How do you top Barbie? And who's playing that goat?

🎬 Welcome to The Reelarc Rundown 🎬

🔸 Margot Robbie’s coming for the Monopoly Man
🔸 We finally know who’s playing the goat in Wicked
🔸 Dakota Fanning reveals her favorite on set lessons

All that and more on this week’s Rundown ⤵️

Industry News

CinemaCon: First Looks, Crossover Confirmations, Deal Extensions Galore

CinemaCon- the biggest gathering of movie theater owners worldwide- wrapped Thursday in Las Vegas and brought no shortage of bombshell industry news. Some of our favorite tidbits:

• Paramount extends first look deal with John Krasinski’s production company

• Miramax to produce new Scary Movie installment

• Upcoming Wicked’s Dr. Dillamond actor finally unveiled

• Blumhouse to reboot The Blair Witch Project

Movie owners pointed to the viral success of last summer’s Barbenheimer fever in hopes of future ticket sale success, but also admitted that blockbusters aren’t enough. Michael O’Leary, president/CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners, emphasized “to have a truly successful filmed entertainment industry, a variety of movies that appeal to movie goers is critical.” For him that includes “a strong and vibrant market for movies with smaller or medium sized budgets.”

From Barbie to Board Games

Perhaps our favorite CinemaCon announcement is Margot Robbie’s production company LuckyChap officially taking the reins of a feature film Monopoly adaptation. Who will star as Mr. Monopoly? (Personally we think Tom Hanks can pull off the monocle.) Will they use the old game pieces or new? Will there be free parking? We have so many questions. Of course, people are already wondering how you translate a board game into a blockbuster- but if anyone can do it, it’s the creatives behind Barbie.

Emmy Season Is Upon Us

Is it too early to start Emmy predictions? Never. Emmy consideration cut off is nearing (May 31st) and forecasts are heating up. Standout contenders for Best Drama Series include The Crown and The Morning Show while The Bear, Abbott Elementary, and Hacks are solid bets for Comedy Series.

Box Office Numbers

1. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - 31.2 mil (134.5 total) - Warner Bros.

2. Monkey Man - 10.1 mil - Universal

3. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - 9 mil (88.9 total) - Sony Pictures

4. The First Omen - 8.4 mil - 20th Century Studios

5. Kung Fu Panda 4 - 7.8 mil (166 total) - Universal

Expert Insights

Ripley star Dakota Fanning spoke to Backstage about the best lessons she’s learned on set. From I Am Sam to War of the Worlds to Twilight to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood- there’s been plenty of learn. Here are some of our favorite quotes-

On still honing her process:
“It has always been, even now, about holding onto that childlike imagination, because I really think that’s what acting is at the end of the day.”

On learning young from powerhouse directors:
“[Spielberg] is about the emotion first and about what the characters are experiencing. The actors aren’t there to service the special effects; rather, the special effects are there to heighten the story.”

On understanding your why in a role:
“When you don’t know what you’re saying, then you can just feel like a clown in a costume…But if you can hold onto why you’re doing it, then it doesn’t feel weird or goofy or embarrassing. I’m usually just trying to not be aware of the ridiculous aspects of what I’m doing and that usually comes from deep understanding of why you’re doing it.”

Reelarc Casting Board

NYC
male, 30-40, Caucasian
female, 20-25, any ethnicity
male, 57-65, any ethnicity

LA
female, 11-13, any ethnicity
female, 19-26, any ethnicity
female, 40-50, any ethnicity

Quiz Time

In honor of CinemaCon hosted by the National Association of Theater Owners, can you put the highest grossing films worldwide from last year in order?

Trends on your FYP

Kirsten Dunst stopped by Variety to get quizzed on lines from her over three decade-long career. Indiewire recently called Dunst “our most reasonable movie star” and it’s not hard to see why. (Yes, of course she remembers the Bring It On cheer.)

What We’re Watching This Weekend

🎥 For your A24 fix - Alex Garland’s anticipated Civil War is in theaters now

🎥 For the Michael Douglas fans - the first three episodes of Apple TV+’s Franklin drop today

🎥 For the gamers - Fallout season one is finally here on Prime

🎥 For a good scare - Blumhouse’s Night Swim streaming on Peacock starting April 15th

🎥 For some Pulitzer prize-winning source material - limited series (based on the novel) The Sympathizer streaming on Max April 13th

Quiz Answers: 1C, 2E, 3B, 4A, 5D
(P.S.- Have a story or industry info you think should be featured on the Rundown? Let us know - [email protected]!)