At Stake This Morning: The Triple Crown of Acting

Plus: Nicholas Cage goes full Cage; Horror is hot; three Sundance standouts

May 01, 2025

Happy Thursday, friends. If you’re watching the Tony nominees roll out this morning, check that featured actor category. Assuming Kieran Culkin is nominated for Glengarry Glen Ross as expected, he could complete the elusive Triple Crown of Acting (Emmy, Oscar, Tony) — and make awards history by doing it in only 18 months, following wins for Succession and A Real Pain.

It’s fitting that this is going down before the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

Let’s dive into the other races underway this week.

Roll of Honor

Premieres, Awards, and More. Say hi to featured Portrait members on the Portrait app.

What to Watch This Weekend

Nicolas Cage in The Surfer — Nicolas Cage “goes full Cage” in *The Surfer* (Variety)

Trippy, Bracing Nightmares

The Surfer. “The kind of trippy slapdash comic nightmare where the only way to watch it is to sit back and “go with it.” [Nicholas] Cage makes that easy to do” (Variety). James Harris, Nathan Klingher, Producers; Ben Hunt, Digital Imaging; Ford Corbett, Josh Harris, Executive Producers.
A Desert. “A nightmare that burrows under one’s skin like a virus (or a curse), and it heralds its creator as a bracing new genre-filmmaking voice” (Daily Beast). Bossi Baker, Screenwriter; Josh Russell, Makeup Effects Artist; Courtney Andujar, Production Designer.

*Pavements:* “A Sweet, Meta Spin on the Rock Doc” (IndieWire)

Reimagining Rock Docs and Novellas

Pavements. “It’s a reminder that the fourth (and fifth and sixth) wall can be smashed, that the rock doc can be reinvented” (IndieWire). Robert Kolodny, Director of Photography; Ben Mercer, Editor; Violette Trotter, Casting Director; Danny Gabai, Producer.
Bonjour Tristesse. “The film finds a state of grace in that torrential pull between the familiar and the new” (Slant). Maximilian Pittner, Cinematographer; Lesley Barber, Music; Alice Searby, Casting Director; Alison Almeida, Associate Producer; Sebastian Vaskio, ADR Mixer.

'Speak No Evil', 'Nosferatu', 'A Quiet Place: Day One', 'Smile 2' and 'Longlegs' movies — The “Most Valuable Blockbuster” Tournament returns — and horror dominates (Deadline)

What We’re Reading

‘I wish I’d never written that damn movie.’ Rust director Joel Souza talks about his hopes for his western, his complicated feelings toward star Alec Baldwin – and why the industry hasn’t learned.
Horror is all the rage when it comes to ROI. Deadline’s “Most Valuable Blockbuster” Tournament returns.
Kanopy releases its first original movie. And it’s still free with a library card.

On the Festival Circuit

SeriesFest kicks off. See who’s attending in the Portrait app.
Atlanta Film Festival wraps. We’re proud to be the official networking app for the fest! Save contacts you met and see film teams on Portrait.
SFFILM: All That’s Left of You and Come See Me in the Good Light Win Top Prizes. Congrats to the Portrait film teams!
- Come See Me in the Good Light: Berenice Chavez, Editor; Dominique Hessert, Grace Oathout, Producers; Joe Lewis, Galia Gichon, Lauren Haber, Executive Producers.
- All That’s Left of You: Paul Rischer, Sound Editor; Tarek Abu Ghoush, Boom Operator; Tony Copti, Jiries Copti, Executive Producers; Farah Tbaileh, Production Manager; Marco Müller, Camera; Edriss Essoussi, DIT.

Member Benefit: Visit United at SeriesFest

Heading to SeriesFest in Denver this week? Stop by the United booth at the expo on Saturday for a chance to win exclusive merch and learn how you can access discounted airfare and savings on your industry travel. Or get started here.

Molly Belle Wright, Wyatt Solis, and John Magaro in 'Omaha' — *Omaha.*

A Trio of Sundance Acquisitions

Greenwich acquires Cole Webley’s Sundance drama Omaha. Cole Webley, Director; Paul Meyers, Cinematographer; Jaideep Shukla, Editor; Scott James, Anthon Johnson, Producer; Christopher Bear, Composer; Sunday Kennedy, Meg Morman, Casting Directors; Preston Lee, UPM; Cortni Wimberley, Production Designer; Nicholas Hill, Executive Producer.
Magnolia takes global rights to Sundance-winning thriller Plainclothes. Ethan Palmer, DP; Erik Vogt-Nilsen, Editor; Nat Jencks, Colorist; Paul Toohey, Sound Mixer; Simone Palanker, Hair Dept. Head; Emily Wells, Composer; Celine Rahman, Asst. Costume Designer; April Kelley, Producer; Peter Davis, Will Felker, Music Supervisors.
Magnolia acquires Sundance doc Folktales about Arctic Teens & their sled dogs. Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo, DP; Christina Gonzalez, Producer; Nathan Punwar, Victor Artesona, Editors; Tor Edvin Eliassen, Cinematographer; T. Griffin, Composer; Mary Lisio,Jenny Raskin, Executive Producers; Blair French, Additional Music; Kari Anne Moe, Producer; Nicole Ayr, Post Production; Shani Ankori, Marketing.