| | | | What's news: Anne Heche died peacefully on Sunday after she was taken off life support. The CW is under new ownership. Johnny Depp is set to direct his second feature. Top Gun 2 is nearing $700m at the domestic box office. WB is replacing Universal as MGM's global theatrical distribution partner. Salman Rushdie is on the road to recovery — Abid Rahman |
Anne Heche Taken Off Life Support ►"A bright light." Anne Heche was taken off life support Sunday night, her rep announced. She was 53. Heche had spent several days in a coma at the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills (California) Hospital and Medical Center after her Mini Cooper ran off the road Aug. 5 and smashed into a two-story home in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles. The obituary.
—Under new ownership. The CW, currently run as a joint venture between WBD's Warner Bros. TV and Paramount's CBS Studios, is selling a 75 percent stake to the local broadcast giant Nexstar. Paramount and WBD will each retain a 12.5 percent stake in the venture. The CW will also continue to order programming from the two entertainment giants, though Nexstar is likely to look elsewhere for originals as well. The story.
—Back in the director's chair. THR's man in London Alex Ritman has the scoop on Johnny Depp lining up his first film directing gig in 25 years. Depp is set to get behind the camera for Modigliani, a biopic about Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, and will co-produce alongside Al Pacino and Barry Navidi. The feature marks the star's first feature as director since The Brave, starring himself and Marlon Brando. The story.
—🤝 New global partner 🤝 MGM has tapped Warner Bros. to be its new international theatrical distribution partner. The pact succeeds a similar deal MGM had with Universal. One caveat: the arrangement doesn’t include the next James Bond film. The multiyear deal encompasses the release of MGM films in territories outside the U.S. including China. The agreement also includes worldwide physical home entertainment distribution on all newly released MGM titles. The story.
—Report complete. The FBI’s forensic analysis and the New Mexico medical investigator’s report into the Oct. 21 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Alec Baldwin-starring movie Rust have been completed and turned over to the sheriff’s office. As part of its investigation, detectives will review the reports and then send the findings to the district attorney to determine whether charges will be filed in the shooting in Bonanza City, New Mexico, that also wounded director Joel Souza. The story. |
'Bullet Train' Leads Ho-Hum Weekend With $13.4M ►No product. Sony's Bullet Train easily stayed atop the box office chart in its second weekend as no new Hollywood summer even pic opened nationwide. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that in normal times, studios would continue to release event films throughout August, but this year has been different as the entertainment business emerges from the pandemic and grapples with production and post-production delays. Overall revenue for the weekend was around $66m, a low point for summer 2022.
Bullet Train is doing OK business and earned $13.4m in its second outing weekend from 4,357 theaters for a 10-day domestic total of $54.2m. Overseas, David Leitch’s movie also continued to speed along, earning another $17m for a foreign tally of $60m and a global total of $114.5m.
Elsewhere, Top Gun: Maverick made an impressive comeback in its 12th weekend, thanks to upping its theater count from 2,760 to 3,181 locations, including premium screen venues, as part of a special fan appreciation event. Top Gun 2 earned an estimated $7.2m and is now certain to cross the $700m mark domestically. Globally, it has earned north of $1.35b, one of the best showings of all time. The box office report. |
Denise Dowse 1958 - 2022 ►"The most amazing sister, a consummate, illustrious actress, mentor and director." Denise Dowse, the busy character actress who portrayed Vice Principal Yvonne Teasley on Beverly Hills, 90210, Judge Rebecca Damsen on The Guardian and therapist Rhonda Pine on Insecure, has died. She was 64. She also appeared in such films as Ray and Coach Carter and was also known for her work as a stage director. The obituary.
—Veteran television creative. Jessica Klein, who spent six seasons on Beverly Hills, 90210 as an invaluable writer, producer and story editor, has died. She was 66. Klein died July 13 of pancreatic cancer at her home in Beverly Hills, her daughter, Shira Rose, announced. The obituary.
—Soap star. Robyn Griggs, known for her roles on soap operas Another World and One Life to Live, has died. She was 49. The actress’ passing was announced on her Facebook page Saturday. She had been battling cervical cancer and was open about her health struggles on social media, with Griggs posting last month that she had been diagnosed with four new tumors. The obituary. |
'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' Turns 40 ►"It’s the event that changed my life." Written by Cameron Crowe and directed by Amy Heckerling, Fast Times at Ridgemont High didn’t get a big rollout from Universal because of its racy scenes, but critics and audiences cemented its legacy. To celebrate the film's 40th anniversary, THR dandy Ryan Gajewski spoke to Heckerling and stars Judge Reinhold, Robert Romanus, Scott Thomson about the cult movie that launched the careers of Sean Penn, Phoebe Cates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Forest Whitaker and a certain Nicolas Coppola. The story.
—Nightmare scenario. Troy Kotsur revealed that his vehicle was stolen on Saturday, along with his best supporting actor Oscar statue that was inside. The CODA star posted about the incident in a now-deleted tweet, writing that while he was in Mesa, Arizona, his car got nicked. Both the vehicle and award statue were later recovered by local authorities. Phew! The story.
—Good news. Salman Rushdie is “on the road to recovery,” his agent confirmed Sunday, days after the author of The Satanic Verses suffered serious injuries in a stabbing at a lecture in upstate New York. The announcement followed news that the lauded writer was removed from a ventilator Saturday and able to talk and joke. The story.
—"Any chance of some support?" Warner Bros. Discovery has put out a statement condemning threats made against J.K. Rowling made following Friday’s attack on Salman Rushdie. The author on Saturday said she was working with the police after receiving a death threat over her support for Rushdie. The story.
—Shocking response. An Iranian government official denied Monday that Tehran was involved in the assault on author Salman Rushdie, though he justified the stabbing in remarks that represented the Islamic Republic’s first public comments on the attack. The story. |
TV Review: 'Tales of the Walking Dead'►"Inessential if occasionally diverting." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews AMC's Tales of the Walking Dead. Terry Crews, Olivia Munn, Parker Posey, Samantha Morton, Jillian Bell and more star in a set of bite-size standalone tales set in the post-apocalyptic, zombie-filled Walking Dead universe. The review. — "We want to take big swings." THR's Tyler Coates spoke to Stranger Things showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer about developing the biggest season of Netflix's sci-fi series yet, exceeding fan expectations, explaining TikTok to Kate Bush and they also tease the "pretty massive" series finale. The interview. — "Nobody wanted to make it back in 2009." THR's Rebecca Sun spoke to Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk who very helpfully shares his thoughts on spinoffs of the global phenomenon and also teased season two. The drama series earned 14 Emmy nominations, and Hwang revealed how he’s handling all the attention and praise. The interview. — "It’s mainly a game of trust, rather than exquisite planning." THR's Hilton Dresden spoke to Succession showrunner Jesse Armstrong about the careful groundwork that led to the emotionally explosive season three finale and how it has set up season four. The interview. In other news... —John Mulaney, Conan O’Brien to headline New York Comedy Festival — Rule 34 wins Locarno Film Festival —Locarno: Austrian doc Matter Out of Place wins inaugural Green Leopard environmental prize —HCA TV Awards: White Lotus, Abbott Elementary, Better Call Saul lead winners on night 1 —HCA TV Awards: Severance, Ted Lasso, Dopesick win top streaming awards on night 2 What else we're reading... —Interesting Zoe Samios story out of Australia where Fox Corp. boss Lachlan Murdoch is suing a critic who suggested Fox News had some responsibility for Jan 6 [ Sydney Morning Herald] —Marina E. Franco reports that Latinos stream more than anyone else but are rarely seen on screen [ Axios] —Jason Zengerle investigates why Joe Biden is hardly ever on TV [ NYT] —Alison Herman writes that A League of Their Own is a solid spiritual heir to GLOW [ Ringer] —Salvador Rodriguez goes inside the secret talks that could have prevented the Apple vs. Facebook war [ WSJ] Today... ...in 1997, Miramax unveiled James Mangold’s thriller Cop Land in theaters, where it would go on to gross $63m. The star-studded cast included Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Janeane Garofalo, Peter Berg, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport and Annabella Sciorra. The original review. Today's birthdays: Jennifer Lawrence (32), Ben Affleck (50), Alejandro G. Iñárritu (59), Anthony Anderson (52), Debra Messing (54), Emily Kinney (37), Joe Jonas (33), David Zayas (60), Natasha Henstridge (48), Con O'Neill (56), Željko Ivanek (65), Peter Hermann (55), Barbara Bouchet (79), Quinton Aaron (38), Christine Adams (48), Cris Judd (53), Lubna Azabal (49), Tony Robinson (76), Nicole Paggi (45), Rich Wilkes (56) |
| Teddy Ray, the rising comedian with appearances on Wild ‘n Out, How to Be Broke, Pause With Sam Jay and MTV's Messyness and the man behind the "double cheeked up" and "you 36" memes, has died. He was 32. The obituary. |
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