Motion Picture: Trailer Released For John Cho Film ‘Afraid,’ Production Wraps On Jay Lycurgo Film ‘Steve’
Action/Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: The trailer for the thriller film Afraid has been released. Starring John Cho and Katherine Waterston, the feature focuses on an AI assistant device, AIA, that becomes dangerously devoted to the family it helps. From Columbia Pictures and Blumhouse, the film also stars Havana Rose Liu, Lukita Maxwell, Keith Carradine, and David Dastmalchian. It is directed, produced, and written by Chris Weitz (About a Boy), and is also produced by Jason Blum and Andrew Miano. Afraid will be theatrically released on Aug. 30.
The film Bloody Mary: Origins is coming. The feature is based on Hillary Monahan’s novel Mary: The Summoning, and follows a group of teenage girls who conjure the entity Bloody Mary. The group must vanquish the entity and save one of their own after one of them is pulled through the mirror and begins living out the last days of the real Mary Worth. The film is written by Jeffrey Reddick and John Stancari (whose memory the film is dedicated to), produced by Todd Slater, Ryan Martin, and Angela Ziegler, and is set to be additionally produced and directed by Lane Shefter Bishop. According to Slater in a statement, it is hoped that the film creates a franchise similar to Reddick’s Final Destination series. Casting for the film is currently underway.
The trailer for the action-comedy Jackpot! has been released. Set in a near-future Los Angeles, the film follows a woman (Awkwafina) who wins the lottery and becomes protected by a lottery protection agent (John Cena), who explains that everyone with a losing lottery ticket can try to kill her before sundown and, thus, receive her monetary prize. Jackpot! is directed by Paul Feig, written by Rob Yescombe, and produced by Feig, Joe Roth, Laura Fischer, and Jeff Kirschenbaum. In addition to Awkwafina and Cena, it stars Simu Liu, Ayden Mayeri, Donald Elise Watkins, Sam Asghari, and Murray Hill. The film will be available to stream on Prime Video on Aug. 15.
Gbenga Akinnagbe (Rob Peace/Fast Charlie) and Graham Greene (Echo/The Green Mile) will star in the Western Broken Trail. Set in 1875, the film follows the meeting of a widow (Rumer Willis) and a former Pinkerton Agent (Akinnagbe), who form an alliance fueled by their desires for retribution. Broken Trail is directed by Johnny Remo, who also produces the film and co-wrote it with Daniel Backman. Lesa Wolfe co-produces Broken Trail, which comes from Remo’s Skipstone Pictures.
Comedy/Dramedy/Musical: Summer of 69 is coming from American High. Among others, the film stars Sam Morelos (That ‘90s Show), Natalie Morales (The Morning Show), Liza Koshy (A Family Affair), Nicole Byer (Nailed It!), Fernando Carsa (Acapulco), and Amalia Yoo (Grand Family). It follows the bond that forms between a high school senior and the exotic dancer she hires to seduce her crush. Summer of 69 is directed by Jillian Bell (Brittany Runs a Marathon/Candy Cane Lane), written by Bell, Jules Byrne, and Liz Nico, and produced by Jeremy Garelick, Will Phelps, Molle DeBartolo, Breanna Bell-Singer, Adam Goodman, Matt Skiena, and Lucas Carter. Axelle Azoulay and Matt Sacca are associate producers on the film, which will begin production this month in Syracuse.
Drama: The boxing film Undercard has begun filming in Puerto Rico. The feature follows a former boxing champion (Wanda Sykes, in her first dramatic feature role) having to train her boxer son (Bentley Green). Undercard also stars William Stanford Davis, Xavier Mills, Estella Kahiha, Berto Colon, and Roselyn Sanchez. It comes from Catalyst Studios, whose chairperson Holly Anderson Levow described it as being about the human spirit’s struggle and survival. It is directed by Tamika Miller, co-produced by Kim Coleman, and co-written by Miller and Anita M. Cal. In addition to starring, Sykes executive produces the film.
The feature Steve has wrapped production in the UK. The film is a reimagining of the novel Shy by Max Porter, and focuses on both a headteacher at a reform college fighting to protect the integrity of the school and protect it from closure, and a teenager battling with his inner fragility and violent impulses. Jay Lycurgo (Titans/I May Destroy You) portrays the teenager Shy, while Cillian Murphy (Small Things Like These/Oppenheimer) portrays the titular headteacher. Steve is directed by Tim Mielants (Small Things Like These), written by Porter, and produced by Murphy and Alan Moloney. Netflix will globally distribute the film.
The trailer for the film Tokyo Cowboy has been released. The film follows an employee of a food trading company, Sakai Hideki, who travels to Montana to work on monetizing a ranch that the company owns. On the trip, he becomes immersed in ranch life and grows closer with those working there, and his approach to work changes. The film is directed by Marc Marriott, written by Dave Boyle and Ayako Fujitani (who also stars), and produced by Brigham Taylor. It stars Arata Iura, Fujitani, Goya Robles, Jun Kunimura, and Robin Weigert.
Documentary: The documentary Time II: Unfinished Business debuted at the Essence Film Festival. The documentary is the sequel to Time, which was nominated for an Academy Award and made director Garrett Bradley the first Black woman to win the Best Director award for U.S. documentary in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. While that documentary focused on the relationship between husband and wife Robert and Sibil “Fox Rich” Richardson during the former’s incarceration, its sequel focuses on the couple and their family’s life after his release and their attempts to release their nephew and other inmates. Rich and Richardson direct and produce the documentary, respectively.
