Stay in the loop on industry and casting news with our write-up on who’s been slated for recent film and television roles.
Please note that shoot dates are subject to state and county restrictions and may change. Refer to Call Sheet for updates, and keep checking Backstage for the latest news on project development during this time.
“Pussy Island”
Zoë Kravitz is stepping behind the camera for her filmmaking debut later this year with “Pussy Island,” from a script she co-wrote with E.T. Feigenbaum. They’ve reworked it over the years following the allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein and the rise of the #MeToo movement. The film follows an ambitious cocktail waitress (Naomi Ackie) who’s attempting to work her way into the upper echelons of society. After building a relationship with a tech mogul (Channing Tatum), she’s invited to an intimate gathering on his private island, where all is not as it seems. Carmen Cuba is casting the psychological thriller, which is planning a summer shoot in Mexico.
“Bag Man”
Rachel Maddow is breaking into film. The popular MSNBC news commentator is adapting her podcast “Bag Man,” which later became the book “Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-Up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House,” which she co-wrote with Michael Yarvitz. Like its predecessors, the movie will follow the tumultuous, scandalous resignation of President Nixon’s veep, Spiro Agnew. Ben Stiller will direct the political drama, which he co-wrote with Yarvitz and Adam Perlman. Rachel Tenner is casting the film, which is set to start production this summer in New Jersey.
“Atlas”
Jennifer Lopez recently announced that her Netflix documentary “Halftime” will open the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival—and that’s not all she has in the works with the streaming giant. In “Atlas,” directed by Brad Peyton and set in the far future, she’ll star as a military intelligence official on the trail of a robot terrorist who is hellbent on destroying the human race. The sci-fi thriller has yet to attach any other actors to the project, but Denise Chamian is currently seeking talent. Cameras are set to start rolling this August, with shooting taking place in both Los Angeles and New Zealand.
This story originally appeared in the Apr. 21 issue of Backstage Magazine.