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| Jenna Ortega - Photo Credit Ben Cope |
Director David O. Russell is reuniting with longtime collaborator Robert De Niro for Shutout, a new high-stakes drama that also stars rising screen icon Jenna Ortega. The film, from Black Bear and RK Films, will be introduced to international buyers this month at the Cannes Film Market.
Best known for American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook, and The Fighter, Russell will direct from a script by Alejandro Adams. The film centers on the gritty world of underground pool halls and generational ambition. De Niro plays Jake Kejeune, a weathered master of a vanishing craft—the pool hustler. When he encounters Mia (Ortega), a young woman with raw, natural talent and unrelenting drive, he finds himself drawn back into the cutthroat world he once ruled.
As mentor and protégé navigate a circuit of backroom tables and mounting stakes, the film explores the tension between legacy and ambition. Jake must wrestle with whether Mia’s growing hunger for greatness will preserve—or obliterate—the craft he devoted his life to mastering.
The project marks yet another creative chapter in De Niro and Russell’s long-standing partnership, which began with Silver Linings Playbook and continued through American Hustle and Joy. While De Niro remains a towering figure in American cinema, garnering two Academy Awards and numerous accolades, Shutout sees him stepping into a more vulnerable role, that of a man confronting obsolescence in the face of youth and change.
Jenna Ortega, meanwhile, continues her meteoric rise. Her Emmy-nominated performance in Wednesday and box office turns in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and the Scream franchise have established her as a generational talent with rare range. In Shutout, Ortega moves into dramatic territory, sharing top billing with De Niro in a film designed to showcase both actors’ intensity and nuance.
“Collaborating with David O. Russell and Robert De Niro again is a gift,” said producer Jeff Kirschenbaum of RK Films. “Bringing Jenna Ortega into the mix makes this one of those rare projects where every piece fits—like the perfect break on a pool table.”
In addition to Russell, producers include Kirschenbaum and Joe Roth of RK Films, alongside Mark Bomback (Defending Jacob, War for the Planet of the Apes). CAA Media Finance is handling U.S. rights.
The film leads a busy Cannes slate for Black Bear, which also includes Anxious People starring Angelina Jolie and Train Dreams, which sold to Netflix after its Sundance premiere. Black Bear’s growing slate signals the studio’s ongoing expansion in both prestige and commercial cinema.
As the project begins to generate early buzz at Cannes, Shutout positions itself not only as a performance showcase but also as a meditation on mentorship, legacy, and the high-stakes gamble of greatness.
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