Screen Gems Lands 'Mime' Horror With John David Washington
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- Sony's Screen Gems won the supernatural horror package "Mime," beating out Amazon and Searchlight in a competitive bid.
- John David Washington is set to star in the film, which sources describe as set in a NYC apartment complex during a heat wave blackout.
- Nikyatu Jusu, whose debut "Nanny" became the first horror film to win Sundance's Grand Jury Prize in 2022, will direct from Stephen Herman's original screenplay.
- Producers Matt Tolmach, Scott Derrickson (under his Crooked Highway banner), Camila Grove, and Washington himself are attached; the film is in active development with a planned spring shoot.
- Amazon and Blumhouse previously acquired Jusu's "Nanny" for $7M out of Sundance 2022 — the same Amazon that lost this week's bidding to Screen Gems.
Why it matters: Screen Gems activated its existing first-look deal with Derrickson to land the package without a new studio commitment, pairing Washington's commercial draw with Jusu's festival credibility. Producer Tolmach is currently producing Sony's Jumanji: Open World, keeping the entire package within Sony's existing infrastructure.
