Motion Picture: Simu Liu Denounces AI To Replace Actors, Anthony Mackie To Star In Upcoming Thriller ‘Raven’
Shaquita Smith - Prince Williams
Action/Horror/Fantasy/ Sci-Fi: 2AM Productions and Maere Studios are working on a new animated fantasy epic title, The Turning Door. Five actors have already been cast to voice in the film, and among them is Jodie Turner-Smith, who recently appeared in Tron: Ares. The story follows a young girl named Ariadlyn who is sent to bed while a party continues downstairs. Instead of heading to her room, she goes to her parents' room, where she discovers a wooden box. Opening it leads her to a magical world called “The Turning.” Ariadlyn must now venture to find a sorceress who can save her family, who are frozen in the real world, and along the way encounter all sorts of fantastic creatures. Who Turner-Smith will be voicing hasn’t been announced, with no release date for the film on the horizon.
Anthony Mackie (Captain America: Brave New World) has been cast in the new thriller Raven. The film follows a former Detroit cop, Fay Darrow, now a hitman, who exacts his revenge on the mafia after his final job goes wrong and costs him, his girlfriend, and his chance at a new life. Mackie plays a violent mobster with something to prove, and along with another enforcer, hunts down Fay. Dublin-based Playhouse Studios is financing the project alongside Pink 308 and Newstar Financing, with the International Film Trust in charge of international distribution. No release date has been announced.
Shaquita Smith (Wicked) has signed to lead a new psychological thriller titled Janice Doe. Mann Robinson Studios is working on the project, and the founder, Mann Robinson, will be directing. The film's plot follows a woman named Nissassa Live, whose life starts to spiral out of control after a series of violent events leads to a court-mandated psychiatric evaluation. Janice Doe will begin shooting in 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia, with a late 2026 to early 2027 release being the target.
Manny Jacinto - Taylor Hill
Comedy/Musical/Drama: DreamWorks has started working on a new animated adventure film titled Forgotten Island. The film has already assembled a voice cast, and among the cast are singer-songwriter H.E.R. and actors Liza Soberano (Lisa Frankenstein) and Manny Jacinto (Top Gun: Maverick). The plot of the film follows two best friends in the fantastical world of Nakali, with escape possibly costing them their shared memories of each other. The film is slated to have a release date of Saturday, September 26, 2026.
A spin-off to the hit French comedy Call My Agent! is in the works as a Netflix original film, with Mediawan producing. Talks of Eva Longoria joining the cast were hinted at by George Clooney, who will appear in the film, though Netflix declined to comment on Longoria's involvement. The film picks up five years after the end of the show, with the main character, Andrea Martel, getting back into the entertainment industry as a director. Things take a turn when she loses the lead actor to her project and calls on old friends for help, opening up some old wounds as well. No release date has been made available
A new addition to the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios film, I Play Rocky has added Rob Demery to its cast. The film is about Sylvester Stallone and the making of the first Rocky film. Demery’s work spans Broadway and film; he played Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia and starred in Broadway’s revival of Topdog/Underdog and A Soldier's Play. The film is expected to be released in 2026.
Taraji P. Henson (Straw) and Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (aka Joey Bada$$) have signed on to star in the upcoming film ‘Tis So Sweet. This will be the second faith-based film made by Tyler Perry and Devon Franklin in partnership with Netflix, where Perry and Franklin will be producing. Tasha Smith will be directing the project from a script written by Randy Brown. No release date has been announced. Henson has recently entered a deal of her own with Fox Entertainment, and for Scott, this will be another acting credit under his belt after he’s previously starred on shows like Grown-ish.
Keith David is set to play one of the leading roles in the upcoming dark comedy My New Friend Jim. The film is in production in Nevada and follows two fathers as they search for their missing daughters in Reno and form an unlikely bond. The film is being directed by Ash Avildsen and produced by his production company, Sumerian Pictures. David’s background is extensive, with a few projects on the horizon for him, like the Rick And Morty spin-off, President Curtis, and The Ogilvy Fortune. No release date has been announced.
The Julia Set has added six more people to its cast, which include Liz Lin (Salt Along The Tongue), Nico Hiraga (Sweethearts), Chloe Bailey (Grown-ish), and Carmen Ejogo (Selma). The plot is a coming-of-age drama about a girl in an extremely competitive academic environment who is thrust further into that world after she joins an elite math course that aims to take on and pass an extremely hard test. Production is underway in London, with Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another) being part of the lead ensemble and Niki Byrne directing. Who they will be playing is unknown. The film has no release date announced
Indie dramedy film Hurricane Seasons has just signed Justina Machado to star alongside Aida Rodriguez, Alycia Pascual-Peña, Elvis Nolasco, and Jerry Minor. Hurricane Seasons is set in New York in the aftermath of a hurricane. A Brooklyn artist and her daughter set off on a last wish trip across Puerto Rico with their terminally ill mother, and they see a different side of her they never knew. Who Machado will play in the film hasn’t been released yet, with no release date on the horizon.
Upcoming comedy Trash Mountain will have Jaboukie Young-White (The Threesome) among its cast. The film follows a young gay man returning home to Missouri from Chicago after his hoarder father passes away. The film will be directed by Kris Rey. Young-White’s role is unknown, and there is no release date.
Ramsey Naito - Steve Granitz
Industry Update: Paramount’s president of animation, Ramsey Naito, is leaving her position in the company due to the recent merger with Skydance Media. She wrote in a note to staff, “I want to share with you that I am leaving the company and closing this very special chapter with all of you.” Naito's career started at Nickelodeon in 2018, where she was later promoted to animation president in 2021. She is responsible for many projects, like Boss Baby, The Smurfs, and Transformers, and led animation for different formats, like television, film, and digital. Naito’s note continues, “I am so proud of the work the animation teams and I have done for the last 8+ years. I am honored to have given new life and love to the beloved characters and stories within the vast Paramount and Nickelodeon libraries.”
Hidden Empire Film Group is known for films like Meet The Blacks and Chain Letter, and recently, they have hired Creative Artists Agency for representation. The indie film studio was founded by Deon Taylor and producer Roxanne Avent Taylor. Their core belief is that telling multicultural stories is good for business. CAA will help the group with its scripted and unscripted television and sports content. Hidden has a few projects on the horizon, such as a remake of the blaxploitation film Blacula and a multi-part documentary on Floyd Mayweather.
Above Below The Line reels in new agents into the company, those being Angela Curtis and Melanie Callahan Cammisa. Curtis will represent production and costume designers in television and film. Curtis has worked as a marketing agent previously at Keslow Camera and Rare Breeds. She has also worked on set with the art department in production companies Radical Media, Echobend, and 1888 Productions. “I’m ecstatic to be joining ABL and to have the opportunity to champion the incredible artists who define the look and feel of the stories we love,” Curtis said in an interview. “I’ve always believed that every creative deserves strong advocacy and genuine support, and that’s exactly what ABL stands for.” Meanwhile, Cammisa started her career at Bold Films as an assistant coordinator supporting directors and producers on projects. Later on, she managed client accounts and projects at Hawk Anamorphic and worked closely with cinematographers and filmmakers. In an interview, Cammisa said, “The agency has built such a forward-thinking approach to representing below-the-line talent/crew, and I’m eager to help expand opportunities for the filmmakers and craftspeople who bring stories to life.”
David Oyelowo has done a lot with his career, and he believes he wouldn’t have gotten there if he had never received help at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) over 20 years ago. Oyelowo is being honored at the school to celebrate the endowment of two new scholarships to the academy, hoping it might open the door for someone who wouldn’t get the chance otherwise. The scholarship will be funded annually by the ML Dauray Arts Initiative. The scholarship will be for college grads seeking master's degrees at LAMDA. Applicants must be non-white or of Latin descent and be in financial need. Half of the scholarship will go to U.S. citizens.
Streaming platform Tubi has struck a deal with Kevin Hart's production company, Hartbeat, for multiple creator-led films. In this deal are creators such as Kinigra Deon, DC Young Fly, Chico Bean, and Karlous Miller. The set of films kicks off with a supernatural thriller titled Sundown, written and directed by Deon. It follows a group of Black college students who make a wrong turn and end up in a racially hostile town where local myths seem to turn real. The second film is titled 85 South: Dead End. It's a satirical horror film featuring DC Young Fly, Chico Bean, and Karlous Miller, about a road trip down south that takes a turn when they end up in a town no one leaves. Two more films will be announced at a later date. This deal is the first of its kind for the platform.
With AI becoming more and more prevalent, more and more actors are starting to speak out against it. Recently, actor Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings) gave his take on the matter, saying it isn’t a substitute for actors, and especially background actors. Liu stated on X, “Sure, blame the extras making 15-22 dollars an hour struggling to make a living and not above the line people making multiple millions,” after Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary suggested replacing background actors with AI to reduce costs. Liu elaborated more on that tweet while interviewing for an upcoming animated film he’s starring in: “First of all, I thought that take that I was responding to is a really dumb take, particularly really tone deaf and out of touch, and also just kind of incorrect.” He continued, “The idea that these background actors who are making minimum wage are somehow the reason why movies are now costing too much, that’s simply not true.” Liu credits his view on the matter to his own experience coming up in the industry, starting as a background actor in Pacific Rim. He is one of many figures in the industry to speak out on AI.
Paramount has signed a new 10-year lease with 1888 Productions for workspace in New Jersey, tapping into the state's tax credits for film and digital media. The space won’t be operational until the last quarter of 2028. The new space totals 1.1 million square feet, spanning 23 smart stages with 40-foot ceilings, post-production space, and offices. The studio space will also aim to provide more jobs to the local Jersey population.
Keeping up with Paramount, about 1,000 employees are to be laid off after the recent merger with Skydance Media, with more cuts to be expected later. This comes about as the company is trying to cut costs by two billion. David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, has also been making bold moves in attempts to compete with other companies and platforms.
Women are leading more animated projects in the industry, but it isn’t the shift we need for true equality in the industry. In recent years, animation has been getting a lot more appreciation, but one thing seems to be apparent: women are executive producing these films a lot more. Women have always been in the animation industry, but only recently have things shifted to be a bit more even. As CalArts professor Mindy Johnson puts it, “We’re closer to parity. I think we’re still under in a lot of ways, but the industry is undergoing some kind of rumblings and shifts at the moment. … I just beam seeing the presence of women and their voices, their ideas, their characters. We’ve got women finally telling their stories without having to be the only woman in the room. They’re in a more supported and recognized place.” There has been a push in the industry to get more women into leadership roles, but the goal is to ultimately produce something that appeals to audiences of all kinds.
