. Owning It, a program dedicated towards helping women and non-binary creatives, also supported Surrender’s filmmakers. Dang will also produce the film under Long Lunch Break, her company banner.
Nelson Mandela - GIDEON MENDEL/CORBIS
Documentary: The direct-to-consumers rights and the global theatrical rights - sans the U.K. and Ireland - to Cymande documentary Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande have been acquired by Abramorama. Directed by Tim MacKenzie-Smith, the documentary focuses on the legacy of the ‘70s band, a group of Black British musicians who came to the U.K. from the Caribbean. The band released three albums in the ‘70s, which the U.S. embraced. To support the film, Cymande will embark on a worldwide 2024 tour, and is in the process of working on new music. Abramorama will theatrically release the film in the U.S. and Canada in early April after its theatrical release in the U.K.
Raoul Peck’s documentary on Ernest Cole, Ernest Cole: Lost and Found, is set to feature LaKeith Stanfield (Judas and the Black Messiah, Atlanta) as the titular photographer’s voice. The documentary focuses on Cole, a photographer from South Africa whose early photos showed Black life under apartheid, and who later worked in the United States, living in exile. The film’s North American rights have been acquired by Magnolia. With the full support of the Ernest Cole Family Estate, the production has been granted access to the family’s archive, in part offering images never seen by the public.
NBC News Studios, Westbrook Studios, and BET Studios have partnered to co-produce the feature documentary The Debutantes. Directed by Contessa Gayles, an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker, the film focuses on an intergenerational group of Black women and girls in Canton, Ohio who revitalize the debutante ball. Focusing on the women coming into their own (including three protagonists: Amelia, Dedra, and Teylar), the film employs cinema verite, archival imagery, TikTok dance montages, and personal video diaries. The feature was filmed at the 2022 Cotillion.
A feature documentary about Nelson Mandela, provisionally titled Troublemaker: The Story Behind the Mandela Tapes, is to be directed by Antoine Fuqua. Partnering with Fuqua on the project is Mac Maharaj, a close friend of Mandela’s who shared a prison cell with him on Robben Island, transcribed Mandela’s autobiography, and smuggled it out of jail. Among others, Maharaj executive produces the project, which will use newly discovered audio interviews of Mandela, interviews from comrades and key figures close to him, and insight from Maharaj to portray the figure and the events that shaped him. Production on the documentary has begun in South Africa, where Fuqua has conducted interviews.
Industry Update: During her visit to The View, Sheryl Lee Ralph was invited by Whoopi Goldberg to be a part of the planned Sister Act 3. Ralph and Goldberg both appeared in the franchise’s earlier film, 1993’s Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit; Goldberg’s invitation to Sister Act 3 came after an invitation to Ralph to join the cast of Sister Act at a cast reunion. After Goldberg’s invitation to take part in the third film, Ralph was nearly left speechless.
The latest collaboration between Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan has been acquired by Warner Bros. after a bidding war. Described as an “original genre film,” the film is to be written, directed, and produced by Coogler. The film marks Coogler and Jordan’s fifth collaboration and their latest collaboration with Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy (currently of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group) after their work with the duo on 2023’s Creed III when De Luca and Abdy were at MGM. Coogler is producing through his Proximity Media, which has an overall exclusive TV deal with Disney.
UTA has promoted 104 employees across 25 departments. Among many others, some of the departments include business affairs, fine arts, motion picture talent, news & broadcasting, publishing, and TV literary. Over 50% of those promoted were women, while over 30% identified as people of color. The promotions come after Anna Ho Sandig’s becoming vice president at UTA Venture Studio, Julian Jacobs’ promotion to leading the New York office, and Klutch Sports Group’s acquiring of sports agency Rep 1 Baseball.
Comedian and musician Morgan Jay (Girls5Eva, Bring the Funny) has signed with WME. The agency will represent the creative in all areas. Jay boasts close to 3 million TikTok followers and more than 700,000 Instagram followers. Upcoming projects for the creative include a special for Comedy Central Stand-Up Featuring and a performance during the 2024 Netflix Is A Joke Festival.
Vabble, a blockchain-based streamer, has added Joanna Miles (former SVP of Theatrical Marketing, Entertainment One, Canada) to its advisory board. Barry Chamberlain (former President of Sales at CBS Studios International) and Philip Groves (former EVP of Worldwide Distribution and SVP of IMAX Corporation) also joined the board, with former Universal Pictures EVP John C. Hall joining earlier. Vabble, billed as a combination of Snapchat and Netflix, is designed to allow indie filmmakers to distribute their films globally using blockchain technology.
UTA’s Venture Studio department has added Anna Ho Sandig as vice president. Based in Los Angeles, Ho Sandig will report to Paul Yoo, head of UTA Venture Studio, which develops talent-founded companies. Some of Ho Sandig’s past experience includes serving as COO of L.A.-based multi-unit specialty coffee brand Go Get Em Tiger, VP of strategy at early-stage cannabis brand Sunday Goods, and as a management consultant at Bain & Company in New York. Some of UTA Venture Studio’s startups include Issa Rae’s Sienna Naturals and Elizabeth Banks’ Archer Roose wine.
Terry McMillan is partnering with Lifetime to executive produce original movies under the “Terry McMillan Presents” banner. The bestselling author’s Lifetime movies will focus on the love and lives of African American women. Additionally, McMillan’s films will serve as part of the company’s 40th anniversary. This is not the first collaboration between Lifetime and McMillan; the two previously collaborated on A Day Late and a Dollar Short. Details on McMillan’s new films will be released later in the year.
Talent representation company A3 Artists Agency has shut down. Employees were issued final paychecks on Monday, Feb. 12, the business’s last day of operation; healthcare has been extended for some time. Recently, A3’s CEO Robert Atterman and president Brian Cho filed a lawsuit against majority owner Adam Bold, accusing him of running A3 into the ground, sexual harassment, and habitual drug use. Bold denied the accusations of drug use and harassment. According to Variety, insiders said that Atterman and Cho are considering starting a new company.
Heather Daughtry has been announced as the new chief of programming for The Black Boy Writes & Black Girl Writes Mentorship Initiative. With experience at Final Draft, Inc, Daughtry’s efforts have focused on uplifting underrepresented writers. Three writing mentors have also boarded the initiative: they are Andre J. Ferguson (Power Book II: Ghost), Jackie Penn (Siren), and Cynthia Adarkwa (Legacies). The initiative comes from Black Boy Writes Media and its founder, writer Mike Gauyo (Insecure).
