A major detail regarding the plot of Adam Sandler's second collaboration with filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie has been revealed. Sandler first saddled up with the Safdie brothers for Uncut Gems, which gave his acting career a much-needed spark after a spate of comedy flops. The success of Uncut Gems elevated Sandler's dramatic acting profile, while making the Safdies a household name. Sandler announced he would reteam with the Safdies in April 2022, and the project is officially gaining momentum.
The Safdie brothers next feature with Sandler will be their first tly-created project since Uncut Gems, which released in 2019. But, the brothers have stayed busy, with Benny, the actor of the two, landing big roles in Licorice Pizza and Christopher Nolan's film Oppenheimer. Meanwhile, Sandler parlayed the positive critical reception of Uncut Gems into more serious roles, including his recently released sports drama Hustle. Both the Safdies and Sandler are trending upwards, as each Safdie brothers film has profited more than the last, and Sandler enjoys the career reinvention spurred by Uncut Gems.
Sources told reporters at Deadline that the film is set in the world of high-end card collecting. The Safdie brothers are penning the script together, just as they had done for Uncut Gems and a string of shorts the duo made before their careers took off. For his part, Sandler said that committing to a Safdie feature will come at the expense of personal time with his family, but that the work is gratifying and meaningful to him and the filmmaking brothers. Sandler and the Safdie brothers' second feature film will be platformed by Netflix, and the production house is aiming to start shooting by early-to-mid 2023.
Why This Premise Is Good News For The Uncut Gems Reunion
Card collecting has had a major 21st century resurgence. Since 2008, the value of the trading card market has outgrown the standard-bearer of the stock market, the S&P 500, in of return on investment. Trading cards come in many forms, from fantasy game cards like Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh to sports cards that appreciate in value over the course of a player's career. The plot is more likely to focus on the latter, as the Safdie brothers are noted sports fans, as evidenced by both Uncut Gems' sports-intensive plot and the brothers' many appearances at New York Knicks basketball games. Sandler is also a basketball fan, and a fairly skilled player himself, despite the fact the actor is prone to injuring himself while hooping.
Similar to the way Uncut Gems showcased the seedy world of high-stakes gambling, Sandler-Safdie II will likely explore a space that many are aware of, but few personally explore. The industry of card collecting and memorabilia promotion is potent with fakery, theft, and swindling, and because the assets can be so valuable, it's anything but a game. The team of Sandler, Benny and Josh Safdie reuniting for another feature could firm up the brothers' filmmaking cache while platforming another unexpectedly dynamic performance from Adam Sandler.
Source: Deadline
