| | | | What's news: A raft of film and TV premieres have been canceled in light of the actors strike. ABC has revealed its lead for The Golden Bachelor. Elton John was called as a witness at Kevin Spacey's sexual assault trial. Taylor Swift has broken more chart records following the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). — Abid Rahman
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'Deadpool 3,' 'M:I 8' and 'Venom 3' Halted Amid Actors Strike ►Global shutdown. As the actors strike came into force, Hollywood tentpoles across the world began shutting down. Marvel’s Deadpool 3, Sony's Venom 3, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel and Tom Cruise’s eighth Mission: Impossible movie are among the projects on hold. THR's Aaron Couch, Carolyn Giardina and Borys Kit report that studios are looking to move the ball forward with what they’ve already shot while making plans for resuming production down the road. The story.
—"There’s no trust." Former Hollywood studio chief Barry Diller says that top execs and the highest-paid stars should take a 25 percent pay cut to narrow the gap between their salaries and those of the folks at the lower end of the pay scale. In a new interview, Diller also argued that both the writers and actors strikes should be settled by Sept. 1 to avoid “devastating effects.” The story.
—"This is obviously an unusual year." Even before the actors strike was formally called, most Hollywood majors, including Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, Universal, Netflix and HBO, chose to sit out Comic-Con this year, due to prior strike uncertainty and financial stress on studio travel budgets. THR's Sydney Odman has the latest on the pivot SDCC is making amid the glaring studio absences. The story. |
How Can a Movie Be Marketed Without Stars? ►"Time to sign influencers." THR scallywag Ryan Gajewski writes that with Hollywood talent increasingly skipping press for their films, the work stoppage marks another major test for promotional efforts from studios. The story.
—It begins. On the topic of red carpet cancellations, Oppenheimer‘s red carpet in New York, which was set for July 17 is off. So is the Special Ops: Lioness premiere, scheduled for July 18 in L.A. Starz also canceled its Minx red carpet, scheduled for July 17 in L.A., instead swapping in a post-screening crafts panel at the event. Apple’s New York premiere of The Beanie Bubble, scheduled for July 18, was called off as well. The story.
—Glitz no glamour. The premiere of Disney's Haunted Mansion on Saturday night went ahead despite the stoppage but had a distinct lack of star power on the carpet. The film's stars Tiffany Haddish, LaKeith Stanfield, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hasan Minhaj, Marilu Henner and Lindsay Lamb all skipped the event held at Disneyland, as per SAG-AFTRA's strike guidelines. The story. |
Tatum O'Neal Attempts to Heal Relationship With Father ►"Weird sh** happened. It kind of went in the wrong direction to happiness." Recovering from an overdose-induced crisis that nearly killed her and forced her to relearn how to speak, Tatum O'Neal talks to THR's Seth Abramovitch about her life and career. The profile.
—"Charming 71-year-old patriarch." ABC has named its inaugural golden years-era Bachelor. Gerry Turner, a 71-year-old from Indiana, will lead the senior reality dating series The Golden Bachelor, which is a spinoff of ABC’s long-running hit franchise The Bachelor. The format will be similar to that of the flagship dating show except this time, Turner will be looking for love among a group of eligible women 65 years and older. The story.
—Star witness. Elton John has appeared as a witness as part of Kevin Spacey’s defense in the actor’s ongoing sex assault trial in London. The singer appeared Monday alongside his partner David Furnish via video link from his lawyer’s office in Monaco, becoming the most high-profile witnesses to be called so far in the trial. The story.
—Unstoppable. Taylor Swift has broken yet another record with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). The superstar is the first living artist in nearly 60 years to have at least four albums at the same time in the top 10 on Billboard’s 200 chart. Midnights, Lover and Folklore join Swift’s newest album on the chart, where it sits at No. 1. The story.
—ICYMI. Three years after her surprising departure from Netflix, Cindy Holland has settled on her next act. The venerable content executive will join Sister, the production company launched by Elisabeth Murdoch, Stacey Snider and Jane Featherstone, as its new global CEO. She succeeds Snider, who announced her intention to step down earlier this year. The story. |
'M:I 7' Opens to $80M ►Concerning. Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One boasted a five-day debut of $80m in North America, including $56.2m for the weekend proper. The Paramount and Skydance pic is the latest summer tentpole to come in behind expectations. Heading into the weekend, Dead Reckoning had had been tracking to open to $90m or more domestically. The movie cost nearly $300m to produce before marketing.
THR's Pamela McClintock writes that if current projections are right, Dead Reckoning scored the best domestic opening of the franchise behind Mission: Impossible II, which posted a five-day debut of $78.5m, not adjusted for inflation. Dead Reckoning opened Wednesday in order to give the film more runway before Barbie and Oppenheimer open on July 21.
Overseas, Dead Reckoning opened to $155m for a global bow of $235m. The box office report.
—More bad news for Cruise. Dead Reckoning badly lost its opening weekend in China, debuting in third place behind a pair of holdover Chinese hits. The film opened to just $25.9m from Friday to Sunday, a steep tumble from Mission: Impossible Fallout's $76m opening back in 2018. Chinese martial arts drama Never Say Never, meanwhile, earned $46.1m, followed by local animation hit Chang An with $43.9m. The China box office report.
—Coming to America. Japanese anime legend Hayao Miyazaki’s much anticipated final film, newly renamed in English The Boy and the Heron, has been picked up by animation specialty distributor GKIDS for North American release later this year. The deal continues Studio Ghibli’s longtime partnership with GKIDS for the distribution of its titles in the U.S. The story. |
Jane Birkin 1946 - 2023 ►Icon. Jane Birkin, the singer and actress who rose to fame in the late 1960s as the lover of French bad boy Serge Gainsbourg and became a beloved figure in her adopted France, has died. She was 76.
The French culture minister announced the news on Sunday following reports in Le Parisien newspaper and BFM television that said Birkin had been found dead at her home in Paris. She had suffered a mild stroke in 2021. The obituary. |
'M:I 7's Hayley Atwell Has Waited 17 Years For Blockbuster Moment ►"I was finally given the trust and the platform." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One star Hayley Atwell about her journey to appear in the long-running spy franchise. After multiple well-received turns in Marvel projects, the Brit actor steps into her biggest role yet. The interview.
—"We took a lot of care in this, and I think it shows in who we actually chose." For THR, Brande Victorian spoke to Andy Cohen about The Real Housewives of New York City reboot. The executive producer says he and Bravo took great pains to replace the legacy New York cast for its 14th season. Cohen also talked Vanderpump Rules and addressed some rumors "too lame to respond to." The interview.
—"I have this awareness about how hard it is to get a movie made." THR's Seija Rankin spoke to The Bear actress Molly Gordon about making her directorial debut with the feature Theater Camp. Gordon reveals she spent years making her mockumentary-style comedy with Ben Platt and others. She also discusses reuniting with Shiva Baby co-star Ayo Edebiri on The Bear. The interview. |
TV Review: 'Goliath' ►"Solidly informative, but not the Greatest of All Time." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Showtime's Goliath. No, not the Billy Bob Thornton Amazon show, this is a new three-part series from directors Rob Ford and Christopher Dillon about the NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain, known as "The Dipper." The review.
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—Laird Koenig, Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane author and screenwriter, dies at 95
What else we're reading...
—Shirley Li considers Theater Camp as a loving ode to theater kids and as a reminder of the importance of artistic community [Atlantic]
—Nadira Goffe looks back at the last double writers/actors strike in 1960 that, incredibly, was led by that Jacobin revolutionary Ronald Reagan [Slate]
—James Poniewozik writes that we should all care about the Hollywood strikes, as they are more than a revolt of the privileged [NYT]
—Eric Levitz has an interesting piece on whether extremely reflective white paint could save the planet from climate catastrophe [Intelligencer]
—With Bluesky and Threads picking the carcass of Twitter, Max Chafkin wonders whether the next big social media app is actually nothing [Bloomberg]
Today...
…in 1993, Warner Bros. unveiled the drama Free Willy in theaters, where it would go on to gross $154m globally and pave the way for two theatrical sequels. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Brett Goldstein (47), David Hasselhoff (71), Donald Sutherland (88), Billie Lourd (31), Grace Fulton (27), Alex Winter (58), Elena Anaya (48), Jason Clarke (54), Cécile de France (48), Wong Kar-wai (65), Tom Cullen (38), Robin Shou (63), F. Gary Gray (54), Grace Caroline Currey (27), Dagmara Dominczyk (47), Mike Vogel (44), Jessica Amlee (29), P.J. Soles (73), Anna Grace Barlow (29), Stefania Spampinato (41), John Ventimiglia (60), Mary Nighy (39) |
| Judy Solomon, a journalist who was a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for two-thirds of a century and a six-term past president of the recently dissolved organization, died Friday. She was 91. The obituary. |
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