The Godfather and Apocalypse Now director Francis Ford Coppola attended the Lumière Festival in Lyon, France, where he was honored with the festival’s lifetime achievement prize, the Lumière Award. Presenters included 2019 Cannes Palme d’Or winner Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) and actress Nathalie Baye, marking a celebrated evening for one of cinema’s most influential filmmakers.
Variety – 18th Oct 2019
Netflix will release Noah Baumbach’s new film Marriage Story in select North American theatres beginning 6 November, a month before its global streaming debut. The limited theatrical rollout includes New York’s historic Paris Theatre, which has been reopened and is expected to be leased by Netflix as a showcase for the streamer’s awards-season films.
IndieWire – 18th Oct 2019
Jonah Hill is no longer attached to Matt Reeves’ DC film The Batman. Reports indicate negotiations broke down after Hill requested a $10 million up-front payment for an unnamed role.
The Hollywood Reporter – 16th Oct 2019
Zoe Kravitz, known for her role in Big Little Lies, has been cast as Catwoman in The Batman, joining the film’s evolving ensemble.
Variety – 14th Oct 2019
Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood, Wildlife) is in advanced talks to play The Riddler in The Batman. If finalized, Dano would star opposite Robert Pattinson in a central role.
Variety – 17th Oct 2019
Michael Giacchino, the Oscar-winning composer behind scores for Star Trek (2009), Jurassic World (2015) and Coco (2017), will score Matt Reeves’ The Batman, reuniting cinematic power with Robert Pattinson’s new take on the Caped Crusader.
Chris Hewitt (Empire Magazine) – 18th Oct 2019
MGM’s Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, starring Jennifer Hudson, has expanded its cast with Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald, Mary J. Blige, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, Saycon Sengbloh, Hailey Kilgore and Tate Donovan joining the project.
Deadline – 18th Oct 2019
Neil Patrick Harris and Jessica Henwick are set to join Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss in the forthcoming The Matrix 4, directed by Lana Wachowski. The new casting rounds out a high-profile return to the franchise.
Variety – 15/16th Oct 2019
Michael Caine, Lena Headey and Rita Ora will star in Sky’s modern adaptation of Oliver Twist, titled Twist. In this contemporary retelling, Ora plays Dodge, Caine is Fagan and Headey takes on Sikes, while Raff Law portrays Oliver. The film will be released simultaneously in cinemas and on Sky’s pay-TV platform.
Variety – 16th Oct 2019
Legendary director Sam Raimi will return to horror with a new Columbia Pictures project described as “Castaway meets Misery.” The untitled film centers on a terrifying story set primarily on a deserted island.
The Hollywood Reporter – 18th Oct 2019
A sequel to the animated The Addams Family is already in development, with a release planned for 2021 as the studio continues to build the franchise.
Variety – 15th Oct 2019
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson confirmed that production on his long-anticipated DC role as Black Adam will begin in 2020. Announced in 2017, the film will exist in the same universe as the 2019 hit Shazam!, although no release date has been set.
Deadline – 19th Oct 2019
David Fincher’s Netflix film Mank, about Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, has added Amanda Seyfried to its ensemble, which already features Gary Oldman, Lily Collins, Charles Dance and others.
Variety – 15th Oct 2019
The cast for Jurassic World 3 continues to grow with the addition of DeWanda Wise. She joins returning stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum for the next chapter in the franchise.
Variety – 18th Oct 2019
John Boyega has been cast as the lead in Netflix’s sci-fi feature They Cloned Tyrone, directed by Juel Taylor. The film adds another major genre project to Boyega’s growing roster.
The Hollywood Reporter – 18th Oct 2019
Ben Affleck will star in a screen adaptation of Kate Southwood’s novel “Falling To Earth”, with the screenplay written by Hillary Seitz, known for Insomnia and Eagle Eye.
The Hollywood Reporter – 17th Oct 2019
The Northman, Robert Eggers’ Viking-era revenge film set in 10th-century Iceland, has cast Alexander Skarsgård and Nicole Kidman in the lead roles. The project promises Eggers’ trademark atmospheric approach to historical storytelling.
Variety – 16th Oct 2019
Willem Dafoe, who appeared in The Lighthouse, has joined the cast of Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, alongside Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara.
Variety – 15th Oct 2019
Ryan Reynolds and John Krasinski are in talks for Paramount’s fantasy comedy Imaginary Friends. Krasinski is attached to write, direct and star if negotiations conclude, with Reynolds potentially producing and acting.
Variety – 15th Oct 2019
Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Widows) is partnering with Mattel Films to produce a live-action feature adaptation of Barney the Dinosaur through his production company.
Variety – 18th Oct 2019
Robert Zemeckis, director of Back to the Future and Forrest Gump, is reportedly in early talks to direct a live-action adaptation of Pinocchio for Disney, taking over from Paul King, who previously had been attached.
Variety – 18th Oct 2019
Naomie Harris, an Oscar nominee for Moonlight, is in talks to play the sonic-powered villain Shriek in Sony’s Venom sequel, joining Woody Harrelson and Tom Hardy in the film scheduled for release on 2 October 2020.
Deadline – 18th Oct 2019
Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood has been pulled from distribution in China a week before its planned 25 October release. Reports say Tarantino has refused to recut the film to meet potential censorship demands, adopting a firm stance on creative integrity.
The Hollywood Reporter – 18th Oct 2019
Jared Leto, who portrayed The Joker in 2016’s Suicide Squad, was reportedly upset by Warner Bros.’ move to release a separate Joker film directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix, expressing that the decision left him feeling “alienated and upset.”
The Hollywood Reporter – 19th Oct 2019
Ivana Lombardi, head of Annapurna Pictures, is leaving the company to become Director of Independents at Netflix after a year at Annapurna.
Variety – 14th Oct 2019
Hannah Minghella, a Sony Pictures executive, has left to become Head of Film at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, stepping into a key leadership role at the production company.
The Hollywood Reporter – 17th Oct 2019
Plans to build a major 20-acre film studio in Dagenham, East London, have encountered a setback after the chosen developers, Pacifica Ventures, withdrew from the project, delaying progress on the proposed production hub.
Variety – 16th Oct 2019
And finally…
Studio Ghibli’s entire catalogue of 21 animated feature films will be available to North American viewers for the first time through streaming on HBO Max, marking a major expansion in access to the celebrated Japanese studio’s films.
The Hollywood Reporter – 17th Oct 2019