Amazon MGM label Orion has scooped up the hot packages of Rising Authery Janiac, a screenwriter who has officially pivoted from the horror genre he has made it to watch in Hollywood.
Janiak will direct and executive produce “Harness,” a label run by Alana Mayo and producer Elizabeth Banks, from his own script that he blacklisted in 2023.
“In the violent world of underground horse racing, the aspiring female jockey and her trainer’s stepbrothers are intertwined with illegal relationships filled with blood, sweat and sex that push the boundaries of the body and law,” reads the project’s blacklist logline. Casting is currently underway.
Banks’ Brownstone Productions – the company behind the “Cocaine Bear” and “Pitch Perfect” franchises – quickly moved to remove scripts from their competitors from the table. Produced by Brownstone Principal’s banks, Max Handelman and Allison Small. The company previously performed a breakout indie “Bottom” with Orion, led by Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebili.
Janiak directed multiple episodes of HBO’s famous miniseries, The Staircase, and in particular led Chernin and Netflix’s 2021 “Fear Street” film trilogy (shooting all three features in a row).
Brownstone is busy. Their current film slate includes “Dreamkill,” starring Banks and John C. Reilly, and “Diplomatic” starring Glenn Powell and Nick Jonas (in development at Amazon MGM Studios). On the TV side, future projects include “Pitch Perfect: K-Pop Idol” and “Crash.”
Janiac is represented by Verve and Yorn Levine. Banks and Brownstone are represented by UTA, Untitled Entertainment and JSSK.
