Exclusive: Taylor Swift's Directorial Debut Gets a Rewrite at Searchlight

Little Black Book - In an example of perfect casting, Aubrey Plaza has been cast as Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss in the indie biopic The Heidi Fleiss Story. The film is described as a dark comedy that marks the directorial debut of Leah Rachel (Netflix’s Chambers), who co-wrote the script with Rachel Sennott (Bottoms) and Travis Jackson. Fleiss ran a high-end prostitution ring for Hollywood’s rich and famous, and the script follows her in the tense days leading up to her trial as she tries to manipulate and blackmail her way out of multiple felony charges. The provocative project hails from Pinky Promise, the production company behind the Pamela Anderson drama The Last Showgirl. Jessamine Burgum and Kara Durrett will produce for Pinky Promise, alongside Plaza and her Evil Hag banner. Production is slated to start later this year in L.A. Plaza recently starred in Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis and Megan Park’s coming-of-age comedy My Old Ass. She next stars in Ethan Coen’s Honey Don’t, which hits theaters Aug. 22, and in the R-rated comedy Animal Friends, due May 1, 2026. I loved Plaza’s turn in Ingrid Goes West, and think that dark comedy is exactly where she excels. She also has the raw sexual energy and the firecracker attitude to play Fleiss, so I’m looking forward to this one.

Alaska Bound - Dakota Fanning, Jake Johnson, and Cory Michael Smith are set to star in an untitled new movie from writer-director Joe Swanberg. The romantic drama is reportedly set in Alaska, where plot details are being kept on ice for now. Swanberg and his three stars will produce along with Ashleigh Snead, while Dan Johnson will EP with Kathy Gitibin Parsa and Ariana Parsa. Johnson previously starred in Swanberg’s films Drinking Buddies, Digging for Fire, and Win It All. Fanning has several projects on the horizon, including Bryan Bertino’s horror movie Vicious, the Peacock series All Her Fault, and TriStar’s WWII drama The Nightingale, which will pair her with her sister, Elle Fanning. Johnson stars opposite Ben Stiller in the upcoming pickleball movie The Dink, while Smith recently starred in the HBO movie Mountainhead and booked the lead in Jeremy Saulnier’s A24 movie October. He has also wrapped Zac Efron’s A24 movie Famous, and will be seen alongside Elle Fanning in Neon’s Oscar contender Sentimental Value. I like all three of these stars, so this may be the most excited I’ve been for a Joe Swanberg movie in many years. Smith is certainly a star on the rise, and though Dakota has been overshadowed by Elle in recent years, I haven’t forgotten how good she can be with the right material.

Jesus vs. Zelda - Lionsgate is splitting Mel Gibson’s follow-up to The Passion of the Christ into two parts. The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One will release on March 26, 2027, aka Good Friday, while Part Two will open 40 days later on Thursday, May 6, aka Ascension Day. Sony’s Legend of Zelda movie was originally scheduled for March 26, but it recently moved to May 6, so either way, the Nintendo movie couldn’t avoid a box office showdown with Christ. Jim Caviezel starred in The Passion of the Christ, which depicted the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life and went on to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time domestically, taking in $370 million on a $30 million production budget. Gibson and his Icon Productions partner Bruce Davey will produce the Resurrection movies, which will be released in theaters by Lionsgate, the studio that distributed Gibson’s last two films — Flight Risk and Hacksaw Ridge.

Not Fast Enough - Michael Bay has exited Will Smith’s Netflix action-comedy Fast and Loose due to “creative differences” with his Bad Boys star. Apparently, Bay wanted to emphasize the action, while Smith hoped to focus on the comedic elements inherent to its premise. Smith remains attached to play a man who wakes up in Tijuana with no memory, though he slowly comes to learn that he’s been living two lives — one as a crime kingpin and the other as an undercover CIA agent. Jon & Erich Hoeber co-wrote the script with Chris Bremner and Eric Pearson, and Smith is producing via his Westbrook Studios banner alongside David Leitch and Kelly McCormick of 87North. Netflix will move quickly to set a new director on Fast and Loose, as production is still expected to start in October. Bay is developing a new Transformers movie at Paramount and an adaptation of the video game OutRun at Universal, with Sydney Sweeney slated to star. Bay’s exit is probably for the best, as Netflix action-comedies tend to be fairly forgettable, so it feels like he’s dodging a bullet to some extent. To be fair, I think streaming audiences have moved on from The Slap and won’t hold it against Smith.

Having a Ball - Eddie Murphy is set to star in the action-comedy Playas Ball from Imagine Entertainment and Happy Gilmore 2 director Kyle Newacheck. Myles Murphy wrote the script, and while plot details are being kept under wraps, the story is said to involve the undead. Perhaps it will prove to be Murphy’s Beetlejuice. Murphy will produce alongside Charisse Hewitt-Webster as well as Brian Grazer and Jeb Brody of Imagine, with whom Murphy has been working for decades. He starred in Imagine’s reboot of The Nutty Professor in the ‘90s and recently teamed with the company on Candy Cane Lane. Murphy’s latest movie, The Pickup, is now streaming on Amazon, and it’s a disappointing effort from the star of Beverly Hills Cop and 48 Hrs.

Ozzy Biopic Still on Track - Ozzy Osbourne’s spirit will live on in a biopic that is still moving forward at Sony and Polygram despite the singer’s death two weeks ago at age 76. A director is said to be in negotiations, though a name hasn’t leaked yet. Lee Hall (Rocketman) wrote the script, which reportedly follows the Black Sabbath singer’s relationship with his wife, Sharon, who is producing alongside their children, Jack and Aimee, as well as Polygram’s Michele Anthony and David Blackman, and Sony’s Andrea Giannetti. The project is expected to include music from Black Sabbath as well as Ozzy’s solo career. I’m all for an Ozzy biopic, especially one centered around his loving but rocky relationship with Sharon. Tony Cavalero (The Righteous Gemstones) was great as Ozzy in the Netflix movie The Dirt, and I wonder if he’d be willing the play the character again, though I imagine the studio will want to cast a name.

Casting Roundup - Dave Bautista has officially joined Road House 2 despite the film’s director switch from Guy Ritchie to Ilya Naishuller — but that’s not all. The former wrestler has also signed on to play the Kurgan in Chad Stahelski’s Highlander reboot starring Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe. I’m quietly dreading the new Highlander, but I suppose the Kurgan will be a fun role for Bautista. Having said that, I’d like to see Bautista join Damien Chazelle’s prison movie, or another project that challenges him as an actor, as he’s talented enough to earn an Oscar nomination one day. However, as far as paycheck roles go, I can’t argue with these two.

- Topher Grace has joined Chris Rock’s A24 movie starring Rosalind Eleazar, Adam Driver, Anna Kendrick, and Daniel Kaluuya. Grace is enjoying a mini resurgence between Flight Risk, the hit Netflix series The Waterfront, and the indie horror movie Buddy, which pairs him with Cristin Milioti — and I, for one, am happy for him.

- Sebastian Stan will star in Radu Jude’s Frankenstein, which will arrive on the heels of the director’s upcoming movie Dracula. Jude, who is one of Romania’s top filmmakers, is writing the script now, and it’s said to involve the use of CIA black sites on Romanian soil. I still haven’t seen Jude’s film Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, but frankly, I just think it’s nice to see Stan support Romanian cinema, which will surely benefit from the Avengers star’s high profile.

- “Hot” off the disappointing Amazon MGM “comedy” The Pickup, Eva Longoria has signed on for another movie at the streamer — The Last Sunrise. Maia Reficco stars in the movie, which is based on a book by Anna Todd that has been adapted here by the lovely Anna Klassen. Set in Majorca, The Last Sunrise follows a 22-year-old woman whose life has been shaped by chronic illness and a well-meaning but overbearing mom (Longoria), though a taste of summer freedom leaves her facing a tough decision about her future.

- Avatar: The Way of Water star Jack Champion has joined the cast of Julia Hart’s new Netflix comedy Don’t Say Good Luck. Sunny Sandler stars alongside Melanie Lynskey, Max Greenfield, Stephanie Beatriz, Bebe Neuwirth, and Steve Buscemi. Hart and Jordan Horowitz co-wrote the script with Laura Hankin, and the film follows a teenage girl (Sandler) who lands the lead in her high school play, only to experience more drama at home than on stage. I imagine that Champion will play her love interest, but I’m willing to be wrong on that front…

Congrats - To Variety’s Clayton Davis, who is celebrating his 15th wedding anniversary today. I love love, so cheers to the happy couple!

Condolences - To the loved ones of The Accused director Jonathan Kaplan, The Walking Dead actress Kelley Mack, and graphic designer Derrick Kardos. Kardos died on July 18 at age 53 due to complications from Long COVID. The NYU grad began his career in the film industry as the assistant to producer Christine Vachon before going on to work in various roles in the art department, including graphic designer. He worked on nearly 100 films and TV shows, and was especially proud of his work with director Jonathan Demme. Kardos won an Art Directors Guild award as part of the production design team on Black Swan. He was also nominated for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and the Peacock series Poker Face… Mack appeared in popular TV shows such as Chicago Med and 9-1-1, and died following a battle with glioma of the central nervous system. She was just 33… Kaplan was best known for directing Jodie Foster to an Oscar win for The Accused and earning five Emmy nominations for his work as a director and producer on ER. He also directed the underseen thriller Unlawful Entry starring Kurt Russell and Ray Liotta. Kaplan died following a battle with liver cancer. He was 77.