Exclusive: Jake Scott to Direct Serial Killer Film 'Whoever Fights Monsters'; Ridley Scott Comes Aboard to Produce

Happy Friday, everyone, and more importantly, Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

This week, I watched Jesse Armstrong’s new HBO movie Mountainhead, which I found to be both weird and obnoxious. I don’t know what Armstrong was trying to say with this movie other than “Rich Tech Bros are Bad!” but this was a big whiff that felt rushed to make the Emmy eligibility cutoff. No one comes off this mountain looking very good, but I’m still high on Cory Michael Smith even though I couldn’t stand him in this film.

But hey, at least I watched HBO’s Mountainhead. I’m not even going to bother checking out Guy Ritchie’s new Apple TV+ movie, Fountain of Youth, which I barely had any idea was coming out this weekend. It looks like a total dud. Instead, I plan to watch Fear Street: Prom Queen on Netflix, as I’ve gotta support my girl Suzanna Son. I can’t wait for her new album, by the way.

And kudos to HBO for letting critics speak their mind, unlike Lionsgate and Brigade, who tried to put the kibosh on negative sentiment regarding the upcoming John Wick spinoff Ballerina. Brigade sent out a strangely worded email with two different embargo dates — one for positive reactions, and a later one for negative takes. Obviously, this raised eyebrows, and I was so disgusted that I immediately asked a Lionsgate insider what the deal was.

It sounds to me like it was just a poorly-worded email — I’ve written a few of those myself, if you can believe it — and Brigade moved quickly to contact each journalist who was sent the email to clarify that all reactions — good or bad — would be welcomed once the first embargo lifted, but the damage was done.

The internet screamed, “What are they trying to hide?” And here we are… just a few short months after Lionsgate ran fake quotes from critics in early ads for Megalopolis.

Of course, this type of bullshit is nothing new, as studios have been trying to kill film criticism for years. That’s why they host influencer screenings where young people who pretend to love movies will go to the theater, take a photo of the screen (or a video, in some cases), and then leave after a few minutes — because you can’t make content when you’re watching “content!”

Like usual, Devin Faraci said it much better than I ever could, but I will say that it was nice to see some pushback from the usually spineless critical community, many of whom likely would’ve gone along with the initial email had it not sparked outrage in enlightened corners of Film Twitter.

Speaking of Lionsgate, the studio finally copped to what I’ve been saying about its Michael Jackson movie — Michael won’t make its 2025 release date, and it will likely be split into two parts. Check out THR’s story for more details.

Elsewhere, A24 has confirmed that Alex Garland will direct an Elden Ring movie for the studio, which will be one of the most expensive projects in its history. I reported a few weeks ago that Garland was in negotiations for this one, and it’s nice to see that A24 got its man in the end, as Garland is a true talent… even if I don’t love all of his work.

Finally, the box office is off to a hot start this holiday weekend, though it’s not because of Tom Cruise. His latest Mission: Impossible movie, which is rumored to cost somewhere between $300 million and $400 million, is looking at a 4-day opening of just $78 million.

No wonder a recent Deadline piece said that Cruise’s deep-sea diving movie Deeper was “too rich for WB’s blood,” even though the studio just signed him to an expensive deal. I’m told that Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav saw the tracking for The Final Reckoning and deep-sixed Deeper, which was too expensive for the studio. That said, Cruise is expected to star in WB’s WWII movie Broadsword, which his M:I director Christopher McQuarrie is currently prepping overseas.

To add insult to injury, it’s Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch movie that is topping the box office this weekend with a 4-day opening of $175 million, which tops the previously Memorial Day Weekend record of $160.5 million set by Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick just a few years ago. Ouch!

Anyway, if you obsess over the Emmys, be sure to watch the latest episode of For Your Consideration tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., when Perri Nemiroff, Scott Mantz, and I will be talking about the limited series category.

Oh, and one last thing — no, Ryan Reynolds is not writing an R-rated Star Wars movie. Yes, he pitched one, but don’t expect it to go anywhere. It’ll be a cute story to tell the kiddos one day, though!

Tonight, you’ll read about a father-son team-up between Ridley Scott and Jake Scott on an intriguing serial killer movie, and you’ll also get my in-depth hot take on Disney’s decision to delay its two Avengers movies and the ramifications of those date shifts across the industry.

There are also items about the cast of Street Fighter, new films starring Dwayne Johnson, Alan Ritchson, and Josh O’Connor, the latest rumored additions to Lionsgate’s Hunger Games prequel as well as David Fincher’s Cliff Booth movie, the fate of Amazon’s Wheel of Time series, and my thoughts on the trailer for Kevin Williamson’s new Netflix show The Waterfront.

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