Natasha Lyonne to write and direct Bambo movie

Natasha Lyonne will write and direct new movie Bambo.

The Poker Face star is set to helm the upcoming movie – which is set in the 1980s and features a Brooklyn-born boxing-promoter father as he tries and fails to make it big and “takes his kid daughter along for the hurly burly ride of tax evasion, cocaine, race cars, lost dreams and heartbreak”, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Natasha will produce the movie through her Animal Pictures banner with Max Ferguson, along with Craig Mazin for Word Games and Sarah Sarandos.

Shooting is set to begin in the summer of 2026.

The film will be Natasha’s second as a director, after she previously announced her feature directorial debut with the AI film Uncanny Valley.

She recently co-founded The Creators Coalition on AI (CCAI), which hopes to act as a central coordinating hub to upgrade industry systems and institutions about how AI is impacting all industries.

Speaking recently about using AI for her upcoming directorial debut, she told Deadline: “When you’re not generating in Midjourney, it takes longer, basically, because it’s a team of artists in there. We’re looking at every image and kind of dialling it in. Everything I’ve done is always sort of a five-year span from inception to the touch-and-go cycle of cast coming together with the budget.

“I think it’s worth remembering that we need hope and new ideas, and to remember that we’re kind of the architects of this moment, and how we all choose to show up for each other is really key.”