| | | | What's news: The 2022 Venice Film Festival officially kicked off today. Ben Kingsley's Trevor Slattery is returning to the MCU for a Disney+ series. Laura Linney is returning to Broadway. Snap is cutting 20 percent of its workforce. The EPs behind Narcos are in dispute over profits from the show. Sundance 2023 will be a hybrid event — Abid Rahman |
THR at Venice 2022 ►Ciao! All the latest from THR's intrepid team of reporters and critics on the ground in Italy as the Venice Film Festival gets underway. The Day 1 digital daily.
—"What is more important is what is being created." The art, not the business of film, will be on Julianne Moore’s mind over the next 10 days, as the Oscar-winning actress takes on her latest role as the president of the competition jury for the 79th Venice Film Festival. Speaking to the press on Wednesday, Moore mused that while most discussions “about the future of cinema” tend to focus on the movie business rather than the stories being told. The story.
—"Much better to be in Europe than in America if you are an actress and are older." French screen legend Catherine Deneuve was all smiles as she glided into the press conference room at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday. Deneuve, who is being honored this year with the festival’s Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement, spoke about her career but also about ageism in the film business. The story.
—"Part of it was always wanting to get Colin and Brendan back together." THR's Alex Ritman spoke to writer-director Martin McDonagh who returns to the Lido — where he launched his Oscar-winning smash hit Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri — for his latest film The Banshees of Inisherin. McDonagh talks about his reunion with In Bruges stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson and how his partner Phoebe Waller-Bridge gives him feedback on his work. The interview.
—Can Venice relaunch the art house movie business? THR's Scott Roxborough reflects on how with Top Gun: Maverick and Elvis, the 2022 Cannes Film Festival marked a return of the blockbuster and looks at whether Venice can do the same for specialty fare. The analysis.
More from the Venice Film Festival...
—Noah Baumbach on getting LCD Soundsystem to create new track for White Noise
—Venice flashback: Colin Farrell makes his Lido debut with a dark dream
—Venice next big thing: The Son star Zen McGrath on handling the drama’s emotional intensity |
'HOTD' Breakout Milly Alcock on How the Prequel Shocked Her ►"It felt like that I had been literally picked up from Australia and someone had just dropped me in the middle of the ocean." THR's James Hibberd spoke Milly Alcock, the 22-year-old Aussie actress who has become a worldwide name after taking a lead role in House of the Dragon. Alcock, who plays Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, on the HBO drama discusses her casting, creating young Rhaenyra and the ways the show surprised her. The interview.
—"I wouldn't go in there for twenty minutes." Ben Kingsley is returning to the MCU. The Oscar winner will reprise his role as criminally overlooked thespian Trevor Slattery in Marvel’s Wonder Man project at Disney+. The potential series, which THR revealed was in development in June, focuses on one of Marvel’s oldest characters, Simon Williams/Wonder Man. The story.
—DC, Marvel team up. THR's Scott Roxborough has the scoop on Birds of Prey star Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Doctor Strange 2 breakout Xochitl Gomez signing on to star in Ursa Major, a new sci-fi thriller from sibling directors Jonathan and Josh Baker. Winstead and Gomez will play Charlie and Natalie, mother and daughter fighting for survival on an Earth-like planet. The story.
—"We’re not over telling all of these stories." With Nope's dénouement left to interpretation, and inspiring hundreds of fan theories, Jordan Peele has dropped some hints that he may revisit the film's universe in the future to answer some of those questions. In a new interview, Peele was asked several questions about Nope that have left more eagle-eyed fans puzzled, in particular, a Reddit thread about a character, named Nobody, who was cut from the film. The story.
—Back to the New York stage. Laura Linney is set to make her Broadway return in Summer, 1976, a new play by Pulitzer Prize winner and Proof author David Auburn. Helmed by Tony-winning director Daniel Sullivan, the play, set during the Bicentennial celebration, is about the friendship between Diana, a fiercely iconoclastic artist and single mom and Alice, a free-spirited yet naive young housewife. Previews are set to begin on April 4, 2023. The story. |
'Narcos' Revenue Split Spawns Legal Duel Between EPs ►Missing money. Narcos director José Padilha claims his production partner is cheating him out of millions in profits from the series. Padilha is suing showrunner Eric Newman, alleging the veteran producer is concealing revenue — including money from audits of and bonuses from Gaumont Television. Under their profit sharing agreement, they agreed to an equal split of all revenue. The story.
—Not good. Snap will lay off around 20 percent of its workforce on Wednesday, according to a memo CEO Evan Spiegel sent to employees. The layoffs will see more than 1,200 employees cut, with the company expecting to save about $500m. The story.
—Not good at all. Netflix has poached a pair of Snap executives to lead its new ad venture. Snap's chief business officer Jeremi Gorman and VP of sales Peter Naylor are jumping ship for the streamer, with the former set to be president of worldwide advertising for Netflix, and the latter serving as VP of ad sales. They both start next month. The story.
—Best of both. The Sundance Institute is planning a hybrid format of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The in-person festival will return to Utah, running from Jan. 19 to 29, while films will begin to screen online starting Jan. 24. The on-demand, online offerings will include all 2023 competition titles. The story.
—"He is fine." Mexican actor and comedian Eugenio Derbez has had an accident and will undergo a “complicated” surgery, his wife, Alessandra Rosaldo, told his fans in an Instagram post. She added that Derbez would undergo a long rehabilitation period. The story. |
Police Release Details of "Extortion Threat" to Natalie Portman Series ►Correcting the record. There are new details about the so-called “extortion threat” against Natalie Portman’s upcoming Apple TV+ limited series Lady in the Lake. When the story first broke, The Baltimore Banner reported that production sources had claimed the show’s “cast and crew” were threatened by a group of “drug dealers” who brandished a firearm and demanded $50,000. Now much of what was alleged to have occurred has turned out to be false. The story.
—No liability. Producer Joel Silver is not liable for the death of his former assistant during a star-studded trip to French Polynesia in the summer of 2015, according to a new California appellate opinion that affirms a summary judgment ruling from last year. Carmel Musgrove drowned while under the influence of cocaine and alcohol during a trip to Bora Bora. Her family's attorney tells THR the legal fight isn't over. The story.
—Alleged knockoff. A&E Television Networks is suing Reelz and the producers behind the independent TV channel’s breakout hit On Patrol: Live, alleging the show is a blatant knockoff of Live PD. A&E canceled Live PD in 2020 following nationwide protests against police brutality. Big Fish Entertainment, the reality show’s producer, revived the series in June with a new name and new home at Reelz. The story.
—Suit filed. James Van Der Beek has sued SiriusXM and Stitcher for breach of contract over a podcast agreement allegedly worth at least $700,000. According to the suit, Van Der Beek reached an agreement over email with execs from the audio giant to host 40 podcast episodes, to be released weekly, in exchange for a $700,000 minimum guarantee and a 50 percent cut of the net ad revenue. The story. |
TV Review: 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' ►"A promising start." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Amazon Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. This ultra-expensive and ultra-expansive prequel series based on J.R.R. Tolkein's works drops some familiar names, but tells a generally new story of dwarfs, elves, wizards, hairy-footed humanoids and more. The review. — This Week in TV. THR's Rick Porter runs down the TV premieres, returns and specials over the next seven days. Among the things to look out for over the coming week include the debut of Amazon's $1b The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the return of Rick and Morty and the beginning of the end for Queen Sugar. The full guide. In other news... —Football players and veterans come together in trailer for Nate Boyer drama MVP —Showtime ups nonfiction exec Zoe Rogovin —Development exec Chika Chukudebelu Igwilo joins FX —UTA’s Digital Brand Architects acquires management company for golfers — Chicken Shop Date creator Amelia Dimoldenberg signs with CAA — Tucker Wiard, film editor on Murphy Brown, The Carol Burnett Show and Alice, dies at 80 — Charlbi Dean, actress in Triangle of Sadness and Black Lightning, dies at 32 What else we're reading... —Kate Taylor has a thoroughly reported must-read expose on Dan Schneider's "disgusting" Nickelodeon empire [ Insider] —Marlow Stern spoke to Armie Hammer’s aunt who reveals how he became "a monster" [ Daily Beast] —Kyle Buchanan interview Todd Field who returns with his first film in 16 years, the Cate Blanchett-starrer Tar [ NYT] —In her review, Kathryn VanArendonk writes that Amazon's Rings of Power is too big to fail [ Vulture] —Interesting Michael Segalov piece on drag queens still working into their 70s and 80s [ Guardian] Today... Today's birthdays: Richard Gere (73), Sara Ramirez (47), Chris Tucker (51), Stephen McKinley Henderson (73), Marc Webb (48), Debbie Gibson (52), Chelsea Edmundson (34), Jack Thompson (82), Leem Lubany (25), Dee Bradley Baker (60), Mona Marshall (75), Yara Martinez (43), Ryan Kelley (36), Daniel Bernhardt (57), Van Morrison (77), Jeff Russo (53), Lowell Ganz (74), Chad Hartigan (40), John Cameron (64), Mark A. Mangini (66) |
| William Reynolds, who portrayed crime-stopping Special Agent Tom Colby opposite Efrem Zimbalist Jr. on the final seven seasons of the ABC crime drama The F.B.I., has died. He was 90. The obituary. |
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