Tracee Ellis Ross and Bel Powley Play Cutthroat Journalists in “Cold Copy” Trailer (Exclusive)

Roxine Helberg’s feature directorial debut, about two women “pushing the boundaries of journalistic integrity,” arrives Jan. 26

Tracee Ellis Ross and Bel Powley are risking it all for a great story in their upcoming movie Cold Copy.

In theaters and on demand Jan. 26, the thriller follows Mia Scott (Powley), a struggling student of journalism who becomes desperate to impress ruthless news reporter Diane Heger (Ross) — even if it means getting her attention by falsifying reporting.

PEOPLE has the exclusive first trailer for Cold Copy, written and directed by Roxine Helberg in her feature directorial debut.

“Journalism isn’t a vocation,” Diane posits to a class in its opening moments. “It’s a persona.”

Cold Copy “tells the story of two driven women pushing the boundaries of journalistic integrity for the sake of delivering a compelling, and ultimately scandalous, exposé,” per an official synopsis from distributor Vertical Entertainment.

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The new trailer offers glimpses of Mia’s quest for a juicy story, which leads her to dig into the mysterious backstory of “precocious teen” Igor Nowak (Jacob Tremblay). We also see Diane schooling Mia on how to manipulate subjects and readers — and possibly manipulating Mia herself. 

“With increasing pressure from Diane to outperform her peers, Mia finds a new angle for her latest story about an unsuspecting subject,” the synopsis continues. “But her new approach involves manipulating his story — and the truth itself.”

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In a statement, writer-director Helberg underlined that theme. “In making my first feature, I set out to explore the personal cost of the manipulation of truth,” said the writer-director, who has previously helmed short films and assisted the late Jean-Marc Vallée on Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects.

When Cold Copy premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival in June, Ross discussed with Variety “how a narrative can change the truth.”

“You can create a frame around a story that completely changes the identity of a human being, their humanity,” Ross said at the time, mentioning different interviews over the years of her mother Diana Ross. “I think Diane Hager really is a part of that system.”

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The Black-ish actress also said she studied female news anchors and read Katie Couric’s book Going There. Diane is a character “I’ve never seen in myself,” she said. “Even when Roxine sent me the poster picture, it took me a minute to remember that was me. I was like, ‘Who is this?’”

Reviewing the film in June, Deadline critic Damon Wise drew a parallel between Cold Copy and 2014's Jake Gyllenhaal thriller Nightcrawler, writing, "Roxine Helberg’s satisfying feature debut taps back into the same dark wells of… corruption and power.”

Ross also starred in recent awards contender American Fiction and holiday hit Candy Cane Lane. Powley has earned numerous award nominations for her work as Miep Gies in 2023 miniseries A Small Light.

Cold Copy is in select theaters and on demand Jan. 26. It costars Nesta Cooper, James Tupper and Ekaterina Baker.

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