| | | | | | What's news: 60 Minutes finally aired the segment that was pulled last month by Bari Weiss. Trump says that he plans to sign an executive order giving an exclusive 4-hour broadcast TV window to the Army-Navy game. A Speedy Gonzalez movie is in the works at WB. Sentimental Value was the big winner at the European Film Awards. And Steve Coogan will appear in the fourth season of The White Lotus. — Abid Rahman
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Predicting Oscar Noms Using Math ►Is it all too predictable? Ben Zauzmer is back! Ahead of the Academy Awards nominations reveal this week, Ben, the author of Oscarmetrics: The Math Behind the Biggest Night in Hollywood, offers his final predictions for each category using just math. After crunching the numbers, Ben thinks at least five movies are near certainties for a best picture nom, per a mathematical formula that factors in awards season data and historical trends. The predictions. |
Trump Bought Netflix, WBD Bonds Days After Deal Announced ►Banana republic latest. According to a financial disclosure released by the White House, Donald Trump acquired corporate bonds issued by Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery, valued as high as $1m each. The debt securities were acquired in the days after Netflix announced its blockbuster $83b deal for WB. The White House released the disclosure for the president late Thursday, listing dozens of transactions with a total value well over $100m, including the acquired debt from the entertainment companies. The disclosure, which is dated Jan. 14, does not list the precise value of each purchase, instead offering a range. The story.
—Paramount to profit? Donald Trump says that he plans to sign an executive order giving an exclusive four-hour broadcast television window to the annual Army-Navy football game, citing concerns of encroachment from the nascent College Football Playoff system. The order, if allowed to go into effect, would be a blow to Disney’s ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT. ESPN has the exclusive rights to the College Football Playoffs through 2031-2032, and has been sublicensing some games to TNT. It would be a boon, however, to David Ellison’s Paramount, which has the rights to the Army-Navy game on CBS through 2038. The story.
—Gangsterism. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Tony Dokoupil and an executive producer of CBS Evening News that the president would “sue your ass off” if his Jan. 13 interview with the anchor was not aired in full, according to The New York Times. After the interview was taped, Leavitt relayed a message from Trump to Dokoupil and CBS Evening News executive producer Kim Harvey. “He said, ‘Make sure you guys don’t cut the tape, make sure the interview is out in full,'” Leavitt said, per a recording obtained by the Times. The story.
—Devastating piece. "Inside CECOT," the 60 Minutes segment that was pulled last month by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss in a controversial move, finally aired on Sunday night. CBS News told THR in a statement: “CBS News leadership has always been committed to airing the 60 Minutes CECOT piece as soon as it was ready. Tonight, viewers get to see it, along with other important stories, all of which speak to CBS News’ independence and the power of our storytelling.” The story. |
Can Hollywood Avoid a Strike This Time? ►"I don’t think the studios can afford it, and I don’t think the talent can afford it." Six months. A 17 percent dip in entertainment employment in the L.A. area. Billions in estimated economic activity lost to the state of California. Could it happen again? THR's Katie Kilkenny writes that three years after the double writers and actors strikes rocked Hollywood, it’s a question many in the industry are reluctantly being forced to consider once more. The story.
—"We were prepared to strike if push came to shove, and we had a whole strike operation ready to go." THR's Caitlin Huston spoke to Dan Point, the new president of the American Federation of Musicians Local 802, the union for Broadway and New York City musicians. Point discusses the Broadway strike, AI and lots more. The interview.
—The latest. Nick Reiner was put under a yearlong mental health conservatorship in 2020, an arrangement that will likely take center stage in his defense against charges for the murder of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. The placement — designed for people with serious mental illnesses who are found to be “gravely disabled” and typically originate after noncompliance with treatment — is known for allowing involuntary psychiatric care. The conservatorship, designed to last for a limited time, ended in 2021, according to the report. The story.
—Sphere 2. America is going to get a second Sphere, and it’s coming to the Washington D.C. metro area. Sphere Entertainment, the company behind the Las Vegas landmark, says that it has inked a deal to develop and build a second Sphere venue at Maryland's National Harbor, a major tourism destination in the area. Notably, Sphere says the plan is to create what it is calling its first “smaller-scale” design, with plans for a 6,000 seat venue, compared to the 18,600 seats at the Las Vegas Sphere. The project will be financed with public and private funding, including approximately $200m in state, local, and private incentives. The story.
—Moving forward. As it moves past its bankruptcy and production-company-for-hire era, Vice Media is expanding its C-suite with multiple new executives on its finance side. Joe Friedman, the veteran talent agency exec who spent 16 years at ICM Partners before moving to CAA after its acquisition, has formally joined Vice as CFO, the company said Friday. The Los Angeles exec, who has been consulting with Vice since last September, will now report to CEO Adam Stotsky in the org chart. Stotsky, formerly the president of E! and Esquire Network during a 18-year run at NBCUniversal, had joined Vice last June. Devak Shah has also been hired as Vice’s evp of strategy. The story. |
Box Office: 'Avatar 3' Tops 'Bone Temple' ►Hang in there! 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is coming in behind expectations as the sole new wide entry at the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday box office, where holdover Avatar: Fire and Ash will win the four-day weekend. Sony’s Bone Temple is looking to notch $15m during the four-day frame, and a $13m three-day number. That’s far behind the first 28 Years, which opened to a $30m three-day number in June, and behind the $20m four-day number projected for Bone Temple going into the weekend. Avatar 3, now in its fifth weekend, is expected to win with a $17m four-day figure. So far, the film has collected $353.4m domestically and more than $1.23b globally.
The 28 Years Later franchise hails from director Boyle and writer Alex Garland, who brought the film series to Sony after a heated bidding war. Filmmaker Nia DaCosta is in the director’s chair for Bone Temple, the second part in a planned trilogy, with Sony saying last month that it will make a third installment with Cillian Murphy — star of the original 28 Days Later — with Boyle returning to direct. It is not known how this opening weekend could change that calculus.
THR's Aaron Couch reports that Sony insiders are hopeful that word of mouth could give Bone Temple legs. The feature earned strong reviews (94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), an A- CinemaScore (a rare high grade for a horror film) and a 4.5 PostTrak rating. Bone Temple stars Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman and Chi Lewis-Parry. The box office report. |
Jorge R. Gutiérrez to Direct WB's Speedy Gonzales Movie ►It's happening! THR's resident cheeky lad Ryan Gajewski has the scoop that Warner Bros. has set The Book of Life filmmaker Jorge R. Gutiérrez to direct an animated feature centering on the classic Looney Tunes character Speedy Gonzales. Plot details have not been shared, and a writer has not been announced. Gutiérrez took to social media last month to tease the project, posting a photo of himself holding a Speedy Gonzales figurine while wearing a straw hat and red bandana similar to the ones that the lightning-quick mouse typically dons. The filmmaker added the caption, “Guess what movie I might be developing at Warner Brothers Pictures Animation…" The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 J.J. Abrams‘ new feature that stars Glen Powell is among the titles getting a release date from Warner Bros. The studio announced release plans Friday for a number of forthcoming films, including the official confirmation that the title of Abrams’ movie is The Great Beyond. The movie hits theaters Nov. 13 and stars Powell, Jenna Ortega, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Merritt Wever and Samuel L. Jackson. Writer-director Sam Esmail‘s Panic Carefully, a paranoid thriller, is now set to hit theaters Feb. 26, 2027. Slated to hit theaters that summer is director Tim Miller‘s untitled feature that stars Keanu Reeves. Additionally, the studio announced it will release The Conjuring: First Communion in theaters Sept. 10, 2027. The story.
—New home. Filmmaker Tommy Wirkola‘s untitled forthcoming feature is hoping to make a splash on Netflix after losing its theatrical release from Sony Pictures. The project stars Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak and Djimon Hounsou, with Adam McKay and Kevin Messick serving as producers. Netflix is planning a launch for later this year. Sony had initially slated the thriller, which was formerly known as Shiver, for theatrical release on Aug. 1, 2025, before announcing last year that the movie had shifted to July 3, 2026. Plot details have not been shared, but previous reports about the project have noted the involvement of sharks. The story.
—📅 Eight has a date. 📅 Paramount is keeping May spooky, and will release the next Paranormal Activity movie on May 21, 2027. The untitled feature is produced by franchise newcomer James Wan and directed by Ian Tuason, with plot details kept under wraps. This will be the eighth film in the franchise that began life with Oren Peli’s ultra low-budget, 2007 film that grossed $194.2 m and is considered one of the most profitable movies of all time. The story.
—Ice to see you. At a time when movie theaters are desperate for fresh fare to bring consumers in, NBCUniversal and AMC Theatres have inked a deal that will bring live coverage of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics to the theater owner’s locations. AMC and NBC say that more than 150 AMC locations across the U.S. will offer select live daytime coverage between Feb. 6-Feb. 22. The live coverage will include figure skating, skiing, snowboarding, hockey, speed skating, and more sports. A promotional trailer for the Olympics has begun running in AMC Theatres in connection with the launch. The story. |
European Film Awards 2026 ►🏆 Félicitations! 🏆 Sentimental Value was the big winner at the 38th European Film Awards on Saturday night, with Joachim Trier’s Norwegian melodrama winning best film, as well as best director and twin acting honors for Stellan Skarsgard and Renate Reinsve. Trier and Eskil Vogt also won best screenplay honors for their script to Sentimental Value, and Hania Rani took the prize for best score. The EFAs made a shift from December to mid-January this year, in the hope of boosting buzz around European contenders for international honors. The winners.
—Woof! Woof! Woof! In mid-December, Marvel Studios embarked on a rarity in modern movie marketing when it released a teaser for Avengers: Doomsday solely in theaters. Typically, a launch for a movie of that would size hit online immediately, and might be tied to a big TV broadcast, like a championship sporting event, to help boost the numbers. The experiment paid off in a big way, with insiders saying that the four teasers have reached a combined 1.02b views. The story.
—🎭 All set. 🎭 Otoja Abit is ready to make some introductions to Veronica & Julian. The multi-hyphenate’s indie feature — Abit’s latest following his feature directorial debut A New York Christmas Wedding, which streamed on Netflix — is described as a romantic drama with Nadia Bjorlin and Kyler Pettis set for the title roles. They’ll star alongside Blake Jenner, Erin Cummings, Chrystee Pharris, Robert Lee Leng, Mark Famiglietti and Jennafer Newberry. The plot centers on a confident and successful marketing executive (Bjorlin) who winds up falling for a younger aspiring architect (Pettis). The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Horsegirls is racing toward a theatrical release. Sumerian Pictures has acquired North American rights to writer-director Lauren Meyering’s dramedy feature that stars newcomer Lillian Carrier and Gretchen Mol. The distributor is planning a nationwide theatrical release for later this year. Horsegirls centers on Margarita (Carrier), a 22-year-old woman with autism who aims to prove her independence to her mother (Mol) by learning about hobby horsing as she masters her skills on a stick horse. The story. |
'White Lotus': Steve Coogan, Caleb Jonte Edwards Join Cast ►🎭 AKA Alan goes to France. 🎭 HBO has booked two more guests for the fourth season of The White Lotus. Steve Coogan and Caleb Jonte Edwards have joined the show for the coming season, which is set to film in France. As with most things related to The White Lotus, details of who they’ll be playing are being kept quiet. Series creator Mike White is currently writing the new season. Coogan and Edwards are the third and fourth members of the cast for the coming season, joining Alexander Ludwig and AJ Michalka. The story.
—Woof! The fourth season of The Traitors’ U.S. version got off to the show’s best start yet on Peacock. The back-stabbing competition series hosted by Alan Cumming drew 638m viewing minutes for the week of Jan. 5-11, according to preliminary Nielsen streaming data (season four premiered Jan. 8). Final numbers, which could change a little, will be out in a few weeks. If the early figure holds, the 638m minutes will mark the best weekly total to date in the Nielsen streaming rankings for The Traitors. The previous high was 555m minutes for the season 3 premiere in the same week of 2025. The ratings. |
'Landman': Billy Bob Thornton Talks S2's Ending ►"I think there was a little defiance and yet still uneasiness." THR's queen of chat Jackie Strause spoke to Billy Bob Thornton about the season 2 finale of Paramount+'s monster hit Landman. The actor dishes on the second season's ending, and how that surprising finale sets up many more seasons. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"We’re not throwing a kid out of a window in the very first episode." THR's James Hibberd spoke to showrunner Ira Parker about the latest episode of HBO's Game of Thrones spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Parker breaks down that projectile defecation scene, ahem, that even surprised George R.R. Martin. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"She’s a different doctor." THR's Hilary Lewis spoke to actress Taylor Dearden about the second episode of season 2 of HBO's The Pitt. Dearden discusses Dr. Mel King greetting Dr. Frank Langdon with open arms. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
TV Review: 'The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins' ►"Gets better as it goes." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews NBC's The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins. Tina Fey and Robert Carlock are among executive producers of the comedy about a disgraced football star hoping a documentary will change his life. Starring Tracy Morgan, Daniel Radcliffe, Erika Alexander, Bobby Moynihan, Precious Way and Jalyn Hall. Created by Robert Carlock and Sam Means. The review.
In other news...
—The Madison drops teaser trailer during Landman finale
—Bad Bunny gets people dancing in Super Bowl Halftime Show trailer
—“No Kings” protest organizers launch podcast with Lemonada
—UTA signs British comedian Simon Brodkin
—Rocco Commisso, cable TV mogul and ACF Fiorentina owner, dies at 76
What else we're reading...
—Tobias Gehrke outlines all the (very significant!) cards the Europeans hold in a showdown with Trump [European Council on Foreign Relations]
—James Shotter, Michael Peel, Chris Cook and Abigail Hauslohner report that Trump’s "Board of Peace" is set up to be a rival to the UN, controlled by the president [FT]
—Here it is, the much ballyhooed Clare Malone story on Bari Weiss' hostile takeover of CBS News [New Yorker]
—Evan Mandery has a fascinating read on the woke/anti-woke civil war at Bari Weiss' University of Austin [Politico]
—Josef Adalian believes the Tony Dokoupil thing at CBS isn’t working and likely never will [Vulture]
Today...
...in 2001, Stacy Peralta’s skateboarding documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys lit up the Sundance Film Festival, going on to earn multiple honors in Park City and, later, a feature film treatment, Lords of Dogtown. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Dolly Parton (80), Tippi Hedren (96), Damien Chazelle (41), Rob Delaney (49), Essie Davis (56), Paul McCrane (65), Shawn Wayans (55), Larry Clark (83), Nash Edgerton (53), Logan Lerman (34), Katey Sagal (72), Hannah Walters (52), Luke Macfarlane (46), Drea de Matteo (54), Drew Powell (50), Miriam Silverman (49), Jodie Sweetin (44), Marsha Thomason (50), Taliesin Jaffe (49), Wendy Moniz (57), Rachel Luttrell (55), Benjamin Ayres (49), Shaunette Renée Wilson (36), Hwang In-Youp (35), Mickey Sumner (42), Natassia Malthe (52), Desi Arnaz Jr. (73), Veanne Cox (63), Atkins Estimond (39), Ari Millen (44), Waleed Zuaiter (55), Simone Missick (44), Roger Ashton-Griffiths (69), Nadiuska (74), Erin Sanders (35), Kayla Radomski (35), William Ragsdale (65), Josh Dylan (32) |
| Roger Allers, the Oscar- and Tony-nominated animated film director best known for helming 1994’s The Lion King, has died. He was 76. The obituary. |
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