| | | | What's news: Disney is shaking up the management at its streaming division. CAA is moving to a new HQ. Britney demands her sister stop talking about her on book tour and wins key ruling against her father. Spike Lee to receive DGA lifetime achievement award. Jon Stewart to receive Mark Twain Prize. Plus: Apple is set to adapt Pedro Almodovar's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown as a series — Abid Rahman |
THR Director Roundtable ►"Directing is a hostage negotiation with reality." THR's Rebecca Keegan sat down with six filmmakers behind some of the year’s most celebrated cinematic work for our Director Roundtable: Pedro Almodóvar (Parallel Mothers), Kenneth Branagh (Belfast), Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog), Guillermo del Toro (Nightmare Alley), Asghar Farhadi (A Hero) and Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard ). The group, who convened in person in L.A. in mid-November, talked about giving up guns on sets, mining personal traumas and why they wished they had “slept more, laughed more and breathed more” on their films. The roundtable.
—C-suite shakeup. Disney has named Joe Earley president of Hulu. The appointment comes as part of a major executive reorganization at the streamer. Earley will report to Michael Paull, who has been promoted to a new role overseeing Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ and Star+ as president of Disney Streaming. Earley succeeds Kelly Campbell, who left Hulu in October to become the president of Peacock. The story.
—In the money. Disney CEO Bob Chapek was paid $32.46 million in 2021, compared with $14.1 million in the previous year, as COVID-19 challenges lessened and movie theaters and theme parks reopened. Former executive chairman Bob Iger made $45.9 million in his last year at the company, compared with $21 million in 2020, and $47.5 million in 2019. The story.
—On the move. Amid its push to purchase rival ICM, CAA is expanding its headquarters. The agency will relocate to a new Century City location in 2026, moving into JMB Realty’s 37-story, state-of the-art commercial tower across Constellation Boulevard from CAA’s current offices. The story.
—Yay us! THR landed 39 nominations for the 14th National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards, including best entertainment publication, best website, online journalist of the year for Lesley Goldberg, and best arts and entertainment podcast for Scott Feinberg’s Awards Chatter. The story. |
Britney to Gain Control of Her Money ►Daughter vs. father. The fight over whether Britney Spears should pay millions in legal fees racked up by her father Jamie while he was conservator of her estate isn’t over, but an L.A. judge won’t allow funds to be kept in the conservatorship until that’s decided and has ruled the performer should have control over her money. The story. — Sister vs. sister. Following days of heated online back-and-forth between the Spears sisters, Britney is demanding Jamie Lynn stop “derogatorily” speaking about her. In a cease-and-desist letter dated Jan. 17, obtained by THR, Britney’s attorney has demanded her younger sister stop “publicly airing false or fantastical grievances” while Jamie Lynn promotes her new book, Things I Should Have Said. The story. — Dream team. Parasite director Bong Joon Ho has found his next film project. The Oscar-winning filmmaker will write and direct an untitled sci-fi movie for Warner Bros., with Brit actor Robert Pattinson in talks to star. The project will be based on Mickey7, a forthcoming novel from author Edward Ashton, which is described as Andy Wier’s The Martian meets Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter. The story. — "Icon. Trailblazer. Visionary." Spike Lee will receive the Directors Guild of America’s highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Motion Picture Direction, which "recognizes extraordinary efforts in the art of cinema," at the 74th DGA Awards ceremony. The story. — "Humor, humanity, and patriotism." Comedian, talk show host and political influencer Jon Stewart has been named the 23rd recipient of the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, awarded for lifetime achievement in comedy. The story. |
Apple to Adapt Almodovar's 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown' ►First foray into scripted TV. THR's Lesley Goldberg has the scoop on Apple optioning the rights to develop a series based on Pedro Almodovar’s 1988 black comedy Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez will star in the potential series as Pepa, who was originally portrayed by Carmen Maura in the feature about the romantic mishaps of voice actors who dub foreign films. Almodovar, Eugenio Derbez and Ben Odell will exec produce. The story.
—All about Tom. Paramount kicked off the year with a solid box office win with Scream, which opened to $35 million and relaunched the horror franchise. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that the studio, buoyed by the early success, is bullish as it embarks on an ambitious 2022 slate that includes Tom Cruise tentpoles Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible 7. The story.
—The big reveal. Amazon Studios' mysterious The Lord of the Rings TV series became a smidgen less mysterious after they revealed its title and new storyline details. The eagerly anticipated, multi-season drama is called The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. As the name suggests, the story follows the forging of the original rings of power that allowed Sauron to spread darkness across Middle-earth. The story.
—Baffling. A Hollywood release in China these days is as rare as hens teeth, just ask Sony who have yet to secure a date for Spider-Man: No Way Home in the world's biggest movie market. But Woody Allen’s troubled, three-year-old rom-com A Rainy Day in New York, of all movies, has been granted an official China release on Feb. 25. In 2018, Amazon pulled the star-packed film in the U.S. in the wake of sexual abuse allegations against Allen. The story.
—"More nominees this year than ever before." Rapper Lil Nas X, Marvel's Eternals, Netflix series Sex Education and Showtime's buzzy Yellowjackets were among nominees for the 33rd annual GLAAD Media Awards. The awards will be doled out during a pair of ceremonies, first in L.A. at the Beverly Hilton on April 2, and later in N.Y.C. at the Hilton Midtown on May 6. The story.
—Podcast push. ABC News is launching new podcast series and adapting Good Morning America for audio. Beginning today, the first two hours of GMA will be available as podcasts, allowing for more portable consumption of the program. ABC Audio will also launch a new entertainment podcast, Close Up, on Feb. 9 led by journalist Kelley Carter. The story.
—"She will forever be in the hearts and minds of those of us who love her." Musician Chris Daughtry is sharing details about the death of his stepdaughter, Hannah Price. In a joint statement released Thursday with wife Deanna Daughtry, the couple revealed that Price, 25, died Nov. 12 as a result of suicide while under the influence of narcotics. The story. |
Review: 'The Gilded Age'►"Stellar cast and dialogue cover for initial blandness." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews HBO's The Gilded Age. Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes turns his eye from British opulence to New York City circa 1882 for a look at America's empire-on-the-rise starring Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon. The review. — "A heartfelt mixture of mostly earned tears and laughter." Dan reviews Amazon’s As We See It. Jason Katims' new half-hour, based on an Israeli format, focuses on the highs and lows of life for three roommates on the autism spectrum. The review. — "Solidly likable." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Freeform’s Single Drunk Female. Sofia Black-D'Elia leads Simone Finch's half-hour comedy as a 20something writer struggling to maintain her sobriety after an explosive public meltdown. The review. — Pretty big deal. Warner Bros. and HBO Max have landed Pretty Big, a package based on the life of dancer Akira Armstrong. John Legend’s Get Lifted Film Co. and Charles D. King’s Macro are behind the feature film package, which has Queen Sugar director Tina Mabry attached to direct. The story. — Pulling back the curtain. THR's Brian Davids spoke to Scream star Melissa Barrera who spills on that twist ending. The actor also talks about her surprising connection to a legacy character and reflects on the painful response to her last big movie, In The Heights. Warning spoilers. The interview. In other news... — First trailer for W. Kamau Bell's Bill Cosby doc, We Need to Talk About Cosby — TV ratings: NFL wild card games, Yellowjackets finale score — Bridgerton releases 8 new photos from season 2 of Netflix series — Fox plans in-person “portfolio” Upfront, leaves Central Park for Battery Park —Los Angeles filming sets all-time quarterly record —Anna Wintour on passing of pioneering Vogue editor Andre Leon Talley —Autodesk acquires cloud-based digital dailies system Moxion —Sugar23 adds Shawna Wexler to management team —Adam McKay to receive Advanced Imaging Society’s Voices for the Earth Award —DC senior vp and general manager Daniel Cherry III exits —Asghar Farhadi’s A Hero picks up three awards from Palm Springs Film Festival —Allison Williams thriller M3GAN sets January 2023 release in theaters —Instagram tests paid subscriptions with small group of U.S. creators — Jerry Crutchfield, Nashville songwriter, producer and publishing exec, dies at 87 — Carol Speed, actress in The Mack, Black Samson and Abby, dies at 76 What else we're reading... —Kathy Griffin Is Trying to Get Back on the D-List [ New York Times] —Rebecca Ferguson Sees the Power Shift Coming In the Second Half Of Dune [ Los Angeles Times] —The Case Against the Trauma Plot [ New Yorker] —Is Microsoft Building A Gaming Monopoly? [ The Verge] —"I Read All 27,000 Marvel Comics And Had A Great Time. Here’s What I Learnt" [ The Guardian] Today... ...in 2008, AMC introduced Breaking Bad during the 10 p.m. hour. Created by Vince Gilligan and starring Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, the crime drama would receive unanimous critical acclaim in the U.S. and abroad and won a total of 16 Emmys during its run of five seasons. The original review. Today's birthdays: David Lynch (76), Omar Sy (44), Questlove (51), Melissa Rivers (54), Skeet Ulrich (52), Evan Peters (35), Rainn Wilson (56), Stacey Dash (55), Kerri Kenney (52), Rukiya Bernard (39), Ray Panthaki (43), Daniel Cudmore (41), Bill Maher (66), Hannah Daniel (36), Daniel Benzali (76) |
| French actor Gaspard Ulliel, known for movies including Hannibal Rising and soon to be seen in the upcoming Marvel miniseries Moon Knight, has died following a skiing accident. He was 37. The obituary. |
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