The Bubble (2022)

Following a problematic film role that nearly destroyed her career, actress Carol Cobb (Karen Gillan) is given the opportunity to revive her reputation by reluctantly reprising her role as the heroic Dr. Lacey Nightingale in the sixth installment of the wildly popular Cliff Beasts franchise: Cliff Beasts 6: Battle for Everest: Memories of a Requiem.

Carol had turned down appearing in the fifth film in favor of doing the aforementioned panned role, and she fears that her former Cliff Beasts cast-mates may hold a grudge against her for abandoning them and the franchise. She is forced to take the role as her previous film bombed, where she played a half Israeli, half Palestinian, fighting aliens. Paula (Kate McKinnon), the studio executive overseeing the Cliff Beasts franchise (who is holidaying at a ski resort, while the shoot is on). Gavin (Peter Serafinowicz), executive producer of the Cliff Beasts franchise. Scott Dawson (Nick Kocher), the behind-the-scenes stills photographer. Bola (Samson Kayo), the cast coordinator. Gunther (Harry Trevaldwyn), the awkward COVID safety officer. Gavin reports to Paula, who reports to Tom (John Lithgow), the studio chairman. Ronjon (Vir Das), the owner of the hotel playing host to the Cliff Beasts 6 cast and crew. One of the first major film productions to begin shooting in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cliff Beasts cast arrive at a swanky English hotel and must self-quarantine for two weeks prior to the shoot. During these two weeks, Carol slowly loses her sanity being stuck in her room. After this period is over, a welcome back party is organized for the cast and crew. Here, Carol happily reunites with co-stars Dustin (David Duchovny) (the workaholic lead of the Cliff Beasts franchise who portrays the character Dr. Hal Packard), Howie (Guz Khan) (an actor who portrays Jarrar, the comic relief character) and Sean (Keegan-Michael Key) (an actor who portrays the Cliff Beasts character Colt Rockwell and promotes himself as a wellness guru when not on-camera) but has an awkward meeting with Lauren (Leslie Mann) (an actress who portrays a Cliff Beasts fan favorite character named Dolly), the only Cliff Beasts co-star that appears bitter after Carol's abandonment. The party also welcomes two series newcomers, Dieter ((Pedro Pascal) a serious veteran actor portraying a new character and tragic villain named Gio), a respected, but indifferent veteran actor, and Krysta (Iris Apatow) (a TikTok superstar who joins the Cliff Beasts 6 cast as the character Vivian Joy), a young TikTok sensation brought in to attract a younger demographic. The latter quickly forms an alliance with Carla (Galen Hopper) (the daughter of the stunt coordinator and Gavin's production assistant), a deadpan on-set production assistant who's around her age. Director Darren Eigan (Fred Armisen) (a former indie filmmaker hired to direct Cliff Beasts 6), an enthusiastic, but frazzled indie filmmaker tries to boost team morale and make the shoot something special but comes off as pretentious. Darren clashes with leading man Dustin, who constantly bombards Darren with revised versions of the film's script to fit his own vision. Dieter harbors a crush on Anika (Maria Bakalova), the hotel's sweet front desk clerk, and hits on her. She responds that she's interested but wants to build a proper relationship with him first before jumping into sex. As Dieter gets more and more starved for sex, he proceeds to have intercourse with Kate (Daisy Ridley), an exercise AI after a drug binge. Shooting begins and for the first few days, everything appears to be going according to plan. Sean humorously learns to fly a helicopter up and down. However, a rocky series of events occur that repeatedly delay the production even further. During a group meditation session, Howie succumbs to paranoia and quits the film in a panic. As a result, Howie's Cliff Beasts character is killed off in a gruesome display. Bored in the hotel, Krystal and Carla sneak out and go partying in the city. This gains traction online and gets Krystal canceled for her behavior, losing her a large portion of followers. Later the cast tests positive for influenza, linked to a delivery girl who had brought them all their coffee. Despite their sicknesses, the studio forces them to film, leading to them all violently vomiting during an intense shoot. The cast is told to self-quarantine yet again. Introduced is the mysterious Mr. Best (Ross Lee), who claims to be the head of a new security team sent by the studio to watch over the cast and the film's production. Best installs location detectors on all crew to keep an eye on their movements. Day 61. While in the hotel, Carol's boyfriend breaks up with her over the phone. A dejected Carol ends up encountering a handsome member of a football team who's residing at the hotel. Carol nearly has a fling with him before he reveals he's married and that he already has multiple girlfriends and mistresses. Infuriated, Carol tries to rally together her cast-mates and fight for their rights as workers, as they are being forced to work during illness. Day 94. When the shoot starts back up again, Carol realizes that almost all of her character's dialogue and actions have been either given to Krystal or omitted. Humiliated after shooting a scene where Dr. Lacey urinates in fear, Carol suspects this is the studio's way of getting back at her for leaving the franchise, and for complaining to the studio. Carol has a heart-to-heart with Darren (in the swimming pool, where he tries to come on to her) and tells him of her concerns, Darren promises to talk to the higher-ups about giving Carol her dialogue back but this backfires. Lauren tries to escape from the hotel in a frenzy one night, after a fight with Dustin. Mr. Best's men graphically shoot one of her hands off, leaving her in the hospital for the remainder of the shoot. Mr. Best claims that his men thought Lauren was a crazed fan that had wandered onto the premises, but the cast theorizes that Mr. Best himself is the crazed fan who wants them to complete the movie by any means necessary. Carol speaks to her agent Marti (Rob Delaney), and says that the studio is mistreating the actors and this way they would be shooting the movie forever. Marti counters that as per contract she needs to complete the movie or she would owe the studio 114 MM dollars. Darren announces that after completing Cliff Beasts 6, the cast will roll right into shooting Cliff Beast 7. Krystal helps Carol shoot a video message to all her fans on TikTok, but Carla intervenes and deletes the video, saying that Carol sounds like a whining celebrity, which is not what the world wants. One night, the remaining cast take drugs together and bond over the grievances they've been having not only with the shoot but also with themselves. Shortly afterwards, they film an elaborate dancing TikTok with Krystal. During this Dieter collapses due to the drugs. The cast quickly works together in an attempt to revive him but to no avail. However, Anika manages to revive him, cementing their relationship. This event inspires Carol, noticing the cast's long-forgotten effective teamwork. The reinvigorated friendship proves strong and they organize a getaway plan. As they shoot the climax, Dustin creates a distraction by clashing with Darren about the script revisions while the rest of the cast members leave the set and try to avoid getting caught by Mr. Best and his men. Carla reveals she was a studio mole put in place to befriend Krystal and spy on the cast, leading to a live-streamed fistfight between the two girls. Meanwhile, Carol is chased down and nearly caught by a relentless Mr. Best but is saved at the last moment when Howie returns and incapacitates Mr. Best with a bow. The cast meets up at the helipad, calling upon an unsure Sean to fly them out. A furious Darren tries to stop them from leaving, only to be knocked out by Dustin. Inside the helicopter, they find Anika, who hopes to run away with Dieter, an offer he happily accepts. Sean is able to get the helicopter up off the ground but doesn't know how to fly it forward. With encouragement from the rest of the crew ( a YouTube video from Krystal), Sean successfully flies the helicopter away from the hotel as the Cliff Beasts cast celebrate their victory. Two years later, a behind the scenes documentary detailing the troubled production and crazy antics on the set entitled Beasts of the Bubble is released to rave reviews and praise from the public. While Carol is described as "the villain" of the film, she's proud of the project. Dieter and Anika's relationship is still strong. Lauren is seen to be in good spirits, having been fitted with a robotic hand. Meanwhile, Darren is signed on to direct a movie based on Skittles candy.