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B O X O F F I C E who’s making the money | F I L M N E W S who’s making the headlines | ||
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I N T H E U S . . .
T O P N E W S T R E A M E R S . . .
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Vin Diesel will write and star in a movie based on the vintage boxing game ROCK 'EM SOCK 'EM ROBOTS. There's no word yet on the plot of the film, or even if it would be live-action or animated, or a mix of both. Leslie Odom Jr will star in DANCE WITH THE DEVIL, a horror movie based on the Rolling Stone article that explores the unlikely connection between Sammy Davis Jr and satanic church founder Anton LaVey. They apparently met while working on a TV pilot together. Odom is also writing the script. Scarlett Johansson is being lined up to join the cast of THE BATMAN PART II, possibly in a villainous role opposite Robert Pattinson, Colin Farrell, Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright and Andy Serkis. Matt Reeves is also back as director, and plans to start filming in Glasgow next month. Taron Egerton is lined up to star in the blackly comical ALPHA, about a quiet American financial analyst who becomes bolder as he rises up through the ranks of a London investment firm. The script is by actor-musician Hal Ozsan. Fire Island costars and best friends Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers will reteam to write and star in a comedy about two American guys who travel to Berlin so they can visit the iconic Berghain nightclub, but they have to contend with the notoriously strict bouncers. Cailee Spaeny and Drew Starkey will star in the romantic drama DEEP CUTS, based on the novel about two music-obsessed young people trying to get their adult lives started in the early 2000s. Sean Durkin is writing and directing. Jack Whitehall, Robbie Amell, Elizabeth Mitchell, Lizze Broadway and Randall Park are joining Lana Condor in the cast of WHODUNNIT, a romcom about a young woman who finds herself pregnant after a raucous weekend following a breakup. And now she needs to work out who the father is. Director Nora Kirkpatrick is currently filming in Oregon. Tig Notaro is reteaming with director Zack Snyder for DEVIANTS, which is being called a "hot lesbian action" movie set at a time when gay women were still in the closet. The project is now in development, sparked by Notaro's sexy fighter role in Snyder's Army of the Dead. Ex Machina actress Sonoya Mizuno will reteam with Alex Garland, who is producing her feature film directing debut STAGES. The story is based on Mizuno's experiences as a dancer in the English National Ballet and other companies. And word has it that RUSH HOUR 4 is officially in development, after Donald Trump told studio execs to make it happen. The film would re-team Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker for more buddy cop antics, again directed by Brett Ratner.
Angelina Jolie will produce and star in SUNNY, a dark thriller about a mob boss in a battle to protect her sons from a violent drug kingpin, but only has hours to plot their escape. Eva Sorhaug is directing from a script by William Day Frank. Ruth Negga, Aubrey Plaza and Paapa Essiedu are joining the cast of THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, a reimagining of the classic story of an art thief (Michael B Jordan) entangled with an insurance investigator (Adria Arjona). Costars include Kenneth Branagh and Lily Gladstone. Jordan is directing. Mark Wahlberg will produce and star in THE OPERATOR, an action thriller about a CIA clean-up man who is ordered to escort a loathed target to safety, leading to a game of survival. The script is by Harrison Query (Heads of State). Scott Foley, Amy Brenneman, Charlie Stover and Sydney Taylor will star in KEEP COMING BACK, about a TV director who is court-ordered to attend rehab in Utah with his heroin-addicted daughter. Mark Rosman is writing and directing, based on his own experience. Adarsh Gourav (Alien: Earth) will star in GANGSTER ON THE RUN, as a fearsome thug who transforms himself into a social worker. It's based on the true story of Rahul Jadhav, aka Bhiku, who was arrested in 2007 and now competes in ultra-marathons while working as a de-addiction counsellor. Prosit Roy is directing. Tuc Watkins, Thomas Dekker, Brenna D'Amico, Adam Huss and Daria Berenato will star in the camp horror comedy ZOMBOIS, about a group of university seniors on a break in the mountains and find themselves in the midst of a contagion . Garrett Abdo is writing and directing. Jon Lemmon (Chemical Hearts) will star in REDEMPTION, based on the true story of a young man trying to escape from the criminal underworld in 1980s Las Vegas. Costars include Billy Zane, Jaime King, Jon Lovitz, Frank Stallone and Robert Davi. Asif Akbar is writing and directing. Sam Raimi and Jordan Peele will team up to produce PORTRAIT OF GOD, expanding Dylan Clark's 7-minute horror short into a feature. It's about a young religious woman who paints a picture of God that looks different to everyone who sees it. Clark is once again directing, and cowriting with Joe Russo. Justin Lin will direct a film based on the videogame HELLDIVERS, about a unit of soldiers fighting aliens on a variety of planets. It looks like it will take an action-horror approach to the material, as Gary Dauberman (It) is writing the script. And Melania Trump has launched her own production company in the run-up to the release of Brett Ratner's documentary MELANIA, which follows her through the 20 days leading up to her husband's 2025 inauguration. The film will be released in cinemas on 30th January.
Scarlett Johansson will star in what is being called a reboot of THE EXORCIST. This one comes from writer-director Mike Flanagan and producer Jason Blum, and there's no word yet on what approach they'll take. This is separate to David Gordon Green's still planned THE EXORCIST: DECEIVER, following on from his 2023 Believer. Andre Holland, Wendell Pierce, Samira Wiley and Mykelti Williamson will star in THEY FIGHT, a biopic based on the 2018 documentary about an ex-con and former boxer who rebuilds his life by working with young men who are vying for a spot on the US Junior Olympic Team. Sheldon Candis is directing. FKA Twigs, Chloe Sevigny, Will Oldham and Sturgill Simpson will star in THE LONELY WOMAN, a horror thriller about a, well, lonely woman who is grieving a loved one's death when she discovers a seductive, mysterious presence beneath her hometown. Augustus Muller and Jae Matthews (aka musical duo Boy Harsher) are directing. Sofia Vergara is joining the cast of THUMB, a dark comedy about a woman trying to discover why she received a severed digit in the post. Awkwafina, Milly Alcock and Kate McKinnon costar. Director Daina Oniunas-Pusic just started filming in New York. Emma Corrin, Hunter Schafer, Havana Rose Liu and Sophie Wilde are joining the cast of Arkasha Stevenson's untitled ensemble horror movie, which follows a bachelor party as it goes frighteningly wrong. Also on board are Josh Hutcherson, Frank Dillane, Caleb Landry Jones and Whitmer Thomas. Finn Wolfhard and Gabriel Labelle will star in CRASH LAND, a coming-of-age comedy about a group of amateur stunt men who spend their days drinking and annoying the residents of their small town with Jackass-style stunts. Dempsey Bryk is writing and directing. Jonathan Ajayi, Austin Amelio, Jon Bass, Rohan Campbell and Henry Garrett are joining the cast of ALONE AT DAWN, Ron Howard's drama based on the true story of an Air Force officer who fought to his death during a battle in Afghanistan. Also on board are Anne Hathaway, Adam Driver and Betty Gilpin. Alexandra Shipp, Eric Stoltz and David Howard Thornton will star in THE AUTOPSY OF ALBERT KEMPER, a psychological horror thriller about a morgue assistant who freaks out when the body of a serial killer seems to show signs of life. David Benullo is writing and directing. Madelaine Petsch and Gavin Casalegno will star in CHASING RED, a romantic drama based on the web-novel about a top student who is determined not to fall for a university heartthrob, even though there's a spark of attraction between them. Mackenzie Munro is directing from a screenplay by Lauren Schacher. And Skyler Gisondo and Marcello Hernandez have joined the voice cast for the fifth SHREK movie, playing Shrek and Fiona's sons alongside Zendaya as their daughter. Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy are back in the lead roles. Conrad Verdon and Walt Dohrn are directing.
Cynthia Erivo, David Oyelowo, Rachel Brosnahan and possibly Daniel Craig will reprise their roles from a 2016 production for a new film of Shakespeare's OTHELLO, which sets the story in the present-day Middle East. Oyelowo is also directing; Barbara Broccoli is producing. The film will be shot next year in Qatar. Meryl Streep, Dave Franco, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Sam Richardson, Melissa Villasenor, Vanessa Bayer, Ego Nwodim and Kathy Najimy have joined Jon Hamm in the voice cast of the animated adventure HOPPER, about a little girl (Piper Curda) who "hops" her consciousness into a robotic beaver so she can speak to other animals. Daniel Chong is writing and directing. Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva and Jordan Firstman will star in CLUB KID, about a party promoter who suddenly has to take care of the son he never knew he had. Firstman is also making his writing-directing debut. Kenneth Branagh will voice the title character in GOBLIN, a buddy comedy about a guy who befriends a mischievous creature. Skyler Gisondo is lined up for the lead role, and the creature will be performed by puppeteers. The script is by David Mikalson. Gabrielle Union and Michele Morrone will star in BLAME IT ON ROME, a romantic comedy about a New York art expert who travels to Italy just as she loses her job and her fiance. Then she discovers she's pregnant and hires a private eye to locate the father. Francesco Carrozzini is directing. Noah Centineo is being lined up to join Sydney Sweeney in the live-action GUNDAM movie, based on the anime series set during a time when humans are colonising other planets and fighting for autonomy. Jim Mickle is writing and directing. Elizabeth Mitchell, Patrick Warburton, David Koechner, Robert Knepper, Thomas Lennon and Jorge Garcia are starring in the comedy MICK SKYLARK: A MINI GOLF PRODIGY, about the rise and fall of a young boy (Brandon Engman) who is coached to become a champion on the miniature golf circuit. Sergio Rizzuto is directing. Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki will team up for THE BODYGUARD, a romantic comedy about a security expert protecting a movie star from a stalker over the holiday season, posing as his girlfriend. Of course they fall for each other. Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum is directing. Billy Magnussen, Dianna Agron and Rob Corddry will star in MATTRESS MACK, a biopic that traces the life of Jim McIngvale, owner of a Houston furniture chain. Shane Andries is writing and directing. Peter Pan costars Jeremy Sumpter and Rachel Hurd-Wood will reteam for STRAWBERRY ROAN, a romantic comedy based on the true story of a couple who quit their jobs and drain their savings, then travel to Mexico to open a horse sanctuary. Sumpter is also directing. OLDER NEWS >> | ||
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S T A G E & M O R E beyond the big screen... | |||
 The boss’ new groove DANCE: ZooNation's a dazzling hip-hop take on Dickens, Ebony Scrooge at Sadler's Wells East until 4th Jan...  Tale as old as time STAGE: Charing Cross Theatre presents its annual queer adult pantomime Beauty and the Beast until 11th Jan...  A Victorian night out STAGE: Lost Estate presents The Great Christmas Feast, with a Dickensian dinner and immersive show, until 4th Jan...  Step back in time STAGE: This year's Royal Vauxhall Tavern panto Growled is a riotous spin on Beauty and the Beast, until 3rd Jan... NOV TV: Boots, Only Murders 5, Chad Powers, Peacemaker 2, MobLand, The Morning Show 4, Alien: Earth, more... DANCE: Ballet Black's Shadows, a new double bill at Sadler's Wells... DANCE: Pite and McBurney's staggering Figures in Extinction at Sadler's Wells... DANCE: Akram Khan and Manal AlDowayan's elemental Thikra at Sadler's Wells... STAGE: KC and the Sunshine Band musical Get Down Tonight at Charing Cross... STAGE: Ghost Stories returns to London's Peacock Theatre... DANCE: Hofesh Schechter's surreal Theatre of Dreams at Sadler's Wells... SEP TV: Chief of War, Wednesday 2, Smoke, Dexter: Resurrection, The Institute, Stick, Fisk and more... DANCE: Andrea Pena's Bogota explores history and culture at Sadler's Wells East... DANCE: Acosta Danza celebrates A Decade in Motion at Sadler's Wells... DANCE: Vlaemsch (Chez Moi) explores Flemish identity at Sadler's Wells... STAGE: Michael Keegan-Dolan's biographical How to Be a Dancer at Sadler's Wells East...
MORE >>
NEWS SOURCES:
Dark Horizons.
The Hollywood Reporter.
Variety.
Deadline.
The industry.
| ALSO: Empire. IMDb. Rotten Tomatoes. Ain't It Cool News. Digital Spy. The Wrap. Sight and Sound. Entertainment Weekly. BBC. CNN. Evening Standard. The Guardian. Film Threat. indieWire. Screen International. © 2025 by Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall HOME | REVIEWS | NEWS | FESTIVAL | AWARDS | Q&A | ABOUT | TALKBACK | ||
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