Film Digest: “The Life and Times of Ion G.,” “River,” a Miss Piggy film, and more on the Film Horizon
- Chinyere Ibeh
- 7 hours ago
- 6 min read
As the last couple of months of 2025 begins its descent, more films are coming into the various stages of production.
Slasher film “River” Calls in Jane Levy and Jessica Rothe for Joshua Giulliano’s Feature Directorial Debut
“River,” a slasher joining the two modern-day scream queens, is currently in post-production and is set for a theatrical release through Independent Film Company.
Jane Levy, known for “Evil Dead,” Jessica Rothe from “Happy Death Day,” Dane DiLiegro from “Prey,” and Max Mattern who starred in “Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy,” will star in the Giulliano film that will follow three estranged siblings returning to their hometown after their father’s death.
“...they set out to scatter his ashes at his favorite spot on a remote river. But when their boat breaks down, the trip devolves into a walking nightmare,” the film’s press release said.
After the boat crash, they soon realize they are being stalked by “a faceless killer who has emerged from the woods.” The estranged siblings would have to put their grudges aside in hopes to survive the “mythic terror.”
As Variety reports, Giuliano is described as “an L.A.-based horror filmmaker by the ways of the cornfields of Indiana.”
Horror filmmaking didn’t seem to be a plausible career for Giuliano due to his religious background. His childhood constraints and need to explore beyond his boundaries seemed to be the perfect combination for creating both terrifying and personal projects.
His work has won awards at various festivals across the globe, notably the Fantasia Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, and Frightfest.
“River” has been six years in the making, and became the most rewarding experience in Giuliano’s life. Working with streaming service Shudder was “a thrilling collaboration” while having “River” as a theatrical release is a dream come true, Giuliano said in a statement.
The film is produced by Steven Schneider from Spooky Pictures, who previously worked on “Insidious,” alongside Nick Antosca and Alex Hedlund from Eat the Cat, who worked on “Chucky.” Jeffrey Tinnell and Robert Tinnells from Allegheny Image Factory, who previously worked on “The Hunted,” will serve as executive producers alongside Matte Brodlie and Jonathan Kier from Upgrade.
Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone Developing “Miss Piggy” Movie with Tony-Winner Cole Escola
The trio will team up to make a film about the temperamental diva puppet at Disney, which is currently in early development, according to Variety. Lawrence and Stone will serve as producers alongside Escola, who won a Tony for their Broadway play “Oh, Mary!,” will write the film’s screenplay.
“I don’t know if I can announce this but I am going to … Emma Stone and I are producing a Miss Piggy move and Cole is writing it,” Lawrence said during an episode of “Las Culturistas” — a podcast hosted buy Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers.
The co-hosts shrieked with excitement, and proceeded to ask if Lawrence and Stone would star in the film. Lawrence thinks they will, noting that it’s “f-ked up” that the duo haven’t starred in a film together.
Lawrence said during the podcast that she’s considered heading to Broadway for “Oh, Mary!,” hopefully to play title character Mary Todd Linclon. The comedy is set days before Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and imagines the former first lady as an aclcoholic wannabe cabaret star.
Miss Piggy was created in the 1970s by Bonnie Erickson and Frank Oz, and has never been the sole subject of a feature film.
“The Life and Times of Ion G” Serves as the Story of a Homeless Migrant Becoming a Media Sensation
Romanian filmmaker Andreea Cristina Bortun is preparing for her sophomore feature film, which she is pitching in the Crossroads Co-Production Forum of the Thessaloniki Film Festival’s AGORA — an industry event that offers networking opportunities for the global film industry.
“The Life and Times of Ion G” follows a man from rural Romania who appears in an isolated Roma village, looking for the family that abandoned him at birth, Variety reports. The man meets a strong-willed local woman who offers him a glimpse of the love he never had. His newfound connection with the woman forces him to confront his inability to open his heart to another soul. The film is described as a “drama with a humorous touch” told from a tender and comedic perspective.
Bortun spoke with Variety while attending the Thessaloniki Film Festival about the film, saying it explores what it means to love and be loved as well as how emotions are governed by the social and political systems that formed us.
“The Life and Times of Ion G” comes soon after Bortun’s debut feature film, “A River’s Gaze,” which is expected to premiere at a top-shelf festival premiere. The Sebastian Stan-produced film served as “a cinematic homecoming” for the Academy Award nominee.
As Variety describes it, Bortun combines traditional scriptwriting with intensive field research. She spends extended periods of time in the communities that interest her as an attempt to understand how they function and what stories can be told.
Her current project will serve as the second film of a trilogy with the first film being “A River’s Gaze,” and the final film being “Egalité.” She aims to begin principal photography on “The Life and Times on Ion G” by the end of next year.
Apple Original Films Picked Up Air Traffic Controller Thriller Based on Unpublished Short Story by Matt Hickey
“The Flick,” an unpublished short story about the intense world of air traffic control, will become part of Apple TV’s catalogue in the near future.
Peter Chermin and David Ready will produce the film for Chermin Entertainment alongside author Matt Hickey. The project will be one of the first features under Chermin Entertainment’s feature deal with Apple TV+, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
The story follows Sonny Braden, a controller who’s already at his breaking point when he receives a distress call from a cockpit with an unconscious pilot. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the project can be described as “a white-knuckle thriller about control, connection, and survival in the thin air between order and chaos, where every second counts.”
“The Flick” was developed by At Will Media, the content studio of actor and producer Will Malnati. Though, no writer has come onboard to adapt the story into a screenplay at this point of the process.
Chermin Entertainment previously produced projects for Apple TV, including “Chief of War” starring Jason Momoa. The company landed the adaptation of Dark Horse Comics graphic novel “Last Flight Out,” written by Marc Guggenheim.
Spike Lee Teams Up with Joan Chen to Executive Produce a Post-Roe Thriller
The Hollywood Reporter exclusively reports that Spike Lee and actress-director Joan Chen have become executive producers for “The Truck,” a coming-of-age thriller dealing with the impact of the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
“Set against the simmering anxieties of post-Roe America, ‘The Truck’ follows a Chinese American teenager and her boyfriend as they attempt to buy the morning-after pill in a small town where reproductive rights are contested and quietly policed,” the film’s synopsis read.
“Liz Rao’s ‘The Truck’ is an urgent, gripping look at teen love and the freedom to choose in this America right now,” Lee said. “Rao is the latest talent in my 30 years of teaching at the NYU Graduate Film School. Liz Rao brings her unique vision as a screenwriter and director who is unafraid to provoke and dares to speak truth to power, and does it in high power.”
Chen notes that Director Liz Rao’s voice as both a writer and director transform a coming-of-age story into a powerful look at the power dynamics in the country. The film is a needed perspective of the post-Roe landscape that brings to life a powerful story, Chen explained.
Rao said in a statement that “The Truck” draws on her raw experience as a way to draw on a shared story. She explains that her films embrace the romance of Americana while showing the perils of everyday life.
“When change forces us to find new footing, we also get a chance to redefine our collective path forward,” Rao concluded.
“The Truck” had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in 2024, screened at the Museum of Modern Art, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Florida Film Festival, and won the best screenplay honor at the Rhode Island International Festival.