Last Looks: Lena Dunham Developing Netflix Series Starring Sarah Paulson, More Deals From TIFF

The Dailies

The Dailies reports on the latest in development, greenlights, renewals, and cancellations.

Film Development 🗒️

• David F. Sandberg will direct an Amazon MGM reimagining of horror classic ‘Amityville Horror.’ (more)
• Benny Safdie and Dwayne Johnson will reunite for ‘Lizard Music’, adapting Daniel Pinkwater’s 1976 novel about space lizard musicians. (more)
• Cate Blanchett will star in Alice Birch’s feature directorial debut ‘Sweetsick’ at Searchlight. (more)
• Lena Dunham, Jeremy O. Harris and Raffi Donatich are developing Netflix series ‘Sex Act’, with Sarah Paulson eyed to star. (more)
• Lionsgate is developing a sequel to ‘The Last Witch Hunter,’ with Vin Diesel and Michael Caine set to reprise their roles. (more)
• Rudy Mancuso will direct Disney’s long-awaited musical comedy ‘Bob The Musical.’ (more)
• Row K Entertainment has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to Gus Van Sant’s ‘Dead Man’s Wire’ at TIFF, marking the distributor’s first release. (more)
• Fred Hechinger will star in Andrew Haigh’s new drama ‘A Long Winter.’ (more)
• Jessica Chastain will star with John Hawkes and Carter Faith in Netflix mystery thriller ‘Heartland,’ directed by Shana Feste. (more)
• Amazon nears $12M U.S. deal for all-female action film ‘Ballerina Overdrive’ starring Lana Condor, Maddie Ziegler, and Uma Thurman. (more)
• Tiffany Haddish and Isla Fisher will star in action-comedy ‘Double Crossed,’ which A Higher Standard is shopping to TIFF buyers. (more)
• Paramount has preemptively acquired James Vanderbilt’s untitled techno-thriller, ahead of his film ‘Nuremberg’ premiering at TIFF. (more)
• Djimon Hounsou has joined Henry Cavill in Amazon MGM’s ‘Highlander’ remake, alongside Russell Crowe, Dave Bautista and Karen Gillan. (more)
• Charles Melton, Rachel Brosnahan and Will Poulter will star in Netflix’s ‘Saturn Return,’ directed by Greg Kwedar and produced by Plan B. (more)
• Sean Penn has joined Brazilian Oscar hopeful ‘Manas’ as executive producer, backing Marianna Brennand’s Venice-winning debut. (more)
• Snoop Dogg and Eli Roth are teaming on horror film ‘Don’t Go In That House, ****!,’ with Roth directing and Snoop creating the original soundtrack. (more)
• ‘Cliffhanger’ is already getting a sequel in early development, ahead of the upcoming reboot starring Lily James and Pierce Brosnan. (more)
• Fede Alvarez will not direct the ‘Alien: Romulus’ sequel, though he co-wrote the script and will produce with Ridley Scott. (more)

TV Development 📺

• ESPN has acquired U.S. rights to docuseries ‘Origin: The Story of the Basketball Africa League’ ahead of its TIFF world premiere. (more)
• James Corden and Ruth Jones will star as siblings in new Apple TV+ comedy-drama ‘The Choir,’ their first series since ‘Gavin and Stacey.’ (more)
• Charlie Brooker is making an untitled four-part Netflix detective thriller starring Paddy Considine, Lena Headey, and Georgina Campbell. (more)
• Lara Spencer will host and exec produce Freeform/Hulu’s ‘That Thrifting Show’ while renewing her deal with ‘Good Morning America.’ (more)
• Netflix has ordered coming-of-age drama series ‘Crew Girl’ from showrunner Vivian Lin, starring Miku Martineau. (more)

Business 🤝

• Artists Equity has named veteran exec Amy Baer president of Film & TV, reporting to co-founders Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. (more)
• Warner Bros. Discovery has sued Sling TV over short-term bundles, following Disney’s similar lawsuit against the service last month. (more)
• Disney+ has struck a landmark deal with Spain’s Atresmedia to add 300+ hours of local content annually under the Atresplayer label. (more)
• Lionsgate has signed a three-year first-look and co-financing pact with Daniel Grodnik and Jeffrey Reisner’s Golden Eagle Movie Studios. (more)
• LaToya Morgan has signed a mini first-look deal with Universal TV and will write and EP thriller adaptation ‘The Paris Widow.’ (more)

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