| | | | What's news: Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson held talks with WBD chief David Zaslav over the future of TCM. Over 5,000 demonstrators turned up for the "WGA Strong" rally in L.A. Marvel actor Tenoch Huerta has dropped out of a Netflix film following a sexual assault allegation. Disney+'s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series will end with its fourth season. Sony has taken Bad Bunny's El Muerto off its release schedule. — Abid Rahman |
The Tragic Fall of 'Home Improvement' Star Zachery Ty Bryan ►"The guy has two sides. His dark is dark, but his light is really light." After the hit ABC sitcom Home Improvement ended, star Zachery Ty Bryan seemed to have avoided the pitfalls of child stardom and went on to amass a fortune from Bitcoin investment. But then his life spiraled amid an arrest for domestic violence and allegations of fraud as "he torched … all aspects of his life." How did it all go so wrong? THR's Chris Gardner spoke to friends, family, TV dad Tim Allen and Bryan himself about his fall. The story.
—No more loophole. Beginning in 2024, films will no longer become eligible for the best picture Oscar with just a one-week theatrical release in an approved city, but will require a lengthier stay in theaters, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday. It is a move seemingly intended to bolster movie theaters and emphasize the difference between works made for the big and small screens. The story.
—Possible delay? Less than three months ahead of the planned Sept. 18 Emmy Awards ceremony and live telecast, sources tell THR's Mikey O'Connell that organizers are actively discussing multiple contingency plans — including delaying the event altogether — if Hollywood's ongoing writers strike hasn’t been resolved later this summer. Mikey writes that it's not an altogether surprising development as the Emmys are, after all, one of the most writer-centric award shows on the calendar. The story. |
THR's Drama Actress Roundtable ►"I think we should have therapists on set." THR's award-winning Roundtable series continues, with the TV drama actresses up next. Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus), Dominique Fishback (Swarm), Clare Danes (Fleishman Is in Trouble), Emma D’Arcy (House of the Dragon), Jennifer Garner (Last Thing He Told Me) and Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets, The Last of Us) join THR's Lacey Rose for a discussion about giving notes, the roles they're not offered and the problem of a public life: "The loss of just being able to smile at someone on the street and say 'hello' as yourself is a real intense thing." The roundtable.
—All 26? Come on! Succession star Sarah Snook is joining a stage adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray heading to London’s West End. Snook is set to play all 26 characters in the production, which comes from Australia’s Sydney Theatre Company and will be making its U.K. premiere at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in January. The story.
—"My focus now is simple: continue the process of restoring my reputation." Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Tenoch Huerta has dropped out of Netflix’s upcoming film Fiesta en la Madriguera following an accusation of sexual assault from musician and activist María Elena Ríos. He previously has denied those claims. Filmmaker Manolo Caro is set to direct the feature, with Huerta announced last month as its star. The story. |
Filmmakers "Heartened" About TCM's Future After Zaslav Talks ►"We are heartened and encouraged by the conversations we’ve had thus far." Influential directors Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson have sought to reassure fans of Turner Classic Movies, the classic film network and brand in the midst of a shake-up that has startled cinephiles. In a joint statement released Wednesday, the three filmmakers said that they had spoken with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav about his plans to restructure TCM. The story.
—"Cancellation trickery." The FTC is suing Amazon for allegedly duping consumers into signing up for its Prime service and then impeding them from canceling their subscriptions. The heavily redacted lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Washington federal court, argues Amazon adopted a “manipulative” and “coercive” user interface to trick users into enrolling in automatically renewing subscriptions. The FTC says some people intended to sign up solely for Prime Video, which is a lower-cost option. The story.
—"I can’t wait for our dedicated fan base to watch this world-class cast take a final bow." Disney+'s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series will end with its fourth season, showrunner Tim Federle announced Wednesday. Season four is set to premiere on Aug. 9 with a binge release of all eight episodes. The series also released a trailer for the final season. Federle will remain at Disney after the series wraps, as he has an overall deal with Disney Branded Television. The story. |
5,000 Rally in L.A. to Support Strike, Pressure Studios ►"They’re scared of what’s going on." THR's Katie Kilkenny reports that over 5,000 writers and supporters descended on the mid-Wilshire neighborhood of Los Angeles on Wednesday to rally support during the eighth week of the WGA labor stoppage. The "WGA Strong" rally featured spirited and sometimes expletive-filled speeches from the likes writer-director Boots Riley, WGA negotiating committee member Adam Conover and Teamsters Local 399 leader Lindsay Dougherty, as well as a musical performance from Aloe Blacc. The story.
—Anonymous strike diary. THR's series of frank accounts of the writers strike continues. The Eastside Warrior returns, and fears AI is "coming for all art." As the picket line's party atmosphere gives way to a shut-up-and-march grind, all eyes are on SAG's negotiations to see how the industry stands up to the machines. The diary entry.
—Muerto, for now. Sony has taken El Muerto, the Spider-Man spinoff starring Bad Bunny, off its release schedule. The feature project, which had Jonás Cuarón in the director’s chair, was slated for a Jan. 12, 2024, release date. Sources tell THR's Borys Kit that the project fell victim to the strike; the script needed additional work as of mid-spring, but services could not be rendered in time. El Muerto was to have been the first live-action Marvel project to star a Latino character. The story. |
'Secret Invasion' Opening Using AI Causes Uproar ►"No artists’ jobs were replaced." On Wednesday, Marvel's Secret Invasion debuted on Disney+ with an opening sequence that was later confirmed to have been created using AI. Predictably, there was an outcry on social media, with speculation rampant that the sequence had cost artists their jobs. THR's Carolyn Giardina reports that Method Studios, the company behind the opening, says it used existing and custom AI tools and denied that artists lost work over the project. The story.
—"I cross that s*** out." Secret Invasion star Samuel L. Jackson says he’s been well aware of the growing role and impact of AI in Hollywood, which is why he doesn’t sign contracts that let projects use his likeness “in perpetuity.” In a new interview, opened up about his support for the writers strike and said AI was a topic he had already been thinking about since his Star Wars prequel days. The story.
—"When we first went in to do the meeting, Kevin [Feige] said, ‘You won’t have to wear the pig’s head that much this time." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Secret Invasion stars Emilia Clarke and Ben Mendelsohn, who play on-screen father and daughter in the Disney+ Marvel series. The duo discuss how they arrived at the current versions of their characters, including Talos’ age-related decline. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
Raunchy Comedies Try for a Comeback in Theaters ►"We still think it’s something that makes sense theatrically — but a difficult thing to do." Jennifer Lawrence’s No Hard Feelings leads a raft of R-rated theatrical bets as studios look for fare that will stand out to moviegoers. Also in the mix is Lionsgate’s Joy Ride, Universal’s Strays and MGM’s Bottoms. THR scallywag Ryan Gajewski writes that this summer's R-rated releases suggests a possible changing of the tide. The story.
—"They really loved Halle Bailey’s performance as Ariel, and they really liked her as the new princess." The Little Mermaid may have bombed in some key movie markets in Asia, but in the Philippines, it has been a splashy success. The live-action remake is currently the biggest blockbuster of the year in the Southeast Asian country as Filipinos have embraced the film and star Halle Bailey, in sharp contrast to the racist backlash the actress has faced in China and South Korea. The story.
—🤝 Scaling up 🤝 APA, which has aggressively expanded its agent count in the last few years, and Artist Group International, one of the biggest touring agencies in the music space, have merged to form a new full-service talent firm that is seeking to take on CAA and WME in the representation space. The combined company will be renamed Independent Artist Group and have Jim Osborne, the current president of APA, as its CEO. Dennis Arfa, the founder and CEO of AGI, has been named chairman of the music division. The story. |
TV Review: 'And Just Like That' ►"An ever-watchable sophomore slump." THR's Robyn Bahr reviews season two of Max's And Just Like That. Carrie Bradshaw and her friends are back again and still looking for love in all the wrong places in the next batch of eleven episodes of the Sex and the City sequel. The review.
—"A skin-deep show about beauty, identity and empowerment." THR's Angie Han reviews Netflix's Glamorous. Jordon Nardino's series centers on a 20something queer man (Miss Benny) who lands a dream job working for a model-turned-makeup-mogul (Kim Cattrall). The review.
—"Paradoxically thin but big on heart." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Corey Sherman's Big Boys. The writer-director’s gentle debut observes an awkward 14-year-old boy who develops a healing bond with his cousin’s beefy new man. The review. |
TV Review: 'The Bear' ►"A second helping even tastier than the first." THR's Angie Han reviews the second season of FX/Hulu's The Bear. New episodes find Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) and the rest of the Beef gang working to reinvent their formerly grimy sandwich shop into a world-class dining destination. The review. —"Engaging and informative." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Julie Cohen's Every Body. The RBG filmmaker returns with an intimate film about how the intersex community challenges society's obsession with the gender binary. The review.
—"Shoots itself in the foot." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Nick Cassavetes' God Is a Bullet. Jamie Foxx, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Maika Monroe star in this film about a cop who goes undercover in a murderous cult to find his kidnapped daughter. The story. In other news...
—Amazon touts $5.4b spend in U.K. creative industries since 2010
—BBC Studios acquires Scandinavian producer STV
—ESPN’s marketing chief Laura Gentile exiting, Tina Thornton promoted
—Geraldo Rivera set to leave The Five at Fox News
What else we're reading...
—Christopher Grimes writes that Pixar's Elemental bombing at the box office shows Disney is struggling to revive the magic [FT]
—Jodi Walker wonders whether anyone involved with HBO's The Idol has ever had sex [Ringer]
—Sarah Shaffi reports that an unfinished novel by influential French author Françoise Sagan has been published posthumously despite concerns that it is in an incomplete state [Guardian]
—Melena Ryzik has a fascinating piece on Sanjay Sami, the ingenious key grip that has long been considered Wes Anderson’s "secret weapon" [NYT]
— Alexandra Del Rosario looks into why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle faced a backlash after ending their Spotify deal [LAT]
Today...
...in 2001, Universal revved up one of its most lucrative franchises, bringing The Fast and the Furious to theaters. The film, a breakout for Paul Walker and Vin Diesel, grossed $200m worldwide. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Meryl Streep (74), Kris Kristofferson (87), Amy Brenneman (59), Bruce Campbell (65), Donald Faison (49), Joaquim Dos Santos (46), Cyndi Lauper (70), Stephen Chow (61), Tracy Pollan (63), Mary Lynn Rajskub (52), Michael Trucco (53), Lindsay Wagner (74), Graham Greene (71), Joe Dempsie (36), Douglas Smith (38), Karla Crome (35), Portia Doubleday (35), Randy Couture (60), Laya DeLeon Hayes (19), Nicholas Lea (61), Tim Russ (67), Uwe Boll (58), Paterson Joseph (59), Alicia Goranson (49), Stephany Jacobsen (43), Jai Rodriguez (44), Porsha Williams (42), Murphy Cross (73) |
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