“Killers of The Flower Moon” star and Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone just wrapped a new project with filmmaker Mark Pellington (“Nostalgia”), one with more killing on the menu. The conspiracy thriller “Lone Wolf,” from an original screenplay by Tom Chilcoat, pairs Gladstone with Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), alongside O’Shea Jackson Jr. (“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera”) and Jennifer Ehle (“Zero Dark Thirty”). Gladstone plays a military vet struggling with addiction whose path crosses with a mercenary contractor (Cranston). When she’s pulled into a plot to commit a political assassination, she has to outwit everyone around her or take the fall. No word on when this one will be ready for festivals or theatrical release, but principal photography has concluded in Albuquerque so look for it maybe later this fall.
‘Bookish’ promises cozy queer mystery
Fans of cozy murder mysteries, your wish list is about to be fulfilled with “Bookish.” You might not yet know British actor/writer Mark Gatiss’s name, but you’ve seen him all over the place: in “Sherlock,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Favourite” and “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.” Now he’s developed “Bookish” for UK television (with PBS distribution to follow for North America) in which he stars as a gay bookshop owner living in post-WW2 England. He has a wife (“Bridgerton” star Polly Walker) who knows his secret, and he’s also a part-time sleuth, solving murder mysteries. In other words, we’re all getting the gift of an updated “Murder She Wrote” but with period production design, literary references, rain, and clandestine homosexuality. Coming soon.
Colman Domingo joins Van Sant’s ‘Dead Man’s Wire’
In 1977, Tony Kiritsis kidnapped Richard Hall, the president of the mortgage company that was planning to foreclose on Kiritsis’ home. He rigged up a shotgun to a trip wire and kept it aimed at Hall’s head for over 60 hours. When it was all over, Kiritsis served time in a psychiatric facility until he was elderly. Now, following a 2018 documentary and a 2022 podcast featuring Jon Hamm, the story is getting the narrative feature treatment from veteran queer filmmaker Gus Van Sant (“My Own Private Idaho”). “Dead Man’s Wire” stars an ensemble including Al Pacino, Colman Domingo, Cary Elwes, Bill Skarsgard (“Nosferatu”), Dacre Montgomery (“Stranger Things”) and Myha’la (“Industry”) and will tell a story of ’70s economic desperation that feels not unlike the plot of the Pacino-starring classic of that era, “Dog Day Afternoon.” Production is in progress, so look for this one in 2026.
Ayo Edebiri: Barney’s buddy
Ayo Edebiri, acclaimed star of “The Bear” and “Bottoms,” is shifting gears. She’ll be writing the new live-action film based on ’90s children’s television icon, Barney, the childlike purple dinosaur. The queer actor/comedian/writer is also in talks to star in the A24 movie, co-produced by Mattel, and Daniel Kaluuya’s 59% Productions. If you’re an older adult and missed the phenomenon of “Barney & Friends,” the show ran on PBS from 1988 for 14 seasons and it dominated the lives of ’90s children, aka the built-in audience ready to turn this into the next “Barbie.” What will it be about? No one’s telling, but if Edebiri is the creative force then expect it to both comment and celebrate the somewhat surreal experience of friendship with a giant singing dancing purple creature who’d never survive in Jurassic Park. More as this develops.
Romeo San Vicente will not comply in advance.
