| | | | What's news: James Corden opened up about decision to leave late-night. Paramount went all in on Cruise on the final day of CinemaCon. Netflix laid off staff at Tudum. Imax had a strong quarter as theatrical bounced back. Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has a new BBC drama. AFM 2022 will be in-person. Plus: We have a fascinating story on the veracity of the source material behind HBO Max's slick drama Tokyo Vice — Abid Rahman |
James Corden on Decision to Leave 'Late Late Show' ►"I never want this show to overstay its welcome." On Thursday's The Late Late Show, James Corden talked more about his decision to depart CBS show after next season. In his monologue, the late night host addressed the news that he has signed a one-year contract renewal, and will then depart. Corden noted that while the show, which he has hosted for seven and a half years, has “changed” his life, it was never intended to be his "final destination." The story.
—Raising fast cash. Elon Musk needs to come up with $21 billion in cash in order to complete his purchase of Twitter (the rest of the $44 billion deal is being financed with debt and a margin loan). So on Thursday, Musk sold some of his stock in Tesla. A lot of it. According to forms filed with the SEC Thursday evening, Musk sold billions of dollars worth of Tesla stock this week. The story.
—"The bloom has been off the rose for a while." THR's J. Clara Chan spoke to Netflix staffers who have begun to voice their frustrations and fears of cutbacks as the streaming giant is humbled with subscriber losses and falling stock prices. Employees say they are anxious about future layoffs, smaller budgets and their stock options. The story.
—And there we have it. Like a prophet of doom, J. Clara reports that Netflix has begun laying off staff at its editorial website Tudum, a fan site that launched late last year under the streaming giant’s marketing division. At least 10 full-time staff and contractors at Tudum were laid off on Thursday. The story.
—Still saying yes. Netflix has greenlit Absolute Dominion, a sci-fi martial-arts action film from writer/director Lexi Alexander (Punisher: War Zone). Julie Ann Emery, Patton Oswalt, Alex Winter, Andy Allo and Regan Gomez are among the cast of the feature-length actioner, which Blumhouse Television will produce. The story.
—Bombshell revelations. Amber Heard pushed to have details of her marriage to Johnny Depp included in an op-ed piece that she wrote about domestic violence, even though her lawyers wanted those passages removed from the article, which is now the subject of a libel lawsuit, according to evidence introduced Thursday at the defamation trial. The story. |
CinemaCon: Paramount Wows With 'Top Gun 2,' Lionsgate Closes With 'John Wick 4' ►Final day fireworks. Paramount kicked the tires and lit the fires on the last day of CinemaCon by unveiling a trailer for Mission: Impossible 7, showcasing another death-defying Tom Cruise stunt and teasing Damien Chazelle’s hotly anticipated Hollywood fable Babylon. But the true centerpiece was the first full showing of Cruise’s new Top Gun: Maverick that closed out the Thursday morning program. The story.
—Punctuation nightmare. As well as a trailer for M:I7, Paramount, via a video message delivered by Cruise, revealed the title of the new entry in the franchise: Mission: Impossible 7 — Dead Reckoning: Part 1. The story.
—Keanu charisma. Lionsgate closed out CinemaCon with a bang with the studio took over the main stage on Thursday afternoon to share its slate in front of theater owners, presenting a series of reveals that teased titles John Wick 4, Expendables 4, About My Father, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Borderlands, a new Hunger Games title and more. The story.
—"The world will discover who is a songbird and who is a snake." Hunger Games Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has a release date. The next chapter in the billion-dollar franchise, directed by Francis Lawrence, who previously helmed the franchise’s Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part One and Mockingjay Part Two, is slated to arrive in theaters Nov. 17, 2023. The story. |
Bill Burr: "I've Made Every Mistake You Can Make" ►"I buzzed my head and I looked like the asshole that I was." THR's James Hibberd spoke to veteran funnyman Bill Burr who has become one of the world's most successful stand-ups by leaning into his anger. In this candid interview, the actor-comedian, one of the headliners at Netflix Is a Joke comedy festival, shows there's a lot more to him – but he still gets plenty fired up too. The profile.
—"That’s an experiment that's over." Imax posted higher first-quarter revenues as a pandemic-era recovery in its North American box office follows a rebounding Asian film business last year. Imax disclosed global box office of $173.2 million in the quarter, a rise of 57 percent over the same period of 2021. Announcing the results, CEO Richard Gelfond took an opportunity to downplay the day-and-date release strategy of studios going forward.The results.
—Marginal gains. Roku added 1.1 million active users in Q1 of 2022, slightly increasing its total active user count to 61.3 million. The company said its year-over-year active user growth of 14 percent was “moderated” due to the end of government stimulus payments, which it said helped drive spending in the first quarter of 2021. Supply chain issues also continue to drive down TV unit sales. The results.
—Smashed. Apple’s services division, which includes Apple TV+, Apple Music, iCloud and the App Store, brought in $19.8 billion in revenue during the second quarter of the fiscal year, up from $19.5 billion in Q1. The tech giant reported $97.3 billion in total revenue, surpassing Wall Street estimates, while net income hit $25 billion. The results. |
Insiders Call B.S. on 'Tokyo Vice' Backstory ►"I don't think half of that stuff in the book happened." The larger-than-life exploits chronicled in American journalist Jake Adelstein's memoir are the basis for Tokyo Vice, the new crime drama from Endeavor Content and HBO Max. But did Adelstein, for instance, really use aikido skills to beat up a huge yakuza bouncer? Was he the target of yakuza “snipers”? THR's Japan correspondent Gavin Blair writes that insiders have doubts about the veracity of some of his tales. The story.
—Pick up. MSNBC Films has acquired The Tipping Point, a doc series from Trevor Noah’s Day Zero Productions, TIME Studios, Sugar23 and P&G Studios. The series about a shifting American culture and the consequences of the 2020 election on voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights, political polarization and the global refugee crisis will air on MSNBC and stream on Peacock this fall. The story.
—Key market. Amazon is doubling down on the India market in a major way. At a glitzy showcase event held in Mumbai Thursday, the company unveiled an enormous slate of 40 new titles spanning original series, movies and co-productions. The slate includes Hindi, Tamil and Telugu projects, with the entire collection to be released in India over the next 24 months. The story.
—"Too much fighting on the dance floor." Proud Brummie Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders, has penned a new music-soaked Birmingham-based drama for the BBC. Two Two (working title) is set to tell the story of an extended family and four young people who are drawn into the world of ska and two tone, which grew from the grass roots of central England in the late ’70s and early ’80s. The story.
—It's back, baby. The American Film Market is set to return with an in-person market in Santa Monica for its 43rd edition this Fall. With the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel returning as a conference venue, the 2022 AFM will run from Nov. 1 to 6. The market, which began a six-day run in 2020, will also take place at theatres throughout the city. The story. |
TV Review: 'Ozark' S4 Part II ►"True to its cynical, often hollow worldview to the very end." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews the second part of the final season of Netflix's Ozark. Jason Bateman, Laura Linney and Julia Garner return for the last seven episodes of their money-laundering drama. The review.
—"Aims for poetic heights but merely plods." THR film critic Sheri Linden reviews Peeter Rebane's Firebird. A romantic drama set in the Cold War-era USSR is based on a Russian actor’s memoir about his love affair with a fighter pilot. The review.
—"Utterly seductive." THR critic Lovia Gyarkye reviews Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet's Anaïs in Love. A restless young woman falls in love with the partner of a former lover in Bourgeois-Tacquet's debut feature. The review. |
Thank Pod It's Friday►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio. — TV's Top 5. Lesley Goldberg and Dan Fienberg break down the latest TV news. This week the guys begin by running through the headlines including American Gigolo firing its showrunner, Pete Davidson's new Peacock comedy, TNT and TBS removing more resources away from scripted originals, as well as that Walking Dead Carol and Daryl bombshell. Dustin Lance Black joins the show this week to discuss his FX limited series Under the Banner of Heaven. And Dan reviews The Offer on Paramount+, Apple’s Shining Girls and the final season of Netflix’s Ozark, among others. Listen here. — Awards Chatter. Awards analyst Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott speaks to James Corden. OK, OK, this isn't a new one, it's from the extensive Awards Chatter archives, May 2016 to be precise, when Corden had only been in the Late Late Show hot seat for 15 months. An interesting listen given the recent news of Corden's impending late-night exit. Listen here. In other news... —New Jurassic World: Dominion trailer delivers bigger look at terrifyingly toothy Giganotosaurus — Dopesick, Insecure among TV Academy honors recipients —AMC Networks interim CEO Matt Blank’s 2021 Pay hit nearly $7m, former CEO Josh Sapan’s topped $15m —Amazon earnings disappoint as pandemic-driven growth shifts to chasing “cost efficiencies” —Rob Kardashian testifies against Blac Chyna, calls relationship “toxic” —Frank Miller launches independent publishing company, new Sin City, Ronin comics in the works —Hubert De Givenchy auction items on view in Beverly Hills, head next to Hong Kong —Liberace’s secret West Hollywood townhouse oozes with old Hollywood glamour —Christina Aguilera on using video games to decompress from performance pressures What else we're reading... —Ryan Faughnder looks at Disney's metaverse strategy and "next-generation storytelling" [ LAT] —Exclusive first look and at Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston in Apple TV+'s intriguing The Essex Serpent [ VF] —It's Spotify's turn to take a tumble as investors question its big podcast investments [ Bloomberg] —"Musk’s ties to China could create headaches for Twitter" [ NYT] —Great read from Dan Reilly and Vikram Murthi who speak to the writers behind Blade Runner 2049, Batman Returns, the John Wick sequels, and more on their toughest franchise gigs [ Vulture] Today... Today's birthdays: Willie Nelson (89), Michelle Pfeiffer (64), Daniel Day-Lewis (65), Jerry Seinfeld (68), Uma Thurman (52), Xochitl Gomez (16), Megan Boone (39), Kate Mulgrew (67), Katherine Langford (26), Taylor Cole (38), Darby Stanchfield (51), Leslie Jordan (67), Tyler Labine (44), Nora Dunn (70), Fares Fares (49), Laura Harrington (64), Phillip Noyce (72), David Belle (49) |
| Bob Elkins, who had a small but pivotal role as a radio disc jockey in Coal Miner’s Daughter, has died. He was 89. The obituary. |
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