What's news: Moana opened to a tepid $43m domestically, and $52m internationally. Meta has removed a feature from its new Muse AI photo and video tools. Department M has closed a deal to acquire a stake in Neon. Sacha Baron Cohen teased an Ali G sequel at Wimbledon. And Jay-Z addressed the massive delay to his Sunday night show. — Abid Rahman
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►Master of ambiguities. Sam Neill, the amiable and adventurous leading man who emerged from New Zealand to make his mark in such films as Jurassic Park, The Piano, Dead Calm, In the Mouth of Madness and so much more, has died. He was 78. Neill revealed in March 2023 that he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma a year earlier. The versatile Neill portrayed heroes and villains with equal aplomb, sparkled in art house and tentpoles alike and had a knack for exploring the shades of gray in his characters. “I’d like to think I’m able to suggest ambiguities and complexities in the people I play, because I think all of us have hidden aspects or contradictory qualities,” he once said. The obituary.
—Incredible range. In a film, television and theater career spanning six decades, Sam Neill played several characters that struck a chord in pop culture. After starring in antipodeaon classics such as Sleeping Dogs (1977) and My Brilliant Career (1979), Neill became an international star on the rise in Andrzej Żuławski’s cult film Possession (1981). The 1980s and 1990s saw Neill star in Philip Noyce’s Dead Calm (1989), John McTiernan’s The Hunt for Red October (1990), Jane Campion’s The Piano (1993), John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness (1995) and Paul Anderson’s Event Horizon (1997). Neill also gave a memorable turn in Taika Waititi’s 2016 comedy classic Hunt for the Wilderpeople. The memorable roles.
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Paramount Reportedly Considering Leaving California
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►Push comes to shove. Paramount is reportedly considering leaving California as the Golden State and others are said to be preparing a lawsuit over its planned $111b takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. On Sunday, Semafor reported that “friends and advisers” to Paramount chief David Ellison have been urging him to consider relocating his corporate headquarters out of the state. The news comes as California and other states are “preparing to file” a lawsuit to block the merger. Ellison, reportedly, is being “pushed” to consider relocating out of state, which would also move $30m in planned spending out of California, if Attorney General Rob Bonta sues to block the deal. The story.
—"It was never about simply becoming the biggest. Our ambition is to create the best home for creative talent." Banijay’s mega-merger with fellow indie giant All3Media, completed last week, creates a true TV colossus. The new London-based production and distribution group brings together nearly 200 production companies and labels across 25 territories with combined revenues of $8.5b. THR's Scott Roxborough spoke to Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti about the merger and what comes next. The interview.
—🤝 Stake deal. 🤝 The upstart production shingle Department M has closed a deal to acquire a significant stake in indie studio Neon. Under the deal, first reported as being in talks in February, Neon founder Tom Quinn will remain CEO of the company, while Department M partner Michael Schaefer will become Neon’s chief content officer. Mike Larocca will stay at Department M and become a member of the Neon board. Neon’s Jeff Deutchman remains president of acquisition, production and development for film. Department M’s Carina Sposato is now at Neon as evp, television. Both execs report directly to Schaefer. Neon backers The Friedkin Group are still significant shareholders and board members of the company. The story.
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Meta Folds on Opt-Out AI Function After Hollywood Outrage
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►Major u-turn. Meta has removed a feature from its new Muse AI photo and video tools that had sparked outrage from Hollywood power players like CAA and SAG-AFTRA. The tech giant on Friday evening said that it had pulled functionality that let users create AI content by tagging another public user to effectively remix their content. The company made it applicable to all public Instagram profiles unless users actively opted out of the feature. The story.
—Fighting back. The New York Times has filed counterclaims against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is pursuing a lawsuit against the news organization for allegedly discriminating against a white male employee by passing him over for a promotion. The EEOC initiated the legal battle in May when it accused the Times of implementing race and sex-based hiring goals that favor minorities and women in violation of civil rights laws. The government seeks a court order barring the company from carrying DEI policies, plus unspecified damages for the unnamed employee. The story.
—✊ Unionization efforts. ✊ Production assistants on CBS’ upcoming Silicon Valley legal drama Cupertino filed for a union election on Friday in an attempt to join the Production Assistants United labor group. A group of organizers filed to unionize 23 PAs on the Mike Colter-fronted show on Friday. Though named after the Californian city that is home to Apple, the CBS series from The Good Fight creators Robert and Michelle King films in New Jersey. The story.
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Jay-Z Addresses 3-Hour Delay at Yankee Stadium Concert
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►"Let me explain." After fans waited more than three hours for the finale in Jay-Z‘s three-night stand at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, the rapper addressed the extensive delay early in the show, telling those in the crowd there were thousands of people outside and that the show was pushed back to back to avoid crowd safety issues. “Let me explain the delay to you guys,” Jay said after finally kicking off the show after 12 a.m. ET Monday. “It was like 10,000 people outside, and we closed all the doors, and somebody rushed the door. They closed the door for you guys’ safety and everyone’s safety outside. There’s 10,000 people outside; I don’t want to start the music and people get trampled." The story.
—"Every Chicago thing in me tells me to stop bowing." John Mulaney made history in Chicago on Saturday night, becoming the first comedian to ever perform at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. And the hometown hero did it in front of a sold-out crowd by bringing some of his famous friends — David Letterman, Fred Armisen and Richard Kind — along for the monumental night. The recap.
—Not guilty. Top Boy and Eddington star Micheal Ward broke down in tears in a London court on Friday after being cleared of raping a woman. The 28-year-old actor, who won BAFTA’s rising star award in 2020, had denied two charges of rape and three charges of sexual assault. The allegations came from a woman whom he met at an east London nightclub in January 2023. A jury acquitted him on all counts after a two-week trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court in London. The story.
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'Moana' Runs Aground at Box Office With $43M Opening
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►Oooooof. Disney‘s live-action Moana, which stars Dwayne Johnson and Catherine Laga’aia, got off to a rocky start as the reimagining of the original 2016 animated feature opened at the box office. Director Thomas Kail‘s new feature led the weekend in opening with $43m from 3,900 North American screens, putting it well short of its targeted $60m-plus figure after initial tracking suggested the film could even reach $75m. Earning an A- CinemaScore from audiences, Moana carries a $250m production budget and will need to draw families in the coming summer stretch as Christopher Nolan’s R-rated The Odyssey joins the fray next weekend from Universal. Moana added $52m from overseas markets.
THR kakamora Ryan Gajewski writes that Moana's start is reminiscent of the $42m opening in March 2025 for Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot’s Snow White, a box office disappointment that earned a B+ CinemaScore and had a production budget of $270m. 2016's Moana becomes the most recent Disney animated property to be given the live-action treatment, with the first film having hit theaters less than a decade ago when it scored an $82m five-day domestic opening over Thanksgiving in 2016, leading to a $643m global cume. The box office report.
—Still kicking. Stephen Chow is officially back! Kung Fu Soccer, the comedy legend’s long-awaited Shaolin Soccer spinoff and his first film as director in seven years, dominated China‘s box office with a mighty $73.6m haul over the weekend. The two-day tally accounted for nearly three-quarters of all ticket sales in the world’s second-largest movie market, and nine times the takings of its nearest competitor. The film opened Saturday across mainland China, including on Imax screens, earning $38.3m on day one, where users have awarded it a solid 9.4 out of 10 score. Maoyan’s forecast currently projects a massive total haul of $368m — though such early projections routinely come under revision as a title moves deeper into its run. The China box office report.
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►"The transformation he went through was astonishing." Tom Cruise officially revealed the first trailer to his hotly anticipated new film, Digger. At an event on the Warner Bros. lot, the actor said multiple times that the Alejandro G. Iñárritu film is the culmination of his 40-year career, and it seems that will be the selling point in the coming months as promotion ramps up in preparation for release and an eventual awards campaign. The trailer.
—📅 On the move. 📅 The Nightingale, sisters Elle Fanning and Dakota Fanning‘s first time starring in a movie together, is shifting its release plans. The film will now open on March 19, 2027, a month later than its previous Feb. 12, 2027 release date. Sony’s TriStar is behind the project, and believes the leadup to Easter Weekend (March 26-28) will be a good launching point for the film, and provide female-centric counter programming against Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 4, which also opens March 19. The story.
—“I'z here at the men’s singles in Wimbledon, which actually, despite its name, ain’t a party for Gaylords." Sacha Baron Cohen‘s alter ego Ali G is back, and this time he’s at the 2026 Wimbledon finals. On Sunday, Ali G posted a video on a newly created Instagram account. Ali G’s return comes after it was recently announced that a new movie starring the iconic character reportedly secretly wrapped production. The surprise sequel, which doesn’t have a release date yet, comes more than two decades after Ali G was last seen on the big screen in 2002’s Ali G Indahouse. The story.
—All set. Venice has picked the juries for its main sidebar Orizzonti (Horizions) and for its best first feature honor. French director Valérie Donzelli will chair the Orizzonti jury, overseeing a five-person group that will include Criterion Collection/ Janus Films president Peter Becker; U.S./Hong Kong director Elizabeth Lo, Mexican filmmaker David Pablos, and Italian actress Barbara Ronchi. The Italian filmmaker Carolina Cavalli will head up the jury for best first feature, the Luigi De Laurentiis “Lion of the Future” honor. Joining her are the BAFTA-winning British-Nigerian director Akinola Davies Jr. and veteran U.S. producer Ted Hope. The story.
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'Love Island USA' S8 Winners Revealed
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►"I feel like I’m in a dream right now." After a season full of highs and lows and love and heartbreak, fans have crowned the winners of Peacock’s Love Island USA season eight. Heading into Sunday night’s finale, viewers got to vote on which couple would take home the grand prize of $100,000 (split between the winning couple). The final couples were Trinity and Bryce, Aniya and Carl, Kayda and Zach, and Melanie and Sincere. The story.
—Alas. Ariana Grande will no longer appear in American Horror Story season 13 due to conflicting schedules with her Eternal Sunshine tour. As previously announced, Grande was set to join a slew of AHS veterans, including Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe, Leslie Grossman and Jessica Lange. The cast has been filming in New York City this week, reprising their Coven characters from season three. The story.
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►"Too slick to hate, too dull to love." THR's Angie Han reviews MGM+'s The Westies. The series about the conflicts within and between Irish and Italian crime organizations in 1980s New York hails from Narcos and Godfather of Harlem co-creator Chris Brancato. Starring J.K. Simmons, Tom Brittney, Titus Welliver, Sarah Bolger, Stanley Morgan, Hamish Allan-Headley, Allen Leech, Jessica Frances Dukes, Vincent Walsh and Hilary McCormack. Created by Chris Brancato and Michael Panes. The review.
In other news...
—Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches: AMC reveals teaser for S3
—Aaron Sorkin, Guillermo del Toro to receive honorary degrees at AFI conservatory graduation
—YouTuber Ben Schneider signs with CAA
—Antoinette Bower, Star Trek, Twilight Zone and Prom Night actress, dies at 93
—Barbara Ling, Oscar-winning production designer on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, dies at 73
—Don Iwerks, Disney camera and projection pioneer, dies at 96
—Peter Van Norden, Police Academy 2 actor, dies at 75
—Randolph Mantooth, firefighter-paramedic Johnny Gage on Emergency!, dies at 80
What else we're reading...
—Rolfe Winkler looks into Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI, a "thermonuclear" response to a threat to its hardware business [WSJ]
—Lisa Lerer reports on Rep. Ro Khanna trip to the West Bank and the disgraceful treatment he was subjected to [NYT]
—Seerat Sohi digs into the culture wars that continue to dog the WNBA, and how the league has lost control of the narrative [Ringer]
—Fraser Morris unpacks why the late Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is the most dramatic pop song ever written [BBC]
—Sarah Jones reflects on the debacle of the The Great American State Fair, and how it shows that for MAGA at least the party is over [Intelligencer]
Today...
...in 1984, Universal debuted Nick Castle’s sci-fi actioner The Last Starfighter in theaters. The original review.
Today's birthdays...
Harrison Ford (84), Sharon Horgan (56), Ken Jeong (57), Patrick Stewart (86), Cheech Marin (80), Aya Cash (44), Kenny Johnson (63), Tom Kenny (64), Kari Wahlgren (49), Colton Haynes (38), Cameron Crowe (69), Didi Conn (75), Fran Kranz (45), Cheech Marin (80), Philip Barantini (46), Daphne Reid (78), Hannah Cheramy (23), Michael Mando (45), Malia Pyles (26), Cynthy Wu (28), Christopher Chung (38), Allison Jones (71), Wyatt Oleff (23), Chris Sheffield (38), Alejandro Monteverde (49)
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Wai Ching Ho, best known for her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing crime boss Madame Gao in Daredevil, Iron Fist and The Defenders, has died. She was 82. The obituary.
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