| | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover star is music superstar and all round good egg, Adele. Killers of the Flower Moon was the big winner of the National Board of Review awards. Sundance has revealed its 2024 lineup. A fourth woman has filed a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs alleging sexual assault. Oppenheimer will get a theatrical release in Japan. — Abid Rahman
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Adele on Her Dream Hollywood Gig ►On the cover. Music megastar Adele, the recipient of the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at THR's annual Women in Entertainment event on Dec. 7,
spills tears and tea with Mesfin Fekadu over being a class mom, why her Oscar still makes her giggle, and which celebrity audience member made her freak out: "I shat myself the whole show." The cover story. |
THR's 2023 Women in Entertainment Power 100 ►A truly unique year. From the town's most ascendant execs and strike breakouts to the Barbie army and the stars who just had banner years (Beyoncé, Jenna Ortega, Natasha Lyonne), these are the women who over-delivered in 2023 — setting box office records, filling arenas and putting Hollywood back to work. The list.
—🏆 Full Moon 🏆 The National Board of Review has revealed its picks for the top films and performances of 2023. Killers of the Flower Moon won four awards in total, while The Holdovers won three awards and was named one of the best films of the year. Poor Things received two awards and Maestro star, director and co-writer Bradley Cooper was named as the recipient of the NBR Icon Award. The winners.
—Over 17,000 submissions. The Sundance Film Festival has announced its line-up for its 40th incarnation. The 2024 fest will see new entries from fest regulars like Steven Soderbergh, Lana Wilson and Richard Linklater, while also debuting titles from new directors, with 40 percent of the features program coming from first time feature filmmakers. A-list talent like Kirsten Stewart, Pedro Pascal, Lucy Liu, Laura Linney and Woody Harrelson star in fest films, while onscreen talents like Jesse Eisenberg and Chiwetel Ejiofor continue their forays into directing. The lineup. |
Hollywood Remembers Norman Lear ►"What an amazing life that has given so much to us all." Rob Reiner, John Amos, Billy Crystal, Quinta Brunson, Jimmy Kimmel, Tyler Perry, George Clooney, John Leguizamo, Jon Stewart, Valerie Bertinelli and Bob Iger and many more people in Hollywood have been remembering sitcom great and TV legend Norman Lear, who died Tuesday at the age of 101. The tributes.
—"Television’s comedy lodestar." In his appreciation of Norman Lear's work, THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg writes that the creator of All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Maude and many other shows pushed the medium to engage with the world, and made us laugh in the process. The critic's appreciation.
—"He loved the slate and was excited to bring it to the world." Norman Lear was still active in developing television shows right until the end. Sources tell THR's Lesley Goldberg that Lear was in recent weeks working on his TV slate, including redeveloping a reboot of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman after TBS exited the scripted originals business and the cable network released the project. He also projects at Sony, Netflix and Freevee. The story.
—Rare move. All the major broadcast networks ran a simulcast of “an on-air in memoriam card” paying tribute to Norman Lear. The tribute, “in recognition of Norman Lear’s vast accomplishments and influence across television,” ran on CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, and The CW at 8 p.m., the networks said in a statement. The story. |
Fourth Accuser Sues Sean Combs Over Sexual Assault ►Flurry of cases. A fourth sexual assault lawsuit has been filed against Sean "Diddy" Combs, this time by a woman who alleges she was "sex trafficked and gang raped" by the music mogul when she was 17 years old, in 2003. The complaint also names Harve Pierre, former president of Bad Boy Entertainment, and alleges a third unnamed assailant. In a statement, Combs denied the allegations and said: "I did not do any of the awful things being alleged." The story.
—The latest. Jonathan Majors’ ex-partner, Grace Jabbari, continued her testimony Wednesday with her account of injuries she said were caused by Majors during an altercation in March and answers as to why she was not immediately forthcoming to police. On the stand, Jabbari says she was “worried” about the actor and not aware he would be charged in this incident. It remains unclear whether Majors will testify in the trial, which is expected to last two weeks. The story.
—Second lawsuit. French actress Hélène Darras has filed an official complaint against Gérard Depardieu, claiming the French star sexually assaulted her on the set of the 2007 film Disco. Darras is the second woman to go public with allegations against Depardieu, following actress Charlotte Arnould who filed a complaint in 2018, accusing the 74-year-old actor of rape. Arnould’s case is currently working its way through the courts. Depardieu has denied all charges. The story.
—Rape allegation. Mike Greene, the former president of the Recording Academy, has been sued for sexual assault by the ex-head of the L.A. chapter of the body, who says he drugged and raped her in 1994. In the suit filed on Wednesday, Terri McIntyre accuses Greene of repeatedly harassing and assaulting her over the course of two years at the Academy, which allegedly “engaged in a cover-up” by hiding evidence of his history of sexual misconduct and had a “pattern and practice” of buying the silence of his other victims through the illegal use of confidentiality agreements. The story. |
Ousted Marvel Mogul Looms As Disney Proxy Fight Heats Up ►Ike's revenge? Disney says a "personal agenda" against Bob Iger by ousted exec Ike Perlmutter is fueling an activist investor’s new attempt to reshape the company’s board and grab more seats. THR's Alex Weprin looks at how Disney's attempts to fend off Nelson Peltz and his firm Trian Partners will play out as Perlmutter, Peltz’s friend and neighbor in Palm Beach, pledges his shares in Disney to Trian. The analysis.
—Release to come. Oppenheimer will get a theatrical release in Japan. Local distributor Bitters End has confirmed it will bow Christopher Nolan’s biopic in Japanese cinemas next year, though it did not set a specific release date. In a statement, Bitters End said it had made the decision after screening the film and "following months of thoughtful dialogue associated with the subject matter and acknowledging the particular sensitivity for us Japanese." The story.
—Big promo push. Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire is arriving a smidgen earlier than expected. Netflix is eventizing the release of the filmmaker’s upcoming sci-fi fantasy epic moving up the release date and having the movie take over the streamer’s platform worldwide. Rebel Moon will now premiere on the streamer at 7 p.m. PT on Dec. 21, hours earlier than its scheduled Dec. 22 debut. And for the first few days, audiences will be treated to a cinematic digital billboard that will take over the streamer’s homepage globally. The story. | Where Are the Deals? ►It’s quiet, too quiet, in Hollywood. THR's Lacey Rose and Lesley Goldberg report that executives were expecting a deluge of pitches after the writers strike, but that didn’t arrive: "If come January and February, it’s still crickets, then we have a problem." The story.
—"We’re so grateful for all the love and can’t wait to bring you an even juicier season three." Amazon Prime Video has handed out a third-season renewal to comedy series Harlem from creator and executive producer Tracy Oliver. The pickup comes after season two of the New York-set comedy about female friendship debuted in February. The series is a co-production with Universal Television and Amazon Studios. Harlem stars Meagan Good and also counts Amy Poehler as an exec producer. The story.
—🎭 Big name additions 🎭 Amazon's Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the series based on the 2005 Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie movie of the same title, has added a number of high-profile guest stars opposite leads Donald Glover and Maya Erskine. Alexander Skarsgard, Eiza González, Sarah Paulson, Sharon Horgan, Ron Perlman, Billy Campbell and Úrsula Corberó will appear in the show, joining previously announced guest stars Paul Dano, Michaela Coel, John Turturro, Parker Posey and Wagner Moura. Details on their roles are being kept under wraps. The story. |
Drescher Talks Iger's Charm, Her Future ►"I’ve never been confronted with so much aggressive male energy. And it made me sad [to think] that’s why the world is in the state that it’s in." With the strike (finally) behind her, SAG-AFTRA chief Fran Drescher talks to THR's Katie Kilkenny about her CEO sparring partners, her famous plushie and the Barbara Walters-esque future that she’s eyeing next. The interview.
—Lingering concerns. On Dec. 5, SAG-AFTRA members wrapped Hollywood’s season of labor turmoil by ratifying the contract deal that ended the 118-day actors’ strike. Katie Kilkenny writes that the actors were able to push past AI concerns to get back to work, but the union’s chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland acknowledges the “debates and dialogues” that swirled around the vote, and as the contract takes effect, he doesn’t expect them to end. The story. |
TV Review: 'My Life With the Walter Boys' ►"A lackluster collection of clichés." THR's Angie Han reviews Netflix's My Life With the Walter Boys. A teenage girl from New York City moves in with a Colorado ranch family of 12 — including several handsome sons — in an adaptation of the book by Ali Novak. The review.
—"Poorly focused and lacking fun Hollywood insights." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews BritBox's Archie. Jason Isaacs plays Cary Grant and Laura Aikman plays Dyan Cannon in the new four-part limited series about the man born Archie Leach. The review. In other news...
—Dan Levy is a bereaved widower in Good Grief trailer
—Satirist Andy Borowitz out at The New Yorker amid cost cuts
—Publicists Awards: Ahsoka, Frasier among TV campaign noms
What else we're reading...
—Ali Breland has an interesting story on "effective accelerationism" or e/acc, a sort of "greed is good" philosophy being adopted by Silicon Valley CEOs even if it ends up killing us all [Mother Jones]
—Paul Thompson reflects on Todd Haynes' May December and the rotting core of the true crime/docudrama genre [Ringer]
—Maggie Harrison reports that top execs at Sports Illustrated's publisher have been fired after last week's quite shocking AI debacle [Futurism]
—The investigation you never thought you needed: Jasmine Vojdani digs into how French Timothée Chalamet is really [Vulture]
—Angelica Jade Bastién's take on Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé and the studied apolitical nature of its director and star is an incredible piece of criticism [Vulture]
Today...
...in 1979, Paramount’s Star Trek — The Motion Picture hit theaters and launched the franchise on the big screen. The film, which reunited the cast of the NBC series, went on to earn three Oscar nominations (for art direction, original score and visual effects) at the 52nd Academy Awards. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Ellen Burstyn (91), Tom Waits (74), Nicholas Hoult (34), Jeffrey Wright (58), Jeff Nichols (45), Sara Bareilles (44), Caleb Landry Jones (34), C. Thomas Howell (57), Emily Browning (35), Jack Huston (41), Jennifer Carpenter (44), Mark Duplass (47), Larry Hankin (86), Patrick Fabian (59), Shiri Appleby (45), Kristofer Hivju (45), Mark Rolston (67), Priscilla Barnes (69), Aubrey Reynolds (32), Eric Bauza (44), James Keach (76), Chris Chalk (46), Marisa Abela (27), Patricia Allison (29), Nick Thurston (36), Abdellatif Kechiche (63), Randall Einhorn (60) |
| Marisa Pavan, the Italian actress and twin sister of Pier Angeli who received an Oscar nomination for her performance as the daughter of Anna Magnani’s seamstress in the 1955 drama The Rose Tattoo, has died. She was 91. The obituary. |
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