Motion Picture: Clark Backo Joins ‘Venom 3,’ America Ferrera Joins ‘The Lost Bus’
Jenna Ortega - FREDERIC J. BROWN
Action/Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Lashana Lynch (Bob Marley: One Love, The Woman King) is set to star in the sci-fi feature Optimize. Directed by Lindsey Anderson Beer, the film follows a woman who uses an AI assistant to optimize every aspect of her life - until she realizes the AI’s high cost for perfection. Originally developed as a short story, the feature comes from Paramount and Beer’s banner, Lab Brew.
Jenna Ortega has discussed details about the film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the sequel to 1988’s Beetlejuice. Ortega will be playing Astrid, the daughter of Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz - The Hollywood Reporter first reported that Ortega would be playing Deetz’s daughter in early 2023. In addition to sharing details about the character, Ortega explained that the production re-built the fictional town from the first film - Winter River, Connecticut - in Vermont. Directed by Tim Burton and written by Wednesday showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice finished production in late 2023 and will release on Sept. 6, 2024.
Clark Backo (The Changeling, Letterkenny) has joined the cast of Venom 3, which also features Tom Hardy, Juno Temple, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Details on Backo’s role in the film are currently unknown. The film is to be written and directed by Kelly Marcel in her feature directorial debut, from a story she co-developed with franchise star Hardy. Having been involved in the development of the previous two Venom films, Marcel will produce Venom 3 with Hardy, Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Amy Pascal, and Hutch Parker. Backo and Marcel previously collaborated on the Apple TV+ series The Changeling; on the series, Marcel served as creator, executive producer, and showrunner. Venom 3 is set to hit theaters on Nov. 8.
The world rights to thriller Amber Alert, starring Hayden Panettiere (Scream VI, Nashville) and Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary, The United States vs. Billie Holiday), have been acquired by Lionsgate. The film follows a rideshare passenger (Panettiere) and her driver (Williams), whose drive takes a drastic turn when they find themselves behind a car possibly involved in a child abduction. The film is to be directed, co-written, and co-produced by Kerry Bellessa. In addition to starring, Panettiere and Williams will executive produce the project.
Laura Harrier (White Men Can’t Jump, The Starling) has joined the cast of Lords of War, the sequel to the 2005 feature Lord of War. The sequel’s cast also includes Nicolas Cage, returning from the first film as gunrunner Yuri Orlov, and Bill Skarsgård as Orlov’s son Anton. The film follows the father and son as they begin a rivalry, and Anton trying to top his father’s wrongdoings. Cage and Skarsgård will produce and executive produce the film, respectively; Harrier’s role is being kept under wraps.
Vin Diesel has updated fans on the finale to Universal Pictures’ Fast and Furious franchise. The franchise star’s update comes after he was sued by a former assistant for sexual battery, which stemmed from an alleged incident in 2010 during Fast Five’s production. Diesel has denied any wrongdoing. In his Instagram update, the star shared that he met with the team and writers of the finale film, thanking the fans and saying that excitement for the film was building. A Fast X sequel, directed by Louis Leterrier, is scheduled to be released on April 4, 2025.
Destin Daniel Cretton will write and direct a live-action feature adaptation of the manga Naruto for Lionsgate. Masashi Kishimoto’s manga follows Naruto Uzumaki, a ninja inhabited by a demon spirit who wants to grow up to become the leader of his ninja village. Cretton, known for features Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Just Mercy, will produce the film with Jeyun Munford, Avi Arad, Ari Arad, Emmy Yu, and Jeremy Latcham. Cretton received Kishimoto’s blessing for the project; the feature has been in development at Lionsgate since 2015.
Janelle Monáe is in talks to produce and star in an adaptation of Colin Bannon’s (Ultra, First Ascent) unpublished short story Don’t Look; the short story thriller package has been preemptively purchased by Universal. The news comes after Bannon sold his horror short story Long Lost to Universal. The Don’t Look screenplay will be written by Akela Cooper (M3GAN, Malignant); the feature’s plot is not yet known.
Damon wayans jr. - Leon Bennett / Stringer
Comedy/Dramedy/Musical: Damon Wayans Jr. (Players, The Harder They Fall) is set to star in the comedy film Kinda Pregnant. The film, directed by Tyler Spindel for Netflix and Happy Madison, follows a woman (Amy Schumer) who fakes a pregnancy out of jealousy towards her friend who is pregnant. Additional cast members include Jillian Bell (Brittany Runs a Marathon, Candy Cane Lane), Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth, Strays), and Brianne Howey (Ginny & Georgia, Dollface). Among many others, Schumer and Adam Sandler will produce the film.
Kal Penn - Emma McIntyre
Drama: America Ferrera (Barbie, Ugly Betty) has joined the cast of The Lost Bus, which also includes Matthew McConaughey. The film, coming from Paul Greengrass, focuses on a teacher and bus driver (McConaughey and Ferrera) leading a bus full of students through the Camp Fire; the film is based on the book Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire that detailed the 2018 California wildfires that destroyed much of Paradise, California. The film is being distributed, produced, and developed by Apple Original Films, and will go into production this spring.
The thriller film Splash City has announced its cast. Financed and co-written by rapper Berner, the film is set to have T.J. Atoms (Wu-Tang: An American Saga), Reed Shannon (The Wilds, Arcane), and Christopher Ammanuel (Black Lightning), among many others, in its cast. Set in the San Francisco Bay Area, the film comes from a partnership between Berner and 4 Ways Entertainment. Splash City is written by Berner and David Mansanalez, and directed by Alex Ferrufino. Ferrufino, Mansanalez, John Mercado, and Arie Rose of 4 Ways Entertainment are set to produce the film.
Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, a feature following Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, who was implicated in the death of patient Anna Nicole Smith, is set to star Kal Penn. Focusing on Smith’s final days, the feature is an adaptation of Kapoor’s 2017 book of the same name, and is the second feature focusing on Smith currently being created; the biopic Hurricanna wrapped production in December 2023. Written and directed by Thane Economou (The Wedding Party), Trust Me, I’m a Doctor will be co-executive produced by Penn. The film will begin shooting in Toronto in the spring.
Raven-Symoné has joined the cast of the coming-of-age comedy Quarter. Joining the cast with Symoné are Ali Wentworth and Brooke Shields; the film’s cast already features Breckin Meyer, Tati Gabrielle, Eric Roberts, and Mindy Sterling, among others. The feature, focusing on the life of a Type 1 diabetic, is written by Kelsey Bascom, who will star in it; Arnon Manor and Bascom will produce the film, among others. Bascom’s intention in writing the feature was to normalize Type 1 diabetes and bring awareness to it; the project features the largest assemblage of Type 1 diabetics on a production to-date.
Mati Diop - Sebastian Reuter / Stringer
Documentary: Mati Diop’s sophomore outing Dahomey has been bought by Mubi for North America, Latin America, Germany, Ireland, the U.K., Austria, Switzerland, Italy, India, and Turkey. The project, a documentary, focuses on artworks being reinstated to the present-day Republic of Benin; the works were plundered by French colonial troops when the country was called the Kingdom of Dahomey in 1892. The project explores the issue of colonization and is directed and co-produced by Diop. The film will be released in late 2024 by Mubi.
The docuseries Hope on the Street, coming from BTS’ J-Hope, will launch on Prime Video on Mar. 28. Focusing on J-Hope’s career and his and popping champion Boogaloo Kim’s exploration of street dancers around the world, the docuseries will feature music from the creative’s album Hope on the Street Vol. 1, which is set to release on Mar. 29 at 1 p.m. Korea time. Hope on the Street is one of multiple current BTS projects; others include the concert film Yet to Come with Prime Video and behind-the-scenes doc BTS Monuments: Beyond The Star with Disney.
Alejandro G. Iñárritu - Europa Press News
Industry Update: Sugar23 has signed filmmaker Sterling Hampton IV for management. The news comes after the debut of the filmmaker’s documentary short Merman at the Sundance Film Festival; the short originally premiered at last year’s Tribeca Festival. The piece was also selected for the Los Angeles Times’ Short Docs series. An earlier documentary by Hampton, Kylie, was also selected for the series.
Yasmin McDonald has been hired by CAA as an agent in its Books department. With previous experience at United Agents and AP Watt Ltd. (McDonald joins CAA after an 11-year tenure at United Agents), McDonald will work to find literary IP to be adapted for the screen and stage. Some of her clients include Paul Murray (The Bee Sting), John O’Farrell (Chicken Run 2: Dawn of the Nugget), and Lisa Mulcahy (Lies We Tell).
Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s newest film is set to star Tom Cruise. While no plot details are known about the film, Iñárritu will direct and produce; the film is to be made for Warner Bros. and Legendary. The feature comes from a script written by Iñárritu, Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris, and Nicolas Giacobone. The film is the first for Cruise since the development of his partnership with Warner Bros; he will also produce.
Tyler Perry has halted the expansion of his Atlanta studio over OpenAI’s Sora, a text-to-video tool. According to Perry, the $800 million expansion would have expanded the studio’s backlot, adding twelve new soundstages. Voicing AI concerns in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Perry mentioned how AI may cost industry jobs. In the interview, the creative described Sora’s ability to digitally create environments, removing the need to travel to and build locations. Two of Perry’s upcoming films have utilized AI to age himself in post-production.
