| | | | | | It's a quiet weekend, time to catch that Oscar-nominated movie you never quite got around to seeing. This morning, The Weekender leads off with a vintage-style Hollywood Reporter feature on The Gambler and The Mogul... — Erik Hayden
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Bad Company Meet the high-stakes gambler on the verge of getting Jeff Shell fired — again. In his first sit-down interview, provocateur R.J. Cipriani lays out his $150 million case against Paramount and its president, as well as his scorched-earth history in Hollywood: "I'm a master of cognitive warfare." Gary Baum's report. |
Her Return Both highly unusual and business as usual. All eyes in midtown Manhattan on Monday may be on those giant Today show studio windows, trying to catch a glimpse of Savannah Guthrie as she returns to work following the February abduction of her mother, Nancy Guthrie. How Guthrie will handle her moment cannot yet be known, but those who know her say it will surely be done with uncommon levels of grace. Tony Maglio's look ahead. |
This Is Next THR spoke to a dozen assistants and support staff who outlined how AI is in consistent use, for matters small (getting that fawning thank you note to fit into the Beverly Hills florists’ 250 character limit) and larger (using an AI notetaker during a studio meeting with creatives). One partner at a major management firm says they do not allow AI to be used by support staff or reps, saying, "I prefer independent thought." But many consider AI use less of a preference and more of a necessity. Mia Galuppo's report. |
Deep Voodoo Is Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s Deep Voodoo the rare company doing AI right? The South Park creators reveal what their Venice-based studio has been up to. "I find that a lot of discussions about AI become tiresome. You know 'put your taxes in and it can do them,'" says Stone in a rare interview. "And it's like, 'cool, but a human can do your taxes.' What we're trying to do is something no amount of humans can do." Steven Zeitchik's report. |
Superstar Artists For most of the 21st century, comics have been a writer-dominated medium. Even though some artists gained a degree of popularity, it has been authors such as Brian Michael Bendis, Robert Kirkman, Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV and Brian K. Vaughan that have been the stars in the field, rising off a platform built by a previous generation of wordsmiths, names such as Alan Moore and Grant Morrison. But now Nick Dragotta, Daniel Warren Johnson and others are bringing about a popularity not seen since the heyday of Image Comics in the 1990s. Borys Kit's report.
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Meet Nick, Again Nick Offerman knows he has a type. Since his mid-career breakout as Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation, the Illinois native has cornered the market on a certain brand of deadpan, handy, emotionally removed yet gruffly lovable steak eater. Offerman has happily leaned into that persona himself, but as often happens with iconic roles, any type tends to belie greater depth. David Canfield's profile.
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They Said It "I don’t expect them to go any easier on us, am sure I’ll do my part to help enable that with occasional stupid decisions." — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, on buying his favorite news show, TBPN. "She has met this moment with courage, moral clarity, and extraordinary determination." — A rep for WME, led by Christian Muirhead and Richard Weitz, going public in support of Blake Lively ahead of trial against It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni.
"I hope you can make it." — Louis C.K., now back in business with Netflix, which will stream his show at the Hollywood Bowl as part of its comedy festival in May.
"I think what’s missing in the discussion right now is transparency." — Kathleen Kennedy, taking a skeptical lens on AI's infiltration of Hollywood.
"I would say that AI coverage is not very good, but human coverage is not that good either." — Former Warner Bros. movie chief Toby Emmerich, on the prospect of using AI for script coverage.
By the Numbers (Most-read stories on THR.com this week)
1.) "Megan Thee Stallion Hospitalized in New York After Exiting Moulin Rouge Performance Mid-Show"
2.) "Parkland Survivor Jackie Corin on The Drama and Her Concerns About Casting Zendaya and Robert Pattinson"
3.) "Paradise Finale Writer Breaks Down That Bonkers Season 2 Ending (and Explains the Quantum Physics of It All)"
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Next Big Thing Jaz Sinclair is ready for the world to see her involvement with the fifth and final season of The Boys. The 31-year-old actress joined the Amazon franchise in 2023 via its first extension, the superhero college saga Gen V: "I would really love to do a movie next." McKinley Franklin's story. |
A Few Questions For Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney, the creative duo known as BriTANick, are keenly aware that a movie called Pizza Movie is not the most compelling title for their now well-received feature directorial debut. The former SNL writers hemmed and hawed over what to name their “stoner comedy for theater kids” starring Stranger Things’ Gaten Matarazzo. Brian David's Q&A. |
He Will Rock You It’s been an out-of-this-world past few years for James Ortiz, the New York theater artist and puppeteer behind Rocky, the lovable alien at the center of Project Hail Mary. Ortiz spent months on a London set working opposite Ryan Gosling, providing the voice and overseeing the puppetry for the rock-like alien. Aaron Couch's profile. |
Around Town Matt Friend hosted Snapchat's inaugural Snappy Awards in Santa Monica. Lisa Kudrow and Kristin Davis supported Michael Patrick King as he was honored at Human Rights Campaign's Los Angeles Dinner. James Marsden, Amanda Peet, Jon Hamm and Olivia Munn premiered the second season of Apple TV's Your Friends & Neighbors in NYC. Ezra Frech, Samuel Arnold and Billy Magnussen served as presenters at the Television Academy Foundation’s 45th College TV Awards. Rachel Sennott joined Dan Levy for a tastemaker event in support of their new series Big Mistakes at Max & Helen's in L.A. All 23 photos from this week's premieres and events. |
The Bottom Line Snapshots from THR's team of critics: Kristoffer Borgli's A24 feature The Drama starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya, is "a handsomely made, sharply performed letdown." Universal's The Super Mario Galaxy Movie "hits the sweet spot in terms of what its target audience wants." Hulu's Handmaid's Tale sequel The Testaments, starring Chase Infiniti, is "creatively suffocated." The Ken Burns-produced doc Henry David Thoreau scores points for Jeff Goldblum’s "trademark ironic wonderment voicing" while the second season of Sterling K. Brown starrer Paradise was "perplexingly disjointed." And finally, |
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