| | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover star is French actress and Cannes fave Léa Seydoux. Tom Brady has secured his post-playing career TV gig. CBS as renewed all three of its FBI shows. Fox Corp. and Sony Pictures both swung back into profit. Fremantle has made another acquisition. Plus: Dave Chappelle's Hollywood Bowl gigs won't be streamed on Netflix — Abid Rahman |
The Paradox of Léa Seydoux ►On the cover. Léa Seydoux, the unofficial queen of Cannes, speaks to THR's Mia Galuppo about her new film, David Cronenberg’s twisted ‘Crimes of the Future’ (her 17th premiere at the festival). The French actress also talks about the terror and joy of working with auteurs while starring in top-grossing flicks, and the unreal expectations Hollywood puts on actresses: “You have to be desirable all the time." The cover story.
—Well, well, wellity, well. In a stunning move, star Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has agreed to join Fox Sports as its lead NFL analyst. Brady will join Fox Sports when he decides to retire from the NFL. In his new role, Brady will join Fox’s lead NFL announcer Kevin Burkhardt in the NFL booth, and be a staple of Fox’s NFL coverage. The story.
—No new episodes until further notice. The Late Show is hitting pause again, while host Stephen Colbert deals with what may be a “recurrence” of COVID-19. The show announced that they will not be taping new episodes, with the late-night host isolating for a few additional days. The story.
—Not for streaming. The most talked-about moment from Netflix’s first-ever comedy festival isn’t coming to streaming. The company announced a list of content being released from its Netflix Is a Joke Fest and Dave Chappelle’s Hollywood Bowl event, where the comedian was attacked on stage last week, isn’t included. The story.
—"This is not the Golden Globes." Tina Fey and Amy Poehler took the stage Saturday night at YouTube Theater in Los Angeles for an “In Conversation” event on the final weekend of shows to close out the inaugural Netflix is a Joke Festival. THR's nicest man Chris Gardner was there to see the pair reminisce about their SNL days, typecasting and being hit on by Kevin Spacey. The story.
—Scouser in demand. Killing Eve actress Jodie Comer is set to star in the thriller The End We Start From. The feature comes from Benedict Cumberbatch’s SunnyMarch, Hera Pictures, Anton and BBC Film. Mahalia Belo will direct the film from a script by Alice Birch and adapted from the novel by Megan Hunter. The story. |
TV Upfronts: Burning Questions for Broadcast Networks ►Welcome to Hell Week. With their formal presentations to Madison Avenue ad buyers set for May 16-19, ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox and NBC are in crunch time this week as scores of scripted comedies and dramas currently living on the bubble await their fate. THR's Lesley Goldberg, Alex Weprin and Rick Porter run through the big questions facing each network. The story.
—All in. CBS is betting big on its FBI franchise. The network has picked up all three shows from megaproducer Dick Wolf — and not just for one season. The three series — flagship show FBI and spinoffs FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International — have all received two-season renewals that will take them through the 2023-24 season. The story.
—Settled. Staying with CBS, the network has settled a lawsuit brought by a company seeking a stake of profits in the MacGyver reboot. The deal comes a month before trial was set to start. Details of the settlement weren’t revealed. The profits battle arises from a 1984 deal brokered by Major Talent Agency, the packaging agent for the original MacGyver series. The story.
—Streaming deal. No big surprises here, but Paramount+ will be the exclusive streaming home of CBS' hit comedy Ghosts. The show, produced by Lionsgate Television, BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions and CBS Studios, recently got a second season renewal from CBS. The story. |
How the Pandemic Shaped the Tony Nominations Landscape ►A truly unique season. From delayed openings and an expanded nomination window to recognition of the season's historic Black playwrights and major celebrity snubs, THR's Abbey White looks at the ways the pandemic impacted this year's Tony Awards nominations. The analysis.
—ICYMI. THR's Hilary Lewis runs through the Tony nominations snubs, including Funny Girl stars Beanie Feldstein and Jane Lynch, Company actress Katrina Lenk, Macbeth star Daniel Craig and Plaza Suite's Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick. The snubs.
—Inching closer. Jennifer Hudson is one step closer to achieving EGOT status following a Tony noms as a producer for A Strange Loop, which topped the nods with 11 total nominations. The story. |
Streaming TV's Next Battlefront: Free Services Seize Their Moment ►Could Netflix’s pain be someone else’s gain? While subscription-based leader Netflix stumbles, ad-based platforms like Paramount’s Pluto TV, Fox’s Tubi, Amazon’s Freevee and the Roku Channel are making moves to escape their second-tier status. The analysis.
—Tubi and football FTW. Strong advertising deliveries swung Fox Corp. back to profitability in the company’s last quarter (its fiscal Q3), after it had reported a loss in fiscal Q2. Fox reported revenues of $3.45 billion, including advertising revenues of $1.3 billion, and reported net income of $290 million. The results.
—Heading in the right direction. AMC theaters has shrunk its latest quarterly loss on higher overall revenues as the movie exhibition giant looks for gains from a box office rebound. The company posted a Q1 loss of $337.4 million, or 65 cents per-share on overall revenues at $785.7 million. That’s an improvement on the year-ago period when AMC posted a first quarter $567 million net loss on $148 million in revenue. The results.
—Swinging back to profit. Sony Pictures saw its fiscal fourth-quarter bottom line swing to a profit of $84 million, a healthy uptick from the $2.7 million loss it reported during the same period in 2021. Full-year profit for the unit soared 172 percent to $1.67 billion, as theatrical revenue and licensing of film titles to streaming services both made strong gains. The story.
—*DJ Khaled voice* Another one. Independent production giant Fremantle has acquired a majority stake in award-winning Irish group Element Pictures, producer of the hit BBC/Hulu series Normal People and Oscar-winning films The Favourite and Room. The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions by rapidly expanding Fremantle. The story. |
Film Review: 'Men' ►"A mind-bending dissection of manhood." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Alex Garland's Men. A traumatized widow seeks a place to heal in an English country house where she instead finds herself in an escalating nightmare in this surreal folk horror, also starring Rory Kinnear. The review. — "Elegant and restrained, to a fault." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Hulu's Conversations With Friends. College students Frances (Alison Oliver) and Bobbi (Sasha Lane) get tangled up with an older married couple, Melissa (Jemima Kirke) and Nick (Joe Alwyn), in an adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel. The review. In other news... — Westworld season 4 teaser trailer revealed —Gloria Estefan and Andy Garcia reveal family secret in Father of the Bride remake trailer —Turner Classic Movies teams up with Julien’s Auctions —Billboard Music Awards: Ed Sheeran, Miranda Lambert, Travis Scott join list of performers —Viola Davis set to receive Kering Women in Motion Award during Cannes —Hot Docs: Eternal Spring wins top audience award — Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino signs with CAA — Ashley Nissenberg, Hollywood attorney, dies at 41 — Jethro Lazenby, model and son of Nick Cave, dies at 30 What else we're reading... —Well worth the time: "Gilbert Gottfried, remembered by those who knew him" [ Vulture] —Rebecca Jennings on "YouTube brain" and why prominent YouTubers are quitting the platform only to come back [ Vox] — Donald Liebenson's interview with Everything Everywhere All at Once star and living legend James Hong (450+ credits!) is a fun read [ VF] —Elisabeth Vincentelli's interesting behind the scenes look at NBC's attempts to replicate Eurovision with American Song Contest [ NYT] —If you're wondering why this guy keeps trending on social media: "Inside the relentless campaign to ruin Madison Cawthorn" [ Daily Beast] Today... ...in 1996, Warner Bros. unveiled disaster thriller Twister in theaters. Directed by Jan de Bont, from a script by Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin, the film starred Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes, and Philip Seymour Hoffman as storm chasers. The film made near $500 million worldwide and went on to nab two Oscar nominations, for sound and visual effects. The original review. Today's birthdays: Bono (62), Kenan Thompson (44), Odette Annable (37), David Mackenzie (56), Halston Sage (29), Rebecca Root (53), Dallas Roberts (52), Erik Palladino (54), Adrian Scarborough (54), Sally Phillips (52), Cazzie David (28), Judson Mills (53), Rich Moore (59), Linda Evangelista (57), Stephen Berra (49), Joseph Ruben (72) |
| Jack Kehler, a veteran character actor in The Big Lebowski and The Man in the High Castle, has died. He was 75. The obituary. |
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