WIRE Buzz: Amazon calling The Memory Police; Shudder buys William Friedkin / Exorcist doc; more

The Oscar-winning writer of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is teaming up with the Emmy-winning director of The Handmaid’s Tale pilot to tell a story about erasing people’s memories. Deadline is reporting that Charlie Kaufman will adapt Yoko Ogawa’s novel The Memory Police into a feature film for Amazon Studios, with Reed Morano on board to direct and produce. 

The Memory Police takes place on an unnamed island off an unnamed coast, where things begin to disappear. Small, trivial things at first, but eventually, photographs. And here’s the thing: not only are objects and mementos vanishing, but people’s memories are also starting to be wiped clean. Per the logline, “the Memory Police are determined to make sure that what has been erased, remains forgotten forever.” When a young novelist finds out that her book editor is among the select few who can still remember the world before the immediate present, she hides him underneath her floorboards and uses him to hold onto the truth while the world closes in on them.

So, this surreal story definitely sounds like a job for the people behind I’m Thinking of Ending Things and I Think We’re Alone Now.  

Shudder has announced that it has acquired Alexandre O. Philippe’s documentary Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist.  

In the documentary, which is essentially a feature-length interview with Friedkin, the filmmaker reminisces on the making of the classic 1973 horror film, his filmmaking process, and how the film explores the themes of faith and fate.

“Leap of Faith continues our commitment to bringing the best programming about horror, thriller and the supernatural to our members,” said Craig Engler, Shudder’s general manager, in a statement. “Alexander has created an unparalleled look at one of the greatest horror films of all time, giving viewers direct access to William Friedkin in this can’t-miss documentary,”

Check out the trailer below. 

Leap of Faith will be released on the streaming platform on Nov. 19.

AppleTV+ is set to debut the animated Wolfwalkers this December, and a new two-minute trailer explores more of the hand-drawn, mystical world from the animated Irish folk story from directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart.

While an earlier preview gave us a good idea of the movie’s surreal art style and tone, the new look shows a little more of protagonist Robyn Goodfellow’s night-day cycle that transforms her into a wolf when she sleeps. Check it out:

In an age when nearly every animated thing has moved the way of CGI, a hand-drawn feature-length movie stands out, and Wolfwalkers’ merging of crisp illustration with a more nostalgic, earlier animation style helped it create a big stir when the movie debuted in September at the Toronto International Film Festival. As the third installment in Moore’s trilogy of animated folklore films from Irish studio Cartoon Saloon, it’s heir to a critically-adored legacy: both its animated predecessors, The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, were nominated for Best Animated Feature Academy Awards.

Following a theatrical debut on Nov. 13, Wolfwalkers makes its way to Apple TV+ on Dec. 11.