| | | | What's news: Robert De Niro will star in Paramount+ drama Bobby Meritorious. Andy Maltz is out at the Academy's Science and Technology Council. Chloé Zhao is set to direct an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet. Elizabeth Debicki, Kevin Bacon and Bobby Cannavale are among a number of stars joining Ti West's MaXXXine. — Abid Rahman |
World Reacts to Trump Arraignment, Arrest ►"A watershed moment in American history." With the outlandish spectacle of Donald Trump’s arraignment and arrest dominating the news on Tuesday, late night TV went all in on trying to capture the historical, yet wholly bizarre, nature of the day’s events. Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers all focused on Tuesday's absurd media coverage and even Jon "Obi Wan" Stewart dropped by his old stomping ground at The Daily Show in an attempt to talk about one of the oddest days in U.S. history. The reaction.
—"History, and certainly infamy, was made today." THR's Frank Scheck offers his take on a momentous Tuesday that suggested the rich and powerful were also subject to the law, but he also lamented the continuation of the Trump show that will seemingly never end: "The bad news is that the Trump reality show continues to dominate the national conversation. The good news is that it’s turned into a true-crime series." The critic's notebook. |
On Doge Twitter, Everything is Meaningless ►Make it stop. As verified Twitter users braced for the company to remove verification badges en masse over the weekend, the product team appeared focused on something else entirely: replacing the blue bird icon with that of a Shiba Inu, the dog associated with the Doge meme and cryptocurrency Dogecoin. THR's J. Clara Chan writes that Doge Twitter is emblematic of Elon Musk’s chaotic and unfocused reign over the social media company, and it's likely to get worse. The analysis.
—Expanding reach. Clara has the scoop on Barack and Michelle Obama's production company Higher Ground striking an audio deal with Acast. The podcasting platform will handle ad sales and distribution for Higher Ground’s library of podcasts, which includes The Big Hit Show, Renegades: Born in the USA and The Sum of Us. The pact with Acast is separate from Higher Ground’s multiyear first-look deal with Audible. The story.
—Bobby D, TV star. Robert De Niro has signed up for another TV project. The legendary actor is attached to star in and exec produce Paramount+ drama Bobby Meritorious, from writer Billy Ray and Paramount Television Studios. The streamer outbid several other outlets for the project from its corporate sibling. Should it go forward, the Paramount+ show would be De Niro’s second leading role in a TV series, following his appearance in Netflix’s upcoming six-episode thriller Zero Day. The story.
—Next up. Chloé Zhao is set to direct Hamnet, a feature is based on Maggie O’Farrell’s historical novel of the same name, which is in the works from Amblin Partners, Hera Pictures, Neal Street Productions and Book of Shadows. The story centers on Agnes, the wife of William Shakespeare who is mourning the loss of her son, Hamnet. The Oscar-winning director will pen the script for Hamnet with O’Farrell. Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris and Sam Mendes are producing. The story. |
'Murder Mystery 2' Director on Earning Adam Sandler's Trust ►"I was so psyched for the opportunity." THR larrakin Ryan Gajewski spoke to Murder Mystery 2 director Jeremy Garelick about joining Adam Sandler's coterie of comedic filmmakers. Garelick discusses why he ended up lying on top of star Jennifer Aniston to help her prove a point, how he and Sandler approached the rare sequel for the actor. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—🎭 Stellar lineup 🎭 MaXXXine, the third film in Ti West's X horror series, has filled out its cast. Joining franchise star Mia Goth are Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Lily Collins, Halsey, Giancarlo Esposito and Kevin Bacon. MaXXXine will take place after the events of X, and follow Goth’s Maxine as the sole survivor of the farmhouse massacre. The story.
—📅 Mark it down 📅 Lionsgate has set a summer release next year for Ballerina, the studio’s John Wick spinoff set in the same world of assassins as the Keanu Reeves films. The action pic will hit theaters June 7, 2024. Directed by Len Wiseman, Ballerina sees Ana de Armas star as an assassin trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma. The pic also stars Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, the late Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, with Ian McShane and Reeves also in the ensemble cast. The story. |
'Ted Lasso': Revenge is Not a Shareable Dish ►The duality of Nate. The fourth episode of season three of Ted Lasso is titled "Big Week," and it certainly lives up to the billing as AFC Richmond have their first meeting with West Ham, now led by turncoat Nate. THR's Rick Porter talks to actor Nick Mohammed about Nate’s heel turn at the end of season two that shocked a lot of Ted Lasso fans and set up the grudgiest of grudge matches between the Greyhounds and the Hammers. Warning: Spoilers! The story.
—"He was hugely helpful." The latest episode of Ted Lasso also pays tribute to the late American soccer writer Grant Wahl, who died of an aortic aneurysm while covering the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar. EP Brendan Hunt, who also plays Coach Beard, spoke to Rick about how Wahl helped the show's writers as they worked on season three. Warning: Spoilers! The story.
—"It was a big deal." Adding to the Friends discourse that has been prevalent on social media recently, Aisha Tyler spoke glowingly of her time on the iconic sitcom almost 20 years after her character Charlie Wheeler became a recurring character. In a new interview, Tyler said that joining the NBC show was life changing and that "to this day, people come up to me and go, ‘Charlie, Charlie,’ or they just go, ‘Black girl from Friends.'" The story. |
Seth Rogen on His Big Year of Animation ►"It shows how versatile animation is and how the studios are letting these films take big visual swings more and more." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Seth Rogen who is set for a massive year in the medium of animation, including a voice role in Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie as well as directing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Rogen, who’s also an executive producer on Amazon’s animated superhero series Invincible, explains why he’s excited about the future of animation. The interview.
—Shakeup. THR's Carolyn Giardina has the scoop on Andy Maltz leaving his leadership role at the Academy’s Science and Technology Council. George Joblove has been promoted to the new role of vp, technology and standards and is handling many of Maltz’ prior responsibilities. The change comes as the Academy introduced a new Production and Technology Branch. Maltz joined the Academy as managing director of the Council in 2003 and was upped to senior vp of the Council in January 2020. The story.
—"I'm not worried about me. I'm more worried about my staff." Maer Roshan is out at Los Angeles Magazine. The editor-in-chief has been ousted after more than four years in the job, during which time he steered a major rebrand of the publication through buzzy, high-impact cover stories and features while expanding the title’s social media footprint. Roshan’s exit comes directly on the heels of massive shifts on the business side of the magazine. The story. |
Film Review: 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' ►"Erases the stench of the live-action version." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic's The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key and Seth Rogen are among stars providing the voices for this new screen adaptation of the iconic Nintendo franchise. The review.
—"A thousand words would have been better." Frank also reviews Brit McAdams' Paint. Owen Wilson plays a landscape painter who hosts a popular public television show in Brit McAdams' comedy inspired by longtime PBS star Bob Ross. The review.
—"A lightly entertaining primer." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Netflix's Transatlantic. Unorthodox co-creator Anna Winger's new limited series looks at Varian Fry and Mary Jayne Gold's heroic work shepherding European artists and thinkers to safety during the Holocaust. The story.
In other news...
—Barbie trailer, posters give first look at star-studded cast of humans and dolls
—Somebody Somewhere feels the love in S2 trailer
—NBC’s Today wins Peabody Institutional Award
—Justin Long and Kate Bosworth announce their engagement
—Universal Pictures hires business affairs chief
—Perry Cross, Johnny Carson’s first Tonight Show producer, dies at 95
What else we're reading...
—Philip Bump offers five smart takeaways from the Trump indictment [WaPo]
—With the blanket coverage of Trump's arraignment, Charlotte Klein asks whether the media turned a moment of history into a tawdry spectacle [VF]
—Nina Li Coomes reflects on the emotional genius of the late Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto [Atlantic]
—Greg Braxton writes that The Bachelor’s crisis over race runs deeper than its exiting creator Mike Fleiss [LAT]
—Maya Salam has a great interview with the always disarming Sean Evans, the host of YouTube series Hot Ones, as his show reaches the milestone of 300 episodes [NYT]
Today...
Today's birthdays: Roger Corman (97), Lily James (34), Hayley Atwell (41), Simona Tabasco (29), Krista Allen (52), Sterling K. Brown (47), Tom Riley (42), Andrea Arnold (62), Pharrell Williams (50), Anthony Horowitz (68), Mitch Pileggi (71), Freddie Fox (34), Jane Asher (77), Olly Sholotan (25), Kim Jung-hyun (33), Fiona Rene (35), Lisa Zane (62), Christopher Reid (59), Jason Done (50), Wendy Braun (53), Agnetha Fältskog (73), Josh Boone (44) |
| Judy Farrell, who portrayed Nurse Able on M*A*S*H opposite her then-husband Mike Farrell and later served as a writer on the ABC soap opera Port Charles, has died. She was 84. The obituary. |
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