‘The Drama’: Zendaya and Robert Pattinson could play engaged couple in new A24 project
Disney/Scott Kirkland — Disney/Randy Holmes
Kristoffer Borgli, who directed a dream-haunting Nicolas Cage in the acclaimed movie Dream Scenario, might just land two of the most sought-after stars for his next project.
ABC Audio has confirmed Zendaya and Robert Pattinson are in “early negotiations” to star in The Drama, Borgli’s latest project for studio A24.
While the details are under wraps, rumors suggest it’s about a romance that takes an unexpected turn before the couple’s big day.
Zendaya was last seen in theaters in another small-scale project, Challengers; production begins on Euphoria‘s third season in January.
Pattinson’s sci-fi movie with Bong Joon-ho, Mickey 17, is due in theaters Jan. 31, 2025; his sequel to Matt Reeves‘ The Batman hits theaters in October 2026.
In a summer of twisters, animated emotions and, of course, superheroes, the modestly budgeted film Blink Twice has performed well and gotten strong reviews.
Many have praised first-time director and writer Zoë Kravitz’s handling of the intriguing thriller about a couple of women who think they’re on a dream vacation on a billionaire’s private island, but soon find it’s too good to be true.
Kravitz’s real-life boyfriend, Channing Tatum, plays Slater, the cad in question.
One of those praising Zoë is Adria Arjona (AH-dree-ah are-HO-nah), who tells ABC Audio, “This is a hard movie, I think, for any director to direct, let alone the first-time director.”
She says Zoë “just was a pro at nailing the tone and finding the satire and the comedy and the darkness and the excitement and the element of fun that this island … embodies.”
Adria plays Sarah, one of the beauties on the island competing for Slater’s attention. “I mean, a woman competing with another woman — that’s, like, so gross,” Adria says.
“Like, there’s nothing uglier than a woman competing with another woman. I read it and I was like, ‘Oof.’ But again, that was the part that kind of challenged me.”
Arjona recently starred in the Netflix action-comedy Hit Man opposite Glen Powell; she’s part of the cast of the acclaimed Disney+ Star Wars series Andor; and she has four other films in the works. “It’s really exciting that I get to reach so many people, and people are excited to watch me,” she says.
That said, she adds, “I’m having really interesting conversations with strangers. Sometimes that can get scary. I’m not gonna lie. … Yeah, it’s really exciting.”
The drama behind the drama It Ends with Us shows no signs of ending, three days after the movie scored an impressive $50 million box office debut.
The Hollywood Reportersays the movie’s star and director Justin Baldoni has hired a PR crisis team to help smooth over seemingly daily headlines and online posts of a reported rift between him and co-star and co-producer Blake Lively.
The trade notes Baldoni hired Melissa Nathan, whose PR firm specializes in “communications, crisis, reputation management, personal publicity and digital team services,” and that she was the person hired by Johnny Depp amid his court battle with Amber Heard.
Baldoni recently posted to TikTok an interaction with some fans, one of whom fawned over him, and although she knew he had appeared in Jane the Virgin and It Ends with Us, she thought his name was Ralph. “This is very humbling,” he says, smiling in the clip, which he captioned, “Dear mom…I’ve finally made it. With love, Ralph.”
He also posted an Instagram video from Sweden, thanking fans for embracing the movie. “Seeing this packed theater, connecting with some of you, and hearing your stories is a powerful reminder of why we brought this story to life,” he said in part.
Meanwhile, after taking flak online for her lighthearted promotion of the film, in which her character is abused by her partner played by Baldoni, Blake posted to Instagram statistics about domestic violence, and resources victims can access, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Ryan Reynolds‘ Deadpool & Wolverine barely beat out his wife Blake Lively‘s It Ends with Us, topping the North American box office with an estimated $54 million in its third week of release. That brings its total domestic gross to $494 million
The Marvel film, also starring Hugh Jackman, has now become the second film of 2024 to top the $1 billion mark worldwide, joining Pixar’s Inside Out 2.
Marvel and Pixar are both owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
Meanwhile, It Ends with Us also had an impressive weekend, exceeding expectations with an estimated $50 million for a second place finish in its opening weekend. Internationally, the film, starring Lively, Justin Baldoni, and Jenny Slate, collected an an estimated $30 million, bring its worldwide tally to $80 million.
Third place went to the disaster film Twisters, which delivered an estimated $15 million at the domestic box office, bringing its four-week tally to $222 million. It’s worldwide total currently stands at $310 million.
The weekend’s second new major release, Borderlands, starring Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Hart and Jack Black, disappointed in its theatrical debut, earning an estimated $8.8 million at the North American box office and $16.5 million globally.
Rounding out the top 5 was Despicable Me 4, grabbing an estimated $8 million. It’s four-week total now stands at $330 million domestically and $807 worldwide.
