| | | | | | Welcome back to The Weekender, where these must-reads from THR are mogul-driven: David Ellison meets the press, Rupert Murdoch plots a paper war, John Malone tells all, John Wells offers a cure for TV. —Erik Hayden
+ A news ticker: Fran Drescher bows out; Byron Allen sells; Gina Carano settles; Harvey Weinstein sues; Linda Yaccarino's next role. |
David Ellison's Tech DreamsSpeaking at Paramount’s New York HQ, it was clear that David Ellison, Gerry Cardinale and Jeff Shell believe the success YouTube and Netflix are seeing as media flounders is less about content, and more about product. “Unless you can build a tech product that is truly competitive with what’s coming out of Silicon Valley, you can’t compete,” Ellison said. Can Paramount pivot?
+ A candid chat with a trio of THR reporters on what we saw (and didn't see) from the C-suite of Paramount Skydance during its megadeal presser. Also: The TikTok scenario: "If Larry Ellison buys it and it somehow gets aligned with Paramount it’s a game-changer for the younger Ellison, right?"
++ Ellison's High Wire Act I Meet the Press I Golden Parachutes for Exiting Execs |
An Empty Movie HouseL.A.’s iconic Cinerama Dome, the beloved big-screen theater and adjoining ArcLight multiplex, have lain dormant since COVID, prompting public lamentations from filmmakers ranging from Barry Jenkins and Lulu Wang to Edgar Wright and Olivia Wilde. Their fate remains mysteriously in limbo — but not for lack of wealthy suitors. The report. |
Emmys Prescribe a XanaxIn a time marked by massive social and political turmoil, this year’s Emmy nominees channeled — and occasionally tried to calm — our greatest worries, from climate change to AI. The big contenders always have a socially relevant show here or there, but has there ever been a torrent like this one? The Race. |
Last Call for Late-NightAfter 70 years of tucking America into bed, it looks like the curtain is about to come down on the late night genre. What’s being lost is more than a TV tradition but a backdrop for some of America’s most memorable moments. A eulogy. |
Being John MaloneIn an exclusive excerpt from his new memoir, the battle-scarred billionaire candidly reflects on his (mostly) friendly rivalries with Reed Hastings, Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner and how he built a sprawling empire while living with autism. In his words. |
Murdoch's Next BattleThe launch of a New York Post offshoot in California may seem like side show. But Rupert Murdoch and News Corp chief Robert Thomson see a real chance to carve away audience from The Los Angeles Times with its tabloid formula. Is the Times' owner Patrick Soon-Shiong ready to defend his turf? The report. |
The Britt FactorSeverance is TV's most surreal, thrilling and Emmy-nominated show. Britt Lower is its secret weapon. But there’s no telling when she might decamp for the circus: "I have these two sides: the rule follower versus the rebel." The cover story. |
He Might Have the CureThe Pitt creator John Wells, named THR’s TV Producer of the Year, offers an Rx for what’s ailing the industry and examines the high highs (The West Wing) and lows (racist E.R. notes) of his own spectacularly prolific career. The interview. |
Behind Wondery's Breakup The Amazon-owned podcasting company led by Jen Sargent, which saw 110 layoffs and the exec's exit, is the latest to pivot as YouTube pushes longform chats as a watchable format and scrambles the audio-only ecosystem. The report. |
"A Never-Ending Art Project" Ahead of this year's Outside Lands festival in San Francisco, which will feature Tyler, the Creator, Doja Cat and Hozier among others, co-founders Rick Farman and Allen Scott spoke with THR about staying indie, evolving the event and what festivals mean for artists in 2025. The Q&A. |
"I Felt Like a Goldfish Thrown Into a Pond" In Archie Madekwe's new thriller Lurker, the 30-year-old actor plays a British rock star who decamps to the Hollywood Hills. But Madekwe himself is just getting acclimated to LA: "It was so daunting." Spotlight. |
7 Days of DEALS Paramount picked up High Side, a MotoGP racer package from director James Mangold and Timothée Chalamet ... Matt Smith was cast in a villain role in the Shawn Levy-directed Star Wars: Starfighter ... Kristen Wiig is joining Jonah Hill in the Warner Bros. comedy Cut Off ... New Line has hired Lori Evans Taylor to pen the next Final Destination movie ... Michael Bay exited Netflix‘s actioner Fast and Loose amid differences with Will Smith ... Neon nabbed U.S. rights to Genki Kawamura’s thriller Exit 8 ... Hulu greenlit Phony, a mystery starring Connie Britton and Sam Nivola ... CBS added Logan Marshall-Green to Yellowstone spinoff Y: Marshals ... More than six years after leaving Fox’s Empire amid an uproar over an allegedly staged attack, Jussie Smollett returns as part of the Special Forces cast.
+ The Bottom Line: Disney's Freakier Friday is a "painfully stretched cash-grab" ... Warner Bros.' Weapons is "a blunt instrument with a ton of style" ... FX's Alien: Earth is an "occasionally unwieldy but eventually thrilling epic" ... Netflix's Wednesday season two is "Creepy enough, but far less kooky and ooky" ... Starz' Outlander prequel is "Totally enchanting." |
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