Motion Picture: Djimon Hounsou Joins Sony Thriller, Omar Apollo To Star In ‘Queer’
Action/Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: At San Diego Comic-Con, Image Comics president and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane spoke on the upcoming Spawn feature, tentatively titled King Spawn. With a draft written by Matt Mixon, Scott Silver, and Malcolm Spellman, the reboot film, according to McFarlane, will be R-rated and be different from Marvel and DC content. McFarlane mentioned that he thinks the film industry will want R-rated comic book films based on the success of the film Deadpool & Wolverine, in addition to October’s Joker: Folie à Deux. King Spawn is currently in need of a director.
Kyla Pratt is starring in The Memo. An adaptation of the psychological thriller by Minda Harts, the short film follows a woman navigating the corporate ladder; in an announcement, the short is said to be inspired by the concerning rates of women leaders leaving their jobs. The project comes from Valeisha Butterfield’s Seed Media; Butterfield, Pratt, and Harts, among others, executive produce the project. The film, which is in post-production, features a score from MC Lyte, who also serves as music supervisor. The Memo is written and produced by Nakia Stephens and directed by Vanna James.
While still in development, Netflix’s Bioshock film - an adaptation of the video game series - will be more small and personal in scope, rather than feeling like a grand project. Speaking at Collider’s Producers on Producers panel, Roy Lee attributed the scope shift to Netflix’s new film initiative under film head Dan Lin, which calls for smaller budgets, as opposed to tentpole features being produced under previous head Scott Stuber. Lee additionally shared that his film The Long Walk has begun its first week of production, a project the creative has relentlessly pursued The Long Walk author Stephen King about orchestrating. Francis Lawrence is directing The Long Walk and is in line to direct the Bioshock adaptation.
Garrett Wareing (Manifest/Boychoir), Tut Nyuot (Stanton Wood/Small Axe), Ben Wang (American Born Chinese/The Last O.G.), Charlie Plummer (National Anthem/Lean on Pete), Joshua Odjick (Little Bird/The Swarm), Jordan Gonzalez (Pretty Little Liars: Summer School), and Roman Griffin Davis (Silent Night/Jojo Rabbit) have joined the cast of The Long Walk adaptation in undisclosed roles. King’s novel follows a dystopian United States entertained by the titular competition, in which boys must continuously walk at a required pace. The feature is written by JT Mollner and produced by Lawrence, Lee, Cameron MacConomy, and Steven Schneider.
Academy Award-nominated actor Djimon Hounsou (A Quiet Place: Day One/Gran Turismo) has joined the cast of an upcoming film from Sony Pictures. Plot details regarding the film, which is a thriller, are not yet known. The feature also stars Phoebe Dynevor and Whitney Peak; it is written and directed by Tommy Wirkola, and is produced by Adam McKay and Kevin Messick.
Raúl Castillo (Army of the Dead/The Inspection) will star in The Auction. Loosely inspired by Agatha Christie’s novel And Then There Were None, the science-fiction suspense film is set at a company that sells antiques and exotic animals, where Castillo will play a sales representative, the film’s lead. The Auction also stars Ben Vereen as Castillo’s character’s father, K. Todd Freeman as the head of the company, and Audra McDonald, Richard Kind, and Mary-Louise Parker in undisclosed roles. The film comes from William Atticus Parker, who produces and stars; Sabina Friedman-Seitz and Cory Asinofksy also produce. The Auction will begin filming in New York this month.
The Netflix thriller Rebel Ridge will release on the streamer on Sept. 6; first-look images have also been revealed. The film follows a man (Aaron Pierre) who, in trying to post bail for his cousin, comes into conflict with a town’s police force. The first-look images showcase other members of Rebel Ridge’s cast, including Zsané Jhé, AnnaSophia Robb, Don Johnson, and Emory Cohen. Rebel Ridge is written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin/Green Room) and produced by Saulnier, Anish Savjani, Neil Kopp, and Vincent Savino.
Comedy/Dramedy/Musical: The Studio Ghibli film The Boy and the Heron will be available for streaming in the U.S. on Sept. 6; the Academy Award-winning film will stream on Max. The Warner Bros. Discovery-owned service is the designated streamer for Studio Ghibli films in the U.S.; the streamer recently extended a multiyear deal with GKids to stream Studio Ghibli features in the country. Outside the U.S. and Japan, The Boy and the Heron will begin streaming on Netflix.
The San Diego Comic-Con panel for Transformers One occurred. The panel featured some of the cast of the film (which includes Chris Hemsworth, Keegan-Michael Key, and Brian Tyree Henry, among others), as well as director Josh Cooley and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. di Bonaventura discussed the decision to make the film animated, citing the expense in creating the Transformers in live-action, while Hemsworth and Cooley touched on the film's storyline (which includes the dissolution of Megatron and Optimus Prime’s friendship and their becoming enemies). Cooley also discussed the plot detail of the “T-Cogs” - devices in the film that allow the Transformers to transform. Three clips from Transformers One were shown to the audience in Hall H.
Drama: The feature Londoner is coming from Babatunde Apalowo. The film focuses on a man from Nigeria visiting London, and his experience in the city after a development regarding the family he came to reunite with. The feature is somewhat based on Apalowo’s own experience, the filmmaker having left Lagos for London and feeling lonely in the latter city. Londoner, which was awarded the Red Sea Film Fund Award for best fiction feature at Durban FilmMart, is written, produced, and directed by Apalowo, with Pamela Drameh and Sarudzayi Marufu also producing.
Omar Apollo will star in Queer, an upcoming film from Luca Guadagnino. Based on the book by William S. Burroughs, the film, set in the 1940s, follows Lee (Daniel Craig), who lives in Mexico City; the novel follows Lee’s relationship with an American Navy serviceman, Allerton (Drew Starkey). The film is written by Justin Kuritzkes (who also wrote the Guadagnino-directed Challengers) and will premiere at the 81st Venice Film Festival.
Mena Massoud (The Royal Treatment/Aladdin) and Sarah Jeffery (Shades of Blue/Charmed) will star in Tecie. The feature follows two animal activists, Tecie (Massoud) and Devon (Jeffery), and is directed by Mark Webber (The End of Love/Explicit Ills). It is written by Moby (Punk Rock Vegan Movie/Moby Doc), who will also score the film, and produced by Moby, Webber, Lindsay Hicks, and Teresa Palmer. Tecie will begin filming in Los Angeles this summer; it is the first film to come from Moby’s Little Walnut Productions.
Industry Update: Tyler Perry spoke about critics of his films. Speaking on the Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast, Perry mentioned the multitude of appreciative messages fans have given him in response to his films, saying that he has thousands of those types of messages for every singular critic. Perry deemed those types of messages important; he also mentioned that it was not right for critics to determine which Black stories are important or worth telling.
Moses Babatope has launched Nile Media Entertainment Group; the corporation comprises five subsidiaries and will have a female-led executive team. Those on the team are Biola Sokenu as group COO and executive director, Lolu Desalu as executive director, Abimbola Roli Craig as VP production, Bukky George Taylor as VP of Nile X, and Nowekere Alexis C.I Segun-Ojo as GM of marketing and distribution. According to Babatope, the company’s films will “celebrate diversity, inspire empathy, normalize industry excellence and foster cultural exchange.”
