Reelarc In the News, John Malkovich’s Insights & The Office Expands

🎬 Welcome to The Reelarc Rundown 🎬

🔸 How Reelarc can help you finally land that agent and book that co-star
🔸 John Malkovich’s most important prep questions
🔸 Coming soon: The Office’s extended universe

All that and more on this week’s Rundown ⤵️

Industry News

Reelarc Stands Out as an “Industry Disruptor”

Our industry has changed rapidly post-Covid (and it wasn’t a walk in the park before). Have you been able to keep up? The truth is 85% of working actors are unemployed at any given time. Reelarc’s goal is to help you get out (and stay out) of that statistic. Driven by data and real-world success, Reelarc has established a practical, distinct approach to developing and selling individual brands- that means you.

What’s Cooking in Development

Yes, it’s true- Greg Daniels is working on a new series set in The Office universe. We’re 100% here for the DMCU (Dunder Mifflin Cinematic Universe). Details are scarce now, but maybe Creed’s blog will have further news to share soon. Here are other exciting recent developments in tv and film projects:

• A new adaptation of 80s classic The Neverending Story is underway from See-Saw Films

• Paramount purchases John Swetnam (writer: Into the Storm, Step Up All In) comedy spec script Ballistic

• Paramount renews their first look deal with Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort Productions for three more years

• Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap will produce a movie based on the popular Sims game franchise

SXSW Stunners

2024’s SXSW featured nearly 300 tv & movie screenings. The tech/film/music/culture festival had over 300,000 attendees and premiered some big name titles like cult classic re-make Road House starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Gosling’s The Fall Guy, Anne Hathaway’s new romcom The Idea of You, and Alex Garland’s fourth feature film Civil War with Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons. Check out more roundups and favorites from the festival here and here.

Box Office Numbers

1. Kung Fu Panda 4 - 30.1 Mil (107.9 gross)

2. Dune: Part Two - 28.5 Mil (204.7 gross)

3. Arthur the King - 7.6 Mil

4. Imaginary - 5.5 Mil (19 gross)

5. Cabrini - 2.8 Mil (13 gross)

Behind the Screens

Let’s dive deeper into the newest surprise success of the romcom genre, Anyone But You. With a modest budget of 25 million and a current box office gross of over 210 million- whispers of a possible sequel have already begun.

Anyone But You follows in the footsteps of former romcom greats like 10 Things I Hate About You and She’s the Man in being loosely based on a Shakespearean comedy- this time Much Ado About Nothing. The screenplay was penned by Ilana Wolpert and Will Gluck, who also directed the movie.

Gluck has a solid history with romcoms as the director of Easy A and Friends with Benefits. His upcoming projects include a live-action adaptation of Disney’s animated movie The Aristocats as well as an adaptation of Holly Madison’s memoir Down the Rabbit Hole. Watch him discuss what makes a good romcom here.

Three casting directors worked on Anyone But You - Nikki Barrett (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Power of the Dog) Kathleen Chopin (Bull, Room, Hitch) and John Ort (Fire Island, Bull). Check out Ort’s panel discussion on auditioning and casting.

The current wish is Anyone But You’s sleeper success might spark a new romcom renaissance in Hollywood. Here’s hoping. 🤞🏻

Reelarc Casting Board

NYC
any gender, 30-55, any ethnicity
male, 25-35, any ethnicity
female, 24-34, any ethnicity

LA
female, 16-20, any ethnicity
any gender, 30-60, any ethnicity
female, 35-55, any ethnicity

Quiz Time

With the news of Margot Robbie’s production company LuckyChap developing a movie based on The Sims, one of our questions was- why the name “LuckyChap?” According to Robbie, she and her co-founders were a bit tipsy when first discussing the idea of the company and began referencing Charlie Chaplin. Thus- LuckyChap was born. In honor of that, can you connect the celebrity with the name of their production company? Some are pretty obvious. Others? Not so much.

Expert Insights

John Malkovich stopped by GQ to participate in their fan-favorite series of breaking down iconic characters. Here are some of his best bits of wisdom-

As Teddy KGB in Rounders-
“The real decision about that was just how broad to go…that was kind of a decision to kind of, as they say, go big or go home…there is a choice you can make of how far to go with something and [that role] was really more about that choice.”

As Lucian Lelong in The New Look-
“The thing I most prepare is the script- What is this? What do I have to do in this? What do I say? Do I understand it? Is it the right thing to say? Is it compelling? Is it interesting? What’s my function, meaning the character’s function, in this? And also, what are my character’s actions? Do I understand them? Do they make sense?”

“In a way you defend a character. What do I mean by that? Their behavior or their point of view or their worldview? No. Your job is not that, your job is to present that character who normally has one chance to live ever. It can be a real person or not a real person. So you want to present it as fully as you possibly can.”

What We’re Watching This Weekend

🎥 For Game of Thrones fans - season one of Benioff & Weiss’ new epic series for Netflix 3 Body Problem now streaming (let’s just hope they stick the ending better this time)

🎥 For your Elizabeth Moss fix - 2020’s The Invisible Man on Prime & Freevee

🎥 For some laughs from the past - seasons 1-6 of The Nanny now on Peacock

🎥 For an underdog story with a stellar cast - the premiere episode of Palm Royale on Apple TV+

🎥 For a combo coming of age/feel-good redemption arc - Little Wing on Paramount+

Quiz Answers: 1D, 2A, 3C, 4E, 5B, 6F
(P.S.- Have a story or industry info you think should be featured on the Rundown? Let us know - [email protected]!)