Josh Safdie Will Direct Adam Sandler’s Netflix Stand-Up Special

Samantha Bergeson
·2 min read
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Adam Sandler is continuing his Safdie collaborations with another Netflix project.

While the “SNL” alum and Happy Madison mega-producer is set to star in the Safdie Brothers’ upcoming untitled sports memorabilia Netflix movie, Josh Safdie will direct Sandler in a stand-up comedy special for the streamer. The as-yet untitled special will be Sandler’s second for Netflix after his 2018 Emmy-nominated “100% Fresh.”

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Sandler’s Netflix deal, which has been extended twice, produced films like “Leo,” “You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah,” “Hustle,” and two “Murder Mystery” movies. Sandler also stars in “Spaceman” alongside Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano; the feature will be released on Netflix March 1.

The Safdie Brothers have marked a creative split as of late, with Benny Safdie co-writing the Sandler-fronted sports movie but stepping away as co-director. Josh Safdie will solo direct.

Benny Safdie, who will make his own solo feature directorial debut with A24’s “The Smashing Machine,” told GQ that the Safdie Brothers’ production banner Elara Pictures is “still there” in existence but on pause.

“We work on a lot of documentaries and there’s just a constant flow of ideas,” Benny Safdie said in July 2023 about brother Josh Safdie. “It just felt like, OK, there’s things that I want to explore that don’t necessarily align right now with Josh. So it’s a divide and conquer mentality. He wants to tell this story, he can go and do that. I’m going to go and do a couple of other things. It seems like a natural progression for how things have happened.”

Benny also co-created the A24/Showtime series “The Curse” with Nathan Fielder and starred in “Oppenheimer.”

The Safdies are not the only sibling duo who have explored separate paths. Joel and Ethan Coen launched their respective solo directing careers, with Joel’s 2021 “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and Ethan Coen’s upcoming “Drive Away Dolls.” The duo are set to reunite with an upcoming joint project in the vein of “Blood Simple.”

Lilly Wachowski, whose sister Lana Wachowski directed 2021’s “The Matrix Resurrections” by herself, announced she will helm dramedy “Trash Mountain” with Colin Trevorrow producing.

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