The case in filling spots for the Catch-22 Hundred Project seems to take on a new twist every day, whether it’s deciding which 33 movies will compete for the vacated spots of Saltburn and Next Goal Wins, or pondering the possibility of exempting 10 movies from the brutal competition of getting the final Project spots. And of course, with all of that being said, the latter of the two possibilities could become a reality if only one of the Melissa Barrera-Jenna Ortega “Scream” movies wins one of those two tournaments. And given that the stock for each such movie is rising, they’ll both be well positioned to get those two spots.
But say that neither of those two movies win either of those two tournaments and end up being the two best of the 33 movies heading into each tournament, then the case for filling spots 2,141 through 2,150 becomes a real possibility, which means that fairly new or upcoming movies could avoid the brutal competition that I alluded to in the previous paragraph. And say that both of those Scream movies end up getting the vacated spots of both Saltburn and Next Goal Wins, respectively, along with none of their competitors really positioning themselves well in the tournament fields, then 10 fairly new or upcoming movies will avoid the brutal competition for legitimate shots at making the Project. And if that indeed becomes the case, then here are the 10 movies that could be competing March Madness style against In The Heights, John Wick and both Saved By The Bell movies via the chart below:
| Movie | Why it could be exempt |
| Silent Night | A revenge movie directed by John Woo, and brought to us by one of the producers of John Wick is a winning combination. |
| Anyone But You | Sydney Sweeney has a Catch-22 Hundred movie via Angels In Stardust. But unlike that movie, this movie gives her a much more substantial role. |
| The Iron Claw | Lily James galvanized movie assessing back in October via her movie “Fast Girls”, thus she could very well get rewarded with this movie being assessed sooner than expected. |
| Night Swim | This Blumhouse movie could be an early year success in 2024 like M3GAN was this year. And given that its USA wide release date is January 5, then the New Year’s Day 2024 deadline could be extended. |
| The Beekeeper | Night Swim made the case for the deadline being extended, albeit mildly. This movie, on the other hand, really makes a stronger case for that extension, as a Jason Statham movie where he takes on cyber criminals is just way too good to pass up. Plus, Statham battling both Keanu Reeves and Oscar Isaac March Madness style is something that needs to happen. |
| Bob Marley: One Love | This movie was on the verge of being a part of that brutal final battle. But the fact that it will come out not too long after The Beekeeper very likely absolves it from that battle. |
| Argylle | This movie is 10-deep via big-name celebrities being in its cast and hits that sweet spot of being released in between The Beekeeper and Bob Marley: One Love. |
| Tiger’s Apprentice | Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh have collaborated on two Catch-22 Hundred movies. This could be number three. |
| Jules | This movie’s name keeps popping up in new or fairly new movies that are awaiting immediate assessment, only to always be optioned as a final battle movie. But given this unique scenario, it could get an early advantage against the likes of Silent Night and Anyone But You. |
| The Garfield Movie | The pending moratorium on spot-fill tournaments could be lifted in early-July 2024, which could hurt this movie’s chances at becoming a Tier 5 movie before that yet to be determined deadline. But if it gets hard copy confirmation by July 3, 2024, then it avoids that brutal final battle. But that’s a big if, along with the fact that it needs to pass its assessment, regardless. |
Well everyone, that’s the latest twist in selecting movies for the Project. Nothing in the chart above is set in stone, as 22 movies still need to be assessed/re-assessed, so that there can be a viable field of candidates to choose from in filling the vacated spots of both Saltburn and Next Goal Wins. And this whole idea might go for naught, assuming that both Melissa Barrera-Jenna Ortega “Scream” movies win the two NIT style spot-fill tournaments. But a lot can change on any given day, so tune into the next few upcoming Nog Reports for more details.
To be continued.