| | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover star is multi-hyphenate Eva Longoria. Ryan Seacrest will replace Pat Sajak as host of Wheel of Fortune. Kevin Spacey's sexual assault trial in the U.K. has begun. FX's Breeders will end with season four. The body of missing British actor Julian Sands has been found. — Abid Rahman |
The Reinvention of Eva Longoria ►On the cover. When Eva Longoria first moved to L.A. 25 years ago, she would audition for the Latina roles and be told she was too white and then audition for the white roles and be told she was too Latina. She's come a long way since then. After the success of Desperate Housewives, Longoria tells THR's Mia Galuppo that she made a concerted effort to pursue directing, despite initial resistance: "It was like, 'Here comes a dumb actor.'" Ten years later, she released her feature film debut, Flamin' Hot, marrying her ambitions with her advocacy for Latinos, both onscreen and off. The cover story. |
James Gunn's 'Superman: Legacy' Finds Leads ►Say hello to the new Lois and Clark. After a lengthy search, David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan will star in Superman: Legacy, the film that will launch DC’s new universe under writer-director James Gunn and his DC Studios co-boss, Peter Safran. Corenswet and Brosnahan were among six actors who vied for the lead roles, with Gunn filming screen tests over the June 17 weekend. Corenswet beat Nicholas Hoult and Tom Brittney to play Superman/Clark Kent and Brosnahan won out over Emma Mackey and Phoebe Dynevor to play Lois Lane. The story.
—Wait, who? In case you're wondering who David Corenswet is, THR's Christy Piña comes to the rescue with a dossier on the new Man of Steel. Among his most recent projects, the square-jawed American actor, who looks scarily like Henry Cavill, has starred in projects like Netflix's Hollywood, The Politician and Look Both Ways. The story.
—How does he have the time? Wheel of Fortune has its succession plan in place for when longtime host Pat Sajak retires. Ryan Seacrest will take over as host of the syndicated game show beginning with the 2024-25 season. The longtime American Idol host will take the reins of one of the most popular shows in syndication — Wheel of Fortune averaged about 9m daily viewers in the 2022-23 season. Co-host Vanna White, meanwhile, has a year remaining on her current contract. Sajak announced his retirement as host on June 12. The story.
—"From London...." Staying with Wheel of Fortune, Graham Norton is set to front the British reboot of the game show. The Sony Pictures Television-backed Whisper North announced it will bring the iconic game show to ITV1 and ITVX in 2024 after a U.K. version of Wheel of Fortune aired on ITV from 1988-2001. The story. |
Top Actors Tell SAG-AFTRA: We're "Prepared to Strike" ►✊ Ready to roll ✊ Meryl Streep, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jennifer Lawrence and hundreds of other high-profile actors have signed on to a pointed letter telling SAG-AFTRA leadership that they are prepared to strike in order to achieve a “transformative deal.” In the message sent to union leadership and its negotiating committee, the A-lister coalition — also including Lena Waithe, Laura Linney, Sarah Polley, Quinta Brunson and more — said that "a strike brings incredible hardships to so many, and no one wants it. But we are prepared to strike if it comes to that." The story.
—Political power brokers stay on the sidelines. As soon as the WGA announced its strike on May 2, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued statements to make it clear the work stoppage was top of mind. THR's Gary Baum writes that so far Bass and Newsom have been all talk and no action. The story.
—Trial begins. Kevin Spacey’s long-awaited criminal trial in the U.K. over multiple sexual assault allegations has begun. The trial — due to last four weeks — started on Wednesday morning at London’s central Southwark Crown Court. Spacey faces 12 charges for offenses dating between 2001 and 2013, including seven counts of sexual assault, three counts of indecent assault, one count of causing a person to engaging in sexual activity without consent and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. The story.
—Bred out of existence. FX’s Breeders will end with its upcoming fourth season. The final 10 episodes of the comedy, starring Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard, will premiere July 31 on FX with weekly installments of the series available the following day on Hulu. The final season will jump ahead five years and follow the Worsleys on the verge of splitting up and facing their biggest challenges as parents. The story. |
Julian Sands 1958 - 2023 ►Tragedy. Human remains recently discovered by hikers in the Mount Baldy wilderness outside Los Angeles were identified as those of British actor Julian Sands, who had been missing since January, authorities announced Tuesday.
An avid outdoorsman, Sands was reported missing by his family Jan. 13 after he had gone hiking in the Baldy Bowl Trail area of the San Gabriel Mountains that day. The sheriff’s department and volunteers have been searching the area since then, with the effects of an unusually severe winter hampering their efforts.
In two of his most memorable roles, Sands wooed Helena Bonham Carter’s character in the acclaimed Merchant-Ivory drama A Room With a View (1985) and starred as a son of Satan in a pair of Warlock movies. The obituary. |
Paramount+ Pulls More Content ►The purge continues. Inside Amy Schumer and Kevin Williamson’s Tell Me a Story are among the latest titles to be removed from the Paramount+. The moves, which were expected after last week’s erasure of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, Star Trek: Prodigy, The Game and Queen of the Universe, come the same day that the conglomerate officially unveiled Paramount+ With Showtime. The story.
—"Paramount+ has fortified itself." Amid the content removal, Showtime was officially folded into Paramount+ on Tuesday, kicking off a push to expand Paramount Global’s streaming scale. The move, which was announced in May, will see Showtime content, including series like Yellowjackets and Billions, as well as sports like live boxing, baked into the Paramount+ experience. The Showtime linear channel will continue for now, with eventual plans to rebrand it with Paramount+ programming. The story.
—The end is nigh. SiriusXM will shut down its podcast app Stitcher at the end of August. In a memo sent to employees, executives from the satellite radio and audio company said SiriusXM will not be backing away from podcasting, but rather will be trying to move more listeners over to its SXM app in order to grow subscriber numbers ahead of new “streaming experience” launching this fall. The story.
—📅 A real must-see 📅 Li Ruijun’s Return to Dust, one of the finest films to emerge from China in recent memory, is finally set to hit U.S. theaters. The realist drama, which premiered to acclaim at the Berlin Film Festival last year, will begin rolling out in select cities July 21 courtesy of Film Movement. The story. |
Is 'Barbie' a Feminist Film? ►"“The contemporary history of feminism and body positivity — there are questions of how Barbie can fit into all of that." For Margot Robbie, the upcoming Barbie movie is a feminist tale, but Mattel execs don’t quite agree. In a feature for Time, members of Barbie's creative team and leading execs at the toy manufacturer open up about the more than a decade-long journey to getting the iconic doll into live-action. One of the biggest threads of that journey is a shared vision for an inclusive take on the toy brand. But it’s a complex vision that might not necessarily be feminist, depending on who you ask. The story.
—"Creative collaboration is like a marriage, and some marriages don’t work out." Phoebe Waller-Bridge is opening up about her decision to walk away from a Mr. & Mrs. Smith series co-starring Donald Glover. In a new interview, the writer-actress discussed her eight-figure overall deal with Amazon, and said she “really cared” about the Mr. & Mrs. Smith project, but there were insurmountable creative difference. Waller-Bridge also addressed talk that she is in the running to direct the next James Bond film. The story.
—"Won’t come as a surprise." Lewis Capaldi is taking a break from live performing following a Glastonbury performance that saw him having to pause multiple times as he managed Tourette syndrome symptoms. In a statement posted to his social media Tuesday, the Grammy-nominated singer thanked the fans at his Saturday show, who sang-along with and for Capaldi as he experienced a series of tics, or the repeated twitches, movements and sounds that are triggered by the nervous system-related condition. The story.
—"More Latin legends dinners, more eating and laughter!" MSNBC has renewed John Leguizamo's travel series Leguizamo Does America for a second season. The renewal comes just over a month after the series — which debuted on the cable network on April 16 and also streamed on Peacock — aired its first-season finale. Produced by NBC News Studios, the travelogue show will continue airing on MSNBC for its sophomore run, with season two’s new cities to be announced at a later date. The story.
—It's all over. Spirits giant Diageo said it’s severing a partnership of 15 years with Sean “Diddy” Combs, who helped grow the company’s then-struggling Ciroc label as a brand ambassador and joint-venture partner. The move was in response to the music mogul suing the British alcoholic beverage maker in June for racial discrimination, claiming that Diageo starved his vodka and tequila brands of promised investments and only marketed them to “urban” consumers. The story. |
THR's Top NYC Real Estate Agents 2023 ►"Always be prepared, on time, humble and well-dressed." THR's annual New York’s Top Real Estate Agents list is back, highlighting NYC and the Hamptons' top agents who are inking marquee deals and helping A-list clients navigate the market. The list.
—"And the real-estate agent with the most stratospheric sale is…" Last year, THR launched the annual New York Power Broker Awards, bestowing honors on the market’s top sellers and savvy marketers. In the second presentation of awards, Douglas Elliman’s Eklund | Gomes Team is crowned New York Team of the Year, with winners in other categories from Agent of Historic Architecture to Philanthropic Impact to be announced on THR.com in July. The story.
—"She’s become the Kylie Jenner of real estate." THR's Degen Pener spoke to The Talent Brokerage’s Giselle Ugarte, a firm for when real-estate agents become reality-TV famous. Ugarte opens up about working with TikTok-savvy agents and stars of shows like Million Dollar Listing New York to negotiate brand partnerships and speaking engagements. The interview. |
TV Review: 'Hijack' ►"An unpretentious good time." THR's Angie Han reviews Apple TV+'s Hijack. Idris Elba stars in this miniseries from creators George Kay (Lupin) and Jim Field Smith (Litvinenko) unfolds in real time over the course of a seven-hour flight to London. The review.
—"A superficially fun chronicle of a superficially fun hit." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Netflix's Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators. One month after ESPN's look at the American Gladiators phenomenon, Tony Vainuku and Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess offer their own five-part examination of the syndicated smash. The review.
In other news...
—Billions final season trailer shows Damian Lewis return: “I’m back”
—Futurama trailer brings Planet Express crew back to life
—Five Nights at Freddy’s trailer sees Josh Hutcherson in an animatronics nightmare
—The CW scheduling veteran Kevin Levy latest to exit Nexstar-controlled network
—Jarred Arfa named executive vp, head of global music at newly formed agency IAG
—Indie producers join forces for German-language drama fund
What else we're reading...
—Huge Patience Haggin scoop on a research study finding that Google violated the terms of its own ad deals for videos shown on YouTube [WSJ]
—With Sony's Kraven the Hunter set to feature another anti-hero, Jesse Schedeen asks why some supervillains can't just be villains when it comes to film adaptations [IGN]
—James Vincent writes that generative AI models are killing the web that we've all come to love, but is also stymying what's supposed to come next [Verge]
—Sophie Elmhirst has a long read on Durex condoms marketing exec Ben Wilson that is worth reading for the intro alone. Chapeau! [Guardian]
—Annabelle Liang reports that a crackdown in China is pushing LGBTQ groups into the shadows [BBC]
Today...
...in 1985, Columbia unveiled Joel Schumacher's St. Elmo’s Fire, an angsty, R-rated post-college drama, in theaters nationwide. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Mel Brooks (97), Kathy Bates (75), Mike White (53), Jon Watts (42), Florian Zeller (44), Alessandro Nivola (51), John Cusack (57), Brendan Hunt (51), Niamh Algar (31), Jessica Hecht (58), Mary Stuart Masterson (57), Ayelet Zurer (54), Alice Krige (69), Felicia Day (44), Gil Bellows (56), Maya Stojan (37), Camille Guaty (47), Bruce Davison (77), Benito Martinez (52), Daniel Zovatto (32), Tichina Arnold (54), Mark Fischbach (34), Danielle Brisebois (54), Yael Yurman (22), Steve Burton (53), Elaine Tan (44), Kellie Pickler (37) |
| Nicolas Coster, the soap opera stalwart who starred on Another World, Santa Barbara and All My Children and appeared in such films as All the President’s Men, Reds and Stir Crazy, has died. He was 89. The obituary. |
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