What's news: Cinema United is now calling on the 12 state AGs and Paramount to come to a settlement. The Beatles' Apple Corps and UMG have inked a licensing and merch deal. Mattel is launching an UNO live-event competition on Twitch. Ragtime broke its own Broadway box office record. And David Krumholtz says he's quitting acting. — Abid Rahman
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Bonta: "Desperate" Ellison "Grasping at Straws"
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►"He cannot flee accountability." THR's Steven Zeitchik spoke to California Attorney General Rob Bonta about the increasingly bitter legal battle over Paramount's merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. A defiant Bonta takes aim at Paramount chief David Ellison and company's tactics in recent weeks. The interview.
—That makes three. After the CEOs of AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas publicly backed a Paramount-WBD marriage, Cinemark is also appearing to throw its hat in with David Ellison’s team. That means that all three of the biggest exhibitors in the U.S. are now publicly aligning themselves against a court battle next year over the fate of two major Hollywood studios. Cinemark released an unsigned statement saying that it favors an “expedited resolution” of the merger plan. The story.
—Reversing course! Also on Tuesday, Cinema United, the movie theater trade organization that previously cheered on Rob Bonta and the 11 state attorneys general, had a change of heart on the prospect of a Paramount–WBD merger. In a letter, the organization changed course and called for both David Ellison and Bonta to “meet in the immediate future and discuss all possible avenues for resolving“ the lawsuit. The story.
—🤝 Magical mystery store. 🤝 Apple Corps Ltd, the company founded in 1968 to oversee The Beatles’ creative and business interests, and Universal Music Group, have struck a new exclusive, long-term, global partnership for the Fab Four. The licensing and merch deal news comes ahead of the release of The Beatles – A Four Film Cinematic Event in 2028, which will bring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr’s iconic stories to the screen across four major biopic films, directed by Sam Mendes. The story.
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Inside the Fake Celebrity Podcast Scam Fooling Hollywood
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►"It felt real." THR's Seth Abramovitch investigates the increasingly sophisticated scam in which fraudsters impersonate famous podcasters and their representatives, using flattering, highly personalized invitations — most likely composed by AI — to lure prospective guests into handing over money, login credentials or control of social media accounts. The story.
—"The wrong path." Following the tragic and sudden death of Hayden Panettiere, the actress’ mother, Lesley Vogel, is breaking her silence. In a new interview, Vogel said Panettiere “lost her way” and criticized her daughter’s on-again-off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson. “This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson,” Vogel said. “I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments and I think young people who grow up in the entertainment industry — it is a struggle and it’s a very challenging industry and it’s not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path.” The story.
—"The profession has lost its gleam." He’s amassed more than 140 credits on an enviable resumé that dates back to the early 1990s, but David Krumholtz seems ready to throw in the towel on his Hollywood career. In a shocking announcement posted (and later deleted) on social media, Krumholtz said he’s “frustrated, fed up, fried” with the business, so much so that he already sent an email to declare it done. Once the decision was made, Krumholtz felt a “huge wave of relief” wash over him. The story.
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Film Academy Appoints Leaders of Committees and Affinity Groups |
►All set. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, during its annual all-members meeting on Tuesday, announced the newly appointed chairs and vice chairs for its 2026-2027 committees and affinity groups, including appointments to the new Academy Marquee Theater Committee. All chairs and vice chairs serve one-year terms. Sean Baker, Pam Abdy and Rita Wilson are among the people taking leadership roles. The story.
—Renovation incoming. The Academy's Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study, the Hollywood building that houses much of the organization’s massive film archive and is attached to its oft-rented 286-seat Linwood Dunn Theatre and event space, is set to undergo a three-year renovation beginning this fall. The Academy’s objective with the project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2029, is to restore and modernize many aspects of the building at the corner of Vine Street and Homewood Avenue, which was acquired by the organization in 2000 and opened in 2002. The story.
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'HOTD' Star Wants to Know: "Where the F*** Is Mushroom?" |
►"I don’t follow or read a ton online because that way madness lies." For THR, Josh Wigler spoke to House of the Dragon's Gayle Rankin about the season three finale of the HBO epic series. Rankin discusses the missing book character, plus all the supernatural surrounding her character, Alys Rivers. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—🎭 Filling out. 🎭 Darren Criss and Sherry Cola have joined the cast of Disney Channel‘s Hidden Heroes: A Descendants Story, which expands the Descendants universe by focusing on iconic Disney sidekicks. Criss has been tapped to play Jiminy Cricket, while Sherry Cola is set as Yzma. Also joining the cast are James Monroe Iglehart as Genie, Hugo Ateo as Kronk, Sean Yves Lessard as Lumiere and Dan Bakkedahl as Yen Sid. The story.
—🎭 Together again. 🎭 Season three of Shifting Gears will feature another sitcom reunion. The ABC comedy has cast Beth Behrs in a guest role for the coming season. She’s set to play a doctor in an episode that will reunite her with her former 2 Broke Girls star, Kat Dennings. There will also be an off-camera reunion: Shifting Gears showrunner Michelle Nader was a writer and executive producer on 2 Broke Girls. The story.
—Stack it! Mattel said Wednesday that it’s launching the UNO Championship Series, a live-event competition that will stream live on Twitch. The company said the event will transform the card game “into an adrenaline-fueled tournament with the unpredictable, chaotic fun that has made UNO a true cultural phenomenon.” The story.
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Jack Reynor Joins Lily James in 'Seasons' |
►🎭 Reddit W. 🎭 THR's Borys "Scoopz" Kit has the scoop that Jack Reynor will star opposite Lily James in Seasons, a horror thriller that Drew Hancock is directing for Amazon MGM Studios. The feature is heading to a production start in September and will shoot in Ireland. On top of directing, Hancock wrote the script, adapting the book by Matt and Harrison Query, which in turn was based on a short story by Matt Query that first appeared on Reddit. The story follows a husband and wife who buy their dream ranch only to discover the land is alive with ancient spirits. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 THR's Scott Feinberg has the scoop that Briarcliff Entertainment has acquired Ash and Crayons, a powerful documentary from Oscar-nominated documentarian Evgeny Afineevsky about Ukrainian children whose lives have been dramatically impacted by the ongoing war in Ukraine. Briarcliff will give the doc a North American theatrical release on Nov. 20 — World Children’s Day — and robust impact and awards campaigns. The story.
—🏆 Selected! 🏆 Pepa Ljubojacki’s intimate documentary If Pigeons Turned to Gold is the Czech Republic’s submission for the best international feature film category at the 2027 Oscars. The film had its world premiere in February at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the award for the best documentary feature, as well as the independent Caligari prize. The story.
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'Ragtime' Breaks Broadway Record With $1.96M Final Gross |
►Fondest farewell. Ragtime broke its own box office record last week, as it hit $1.96m in its final week on Broadway. This is the fourth time the show, which won the Tony for best revival of a musical, has broken the box office record at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. The final gross firmly cements its status as the highest grossing Broadway show in the history of Lincoln Center Theater. The Broadway box office report.
—🎭 Heading to New York. 🎭 Rachel Bloom will make her Broadway debut in The Imaginary Invalid this fall. The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star joins the previously announced Bill Irwin, who will take on the lead role of Argan. Newly announced cast members include Dylan Baker, Brooks Ashmanskas, Hiram Delgado, Crystal A. Dickinson, Daniel Croix Henderson and Ava Lalezarzadeh. The story.
—🎭 Busy, busy. 🎭 Following a summer in Fiji hosting season eight of Peacock’s Love Island USA, Ariana Madix has found her next gig. The Emmy-nominated host is set to join the Broadway musical Just in Time. Madix will be playing Connie Francis for a limited run at Circle in the Square Theatre starting Sept. 12. Her final show will be Nov. 22. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 The musical adaptation of 10 Things I Hate About You will begin Broadway performances Aug. 17, 2027. The production features music and lyrics by Carly Rae Jepsen and Ethan Gruska and a book by Lena Dunham and playwright Jessica Huang. Christopher Wheeldon will direct and choreograph. The plot is based on the 1999 Touchstone Film, which starred Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles. The casting, opening night date and the exact Broadway theater for the production are TBC. The story.
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Film Review: 'Down the Arm of God' |
►"Preaches to the converted." THR's Leslie Felperin reviews Peter Brunner's Down the Arm of God. In the Locarno-premiering film, produced by Luc Besson, Caleb Landry Jones plays a Texas pastor tackling homelessness, and his own congregation. Also starring India Marie Cross, Nick Stahl, Mena Suvari, John Jones, Whoopie Campfield, Dene Valentine, Amanda Davis, Atlas Fulton, Fable Fulton, Glenamzye Norment, Mike Johnson, Bobbie Lo Fruge, Crystal Salazar, Cassandra Fuentes, Kip Billups and Rhonda Bennett. Written by Peter Brunner and Caleb Landry Jones. The story.
In other news...
—Oldenburg names first titles for 2026 selection
—San Sebastian Film Festival to open with Fatih Akin’s Ghost Song
—Busan sets Kim Jong-kwan’s The Table: Day and Night as opening film
—Laurie May stepping down from Elevation Pictures
—Story Syndicate promotes Jon Bardin to president of documentary and unscripted
—Culinary talent Eitan Bernath signs with CAA
—Paul M. Pollard, cameraman on Bound for Glory and Heaven’s Gate, dies at 84
—Phyllida Law, actress and mother of Sophie and Emma Thompson, dies at 94
—Bill Rasmussen, co-founder of ESPN, dies at 93
What else we're reading...
—Henry Abbott has an interesting piece on who is really putting up the money to buy the Lakers [TrueHoop]
—Jordan Valinsky reports that music subscription pioneer Columbia House is shutting down after seven decades in business [CNN]
—Sam Davies writes that Sony's epic blockbuster Ramayana could be India's answer to The Odyssey [BBC]
—Amira McKee and Jesse Newman look at how packaged-food makers are testing new strategies to appeal to consumers in the era of GLP-1 drugs [WSJ]
—Patricia Mazzei reports on Angie Nixon's win in Florida, another stunning victory for the Democratic Socialists of America [NYT]
Today...
...in 2011, Focus Features released Lone Scherfig's big screen adaptation of David Nicholls' book One Day in theaters. The film, starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, was panned by critics. A Netflix series adaptation of the novel in 2024 was met more warmly. The original review.
Today's birthdays...
Manny Jacinto (39), Kyra Sedgwick (61), Melissa Fumero (44), Jonathan Frakes (74), John Stamos (63), Kevin Dillon (61), Pablo Larraín (50), Ethan Cutkosky (27), Erika Christensen (44), Giorgia Whigham (29), Marcello Hernández (29), Peter Gallagher (71), Gerald McRaney (79), Adam Arkin (70), Tracie Thoms (51), Michael Harney (70), Matthew Glave (63), Diana Muldaur (88), Jim Carter (78), Isabel Gravitt (23), Brighton Sharbino (24), Ian McElhinney (78), Michelle Borth (48), Callum Blue (49), Greg Bryk (54), Morgana O'Reilly (41), Martin Donovan (69), Jill St. John (86), Adam Campbell (46), Sara Martins (49), Simon Bird (42), Simone Kessell (51), Maria de Medeiros (61), Lucy Briers (59), Randi Oakes (75), Siena Agudong (22), Tammin Sursok (43)
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Frank Beard, the longtime drummer for ZZ Top, has died. He was 77. The obituary.
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