| | | | What's news: Doctor Strange 2 had an enormous Friday and is on track for a huge opening. Fred Savage is no longer involved with ABC's Wonder Years. Reacher star Alan Ritchson has inked a 3-film deal with Amazon. Savannah Guthrie tested positive for COVID-19, again. Plus: David Spade speaks to THR about the recent attacks on his friends, and fellow comedians, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle — Abid Rahman |
Fred Savage Let Go From 'Wonder Years' Following Misconduct Probe ►Fired. Fred Savage has been let go from his roles as executive producer and director of ABC’s revived The Wonder Years following an investigation into misconduct. Savage faced three separate allegations and cooperated with the investigation, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The story.
—Not guilty plea. A man charged in an attack on comedian Dave Chappelle during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl pleaded not guilty Friday to four misdemeanors. Isaiah Lee, 23, entered the not guilty pleas in a L.A. courtroom to charges of battery, possessing a deadly weapon with intent to assault unlawfully crossing from a spectator area onto a stage at a theatrical event and interfering with or delaying such an event with unlawful conduct. The story.
—A safe pair of big hands. Alan Ritchson — the star of the Amazon Prime Video series Reacher — has inked a deal with the streamer that will see him star in three films. Amazon renewed Reacher for a second season three days after its Feb. 4 release. The company says it ranks among Prime Video’s top five most watched series ever in the U.S. and globally. The story.
—Axing season is in full swing. With the broadcast upfront presentations a week away, ABC has begun to make decisions on its bubble slate. The network has canceled rookie dramas Queens and Promised Land. THR's Lesley Goldberg writes that neither series — despite being owned in-house — had been expected to return. The story. |
David Spade on Comedy, Dating and Netflix's Feedback About His Special ►"Since the Will Smith incident, I feel there’s a change in the air." THR jokester Ryan Gajewski spoke to David Spade about his recently released his first Netflix special, Nothing Personal, and there's plenty of talk about that as well as his singular movie career, but the comedian also addressed the recent shocking attacks on friends Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle. The interview.
—Heroes. The GLAAD Media Awards came to a close in NYC on Friday, with the second of two bicoastal ceremonies revealing the rest of this year’s winners. Cody Rigsby and Peppermint hosted the event, which honored Judith Light with the Excellence in Media Award. Pose and Lil Nas X took home the top prizes of the night, winning outstanding drama series and outstanding music artist, respectively. The story.
—"So this happened – again!" Savannah Guthrie has, for the second time, tested positive for COVID-19. The unlucky Today co-anchor posted her diagnosis via Instagram on Friday, sharing a picture of her rapid test result and writing in the caption that her symptoms include a just “a slight cold” so far. The story.
—Not great. Dish Network continued to widen its subscriber loss in Q1, which the company attributed to seasonality as well as poor execution. The company reported a loss of 462,000 net pay TV subscribers in the three months ended March 31, compared to a year ago, falling to 10.2 million. Sling TV subscribers fell to 2.2 million for the quarter, down from 2.5 million a year earlier. The results.
—Casting news. AMC’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches novels has cast Jack Huston in a key role. Fargo star Huston will play Lasher, a powerful shape shifter who has been bound to the Mayfair witches for hundreds of years. He joins a cast that also includes Alexandra Daddario, Harry Hamlin and Tongayi Chirisa. The story. |
Box Office: 'Doctor Strange 2' Flies to Sensational $90M Friday ►Coming in hot and heavy. Marvel's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness earned a huge $90 million on Friday at the North American box office putting the film on course to score $185 million to $200 million in its domestic debut and land one of the biggest openings of all time domestically.
THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Friday’s haul — which includes $36 million in previews — is the seventh-biggest opening day of all time and gives the Marvel Cinematic Universe five of the top 10 opening days ever. The box office report.
—Errol Spears speaks! THR's Brian Davids spoke to Doctor Strange 2 star, and the real hero of the franchise, Benedict Wong and newcomer Xochitl Gomez. The dynamic duo discusses their on-screen superhero partnership in the film and their real-life friendship forged by some rather unsavory online bullying. The interview.
—"I can’t believe it’s been six years." Brian also spoke to returning Doctor Strange star Rachel McAdams, who reveals that prior to the sequel she had made peace with the idea that she would be a one and one character in the MCU. McAdams also talks about her upcoming project, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. The interview.
—"My job this time was really to recognize where the continuing Marvel universe had been." And for his Strange hattrick, Brian spoke to the main man himself, Sam Raimi who finally and thankfully returns to superhero genre with Multiverse of Madness. Raimi discusses Kevin Feige’s early Spider-Man genius and how Zoom became one of his greatest filmmaking tools. The interview.
—"A little more ordinary than its director/material match promises." ICYMI, here again is THR's review of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The review. |
TV Review: 'Candy' ►"An unsatisfying telling of a compelling story." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Hulu’s Candy. Jessica Biel and Melanie Lynskey star in this true-crime miniseries tells the story of Candy Montgomery, a Texas homemaker accused of killing her friend Betty Gore with an axe in 1980. The review. — "I tried to be egoless during the audition." In a recent interview, rapper and now actor Jack Harlow on how he landed the lead in 20th Century Studios' reboot of White Men Can’t Jump, taking on a role made famous by Woody Harrelson in the 1992 original. The story. In other news... —John Cena signs with WME —Chuck Todd’s daily Meet the Press show to become streaming-only offering —Symone Sanders doesn’t want her MSNBC show to be predictable —Cinemark sees higher admissions amid reduced film slate —Jon Batiste postpones premiere of American Symphony at Carnegie Hall after testing positive for COVID-19 What else we're reading... —I'll always link to any John C. Reilly content as a matter of course but this Lane Brown interview with the actor is really, really good [ Vulture] —Zach Beauchamp puts it out there: "What happens when the public loses faith in the Supreme Court?" [ Vox] —Stuart Heritage on why Liam Neeson is the worst-best/best-worst interviewee in the world [ Guardian] —A fascinating look at Russian state TV's reporting of the Ukraine invasion, where up is down and every defeat and setback is staged [ NYT] —Social media was a bad idea: "A family of YouTubers faces backlash after running marathon with their 6-year-old" [ NBC News] Today... ...in 1993, Warner Bros. unveiled Ivan Reitman's political comedy Dave in theaters. The film starred Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver, with Frank Langella, Ving Rhames, Charles Grodin, and Ben Kingsley in supporting roles, and made $98 million at the box office. The original review. Today's birthdays: Amy Heckerling (68), Asghar Farhadi (50), Jennifer Yuh Nelson (50), Lucile Hadzihalilovic (61), Nicholas Hytner (66), Maya Erskine (35), Aidy Bryant (35), Alexander Ludwig (30), Breckin Meyer (48), Carrie Henn (46), Lela Loren (42), Ivan Sergei (51), Peter Reckell (67), Adam Bernstein (62), Dariusz Wolski (66), Yôsuke Kubozuka (43), Robin Strasser (77), John Irvin (82), J Balvin (37), Anne Dudley (66) |
| Mike Hagerty, a beloved character actor best, known for playing Mr. Treeger the building superintendent in Friends, has died. He was 67. The obituary. |
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