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What's news: London's Wireless Festival has been canceled after headliner Kanye West was blocked from entering the U.K. Bill Ackman's hedge fund has made a $63.5b offer for Universal Music Group. Rapper Offset was hospitalized after being shot. And SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP resume negotiations on April 2. — Abid Rahman
Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at tips@thr.com. |
Harvey Levin's Next TMZ Overhaul►True-crime, with a dash of populism. TMZ, the media outlet that long chronicled the bad behavior of the Hollywood elite, is now embracing its inner populist, and Washington D.C. is adapting accordingly, and even cozying up. THR's Alex Weprin writes it’s just the latest trick up the sleeve of TMZ -founder Harvey Levin, 75, who gamely plays up his love-to-hate-him gossip-hound bona fides as he places a new series of bets (look for more true crime on its feeds) to put the company roaring back in the conversation after a few years of slipping relevance. The story.
—"UMG's stock price has languished." Billionaire Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management has unveiled a non-binding proposal to the board of directors of music giant Universal Music Group, the musical home of such stars as Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar, to acquire all of its outstanding shares in a mega-transaction valued at around $63.5b. Pershing, which has owned a stake in the music major since 2021, said its offer values each share of Netherlands-based UMG at €30.40. In the proposed transaction, UMG would merge with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings, and the newly merged company will become a Nevada corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The story.
—Still ponying up. There might be a war in the Middle East that threatens to wreak havoc on the global economy, but sovereign wealth funds controlled by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi are willing to bet on an American media company. David Ellison's Paramount is closing in on a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co. to provide $24b in equity backing for his $111b takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. $10b of that $24b will come from the PIF. The capital will help offset the costs for the Oracle founder Larry Ellison and RedBird Capital Partners, which have agreed to backstop David Ellison’s deal. The foreign investors are not expected to hold any governance or board seats. The story.
—Not great. A Rome court has found that Netflix illegally issued price increases from 2017 to 2024 by changing the terms of its subscription without sufficient notice and reasoning. Netflix has roughly 5.4m users in Italy. They could receive a refund of up to €500 depending on their subscription tier, according to advocacy group Consumer Movement, which filed the lawsuit. The April 1 ruling comes amid a series of similar lawsuits across the European Union against Netflix — including those filed in Germany, Netherlands and Poland — challenging price increases under consumer protection laws. They threaten how the company implements the hikes, specifically the way in which it secures consent from users. The story. |
Kanye Blocked From Entering U.K.; Wireless Fest Canceled►The latest. The British government has blocked Kanye West from entering the U.K. to headline London's Wireless Festival as the rapper's past antisemtic statements became the source of heated debate in the country. The government said the decision to "refuse permission was made on the grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good." West was set to headline the annual 150,000-person event in July. Minutes after the government's decision, Wireless organizers decided to cancel the 2026 edition of the music festival that has run continuously since 2005. The story.
—Shooting. Rapper Offset was shot outside a popular casino in Florida on Monday, according to multiple outlets. The former member of Atlanta-based hip-hop trio Migos, whose real name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus, was shot near the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, his rep confirmed to Rolling Stone. "We can confirm Offset was shot and is currently at the hospital receiving medical care," the rep wrote in a statement. "He is stable and being closely monitored." The story. |
WGA Members React to Surprise Studios Deal►✊ "Thank God." ✊ The vibes couldn’t be more different from 2023. In the wake of a surprise deal struck by the Writers Guild of America with studios and streamers and announced on Saturday, arriving earlier than many expected, WGA members expressed to THR's Katie Kilkenny gratitude they weren’t about to face another down-to-the-wire negotiation or strike like they did just three years prior. After their 148-day strike in 2023, union members say that they weren’t eager for a repeat, but a four-year agreement, rather than the customary three year-deal, raises questions about the fine print. The reaction.
—✊ Moving forward. ✊ After the WGA wrapped its deal with the studios and streamers, SAG-AFTRA announced that it will return to the bargaining table by the end of the month. The performers’ union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers resume negotiations on April 27, the two parties said in a joint statement on Monday. The sides previously broke off talks on March 15 after failing to reach an agreement in their first scheduled bargaining period. The fast turnaround on the WGA deal, just three weeks into negotiations, allowed the two parties to schedule their return to the bargaining table sooner than expected. SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP had previously been targeting early June to return to negotiations, according to a source. The story.
—"AI has, in the creative economy, dramatically changed how work is being done." Don’t blame generative AI for the devastating recent shrinkage in California’s creative workforce, says the latest report from the L.A.-based Otis College of Art and Design, which produces research annually encompassing the state’s film, fashion, gaming, media, advertising, arts and architecture industries. Between 2022 and 2025, California’s creative economy lost 14 percent of its jobs, or 114,000 roles. According to the report those losses were concentrated in two sectors in particular: film, television and sound and in traditional media. But, the report authors note, the jobs most exposed to AI in the state’s creative economy — those of writers, software developers and artists — have been growing in number rather than shrinking. Job postings for these occupations have been up as well. The story. |
Feinberg Forecast: Scott's First Read of the Emmy Race►It begins... With the 2026 Oscars receding into memory, THR's executive editor of awards Scott Feinberg is looking forward to the 77th Emmy Awards in September. Here is Scott's read of the race in the first week of April, a mere 5 months or so before Emmys statuettes will be handed out. The forecast.
—🏆 Congrats to all! 🏆 ABC, CNN, NBC and Oscar-shortlisted documentary 2000 Meters to Andriivka are among the nominees in top categories for the 2026 News and Documentary Emmy Awards. The best live news program category features two nominations from ABC News (World News Tonight With David Muir and Good Morning America), two from CNN (Anderson Cooper 360 and The Lead With Jake Tapper) and two from NBC News (NBC Nightly News With Tom Llamas and the Today show). In the best documentary category, the nominees are Black Snow, Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time, Life After, Love + War, 2000 Meters to Andriivka, Prime Minister, Turning Point: The Vietnam War and Union. The nominees. |
Netflix Expands 'One Piece' Universe►Straw Hats rejoice! Netflix is expanding its immensely popular One Piece franchise with a Lego animated special and also offered new details and updates on season 3 of the main live-action series, the hotly anticipated anime series from Japan’s Wit Studio, as well as a new podcast and merch. On a big day for One Piece news, Netflix revealed the title of season three of the mainline live-action series will be The Battle of Alabasta and it will arrive in 2027. The two-part animated special Lego One Piece, will premiere on Sept. 29, and will recap the first two seasons of the live-action series in the typical, fun Lego way. Netflix also revealed art work and a teaser for Wit Studio's The One Piece anime series. The story.
—Up next. After The Late Show With Stephen Colbert ends — as in, one day after — CBS will usher in its next era of late night programming. The network will air Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen in the 11:35 p.m. beginning May 22, followed by another Allen-produced series, the comedy game show Funny You Should Ask, at 12:35 a.m. The Late Show will sign off on May 21. Comics Unleashed has been airing in the later spot this season and also aired there during the 2023 writers and actors strikes. The story.
—Memory refreshed. Fox has renewed its first-year drama Memory of a Killer, starring Patrick Dempsey, for a second season in 2026-27. The show joins fellow rookie Best Medicine in earning a spot on next season’s schedule. Fox has also renewed Doc for a third season and has yet to make a decision on its other drama series, Murder in a Small Town. The renewal comes as Memory of a Killer, a co-production between Fox and Warner Bros. TV, airs its season finale Monday night. The story. |
Universal Reveals Details on Glen Powell Comedy►📅 Dated! 📅 Glen Powell is set to take center stage in a new comedy from Judd Apatow. Universal announced Monday that the name of the previously untitled feature is The Comeback King. Hitting theaters Feb. 5, 2027, the film features Powell as a country western star in free fall. Cristin Milioti, Madelyn Cline, Stavros Halkias and Li Jin Hao round out the cast. Apatow helms the movie from a script he wrote with Powell. The story.
—Wait, what!? A fan-favorite version of David Fincher’s Alien 3 has been released on HBO Max. Alien 3: The Assembly Cut is a much longer version of the much-maligned 1992 Alien franchise film starring Sigourney Weaver. This version clocks in at two hours and 25 minutes compared to the theatrical cut, which is one hour and 54 minutes. The lore behind this edit goes like this: Fox wanted a “Director’s Cut” of Alien 3 for home video. Fincher declined to participate. So the studio created this “Assembly Cut” and released it on the 2003 Alien Quadrilogy DVD box set. The Assembly Cut contains extended takes and deleted scenes, plus scenes that directly impact the plot and several of the notorious film’s plot holes are filled and the fates of some minor characters are revealed. The story.
—Tape trauma. James Cullen Bressack is going low-fi for his upcoming horror feature. The filmmaker will shoot I Have Proof entirely on VHS-C, a move to match the back-to-basics approach of the script he wrote. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the film is said to be psychologically charged, and favor “texture, imperfection, and immediacy over polish” according to Bressack, as it explores a deteriorating sense of reality. To find enough VHS cassettes to shoot on, he purchased around 30 tapes from Ebay, buying people’s old home movies to record over. The story. |
'The Boys' Creator on How America Is Already Living in S5►"The world out-crazies the show." THR's James Hibberd spoke to The Boys creator Eric Kripke on the dizzying parallels between our current political reality and the upcoming final season of the Amazon Prime Video hit: "I swear, we genuinely thought it was [too] out there." The interview.
—"The writing was so good, and that’s really what you look for. Especially when it’s a bigger-than-life character." For THR, Abbey White spoke to Katey Sagal about joining the ever expanding One Piece universe at Netflix. The veteran actress, who plays the villainous Dr. Kureh, discusses her role and also reveals she'll feature in the Lego animated series of One Piece. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
Film Review: 'Exit 8'
►"Probably more fun to play than to watch." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Genki Kawamura's Exit 8. The Japanese filmmaker's big-screen take on the indie video game hit follows a man who can’t find his way out of a Tokyo subway tunnel. Starring Kazunari Ninomiya, Yamato Kochi, Naru Asanuma, Kotone Hanase and Nana Komatsu. Written by Kentaro Hirase and Genki Kawamura, based on the video game by Kotake Create. The review.
In other news...
—A24’s The Invite trailer: Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde share awkward night with another couple
—Rick and Morty reveals S9 trailer
—Sabrina Carpenter brings Margaret Qualley, Madelyn Cline for “House Tour” music video
—Jack White added as surprise performer for Coachella
—Queen Latifah to host the American Music Awards
—Marcus Theatres finds new president
—Joseph J. Collins, former top exec at HBO and Time Warner Cable, dies at 81
What else we're reading...
—Erika Solomon and Sanam Mahoozi report that Iranians are shocked but defiant in the face of Trump’s genocidal threats [NYT]
—In a glimmer of good news among the gloom, Gideon Rachman writes that Trump's madness is hastening Britain’s return to the EU [FT]
—Sarah Kaplan has the highlights from Artemis II’s record-breaking moonshot [Washington Post]
—Must-read expose from Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his allegedly rather tenous relationship with the truth [New Yorker]
—Ellen Gamerman has a crazy story about tech company Plex's team bonding trip to Honduras that went disasterously wrong [WSJ]
Today...
...in 1995, Columbia launched what would become a new franchise with the release of the R-rated cop actioner Bad Boys, directed by a youngish Michael Bay and starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Francis Ford Coppola (87), Russell Crowe (62), Jackie Chan (72), Anna Konkle (39), Heather Burns (51), Clarke Peters (74), Sian Clifford (44), Jennifer Lynch (58), Sandy Powell (66), Grace Hightower (71), Eric Wareheim (50), Kevin Alejandro (50), Ed Speleers (38), Paul Raci (78), Ismael Cruz Cordova (39), Patricia Belcher (72), Jason Ralph (40), Nico Santos (47), Pete Lee-Wilson (🏴66), Matt Servitto (61), Annapurna Sriram (37), Jennifer Schwalbach Smith (55), Elaine Miles (66), Sergio Peris-Mencheta (51), Ellie Harvie (61), Jimmy Akingbola (48), Hallea Jones (29), Conner Rayburn (27), Cec Verrell (68)
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Steven Sunshine, the writer-producer who worked with his wife, Madeline Sunshine, on the TV shows Webster and The New Odd Couple and on the Blake Edwards film Son of the Pink Panther, has died. He was 81. The obituary.
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