| | | | | | What's news: The multi-talented Jason Bateman is THR's digital cover star this week. Berkshire Hathaway has taken a big stake in the NYT. Crooked Media podcasts are coming to MS NOW. Heated Rivalry's Connor Storrie is in talks to join A24 comedy Peaked. And Mehdi Mahmoudian, the Oscar-nominated co-writer of It Was Just an Accident, has been released from prison in Iran. — Abid Rahman
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The Nine Lives of Jason Bateman ►On the digital cover. Jason Bateman was nearly driven out of the entertainment industry. Then he reinvented himself, from teen idol to leading man to podcast mogul. Now the star of HBO’s upcoming DTF St. Louis opens up to THR's Lacey Rose about his family, his $100m SmartLess deal, his viral encounter with Charli XCX and how he staged one of the greatest comebacks in modern Hollywood. The cover story. |
Colbert Slams CBS' Legal Team ►"I really don’t want an adversarial relationship with the network." Stephen Colbert only has a short time to go before The Late Show comes to an end, for ever, but the host’s last few months in the job are starting to become increasingly awkward for CBS. On Tuesday’s episode of the late night show, a clearly exasperated Colbert returned to the controversy over his interview with Democratic Rep. James Talarico, and in a remarkable piece to camera, slammed CBS’ lawyers for not consulting him over a statement released in the aftermath of the interview. "Now I’m not a lawyer and I don’t want to tell them how to do their jobs, but since they seem intent on telling me how to do mine, here we go," Colbert said before he skewered the statement on air. The recap.
—A rare genius for naming shows. Fox News host Sean Hannity is launching a new podcast. Titled Hang Out With Sean Hannity, the twice weekly show will be recorded at Hannity’s set in Florida, which the press release describes as his “man cave.” The show is set to feature “long-form, unfiltered conversations with compelling and influential figures across culture, business, sports, politics, and beyond.” In addition to the podcast, the host will continue his long-running show Hannity and his radio program, but will end Sean, his interview series on Fox Nation. The story.
—🤝 Content deal. 🤝 Crooked Media podcasts are coming to cable. The political podcast company has struck a deal with MS NOW to air highlights from the week’s podcast episodes on Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET. The first episode will premiere Feb. 28, featuring analysis about the State of the Union and more. Each episode will feature a compilation of clips from Crooked Media shows, which will include Runaway Country with Alex Wagner (an MS Now contributor), Strict Scrutiny, Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Hysteria, Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams, Offline with Jon Favreau and What A Day. The story. |
WBD's Cease-and-Desist Says ByteDance Deliberately Ripped Off Its IP ►"An apparent attempt to promote and establish consumer demand for Seedance." ByteDance’s rollout of its AI video generator follows a well-worn playbook capitalizing on interest in iconic characters across movies, TV shows and comics in a tit-for-tat battle for users: Release the technology without guardrails, get buzz on social media and then announce safety measures presented as preventing the unauthorized use of studio-owned intellectual property after being threatened with legal action. That’s the assertion Warner Bros. Discovery made on Tuesday in a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance accusing the company of massive copyright infringement. The story.
—✊ The call is coming from inside the house. ✊ The staff of the Writers Guild of America West called a strike on Tuesday, making good on a threat to mire the writers union in its own labor issues ahead of major contract negotiations with studios and streamers. The Writers Guild Staff Union announced that it had called a strike in protest of alleged unfair labor practices and would be picketing until further notice. The union maintained that “Guild management has surveilled workers for union activity, terminated union supporters, and engaged in bad faith surface bargaining, showing no intention to come to an agreement on most of WGSU’s core issues.” The story.
—🤝 Financing round. 🤝 The creator-focused talent management firm Night has raised $70m in a significant financing round, with plans to expand into gaming, sports, music and live events. Founded by Reed Duchscher, Night’s roster of creators includes Kai Cenat, Sam and Colby, T-Pain, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Hunter Woodhall and the Kalogeras Sisters. The company says it plans to use the funds to “build, operate and acquire businesses embedded in internet culture across all facets of media and entertainment, including digital media, music, sports, gaming, podcasting, streaming and live events.” The story.
—🤝 Back in the media biz. 🤝 In Warren Buffett‘s final quarter as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, the famed billionaire investor made a big, audacious bet on a legacy media business. Berkshire on Tuesday disclosed in an SEC filing that the company had taken a substantial position in The New York Times, valued at more than $350m. The company also sold more than 10m shares in Apple, shedding its exposure to the tech giant. The Times stake marks a return to media for Berkshire, which used to own a portfolio of newspapers (including Buffett’s hometown Omaha World-Herald) before selling them to Lee Enterprises in 2020. Berkshire still owns one local TV station, WPLG in Miami, which it acquired from the Graham family (of Washington Post fame) in 2014. The story. |
81 Artists Call Out Berlinale for "Silence" on Gaza ►"The tide is changing across the international film world." 81 artists, including Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Tatiana Maslany, and Adam McKay, have signed an open letter calling out the Berlin International Film Festival for “censoring artists who oppose Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the German state’s key role in enabling it.” The letter’s signatures, all Berlin festival alumni, included actors Angeliki Papoulia, Saleh Bakri, Peter Mullan and Tobias Menzies, and such notable directors as Mike Leigh, Nan Goldin, Miguel Gomes, and Avi Mograbi. In it, the group says it expects “the institutions in our industry to refuse complicity in the terrible violence that continues to be waged against Palestinians.” The story.
—Doth protest too much. Steve Bannon says newly-released text messages exchanged with the late Jeffrey Epstein in 2019 aimed to cajole the disgraced financier and convicted pedophile into participating in a documentary he was at work on at the time. “I am a filmmaker and TV host with decades of experience interviewing controversial figures. That’s the only lens through which these private communications should be viewed, a documentary filmmaker working, over a period of time, to secure 50 hours of interviews from a reclusive subject,” Bannon, a podcaster and Donald Trump’s former strategist, said in a statement to the New York Times for a Feb. 16 profile. Bannon added the long-gestating documentary about Epstein will be released later this year and will “destroy the very myths he created.” The story.
—Violent incident. Shia LaBeouf has been released from custody in New Orleans after his extended Mardi Gras bar crawl came to an unfortunate, violent end on Tuesday. The actor and filmmaker was arrested shortly after midnight Tuesday in New Orleans after he allegedly fought with two men, both of whom told police LaBeouf assaulted them. According to the New Orleans Police Department, LaBeouf was allegedly causing a disturbance and becoming increasingly aggressive at a business that TMZ first reported was a bar on Royal Street. THR confirmed that the incident took place at R Bar in the Faubourg Marigny. The story.
—Released. Mehdi Mahmoudian, the Oscar-nominated co-writer of Jafar Panahi‘s It Was Just an Accident, has been released from prison in Iran, after 17 days inside, according to local media reports. Mahmoudian was released from Nowshahr Prison along with Vida Rabbani and Abdollah Momeni, all arrested for signing the so-called “Statement of the Seventeen” condemning the actions of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in authorizing the crackdown on anti-government protesters last month, which resulted in the massacre of tens of thousands. The story. |
Netflix Un-Cancels Gina Carano for Fight With Ronda Rousey ►First MMA event. Netflix has another dream fight 10 years too late: Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano will go toe-to-toe in an MMA fight on Saturday, May 16. The match will stream live on Netflix from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles — the rest of the card will be announced at a later date. The Rousey-Carano fight will take place inside a hexagon (and not octagon like the UFC) cage. Rousey vs. Carano marks Netflix’s first-ever mixed martial arts event. It is also the first foray into the sport for Most Valuable Promotions, Jake Paul’s events company. The story.
—11th hour replacement. Dorinda Medley has been tapped back in to join the Real Housewives of New York reboot following Jill Zarin’s exit. Medley, who starred on RHONY for six seasons, among other offshoots, was announced as a new castmember on Tuesday, joining the previously familiar group of Kelly Bensimon, Countess Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan and Ramona Singer. E! had announced earlier this month they were bringing back the OG New York Housewives for The Golden Life, a 10-episode series set in Palm Beach, Florida, with filming set to begin this spring. Zarin was fired following comments she shared about Bad Bunny‘s Super Bowl Halftime Show. The story.
—🎭 Short-form series. 🎭 Grace Link will serve as the showrunner and star in Locker Room Talk, an eight-episode series from Bag Lady Films. House of Gucci and School of Rock‘s Florence Andrews will also feature in the show, described as “an intimate ensemble comedy exploring womanhood, body image and identity.” Told across 10-minute episodes, the short-form series will be filmed in the U.K. and released this spring on YouTube, with more cast announcements coming in due course. The story. |
Miley Cyrus to Celebrate 'Hannah Montana' 20th Anniversary on Disney+ ►📅 Ready to look back. 📅 Disney announced Monday that a Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special is coming to Disney+ on March 24. The special will “celebrate the iconic series that defined a generation — exactly two decades after its Disney Channel debut.” Star Miley Cyrus will join the special, to be filmed in front a live studio audience, for an exclusive, in-depth interview with Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper. The conversation will “offer an intimate look at the creation of one of pop culture’s most iconic characters and the lasting impact the show and character have had on fans around the world.” The story.
—🎭 Pilot play. 🎭 Damon Wayans Jr. is set to star in NBC’s drama pilot Puzzled. The New Girl star will play a character named Mike Brink in the pilot, which is based on Danielle Trussoni’s Puzzle Master series of novels. Puzzled will center on Mike, a former college athlete who suffered a traumatic brain injury, which caused him develop acquired savant syndrome — which gives him exceptional skills in puzzle solving, higher math and pattern recognition. He now makes a living betting on sports, but the show will have him using his rare abilities to assist police in solving difficult cases. The story.
—🎭 Criminal mind. 🎭 NBC has found the lead actress for its drama pilot about a criminal profiler. Former Bones star Emily Deschanel will play the role in the show, which is based on the life and work of profiler and author Dr. Ann Burgess. She’ll also be a producer on the pilot, which comes from writers Dean Georgaris and John Fox and Universal Television. Deschanel joins her former Bones co-star David Boreanaz, who will play the lead in a Rockford Files reboot, in toplining an NBC pilot this season. The story.
—🎭 Familiar face. 🎭 A Baywatcher from the original series is returning for the reboot. David Chokachi will reprise his role of Cody Madison for Fox's Baywatch, a role he played from seasons six through nine of the original series. Chokachi joins as the second confirmed cast member of the revival. Stephen Amell, who was announced as part of the cast on Friday, will portray series lead Hobie Buchannon, son of Mitch Buchannon (portrayed by David Hasselhoff). No other casting details have been revealed. The story. |
Connor Storrie in Talks for A24 Comedy ►🎭 In demand. 🎭 Connor Storrie, one of the breakout stars of Heated Rivalry, is in talks to join the ensemble cast of A24 comedy Peaked. Molly Gordon and Allie Levitan are behind the project that follows two girls who traumatized you in high school as they try to relive their glory days at their 10-year reunion. Gordon is also set to direct. Gordon and Levitan are also set to star in the film. Storrie will join an ensemble that includes Emma Mackey, Simone Ashley, Levon Hawke, Laura Dern, Mitra Jouhari and Gabby Windey. The story.
—🎭 Villains found. 🎭 Josh Duhamel and Sharlto Copley have joined Daisy Ridley in The Good Samaritan, the upcoming action thriller from Taken and Peppermint director Pierre Morel. In the film, Ridley plays Dr. Rosalind Carver, a successful entrepreneur who, together with her husband Matt, rescues a wounded man drifting off the coast of Indonesia, unaware they are about to become part of a deadly conspiracy. Within hours, Matt is abducted by a gang of ruthless pirates led by Langbore (Copley). Rosalind finds herself forced to team-up with a battle-hardened ex-mercenary (Duhamel) with his own reasons for taking down the pirates, and in doing so expose a global trafficking empire. The story.
—🎭 Filled out. 🎭 The Baltimorons star Liz Larsen, Dennis Boutsikaris and Zack Robidas have nabbed lead roles in How to Rob director’s Peter Horgan next movie, Play the Edge. Horgan’s indie crime feature follows a recently demoted pizza chef who plans a Christmas Eve robbery to get back at his boss, only to win the lottery just as the armed robbers he hired are about to arrive. The holiday thriller set in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and to shoot locally, will see what happens when the chef tries to put the brakes on a crime already in motion, according to a synopsis from the producers. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Neon has landed the rights to Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s next film, All Of A Sudden, the latest from the director behind the Oscar-winning Drive My Car. Neon landed the North American rights to the film, which is currently in post-production, with plans for a theatrical release. Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto star in the film, playing the head of a French care home and a Japanese theater director, respectively. Hamaguchi wrote the script with Léa Le Dimna, which is loosely inspired by a collection of real-life exchanged letters published in the book When Life Suddenly Takes a Turn: Twenty Letters Between a Philosopher with Terminal Cancer and Medical Anthropologist by Makiko Miyano and Maho Isono. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Mayumi Yoshida’s debut feature and Japanese-language drama Akashi has secured distribution deals in Canada and Japan following a showcase at the European Film Market in Berlin. Tokyo-based Rabbit House plans a theatrical release in Japan for the Japanese language drama about a struggling Vancouver artist discovering her grandmother’s secret while returning to Tokyo. And Canadian indie distributor KinoSmith has taken all rights for the Canadian market. The story. |
THR Critic's Tribute to Robert Duvall ►"Few actors could go as terrifyingly big, and as hauntingly small, as Robert Duvall." THR movie critic Jordan Mintzer offers his tribute to the late Robert Duvall's long and varied career as a first tier Hollywood actor. Jordan writes that Duvall's range was like a swinging pendulum of human temperament, allowing him to be bellowing and destructive or discreet and vulnerable — sometimes within a single film or even a single scene. The critic's appreciation. |
Film Review: 'Queen at Sea' ►"Sometimes love is not enough." THR's Leslie Felperin reviews Lance Hammer's Berlin competition entry, Queen at Sea. Hammer's first film since Ballast, is a striking, stirring and singularly unsentimental dementia drama. Starring Juliette Binoche, Tom Courtenay, Anna Calder-Marshall and Florence Hunt. Written by Lance Hammer. The review.
—"Both compelling and distancing." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Angela Schanelec's Berlin competition entry, My Wife Cries. The German writer-director, who won the Silver Bear in 2019 for I Was at Home, But…, returns to the Berlinale with a new feature about a couple's breakup. Starring Agathe Bonitzer, Vladimir Vulević, Birte Schnöink, Pauline Rebmann, Ben Carter, Thorbjörn Björnsson, Clara Gostynski and Laure-Lucile Simon. Written by Angela Schanelec. The review.
—"Excessively quiet." For THR, Caryn James reviews Polly Findlay's Midwinter Break. Lesley Manville and Ciarán Hinds play an Irish couple haunted by secrets on a holiday in Amsterdam in Findlay's adaptation of Bernard MacLaverty's 2017 novel. Also starring Niamh Cusack, Julie Lamberton and Ed Sayer. Written by Bernard MacLaverty and Nick Payne. The review.
—"Not enough heat and not enough warmth." THR's Angie Han reviews Amazon Prime Video's 56 Days. Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia star in the erotic drama based on Catherine Ryan Howard's bestseller about an affair that results in the discovery of a corpse decomposing in a tub. Also starring Karla Souza, Dorian Crossmond Missick, Megan Peta Hill, Alfredo Narciso, Dylan Colton and Patch Darragh. Created by Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher, based on the novel by Catherine Ryan Howard. The review.
In other news...
—The Mandalorian and Grogu battle galaxy bad guys in full Star Wars movie trailer
—Crocs, murder and mystery abound in first trailer for S2 of Amazon’s Deadloch
—GQ names Adam Baidawi new global editorial director
—Fifth Season brings in Keshet’s Peter Traugott as president of television
—Jake Weiner to launch production, management firm Harvest Hill Entertainment
—Roku hires Patrick Harris as global media revenue executive
—Jane Baer, animator on Sleeping Beauty, The Rescuers and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, dies at 91
What else we're reading...
—Rohan Nadkarni talks to sports psychologists on why figure skating superstar Ilia Malinin was unable to handle the pressure at the Olympics [NBC News]
—Connor Greene reports that Spain's government has ordered an investigation into X, Meta and TikTok over their alleged role in producing and spreading AI-generated child sexual abuse material [Time]
—Max Tani reports that Apple News is under pressure from Trump administration officials who want to see more MAGA-sympathetic content on the news app [Semafor]
—Robin Givhan talks to Prada co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, who both think there's too much fashion, and everything is starting to look the same [The Cut]
—Tara Siegel Bernard looks at whether the U.S. tax code is anti-feminist, and whether it can be reformed to be more equitable and attentive toward caregivers [NYT]
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 cross dressing Big Momma comedy trilogy, the film made $83m at the box office, significantly down from the first two entries. The original review.
Today's birthdays: John Travolta (72), Dr. Dre (61), Molly Ringwald (58), Matt Dillon (62), Cybill Shepherd (76), Ike Barinholtz (49), Nadine Labaki (52), Greta Scacchi (66), Sinéad Cusack (78), Vanna White (69), László Nemes (49), Kristoffer Polaha (49), Wrenn Schmidt (43), Jennifer McComb (54), Park Shin-hye (36), Kylie Rogers (22), Susan Egan (56), Melise (35), Jayne Atkinson (67), Todd Lasance (41), Evan Jonigkeit (43), Maiara Walsh (38), Laia Costa (41), Logan Miller (34), Jacqueline Toboni (34), Rose Williams (32), John Pankow (71), Mark Eydelshteyn (24), Alessandra Mastronardi (40), Genelle Williams (42), Chelsea Hobbs (41), Sarah Joy Brown (51), Juliana Canfield (34), Park Sung-hoon (41), Jess Walton (77), Brittini London (41) |
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