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Buffalo Bills Star Ray Davis: Movie Set on Foster Care Journey to NFL

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Buffalo Bills running back and kick returner Ray Davis’ journey in the foster care system is barreling forward as a feature film.

Crossroad Productions is in development on the inspirational drama movie Breakaway Ray, which has Gary Fleder (Runaway Jury, The Express, Reacher) set to direct from a script by Point Break and Varsity Blues screenwriter W. Peter Iliff, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Blue Fox Financing is financing the project that has the support of the NFL‘s Buffalo Bills and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Breakaway Ray centers on the early years for the athlete who earned a spot in the NFL’s most recent Pro Bowl. The film that is in the works would center on a 9-year-old Davis in San Francisco as he deals with poverty, due to his mother battling addiction and his incarcerated father not being in the picture. After spotting a poster for youth mentoring group Big Brothers Big Sisters, Davis makes a call and is paired with Patrick, a young Google employee who becomes his mentor and must soon navigate Davis’ dad also wanting to be involved in his life.

Casting is currently underway to find a young actor to portray Davis, whom the Bills took in the fourth round of the 2024 draft out of the University of Kentucky. Breakaway Ray is eyeing a February 2027 production launch in Davis’ hometown of San Francisco, with the sports project having secured the California Film Tax Credit and the Scene in San Francisco incentive program. Patrick Rizzotti (Pride, The Collector, The Super) produces the movie that counts Lanie Albin as co-producer.

Ray Davis takes a photo with Buffalo Bills fans during an NFL game on Nov. 2.

Jason Miller/Getty Images

The Buffalo Bills had a rocky stretch over the years — which included losing four consecutive Super Bowls in the 1990s — before an era of renewal that began with the drafting of superstar quarterback Josh Allen in 2018. Since then, the Bills have shed their status as a punchline and become a Hollywood darling, with the team starring on the most recent season of HBO’s Hard Knocks and THR having previously reported that a documentary is in the works about defensive player Damar Hamlin and his recovery from on-field cardiac arrest.

“Mentorship has been proven to be one of the most powerful ways to change the trajectory of a young person’s life — and Ray’s story is an impactful example of what happens when young people, regardless of their circumstances, have the opportunity to dream bigger and realize their potential,” says Big Brothers Big Sisters of America chief marketing and communications officer Adam Vasallo.

Rizzotti adds, “Ray’s story transcends . It’s about the universal need for connection, hope and mentorship. This project represents what storytelling is meant to do, and I’m very lucky to be a part of it.”

Davis notes his pride that his path has allowed him to support young people in foster care: “Football gave me something no one else did — it gave me a reason to keep going. If my story helps even one kid feel seen, or inspires one mentor to step up, then everything I went through was worth it.”

Iliff says, “My months interviewing Ray, his father and Big Brother Patrick ignited a passion in me that I’ve seldom experienced in my writing. The unbreakable human spirit displayed by young Ray is a reminder that anything is possible in this life.”

Fleder emphasizes that the film won’t be a “glossy Hollywood version of a sports legend.” He explains, “It needs grit, urgency and rawness. This film will capture both the harsh realities Ray faced and the quiet power of someone simply showing up.”

Adds Buffalo Bills vp of communications Derek Boyko, “This project is more than a movie — it’s a lifeline of hope to children across our country facing similar challenges. Getting to know Ray and Patrick, and learning about their relationship, has been truly inspiring.”

The film’s team hopes to give attention to the more than 300,000 children currently in the U.S. foster care system. The project will also highlight the importance of mentorship through programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters, which has partnered with the NFL since 2019.

“We’re excited to welcome this production to San Francisco and to help tell Ray Davis’ powerful story where it all began,” says Manijeh Fata, executive director of Film SF for the San Francisco Film Commission. “We’re grateful to the production team for their commitment to authenticity and choosing to film here. It’s an honor to support a project that highlights resilience, mentorship and the spirit of a city where people find strength and hope.”

Davis is represented by Ed Barry of CAA. Iliff and Fleder are repped by David Saunders of AIG.

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Jennifer Lawrence Boards Zach Cregger’s New Line Pic ‘The Flood’

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What has been buzzed about is becoming a reality: Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence is starring in Zach Cregger‘s next movie, The Flood at Warner Bros’ New Line Cinema. The pic has a release date of August. 11, 2028.

The sci-fi thriller project brings the Weapons filmmaker back to New Line on which he’ll direct, produce and write based on his original idea. The news comes just as Cregger’s Resident Evil for Sony/Constantin has just crossed the two century mark at the global box office.

Said Cregger, “Mike, Pam and the whole Warner Bros./New Line team were an absolute dream to collaborate with on Weapons, and I couldn’t be happier to dive in with them again. Jennifer is one of a kind, and I’m beyond excited to see her in this role.”

“Jennifer Lawrence is one of the most gifted and compelling actors working today, and we are thrilled to have her at the center of Zach’s bold and wholly original vision for The Flood. Following our extraordinary experience together on Weapons, we could not be more excited to reunite with Zach and the team at Vertigo, as well as Amblin to bring this ambitious film to audiences around the world,” said Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy.

Amblin Entertainment is producing alongside Roy Lee and Miri Yoon of Vertigo Entertainment. Plot details are being kept under wraps.

Weapons led the domestic box office for four consecutive weeks and earned $270 million worldwide last year, ranking among 2025’s highest-grossing horror films. Amy Madigan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Aunt Gladys, a character whose story will continue in the upcoming film Gladys.

Lawrence received the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook and has also starred in American Hustle, Joy, Don’t Look Up, and The Hunger Games franchise. Through her production company, Excellent Cadaver, she has produced acclaimed films including Causeway, No Hard Feelings, and Die My Love, as well as the documentaries Zurawski v Texas and the Peabody Award-winning Bread and Roses. Most recently, Lawrence earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in Die My Love. Up next, Excellent Cadaver will produce the highly anticipated What Happens at Night, starring Lawrence alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese.

Lawrence is represented by LBI Entertainment and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman.

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Trump Looks To Rebrand AI As “Super Intelligence”

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Amid a backlash against data centers, worries of massive job loss and doomsday warnings from the industry itself, Donald Trump stood with top tech CEOs and pitched a rebrand.

“We’ve changed the name officially to SI,” Trump told reporters gathered just outside the West Wing, referring to the switch from “artificial intelligence” to “super intelligence.”

The president planned to sign an executive order as such on Tuesday afternoon, but it remains to be seen whether it actually will take hold when AI has become so ubiquitous.

Standing with Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and SpaceX’s Elon Musk, among others, Trump also said that the White House meeting between the top executives produced a “self-policing” agreement and one that would be “morally binding.”

Three years ago, when Joe Biden was president, many of the same CEOs gathered on Capitol Hill for a forum on AI led by then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. But that meeting, along with others he held to address concerns over the technology, produced no new regulation.

Trump has continued to dismiss calls for greater regulation, warning of a race with China to dominate the technology. And he’s also expressed continued support for data centers even amid a backlash in local communities that has drawn opposition from lawmakers in both parties.

“The data centers are incredible,” Trump said. “And by the way I am very good at real estate. Some of those buildings are absolutely beautiful. They are big strong powerful buildings but they are beautiful.”

Zuckerberg said, “I think what we can all agree on is that the American public and our customers want to know that what we are building is working the way we intended. We drafted a set of principles and commitments around building robust internal controls and detecting any issues with the technology, coupled with multiple layers of auditing and controls, starting with internal risk review, external auditors and evaluators, and agreeing that we are going to have all of our board of directors independently review the reports that come from the auditors.”

He added, “The idea isn’t that this is the only thing we will ever do, it is that this is a start and an accord that the whole industry can come to.”

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Jennifer Lawrence to Star in Zach Cregger’s The Flood

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Jennifer Lawrence will star in Zach Cregger’s sci-fi thriller The Flood.

Warner Bros.’ New Line division is behind the movie, having picked up the project out of turnaround from Netflix earlier this year.

Cregger wrote the script and will direct and produce the thriller, which is based on his original idea and is set for theatrical release on August 11, 2028.

With Cregger’s Resident Evil movie now out and a hit, this is the filmmaker’s next movie to go. Production is due to begin in Europe in the first months of 2027.

Amblin Entertainment is producing alongside Cregger’s frequent collaborators, Roy Lee and Miri Yoon of Vertigo Entertainment.

Lawrence’s casting is a coup – for any studio, really – as the actress is known for being quite choosy. Most recently, she earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in post-partum drama Die My Love and will next be seen with Leonardo DiCaprio in drama What Happens at Night, directed by Martin Scorsese.

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