| | | | What's news: Universal has moved The Fall Guy to May. Ana Nogueira will pen DC's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Tim Miller will direct WB's adaptation of Alien Legion. Freeform has canceled Praise Petey after one season. Steve Carell is set to make his Broadway debut in a new adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. — Abid Rahman
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Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox Pen Messages to Matthew Perry ►"I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you." Matt LeBlanc has written a touching tribute to his Friends co-star Matthew Perry, who died unexpectedly on Oct. 28 at age 54. “Matthew,” began LeBlanc in a post to his Instagram on Monday, “It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life.” Along with the message to Perry, LeBlanc shared five photos of the pair of actors, who played longtime roommates Joey and Chandler. The story.
—"I miss you every day." A few hours after LeBlanc shared his tribute for Perry, Courteney Cox released a heartfelt statement remembering her late Friends co-star and onscreen husband. Cox took to social media to share a video of Monica and Chandler’s first fling in the hit NBC sitcom that led to the characters’ eventual marriage. The video featured two parts — one was a clip of what aired on the show and the other was a longer version that showed how close Cox and Perry were in real life. The story. |
THR's 35 Rising Executives 35 and Under ►Next Gen 2023. Meet THR's 30th annual list of execs who are already behind your favorite film, TV, and talent, including the film school drop-out that now produces Emmy nominee The Bear, the manager of YouTube's biggest personality and the film exec that decamped to an isolated peninsula in Nova Scotia for The Lighthouse. The list.
—"This is McCarthyism on steroids and ethnic cleansing." CAA has dropped female BIPOC entrepreneurs Saira Rao and Regina Jackson who’ve gained attention in recent years for holding “anti-racist” dinner parties for an affluent white women audience. According to Rao they offended their agent with their vocal support for Palestine. The story.
—"The WBD tactic of scrapping fully made films for tax breaks is predatory and anti-competitive." A congressman is calling for a federal investigation of Warner Bros. for its handling of Coyote vs. Acme. Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro took to X to blast the studio for its original plan to shelve the movie for a tax break. WB has since reversed its decision amid industry backlash and decided to try and shop the film to other studios and streamers. The story.
—"It’s delightful." Staying with Coyote vs. Acme, Oscar-winning filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller gave the film their seal of approval after seeing it. In separate social media posts, the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse producers said they were hopeful "several studios go after" the movie now that WBD reversed its decision to bury the film. The story. |
'Young Sheldon' to End With S7 on CBS ►It’s official. The upcoming seventh season of CBS’ Young Sheldon will be its last. The prequel series to The Big Bang Theory will return Feb. 15 and wrap its run with an hourlong series finale May 16. The news comes as series creator Chuck Lorre is developing what will be the second offshoot of his nerdy comedy, which ranks as TV’s longest-running multicamera comedy in history. The new series, which will be made for Max, was formally announced in April. The story.
—"I have heard that making a non-IP show during covid that premieres during a double strike in the dead of summer was not ideal for viewership." Freeform has canceled the adult-leaning animated comedy Praise Petey after a single season. Series creator Anna Drezen broke the news with a heartfelt post on social media. Freeform ordered the series, which is fronted by Schitt’s Creek alum Annie Murphy and was exec produced by animation kings Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, in December 2021. The story.
—What the FEC is going on? Sony has asked the Federal Election Commission for an advisory opinion on whether The Good Doctor can continue to air new episodes, and older episodes currently in syndication, in the state of Michigan. The medical drama stars Hill Harper as Dr. Marcus Andrews, and the actor recently announced that he was running to fill an open U.S. Senate seat in his home state of Michigan. At issue is whether airing episodes of The Good Doctor would be classified as a “contribution” or “expenditure” to Harper’s Senate campaign by Sony. The story. |
'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow' Finds Its Writer ►Super scribe. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on DC Studios finding its writer for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Ana Nogueira, the actress and playwright who is now making forays into screenwriting, has been tapped to pen the standalone feature centered on the Kryptonian cousin of Superman. No director is attached and Nogueira’s deal only recently closed. Borys writes that the project is actually a redo for Nogueira. The writer was quietly hired to pen a Supergirl movie in 2022 when WB was developing the project as a spinoff of The Flash. The story.
—Franchise play. WB has picked up the rights to Alien Legion, a star-spanning, sci-fi comic initially published by Marvel Comics, with the aim of building a homegrown space opera franchise. Tim Miller, who helmed Deadpool and Terminator: Dark Fate, is attached to direct. Don Murphy and Susan Montford of Angry Films, the banner whose credits include Transformers and Real Steel, will produce along with Aaron Ryder. The story.
—📅 The summer guy 📅 The Fall Guy is crash-landing a little later than expected. The action film, starring Ryan Gosling, was originally set to hit theaters March 1, 2024 and will instead be released May 3, 2024. The new date makes the Universal film, which also stars Emily Blunt, the first feature of the summer box office. Deadpool 3 recently pushed its release from May to July, while Captain America: New World Order is leaving 2024 altogether. The story.
—"A deliciously insinuating portrayal of the doomed emperor." Ridley Scott's epic Napoleon hits theaters on Nov. 22, but the review embargo for the film broke on Tuesday, and the early reaction from critics has been largely positive. Among the early reviews, Napoleon has been praised for its epic scale, particularly the set-piece battle scenes that make the film a worthy theatrical experience. A link to THR's own review of the film is further down. The critics' reaction. |
THR's World's Best Music Schools of 2023 ►Crème de la crème. From Bulgaria to Bloomington, Indiana, and of course L.A., the world's best music schools are preparing the next generation of composers in film, TV, gaming and beyond. To achieve THR’s school ranking this year, we polled the members of Hollywood’s Society of Composers and Lyricists, the Composers Diversity Collective, the Alliance of Women Film Composers, and music branch members from the Motion Picture Academy and Television Academy. The list.
—🎭 Broadway debut 🎭 Steve Carell is set to star in Vanya, a new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. The actor will make his Broadway debut with the production that's penned by Heidi Schreck and directed by Lila Neugebauer. Vanya is scheduled to begin previews at the Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater on April 2, 2024, and open on April 24. Carell will star alongside William Jackson Harper, Jayne Houdyshell, Mia Katigbak, Alfred Molina, Alison Pill and Anika Noni Rose. The story.
—New allegation. The BBC has given an update into its sexual misconduct investigation into comedian Russell Brand, which includes a complaint from an incident at the broadcaster’s L.A. office. The allegation from L.A. is from something that happened in 2008, but that was first formally reported to the BBC in 2019. Brand’s accuser worked for a media company in the same building as BBC’s office, and alleges he exposed himself to her while they were both in a locked bathroom, and spoke and joked about the sexual harassment on an episode of his radio show. The story.
—"It would be a real Marvel miracle." Scarlett Johansson may be donning her Black Widow costume once again… or not. The actress stopped by the Today show on Monday to promote her skincare line, The Outset, and discuss her upcoming film, Tower of Terror, based on the Disney World ride of the same name. While she was there, Al Roker couldn’t help but ask her about the possibility of a return to the MCU, and the actress demurred, which will surely lead to more speculation. The story.
—"I understand this disease more now." Emma Heming Willis says she has more hope today than she did when Bruce Willis was first diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia earlier this year. Heming Willis discussed her current outlook on her husband's condition while sharing lessons she’s learned through his diagnosis and care journey in a recent issue of Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper. Heming Willis expressed that one of the key lessons in the time since she announced the actor has FTD, was that “hope is everything.” The story. |
Film Review: 'Napoleon' ►"More ambitious than involving." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Ridley Scott's Napoleon. David Scarpa’s screenplay covers three decades of European history as the military commander triumphs in the Revolutionary Wars and rises to Emperor of France, only to end his life in exile, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby. The review.
—"Parents may feel they're being trolled." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Walt Dohrn's Trolls Band Together. The third installment in the hit animated franchise features returning voice cast members Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick as well as new additions Amy Schumer and Zosia Mamet. The review.
—"Not a turkey (but nothing to be too thankful for either)." Frank reviews Eli Roth's Thanksgiving. A serial killer gets very upset about a Black Friday sale in a throwback slasher pic from the Hostel director, starring Patrick Dempsey and Addison Rae. The review. In other news...
—Karlie Kloss buys i-D Magazine from Vice Media
—Barbie to receive Gotham Awards’ Global Icon and Creator Tribute
—Sony unveils Columbia Pictures 100th anniversary logo
—Drag star Jimbo signs with WME and Producer Entertainment Group
—Cannabis pairs with elevated dining at West Hollywood’s new Irie restaurant
What else we're reading...
—With the release of Taika Waititi's Next Goal Wins, Gregory Wakeman wonders why Hollywood has failed to produce a truly great soccer movie [Guardian]
—Claire McNear writes that Nathan Fielder’s new show The Curse is a vicious, delicious parody of lefty do-gooderism [Ringer]
—Tariq Panja has the rather sordid inside story on how FIFA guided the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia [NYT]
—Charlie Warzel was sent to experience the Las Vegas Sphere, and he found that the "brand-new, non-pharmaceutical sensory experience" mostly "slaps" [Atlantic]
—Interesting David Weigel piece on how and why "woke" has more or less disappeared from the GOP debates and rallies [Semafor]
Today...
...in 1991, Universal unveiled Martin Scorsese’s thriller Cape Fear in theaters, where it would go on to gross $182m globally. The film was nominated for two Oscars at the 64th Academy Awards, for Robert De Niro in the best actor category and Juliette Lewis as best supporting actress. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Shailene Woodley (32), Asia Kate Dillon (39), Jonny Lee Miller (51), Sam Waterston (83), Winston Duke (37), Bob Gunton (78), François Ozon (56), Roger Donaldson (78), Sophia Di Martino (40), Beverly D'Angelo (72), Emma Dumont (29), Ray McKinnon (66), Sean Murray (46), Yaya DaCosta (41), Jay Harrington (52), Sadie Stanley (22), Kevin J. O'Connor (60), Susie Abromeit (41), Kathleen Rose Perkins (49), Virginie Ledoyen (47), Matthew Patrick (37), Laci J Mailey (33), Maggie O'Neill (61), Sydney Tamiia Poitier (50), Rachel True (57), James Widdoes (70), Zena Grey (35), Judith Chapman (72), Samantha Shelton (45), Judy Gold (61) |
| Michel Ciment, the esteemed French film critic, historian, author, radio producer and editor of the influential film magazine Positif, has died. He was 85. The obituary. |
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