Exclusive: 'My Little Pony' Live-Action Movie in the Works from Hasbro and Amazon MGM Studios

Happy Tuesday, folks!

Last night, a friend came over and recommended we watch a Belgian-French thriller titled Night Call from director Michiel Blanchart, and it was excellent.

It’s about a young Black locksmith who opens the wrong door and finds himself in a fight for his life as gang members hunt him down against the backdrop of a Black Lives Matter protest.

The film is currently streaming on Hulu, and it was absolutely gripping from start to finish. If I were a producer (ahem!), I’d be clamoring for the remake rights, as this one is crying out for an English-language remake. This would make a perfect vehicle for F1 star Damson Idris!

As it stands, Jonathan Feltre delivers a great performance, and he’s unrepped in the U.S. as far as I know. Blanchart, on the other hand, is represented by Robert Newman at WME and manager Jerome Duboz. Studios should be looking at this guy, as Night Call is as kinetic as a Nicolas Winding Refn movie.

I know that past remakes of international thrillers such as Sleepless Night and Miss Bala haven’t necessarily worked out at the box office, but Night Call feels like a can’t-miss property if done right. Hell, Hollywood could turn it into the next Jason Statham movie and fare pretty damn well, if you ask me!

But what do I know? I’ve only been covering the industry for 20+ years…

Speaking of folks who have been around for decades, a little tidbit about Marlon Wayans came in over the weekend. One of my spies saw Justin Tipping’s football thriller Him, and said that Wayans delivers “the best villain performance since Javier Bardem played Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men.” Those are fightin’ words!

And speaking of fighting… over the weekend, I had an hour-long conversation with German director Uwe Boll, who didn’t hold back when it came to his thoughts on modern Hollywood and the rise of video game movies.

As a 22-year-old Variety intern, I famously — and stupidly — stepped into the boxing ring with Boll, who was an amateur fighter in Germany for more than a decade. He promptly beat the shit out of me and three other critics.

I’ve run into Boll numerous times over the years at the American Film Market, and I think he’s a really smart, creative guy who can be quite funny and charming when he wants to be.

Boll was kind enough to ask me to record a podcast with him, and ballsy enough to actually air it — looking at you, Kevin Smith — so please enjoy our chat, which I’m including above the paywall since it’s publicly available on YouTube. That wasn’t the original plan, but as you might imagine, Uwe has his own way of doing things…

Tonight, you’ll read a scoop about the next My Little Pony movie, as well as my reaction to this morning’s Emmy nominations.

There are also items about Cameron Diaz’s new Netflix movie, the Nosferatu reunion brewing at Focus Features, A24’s raunchy new comedy, a return to Amityville, Kenneth Lonergan’s comeback, the Dr. Seuss movie that just added Ariana Grande, a tragic Hollywood homicide, and my take on the trailer for Neon’s big Oscar contender Sentimental Value, which caused a stir at Cannes in May.

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