News

A handful of indies bow or expand this weekend as Oscar hopefuls from Poor Things to The Holdovers and American Fiction crowd theaters after nominations earlier this week. Anatomy Of A Fall is getting a big bump. Oppenheimer is back on Imax.

New specialty releases include Daisy Ridley-starring Sometimes I Think About Dying by Rachel Lambert, and Tótem by Lila Avilés. Separately, Sundance has just wrapped up announcing winners from a new crop of independent films.

What we have post Oscar-nomination Tuesday, is this: Searchlight Pictures’ Poor Things by Yorgos Lanthimos going wide on 2,226 screens, up from 1,400. The film starring Emma Stone had 11 nominations, second only to Oppenheimer. That Christopher Nolan blockbuster summer release from Universal is returning to 750 Imax screens worldwide, including iconic 70mm film theaters. Oppenheimer led all nominees for the 96th Oscars on Tuesday, with 13.

Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction from Amazon MGM Studios moves to 1,500 theaters from 850. Released Dec.

Maybe there’s just something in the air. When Warner Bros. dropped a new trailer for Greta Gerwig’s eventual blockbuster and multiple Oscar nominee “Barbie” back in May, seemingly everybody went nuts for a single standout line that came to capture so much of its charm, as star Margot Robbie (as Barbie!) pauses during a candy-colored dance party to ask her cohorts if they “ever think about dying.”

Even before Gerwig and Robbie were thinking about dying, Daisy Ridley was already there. Five months earlier, the former “Star Wars” star came to Sundance 2023 with the alluringly titled Rachel Lambert dramedy “Sometimes I Think About Dying,” which Ridley both starred in and produced.

When I mentioned the line to Ridley when we spoke earlier this month, she laughed. “Oh, my God, yeah! Hilarious,” the actress and producer said. “I never even put two and two together. I was like, ‘Yes,...

Sometimes I Think About Dying is a romantic drama/comedy starring Daisy Ridley as Fran, an introverted office worker who daydreams about death. Fran's bubble is breached when a new coworker, Robert, starts working and forces his kind nature onto her, opening her up to new possibilities, including potential romance. The film explores themes of isolation, vulnerability, and the search for connection, with strong performances and realistic, relatable interactions between the characters.

Sometimes I Think About Dying follows Fran a socially awkward office worker. Fran spends her days isolated and contemplating her own death. However, when the new guy at work begins opening her up with his infectious kindness Fran begins to daydream about other possibilities.

Sometimes I Think About Dying is directed by Rachel Lambert from a script penned by Kevin Armento, Stefanie Abel Horowitz, and Katy Wright-Mead. The movie stars Daisy Ridley, Dave Merheje, Parvesh Cheena, and Marcia DeBonis.

Daisy Ridley is contemplating death. Well, not actual death — but the escape from the mundanities of corporate office culture because, really, aren’t we all?

The “Star Wars” actress leads the indie “Sometimes I Think About Dying,” which debuted at Sundance 2023. In the film, Ridley plays Fran, a woman who daydreams while at work and thinks about interesting ways to die. When a new coworker (Dave Merheje) tries to connect with her, though, Fran realizes there is more to life than its inevitable fatal end. Meg Stalter, Parvesh Cheena, Marcia DeBonis, and Brittany O’Grady round out the cast.

Director Rachel Lambert helms her sophomore feature, following her debut film “In the Radiant City,” which was produced by Jeff Nichols. Lead actress Ridley also serves as a producer on “Sometimes I Think About Dying,” along with fellow producers Alex Saks, Dori Rath, Lauren Beveridge, and Brett Beveridge. The film was written by Kevin Armento,...

Daisy Ridley stars as Fran, an introverted young woman whose life consists of cubicle-dwelling during the work week and sticking around home on the weekends, in Sometimes I Think About Dying. The trailer shows that although Fran prefers her own company, a new coworker draws her attention and might just be the connection to the world that she needs.

In addition to Ridley, the indie drama’s cast includes Dave Merheje, Parvesh Cheena, Marcia DeBonis, Meg Stalter, and Brittany O’Grady. Rachel Lambert directed from a screenplay by Kevin Armento, Stefanie Abel Horowitz, and Katy Wright-Mead.

Sometimes I Think About Dying opens in theaters on January 26, 2024.

“Lost on the dreary Oregon coast, Fran (Ridley) finds solace in her cubicle, listening to the constant hum of officemates and occasionally daydreaming to pass the time. She is ghosting through life, unable to pop her bubble of isolation, when a friendly new coworker, Robert...

Daisy Ridley’s next drama Sometimes I Think About Dying has unveiled a new trailer. The independent feature is produced by Ridley and helmed by Rachel Lambert and presents a heart-tugging, slice-of-life story. The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and garnered much critical acclaim. It is based on the 2019 short film directed and co-written by Stefanie Abel Horowitz which, in turn, was based on a play called Killers by Kevin Armento.

Exclusive: SAG-AFTRA has granted an interim agreement to Sometimes I Think About Dying, an indie gem produced by and starring Daisy Ridley that made a big impression in its world premiere on the opening night of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Directed by Rachel Lambert, the film co-starring Ramy‘s Dave Merheje is set to hit theaters in the U.S. via Oscilloscope, as we were first to report. It’ll roll out January 26th, opening exclusively in New York at the Angelika. The agreement with SAG means that cast will be able to promote the release, bringing the pic more visibility and hopefully thereby giving it a stronger shot to break out at the box office.

A dark comedy penned by Kevin Armento, Stefanie Abel Horowitz, and Katy Wright-Mead, Sometimes I Think About Dying tells the story of Fran (Ridley), who is lost on the dreary Oregon coast and finds solace in her cubicle,...

The 2023 Cannes market runs May 16-24.

Screen is rounding up the key packages launched before and during the 2023 Cannes market (which runs May 16-24).

Refresh the page for latest updates.

May 16 ’The Salt Path’

The feature debut of acclaimed theatre director Marianne Elliott stars Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs portraying the real-life couple who trekked 630 miles of UK coastline after being kicked out of their home. Black Bear are distributing in the UK.

World sales: Rocket Science

’The Rule Of Jenny Pen’

Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow star in James Ashcroft’s thriller as a conceited judging and a psychopath...

The One, an upcoming horror movie from Hanway Film, has secured its lead stars. THR reports that Melissa Barrera, who recently reprised her Scream role in Scream VI, has taken one of the lead roles in The One alongside Renfield star Nicholas Hoult. Also starring in the movie will be Lana Condor (To All the Boys I've Loved Before). Kevin Armento and Jaki Bradley will write and direct the film. Hoult is serving as a producer on the project as well alongside Whitaker Lader under their Dead Duck Films banner. Also producing are Riley Keough and Gina Gammell for Felix Culpa.

“We’ve been dreaming up this project for years, and are thrilled to now bring it to life with our actual dream team,” Armento and Bradley said in a statement. “Nick, Melissa, Riley, and Lana are some of the most exciting talents around, and their passion for this film...

Melissa Barrera will lead the cast of 'The One'.The 32-year-old star has boarded the movie described as an "erotic nightmare" set within the confines of a reality dating show from writer-director duo Kevin Armento and Jaki Bradley.Nicolas Hoult and Lana Condor have also been cast in the film that is being produced by Riley Keough – the actress granddaughter of music legend Elvis Presley.Hoult also serves as a producer alongside Whitaker Lader for their Dead Duck Films company.'The One' tells the story of Taylor (Barrera), who makes a last-ditch effort to find romance by becoming a contestant on a reality dating show.Down to just herself and two other women competing to win Mason's (Hoult) heart, Taylor begins to feel that the game becomes terrifyingly real.Amid the beachfront setting and constant flow of champagne, pursuit turns into obsession and rivalry becomes treachery.Armento and Bradley...

While US reality dating staple The Bachelor remains powerful, its cultural impact has been somewhat diluted by the tide of even more intense romantic entanglement series including Love Island and Love Is Blind. Still, from the sounds of it, new film The One will be drawn from the roses-n-rancour reality series. And now Melissa Barrera, Nicholas Hoult and Lana Condor will be looking for love in the story.

The film follows Taylor (Barrera), who’s made a last-ditch effort to find love by becoming a contestant on a reality dating show. Now down to just herself and two other women competing to win the heart of Mason (Hoult), Taylor begins to feel the artifice of the show fade, and the game becomes terrifyingly real. Amidst the opulent beachfront setting, fairy-tale dates, and ever-flowing champagne, pursuit turns into obsession and rivalry turns into treachery as reality itself blurs.

Writer-director team Kevin Armento...

Melissa Barrera of Scream (2022) and Scream VI has signed on to star in the horror film The One alongside Nicholas Hoult of The Menu and Renfield. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The One is described as being an “erotic nightmare”.

Kevin Armento and Jaki Bradley will be directing The One from a screenplay they wrote together, and while this will mark the feature directorial debut of Armento, Bradley previously directed the 2019 thriller Last Ferry and the 2021 “podcast movie” Treat. The story Armento and Bradley have crafted for The One centers on Taylor (Barrera), who makes a last-ditch effort to find love by becoming a contestant on a reality dating show. Now down to just herself and two other women competing to win the heart of Mason (Hoult), Taylor begins to feel the artifice of the show fade, and the game becomes terrifyingly real. Amidst the opulent beachfront setting, fairytale dates and ever-flowing champagne,...

The stars of Scream VI and Renfield, Melissa Barrera and Nicholas Hoult have signed on to star in The One, an upcoming horror movie centered on a reality dating show.

THR reports this morning that Riley Keough is producing the feature film, which will be written and directed by Kevin Armento and Jaki Bradley.

The One is said to be a “nightmarish horror about the romantic and psychological warfare waged by our beloved popular entertainment.”

“The One follows Taylor (Barrera), who makes a last-ditch effort to find love by becoming a contestant on a reality dating show. Now down to just herself and two other women competing to win the heart of Mason (Hoult), Taylor begins to feel the artifice of the show fade, and the game becomes terrifyingly real.

“Amidst the opulent beachfront setting, fairytale dates and ever-flowing champagne, pursuit turns into obsession and rivalry turns into treachery as reality itself blurs.

HanWay Films has boarded The One, an erotic thriller starring Melissa Barrera and Nicholas Hoult and will launch sales at the Cannes Film Festival.

The project comes from writer-director team Kevin Armento and Jaki Bradley and is billed as “a nightmarish horror about the romantic and psychological warfare waged by our beloved popular entertainment — and also begs the question… are we, the viewers, complicit?”

Barrera, who’s coming off box office horror hit Scream VI, leads the cast opposite the Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award-nominated Hoult. Barrera plays Taylor, whose last-ditch effort to find love by becoming a contestant on a reality dating show begins to feel terrifyingly real as she becomes a finalist. Amidst an opulent beachfront setting, fairy-tale dates and champagne, “pursuit turns into obsession and rivalry turns into treachery as reality itself blurs.”

HanWay Films is handling worldwide sales, with WME Independent and UTA co-repping the film for North America.

Melissa Barrera, star of the hugely successful recent Scream reboot, is set to lead the cast of The One, described as an “erotic nightmare” set within the confines on the reality dating show, which Riley Keough is set to produce.

The film, from writer-director duo Kevin Armento and Jaki Bradley, will see Barrera (whose upcoming projects also include Your Monster and The Collaboration) star alongside Nicholas Hoult (The Great, upcoming Nosferatu for Robert Eggers and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2) and Lana Condor (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken).

The One follows Taylor (Barrera), who makes a last-ditch effort to find love by becoming a contestant on a reality dating show. Now down to just herself and two other women competing to win the heart of Mason (Hoult), Taylor begins to feel the artifice of the show fade, and the game becomes terrifyingly real. Amidst the opulent beachfront setting,...

Melissa Barrera (“Scream VI”), Nicholas Hoult (“The Menu”) and Lana Condor (“Moonshot”) headline the cast of “The One,” from writer-director team Kevin Armento and Jaki Bradley.

HanWay Films is handling worldwide sales, and will launch the film at the Cannes film market, with WME Independent and UTA co-repping the film for North America.

“The One” follows Taylor (Barrera), who’s made a last-ditch effort to find love by becoming a contestant on a reality dating show. Now down to just herself and two other women competing to win the heart of Mason (Hoult), Taylor begins to feel the artifice of the show fade, and the game becomes terrifyingly real. Amidst the opulent beachfront setting, fairy-tale dates, and ever-flowing champagne, pursuit turns into obsession and rivalry turns into treachery as reality itself blurs.

Hoult also produces alongside Whitaker Lader via their production company Dead Duck Films, which has a first-look TV...

WME Independent and UTA co-rep for North America.

UK sales outfit HanWay has boarded erotic horror The One, from US writer-director team Kevin Armento and Jaki Bradley, with the film set in the confines of a reality TV dating show.

HanWay Films is handling worldwide sales, which it will launch at Cannes this month, with WME Independent and UTA co-repping the film for North America.

The cast is led by Scream VI’s Melissa Barrera, alongside Lana Condor and Nicholas Hoult. Hoult also produces alongside Whitaker Lader via their production company Dead Duck Films which has a first-look TV deal...

2023 Sundance is behind us, and mega deals for films like “Fair Play,” “Flora and Son,” and “Theater Camp” were back in a big way. And while the market was healthy, there still are a lot of films yet to find homes.

Here’s the latest deals we’re tracking after the festival.

Films Acquired After the Festival

Title: “Sometimes I Think About Dying”

Section: U.S. Dramatic

Distributor: Oscilloscope

“Sometimes I Think About Dying,” the Daisy Ridley drama that made its premiere in competition on the opening night of this year’s Sundance, was acquired by Oscilloscope for a theatrical release. O-Scope scooped up the U.S. rights to director Rachel Lambert’s film and will release it later this year.

The film is set on the dreary Oregon coast and follows a lonely woman who finds solace in her cubicle and the doldrums of office life. She is ghosting...

Exclusive: Oscilloscope has acquired U.S. rights to Sometimes I Think About Dying, directed by Rachel Lambert, and starring Daisy Ridley, Dave Merheje, Parvesh Cheena, Marcia Debonis, Meg Stalter, and Brittany O’Grady. The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. O-Scope is planning a traditional theatrical release for the film later this year.

“I am thrilled that this film I love so much, and was created with so much care by our team, has found its home with Oscilloscope,” said Lambert. “Their legacy precedes them. Every time I see their logo pop up before a film, I can rest assured I am about to watch something artful and moving. Knowing that stamp will precede a film I directed is a real honor. I so look forward to sharing Sometimes I Think About Dying with audiences.”

Daisy Ridley

The film was written by Kevin Armento, Stefanie Abel Horowitz,...

Former Jedi Daisy Ridley is getting a lot of buzz right now for her performance as Fran in director Rachel Lambert’s dark comedy Sometimes I Think About Dying, the feature-length adaptation of Stefanie Abel Horowitz’s 2019 short film of the same title, which in turn was inspired by Kevin Armento’s play Killers. At its premiere at the 2023 Sundance Festival, critics raved about Ridley’s nuanced performance and her excruciating discomfort in social situations expressed in micro-expressions.

Magazine Dreams.The Sundance Film Festival returned this year for its first in-person edition since the oblivious winter of 2020, when Zola was the talk of Park City and the coronavirus still seemed like something that Purell could contain. During two consecutive years of virtual iterations, Sundance managed to launch visionary, critically-praised narrative features onto dissimilar post-festival trajectories. Rebecca Hall’s Passing, a provocative adaptation of Nella Larsen’s novella, rode out awards season on the considerable strengths of its lead performances, only to fizzle out come Oscar time. Conversely, the Academy Awards triumph of Siân Heder’s Coda, now the first festival selection to win Best Picture, is surely fueling the daydreams of many past, present, and future Sundance-stamped filmmakers. Acquired by Apple for $25 million and showered with a $10 million awards campaign that equaled its production budget, Coda seems to offer definitive proof that no matter how visually flat and...

Stars: Daisy Ridley, Dave Merheje, Parvesh Cheena | Written by Kevin Armento | Directed by Rachel Lambert

In a small town on the Oregon coast, Fran spends hours at her job, barely moving for her office cubicle. Rarely speaking to anyone or endeavouring to make friends, her ghosting through life is matched with visceral fantasies about how it all might end. When Robert starts to work at the same company, Fran begins to tread the uncertain path toward building a connection with a stranger.

When it comes to 2020s cinema, we’re often told that bigger is better. Movies don’t pack out a cinema screen unless they’re adorned with superheroes, gunfights, and car chases that freewheel into an explosion of a finale. In the case of Rachel Lambert’s Sometimes I Think About Dying, the payoff is unexpectedly pleasant. Pointedly choosing a path that revels in the minimal, Lambert’s...

Sometimes I Think About Dying is an emotionally resonant and enjoyable film, one of a number of exciting new features that debuted at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The journey of Sometimes I Think About Dying is an interesting one, as it is based on a short film of the same name, which itself was based on a play called Killers by Kevin Armento. The feature was well-received at its opening night premiere at Sundance, with critics praising its relatable story, smart humor, and resonant themes.

The film stars Daisy Ridley as Fran, an office worker who craves connection and feels out of touch with her own life. That life is soon to change as she strikes up a relationship with her co-worker Robert (Dave Merheje), in whom she finds an opportunity to feel, and be, seen. While Ridley is of course known for her work on the divisive Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker...

These days it feels like we’re more connected than ever before — be it through Zoom calls, social media, or texting and FaceTime, it’s easy to simply reach out to anyone at any point. And yet, the feeling of disconnection is also very real, leaving people craving connection but not knowing how to get it, or what it might entail when it does happen. Directed by Rachel Lambert, Sometimes I Think About Dying tackles this very subject with mixed results. Anchored by strong performances from Daisy Ridley and Dave Merheje, the film has pacing issues, but it's emotionally resonant, humorous, and relatable.

The film follows Fran (Daisy Ridley), an office employee who diligently works from her cubicle every day, watching life as it goes by. She’s seemingly uninterested in engaging with her coworkers’ mundane conversations, separating herself both mentally and physically from them. Fran often thinks about dying,...

Daisy Ridley in ‘Sometimes I Think About Dying’ (Courtesy of Sundance Institute / photo by Dustin Lane)

Fran is the sort of person neighbors would describe to reporters as quiet and kept to themselves after the discovery of a basement full of dead bodies. Robert is the guy people are just drawn to, a decent man who you feel has been a part of your friend group for years even though you just met him. In typical films, these two would have a meet cute and Fran would ultimately transform from a colorless caterpillar into a stunning butterfly. A happily ever after would follow. The End. But, thankfully, Sometimes I Think About Dying is anything but typical.

Fran (Daisy Ridley) works in a nondescript office that could be anywhere in the world at any time in modern history. There’s nothing that distinguishes it from a million other offices around the globe.

Sometimes I Think About Dying is directed by Rachel Lambert, written by Stefanie Abel Horowitz, Kevin Armento, and Katy Wright. The movie stars Daisy Ridley, Dave Merheje, Megan Stalter and Brittany O’ Grady. It had its world premiere Thursday on the opening day of the Sundance Film Festival.

The film begins with shots of a seaside northwestern town on the Oregon coast. It appears to be a dreary and somewhat lonely place. Next we see Fran (Ridley) laying in bed peering outside the window at the gray sky. Instead of embracing the morning, she looks terrified to confront it. She works a mundane office job that she likes but is the least animated of her colleagues. Most of her work day is spent daydreaming about death or being overly observant of small things. Her night routine is also humdrum. Fran comes home, cooks dinner (in the microwave), thinks about dying,...

While she says her banal, nondescript, spreadsheet-crafting office job is the only thing she loves in life––besides cottage cheese––one wouldn’t guess it from the way Fran Larsen (Daisy Ridley) carries out her dreary 9-to-5 routine. Spending the labored minutes staring at leakage in the ceiling tiles, gazing at her computer screen, and barely speaking a word to her overenthusiastic colleagues, Larsen has something more existential eating away at her soul: she’s preoccupied with dying. Whether it’s being washed up on a beach, hanging from a crane outside her window, being consumed by the forest, or a violent car crash, she has recurring visions of what could be an escape from her lonely life of isolation. Although not feeling fully formed with its emotionally rushed finale, Rachel Lambert’s Sometimes I Think About Dying is a humorously droll, narratively restrained look at the feigned personalities of...

Loneliness is the subject of a poetic exploration in Rachel Lambert’s Sometimes I Think About Dying. Premiering in Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Competition and adapted from the Oscar-shortlisted live-action short of the same name (which was based on Kevin Armento’s play killers), Lambert’s film quietly observes the life of Fran (Daisy Ridley), a woman who feels most at home in her daydreams.

Fran is too distinctively drawn to be just an avatar, but the impressions of her solitude are aching reminders of how modern life nurtures an unsettling separateness. No time was that more evident than during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when quarantine measures revealed the degree to which many of us live in isolation. Sometimes I Think About Dying, then, is a graceful treatise on how challenging — but liberating — it can be to make connections.

It’s not easy for Fran, a single...

Daisy Ridley stars in Sometimes I Think About Dying, directed by Rachel Lambert and co-written by Kevin Armento, Stefanie Abel Horowitz and Katy Wright-Mead. Ridley plays Fran, an office worker who, as the film’s title suggests, is driven to such mind-numbing boredom that she often thinks about her own death to pass the time. That is, until a new employee named Robert (Dave Merheje) begins striking up conversation with her. Surprisingly, he manages to pique her interest, effectively breaking the monotony of her isolating office job. Dp Dustin Lane tells Filmmaker how he crafted the visual language of the film […]

The post “We Needed To Embrace a Certain Amount of Ugliness”: Dp Dustin Lane on Sometimes I Think About Dying first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Daisy Ridley stars in Sometimes I Think About Dying, directed by Rachel Lambert and co-written by Kevin Armento, Stefanie Abel Horowitz and Katy Wright-Mead. Ridley plays Fran, an office worker who, as the film’s title suggests, is driven to such mind-numbing boredom that she often thinks about her own death to pass the time. That is, until a new employee named Robert (Dave Merheje) begins striking up conversation with her. Surprisingly, he manages to pique her interest, effectively breaking the monotony of her isolating office job. Dp Dustin Lane tells Filmmaker how he crafted the visual language of the film […]

The post “We Needed To Embrace a Certain Amount of Ugliness”: Dp Dustin Lane on Sometimes I Think About Dying first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

After two years of hosting an online festival due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Sundance Film Festival returns to Park City this year for its 2023 edition from Jan. 19-29. Film lovers, filmmakers, industry insiders, actors, artists and more are expected to return en masse for the festivities that will include a packed calendar of parties, panels, concerts, gatherings and networking opportunities, in addition to all the big-screen showings.

Below is a roundup of all of the intel The Hollywood Reporter has gathered thus far, featuring events in Park City. All times listed are local.

Thursday, Jan. 19

Sundance Scoop – Day One

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St., 1:30-2:30 p.m.

A conversation and Q&a for media featuring Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente, Sundance director of programming Kim Yutani, senior programmer and strategic initiatives director John Nein with moderator Eugene Hernandez, incoming Sundance festival director and head of public programming.

Opening...

Setting the stage for the year in cinema, the 2023 Sundance Film Festival will take place January 19-29, both in person in Utah as well as virtual viewings kicking off five days into the festival. Ahead of next month’s festivities, the festival has now unveiled its features lineup, which features 99 films.

Initial highlights of the lineup include Ira Sachs’ Passages, starring Franz Rogowski, Adèle Exarchopoulos, and Ben Whishaw, William Oldroyd’s Lady Macbeth follow-up Eileen, Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, produced by Barry Jenkins, Bad Behaviour, the directorial debut of Jane Campion’s daughter Alice Englert, Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool, starring Alexander Skarsgård and Mia Goth, Nicole Holofcener’s’ You Hurt My Feelings starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and more.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

The 12 films in this section are all world premieres. All 12 will be available to stream online.

The Accidental Getaway Driver (Director and Screenwriter: Sing J. Lee,...

Daisy Ridley (Star Wars) will star in and EP the series adaptation of Nina de Gramont’s best-selling novel, The Christie Affair. Juliette Towhidi will adapt the script.

Miramax TV is set to develop and produce the murder mystery.

In 1926, when her husband’s affair became public, Agatha Christie vanished for eleven days. In this reimagining, told through the eyes of her husband’s mistress Nan O’Dea (Ridley), Nan and Agatha become entwined in each other’s lives in ways neither expected.

The Christie Affair was published by St. Martin’s Press on February 1, 2022, becoming a UK no. 1 bestseller. On this side of the pond, the novel was included on the New York Times Bestseller list, as well as Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club.

Miramax TV will produce with the Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Rich Green, Jeremy Bell, and DJ Goldberg as Executive Producers.

Daisy Ridley, best known for her breakout role in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” will be starring in and executive producing the upcoming Miramax TV limited series “The Christie Affair.” The project is based on Nina de Gramont’s best-selling novel, which reimagines beloved mystery novelist Agatha Christie’s real-life 11-day disappearance.

Miramax TV will develop and produce the murder mystery, with British writer Juliette Towhidi (“The Essex Serpent”) adapting the script. The logline is as follows: In 1926, when her husband’s affair became public, Agatha Christie vanished for 11 days. In this reimagining, told through the eyes of her husband’s mistress Nan O’Dea (Ridley), Nan and Agatha become entwined in each other’s lives in ways neither expected.

Also Read:

‘Hill House’ Duo Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy Jump From Netflix to Amazon Studios With New Overall Deal

Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Rich Green, Jeremy Bell and DJ Goldberg are executive producing.

HBO Max and A24 are developing “Church Girls,” a comedy pilot from Megan Stalter.

“Church Girls” is a half-hour comedy that follows Beth Parker (Stalter), a 20-year-old Christian closeted lesbian as she wrestles with her sexuality and faith in God, while entering adulthood in suburban Ohio. The series is inspired by Stalter’s own experiences.

Stalter is best known for playing Kayla, Jimmy’s (Paul W. Downs) wealthy and dysfunctional assistant in the HBO Max comedy “Hacks.” Her other screen credits include guest starring in the 2022 reboot of “Queer as Folk” and voicing several characters in Stephen Colbert’s satirical animated program “Tooning Out the News.” As a writer, she has hosted the web series “The Megan Stalter Show,” worked on the 2019 reboot of “The National Lampoon Radio, which she also starred in, and is a touring standup comedian.

Up next, Stalter will star in the dark comedy “Cora Bora...

Exclusive: Daisy Ridley is set to star and produce the indie drama Sometimes I Think About Dying, which recently wrapped production in Oregon. Rachel Lambert directed the pic with Kevin Armento, Stefanie Abel Horowitz, and Katy Wright-Mead penning the script. Dave Merheje, Meg Stalter, Bree Elrod, Brittany O’Grady and Parvesh Cheena round out ensemble.

Based on play Killers by Armento as well as the short film Sometimes I Think About Dying, the film follows Fran who likes to think about dying. It brings sensation to her quiet life. When she makes the new guy at work laugh, it leads to more: a date, a slice of pie, a conversation, a spark. The only thing standing in their way is Fran herself.

Joining Ridley as a producer are Alex Saks, Dori Rath, Lauren Beveridge and Brett Beveridge. Saks’ page fifty-four pictures produced the film alongside the Beveridge’s Point Productions and Mirror Image Films.

Exclusive: Paramount’s genre division Paramount Players has tapped Night Teeth and I See You filmmaker Adam Randall to direct the horror pic Curfew.

The former Blood List entry follows a rebellious teenage girl who is sent to stay with her grandmother in a sleepy town whose quirky traditions include a curfew banning anyone from going out at night. When the girl ventures out after dark she discovers the murky truth behind the town’s mysterious history.

Randall told us: “This is a fun monster movie that harks back to Amblin movies of yore. There is an intriguing conflict between the teenage girl and the older generations but it also has the thrills and action of a monster movie. It’s a great script.”

Script comes from Isa Mazzei (Cam). Jaki Bradley and Kevin Armento did previous revisions. Dick Grunert wrote the original spec that made it onto the 2017 Blood List.

The Blood List, an annual survey of Hollywood’s best unproduced horror scripts, has anointed a class of 2019 which includes an Olivia Wilde project, an extreme bodybuilding misadventure and a sinister trip to a luxury spa.

Now in its eleventh year, the list was created by Brillstein Partners manager and producer Kailey Marsh (Hulu’s “Light as a Feather”). Over 50 film and TV executives at the story editor level and above voted on this year’s crop of scripts, a mix of both features and pilots, in horror and subgenres like thriller, sci-fi and dark comedy. The report also offers a user-submitted list called “Fresh Blood,” which saw 513 entrants on the Blood List site.

The most high profile of the projects is “Don’t Worry Darling,” set up at New Line with Wilde (“Booksmart”) taking the lead in front of and behind the camera. Carey Van Dyke and Shane Van Dyke...

Olivia Wilde’s next directorial project “Don’t Worry, Darling,” written by Carey Van Dyke and Shane Van Dyke, and the Eli Roth-produced “10/31” are among those unproduced scripts selected for the 2019 BloodList.

Also on the list is bodybuilding thriller “Apex” and time-traveling sci-fi film “The Traveler” by Austin Everett.

The BloodList is an annual list of the best unproduced screenplays and pilots of the year. It was created in 2009 by Kailey Marsh, who is a manager and producer at Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Also Read: Joe Russo, Bryce McGuire Scripts Selected for 2018 BloodList

According to Studio System, 25% of the scripts that have been featured on the BloodList have gone on to be produced. Previous scripts that were featured on the BloodList include “Arrival,” “Birdbox,” “The Shallows,” “The Voices” and most recently, Sundance film “The Other Lamb” and Fantastic Fest’s “We Summon the Darkness.”

This year’s list also includes...

Artistic Director Hal Brooks announced that casting is now complete for the 2015 season of Cape Cod Theatre Project, featuring new works by Lucas Hnath, Laura Jacqmin, Kevin Armento and Ryan King each weekend in July. Two-time Tony Award nominee K. Todd Freeman will be joined by Broadway veterans Glenn Davis, Samantha Soule, and Obie winner Marc Damon Johnson to complete the casting of staged readings in Falmouth, Ma.