Motion Picture: M. Night Shyamalan Thriller ‘Old’ Trailer Drop, Korea’s BIFAN Reveals Line Up
Action: Universal Pictures has dropped the official trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s new mystery thriller Old, the story of unfortunate beachgoers who find themselves trapped on an island that begins to age them at a deadly rapid pace. This feature marks Shyamalan’s return to the big screen since his 2019 film Glass, after spending a brief sting directing two seasons of the Apple TV+ psychological thriller series The Servant in between. Featuring the likes of Alex Wolff, Gael Garcia Bernal, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Ken Leung, the film is set to hit theaters July 23rd.
The most recent Tom Clancy Project, Without Remorse, topped the streaming charts for features in late April according to Nielsen, beating out Netflix’s recently debuted Mitchell’s vs. The Machines. The Michael B. Jordan-led feature was viewed for 760 million minutes during the week of April 26, with 37% of the viewing audience African American. Despite its success, Amazon Studios has yet to top the enormous Octavia Spencer-led Thunder Force debut, falling at No.8 on this week’s list with an additional 131 minutes.
Japanese-British pop star Rina Sawayama will make her acting debut in John Wick 4 opposite Keanu Reeves. Directed by Chad Stahelski, the feature will begin this summer in Germany, France, and Japan. The script is penned by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch with Stahelski, Basil Iwanyk, and Erica Lee as producers.
Michael Greyeyes - Frazer Harrison
Drama: The Flash duo Jesse L. Martin and Michelle Harrison are set to star in Flat Head Films’ indie feature Re: Uniting. Written, directed by, and starring Laura Adkin, Re: Uniting follows six friends reconnecting at a 25-year college reunion and a damning secret revealed that could change everything. The feature is produced by Krista Rand with Stirling Bancroft as director of photography. Production is currently underway on Bowen Island.
Vertical Entertainment has recently acquired North American distribution rights to Wild Indian, a coming of age crime drama centered on the relationship between two schoolchildren – one Anishinaabe and the other not – and how it changes after a shocking incident. Written by Lyle Mitchell Corbin Jr. in his debut feature, Wild Indian premiered the U.S. Dramatic section of this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The feature stars Michael Greyeyes, Jesse Eisenberg, Chaske Spencer, and Kate Bosworth, with an expected theatrical release sometime this year.
Samuel E. Wright - Yuchen Liao
Industry Update: Tony-nominated actor Samuel E. Wright, most recognized as the voice of Sebastian the Crab in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, has died at the age of 74. An accomplished actor and artist beyond his crustaceous role, Wright worked often on Broadway in shows such as Jesus Christ Superstar and Mufasa in the 1997 run of The Lion King among others, as well as helping to establish the Hudson Valley Conservatory, a performance venue in Walden, New York. Wright is survived by his wife Amanda as well as their children, Keely, Dee, and Sam.
Srishti Behl Arya, Director of International Original Film at Netflix India departed last week, having held the position for three years. Since May 2018, Arya had overseen more than 35 original films from India and Southwest Asia, including Guilty, Serious Men, and the company’s first Tamil and Telugu films featuring actors Paava Kadhaigal and Pitta Kathalu. According to Monika Shergill, VP of Netflix’s India Content department, film is expected to remain a focus for the team moving forward.
South Korea’s Bucheon International Film Festival (BIFAN) has announced 40 official selections from 29 countries in this year’s NAFF project market. The largest genre film festival in Asia, BIFAN will feature 19 notable projects selected for the It Project strand such as Mattie Do’s The White King, Quentin Lee’s How To Talk With Spirits, and Khavn De La Cruz’s 100 Midget Zombie Cannibals, among others. The event will run July 8th – 13th entirely online.
Three major theater chains – AMC, Regal, and Cinemark – have updated their mask mandate policies for fully vaccinated patrons, allowing the ability to forgo masks in the theater. This change in policy is still subject to local and state legislative mandates, and patrons that are not fully vaccinated are “strongly recommended” to continue wearing masks at venues.
