Motion Picture: Busta Rhymes, Regina Hall and Obama
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Action: Dulé Hill has been cast in a new thriller. The Psyche actor stars opposite Andrea Riseborough in Geechee. The film follows a woman who moves to an island but starts to go insane once haunted by the spirits of the slaves who lived there. Dubois Asghong will make his directorial debut.
James Wan is up to something supernatural. Wan’s production company, Atomic Monster, is teaming up with Universal to capitalize on The Invisible Man’s recent success. The currently untitled horror film will be written by ex-Supernatural writer Robbie Thompson. The movie follows a group of teenagers that discover a monster is being made in their neighbor’s basement. The monster’s escape puts the town in danger. Other horror films coming out of Wan’s company are Malignant, The Devil Made Me Do It and There’s Something Inside Your House.
Busta Rhymes will be busting into the box office. The rapper is set to star in a new thriller, Red Money. Entourage’s Kevin Dillon will co-star. The story takes place in a world where the president declares all “green money” will soon be invaluable and “red money” will be the new currency. Rhymes and Dillon play a pair of detectives hunting down people illegally trying to get rid of their “green money”.
A new Amazon thriller is casting some amazing women. Master has cast Back Lightning’s Zoey Renee and Hadestown’s Amber Gray. Little’s Regina Hall has been announced to star as well. The movie will focus on three black women at an elite, New England university. The school was built on Salem-era lands and the ghosts of persecuted spirits haunts the campus. Mariama Diallo will direct. Hall and Terance Nance will executive produce.
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Drama: Obama exited the White House and will now exit West. Exit West, an upcoming film from the former president’s Higher Ground Productions, has found a star. Mogul Mowgli’s Riz Ahmed is in talks to star and executive produce the drama following a couple escaping a civil war using a system of magical doors. The book is an adaptation of the novel by Mohsin Hamid. Yann Demange is being asked to direct the film being developed by Netflix. Higher Ground Productions won an Oscar for best doc feature at this year’s ceremony with their film American Factory.
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Industry: Netflix struck a deal with someone from a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars alum John Boyega and his production company UpperRoom Productions have recently signed a development deal with the streaming giant. Netflix is looking to expand its foreign language catalog and UpperRoom Productions prides itself in African films. The agreement between the two companies will focus on films from West and East Africa. Netflix recently released its first African feature film, Queen Sono. Previous films from UpperRoom include God is Good and Pacific: Uprising.
New representation is on the horizon for Sanaa Lathan. The Love and Basketball star left ICM Partners for CAA. The actress’ previous credits include The Best Man, The Best Man Holiday, Nappily Ever After, The Perfect Guy, Contagion and Alien vs. Predator.
Hollywood’s favorite couple is making business moves. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith hired Eli Shibley as Head of International Film and Television for their company Westbrook Studios. The studios next film is King Richard, the story of Venus and Serena Williams’ father, with Smith in the lead role.