Now Showing: Assassin's Creed: Eternal

 

Assassin's Creed: Eternal

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi/Historical

Director: Edward Berger

Writer: Roy Horne

Based on the video game series

Cast: Jacob Elordi, Emma Mackey, Rufus Sewell, Marton Csokas, Lucy Fry, Dominic Cooper, Barry Sloane, Gemma Arterton

Plot: Desmond Miles (Jacob Elordi) finishes his late shift at a New York City dive bar and heads out back to take out the trash. A van pulls up quietly. Two men move fast. Desmond realizes too late what’s happening and fights back on instinct, but he’s outnumbered. A stun strike drops him hard.

Desmond wakes restrained, being wheeled through a facility he doesn’t recognize. Warren Vidic (Rufus Sewell) walks beside him, speaking calmly, already framing Desmond’s situation as inevitable. Desmond demands answers. Vidic gives none that matter. Layla Hassan (Lucy Fry) runs medical scans under the sharp supervision of Melanie Lemay (Gemma Arterton). Daniel Cross (Dominic Cooper) watches from the side, studying Desmond. 

Desmond is brought into the Animus chamber and meets Lucy Stillman (Emma Mackey) for the first time. When they lock eyes, both feel a jolt of recognition neither can explain. It briefly rattles Lucy before she forces herself back into professional focus. Desmond pleads with her to tell him what's going on, but Melanie interrupts and tells Lucy to hurry up. Desmond is strapped into the Animus.

Vidic explains that Desmond's genetic memories are valuable, and his cooperation will make things easier for him. Desmond points out that they have kidnapped him. Vidic says it was a necessity. Layla suggests lowering synchronization levels due to neural strain. Melanie shuts her down immediately. Lucy catches Desmond’s eye and signals him to stay calm.

The Animus activates. Desmond's body locks up. Disjointed images flash - movement, rooftops, a body in motion. Lucy monitors Desmond's vitals. Vidic watches the synchronization climb with satisfaction. Desmond’s vision sharpens, his breathing steadies, and the memory takes hold. 

Desmond opens his eyes - and he is no longer Desmond Miles.

Florence, Italy - 1496

Ezio Auditore (Jacob Elordi) runs through the streets of Florence after a brawl. Guards shout behind him. He moves with instinctive agility, climbing, leaping, never thinking about consequences. Ezio pauses on a rooftop when he spots Christina Vespucci (Emma Mackey) below. Their eyes meet.Inside the Animus, Desmond’s heart rate spikes.

Ezio returns home to find his sister Claudia (Lucy Fry) waiting, frustrated by his recklessness. Mario Auditore (Marton Csokas), Ezio’s uncle, arrives unexpectedly and pulls Ezio aside. He warns that Florence is changing and that the Pazzi family is growing bolder. Ezio shrugs it off, uninterested in politics.

In a crowded market, Ezio witnesses Marco de Pazzi (Rufus Sewell) publicly humiliating a Medici supporter under the protection of armed guards. Ezio bristles and nearly intervenes before a stranger quietly stops him. The stranger is La Volpe (Barry Sloane), who warns Ezio that Florence’s real battles aren’t fought openly but in the shadows.

Ezio returns home to chaos. Guards flood the Auditore residence, tearing through documents and dragging family members away. Claudia pleads with them as Ezio is shoved aside, powerless. He hears accusations of treason but no explanations. Ezio is forced into the street as his father and brothers are taken in chains.

The memory jumps forward abruptly. Ezio pushes through a crowd gathered around a scaffold. By the time he reaches the front, it’s over. His father and brothers hang lifeless before the city. Ezio lunges toward Marco de Pazzi, but guards restrain him. Mario pulls Ezio away. Desmond’s vitals spike dangerously. 

Ezio flees Florence with Mario, who keeps them moving, refusing to explain until they’re safely away. Inside the Animus, Desmond steadies as the pace becomes purposeful. Lucy watches the sync stabilize, surprised by how quickly Desmond adapts once survival replaces panic. 

Mario brings Ezio to Monteriggioni and finally tells him the truth: his father Giovanni wasn’t just a banker, and the Auditore family has been part of a larger fight for generations. Ezio rejects it at first, unwilling to believe his father lived a double life. Mario brings Ezio into a hidden room beneath the villa. He opens a chest Giovanni kept sealed. Inside are three things: a damaged hidden blade bracer, a bundle of coded pages filled with strange diagrams, and a simple, unfinished Assassin’s mantle folded carefully beneath them. Ezio takes the blade, feeling its weight.

Ezio brings the bracer and pages to Leonardo da Vinci (Dominic Cooper), who immediately recognizes the craftsmanship and the code beneath the writing. Leonardo repairs the blade’s mechanism, restoring it to working order. Leonardo begins decoding the pages, revealing fragments of a hidden war beneath recorded history.

Ezio seeks out Paola (Gemma Arterton), who once sheltered Giovanni. She tests him without ceremony, forcing him to move unseen, to listen, to wait. Ezio struggles to slow down, still burning with rage. Paola makes it clear that strength without control will only get him killed. Desmond absorbs the lesson alongside Ezio.

Ezio returns to Florence and tracks one of the men connected to the Pazzi conspiracy. The confrontation is swift and deliberate. Ezio uses the hidden blade for the first time, ending the man’s life without hesitation. Inside the Animus, Desmond feels the moment land hard. This isn’t revenge. It’s commitment. Lucy watches the shift with concern. Vidic, monitoring remotely, is quietly pleased. The Animus glitches as Desmond absorbs too much. Outside the machine, his hand tightens involuntarily, mimicking the blade’s motion. Lucy ends the session before Vidic can intervene. 

Desmond wakes up, disoriented. Vidic enters and notes the successful synchronization. He treats Desmond less like a captive now and more like a resource that’s finally paying off. Otso Berg (Barry Sloane) arrives as head of on-site security - having been called in by Melanie now that Desmond is learning. Cross corners Desmond privately, warning him not to mistake Lucy’s kindness for safety.

Despite Lucy’s objections, Vidic orders Desmond back into the Animus. This time, the target isn’t Florence. Desmond is told only that another ancestor is relevant to the search. Melanie has Layla take Lucy's place running the Animus. Lucy stays close by though, eyes locked on Desmond. The Animus doesn’t return Desmond to Italy. Instead, the memory fractures and reforms. Berg steps closer to the glass, intrigued, as the new timeline stabilizes.

London, England 1868

Desmond comes to inside another body - Jacob Frye (Jacob Elordi). He barrels through a crowded street, chasing a gang lieutenant. In the Animus room, Lucy sees Desmond’s vitals spike in a new pattern. Layla notes the faster sync and flags behavioral variance. 

Jacob ducks into an alley to escape police attention and nearly collides with Evie Frye (Lucy Fry). She warns him that he's drawing too much notice and risking the Brotherhood's work. Jacob brushes it off. 

Jacob meets Pearl Attaway (Emma Mackey) while disrupting a Blighter operation tied to factory labor abuses. Pearl assures Jacob that the Blighters are run by Templars. She helps him escape after the attack. Henry Green (Marton Csokas) briefs Jacob on the larger problem: London’s industry is being consolidated under Maxwell Roth (Rufus Sewell), a Templar. Frederick Abberline appears, offering cooperation as long as bodies don't pile up too high.

Jacob crosses paths with Roth for the first time. Sensing the violence in Jacob's nature, Roth Jacob deeper into London’s underworld. Jacob strikes Blighter operations. Evie urges him to restrain from unnecessary violence, warning that Roth is baiting him into chaos. Jacob dismisses her concerns. 

Pearl helps Jacob move through factory districts. She expresses belief in his goal to hurt the Templars, but worries that he's going to die doing so. In the present, Melanie flags Desmond’s emotional spikes as evidence of “productive immersion.” Lucy pushes back, arguing the strain is compounding too quickly. Vidic sides with Melanie.

Jacob’s next strike succeeds, but innocent workers are injured in the fallout. Evie confronts him, furious that he ignored her warnings. Jacob defends himself, insisting sacrifices are inevitable. The argument rattles Desmond. Outside the Animus, he shifts violently.

Henry Green nearly dies during a Blighter retaliation. The cost hits Evie hard and finally gives Jacob pause. Pearl challenges him directly, forcing him to see the damage left in his wake. Lucy ends the session early, overriding Vidic’s protests. Desmond wakes shaken. Berg watches him closely, knowing Desmond is becoming more dangerous the more time he spends in his ancestors' memories.

Thrown back into the Animus, Desmond finds himself back in the memories of Ezio. He moves through Florence unseen. He studies the guards from a distance. La Volpe and Paola feed Ezio intelligence gathered from across the city about the plans of Pazzi. 

Ezio meets Leonardo briefly, who provides a final refinement to Ezio’s blade and deciphers another fragment of Giovanni’s notes. The pages hint at ancient artifacts influencing human history, though their nature remains unclear. Leonardo warns Ezio that knowledge always carries cost.

Ezio confronts Marco de Pazzi away from crowds, denying Pazzi spectacle or martyrdom. Ezio kills Marco quickly and without feeling. Florence stabilizes under Medici rule, and Ezio fades into the background. Lucy convinces Layla to end the session. 

Back in the streets of Victorian London, Jacob and Evie move through the streets quickly to meet Pearl and Henry. Pearl feeds them information that will expose Roth's corruption across factories and transport lines. Jacob confronts Roth with the evidence. Roth frames Jacob's actions as evidence that he should join the Templars and embrace chaos. Jacob refuses the invitation and attacks Roth. Jacob stabs Roth in the neck, leaving him bleeding out. Pearl and Jacob share a quiet moment.

Desmond wakes from the Animus feeling changed. Lucy notices the difference immediately. She runs him through some routine tests, and Desmond responds with heightened agility and responsiveness. Vidic enters with Melanie and Cross. Vidic confirms what they’ve been waiting for: Desmond can now access Assassin abilities without the Animus. Melanie orders Desmond transferred to a more secure location for the next phase of testing. Berg arrives to escort him personally. Lucy protests, but Vidic orders her to silence. Lucy gives Layla a look, which is responded to with a subtle nod. As Berg moves Desmond through the corridor, the lights flicker. Doors unlock unexpectedly. Layla has overridden the system just long enough. Lucy acts immediately, knocking out a guard and pulling Desmond free. Cross notices the breach too late. He hesitates, watching Lucy choose a side. Berg gives chase.

Desmond runs with Lucy keeping pace as best as she can. Berg nearly catches them, forcing Desmond to disarm him with fighting skills he didn't know he had. They reach a hidden exit. Layla seals it behind them and stays back, buying time. Lucy finally tells Desmond the truth: his ancestors weren’t just witnesses to history - they were shaping it. And Abstergo is searching for something ancient that Desmond can lead them to. As they disappear into the night, Berg watches from the corridor, bloodied.

Post-Credits: Warren Vidic stands before a dormant ancient structure sealed behind glass as Melanie Lemay joins him and notes that Desmond Miles has escaped and the operation will be deemed a failure. Vidic remains unconcerned, making it clear that the experiment was never about keeping Miles contained but about confirming that his bloodline could still respond to something buried in history. 

RESUME: EMMA MACKEY

 

Welcome back to RESUME - a complete breakdown of the careers, reputations, hits, misses, and future outlooks of LRF’s biggest stars. This edition examines the rise of Emma Mackey from prestige ensemble standout to potential franchise centerpiece.

Emma Mackey’s LRF career has unfolded very differently from many of the studio’s modern stars. Rather than exploding immediately into blockbuster leading roles, Mackey steadily built her reputation through acclaimed ensemble films, prestige dramas, and supporting performances that consistently left strong impressions even when she was not the central focus. Directors clearly recognized her value long before audiences fully did.

Now, however, Mackey appears to be entering an entirely new phase of her career. After years of critical credibility and increasingly high-profile collaborations, she finds herself attached to multiple major franchises simultaneously and may be on the verge of transitioning from respected ensemble actress into full-scale blockbuster star.

FIRST LRF APPEARANCE --- The House of Romanov (Season 23)

TOTAL LRF PROJECTS --- 7

GOLDEN REEL AWARDS --- 2

GRA NOMINATIONS --- 4

HIGHEST GROSSING FILM --- Sgt. Rock ($306,851,781)

BEST REVIEWED FILM --- Pirouette (Metascore: 84)

SIGNATURE GENRE --- Drama / Prestige Ensemble

FREQUENT COLLABORATORS --- None Yet

CURRENT CAREER STATUS --- Prestige Breakout Star

Emma Mackey enters Season 36 as one of the most respected rising actresses currently working within LRF. While she has yet to headline a major commercial success herself, her filmography is increasingly filled with acclaimed directors, ensemble prestige projects, and ambitious character-driven material. More importantly, Mackey has developed a reputation for elevating supporting roles through intelligence, restraint, and emotional intensity rather than overt star theatrics.

The recent release of Pirouette only further strengthened that reputation. Though the film struggled commercially, critics widely praised the performances and Maiwenn’s direction, with Mackey’s turn as Isabelle Leclerc once again standing out amidst emotionally volatile material. Now, with Assassin’s Creed: Eternal looming ahead and continued Wizarding World involvement possible, Mackey appears positioned between two worlds: prestige actress and future blockbuster lead.

SEASON 23 - THE HOUSE OF ROMANOV

Emma Mackey’s LRF debut came in Sam Mendes’ sweeping historical drama about the fall of Imperial Russia. The House of Romanov was not a breakout vehicle for Mackey specifically, but it immediately placed her within serious prestige material alongside an enormous ensemble cast that included Alexander Skarsgård, Rebecca Ferguson, and Jared Harris.

Playing Tatiana Romanova, Mackey brought a quiet dignity and sadness to the role that fit naturally within the film’s tragic atmosphere. While the movie ultimately underperformed financially, its strong critical reception and ensemble recognition helped establish Mackey as an actress comfortable operating inside large-scale dramatic productions from the very beginning of her career.

SEASON 27 - TIME OUT!

If The House of Romanov introduced Mackey to prestige audiences, Time Out! became the project that truly announced her arrival.

Directed by Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie, the chaotic crime thriller placed Mackey alongside a stacked ensemble led by Patrick Wilson and Michelle Williams. Playing Willow, the unstable young woman who sets the film’s plot in motion by strapping a bomb to a sitcom actor’s chest, Mackey delivered one of the most unpredictable and intense performances of her career.

The role earned her first Golden Reel nomination for Best Supporting Actress and firmly established her as more than simply another prestige ensemble player. Even amidst the Safdies’ frantic direction and the film’s enormous cast, Mackey consistently commanded attention whenever she appeared onscreen.

SEASON 28 - THORNE

Following the acclaim of Time Out!, Mackey pivoted into larger-scale commercial filmmaking with Jennifer Kent’s pirate epic Thorne. Playing Graycie Davis, the daughter of a feared pirate captain and eventual love interest to Tom Hardy’s Thorne Barclay, Mackey brought emotional grounding to an otherwise brutal and violent adventure film.

While Thorne did not become a breakout cultural phenomenon, it proved Mackey could comfortably transition into expensive genre filmmaking without losing the dramatic credibility she had already established. The film’s respectable financial performance also quietly expanded her mainstream profile within LRF.

More importantly, Thorne showed that Mackey’s screen presence translated beyond prestige dramas into larger commercial entertainment.

SEASON 33 - BROADWAY JOE

By the time Broadway Joe arrived, Mackey had become one of those actresses audiences simply expected to appear in quality productions.

Directed by David O. Russell, the Joe Namath biopic centered primarily on Jeremy Allen White’s performance as the legendary quarterback, but Mackey once again proved highly effective in a supporting role as Deborah Mays, Namath’s later-life romantic partner. Though not a flashy performance, her work added maturity and emotional balance to a film otherwise dominated by ego, celebrity, and self-destruction.

The movie’s strong awards performance further strengthened Mackey’s growing reputation as an actress consistently drawn toward ambitious material.

SEASON 34 - SGT. ROCK

Sgt. Rock marked Mackey’s full arrival into blockbuster territory.

Directed by Jalmari Helander, the supernatural WWII action film paired Mackey with Alan Ritchson in one of LRF’s more unexpectedly successful comic book adaptations. Playing French resistance fighter Anais Guillot, Mackey balanced toughness, intelligence, and vulnerability amidst the film’s increasingly pulpy supernatural war story.

Financially, the film became the biggest commercial success of her career up to that point. More importantly, it demonstrated that Mackey could thrive inside large-scale action filmmaking without disappearing beneath spectacle or visual effects.

SEASON 35 - THE HOUSE OF BLACK

Then came The House of Black.

Directed by Park Chan-wook, the Wizarding World drama finally gave Mackey the kind of transformative franchise role capable of permanently altering a career. As Bellatrix Lestrange, Mackey delivered a performance that was seductive, cruel, unstable, and deeply unsettling all at once, earning a Golden Reel nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Even within a massive ensemble cast, Mackey frequently emerged as the film’s most magnetic onscreen presence. More importantly, the success of The House of Black positioned her directly within one of LRF’s most valuable long-term franchises.

For the first time in her career, Mackey no longer feels like an actress “on the rise.”

SEASON 36 - PIROUETTE

Following the success of The House of Black, Mackey returned immediately to prestige filmmaking with Maïwenn’s psychologically charged ballet drama Pirouette.

Starring opposite Monica Barbaro and Johnny Depp, Mackey played Isabelle Leclerc, the icy and technically brilliant rival to Barbaro’s increasingly unstable ballerina Lauren Reeves. The role allowed Mackey to lean fully into controlled psychological tension, weaponizing restraint and quiet contempt rather than explosive emotion.

While the film ultimately underperformed financially, critics embraced it enthusiastically.

BEST PERFORMANCE --- Time Out!

Willow remains the performance that most clearly demonstrated Mackey’s full dramatic range. Chaotic, manipulative, sympathetic, and terrifying all at once, it remains her most unforgettable role to date.

MOST UNDERRATED PROJECT --- Thorne

Often overshadowed by larger prestige titles in her filmography, Thorne quietly proved Mackey could succeed inside expensive genre filmmaking long before Sgt. Rock or The House of Black arrived.

BIGGEST CAREER GAMBLE --- The House of Black

Taking on a younger version of one of the Wizarding World’s most iconic and dangerous characters carried enormous expectations. Mackey delivered one of the film’s strongest performances.

CAREER TURNING POINT --- Time Out!

Without this performance, it is difficult to imagine Mackey landing projects like Sgt. Rock or The House of Black.

BEST COLLABORATOR --- Park Chan-wook

Though they have only collaborated once so far, Chan-wook’s operatic visual style and fascination with psychologically complicated women proved a perfect match for Mackey’s strengths as a performer.

MOST SURPRISING PROJECT --- Sgt. Rock

Seeing Mackey transition so naturally into a supernatural war-action blockbuster surprised audiences who primarily associated her with grounded prestige dramas.

ASSASSIN’S CREED: ETERNAL

Set to lead the newest adaptation of the Assassin’s Creed franchise alongside Jacob Elordi, Mackey will officially move from acclaimed supporting actress into full-scale blockbuster lead territory for the first time. Early details suggest the film will heavily embrace the franchise’s memory-hopping structure, with Mackey, Elordi, and the rest of the ensemble portraying multiple characters across three separate timelines tied together through the Animus.

If successful, the project could permanently elevate Mackey into the upper tier of LRF stars while simultaneously proving she can anchor large-scale franchise storytelling as effectively as prestige drama.

WIZARDING WORLD FUTURE

With The House of Black emerging as one of the Wizarding World’s strongest modern entries, speculation continues regarding Mackey’s future involvement as Bellatrix Lestrange in future productions. No official announcements have been made yet, but few would be surprised to see her return.

RESUME will continue tracking the hits, misses, risks, reinventions, and legacies of LRF’s biggest stars in future editions. Stay tuned.

IN DEVELOPMENT

 

The Hulk 3: Timothy Olyphant (Redhead, The Hulk 2) is back in a big-bad way, with his Glenn Talbot character taking on the primary villain role here as the Abomination. William H. Macy (Desert Dreams, The Hulk) is also set to return from previous films as Dr. Geoffrey Crawford, while Tom Hollander (Prodigy, "The Iris Affair") is set as a newcomer for the Marvel Universe as disgraced scientist Emil Blonsky. Leigh Whannell is once again directing the project from a script by Mark Newton.

The Song of Roland: Jonny Lee Miller (Lucifer, The Sandman: Season of Mists), Callum Turner (Eternity, "Masters of the Air"), and Ali Suliman (The Story of the Assassin, Splinter Cell: Double Agent) have all joined director Brady Corbet's take on the classic Song of Roland tale. Miller will play the traitorous Ganelon, Turner will play Roland's closest ally, and Suliman will play a Saracen knight. Jimmy Ellis penned the adaptation.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 2: It took 18 seasons, but Meg Donnelly (The Saints, The Culture) is finally set to return as Buffy the Vampire Slayer in a long-awaited sequel. This installment will see the titular character quite literally struggling to balance her duties as slayer and cheerleader when ancient vampires descend on Sunnyvale. Dacre Montgomery (Letters, Detroit: Become Human) will play Angel in the film, while Max Irons (The Terminal Spy, Police Story: Brother) will reprise his brief role of Spike from the first film in a much expanded capacity. Cathy Yan (Buffy the Vampire slayer, The Gallerist) is back to direct and Walter McKnight (Unreasonable Doubt, The Hunchback of Notre Dame) is back to write.

The Bounty Hunter: Following the box office disaster of Spelljammer, director Zack Snyder (Spelljammer, Kill Zone) is looking to quickly rebound by joining forces with star Chris Evans (Starlight, Run) on the action flick The Bounty Hunter. Evans will play a former boxer turned bounty hunter who finds himself on the chase for a duo of young, erratic criminals. Mackenzie Davis (Orange Blossom, Arizona) has signed on to play Evans' wife in the film, while Michael Cimino (Eve of Destruction, Caesar Part III) has joined as one of the villains. Jacob Jones (Running from the Spotlight, The Guns of Peridido) is behind the screenplay.

Fading Star: Chloe Grace Moretz (Material Girl, Supergirl: Power) is set to star in the drama Fading Star. She will play a former child star in the middle of a public meltdown. Christopher Storer ("The Bear", "Ramy") is set to make his narrative feature film directorial debut on the project, which was written by Holden Abbott (Three Rounds, Behind Closed Doors).

An Unholy Union: Elizabeth Olsen (One By One, The Passenger) and Aubrey Plaza (Tethered, Monopoly) have been cast to star in An Unholy Union. They will play a newly engaged couple who visit a secluded mansion, only to find it consumed by a supernatural force that feeds on their love. Joanna Hogg (Akin, The Eternal Daughter) has been tasked with directing the project based on a script by Rachel Hallett Hardcastle (The Woman Upstairs, The Maid).

Last Resort Films: The Story So Far (Season 21-25)

 

Welcome to Last Resort Films: The Story So Far! Chad Taylor checking in here to take a look back at LRF’s illustrious past, five seasons at a time. In this fifth edition, we will cover seasons 21-25.

Season 21
This next era of Last Resort Films started on a bit of a minor note. The worldwide box office total is still the third lowest in the studio’s history, though the profit margins weren’t as bad. There were also only three films that notched an 80 or higher. The highest among those, Rodeo, continued Tom Cruise’s string of dramatic headlining roles post-Splinter Cell. A debut worth noting is Gigantor’s Joshua Collins, who has become a steady presence for the studio ever since.

The Void came away as the big winner on the night of the GRAs, perhaps a bit surprising if only because of it taking home most top prizes. It marked the first solo Best Picture win for Jimmy Ellis, who really owned the season with five films and fifteen GRA nominations across those films. It also solidified Jeff Nichols as one of LRF’s definitive directors, gaining his first GRA trophy after multiple nominations and steering several major franchises (Scion, Superman). More on that later.

Best Picture: The Void
Best Director: Jeff Nichols - The Void
Best Actor: Josh Brolin - The Void
Best Actress: Kate Mara - Rodeo
Best Adaptation: Odysseus - Part One - Andrew Doster
Best Original Story: The Void - Jimmy Ellis

Season 22
Looking back, Season 22 seems defined by its four top films: Open Hearts, Broadway, Black Hole, and Caesar Part II. All four had their own lane of buzz. Open Hearts boasted one of the strongest acting foursomes in LRF history, which in any of other season could’ve won all four main acting awards. It lost Best Ensemble to my film Broadway, which likely had the edge because of its bigger cast. Black Hole felt like a tonal relative to Death Dream, with John Malone rescuing the graphic novel from development hell and pairing it with the perfect match in director David Robert Mitchell.

And then there was Caesar Part II. While an undoubtable critical and financial success, it was in uncharted territory as an original based-on-a-true-story sequel. Up until that point, no sequel had ever won Best Picture (it has happened three times since) and no actor had won multiple Best Actor/Actress trophies for the same role (Sydney Sweeney is the only other).

This season was also notable for the debut of Jack Brown. His film OZ helped give a taste of things to come, with a dark take on the classic tale that would signify Brown’s future role as one of LRF’s preeminent horror writers. Oh yeah, and there were two Batman films this season with In the Shadows and Batman Beyond.

Best Picture: Caesar Part II
Best Director: Quentin Tarantino - Broadway
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio - Caesar Part II
Best Actress: Elizabeth Olsen - Open Hearts
Best Adaptation: Black Hole - John Malone
Best Original Story: Caesar Part II - Chad Taylor & John Malone

Season 23
Another resounding success of a season for the studio. It is currently fourth all-time in Total Box Office, on the back of strong showings from Booster Gold and Spider-Man. Even the eventual Best Picture winner, Judas Iscariot, earned $357 million worldwide for a profit of $133 million. In terms of critical success, the Biblical film remains a high watermark for the studio, earning a 97 Metascore (tied with Jonestown for highest all-time).

Beyond the box office, the season also somehow topped Season 22 in terms of its critical reception. Poison Ivy: Mind Games, The Producer, and Haven all notched 85+ Metascores; four films reaching that threshold had only happened once before, when five films achieved the mark in Season 5. But then you keep going down the list and the next set of films could’ve been their own Best Picture line-up in any other year; Berserker, Blue Ridge, Carpenter, Booster Gold: Back in Time. Insane stuff.

At the GRAs, Jeff Nichols won his second Best Director trophy in three seasons while Sydney Sweeney repeated as Best Actress for the surprise Poison Ivy sequel. In all, Season 23 will go down as a legendary ten rounds for the studio.

Best Picture: Judas Iscariot
Best Director: Jeff Nichols - Judas Iscariot
Best Actor: Tom Hardy - Judas Iscariot
Best Actress: Sydney Sweeney - Poison Ivy: Mind Games
Best Adaptation: Poison Ivy: Mind Games
Best Original Story: Judas Iscariot

Season 24
After the highs of Seasons 22 and 23, Season 24 had its work cut out for it. It started out strong, with The Big One becoming just the second season opener to notch a Metascore of 80 or higher —True West was the only other film to do it. The season couldn’t quite match the deep benches of the two seasons that came before it, as only two more films reached 80+ after that point and they both hit 89: Monaco and Natural Selection. If I can self-reflect, this moment might’ve been the peak of my career at LRF (I also had my last directorial effort that season with Everything Will Be Alright). I think Monaco vs. Natural Selection really distills what I have enjoyed so much about being a writer at LRF. I see them both as big, juicy projects that I would want to see as a moviegoer. A Paul Verhoeven erotic thriller starring Warren Beatty and Angelina Jolie? A Martin Scorsese sports film with a big sprawling ensemble? I’m there on day one! And that’s what’s so great about this place; it allows us to live out our dreams, write what we want to see, and share it with others. What’s better than that?

Best Picture: Monaco
Best Director: Martin Scorsese - Monaco
Best Actor: Warren Beatty - Natural Selection
Best Actress: Angelina Jolie - Natural Selection
Best Adaptation: Shoe Dog - Wyatt Allen
Best Original Story: Monaco - Chad Taylor

Season 25
We cap off this five-season stretch with the establishment of a new tradition for LRF: a James Bond film as the season-closer every fifth season. As if there was ever any doubt, it proved that Risico was no fluke. Christopher Nolan was replaced in the director’s chair by Denis Villeneuve, who has now signed on to make the next Bond film for Amazon-MGM.

On the whole, Season 25 feels like a grab-bag representation of LRF in the 20s. The new-look Marvel universe was fully flourishing with Nomad, The Hammer of Thor, and Scarlet. Horror continued to have a bit of a moment with films like Krueger, WE KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE, and Revival. And then you have Believe It or Not!, which I still contest is one of the bigger surprises we’ve had at the studio; a Robert Ripley biopic makes a lot of sense, but Seth MacFarlane directing and starring turned a lot of heads—and the bet paid off! Those are the kind of swings that I always enjoy.

Best Picture: Carte Blanche
Best Director: Denis Villeneuve - Carte Blanche
Best Actor: Mel Gibson - The Punisher: Last Exit
Best Actress: Emma Stone - The Long Way Home
Best Adaptation: Revival - Chad Taylor
Best Original Story: Believe It or Not! - Lon Charles

_________________________________________________________________________


Box Office Top 20 (Seasons 21-25):
20. Judas Iscariot - $367 million
19. The Fall Guy: Trouble in Tahiti - $409 million
18. Jurassic Park: Another Adventure - $495 million
17. Atlantis - $507 million
16. The Hammer of Thor - $509 million
15. The Flash #2 - $542 million
14. Pocahontas - $543 million
13. Uncharted 4 - $575 million
12. Birds of Prey - $586 million
10. (tie) Caesar Part II / Man Made Machine - $616 million
9. Task Force X: Chaos and Madness - $620 million
8. Wonder Woman - $699 million
7. Fantastic Four: Doom - $727 million
6. Supergirl - $737 million
5. X-Men: Sinister - $844 million
4. Spider-Man vs. the Sinister Six - $1.21 billion
3. Carte Blanche - $1.22 billion
2. Booster Gold: Back in Time - $1.47 billion
1. Batman: In the Shadows $ 1.49 billion

The Trades with Reuben Schwartz (Season 36)

 

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of The Trades! My name is Reuben Schwartz and this is my annual look at the news, casting, rumors, and general happenings at the studio each season.

There’s no better place to start than Gray, seemingly the talk of the town these days. Roy Horne re-teamed with Luca Guadagnino for this visceral re-telling of The Picture of Dorian Gray. Some box office insiders claim the film’s controversial NC-17 rating put a natural cap on its earning potential, leading some to question Phil Dolan’s decision to keep that rating. Was the economic sacrifice worth it for a bet on creativity? There’s a few things to discuss here:

-A resounding success for Alfie Ellison and the International Development team at LRF. These projects take time and Gray shows that it was well worth the wait. This shows the promise of the premise, where it’s all about getting the right idea in front of the writer who knows how to make it come to life.

-Chalamet has had a bit of a whirlwind career at LRF. After a fairly prolific first ten seasons, he certainly hit a rough patch in the teens and twenties and had lost claim to status of most talented leading man of his generation. Don’t look know, but the combination of Roy Horne and Luca Guadagnino have slowly helped Timothee rehabilitate that stardom. He finally earned his first Best Actor nom in Season 31 with Hideaway and now seems likely to land a second for Gray. Multiple sources I talked to are eager to see what his next moves are as he continues to reshape this next phase of his career.

-Is horror about to finally have its moment? In 35 seasons, the genre has been a steady presence in LRF’s release schedule but has never won Best Picture. At the halfway point in the season, Gray has firmly taken the front-runner mantle and buzz is growing among the horror community.

But that doesn’t mean any of the races are uninteresting at this point. The pairings of John Malone and Jimmy Ellis have proved very successful in the past and Pirouette continues that tradition. Outside of Picture and Director, their biggest site of competition at this point may be in the Best Supporting Actress category, where the likes of Uma Thurman, Emma Mackey, and Bella Heathcote have been drawing up buzz.

We already have two strong contenders for Best Actress in Monica Barbaro and Cate Blanchett. Cate has one Best Actress trophy already for Guilt in Season 4, written by James Morgan. There is something poetic about her being in contention again, now with a different member of Mo Buck’s Writers Association.

The box office, as always, could use a little work. The massive flop of Stretch Armstrong was particularly disappointing, especially considering the pedigree of directors and star. On the bright side, the success of things like Donkey Kong Country and Boba Fett show promise—the former solidifying Nintendo as a brand to be reckoned with and the latter cementing Jason Momoa as an A-list star.

It will be exciting to see if the second half of the season can match the twist and turns of the first. The slate seems balanced in terms of familiar adaptations and based-on-true-stories with high potential. If we return here after Round 10 and there are more serious contenders in the Best Picture race, I would take that as a sign that we're in for a good season.

GOSSIP RAG (SEASON 36)

 

In this segment, we will delve into the inside dirt on some of the latest and upcoming LRF releases and the studio's stars....

FINN WOLFHARD

Finn Wolfhard took a big swing this season - and it might’ve missed the page entirely. When approached to star in the R-rated, adult-targeted adaptation of Diary of a Wimpy Kid (yes, really), Wolfhard wasn’t sold on the idea.... unless he could also direct. Fresh off his co-directing debut with Hell of a Summer, the young actor-turned-filmmaker reportedly offered to take a pay cut on his starring fee if allowed to continue developing his directorial skills on the project. The studio agreed, and the result was a raunchy stoner comedy about Greg Heffley as a disillusioned twenty-something - a film that baffled longtime fans and never found its audience. Though the project bombed at the box office and was savaged for its concept and script, critics were oddly kind to Wolfhard himself. “The movie’s bad, but not his fault,” one review read. “He directed the hell out of a terrible idea.”

MONICA BARBARO

Monica Barbaro went back to her roots - en pointe. The Top Gun: Maverick headlined Pirouette, a Paris-set ballet drama from French director Maïwenn, and sources say the role felt like a full-circle moment. Before she was an actress, Barbaro trained in ballet and dance, and while she’s no stranger to the barre, she reportedly pushed herself harder than ever to meet the film’s exacting demands. Working with elite choreographers and shadowing real dancers inside the Paris Opera Ballet, Barbaro trained daily to capture the physical toll and artistic rigor of the role. 

TIMOTHEE CHALAMET & LUCA GUADAGNINO

When Timothée Chalamet and Luca Guadagnino reunite, expect beauty, desire… and apparently, chaos. Their latest collaboration, Gray - a sleek, modern reimagining of The Picture of Dorian Gray set in present-day New York - has already become one of the most talked-about films of the season, for all the right and wrong reasons. With the duo’s indie prestige and creative clout, Last Resort Films reportedly gave the team near-total freedom - only to be blindsided when the final cut arrived drenched in graphic violence, explicit sexuality, and scenes that made multiple executives audibly gasp in the screening room. Still, LRF president Phil Dolan chose to stand by his artists, greenlighting a wide release for the version that the MPAA slapped an NC-17 rating on. One insider put it bluntly: “It’s not for the faint of heart, but it might be a masterpiece." Predictably, the rating was a box office handicap, but even with limited marketing and theater access, Gray became one of the highest-grossing NC-17 films ever, falling just short of Lust, Caution's long-held record. 

JAMIE FOXX

Jamie Foxx isn’t just playing President Barack Obama - he’s becoming him. In the upcoming political thriller Kill Bin Laden, which chronicles the tense behind-the-scenes planning of the 2011 raid that brought down Osama Bin Laden, Foxx reportedly dove headfirst into the role with the kind of dedication he brought to Ray. Despite the cloud of mystery still surrounding his recent medical scare last year, sources say Foxx’s commitment never wavered. He worked with dialect coaches to master Obama’s calm, measured delivery, studied hours of archival footage and press conferences, and even consulted former White House staffers. “He came back focused, sharp, and totally locked in,” one crew member shared. “Whatever happened health-wise, it didn’t slow him down for a second.”

SYDNEY SWEENEY

Sydney Sweeney is stepping out of her comfort zone and into rock legend territory, taking on the role of Stevie Nicks in the hotly anticipated Fleetwood Mac biopic The Chain. Known for her seductive screen presence and emotionally raw performances, Sweeney is reportedly going all-in to portray the witchy, tambourine-toting icon - studying old concert footage, perfecting Nicks’ smoky vocals, and even working with a dialect coach to master her breathy, ethereal tone. Sources say Sweeney has been spotted around L.A. in flowing shawls and platform boots, staying in character between rehearsals and music sessions. “She’s not doing a parody - she’s trying to become Stevie,” one crew member shared. With vocal training, live performance scenes, and plenty of backstage drama on deck, The Chain could be Sweeney’s biggest artistic gamble yet. We won't know until the end of the season as The Chain is set to close out Season 36.

PREMIERE MAGAZINE #355