There’s a behind-the-scenes shake-up on a new project produced by Adam McKay, the guy who used to make funny movies that were sometimes serious and now gets awards for making serious movies that are sometimes funny. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Succession director Mark Mylod has stepped in to replace Alexander Payne on The Menu, a horror-comedy/psychological thriller that we heard a bit about last year. At the time, with Payne still directing, Emma Stone and Ralph Fiennes were attached to star, but it doesn’t sound like either of them are on board anymore (it’s been a hell of a decade since 2019, we can’t blame anyone for letting plans fall through).
The Menu is about a couple who gets a chance to dine at an “exclusive restaurant on a remote island where an acclaimed chef has prepared a lavish tasting menu,” but the THR story doesn’t say what makes this a spooky story. Last year we guessed that it’s because the lavish tasting menu involves eating people, which still seems like the obvious bet, but we’re older and wiser now so we’re going to make a new guess. Instead of people, let’s say it involves cute baby animals. Actually, that’s a real thing people eat, so maybe… uh… people? C’mon, they’re eating people. Put “they’re eating people” on the poster just so nobody feels like they got bamboozled.