Motion Picture: More Buzz Around ‘The Beekeeper 2,’ Amazon MGM Announces New Projects And Castings
stephan james - Robert Okine/Stringer
Action/Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy: The buzz around The Beekeeper 2 keeps on coming as Emmy Raver-Lampman (The Umbrella Academy) and Bobby Naderi (The Better Sister) are reprising their roles from the first film, where both played FBI agents. Joining them in a new role is Pom Klementieff (Guardians of the Galaxy). What she will be doing along with the rest of the film’s plot is being kept under lock and key. No release date has been announced yet.
Stepping into the ring now is Stephan James (If Beale Street Could Talk), as he is cast to play Carl Weathers in the upcoming film I Play Rocky. The film’s plot follows the production of the first Rocky film. Weathers is the real-life actor who played Apollo Creed in the Rocky franchise. He was a football player turned actor, whose character lasted three sequels. James is expected to play a young version of the late Weathers. The film is being made by Amazon MGM Studios and has no set release date.
Wynn Thomas (Malcom X) has been announced to be the production designer for the upcoming legal thriller The Ambulance Chaser. The film, set in Atlanta, follows a lawyer whose past comes to haunt him when skeletal remains are found connected to him, making him a prime suspect. The film is planned to be the first in a trilogy, and no release date has been set.
The film Color Your Hurt has wrapped up production, and among the expansive cast is Jordan Alexandra (Gossip Girl) as the character Savannah. The film focuses on a young gay man’s struggles living in the Bible Belt, is based on a short film by Bella Thorne, and will be her directorial debut. No set release date has been announced.
Brewing in the lab is Double Blind, an indie thriller film. The plot is unconfirmed but is supposedly about a scientist working on the cure for dementia. Problems arise when he starts losing time while working on his cure, suddenly finding that he has a child and a new home with zero recollection of having done so. The film casts Georgina Campbell (Barbarian) and LaKeith Stanfield (Roofman), but who they will be playing is unconfirmed and no release date has been shared. The film is a collaboration between Latigo Films and Culmination Productions. Richard Alan Reid of Buzzfeed will be working on the project as well.
Following his success on the Amazon series Cross, Aldis Hodge is set to star in a Road House sequel alongside Jake Gyllenhaal. Plot details are being kept under wraps. On the business side of things, Hodge has a strong relationship with Amazon and Cross is set to gain a season two. Atlas Entertainment and Nine Stories Productions will be working on the sequel to Road House. No further information is available on the upcoming sequel.
Benjamin Norris (Abbott Elementary) is joining Emile Hirsch (Dead Money) in a new thriller. The plot focuses on two former high school friends rekindling their friendship at a rock climbing gym. They decide to try climbing a real mountain with no experience and must rely on each other for survival, despite their past conflicts starting to show again. The film will be shot in Montana and Oregon with no official release date.
Sakina Jaffrey - Jean Baptiste Lacroix/Stringer
Comedy/Drama/Musical: The sequel to Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Again? has its original cast returning, and continuing to co-star with Perry is Taraji P. Henson. This will be her fifth collaboration with Perry. The film is an adaptation of Perry’s stage play and focuses on a group of married couples who meet once a year for a weeklong vacation. What starts as a vacation and a chance to catch up really puts their marriages to the test, begging the question, “why did I get married?” In this sequel, the couples meet once more to see one of their daughters get married. The first entry in the series was a box office success, making $55.8 million at the box office and opening number one in the U.S. Perry will be directing his own script and will be collaborating with Angi Bones and Tony Strickland. The film is being produced for Netflix and no release date has been announced.
Academy Award winner Rami Malek is cast as Jimmy George in Ira Sachs’ upcoming musical The Man I Love. The film focuses on an artist in late 1980’s New York. Rami Malek won an Oscar for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. He will be co-starring with Tom Sturridge, Rebecca Hall, and Luther Ford in The Man I Love, though the film has no set release date.
Super Troopers 3: Winter Soldiers has wrapped up production, and announced to have joined the cast is Sakina Jaffrey (The Equalizer 3). The plot and character details have not been revealed yet. Jaffrey herself has a slew of credits and has been acting for 40 years, with a few comedies under her belt. The first entry in the Super Troopers series focused on Vermont state troopers getting up to tomfoolery. Its third film has no set release date yet.
Amazon MGM have announced six new actors cast in their upcoming comedy movie Close Personal Friends. Among these six is Melissa Villaseñor(Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie). The film's plot is being kept under wraps. Villaseñor was a trailblazer being the first latina to be a cast member on Saturday night. There hasn’t been word on a release date.
The Chicago shoot of Lori Felker’s film Patient has wrapped up, and among the actors cast is Sarah Podemski (Reservation Dogs). The film is an expansion of the short film of the same name and is about a medical actor who helps medical students work on their bedside manner. The film uses a mix of scripted and improvised dialogue. “Patient is designed to be a hybrid of my story, cinematic drama, realism, and absurdity allowing me as director to move deeper into the collaborative moment between performer and director,” explained Felker. The film has no set release date.
Ming-Na Wen (Toy Story 4) and Ghostface Killah (Iron Man) have boarded a new CG-animated film. Enormous is a comedy film about a man overcoming his depression with his dog, inspired by Stephen Kramer Glickman’s own story. The production will happen between Indian animation studio Digitoonz and Mexican animation studio Demente. “I connected with Stephen’s story right away,” said Ghostface Killah. “Music has always been about truth and survival for me, and Enormous tells that same kind of real story, but in animation.” Ming-Na Wen added: “The story of Enormous hits my emotions in so many ways. Love. Heartbreak. Friendship. Survival. Hope. Stephen’s creative genius is his ability to weave all these themes in a minimalistic but visually impactful way.”
Eugenio Derbez - Noam Galai
Industry Update: Writer, actor, and producer Eugenio Derbez shares some of his thoughts on the state of AI in the film industry, the rise of global content, the breaking down of barriers, and finding a place in the industry. On the topic of AI, Derbez believes it is a useful tool but has a dark side that doesn't get acknowledged as much. In an interview, he said, “Up until now, AI lacks emotion, lacks a soul.” In terms of global content leaving its mark, Derbez attributes it to the start of the pandemic and how shows like Squid Game and Money Heist really laid the groundwork for other series to find popularity. Derbez goes on to talk a bit about his struggles finding success in the industry, recalling things he was told earlier in his career. “They would always say, ‘That’s too Mexican,’” Derbez stated. He also mentioned how this pushed him towards producing: “I realized if I did not produce what I wanted, I would not be able to have a career.”
The production company Range Media promotes 12 people across the company. Among the 12 is Mariam Rastegar, whose career began in the mailroom at ICM Partners and eventually progressed as she acquired skills in social reach and digital entrepreneurship. Rastegar’s clientele includes people like Campbell and Jett Puckett, Bretman Rock, Chris Appleton, Nailea Devora, and Drew Michael Scott. She has been promoted to partner at Range Media.
Screenwriter and filmmaker Ava DuVernay has announced the line of films for the conversation series Array 360. The series focuses on showcasing films from around the globe that tackle a myriad of social issues. The series will take place over six weeks, showcasing different films each week. The first week kicks off with Left-Handed Girl by filmmaker Tsou Shih-Ching in her solo directorial debut. Array 360 will run for a little over a month, from Saturday, October 4, 2025, to Saturday, November 8, 2025.
Management company Zero Gravity has signed writer, producer, and musician Dempsey Gibson to the company. Gibson is most known for writing on Spaghetti but has also worked on other projects in a wide range of genres, from comedy to psychological thrillers. He is also no stranger to acting. Gibson will be represented by Rodrigo Moscoso, with 14 new projects being brought to the company with Gibson's signing.\
Kiss of the Spider Woman actor Tonatiuh shares a bit of his experience working on the film and shares his outlook on how he is perceived as an actor in the film industry. Tonatiuh talks about the amazing opportunity he had to work with Jennifer Lopez and how much of an impact the production left on him. He also goes on to discuss the prevalence of Latinos in the film industry. Tonatiuh shares an anecdote on how he used to try to hide his Latino identity by changing his name to Matt in his childhood but later embraced his ethnicity. After making these points, Tonatiuh said, “I am not a Latin actor. I’m a great actor.”
