| | | | What's news: It's magazine day! Gracing the cover this week are West Side Story stars Rita Moreno, Ariana DeBose and Rachel Zegler. Berlin has named its full competition jury. The Cesar Awards noms have been revealed. The Righteous Gemstones has been renewed for a third season. Plus: Morrissey and Johnny Marr are feuding again — Abid Rahman |
Moreno, DeBose and Zegler Tell Their Side of 'West Side Story' ►On the cover. West Side Story stars Rita Moreno, Ariana DeBose and Rachel Zegler are the three women who emerge as the heart and soul of Steven Spielberg's stirring and critically-acclaimed adaptation. THR's Rebecca Sun spoke to the trio as they draw awards heat even as the film sparks debate about Latino representation and the box office future of the musical: "We're not going anywhere. We're here now." The cover story.
—Looking to dismiss. Alec Baldwin and other Rust producers are claiming immunity in a bid to dismiss a lawsuit from the movie’s script supervisor over the on-set shooting in October that resulted in the death of the film’s director of photography, Halyna Hutchins. The story.
—Hoping to vacate. Kevin Spacey is seeking to toss out an arbitration ruling that he must pay House of Cards producer MRC nearly $31 million for alleged sexual misconduct behind the scenes of the Netflix political series. After MRC filed papers in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking to confirm the arbitration award, Spacey’s attorneys have responded by urging the court to deny the petition and vacate the monetary award. The story.
—"His memory and light will be remembered by all who knew and loved him." Hudson Madsen, son of actor Michael Madsen, died Sunday of suspected suicide in Hawaii, according to local authorities. He was 26. The story.
—The Yellowstone effect. NBC has ordered a pilot of Unbroken, which follows ranch families and rodeo competitions, from producer and singer Shaun Cassidy. The Universal Television project will draw comparisons to Paramount+'s Yellowstone, which is getting monster ratings and has spawned to spin-offs already. The story. |
Disney Responds to Peter Dinklage's 'Snow White' Criticisms ►"Avoid reinforcing stereotypes." Disney has responded to harsh criticisms made by Peter Dinklage about the upcoming live-action remake of Snow White. On Monday’s episode of the WTF podcast, the Game of Thrones star blasted Disney for "making that fucking backward story about seven dwarves living in a cave together." In a statement to THR, Disney said they will be "taking a different approach with these seven characters" and the studio has been "consulting with members of the dwarfism community" about the film. The story. — "The right moment." THR's Hadley Meares spoke to Fredrik Eklund about why he quit Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing New York and Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles after 11 seasons. The real-estate agent/reality TV staple, who says recent comments by his co-stars "had nothing to do with" his departure, discusses what's next and recalls his favorite moments. The interview. — Bigmouth strikes again. Singer Morrissey has penned an open letter to his former Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr asking him to “stop using my name as clickbait” in interviews and to “move on.” The story. — Judges and jury. The Berlin Film Festival has named the final six members of its competition jury which, together with jury president M. Night Shyamalan, will pick the Gold and Silver Bear winners of this year’s Berlinale. Joining the Old director are Connie Nielsen, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Saïd Ben Saïd, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Anne Zohra Berrached and Karim Ainouz. The story. — No best film nom for Titane? Sacré bleu! The nominations for Cesar Awards, France's highest film prizes, have been revealed and Xavier Giannoli’s Lost Illusions ( Illusions Perdues) leads the pack with 15 noms. Lea Seydoux and Adam Driver are two big names nominated for the best acting honors. The nominations. |
Will Hollywood's Streaming Ambition Lead to Big Gaming Buys? ►The race to be the "Netflix of gaming." Microsoft's $68.7 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard is the company's biggest ever deal (if it closes), and is seen as a play to help grow the Xbox Game Pass subscription service to become the dominant gaming streamer. THR's Georg Szalai looks at how the likes of Netflix, Sony, or even Disney, may be next to strike a deal. The analysis .
—The galaxy is getting bigger. Electronic Arts and Lucasfilm Games have revealed that several new Star Wars titles are in development from Respawn Entertainment. Stig Asmussen will direct the next installment in the action-adventure Star Wars Jedi series, while Respawn’s Peter Hirschmann will lead development on a first-person shooter game. The story.
—Jake the pirate. Jake Gyllenhaal is attached to star in and produce Cut & Run, a heist thriller from Brian Oliver and Bradley Fischer’s New Republic. John Glenn is behind the spec script. The logline for the project reads: “A group of thieves using high-powered speedboats to rob superyachts steal the wrong thing from the wrong group of people.” The story.
—Righteous renewal. HBO has handed out a third-season renewal to Danny McBride’s comedy series The Righteous Gemstones. The early renewal comes after the sophomore season returned earlier this month and ahead of its Feb. 27 season finale. The story.
—Overall deal news. The Handmaid’s Tale showrunner Bruce Miller has inked a new, multiple-year overall development deal with Disney-backed ABC Signature and Hulu for his White Oak Pictures banner. Sources tell THR's Lesley Goldberg the rich deal is for three years. The story.
—This Week in TV. THR's Rick Porter runs down the TV premieres, returns and specials over the next seven days. Among the things to look out for over the coming week include Apple's star-studded murder mystery The Afterparty, Showtime’s four-part Bill Cosby doc We Need to Talk About Cosby, Lifetime's two-part doc about Janet Jackson and the NFL’s penultimate weekend. The full guide. |
Sundance review: 'Nothing Compares'►"A dynamic and sympathetic reassessment." THR's Sheri Linden reviews Kathryn Ferguson’s Nothing Compares. The documentary zeros in on the momentous first few years of Sinead O’Connor’s music career, when she went from being idolized to being demonized. The review. — "Jaw-dropping and tense, though without room for depth." THR's Dan Fienberg reviews Daniel Roher's Navalny. The documentary looks at the life of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the aftermath of an assassination attempt on his life. The review. — "A woeful ode to lost love and lost movies that has its charms." THR critic Jordan Mintzer reviews Woody Allen’s Rifkin’s Festival. The director's 50th feature, about a writer and film teacher accompanying his publicist wife to a festival in Spain, stars Wallace Shawn, Gena Gershon, Louis Garrel and Elena Anaya. The review. — "Messy but endearing, like its heroines." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Syfy's Astrid & Lilly Save the World. Starring Jana Morrison and Samantha Aucoin, the supernatural comedy follows two teenage besties tasked with hunting down monsters in order to close an interdimensional portal. The review. In other news... —Sundance review: Tania Anderson's The Mission — Costume Designers Guild Awards: House of Gucci, Dune, Squid Game among nominees — Dune, West Side Story among Cinema Audio Society’s sound mixing nominees —Elton John tests positive for COVID, postpones Texas shows —TV ratings: NFL playoffs score more big increases —AACTA International Awards: Power of the Dog wins top prize — Japan’s box office recovered slightly in 2021, but Hollywood revenue sagged —Rotterdam Film Festival kicks off second virtual event, market —Sony’s Jennifer Turner tapped to lead TriStar TV —Disney+ to launch in 42 countries this summer —YouTube CEO: More creators are making at least $10k a year —Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team doc series in the works —Annaleigh Ashford boards Hulu’s Chippendales drama — Sidney Miller, founder of Black Radio Exclusive magazine, dies at 89 — Gloria McMillan, actress in Our Miss Brooks, dies at 88 What else we're reading... —Randall Roberts' interview with Björk, covering what she's been up to during the pandemic [ LAT] —Viola Zhou on the very different ending Fight Club was given to get approval from China's censors [ Vice] — Insider goes, err, inside Peloton's month from hell, including the bad PR from AJLT and Billions [ Insider] —Interview with John Stamos on Bob Saget and the many stages of their friendship [ NYT] —Profile on Brit singer Dua Lipa [ WSJ] Today... Today's birthdays: W. Kamau Bell (49), Kelly Stables (44), Sara Rue (43), David Strathairn (73), Scott Glenn (83), Hannah Arterton (33), Edwin Hodge (37), Ellen DeGeneres (64), Cameron Bright (29), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (63), Kathryn Leigh Scott (79), Christopher Hampton (76), Luc Roeg (60), 🇦🇺 Catherine Martin🐨 (57) |
| Peter Robbins, who voiced Charlie Brown in the classic Peanuts specials of the 1960s including perennial holiday staples A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966), has died. He was 65. The obituary. |
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