What's news: Director Carl Erik Rinsch has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for defrauding Netflix. Jennifer Todd will produce the Governors Awards. Starz has picked up SWAT Exiles. And Amanda Batula won’t be heading back to Summer House. — Abid Rahman
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Comcast's NBCU Split Could Shake Up Media M&A |
►Who might be interested. Comcast co-CEOs Brian Roberts and Mike Cavanagh told Wall Street analysts Monday that the proposed spinoff of NBCUniversal is “absolutely not” about setting each side of the company up for a sale. Indeed, their argument is that the split will give each company a stronger hand to play to cut deals or expand, splitting the debt load accordingly. But that isn’t stopping Wall Street from salivating about what comes next. THR's Alex Weprin looks at the deals that could be in the offing. The story.
—🤝 Making moves, Part I. 🤝 As the future of NBCU enters a new phase in its planned split from Comcast, the media company continues to cut deals for its Peacock streaming service. The latest news: Peacock is coming to YouTube Primetime Channels, in a bid to try and grow the streaming service’s reach and subscriber base. YouTube said Monday that Peacock’s Premium Plus tier, which does not include ads and costs $16.99 per month, is now available through its Primetime Channels subscription marketplace. The story.
—🤝 Making moves, Part II. 🤝 NBCU has also unveiled a pact with Starz to make the streaming destination for the Outlander and Power franchises available to select Peacock subscribers for $11.99 a month. With bundling increasingly popular with streaming giants, now-solo Starz will offer its streaming TV service as an add-on subscription to Peacock subscribers on the select, premium, and premium plus tiers. The story.
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U.K. Likely to Intervene in Paramount-WBD Deal |
►Consolidation concerns. The U.K. government is likely to intervene in Paramount Skydance‘s $111b takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. U.K. Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy released a statement Tuesday suggesting that a more formal action will follow. Nandy noted that the combined entity will own Channel 5, TNT Sports, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, CNN International, Paramount+ and HBO Max, and suggested that issues around consolidation in the on-demand video market are part of her concerns. The story.
—Overreach. In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a landmark precedent known as Humphrey’s Executor, giving the president vastly more control and authority over federal agencies like the SEC, FTC and FCC. The ruling, Trump v. Slaughter, was about an FTC commissioner, Rebecca Slaughter, who was terminated from her position by President Trump without cause. It is a concurring opinion by Justice Neil Gorsuch that may be of most interest to Hollywood: He cites FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s public criticism of Jimmy Kimmel as evidence that the agency may have too much power. The story.
—Suit filed. A screenwriter has sued Illumination Entertainment and Migration scribe Mike White for copyright infringement, accusing them of ripping off his script to make the animated feature. The screenwriter, Kenneth Giavara, claims in a lawsuit filed in California federal court that the film bears “substantial similarities” to his screenplay South for the Winter. Both works follow a family of birds whose homebody father reluctantly agrees to a road trip-esque migration. The story.
—Alleged self-dealing. The Directors Guild of America pension plan is unearthing some of this old streaming-wars history as it sues MGM Pictures for allegedly self-dealing in its licensing agreements with now-defunct streamer Epix and failing to make appropriate benefits contributions to the workers behind those shows. On Friday, the DGA-Producer Pension Plans and its trustees filed suit in California seeking records and pension plan contributions they say the company has neglected to provide for years. The streamer, now called MGM+, allegedly inked a “sweetheart” licensing deal with its owner that shortchanged the union benefits plan. The story.
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Director Sentenced to 30 Months Over $11M Netflix Fraud Scheme
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►Jailed. 47 Ronin director Carl Erik Rinsch was sentenced Monday to 30 months in prison for defrauding Netflix out of $11m from a deal with the company to make a sci-fi series he never delivered. A Manhattan jury last year found Rinsch guilty of wire fraud, money laundering and multiple counts related to engaging in illegal monetary transactions. He had spent funds earmarked for a series titled White Horse on risky securities trades, using profits from those investments to sue Netflix for further payments to finish the show and purchase luxury goods. The story.
—"[They were] willing to step on my neck and burn any bridge to get ahead." Dave Portnoy revisited Alex Cooper and Sofia Franklyn‘s acrimonious exit from Barstool Sports, with the media mogul revealing that the former Call Her Daddy co-hosts had a plan to say they were sexually harassed in order to get out of their contracts. In a new interview, Portnoy discussed his new memoir Cancel Me If You Can which touches on podcasters Cooper and Franklyn, firstly on how they came to join the Barstool empire and then how the duo ended up exiting in a blaze of fury and speculation. The story.
—"He was driven crazy by jealousy." Cara Delevingne has opened up about her romantic relationship with Amber Heard in a new episode of The Louis Theroux Podcast. In the episode Theroux says to Delevingne that Depp was reportedly “driven crazy by the idea that Amber might be sleeping with you,” to which she responds: “Am I meant to comment? It’s because we did a movie together, and it was called London Fields. He was also doing the movie. I think he was pretty driven crazy by jealousy. Nothing was happening at that point. Later, after they divorced, it had, I suppose.” The story.
—Tragedy. The cause of death for Daveigh Chase, most known for her role in the horror film The Ring and for voicing Lilo in Lilo & Stitch, has been revealed. She died on June 16 at age 35. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner confirmed that Chase, who was also known as Daveigh Schwallier, died of AIDS, with “chronic polysubstance use” listed as a secondary cause. Her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, previously told TMZ that she died after battling meningitis and an infection in her blood that led to septic issues. The story.
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Seven to Be Inducted Into TV Academy Hall of Fame
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►Legends all. TV comedy icons Ted Danson and Jean Smart, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, current Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, former HBO Documentary Films chief Sheila Nevins and the late 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley will be inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame, the organization announced Tuesday. The seven, who constitute the 28th class of inductees since the establishment of the Hall of Fame in 1984, will be feted at a ceremony on the opening night of Televerse, the Television Academy’s official festival, on Aug. 13. The story.
—Fresh face, fresh ideas. Jennifer Todd, the veteran film producer known for films including Memento and the Austin Powers franchise, and the co-producer, with Michael De Luca, of the 89th and 90th Oscars ceremonies, will produce the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 17th annual Governors Awards. Todd, a member and former governor of the Academy’s producers branch, succeeds Jennifer Fox, who produced the past seven editions of the ceremony at which the Academy presents special honors. The story.
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Amanda Batula Not Returning to 'Summer House'
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►She's out. After a 10-season run, Amanda Batula won’t be heading back to Summer House. The Bravo star, who has been at the center of the show’s mega-scandal, has departed the reality series she’s starred on since it launched in 2017. In that first season, Batula appeared as a recurring castmember; she became a main castmember the following season. She married co-star Kyle Cooke in 2021. Speculation on the rest of the season 11 cast is still early, except for West Wilson, whose exit was confirmed June 15. The most likely to return are Kyle Cooke, Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard, the latter in some capacity. The story.
—More problems. A Casa Amor bombshell has been removed from the U.K. version of Love Island following reports that he was connected to a stabbing in London. Gabriel Garland, 24, briefly appeared in Sunday night’s episode of season 13 before he was pulled from the popular ITV2 dating reality series. He entered the villa alongside five other Casa Amor men. “Gabriel has now left the villa and will not be returning,” an ITV spokesperson said in a statement. The story.
—Landing spot. A spinoff of SWAT that’s been in the works for more than a year has found a home. Starz has picked up SWAT Exiles, a follow-up to the 2017-25 CBS series, and has set a Sept. 25 premiere date for the show. Producer Sony Pictures Television has also secured international distribution for Exiles across Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa; a number of those territories will also debut the show on Sept. 25. Shemar Moore reprises his SWAT role as Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson, who is pulled out of forced retirement after a mission goes awry. The story.
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How Cinemas Can Increase Profits — and Win Back Audiences
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►"Big titles don’t just open and collapse. They open big and then stay for a while." In a guest column for THR, producer and film financier Joseph M. Singer considers the challenges faced by the movie industry, where the emphasis is often on 45-day windows to premium video on-demand or on costs, marketing and debt. Singer writes that the entertainment business lacks enough premium-capable screens to match the performance of modern films. The column.
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Irish, British Stars Join Netflix's 'Bad Bridgets' |
►🎭 Stacked cast. 🎭 Colin Farrell, Steve Coogan, Charlie Heaton and Domhnall Gleeson have joined the cast of Netflix's Irish period revenge thriller Bad Bridgets. Also cast in the feature written, produced and directed by Kneecap director Rich Peppiatt are Himesh Patel, Niamh Algar and Simone Kirby. The new names join Emilia Jones and Alison Oliver in the production from LuckyChap and Peppiatt’s Coup d’Etat banner. The script was inspired by the history book Bad Bridget: Crime, Mayhem, and the Lives of Irish Emigrant Women by Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick. The story.
—🎭 All set. 🎭 Real-world headlines involving bath salts provide the inspiration for a forthcoming horror-comedy musical. Tania Raymonde leads the ensemble cast of writer-director Taylor Morden’s feature Eat Your Heart Out, which has recently wrapped production. The cast also includes Jesse Rath, Emily Kimball, Breanna Yde, Rob Huebel, Brian Austin Green, Steve Agee, Clare Grant and Brendan Sexton III. The film is set in a small town that is about to host a major music festival, just as a risky new party drug begins to spread among the young locals that has the side effects of uncontrollable rage, overwhelming strength and a sudden craving for human flesh. The story.
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►"A for effort, B minus for execution." THR's Angie Han reviews Amazon Prime Video's Elle. Reese Witherspoon serves as executive producer on this Legally Blonde prequel series, which follows its title character during a difficult move in her teen years from sunny L.A. to rainy Seattle. Starring Lexi Minetree, June Diane Raphael, Tom Everett Scott, Jacob Moskovitz, Gabrielle Policano, Chandler Kinney and Zac Looker. Developed by Laura Kittrell. The review.
In other news...
—Hershey trailer: Finn Wittrock, Alexandra Daddario struggle to make affordable chocolate
—Angry Birds Movie 3 trailer: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad navigate challenges of parenting
—Meg Donnelly signs with WME
—The Skinny Confidential’s Lauryn Bosstick signs with WME
—Betty Kovacs, Ernie Kovacs daughter at the center of a high-profile custody battle, dies at 79
What else we're reading...
—Shocking story from Gisela Salomon who reports that more than 100 Venezuelans who were deported from the U.S. hours before the earthquakes are missing [AP]
—After Iran's ridiculous exit from the World Cup, Sam Drury looks at whether the country has been the unluckiest nation at the tournament [BBC]
—Margaret Hartmann explains who Natalie Harp is, the Trump aide who is the talk of Washington [Intelligencer]
—With Apple raising its prices, John Herrman looks at the way AI inflation is screwing the rest of the economy [Intelligencer]
—George Pennacchio reports on the retro movie palaces drawing new crowds to downtown Los Angeles [ABC News]
Today...
...in 1951, Alfred Hitchcock unveiled the suspense thriller Strangers on a Train in theaters. The original review.
Today's birthdays...
Lizzy Caplan (44), Tom Burke (45), David Alan Grier (70), Ashley Walters (44), Desi Lydic (45), Katherine Ryan (43), Vincent D'Onofrio (67), Grant Harvey (42), Marton Csokas (60), Monica Potter (55), Molly Parker (54), Angela Sarafyan (42), Derek Haas (56), Rupert Graves (63), Rick Gonzalez (47), Deirdre Lovejoy (64), Colton Dunn (49), Brian Bloom (55), Julie Engelbrecht (42), Christopher Jacot (47), Alissa Jung (45), Jena Engstrom (84), Josh Ruben (43), Nancy Dussault (90), Gata (39), Bashir Salahuddin (50), Elliot Fletcher (30), Cody Rhodes (41), Willam Belli (44), Payman Maadi (56), Sean Marquette (38), Mark Waters (62), David Witts (35), Adil El Arbi (37), Kate Luyben (53), David Garrison (74), John Heffernan (45), Patrick Baehr (34), Emma Myles (39), Rebecca Tilney (66)
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Tom Ligon, who portrayed backup catcher Piney Woods and performed the cowboy ballad “Streets of Laredo” in the poignant baseball drama Bang the Drum Slowly, has died. He was 85. The obituary.
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