Mimi Cave made a splash in 2022 by directing the cannibal thriller Fresh, but her follow-up, Holland, wasn’t so hot when it opened last year. Still, she’s a talented filmmaker who makes bold choices, and her next film, titled Pumping Black, has attracted two top-tier stars.
Variety reports that Oscar winner Natalie Portman and Jonathan Bailey will star in Pumping Black, a psychological thriller directed by Cave from a script by Haley Hope Bartels. The story “follows cyclist Taylor Mace, who at 35-years-old is finding himself aging out of the sport. He is taken under the wing of Andrea Lathe, a doctor driven by her own thirst for victory and power. As the race to the Tour de France progresses, Taylor must take increasingly dark measures to protect his secret.”
Sounds like some Lance Armstrong performance-enhancing drug stuff.
Bailey is coming off a blockbuster 2025 that saw him crowned box office champion after the successes of Jurassic World Rebirth and Wicked: For Good.
Portman recently attended Sundance for the world premiere of Cathy Yan’s The Gallerist, in which she stars alongside Jenna Ortega. I remember the reviews not being too great, and it still doesn’t have major distribution or a release date. Portman also has Lena Dunham’s Netflix comedy Good Sex opening later this year.
