| | | | | | What's news: Harvey Weinstein will return to court on May 1. Gérard Depardieu has been questioned by French police about new sexual assault allegations. Aaron Sorkin is writing a new movie that could serve as a sequel to The Social Network. Alexander Payne is making a doc about film scholar Jeanine Basinger. CBS has canceled NCIS: Hawai’i. — Abid Rahman
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Paramount Expected to Part Ways With Bob Bakish ►Incoming... The Bob Bakish era at Paramount appears to be nearing its end. The Paramount Global president and CEO is expected to part ways with the entertainment giant imminently. The company reports its quarterly earnings on Monday afternoon, meaning that if he does leave, it will likely be before then. Bakish's exit comes as Paramount and controlling shareholder National Amusements are in exclusive sale negotiations with a group led by David Ellison’s Skydance, as well as Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital, and KKR. The story.
—ICYMI. Harvey Weinstein will return to court on May 1. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office said Friday that the disgraced movie mogul is expected to appear before Judge Curtis Farber on Wednesday, May 1 at 2:15 p.m. The court appearance will be the first for Weinstein since the New York Court of Appeals overturned his 2020 rape conviction last week. The story.
—New allegations. French police have taken actor Gérard Depardieu into custody for questioning on new accusations of sexual assault, local media reported on Monday. Multiple French media sources are reporting that the 75-year-old actor has been accused by two separate women of sexual assault. The alleged incidents reported occurred in 2021 — when Depardieu was shooting French film The Green Shutters — and in 2014 during the making of TV movie The Magician and the Siamese. The story.
—🤝 Merger 🤝 French studio Mediawan and Germany’s Leonine have signed a deal to merge their operation, forming one of Europe’s biggest film and TV companies. The deal, announced Sunday, will create a mini-major with companies and operations across 13 countries and annual revenues of more than $1b. Mediawan took a 25 percent stake in Leonine back in 2020. Both companies are backed by private equity group KKR. The agreement is conditional on regulatory approval. Mediawan boss Pierre-Antoine Capton will be CEO of the merged group. The story.
—"He loved his career and lived a rich and wonderful life." Ray Chan, the art director and production designer for Marvel Studios who contributed to Guardians of the Galaxy, three Avengers movies, the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine and more, has died. He was 56. Chan died Tuesday near his home in Wales, his family announced. No cause of death was given. Chan served as supervising art director on Thor: The Dark World (2013), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Doctor Strange (2016) and the Avengers films Age of Ultron (2015), Infinity War (2018) and Endgame (2019). The obituary. |
'Challengers' Hits No. 1 With $15M Opening ►New balls, please. Luca Guadagnino's sexy tennis drama Challengers easily won the weekend box office with a $15m opening from 3,477 theaters, in line with expectations and marking the second-best start for an original R-rated drama since the pandemic behind Don’t Worry Darling.
THR's Pamela McClintock writes that it was a bold move for Amazon MGM Studios to open the much-discussed movie nationwide, versus giving it a platform release, considering it’s more of an arthouse movie than a commercial play. The studio did so in part to raise awareness among those who might choose to wait to watch the movie on Amazon’s streaming service, Prime Video — including Zendaya fans who aren’t yet subscribers. High-profile titles also keep existing subs satisfied, or at least that’s the hope.
By midweek, Challengers will easily become Guadagnino’s highest-grossing film domestically after passing up Call Me By Your Name, which grossed roughly $18m. The film also impressed overseas, grossing $9m from 52 markets for a global score of $25m.
Coming in No. 2 at the domestic box office is Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company’s Unsung Hero, which landed ahead of expectations after earning a coveted A+ CinemaScore. The faith-based film opened to an estimated $7.8m (tracking had suggested $5m to $6m). The box office report. |
Cannes 2024 Competition Jury Revealed ►All set. The Cannes Film Festival has picked its full jury. The Killers of the Flower Moon lead Lily Gladstone, French stars Eva Green and Omar Sy and Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino will join Barbie director Greta Gerwig, this year’s jury president, selecting the winners, including the best film Palme d’Or, from the 2024 competition lineup. Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki, Spain’s Juan Antonio Bayona, Japanese auteur Hirokazu Koreeda and Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan complete the five-women, four-man jury. The story.
—"I blame Facebook for Jan. 6." Aaron Sorkin is writing a new movie that could serve as a sequel to The Social Network. The Oscar-winning screenwriter broke the news during a podcast appearance, after being asked about how Facebook and social media have influenced democracy in the years since his 2010 hit. Sources close to Sorkin confirmed Friday that the writer is working on a Social Network-adjacent screenplay, but emphasized the project is early days and there is no studio partner yet. The story.
—📅 On the move 📅 Kraven the Hunter is seeking new hunting grounds, with the Aaron Taylor-Johnson starrer taking a release date just vacated by The Karate Kid. On Friday evening, Sony moved the villain-centric Kraven to the prime winter spot of Dec. 13, 2024 (back from Aug. 30, 2024). The film steps into a date that was occupied by fellow Sony pic Karate Kid, a crossover event movie starring Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, which now moves to May 30, 2025. The story.
—"I am definitely not looking to do homework when I go to the movies." With numerous films and TV series in the MCU, it’s a daunting proposition for a newcomer to even think about getting caught up on the various characters and story lines. But Shawn Levy, who directed the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine, says there will be no “homework” required to enjoy his film. In a new interview, says his aim is to make a movie that MCU newcomers will enjoy as much as passionate fans. The story.
—"Finest film professor in the world." On the heels of The Holdovers, Alexander Payne has found his next project — and it will mark the two-time Oscar winning filmmaker’s documentary directorial debut. Payne is currently in production on — and targeting a 2025 release for — a doc about the trailblazing film scholar Jeanine Basinger, tracing her story from her days as a movie theater usher in Brookings, South Dakota, to Connecticut’s Wesleyan University. The story. |
How Many Showrunners Does It Take to Write a Hit Comedy? ►"Comedy is not being upheld as the necessary, important thing that it is." THR's Mikey O'Connell talks to Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky, the high-functioning showrunners behind HBO's critical hit comedy Hacks. The trio talk about that long delay and how two years off the air can be a lifetime for streaming audiences, their five-season plan and the myriad existential threats facing comedy. The interview.
—🏆 London calling 🏆 Black Mirror, The Last of Us, and Slow Horses were among the winners of the BAFTA Television Craft Awards 2024, which were handed out in London on Sunday. Silo, The Witcher, coverage of the coronation of King Charles III and the Eurovision Song Contest were also among the winners. The craft award for best drama writer went to Charlie Brooker and Bisha K. Ali for Black Mirror episode “Demon 79.” Peter Hoar won the best director in fiction honor for his work on The Last of Us. The winners.
—Shocker! CBS has canceled NCIS: Hawai’i after three seasons. The show’s third season — and now series — finale is set to air May 6. The series, which stars Vanessa Lachey and added former NCIS: Los Angeles star LL Cool J to its cast this season, will likely end up as the most watched show to be canceled this season — topping two other canceled CBS shows, CSI: Vegas and So Help Me Todd. NCIS: Hawai’i is averaging about 7.8m viewers in Nielsen’s seven-day linear ratings this season, and it hits 10m viewers over 35 days of cross-platform viewing. The story.
—"Forensic look." Max and ID have acquired U.S. rights to a Channel 4 doc about Kevin Spacey. The two-part doc, titled Spacey Unmasked, is billed as a "forensic look" at Spacey’s career and the allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct against him. Spacey was acquitted in July 2023 of nine charges in a U.K. criminal case. The doc will also include previously unseen archival footage and interviews with "multiple men unconnected to that case about their experiences with Kevin Spacey, almost all of whom have never spoken before." The story.
—Wild. The alleged real-life stalker from Baby Reindeer has spoken out following the show’s success on Netflix. In an interview, an unnamed woman, who claims to be the inspiration behind Jessica Gunning’s Martha in the series, said she was considering legal action for defamation following the release of the Richard Gadd project. Baby Reindeer follows Gadd’s Donny Dunn, a struggling comedian who encounters a lonely woman at the bar where he works. Over the course of multiple years, she sent him more than 41,000 emails, 744 tweets, 100 pages of letters and 350 hours of voicemails. The story.
—Dismissed. After a trip to a state appeals court, a lawsuit from actress Hayley Marie Norman accusing ABC, Tracee Ellis Ross and Kenya Barris of lifting ideas from a show she’d been pitching that she alleges was turned into Black-ish spinoff Mixed-ish without her involvement has been dismissed. The 2nd District Court of Appeal found that the lawsuit shouldn’t have been allowed to proceed against Ross and Artists First, a production and management company that counts her and Barris among its clients. The story. |
John Oliver Confesses to "Sporadic Acts of Journalism" ►"I don’t want to have anything to do with any of these corporate parents as they blow in and out of our lives." THR's Mikey O'Connell spoke to John Oliver as his HBO late-night satirical show Last Week Tonight celebrates its tenth anniversary. The Brit comic discusses the various "business daddies" he has had over the years, the calming nature of stand-up comedy, the omnishambles that is the royal family and the Last Week Tonight segment he was most anxious about airing. The interview.
—Blast from the past. Last Week Tonight is making all of its first season for free on YouTube. The show’s official X account posted the news on Friday. The post added that subsequent seasons will drop on YouTube the next time there isn’t a new episode of Last Week Tonight. In February, HBO made news when it announced that it would be delaying Last Week Tonight segments on YouTube for four days after an episode premieres, in an effort to drive viewers to Max. The story. |
Hollywood A-List Pay Tribute to Nicole Kidman at AFI Gala ►"You’ve stood by me and stuck up for my weird, weird choices and I’m so grateful for that." Nicole Kidman was honored with the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award on Saturday night, as an A-list group of her friends and collaborators looked back on her long Hollywood career. Reese Witherspoon, Morgan Freeman, Naomi Watts, Zoe Saldaña, Aaron Sorkin, Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Joey King, Mike Myers and husband Keith Urban all took the Dolby Theatre stage throughout the event to pay tribute to Kidman. To close out the evening, Meryl Streep presented her with the award. The recap.
—"I would be a terrible director." When Nicole Kidman was honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award, she spent a large portion of her speech thanking the directors whom she’s worked with throughout the years. The respect for the job, though, doesn’t she mean has any desire to step behind the camera herself. Kidman explained why producing is a better fit for her than directing: "A director has to make choices, and that's not my strong suit." The speech.
—Family affair. Saturday’s AFI Life Achievement Award Gala marked the first ever public Kidman-Urban family outing, with the couple’s two teenage daughters making their red carpet debut. Sunday, 15, and Faith, 13, joined their mother and father alongside several of their cousins and Kidman’s sister at the event’s family table. The story. |
Theater Review: 'Illinoise' ►"For queer audiences, especially, the show offers an intensely moving depiction of the ache of unrequited love." THR's David Rooney reviews Justin Peck's Illinoise. Co-written with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury, the dance musical based on Sufjan Stevens’ concept album is a transcendent distillation of youth in all its pain and glory. The review.
In other news...
—Mufasa: The Lion King: First trailer released by Disney
—StudioCanal launches literary adaptations label StudioCanal Stories
—Mike Leigh to receive inaugural career honor from Malta’s Mediterrane Film Festival
—Ricky Martin to headline L.A. Pride in the Park
—Cécile Gaget leaves Wild Bunch, joins Omar Sy’s Carrousel Studios as CEO
—Poppy Harlow to exit CNN
—Al Hassan, road manager for Steve & Eydie, Tony Danza and Jim Stafford, dies at 87
What else we're reading...
—Critic James Poniewozik believes we have entered the "golden age of Mid TV" where great looking shows with great casts are just "fine" [NYT]
—Jessica Toonkel goes inside the chaos at Paramount Global as Shari Redstone’s merger plans collide with shareholder fury and CEO Bob Bakish heading for the exit [WSJ]
—Joe Reid considers Shōgun's Emmy chances and asks whether the FX classic is the limited series to beat [Vulture]
—Ben Child digs deep and looks at how Deadpool & Wolverine could mark the real introduction of the X-Men into the MCU [Guardian]
—As everything seems cultish now, Sean Illing and Derek Thompson discuss what the end of monoculture could mean for American democracy [Vox]
Today...
...in 2011, Takashi Miike's 13 Assassins was released in North American theaters. The film, which starred Koji Yakusho, was a big critical hit and is ranked among the greatest samurai movies ever made. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Willie Nelson (91), Daniel Day-Lewis (67), Uma Thurman (54), Michelle Pfeiffer (66), Jerry Seinfeld (70), Kate Mulgrew (69), Xochitl Gomez (18), Phillip Noyce (74), Megan Boone (41), Katherine Langford (29), Taylor Cole (40), Tyler Labine (46), Darby Stanchfield (53), Bre Blair (44), Paul Adelstein (55), Vincent Ventresca (58), Fares Fares (51), Federico Castelluccio (60), Nora Dunn (72), April Telek (49), Ella Hunt (26), Jenn Lyon (39), Callum Scott Howells (🏴25) |
| Marla Adams, the Emmy-winning soap opera veteran who starred as the scheming Dina Abbott Mergeron during parts of five decades on The Young and the Restless, has died. She was 85. The obituary. |
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