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Duffer Brothers Reveal Billy Crudup Was Original Choice To Play Hopper

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David Harbour‘s Chief Jim Hopper is a key figure in Stranger Things‘ fictitious town of Hawkins, Indiana, eventually coming to serve as surrogate father to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and helping to unravel the central sci-fi mystery of the Upside Down. However, the twice Emmy-nominated actor was not the original choice to play the role, creators Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer revealed.

The Duffer Brothers opened up about the tidbit in a new interview from Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused. The podcast host presented the writer-producers with a question from Harbour, who was curious to know the casting process.

“I’m pretty sure I was second choice, and I don’t know who I was second choice to,” the actor said in a video question. “Maybe I was third choice? But would you please answer the question of how I came to be cast as Chief Hopper, and who had to say no to allow me to do that wonderful, incredible role.”

After shooting down Horowitz’s guess that it was Josh Brolin — based on the fact that the original actor is one of Harbour’s friends — Matt Duffer said, “No, it was Billy Crudup, which is a very different — like, everything happens for a reason, right? So it’s like, once it kind of clicks into place … But yeah, Billy Crudup passed. I don’t think he was doing much TV at the time.”

(As mentioned in the interview, Crudup is now a series regular on Apple TV’s The Morning Show, for which he earned two Emmy wins. A year after Stranger Things first premiered, he also featured alongside Naomi Watts in Netflix‘s short-lived psychological thriller series Gypsy.)

“And then David just — honestly — he just came in and one of our casting directors thought he could be great for the role,” Ross Duffer added. “But he came and read and he just did one take. We weren’t even there, we just saw the tape, and it was just so clear, instantly: This is Hopper. And we just cast him right then and there.”

Stranger Things debuted to instantaneous success on Netflix in 2016, concluding its five-season run in 2025. It has won a dozen Emmys and will once again be eligible as a contender this year. The series has additionally spawned an animated spinoff, Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85, recently renewed for a Season 2, as well as a Broadway prequel show that was taped for future feature release.

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‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Becomes Biggest Hollywood Film In India

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Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now the highest-grossing Hollywood film of all time in India after taking $10.6M over the weekend for a cumulative $52.8M take. 

The film, starring Tom Holland and Zendaya, overtook the record previously held by James Cameron’s 2022 Avatar: The Way Of Water after only 11 days of release. Opening in India on July 30, the day before its global release, the film has not faced much competition, although two big local films – Batwara 1947, starring Sunny Deol, and Nitin Kakkar’s Awarapan 2, starring Emraan Hashmi – are set to open this coming weekend. 

It’s been a strong summer for Hollywood films in India, with both Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which opened on July 17, and Obsession, an early summer release on May 29, reportedly grossing more than the INR1B ($10M) benchmark. 

Hollywood and other foreign films usually only have a 10-15% share of the Indian market, where local fare dominates. In 2025, international films clocked up a 10% market share with Avatar: Fire And Ash the top-grossing Hollywood film on $26.4M, according to Ormax Media figures. In comparison, the highest-grossing local film last year, Hindi-language action epic Dhurandhar, took $104.8m

In the first half of 2026, international films had an 8% share, with Obsession grossing around $10M (INR1B) and Project Hail Mary on $9.2M (INR880M). Dhurandhar: The Revenge topped the first half chart with $132m.

Overall, India is having an encouraging year at the box office. Ormax Media has reported that revenues for the six months January to June 2026 reached $661.66M (INR63.98B), making it the highest-grossing first half of any year since the pandemic, and surpassing the first half of 2025 by around 10%.

Upcoming films include Geetu Mohandas’ Toxic, starring Yash, scheduled for August 26; and Ramayana: Part 1, which is expected for Diwali in November and was recently picked up by Sony for worldwide distribution.

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Indian Star Sayani Gupta Sets U.S. Feature Debut With ‘Arya’

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EXCLUSIVE: Sayani Gupta will make her U.S. feature film debut in Arya. The Indian star’s credits include Delhi Crime and Axone, and cameras are rolling on her new movie, with principal photography taking place in Duluth, Minnesota.

Directed by Neil Tuli, Arya follows Arya Sinha (Gupta). She is a disciplined piano teacher from a prestigious Indian conservatory, who reluctantly takes an assignment in northern Minnesota, hoping to rescue a struggling band program, as well as fuel her career ambitions back home.

Per the synopsis, as she clashes with her chaotic new environment, Arya is forced to let go of control, confront her hidden insecurities, and embrace a new vision of success.

Gupta’s breakout role was in Shonali Bose’s Margarita with a Straw, portraying a blind Pakistani-Bangladeshi queer student activist. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014. She also starred in Parched and The Hungry, which also premiered at TIFF.

The actor was nominated for an International Indian Film Academy award for her role in Hindi-language socio-political drama Article 15, which is currently streaming on Netflix.

Arya is Tuli’s feature directorial debut. He has held strategy roles at both Netflix and Illumination.

The film is also produced under his banner American Haathi, alongside Pallavi & Keertana Sastry (Land of Gold) from Adda G Productions. Gupta is repped by Matt Kniaz at Crimson Media and Suchir Batra with Zero Gravity Management.

Gupta, who also wrote, directed and produced the short film Aasmani, is an exec producer on the indie feature film.

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Mad World Boards Sales On Venice-Bound Egyptian Drama ‘Al Baraneya’

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EXCLUSIVE: Mad World, the film sales arm of Cairo-based Mad Solutions, has acquired worldwide sales rights to Egyptian drama Al Baraneya ahead of its premiere in Venice parallel section Giornate degli Autori.

The debut feature of Dutch-Egyptian filmmaker Ashgan El-Hamus, the film follows the fate of Al Amal, a pregnant young woman living with her extended family in the Egyptian village of Al Baraneya.

When the family is offered the chance to sell their land, long-held certainties begin to unravel, leaving Amal torn between the traditions that shaped her and the promise of a different future in the city.

Produced by Frank Hoeve of Amsterdam-based Baldr Film; Kesmat Elsayed of Berlin-based Seera Films, and Eurydice Gysel of Brussels-based Czar Film, Al Baraneya is a Dutch-Egyptian-Belgian-Saudi co-production.

The acquisition marks Mad World’s second collaboration with Seera’s Elsayed after their collaboration on Mohamed Rashad’s Berlinale 2025-selected The Settlement.

Amsterdam-based Baldr Film has built an international reputation for championing auteur-driven cinema, with recent credits including the Oscar-nominated documentary Soundtrack to a Coup d’État; Cannes Grand Prix winner All We Imagine as Light; Willem van Ewijk’s Venice Giornate degli Autori Best European Film winner Alpha, and Torino Film Festival winner The Garden of Earthly Delights.

Al Baraneya is El-Hamus’ feature directorial debut following a series of acclaimed short films, including Birdland. Drawing from her own family’s experiences, she cast her Egyptian relatives alongside actress Reem Amer to create an authentic portrait of family, womanhood, and belonging.

“I wanted to tell a story about belonging, womanhood, and the quiet tension between tradition and change through characters whose relationships feel lived rather than performed,” she says of the film.

“We’re delighted to bring Al Baraneya to international audiences,” said Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, co-founders of Mad Solutions.

“Ashgan El-Hamus has crafted a deeply personal and emotionally resonant debut that reflects the richness of Arab storytelling through a universal lens. We are proud to partner with the filmmakers as the film begins its international journey with its world premiere in Venice.”

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