Ryan Phillippe, Emile Hirsch & Mena Suvari Set For Vertical’s Action Thriller ‘Kalahari’ From Writer-Director Mukunda Michael Dewil; Voltage Pictures To Handle Sales At Cannes

EXCLUSIVE: Wagner Moura (Narcos, Elite Squad, The Gray Man) is set to star in the upcoming biopic Angicos about Brazilian educator and author Paulo Freire. Felipe Hirsch will write and direct and Adriana Tavares of Café Royal will produce alongside Paula Linhares of Cenya Productions and Marcos Tellechea and Guilherme Somlo of Reagent Media.

EXCLUSIVE: Shia LaBeouf has joined action thriller Mace, directed by Jon Amiel from a script by David Chisholm. Trevor Jackson (Grown-ish, Superfly) will co-star. Myriad Pictures is shopping the project to buyers here in Cannes this week. 

WHAT HAPPENED? While Wrexham players are still basking in their promotion success, fans will once again be flocking to the Racecourse Ground at the end of the month to watch two gigs by the Kings of Leon. There could be more top acts to follow too, with owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney telling the Fearless In Devotion podcast they would love to see Beyonce or Taylor Swift take to the stage in Wrexham. WHAT THEY SAID: "We're going to need some more seats Rob," said Reynolds.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Well Go USA Entertainment has taken North American distribution rights to “Mercy Road,” a new psychological thriller from Arclight Films. The film stars Australian actor Luke Bracey, who was most recently seen in Baz Lurhman’s “Elvis” and the re-make of “Point Break.” “Mercy Road” follows a flawed everyman who commits an impulsive and vicious crime. In this ultimate journey to redemption, he discovers how far he is willing to go to save his child.   It was written and directed by John Curran, the director of such acclaimed dramas as “Chappaquiddick” and “The Painted Veil.”  Chris Pelletier and Jesse Heffring penned the script. Susie Porter (“Cargo”) and Huw Higginson (“The Nightingale”) co-star with Toby Jones (“Poor Cow”). Well Go USA will release “Mercy Road” in late 2023. 

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a fun cast: Emmy winner Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus), Emmy winner Brian Cox (Succession) — both of whom are having career moments — Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man), and BET Awards winner Gabrielle Union (The Inspection) have been set to star in crime comedy Riff Raff.

EXCLUSIVE: 1883 breakout Isabel May is set to star opposite Jurnee Smollett in the thriller Sunflower, which Misha Green is directing for Lionsgate, in her feature debut.

Oscar winner Al Pacino (The Godfather), Oscar nominee Viggo Mortensen (Green Book), Oscar nominee John Travolta (Pulp Fiction), BAFTA winner Shia LaBeouf (Honey Boy), NBR Award winner Rebecca Pidgeon (Heist) and Golden Globe nominated singer and actress Courtney Love (The People vs. Larry Flynt) are set to star in the thriller Assassination, we can reveal.

EXCLUSIVE: Ashley Moore (I Know What You Did Last Summer) and Camren Bicondova (Gotham) will topline Festival of the Living Dead, a Tubi film inspired by the classic 1968 zombie pic Night of the Living Dead co-written and directed by George A. Romero.

Ryan Reynolds is poking fun at 's breakout star. In a new commercial, the 46-year-old actor promises Ronald Gladden that there's no catch to his wireless company's low prices.«It's hard to believe that in a time of crazy inflation, Mint is still just $15 a month. Can you believe that, Ronald?» Reynolds asks Gladden in the commercial.«No, this doesn't seem real,» Gladden responds.

It’s the most dangerous mission yet.

EXCLUSIVE: Republic Pictures has acquired the action thriller Air Force One Down from SP Media Group, slating it for worldwide release by Paramount Global Content Distribution next year. Katherine McNamara (Walker: Independence), Ian Bohen (Yellowstone), Anthony Michael Hall (Halloween Kills), Dascha Polanco (Orange Is the New Black) and Rade Serbedzija (Mission: Impossible II) star in the pic which wrapped production in March.

EXCLUSIVE: Drew Pearce’s upcoming action thriller, Cooler, starring Dave Bautista, which we first told you about, is launching sales at the Cannes Market, we hear from sources.

EXCLUSIVE: Ashley Judd (She Said) has wrapped production in Oregon on Lazareth, a new thriller written and directed by Alec Tibaldi that she stars in for Vertical, TPC and SSS Entertainment. Others rounding out the cast include Katie Douglas (Ginny & Georgia), Sarah Pidgeon (Tiny Beautiful Things), Asher Angel (Shazam!) and newcomer Edward Balaban.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Alan Ritchson (“Reacher,” “Fast X”) has been set as the lead in “Motor City,” an action thriller from director Timur Bekmambetov (“Wanted,” “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”). Black Bear Intl. will launch sales at Cannes. Ritchson will play John Miller, a Detroit man released from prison, who unleashes a rampage of brutal vengeance on those who framed him. The Detroit-set film will be “characterized by immersive visual storytelling, with stunningly choreographed and stylized action sequences,” according to a statement. Greg Silverman and Jon Berg will produce for Stampede Ventures, alongside Cliff Roberts and Chad St. John, who also penned the script. Executive producers include Chris Bosco and Gideon Yu for Stampede Ventures and John Friedberg for Black Bear Intl.

too frightened of her new role in “American Horror Story: Delicate.”The “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star, 42, will appear in the 12th season of Ryan Murphy’s scary anthology series later this year — and she hired an acting coach to help hone her skills for the show.“We start shooting my stuff at the end of this month. But production has already started and I’m so excited,” the reality TV personality told Variety at the Met Gala on Monday night.“I’m so excited for the experience,” the Skims founder said of returning to television — outside of the reality realm — after her 2021 “Saturday Night Live” hosting gig.“It’s a challenge.

EXCLUSIVE: Fiona Shaw (Andor), Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice) and Chaske Spencer (The English) have entered production in NYC on Park Avenue, a new indie drama from Sundance alum Gaby Dellal (On a Clear Day), who directs from her script written with Tina Alexis Allen.

Aryan Khan, the son of Hindi film industry superstar Shah Rukh Khan, is gearing up to make his debut as showrunner and director with a series set against the backdrop of the film industry. 

EXCLUSIVE: Michaela Jaé Rodriguez is working again with Pose co-creator Ryan Murphy on the 12th season of FX’s American Horror Story.

EXCLUSIVE: Lulu Wilson (The Wrath of Becky), Omari Hardwick (Power) and Trae Romano (Stargirl) are set to star in Xeno, a new film that writer, director and VFX Artist Matthew Loren Oates (Farewell Bender) will direct for Kevin Hart‘s Hartbeat, from his own script.

Donald Sutherland has been cast in a key recurring role in Taylor Sheridan’s Lawmen: Bass Reeves (fka Bass Reeves), exec produced by and starring David Oyelowo.