There comes a time in your life when all the dominoes fall in the right place, and things just go your way. This is that time for me – a group of billionaire angel investors discovered Multiplex Confidential and my Letterboxd account and said, “Hey, let’s give this guy billions of dollars to make his own movie studio. Those people over at Paramount and Warner Brothers have no idea what they’re doing.” So naturally, in an ode to the success that this very blog has afforded me, I found it only fitting to let you all know the first steps that I am taking for said movie studio. No one else knows this information, not even those billionaire investors who are solely making this venture possible. But I found it fitting that my first real investors, all of you who have read and supported Multiplex Confidential, get the jump on all this juicy info.
Okay obviously this is not real, and you knew that, but I have to take a quick second here to actually give some backstory to what this post really is. I was listening to an episode of The Big Picture the other day, and they did this very activity themselves. I thought it was super fun so I decided to do it with my partner that night and we had quite a fun time doing it. Megan isn’t quite comfortable with sharing her personal picks here, but I thought it would be fun to share mine with you all, and encourage you to try it with a friend as well! Here is the gist: a billionaire angel investor has decided to write you a blank check to start your own movie studio. But this isn’t quite like a normal, modern-day studio; this will be privately owned, so you don’t have to worry about pleasing shareholders or anything like that. The talent that you will be “drafting” will be signing contracts with your studio, a la the olden days where directors, actors, and the like would sign, say, a five-movie contract with MGM Studios. The thing to keep in mind while making your roster then, is that these contracts will probably span a minimum of ten years – so maybe someone like George Miller (79 years old) or Al Pacino (84 years old) isn’t the best choice for this exercise. It’s more fun to do this with a buddy as well, because it raises the stakes – you obviously can’t choose someone that has already been taken off the board. Outside of that, there aren’t really any “rules” to follow; build out the studio that you want, and fill out the roster fully and see how well you did!
There is one final piece of admin here, which is to go over the actual “roster” that you will need to fill. You will be drafting three directors, five lead actors, two literary works (which you will own the adaptation rights to, you don’t have to turn it into a movie though), one existing franchise to be handed the keys to, and one wildcard creative (this can be a director, screenwriter, casting director, whatever you want). The Big Picture also drafted writers, studio locations, and a few more things, but I’m just not in the weeds enough to be able to confidently draft those positions. With that being said, I now present to you…Multiplex Pictures.
Directors
I won’t be presenting this in the exact order that we drafted, because we were all over the place. Instead, I will go category by category, but present them in the order that I drafted them. There is no better place to start than with the directors, because they are the ones making the vision of these movies come to life. With this in mind, my first director was, unsurprisingly…
- Denis Villeneuve
- If you’ve followed me on Letterboxd or read my posts here about Sicario or Dune: Part Two, then this pick should come as no surprise to you. Villeneuve has swiftly jumped up the rankings of my favorite directors, and I would absolutely want him on board for my movie studio. The way he is able to translate stories to the big screen (especially for existing IP) is really head and shoulders above everyone else at this point. Getting to see him work with the actors I will be taking later would be such a joy, and would create some true movie magic for all of us.
- If you’ve followed me on Letterboxd or read my posts here about Sicario or Dune: Part Two, then this pick should come as no surprise to you. Villeneuve has swiftly jumped up the rankings of my favorite directors, and I would absolutely want him on board for my movie studio. The way he is able to translate stories to the big screen (especially for existing IP) is really head and shoulders above everyone else at this point. Getting to see him work with the actors I will be taking later would be such a joy, and would create some true movie magic for all of us.
- Dan Levy
- I went with a bit of a zag here for my second director – as of this writing, Levy only has one feature film directorial credit to his name, but it is quite the entry. I actually wrote about that film at the beginning of this year, so if you want more detailed thoughts on Levy as a director, go give that a read. My thinking here was that Levy will provide a very different palette of movies for my studio, which is exactly what I want – I don’t want to be a one-trick pony that just cranks out movie after movie that all seem to be telling the same story. I will get into this more in a little bit, but there is a coming-of-age movie that I am dying to see him make with one of my actors.
- I went with a bit of a zag here for my second director – as of this writing, Levy only has one feature film directorial credit to his name, but it is quite the entry. I actually wrote about that film at the beginning of this year, so if you want more detailed thoughts on Levy as a director, go give that a read. My thinking here was that Levy will provide a very different palette of movies for my studio, which is exactly what I want – I don’t want to be a one-trick pony that just cranks out movie after movie that all seem to be telling the same story. I will get into this more in a little bit, but there is a coming-of-age movie that I am dying to see him make with one of my actors.
- Greta Gerwig
- This one’s for the people. I certainly don’t have anything against Greta, but she also isn’t exactly my taste in movies. This choice was one made for the benefit of the studio and the success of our movies both in popularity and in box office. Director of films like Lady Bird and Barbie, her movies have gone on to make $1,743,900,000 in the box office, to go along with 18 Oscar nominations and 15 Golden Globe nominations. Gerwig is still only 40-years-old and shows no signs of slowing down the bullet train that she is riding to the top of Tinseltown. Adding her to the studio was a no-brainer.
- This one’s for the people. I certainly don’t have anything against Greta, but she also isn’t exactly my taste in movies. This choice was one made for the benefit of the studio and the success of our movies both in popularity and in box office. Director of films like Lady Bird and Barbie, her movies have gone on to make $1,743,900,000 in the box office, to go along with 18 Oscar nominations and 15 Golden Globe nominations. Gerwig is still only 40-years-old and shows no signs of slowing down the bullet train that she is riding to the top of Tinseltown. Adding her to the studio was a no-brainer.
Actors
Next up is arguably the section most people will skip to or care about the most – who is going to be starring in all of these movies we’re making? I followed a similar pattern here for my choices – definitely more on the younger side, but not without experience and potential that is incredibly exciting. This isn’t to say that these are the only actors appearing in our movies, or that they have to appear in every single movie. But they are signed on to be guaranteed to appear in five movies that come out of this studio at some point.
- Cillian Murphy
- Despite what you might think, I actually would have put Cillian on this list even before the gargantuan success of Oppenheimer. Cillian is hardly new to the game of acting, but the mainstream movie audience is just now getting a taste of what he can do. From his performances in Dunkirk and Inception, to Peaky Blinders and 28 Days Later, Cillian has a knack for drawing you in with his piercing blue eyes and the sheer dramatic range he can display without saying a word. Murphy has a long career still ahead, and I would be immensely excited to see him at the forefront of our studio.
- Despite what you might think, I actually would have put Cillian on this list even before the gargantuan success of Oppenheimer. Cillian is hardly new to the game of acting, but the mainstream movie audience is just now getting a taste of what he can do. From his performances in Dunkirk and Inception, to Peaky Blinders and 28 Days Later, Cillian has a knack for drawing you in with his piercing blue eyes and the sheer dramatic range he can display without saying a word. Murphy has a long career still ahead, and I would be immensely excited to see him at the forefront of our studio.
- Amber Midthunder
- Taken second for my pool of actors is someone that a lot of people haven’t heard of, and I plan on changing that ASAP. Amber Midthunder made her acting debut all the way back in 2001 as a child, going on to make several cameo/uncredited appearances in film before her first real breakthrough role in the FX series Legion in 2017. She is widely know for her highly-praised portrayal of Naru in Prey, the fifth installment in the Predator franchise. Midthunder has incredible charisma, along with a background in mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, making her a key player in the action, thriller, horror, and drama movies that we will be producing.
- Taken second for my pool of actors is someone that a lot of people haven’t heard of, and I plan on changing that ASAP. Amber Midthunder made her acting debut all the way back in 2001 as a child, going on to make several cameo/uncredited appearances in film before her first real breakthrough role in the FX series Legion in 2017. She is widely know for her highly-praised portrayal of Naru in Prey, the fifth installment in the Predator franchise. Midthunder has incredible charisma, along with a background in mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, making her a key player in the action, thriller, horror, and drama movies that we will be producing.
- Iman Vellani
- Iman Vellani entered our lives in 2022 when Ms. Marvel premiered on Disney+, starring Vellani playing the lead role of Kamala Khan. For most viewers, including myself, they were immediately taken to her sincerity and quirkiness that jumps out of the screen at you. She perfectly plays the role of Avengers-fangirl-turned-superhero in the coming-of-age show, which draws a lot of comparisons to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World; Vellani parallels the quirky yet talented character of Scott Pilgrim, who takes part in larger-than-life battles throughout their screentime while capturing our hearts in the process. Much like Amber Midthunder, I chose Vellani for her limited credits, but more so for the awesome potential I see for her career. I would love to break her out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe before it gets too late, and have her starring in a coming-of-age romcom from director Dan Levy – that pairing really excites me, and I think would draw a lot more of a serious, dramatic side from Vellani that the MCU won’t be able to harness properly.
- Iman Vellani entered our lives in 2022 when Ms. Marvel premiered on Disney+, starring Vellani playing the lead role of Kamala Khan. For most viewers, including myself, they were immediately taken to her sincerity and quirkiness that jumps out of the screen at you. She perfectly plays the role of Avengers-fangirl-turned-superhero in the coming-of-age show, which draws a lot of comparisons to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World; Vellani parallels the quirky yet talented character of Scott Pilgrim, who takes part in larger-than-life battles throughout their screentime while capturing our hearts in the process. Much like Amber Midthunder, I chose Vellani for her limited credits, but more so for the awesome potential I see for her career. I would love to break her out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe before it gets too late, and have her starring in a coming-of-age romcom from director Dan Levy – that pairing really excites me, and I think would draw a lot more of a serious, dramatic side from Vellani that the MCU won’t be able to harness properly.
- Daniel Kaluuya
- Okay we had some fun with some outside-the-box choices, but now we’re choosing some people with serious acting credits to their name. Kaluuya has starred in such films as Get Out, Nope, Queen & Slim, and Judas and the Black Messiah. He has been nominated for two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, two Golden Globes, and an Emmy – and he’s just getting started. Kaluuya is still only 35-years-old and has so much more career ahead of him that I want to get involved with. We’ve seen him be funny on Saturday Night Live, he made his MCU debut in 2018’s Black Panther, and has starred in two iconic Jordan Peele horror movies, Get Out and Nope. He has range, he has class, he’s personable, and he can even do some really good accents! I have him pegged for the leading role in my existing franchise as well, but no spoilers on that.
- Okay we had some fun with some outside-the-box choices, but now we’re choosing some people with serious acting credits to their name. Kaluuya has starred in such films as Get Out, Nope, Queen & Slim, and Judas and the Black Messiah. He has been nominated for two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, two Golden Globes, and an Emmy – and he’s just getting started. Kaluuya is still only 35-years-old and has so much more career ahead of him that I want to get involved with. We’ve seen him be funny on Saturday Night Live, he made his MCU debut in 2018’s Black Panther, and has starred in two iconic Jordan Peele horror movies, Get Out and Nope. He has range, he has class, he’s personable, and he can even do some really good accents! I have him pegged for the leading role in my existing franchise as well, but no spoilers on that.
- Matt Damon
- Come on, you really think I’m going to pass up the opportunity to work with Matt Damon? I literally wrote a four-part series on him after watching every single movie he’s been in, I was not letting him slip between my fingers. Outside of my love for him, he’s also, I don’t know…really good at acting? Any sports GM who is starting a team from scratch is going to want to put a seasoned vet on their team, someone who is a locker room leader and provides insight and experience that the rest of the team just doesn’t have.1 Plus when push comes to shove, they can still go – we saw this with Damon in his recent roles in Air and Oppenheimer, he’s still got it! All told, Damon has five Oscar noms, three British Academy Film Award noms, nine Golden Globe noms, and seven Emmy noms. That’s someone you want on your team – and I would love to see Damon appear in a Villeneuve picture, or as an awkward step-dad to Iman Vellani’s character in our Dan Levy-directed teen story, or as a co-star with Daniel Kaluuya in a drama. The options are endless!
- Come on, you really think I’m going to pass up the opportunity to work with Matt Damon? I literally wrote a four-part series on him after watching every single movie he’s been in, I was not letting him slip between my fingers. Outside of my love for him, he’s also, I don’t know…really good at acting? Any sports GM who is starting a team from scratch is going to want to put a seasoned vet on their team, someone who is a locker room leader and provides insight and experience that the rest of the team just doesn’t have.1 Plus when push comes to shove, they can still go – we saw this with Damon in his recent roles in Air and Oppenheimer, he’s still got it! All told, Damon has five Oscar noms, three British Academy Film Award noms, nine Golden Globe noms, and seven Emmy noms. That’s someone you want on your team – and I would love to see Damon appear in a Villeneuve picture, or as an awkward step-dad to Iman Vellani’s character in our Dan Levy-directed teen story, or as a co-star with Daniel Kaluuya in a drama. The options are endless!
Literary Work
This was actually the hardest section for me to pick, because I pretty much exclusively read non-fiction. And for some reason, I don’t think a director would have too much success in trying to translate Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men or Hoop Atlas to the big screen. I was able to come up with some good options though, but I apologize in advance that my choices are very much not fiction. Lucky for me, they both come with some ready-made titles for hit movies.
- Poisoner in Chief
- Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control is a 2019 book written by Stephen Kinzer, which explores the life and work of chemist Sidney Gottlieb, who was the creator and chief chemist for the CIA on the MK-Ultra program. If you’re unaware, that was just a little project run by the US Government, which was designed to use drugs such as LSD in an attempt to control the minds of innocent people, intending to eventually use it on their enemies during the Cold War and beyond. Yikes! But wow, this would make a great movie. And not to borrow too much from his performance as J Robert Oppenheimer, but I think Cillian Murphy would make for a great leading actor in this film as Gottlieb. Murphy has proven that he is up to the task, and I think the story of Sidney Gottlieb, and MK-Ultra at large, is a story that hasn’t really been explored much in Hollywood for some reason. I’d like for our studio to take a stab at it, with Murphy leading the way.
- Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control is a 2019 book written by Stephen Kinzer, which explores the life and work of chemist Sidney Gottlieb, who was the creator and chief chemist for the CIA on the MK-Ultra program. If you’re unaware, that was just a little project run by the US Government, which was designed to use drugs such as LSD in an attempt to control the minds of innocent people, intending to eventually use it on their enemies during the Cold War and beyond. Yikes! But wow, this would make a great movie. And not to borrow too much from his performance as J Robert Oppenheimer, but I think Cillian Murphy would make for a great leading actor in this film as Gottlieb. Murphy has proven that he is up to the task, and I think the story of Sidney Gottlieb, and MK-Ultra at large, is a story that hasn’t really been explored much in Hollywood for some reason. I’d like for our studio to take a stab at it, with Murphy leading the way.
- The Devil in the White City
- The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America is a 2003 historical non-fiction book written by Erik Larson, presented in the style of a novel (that will help us). The book takes place leading up to and during the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago and follows H.H. Holmes, a criminal figure largely believed to be the first serial killer in the United States. The film rights were purchased by Leonardo DiCaprio back in 2010, but nothing has come of it since. Let us take it out of his hands, or better yet – let’s collaborate and keep DiCaprio involved! With a director like Villeneuve or Gerwig at the helm, we can really hone in on the dark, yet almost comedic, aspects of this story and tell it the right way. DiCaprio in the starring role will be all the star power we need, but we can also get Murphy or Damon involved in the side character role of Daniel Burnham, who was the architect that acted as Director of Works for the World’s Fair and plays a big role in the story. Similar to Poisoner in Chief, this is a fascinating real-life story that has yet to really be explored at all in Hollywood.
- The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America is a 2003 historical non-fiction book written by Erik Larson, presented in the style of a novel (that will help us). The book takes place leading up to and during the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago and follows H.H. Holmes, a criminal figure largely believed to be the first serial killer in the United States. The film rights were purchased by Leonardo DiCaprio back in 2010, but nothing has come of it since. Let us take it out of his hands, or better yet – let’s collaborate and keep DiCaprio involved! With a director like Villeneuve or Gerwig at the helm, we can really hone in on the dark, yet almost comedic, aspects of this story and tell it the right way. DiCaprio in the starring role will be all the star power we need, but we can also get Murphy or Damon involved in the side character role of Daniel Burnham, who was the architect that acted as Director of Works for the World’s Fair and plays a big role in the story. Similar to Poisoner in Chief, this is a fascinating real-life story that has yet to really be explored at all in Hollywood.
Wildcard
So just as a reminder, your wildcard is one person who can act in any role(s) that you want them to. I could very well have taken Dan Levy here instead of as one of my directors, allowing him to also write and act for my studio, but I chose to focus on his directorial career. Donald Glover or Phoebe Waller-Bridge would have also been some solid choices here – they are both Swiss army knives when it comes to the creative arts (Megan actually chose Phoebe as her wildcard) and would have definitely been put to good work. However, I decided to go a different route, one that I was surprised and slightly maddened that was left out entirely from the conversation of The Big Picture.
- Ludwig Göransson
- Yes, in another shocking twist of events, I am taking a composer here and taking the time to show some love to the oft-forgotten aspect of movies – the music! When starting Multiplex Pictures, I knew it would be essential to nail down the sound of our movies, and who better to do that right now than Ludwig Göransson? At the ripe age of 39, he still arguably has his better years ahead of him as a composer, and he can musically tell any story that we want to tell. He has scored such works as Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, Tenet, Oppenheimer, Community, New Girl, The Mandalorian, and Ahsoka to name just a few. His background in producing and writing for artists like Adele, Alicia Keys, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Justin Timberlake and many more has also had a key influence on his scores, which are as diverse as they are impressive. Göransson already has two Academy Awards, one Golden Globe, four Grammy awards, and two Emmy awards to go with many more nominations. As composers like John Williams and Hans Zimmer have shown, you can keep doing this into your eighties if you so choose, and Göransson shows no signs of slowing down.
- Yes, in another shocking twist of events, I am taking a composer here and taking the time to show some love to the oft-forgotten aspect of movies – the music! When starting Multiplex Pictures, I knew it would be essential to nail down the sound of our movies, and who better to do that right now than Ludwig Göransson? At the ripe age of 39, he still arguably has his better years ahead of him as a composer, and he can musically tell any story that we want to tell. He has scored such works as Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, Tenet, Oppenheimer, Community, New Girl, The Mandalorian, and Ahsoka to name just a few. His background in producing and writing for artists like Adele, Alicia Keys, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Justin Timberlake and many more has also had a key influence on his scores, which are as diverse as they are impressive. Göransson already has two Academy Awards, one Golden Globe, four Grammy awards, and two Emmy awards to go with many more nominations. As composers like John Williams and Hans Zimmer have shown, you can keep doing this into your eighties if you so choose, and Göransson shows no signs of slowing down.
Existing Franchise
I intentionally saved this section for last, because I thought it was the most exciting part for my studio. We could have chosen a franchise that has tried and failed to reboot itself like Jurassic World or Godzilla, or we could have gone the route of choosing to reboot a beloved franchise that nobody is asking for like Austin Powers or The Hunger Games (oh wait, someone is already doing this). In the end, basically any movie franchise at this point has tried to reboot it for the sake a money grab and nothing more, but there is one franchise that continues to stand the test of time, that people almost seem excited about every time it gets rebooted. That’s right, I’m talking about Bond…
- James Bond
- James Bond first appeared on our screens in 1962, when Sean Connery portrayed the titular character in Dr. No, directed by Terence Young. Sean Connery would end up playing Bond a total of seven times before handing the reigns over to George Lazenby. In total, there have been seven different people to portray the secret agent, with one glaring similarity between them all. I say we buck that trend, and give the Bond franchise a nice shot in the arm by having Daniel Kaluuya take on the role. I think both Villeneuve and Gerwig could give us some great direction on the films, while Kaluuya would add a breath of youth to the character that we haven’t seen in a while. Kaluuya is 35-years-old right now, which would make him the second-youngest actor to portray Bond since Connery did at just 32-years-old.2 Kaluuya has showed that he can play dramatic roles well, but he’s also shown us that he has incredible comedy timing – pair that with the action experience he has from Sicario or Black Panther, and you’ve got yourself the perfect candidate to play James Bond.
- James Bond first appeared on our screens in 1962, when Sean Connery portrayed the titular character in Dr. No, directed by Terence Young. Sean Connery would end up playing Bond a total of seven times before handing the reigns over to George Lazenby. In total, there have been seven different people to portray the secret agent, with one glaring similarity between them all. I say we buck that trend, and give the Bond franchise a nice shot in the arm by having Daniel Kaluuya take on the role. I think both Villeneuve and Gerwig could give us some great direction on the films, while Kaluuya would add a breath of youth to the character that we haven’t seen in a while. Kaluuya is 35-years-old right now, which would make him the second-youngest actor to portray Bond since Connery did at just 32-years-old.2 Kaluuya has showed that he can play dramatic roles well, but he’s also shown us that he has incredible comedy timing – pair that with the action experience he has from Sicario or Black Panther, and you’ve got yourself the perfect candidate to play James Bond.
So there you have it, that is the blueprint for Multiplex Pictures for the foreseeable future…what do you think? I’m really happy with my picks, and think this would make for a great movie studio building from the ground up. We have established and highly decorated talent that will pair nicely with the more un-seasoned folks who are still making a name for themselves. We have a clear direction that will please a lot of audiences without becoming stale, and we’re adding some new takes on old stories and franchises that will bring a lot of new eyes to our product. So once again, to wrap up, here is the official roster for Multiplex Pictures. We’ll see you on the big screen!
- Directors: Denis Villeneuve, Dan Levy, Greta Gerwig
- Actors: Cillian Murphy, Amber Midthunder, Iman Vellani, Daniel Kaluuya, Matt Damon
- Literary Work: Poisoner in Chief, Devil in the White City
- Wildcard: Ludwig Göransson
- Existing Franchise: James Bond
