Archstone Boards ‘Chili Finger'; Brendan Gleeson West End Debut; Michelle Ang Leads ‘Insula'; Wheelhouse Commission; Will Arnett's ‘Super Team Canada' Trailer — Global Briefs
Archstone Boards 'Chili Finger' With Greer, Astin, Cranston and Goodman
EXCLUSIVE: Archstone has taken over international sales duties from Moonstone Entertainment to dark comedy Chili Finger ahead of the Cannes market. Set to shoot this summer in Central Illinois, the film is due to star Judy Greer, Sean Astin, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman. Gersh will continue handling domestic. Chili Finger tells the story of a recently empty-nested mother Jess (Greer) who discovers a human finger in her bowl of chili. When she blackmails the restaurant for a cash payout, the situation spirals out of control and her life descends into chaos. Edd Benda and Stephen Helstad, who wrote the script, will co-direct. Sam Sandweiss and Jo Henriquez are producing. Goodman and Greer will executive produce alongside Archstone's Jack Sheehan, Scott Martin, and Michael Slifkin.
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Brendan Gleeson Making West End Debut
Brendan Gleeson is to make his West End debut in a new production of The Weir written and directed for the first time, by Conor McPherson. Kate Horton Productions and Landmark Productions are behind the show in which Gleeson will play Jack at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London from 12 September to 6 December 2025, with a press night on Friday 19 September. The show will start out at Dublin's 3Olympia Theatre from 8 August to 6 September. Additional casting is in process.
Michelle Ang Leads Dystopian Pic 'Insula'
EXCLUSIVE: Media Tech Productions NZ will be looking to drum up Cannes sales on dystopian feature Insula, starring Michelle Ang (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), Simon Prast (MaXXXine) and Catherine Waller (Off-Broadway's The Creeps). The film charts the story of Laura (Ang), a reclusive actress haunted by memories of her lost wife (Waller), and Tristram (Prast), a ruthless businessman who lures a struggling artist into a life-altering game. Alex Plumb is director, writer and produced with Waller. Executive producers are Waller and Plumb as well as Rogers Shakes and James Sweetbaum of Media Tech Productions NZ. The project is entering its final phase of filming with delivery anticipated in December. Plumb's short film Angelo was a selection at Tribeca in 2023.
Wheelhouse Lands Celebrity Version Of Channel 5's 'Puzzling' With Fresh Host
Wheelhouse has landed a second season of its Channel 5 Puzzling series with celebrities on board for this outing. Jeremy Vine has been brought in as host in place of Lucy Worsley and team captains will be Sally Lindsay and Carol Vorderman. Celebrity guests will include Scarlett Moffat, Les Dennis and Gareth Malone. The weekly quiz sees teams tackle a range puzzles – testing logic, lateral thinking and problem-solving. Puzzling was Channel 5's first quiz commission. Brent Montgomery's Wheelhouse, which is run by Glenn Hugill in the UK, is producing this celebrity version with The Chase maker Potato. 'It's amazing to do a quiz that's so simple and yet feels so fresh in every way,' said Vine.
'Super Team Canada' Gets Trailer & Launch DateCanadiana rules right now, it seems. Hot off the back of the Liberals' patriot-led election win, Crave's first animated streaming original, Super Team Canada, has set a May 16 launch date. The comedy ten-parter will launch with a double header, introducing the likes of Breakaway, a hockey-themed superhero played by Will Arnett. Cobie Smulders, Kevin McDonald, Charles Demers, Brian Drummond, Ceara Morgana and Veena Sood also star, with Jay Baruchel a guest star. The series follows a group of ineffective Canadian superheroes who become the world's last hope after all other heroes are killed off. Sources around the show, which is from Arnett's Electric Avenue and Thunderbird Entertainment-owned Atomic Cartoons, are connecting the wave of patriotism in Canada that accompanied the Liberals' election win earlier this week with the Canadian heroes tropes of Super Team Canada. Here's the trailer.
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How groundbreaking gay author Edmund White paved the way for other writers
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