| | | | What's news: Friends and family of Anne Heche are remembering the actress after she was declared brain dead following a car crash. Salman Rushdie suffered serious injuries after he was stabbed on stage. Emily Blunt has joined the cast of Universal's Fall Guy film. Netflix renews Love, Death and Robots. Jeffrey Toobin is leaving CNN — Abid Rahman |
Anne Heche Declared Brain Dead ►"We lost a bright light." Anne Heche has been declared brain dead, although she remains on life support for organ donation, a rep for the actress told THR on Friday. According to the actress’ publicist Holly Baird, Heche is “legally dead according to California law.” However, her heart is still beating and she has not been taken off of life support so that “OneLegacy can see if she is a match for organ donation.” The story.
—Shocking attack. British author Salman Rushdie was stabbed in the neck and abdomen Friday by a man who rushed the stage as the author was about to give a lecture in western New York. A bloodied Rushdie, 75, was flown to a hospital and underwent surgery. His agent, Andrew Wylie, said the writer was on a ventilator Friday evening, with a damaged liver, severed nerves in an arm and an eye he was likely to lose. The story.
—"It’s somewhat personal but also national news." Bill Maher devoted time during his latest episode of HBO’s Real Time to honoring his close friend Salman Rushdie. Maher sat down with guests Piers Morgan and writer Rikki Schlott, and at the start of the segment, he explained that his mind was on the attack. The story.
—Petition to seal. The family of country singer Naomi Judd filed a court petition Friday to seal police reports and recordings made during the investigation into her death. The family said the records contain video and audio interviews with relatives in the immediate aftermath of Judd’s death, and releasing such details would inflict “significant trauma and irreparable harm.” The story. |
'Rings of Power' Writers Push Back At Critics ►"We feel like deep roots of this show are in the books and in Tolkien." Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunners and cast discussed creating their show's immense world and comparisons to HBO’s Game of Thrones at the Television Critic Association’s press tour Friday. In particular, Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne pushed back on questions that their show was "vaguely connected" to J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. The story.
—Blunt force casting. Emily Blunt has joined actor Ryan Gosling and director David Leitch in the stuntman action drama The Fall Guy. The Universal feature is inspired by the classic 1980s series of the same name. Fall Guy was created by prolific TV producer Glen A. Larson, and starred Lee Majors as a Hollywood stuntman who has a side hustle as a bounty hunter. The story.
—Nothing more certain. Netflix has picked up a fourth season of the Emmy-winning animated anthology series Love, Death and Robots. The renewal comes about three months after its third season debuted, and a month after it was nominated for its third straight Emmy for best short-form animated program. The story.
—Not long now. Ncuti Gatwa, the new Doctor, will begin filming the next season of Doctor Who for the BBC this November. The 14th season of the long-running sci-fi show, and the first starring the Sex Education star, isn't expected to air until 2024, but there's speculation Gatwa could also make an appearance in an anniversary special before then. The story. |
How Hollywood Is Avoiding Story Theft Claims ►That was my idea! THR's Ashley Cullins writes that the industry’s endless array of programming could actually lead to fewer disputes over content — but creators still shouldn’t read pitches in their DMs. The story.
—"Love all my former colleagues." Jeffrey Toobin’s time at CNN has come to an end. The network’s chief legal analyst announced on Twitter that he was exiting his post after 20 years after his current vacation. The news comes over a year after Toobin rejoined CNN after being off the air for eight months following a “deeply moronic and indefensible” situation on a Zoom call with his colleagues at The New Yorker. The story.
—Domestic disturbance. Singer Michelle Branch was arrested by Nashville police on Thursday after officers were called to the house she shares with husband Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney to investigate a possible domestic disturbance. On social media, Branch accused Carney of cheating on her in a since-deleted tweet. The story.
—Guilty. Jason Alexander, once briefly married to Britney Spears, was convicted Friday of aggravated trespassing and battery at the pop star’s June wedding. Alexander pleaded no contest to the two misdemeanor counts in a California court. The Ventura County judge sentenced him to the 64 days he has already served in jail. The story. |
Shorts From Music and Sports Stars Have Qualified for Oscar Consideration ►Short kings and queens. THR's awards columnist Scott Feinberg has the scoop on short films from rapper Kendrick Lamar, singer Taylor Swift, basketball star Jeremy Lin and tennis champion Naomi Osaka have all qualified to compete for shorts categories at the 2022 Oscars. Scott writes recent Oscar wins for shorts by Riz Ahmed, Kobe Bryant and Matthew A. Cherry may have motivated other big names to throw their hats — or films — into the ring, too. The story.
—Feinberg Forecast. On Friday, Scott also posted his first post-nominations Emmys projections on dozens of categories. The forecast.
—"I am humbled and truly grateful." Helen Hoehne, a German print and broadcast journalist who has served as the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association during its darkest hour, has been re-elected to that position. The scandal-plagued HFPA says that Hoehne was re-elected "by an overwhelming margin." The story. |
TV Review: 'Legacy: The True Story of the L.A. Lakers'►"Eventually finds its own story, but the first few hours are mighty redundant." THR's chief TV critic Dan Feinberg reviews Hulu's Legacy: The True Story of the L.A. Lakers. Antoine Fuqua’s 10-part docuseries chronicles the rise of the Los Angeles Lakers under the Buss family, just like Winning Time and They Call Me Magic before it. The review. — "Thoughtful, spirited and affecting." THR film critic Sheri Linden reviews Marq Evans' Claydream. This documentary explores the rise and fall of Will Vinton’s stop-motion studio, which shot to fame with its California Raisins ads but couldn’t withstand boardroom maneuvers. The review. In other news... — Kung Fu Panda 4 sets 2024 release —Telefilm Canada’s outgoing CEO talks diversity drive amid a racial reckoning —All the details on Brad Pitt’s workwear-inspired Bullet Train look —How Marvelous Mrs. Maisel production designer found artistic triumphs despite COVID challenges What else we're reading... —David A. Graham writes that Trump’s scandals are never done, there really is no bottom [ Atlantic] —This Valerie Bauerlein story is wild, WILD: "A convenience-store magnate, teen drinking and a fatal boat crash: the legal case shaking South Carolina" [ WSJ] —Kurt Wagner looks at Javier Olivan, Sheryl Sandberg replacement at Meta [ Bloomberg] —Kathryn VanArendonk writes that Hulu’s new series This Fool is what streaming comedies should be [ Vulture] —Lisa Liebman interviews Aubrey Plaza on her new film Emily the Criminal and the second season of The White Lotus [ VF] Today... ...in 1997, Comedy Central introduced South Park to America. In 25 seasons (and counting) over 300 episodes have been broadcast. The original review. Today's birthdays: Sebastian Stan (40), David Crane (65), Debi Mazar (58), John Slattery (60), Paul Greengrass (67), Dawnn Lewis (61), James Carpinello (47), Crystal Allen (50), Kasia Smutniak (43), Danny Bonaduce (63), Anthony Keyvan (22), Moritz Bleibtreu (51), Eric Appel (42), Deborah Falconer (57), Anita Raj (60) |
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