Shutout: What is the new Jenna Ortega and Robert De Niro film about? Details revealed

Shutout will be the latest addition to the Cannes Film Market (The Marché du Film), which will take place between 13-21 May 2025. David O. Russell has been roped in to direct this feature film, which stars Jenna Ortega and Robert De Niro in the central roles. Alejandro Adams has written the screenplay, and its logline reads,

"It follows a pool hustler whose personal and professional career is reignited when he meets a young prodigy."

Black Bear Pictures will introduce this project to international buyers at the film market. A recent announcement reveals that they are also backing Angelina Jolie's Anxious People at the Cannes Market.

Shutout: Everything we know about this Jenna Ortega and Robert De Niro starrer at the Cannes market

Expand Tweet

Shutout will show Robert De Niro and David O. Russell collaborating once again as an actor-director duo after 2012's Silver Linings Playbook, 2015's Joy, and 2022's Amsterdam. Joining De Niro in the central role is Wednesday star Jenna Ortega.

The David O. Russell-directed directorial will show De Niro playing a seasoned pool hustler while Ortega, as a young prodigy, is on her way to becoming a legend herself. The detailed synopsis of Shutout, per Deadline, reads,

"The pic will follow Jake Kejeune, one of the last masters of a vanishing craft — the pool hustler. Having lived and lost by the roll of a ball in smoky backroom halls, Jake encounters Mia, a young prodigy whose raw, electrifying talent reignites a fire he thought long extinguished. Sensing a rare opportunity to shape a legend, Jake takes Mia under his wing, honing her instincts and sharpening her natural gift. Together, they plunge into the ruthless world of high-stakes pool, where the line between unimaginable fortune and devastating failure is razor-thin. As Mia’s star ascends and her ambition grows, Jake must confront the ultimate question: can he steer her to greatness, or will her hunger for victory eclipse everything he has taught her?"

Based on these details, the central premise sounds similar to Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money, which showed Paul Newman and Tom Cruise in a similar dynamic. There, Newman's Eddie Felson taught Cruise's Vincent Lauria valuable lessons in pool hustling.

In addition to being the director of Shutout, David O. Russell also serves as a producer along with Jeff Kirschenbaum, Mark Bomback, and Joe Roth from RK Films.

When speaking about this collaboration, Kirschenbaum said,

“We’re delighted to be collaborating with the acclaimed director David O. Russell and the legendary Robert De Niro, and especially excited to see Jenna step into the spotlight alongside these two cinematic icons. It’s a rare and thrilling opportunity to support such a high-caliber team coming together to tell a compelling story — a lineup so precise, it feels like the perfect break.”

Besides Shutout, Jenna Ortega has a few more projects on the horizon, including Taika Waititi's Kazuo Ishiguro adaptation, Klara and the Sun, and the Weeknd's Hurry Up Tomorrow. She also plans to direct a screenplay she has been writing for almost a decade.

Robert De Niro, who recently starred in The Alto Knights, will also be in the cast of Brad Furman's Tin Soldier and James Ashcroft's The Whisper Man.