Motion Picture: Omar Benson Miller Joins Ryan Coogler, Warner Bros. Film, Dolores Huerta Biopic Announced
Nia DaCosta - Belinda Jiao / Stringer
Action/Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Nia DaCosta (The Marvels/Candyman) is in talks to direct the second installment of Sony Picture’s 28 Years Later trilogy. The first installment of the trilogy will be directed by Danny Boyle, who directed the franchise’s first-ever installment, 2002’s 28 Days Later. That film was followed by the 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later, which Boyle executive produced. Both Boyle’s and DaCosta’s films are written by Alex Garland, the writer of the 2002 film. It is rumored that Cillian Murphy, star of 28 Days Later, will executive produce and appear in Boyle’s film.
Ice Spice will make her acting debut in Spike Lee’s upcoming feature High and Low. The artist will appear in a cameo role, which she has begun shooting. The film, a reimagining of the 1963 crime thriller directed by Akira Kurosawa, will mark the fifth collaboration between Lee and Denzel Washington, who will also star in the film. In addition to Ice Spice and Washington, High and Low’s cast includes Jeffrey Wright and Ilfenesh Hadera. The film will theatrically release through A24 before its debut on Apple TV+. Variety was the first to report the news.
Blitz Bazawule’s next feature has been acquired by Warner Bros. The feature focuses on African warrior Yasuke, who became the first Black samurai. It is rumored that Bazawule’s script, tentatively titled Black Samurai, was acquired by Warner Bros. over three other studios and streamers. While the exact plot of the film is unknown, it takes inspiration from 300 and Mad Max. Bazawule wrote the film on spec, and will direct and produce it. Insneider first reported that the film was being shopped to studios.
Yellow Veil Pictures has acquired the worldwide sales rights and the North American distribution rights to the feature Dream Team. Directed by Lev Kalman and Whitney Horn (L for Leisure/Two Plains & a Fancy), the film follows two INTERPOL agents investigating an international, interspecies mystery. The feature stars Esther Garrel (Call Me by Your Name) and Alex Zhang Hungtai (I Was a Simple Man), and will launch its international sales at Marche du Film. Yellow Veil Pictures will domestically release the film in 2024.
Adain Bradley and Henrique Zaga have joined the expansive cast of Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland’s Warfare. The pair co-direct and co-write the film, their second collaboration after Mendoza served as the military supervisor on Garland’s Civil War. Warfare’s cast also includes Noah Centineo, Taylor John Smith, Michael Gandolfini, Evan Holtzman, Charles Melton, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor, Cosmo Jarvis, Will Poulter, and Finn Bennett. The film’s plot is currently unknown.
Omar Benson Miller (The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey/Ballers) has joined the cast of Ryan Coogler’s supernatural thriller film for Warner Bros. The plot of the film, and Miller’s role, are currently unknown. Coogler’s film also stars Jack O’Connell, Delroy Lindo, Jayme Lawson, Wunmi Mosaku, and Michael B. Jordan. The feature is the latest collaboration between Jordan and Coogler after Fruitvale Station, Creed, and the Black Panther franchise. The film is set for a theatrical release of March 7, 2025.
Amazon MGM Studios’ “crime thriller” Stakehorse will be directed by Justin Lin. Lin will also produce the film for his Perfect Storm Entertainment banner. Other producers include Todd Lieberman and Alex Young of Hidden Pictures. The film’s writer, Justin Piasecki, will executive produce; Piasecki’s script received the second-place spot on the recent Black List.
Russell Hornsby (BMF/Fences) has joined the cast of the Blumhouse-Universal film The Woman in the Yard. The feature also stars Danielle Deadwyler and Okwui Okpokwasili. Jaume Collet-Serra directs and executive produces the film, which comes from a script by Sam Stefanak. Jason Blum and Stephanie Allain produce the film, while executive producers, in addition to Collet-Serra, include Deadwyler, Gabrielle Ebron, Scott Greenberg, and James Moran. The plot of The Woman in the Yard is currently unknown.
Keke Palmer (Good Fortune/Nope) is in talks to star in the action thriller film Gods Unknown. The film follows a team of special ops personnel, led by an analyst, dispatched by the CIA to investigate a political-religious movement in Central Africa, one being led by a warlord with rumored supernatural powers. Palmer will play Kate Vance, one of the CIA’s agents. The film is directed by Stefano Sollima (Without Remorse/Sicario: Day of the Soldado) and written by Andrew Barrer and Gabe Ferrari (Transformers One/Ant-Man and the Wasp).
Diego Luna - Alexander Tamargo
Comedy/Dramedy/Musical: Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black), Roy Wood Jr. (The Daily Show), and Atsuko Okatsuka (The Intruder) have joined the cast of the upcoming dark comedy Outcome. The film comes from Jonah Hill, who is starring in the film in addition to co-writing, directing, and producing it for Apple Studios. The film follows a Hollywood actor (Keanu Reeves) who, after being extorted by a video clip from his past, is forced to confront past demons. The film’s cast also includes Susan Lucci, Cameron Diaz, Matt Bomer, David Spade, and Kaia Gerber. Cox’s, Wood’s, and Okatsuka’s roles are currently unknown.
Artists Equity will produce and act as the main studio for the upcoming feature Kiss of the Spider Woman. The film is the big screen adaptation of a 1993 Broadway show, which was based on a 1976 novel by Manuel Puig. Set during the Guerra Sucia, the musical’s story follows a man, Luis Molina, imprisoned in Argentina who imagines a movie star, Ingrid Luna, as a fashion editor and as the Spider Woman. Molina shares a cell with Valentin, a Marxist revolutionary. In the feature adaptation, Molina, Luna, and Valentin will be portrayed by Tonatiuh, Jennifer Lopez, and Diego Luna, respectively. The film is written and directed by Bill Condon; Lopez and Luna will produce and executive produce, respectively.
Fawzia Mirza - Robert Okine
Drama: A biopic focusing on Dolores Huerta is coming from Gregory Nava (El Norte/Selena) and Barbara Martinez. Showcasing a multi-faceted portrait of Huerta, Nava and Martinez conducted more than 70 hours of interviews with her, where Huerta shared personal, previously undisclosed details about her life. Nava will direct the film, while Martinez will co-write and co-produce with him. Robert F. Kennedy, Cesar Chavez, Fred Ross, Coretta Scott King, Gloria Steinem, and Richard Chavez will be portrayed in the film.
Written in the Stars, a feature adaptation of the novel The Wedding Season by Su Dharmapala, will be directed by Fawzia Mirza. Written by and starring Menik Gooneratne, the film is set in the Sri Lankan diaspora in Melbourne, Australia, and follows a woman who turns to horoscopes and astrology to find her true love. Gooneratne’s screenplay made the 2021 CAPE x Blacklist.
The feature The Absence of Eden, according to its director, Marco Perego-Saldaña, is a film about humanity. The feature focuses on the U.S. border crisis, and stars Zoe Saldaña and Garrett Hedlund. In a recent interview with Deadline, Perego-Saldaña discussed his and Saldaña’s desire to make a film that is not political and opens conversation. While Saldaña did not have anxiety while shooting because her husband was the director, she felt that acting in the film was not made easier and required commitment. Perego-Saldaña also writes and produces the feature.
Amir El-Masry (Rosewater/Limbo) will star in Rowan Athale’s feature Giant. The film follows the real-life story of boxer Prince Naseem “Naz” Hamed, his training with trainer Brendan Ingle, and his achieving a world championship title. El-Masry will portray Hamed, while Pierce Brosnan (The Last Rifleman/Mamma Mia) will star as Ingle. Giant is being financed by AGC Studios and BondIt Media Capital. Originally planned to shoot interiors in Malta, the entirety of the film’s production was moved to the U.K. due to the Independent Film Tax Credit. Giant is to begin shooting in Leeds, England this month.
Documentary: The trailer for the documentary Missing From Fire Trail Road has been released. The documentary focuses on the case of Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis, a Native American woman who disappeared in 2020. The film also focuses on how Indigenous women continue to go missing in the U.S. and tribal jurisdictional issues’ responsibility in creating legal loopholes on Indian reservations. The film is directed by Sabrina Van Tassel (The State of Texas vs. Melissa), and has gained support from Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) and Deborah Parker, an activist and former chairwoman of the Tulalip Tribe, who executive produces the documentary. Missing From Fire Trail Road comes from FilmRise and Canal+ Docs.
Industry Update: Courtney D. Armstrong is Paramount Pictures’ new chief operating officer. As COO, Armstrong will oversee all of the studio’s day-to-day operations regarding business affairs and legal and business development for its live action, animation, and studio group divisions. Previously, Armstrong served as Paramount’s president of business affairs and administration. Armstrong’s work before joining Paramount includes working as an executive at Warner Bros., an attorney at Walt Disney Pictures, and a litigation associate at Paul Hastings, LLP.
Two local guilds - Local 728 for set lighting technicians and the Costume Designers Guild, Local 892 - have reached tentative deals on a new contract. This brings IATSE closer to finalizing an agreement on “craft-specific” matters. IATSE and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are expecting to finalize local discussions before the Basic Agreement becomes the main discussion point on April 29. Talks regarding the Basic Agreement, which covers issues like AI, wage increases, and pension and health contributions, are expected to run through mid-May. Including Local 728 and Local 892, 10 of the 13 “West Coast” locals have reached deals.
Jhanvi Motla, Naomi Iwamoto, MG Evangelist, and Juan Paulo Laserna have been chosen as some of the screenwriters for Film Independent’s 26th Screenwriting Lab. The chosen screenwriters will receive guidance from creative advisors and will workshop their projects. The projects for the above filmmakers are The Manager’s Wife for Motla, which follows a woman discovering dark secrets about her new life after reuniting with her husband in California; Promise for Iwamoto, which follows a teen learning to love their mother; Burning Well for Evangelista, a reimagining of the Prodigal Son story following a trans man rediscovering family; and Not My Name for Laserna, which follows a family traveling through warfare-ridden Colombia and their youngest child concealing their identities.
Screen Producers Australia (SPA) has raised concerns regarding streaming regulation within the country. In its argument to the country’s National Cultural Policy inquiry hearing, the SPA is advocating that streamers spend a minimum of 20% of their local revenue on Australian content within three years, that a strong definition of Australian content is established, that Australian IP is secured for Australians and treated as a valuable national assett, and that the indie sector “retain its independent character.” In part, the SPA is fearful that global streamers will disregard the Australian film industry. While Parliament has not yet tabled, the country’s government plans to introduce streaming regulation on July 1.
Aardman Academy, the training arm of Aardman Animations, has entered a five-year agreement with the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Under the agreement, the university will offer animation students studying for the Bachelor of Digital Screen with Honors degree training, with the university being able to specialize in Aardman’s stop-motion animation style. The university’s Kōawa initiative orchestrated the agreement; students receiving the university’s training will be able to study their specialties, in addition to receiving training from industry leaders.
Marvel has laid off 15 employees. Those laid off include lower-level production and development employees in Marvel Studios and employees in Marvel Entertainment. The layoffs come after Disney’s absorption of the Marvel Entertainment banner, and after Marvel’s reduction of its film and television slate. Disney CEO Bob Iger, in a February earnings call, discussed a desire to improve Marvel’s films’ quality, the canceling of projects that are not believed in, and the implementation of projects that have bolstered confidence. Marvel Studios’ only film release in 2024 is July’s Deadpool & Wolverine.
HarbourView Equity Partners has invested in content company Mucho Mas Media. Under its agreement, HarbourView Equity will executive produce Mucho Mas Media’s films with the company’s co-CEOs Javier Chapa and Vincent Cordero. According to HarbourView CEO Sherrese Clarke Soares, the company is not just an investor; it understands creatives and the creative process. The firm was interested in Mucho Mas Media, in part, because of the company’s ability to deliver entertainment on a modest budget. The latest release for Mucho Mas Media is the golf-themed feature The Long Game, based on the Humberto Garcia novel Mustang Miracle.
