Matthew Wilder To Direct Joan Didion Biopic; Enfant Terrible To Launch Sales At AFM

An imagined conversation between two eminent historical figures who may or may not have ever met — nobody seems to know — forms the heart of Freud’s Last Session, an intellectual fable from Sony Pictures Classics that grew out of a play and, before that, a book and an Ivy League seminar.

When Bradley Cooper’s sophomore directorial outfit Maestro, an ambitious and extravagant Leonard Bernstein biopic, debuted at Venice, none of the film’s stars or crew made it on to the red carpet. SAG was 51 days deep into its strike against the studios. 

Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves took their pants off for a good cause. The couple is launching a new brand of tequila called Pantalones Tequila, with the two fittingly leaving their pants at home for the shoot. Camila Alves McConaughey’s flowy maxi dresses are the perfect summer to fall transition looksMatthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson: Separated at birth? A DNA test may reveal the truthA post shared by Matthew McConaughey (@officiallymcconaughey)The two teased their collaboration on Instagram, with the two discussing their idea behind the name and their basic requirements for their company.

Elon Musk‘s life is getting the movie treatment from A24.

Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves McConaughey’s 15-year-old son Levi is sharing insights into what his famous dad is like at home. The Dallas Buyers Club star turned 54 on November 4th, and Levi opened his heart to the world.Levi might have a career in writing because he left the sweetest message describing his father on Instagram with a gallery of family photos.

Stefan Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters, Netflix series Barbarians) is set to direct the thriller Ice Fall, produced by Arclight Films and Addam Bramich.

EXCLUSIVE: Vertical has taken North American distribution rights for James Rowe’s crime thriller Breakwater starring Dermot Mulroney, Darren Mann and Mena Suvari as Film Mode Entertainment kicks off sales at the AFM.

EXCLUSIVE: Quiver Distribution announced they have completed production on the military action/science fiction film Agent Recon, featuring legendary martial arts expert and action hero Chuck Norris (Expendables 2, Walker Texas Ranger), and will launch sales at the American Film Market (AFM) with Millennium Media selling foreign territories. Sci-fi icon Marc Singer (Beastmaster, V) and Hong Kong’s new action vanguard Derek Ting (Agent Revelation), who also writes and directs, unite with Norris to tackle two kinetic genres. 

Neon is launching sales this week at AFM to the It Follows sequel, They Follow. Filmmaker David Robert Mitchell is back to helm and write, with Maika Monroe reprising her role as Jay Height.

EXCLUSIVE: Saoirse Ronan (Foe) has found her next project in Bad Apples, a biting satirical comedy with thriller elements, for which HanWay Films is launching worldwide sales at AFM. Marking the English language debut of Swedish writer-director Jonatan Etzler (One More Time), the film to be produced by Pulse Films is targeting a UK shoot, under an Equity contract, in spring 2024.

EXCLUSIVE: UTA Independent Film Group and CAA Media Finance are co-repping North America whilst Protagonist Pictures has come on board to handle international rights to Summer Camp starring Academy Award-winners Diane Keaton (First Wives Club, Annie Hall)and Kathy Bates (Titanic, Misery), as well as Golden Globe-winner Alfre Woodard (12 Years a Slave, The Book of Clarence).  Rounding up the ensemble cast are Eugene Levy (Schitt’s Creek, American Pie), Golden Globe nominee Dennis Haysbert (Far from Heaven, 24), Nicole Richie (Great News) and Josh Peck (Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer).

EXCLUSIVE: Writer-director Courtney J. Camerota has wrapped production on her first feature, Dead Guy, a dark comedy shot under an Interim Agreement that will be introduced to buyers at AFM by CAA Media Finance. Among those in the starry cast are two-time Oscar nominee Michael Shannon (The Bikeriders), Golden Globe nominee Eva Longoria (Sylvie’s Love), Judy Greer (White House Plumbers), Luis Guzman (Story Ave), Amaury Nolasco (The Valet), Rory Culkin (Black Mirror), and Curtis Armstrong (New Girl).

Here’s something to provide a spark to an AFM hindered by the ongoing SAG-AFTRA guild strike. Deadline reports that Lionsgate will launch sales for their reboot of the “Highlander” franchise at the LA event, looking for a budget of over $100 million.

EXCLUSIVE: A pair of German production houses has teamed for animated adventure feature Tafiti — Across the Desert, which Sola Media is launching at AFM.

Jaden Thompson Joe Hunting, director of the HBO film “We Met In Virtual Reality,” is starting a production company called Painted Clouds, focusing exclusively on virtual reality filmmaking. The company aims to create original films and series using real time VR, including the popular platform VRChat.

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar nominee Keira Knightley is set to star in dystopian sci-fi thriller Conception, in which the British government has taken control over parenting.

Ahead of the AFM, Black Bear is launching sales on Fifth Season crime-thriller She Rides Shotgun, which is set to star Golden Globe winner Taron Egerton (Rocketman) in the lead role.

EXCLUSIVE: The Coven (Terrifier 2) has boarded sales ahead of the AFM on the 2023 Tribeca horror Somewhere Quiet.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, one of the most beloved comedic duos in showbiz history, are set to make their return to the big screen in the sci-fi comedy adventure “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.” GFM Animation will launch worldwide sales on the Warner Bros. Animation-produced theatrical feature at the American Film Market (Oct. 31 – Nov.

EXCLUSIVE: The Exchange is launching international sales rights on sci-fi action film World Breaker.