Motion Picture: Grammy Winner FKA Twigs Shooting ‘Josephine Baker’, Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi To Direct Second Feature ‘Wrong Number’
Destin Daniel Cretton - Gilbert Flores
Action/Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: BAFTA winner Malachi Kirby is set to lead Uncle, the revenge thriller from WestEnd Films. Kirby replaces Micheal Ward in the film, which was already in production when the Top Boy actor was accused of sexual assault in mid-2025. The film from writer-director Joe Marcantonio recently wrapped production. Uncle follows teenage Millie (Harvey) and her uncle John (Kirby), who are thrown together on a relentless mission for revenge and retribution after the brutal murder of their family. Uncle is written by Marcantonio and Owynne Dawkins and produced by Auroral Pictures and Delta Pictures.
Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul), Jinkx Monsoon (Rupaul’s Drag Race), and Debra Wilson (MadTV) are joining Brandon Rogers' directorial debut Weird Party. Plot details of the horror-comedy are under wraps. Filming has just wrapped. Rogers directed from his own script. A Brandon Bored production, the film is produced by David Sigurani (The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, Bonding).
A Hawaii Five-O feature is in the works at Paramount from Spider-Man: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton. Cretton will develop to direct, while Chris Bremner (Bad Boys for Life) is slated to write the script with Noah Oppenheim (Jackie). The package was put together by Entertainment 360’s Guymon Casady with the estate of series creator Leonard Freeman. He will produce it, and it went to Paramount first because of the original series and remake done at CBS. Paramount has to close the deal.
Marcia Gay Harden and Mamoudu Athie (The Drama) have wrapped production on the thriller Hystoria. First Light Films, in association with Vital Pictures, is producing the film directed by Batan Silva, from an original screenplay by Jonathan Benecke and P.T. Hylton (Serena). The film synopsis is as follows: “A seemingly ordinary retirement party takes a sinister turn when three former students discover their respected history teacher is secretly plotting to violently reshape the future.” The project was filmed in the Bowling Green, Kentucky, area with the support of Goldenrod Film & Television and the Kentucky Entertainment Incentive.
Odeya Rush, Annarah Cymone, and Neela Jolene are slated to join the Justin Long (Barbarian) and Iris Apatow horror film Stung. Production has wrapped on the project in Rhode Island. The film from writer-director Colin Minihan follows Jess (Iris Apatow), Maya (Odeya Rush), Brooke (Annarah Cymone), and Rachel (Neela Jolene) “as their innocent girl’s night sleepover spirals into a living nightmare when their home is overtaken by a massive swarm of African killer bees. Under the watchful eye of their pathetic neighbor Derek (Justin Long) not even he can save the girls from their fate.” Teddy Parker, Kayln Harper, James Baccile, Tom DeNucci, Kea Ho, and Rob Goon will also be appearing in the film. VMI Worldwide will be at TIFF discussing the film with buyers.
Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi is set to star in and direct the horror film Wrong Number with Euphoria actress Barbie Ferreira. Currently in production in Los Angeles, Wrong Number centers on Ibn (Mescudi), a lonely self-help author whose unexpected romance with a mysterious woman named Eliza (Ferreira) turns into a waking nightmare when he becomes the target of an unseen stalker and the prime suspect in a string of murders. Lucy Barrett (Deep Water), Dewayne Perkins (The Blackening), Clifton Powell (Ray), and Laura Harrier (Michael) round out the picture.
Woody Norman (C’mon C’mon), Malachi Kirby (Small Axe), Tuppence Middleton (Downton Abbey), Conrad Khan (Sunny Dancer), and Kola Bokinni (Ted Lasso) are slated to star in the British urban horror thriller Skag & Bone. The film, which is described as Top Boy meets Talk to Me. The production team claims the film “blends the propulsive energy of a youth-infused crime thriller with supernatural horror.” UTA Independent Film Group joined the project to package the film and arrange financing. The agency will also represent North American rights. Conor Boru will direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with longtime collaborator Ed Hartland.
Annie Gonzalez - Tommaso Boddi
Drama: Annie Gonzalez is slated to star in and produce the Vanessa Guillén biopic from Jolene Rodriguez and Jorge Xolalpa of Mighty Aphrodite Pictures. The film is being developed in collaboration with the Guillén family. Gonzalez will play Mayra Guillén, the slain U.S. Army Specialist’s older sister, who has also signed on to the project as an executive producer. The narrative feature drama will tell Vanessa Guillén’s story from the point of view of Mayra Guillén. The production has yet to release the film’s title.
The film seeks to celebrate Guillén’s life while honoring the tireless advocacy of her family, whose campaigning inspired lasting legislative change and amplified the voices of military families.
13 Reasons Why star Ross Butler is joining Sayani Gupta in the independent film Arya. The project was written and directed by Neil Tuli. Arya (Gupta) is a disciplined piano teacher from a prestigious Indian conservatory. Per the synopsis, she reluctantly takes an assignment in northern Minnesota, hoping to rescue a struggling band program, as well as fuel her career ambitions back home. Arya is Tuli’s feature directorial debut. It is produced under his American Haathi banner. The movie is shot on location in Minnesota and has wrapped. Butler will be producing in addition to acting in the film.
The Snoop Dogg biopic Snoop rounds out its supporting cast with SwayvoTwain (Family Legacy, Love & Neo-Soul: Honoring the Legacy of D’Angelo) set to portray Biggie, Bentley Green (The Land, Undercard) to play RBX, and G Perico (Kings of L.A.) as Big Reecie Cup. The film from Universal Pictures is being described as the “definitive biopic of the entertainment mogul and icon,” Snoop Dogg. Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow) is directing Snoop. Universal dated the film for theatrical release on August 6, 2027, based on his rewrite of Joe Robert Cole’s (Black Panther/Wakanda Forever) original script.
FKA Twigs has begun shooting as Josephine Baker in the Studiocanal biopic. Production on Josephine Baker has kicked off in France and will run through November 13, 2026, with additional shooting in Sofia, Bulgaria. The film follows “Baker’s arc from a childhood marked by racial segregation in the United States to her breakthrough as one of the most celebrated stage and screen performers of 1920s Paris, through her service with the French Resistance during the Second World War, and into her 1951 return to America.”
Studiocanal handles theatrical distribution across its own territory footprint –the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Benelux, Poland, Australia, and New Zealand– and is managing worldwide sales.
Chris Rock - Cole Burston
Comedy/Dramedy/Musical: Comedian and director Chris Rock (Head of State) is gearing up for the premiere of his feature film Misty Green at the Toronto Film Festival. Rock remarked on a variety of things from his accurate prediction of the 2016 presidential election to his time at SNL and his breakout HBO comedy special Bring the Pain. Rock is 61. He doesn’t spend much time at the club anymore. “We’re all different people at different points in our lives, and I think I got everything I could out of the last guy— whoever I was then,” he says. “Now I’m this director guy.” Misty Green is Rock’s first directorial effort in 12 years. The film will hit theaters in October of this year with A24. The film follows a washed-up actress named Misty Green (Rosalind Eleazar). Audiences will see a week in her life as she vents to her only friend (Anna Kendrick) and rubs elbows with former colleagues (Rock and Adam Driver) while desperately hunting for a gig that will pay enough to cover both her cushy Santa Monica lifestyle and the care of her mentally ill brother.
Rock also spoke about the evolution of his career from a fresh-faced comedian at Saturday Night Live to a seasoned director. He hopes the project is received well but is not expecting any Oscar nominations for the project. When asked if Rock would ever consider hosting again, he remarked “I’m not going to say never, but my time might have passed, honestly.”
Off Campus star Josh Jeuston is set to star in the film adaptation of Lauren Asher’s romance novel Throttle from Amazon MGM Studios. Nzingha Stewart is set to direct the streaming title from a script adapted by Melissa Osborne. Max Handelman and Elizabeth Banks of Brownstone Productions are producing along with Ethea Entertainment’s Jennifer Gibgot and Andrew Panay, as well as Garrett Grant.
Carrie Coon has joined Greta Lee and Rebecca Ferguson in the romantic comedy Honeymoon/Funeral. Coon will play Sarah, the ex-fiancée of Lee’s character. Over the weekend. Filming is currently underway in London. MRC is financing and overseeing production of the film from director Nahnatchka Khan and writer Julia Bicknell.
Gil Robertson IV - African American Film Critics Association
Industry: Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann, the international media executive and producer, has launched Dreamkite Studios alongside AI filmmaker Mark Wachholz. The AI production company is slated to start with short-form content, but the team has aspirations to make AI feature films. When speaking about the level of development of the company, the founders said, “what is not possible now will be possible in four months, and what is not possible in four months will be possible in eight months.” When asked about how they plan to distribute the project, the team remarked, “With disruptive content, you also have to think about disruptive distribution. I think it’s important to be open-minded.” Although Higuchi-Zitzman comes from the traditional world and would love to work with broadcasters and streamers and big distribution companies, she also acknowledges the opportunity to think out of the box.
There is a lot of insecurity and fear regarding the use of AI in the industry. Higuchi-Zitzman believes that those who embrace technology will be successful in the future. “AI as a tool and a technology to make great human-created content.” the media executive remarked in a recent interview.
New Zealand plans to unveil an indigenous co-production initiative at the Toronto Film Festival. New Zealand Film Commission CEO Annie Murray remarks that “the pact will bring together Māori filmmakers from New Zealand, Aboriginal filmmakers from Australia and Indigenous Canadian filmmakers in a program of collaborative storytelling.” The program is designed for mid-career filmmakers who will collaborate together in very intense workshops in each country. For Murray, the initiative reflects one of her key principles. “The real base of successful co-production is a shared creative purpose,” she says.
Oakland’s most famous filmmakers, Ryan Coogler (Black Panther) and Boots Riley (I Heart Boosters), are aiding in making Oakland an incubator for black filmmaking. The film community in Oakland is vibrant and filled with independent filmmakers, film advocacy groups, and film rebate programs. In fact, Cinemama and Rep’d Film Collective host frequent events in Oakland where local filmmaking creativity takes shape.
Such events have led to a resurgence of special events and premieres, including a film showcase at City Hall produced last month by the group Bay Area Film Night. And now there’s a $750,000 film incentive program approved by the city to encourage more moviemaking in Oakland. The program includes partial rebates for some filmmaking costs, including labor costs when moviemakers hire residents living in high-unemployment Oakland ZIP codes.
Regal Cinemas and the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), along with the CNC, have launched the Future of Distribution pilot on Monday at the Lumière Summit in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, an international initiative that will hand under-used cinema screens to a neutral programmer in a bid to reverse falling theater attendance. With this new model, participating venues make a defined number of idle screens and time slots available to a neutral programmer whose sole brief is to drive the highest possible attendance. The programmer works across everything from wide releases and documentaries to repertory titles and special events, with no obligation to studio relationships or circuit priorities.
The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) has donated $25,000 to the Black Film Hall of Fame. “Supporting the Black Film Hall of Fame with this modest gift fits perfectly with our organization’s goals to align with institutions that serve to preserve Black storytelling content,” AAFCA President Gil Robertson IV said in a statement. Since its founding in 2003, the AAFCA has been the largest collective of Black film critics in the world and presents annual awards celebrations and special events that honor outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry. “The Black Movie Hall of Fame is beyond thrilled by the generosity of Gil Robertson and AFFCA.” executive director and film critic Shawn Edwards said in a statement
