| | | | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover star is Brazilian national treasure Fernanda Torres. Nearly 15m people watched the SNL 50th anniversary special. Matt Damon will play the plumb role of Odysseus in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. The Brutalist director Brady Corbet says he has made "zero" money from the film. — Abid Rahman
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Fernanda Torres Has Already Won ►On the cover. All of Brazil will tune in on Oscar night — "It will be like the moon landing" — to see if Fernanda Torres takes the best actress prize. Torres is the second Brazilian to be nominated for an acting Oscar. The first was her mother — 95-year-old Fernanda Montenegro, perhaps the only actor more legendary than her daughter in the South American country. But the star of Walter Salles' I’m Still Here tells THR's Seth Abramovitch that bringing the world's attention to a long-suppressed national trauma is the ultimate triumph. The cover story. |
Guy Pearce Gets Choked Up Recalling Troubling Encounters With Kevin Spacey ►"He targeted me, no question." An emotional and reflective Guy Pearce got choked up during a new interview while recalling unpleasant experiences working with Kevin Spacey on Curtis Hanson’s classic 1997 film L.A. Confidential, and the “wake-up call” that left him sobbing in London more than 20 years later when he realized the impact those encounters had on him. Speaking on a new episode of THR's Awards Chatter podcast, Pearce, who is Oscar-nominated for his critically acclaimed turn in The Brutalist, opens up for the first time at length about Spacey and the tidal wave of sexual misconduct allegations that sidelined the House of Cards actor’s career. The story.
—Suit filed. Disgraced movie mogul and convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein has sued his brother, Bob Weinstein, and another executive at The Weinstein Company alleging fraud and a conspiracy to push him out of the company. The suit, filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York Saturday, alleges that Bob Weinstein, TWC executive David Glasser and others got Harvey Weinstein to guarantee a $45m loan from AI International Holdings to support the film production and distribution company. However, the suit alleges that the money was not used to help the company, but rather that Bob Weinstein and Glasser took the money for “personal use, unauthorized bonuses, and unrelated financial dealings.” The story.
—Nothing matters. The Trump administration is reportedly in talks with Romania to lift travel restrictions for Andrew and Tristan Tate, the MAGA-supporting right-wing social media influencers whose human trafficking, sexual misconduct and money laundering case has become a rallying point among conservatives and who are unable to leave the country amid the legal battle. On Monday, citing three sources the outlet said were familiar with the matter, the FT reported that during a phone call with the Romanian government, U.S. officials advocated for loosening restrictions on the brothers. The story.
—"I am not in good enough condition." Shakira spent the weekend in the emergency room. In a post shared on her Instagram Story on Sunday, the Colombian singer revealed that she had been hospitalized the night before and would have to cancel her scheduled Peru show. “I am sorry to inform you all that last night I had to go to the ER for an abdominal issue and am currently hospitalized,” the singer wrote on social media. The hospital scare comes amid Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour. The story. |
'SNL50' Scores Nearly 15M Viewers for NBC and Peacock ►Huge numbers. The golden anniversary celebration for Saturday Night Live brought in ratings gold as well. Sunday’s live SNL50: The Anniversary Special drew 14.8m viewers on NBC and Peacock, based on Nielsen figures and internal numbers from NBCUniversal. The show is NBC’s biggest primetime entertainment telecast in five years, since 18.33m people watched the 2020 Golden Globes. The audience is also the second-largest for any non-sports primetime network show so far in the 2024-25 season, behind only the 15.4m viewers for the Grammy Awards on CBS earlier in February. The ratings.
—Sports! Broadcast and cable networks gained some additional traction with U.S. viewers in January, thanks in large part to the postseasons in college football and the NFL. Nielsen's TV use rankings for the first month of 2025 show cable (24.4 percent of all TV use) and broadcast (22.5 percent) each making some gains on their December 2024 numbers. Cable rose from 23.8 percent of TV usage the previous month, and broadcasters ticked up one tenth of a point. Streaming (42.6 percent of TV use in January) came down by a corresponding amount, though it still accounted for the largest share of viewing by a wide margin. (Other TV use made up the remaining 10.5 percent.) The data.
—Return to normalcy. Anyone who missed the season premiere of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver on Sunday will no longer have to wait until late in the week to watch it on YouTube. HBO has reversed a policy it put in place last season of holding off on sharing the late-night show’s main segment on YouTube; rather than posting it on Monday, HBO put up the main segment on Thursdays. Sources say the delay in posting the show to YouTube last season didn’t have any noticeable effect on viewing of the show on Max. HBO then decided to return to the former pattern, which host John Oliver prefers. The story.
—🎭 Tragic story 🎭 Conleth Hill, Russell Tovey and Emily Mortimer have joined the cast of Disney+ four-part U.K. drama Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. Written and executive produced by Jeff Pope, the series is produced by Etta Pictures, Pope’s production label, which is part of ITV Studios, in association with Kwadjo Dajan’s KDJ Productions. Jean Charles de Menezes’ parents and other relatives are serving as consultants for the series. The show focuses on the events surrounding the tragic killing of innocent Brazilian de Menezes after he was mistaken for a terrorist by London police in 2005. The story. |
Evans' Captain America Wasn't Expected to Save Us. So Why Is Mackie's? ►"Several conversations I’ve seen online, and taken part in person, have questioned whether Brave New World does enough in terms of taking a side." For THR, Richard Newby reflects on some of the online reaction to Captain America: Brave New World, notably the response to star Anthony Mackie. Richard writes there’s an American desire for Black people to lead the charge when it comes to effecting change, and now even a Black superhero film is asked to wage war against MAGA-land, something that never would've been expected of a Captain America film in the past. The analysis.
—First-look. More details about Christopher Nolan's forthcoming movie version of Homer’s The Odyssey have been revealed. Matt Damon will be playing the lead role of Odysseus. Universal shared the update with the below first-look photo of the actor in character in the epic. Damon is joined in the star-studded film by Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton and Mia Goth. The story.
—"I've spoken to many filmmakers that have the films that are nominated this year that can't pay their rent." The Brutalist director Brady Corbet said this week he “made zero dollars” on his Oscar-nominated film. “I just directed three advertisements in Portugal,” Corbet said during an appearance on WTF With Marc Maron. “It’s the first time that I had made any money in years.” Corbet went on to elaborate that he and his wife (and creative partner) Mona Fastvold, “made zero dollars on the last two films that we made.” Before The Brutalist, Corbet and Fastvold made 2018’s Vox Lux. The story. |
'Yellowjackets' Cast Was Shocked by What's to Come in S3 ►"I gagged." THR's queen of chat Jackie Strause spoke to the stars and creative team behind Yellowjackets about season three of the hit Showtime series. Three seasons in, the ensemble is still learning about what they did out in that wilderness, and upsetting answers are coming. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"I was having a really hard time finding a balance between wanting to be present as a mom, a partner, a friend, a daughter and also putting energy into pursuing my dreams." THR's Seija Rankin spoke to Brenda Song about her new show Running Point. Thirty years into her career, the former Disney actress talks to THR about how her role opposite Kate Hudson in Mindy Kaling’s new Netflix sports comedy changed her life. The interview.
—"So the freedom to make sure that this [New Jedi Order] script is the best way to tell this story is wonderful." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Daisy Ridley about her new film, Cleaner. The British actress also discusses the status of Lucasfilm's Star Wars movie New Jedi Order. The interview.
—"Parting ways with Marvel was certainly a massive decision that not a lot of people would make, but that was really important for me at the time." Brian also spoke to filmmaker Scott Derrickson about his new Apple Studios film, The Gorge. Derrickson discusses the making of the sci-fi feature starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller, and also talks about his time working in the MCU and The Black Phone 2. The interview. |
Film Review: 'The Blue Trail' ►"Take the trip." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Gabriel Mascaro's Berlin competition entry, The Blue Trail. Mascaro’s dystopian fantasy stars Denise Weinberg as a spirited Brazilian senior who refuses to bow to ageist authoritarian dictates while she still has dreams and desires. The review.
—"A deadpan gem." THR's Sheri Linden reviews Fernando Eimbcke's Olmo. Set in 1979 New Mexico, the comic drama revolves around a teen boy’s attempt to juggle fun with serious family responsibilities. The review.
—"The making of a documentary masterpiece." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Guillaume Ribot's All I Had Was Nothingness. Ribot revisited outtakes from the nine-hour Holocaust documentary Shoah to reveal how it was made and the toll it took on its creator Claude Lanzmann. The review.
—"A paranormal parent trap." Jordan reviews Frédéric Hambalek's Berlin competition entry, What Marielle Knows. Writer-director Hambalek's second feature follows a bourgeois family of three whose life is upended when their daughter suddenly gains telepathic powers. The review.
—"Affecting moments battle with jarring tonal shifts." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Vivian Qu's Berlin competition entry, Girls on Wire. In the Chinese filmmaker's third feature, two estranged cousins confront old wounds after they are reunited under dangerous and dramatic circumstances. The review.
—"Die Hard in a high-rise office building — oh, wait." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Martin Campbell's Cleaner. A window cleaner attempts to thwart the plans of terrorists while dangling outside a high-rise building in the new action-thriller. Starring Daisy Ridley, Taz Skylar, Clive Own, Matthew Tuck and Ruth Gemmell. The review.
What else we're reading...
—John Cassidy reports on Elizabeth Warren's desperate fight to defend the CFPB she helped create [New Yorker]
—Bradley Hope writes that the door is wide open for foreign cash to infiltrate the second Trump administration [Vanity Fair]
—Sam Adams writes that The White Lotus S3 is less of a satire and more of a slasher as the HBO series revolves around similar themes, notably more miserable rich people [Slate]
—With Paddington 3 now in theaters, Sarah Bahr digs into why everyone on social media is still talking about Paddington 2 [NYT]
—Elaine Moore explains why AI companies like Grok, DeepSeek and ChatGPT have such dumb names [FT]
Today...
...in 2011, 20th Century Fox released John Whitesell's Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son in theaters. The third and final installment in Martin Lawrence's Big Momma film trilogy, the film was ferociously panned by critics, but still made over $80m at the box office. The original review.
Today's birthdays: John Travolta (71), Molly Ringwald (57), Greta Scacchi (65), Matt Dillon (61), Cybill Shepherd (75), Ike Barinholtz (48), Vanna White (68), Dr. Dre (60), Mark Eydelshteyn (23), Kylie Rogers (21), Melise (34), Park Sung-hoon (40), Susan Egan (55), Wrenn Schmidt (42), Kristoffer Polaha (48), Rose Williams (31), Todd Lasance (40), Jacqueline Toboni (33), John Pankow (70), Alessandra Mastronardi (39), Sinéad Cusack (77), Park Shin-hye (35), Genelle Williams (41), Maiara Walsh (37), Jess Walton (76), Jayne Atkinson (66), Laia Costa (40), Logan Miller (33), Sarah Sutherland (37), Chelsea Hobbs (40), Sarah Joy Brown (50), Nadine Labaki (51), Juliana Canfield (33), Melinda Shankar (33), Jeanette Hain (56) |
| Mexican musical legend Paquita la del Barrio, known for her powerful voice and fierce defense of women, died at her home in Veracruz early Monday at the age of 77. The obituary. |
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