| | | | What's news: Hollywood's labor standoffs are impacting L.A. eateries. Kristen Kish is replacing Padma Lakshmi as Top Chef host. Todd Haynes' May December will kick off the New York Film Festival. The first Wonka trailer shows off Timothée Chalamet and Hugh Grant. Jamie Foxx and Colin Firth are producing a Luther Vandross documentary. — Ryan Gajewski |
SAG-AFTRA Agrees to Mediation But Wary of "Cynical Ploy" ►"The AMPTP has abused our trust." SAG-AFTRA has agreed to engage a federal mediation agency in its ongoing negotiations with the studios and streamers — but is declining to extend those talks beyond Wednesday. The announcement came just hours after news emerged that the AMPTP had requested services from the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, the federal agency tasked with helping to resolve labor disputes. The request followed several high-level executives — including Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav and Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Dana Walden and Alan Bergman — surfacing the idea of federal intervention. The story.
—"They were not speaking in conditional sentences." As the deadline between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP drew nearer, union leadership began to circle the wagons. THR's Mia Galuppo reports that over 300 top agents got on a Zoom call Monday with Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union's chief negotiator and national executive director, and Ray Rodriguez, the chief contracts officer, to answer questions about negotiations and operating during a potential strike. Negotiation topics that were covered on the call included series exclusivity, residuals, option periods and, of course, uses of AI. The story.
—Amblin's new Universal deal leads to reductions. Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners has cut some 20 percent of its workforce, as the company resizes amid a new multiyear deal with Universal. Those leaving the 90- to 100-employee company include staff in marketing, international and post-production. Under Amblin's new deal with Universal, the studio will co-finance the company's movies. The story.
—Say cheese. Kristen Kish, who won the 10th season of Bravo culinary competition Top Chef and has served as a guest judge several times since, will take over for Padma Lakshmi in season 21. Top Chef will set up its kitchen in Wisconsin for the coming season, focusing on Milwaukee and Madison. Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons will once again sit at the judges' table. The story. |
Final Emmy Nominations Projections ►The guessing game is almost over. THR's awards expert Scott Feinberg offers his final predictions in 31 categories ahead of Wednesday morning's big announcement of the 2023 Emmy nominations. His picks are likely to please fans of Succession, Abbott Elementary and The Last of Us — but maybe not Yellowstone. The predictions.
—"A film built on moment-to-moment surprise." The 2023 New York Film Festival will kick off with Todd Haynes' May December, which has been chosen as this year's opening night selection. The screening on Sept. 29 at Alice Tully Hall will mark the North American premiere of the drama, which debuted back in May at Cannes, positioning it as an awards season play. The story.
—"Luther is one of our GOATs." THR's Mesfin Fekadu has the scoop on a documentary about the life and career of legendary R&B singer Luther Vandross being in the works, with Jamie Foxx and Colin Firth serving as producers. Production is underway on director Dawn Porter's film about the eight-time Grammy winner, who died in 2005 at age 54. The story.
—🍫 Take a look 🍫 The first full trailer for Warner Bros.' Wonka features Timothée Chalamet as the young Willy Wonka and also includes a glimpse of Hugh Grant's Oompa Loompa. In the prequel film, the chocolatier must face off against a chocolate cartel that wants to keep him from practicing his craft. The story. |
L.A. Restaurateurs Fret Over Actor Walkout ►"That's emergency-level." Studio-adjacent hospitality businesses, still recovering from the pandemic's impact, are now girding for an exponentially larger SAG-AFTRA work stoppage. THR's Gary Baum hears from restaurant owners at key industry destinations who say they are now seeing between five and 20 percent declines in business since the writers strike, with the situation on the brink of getting much worse. The story.
—"Everybody who was in love with the project got fired." THR's Seija Rankin speaks with CNN's Jake Tapper about the release of his third novel, All the Demons Are Here, and pivoting further into Hollywood. Tapper reveals that his 2021 book The Devil May Dance is currently in development with Christian Slater attached as the lead. The story.
—A Simon & Schuster imprint acquired the title in a bidding war. Britney Spears' tell-all memoir The Woman in Me finally has a release date. The book, which is out this fall, will see the pop star discussing her 13-year conservatorship and both the personal and public impact of the case. The story. |
'Sound of Freedom' Opens No. 1 in Texas, Arizona, Florida Theaters ►"This movie has now taken on a life of its own." On any given weekend, key cineplexes in NYC and L.A. are generally high up on the list of a movie's top-grossing theaters. Such wasn't the case for Sound of Freedom, a new movie from Angel Studios, the Utah-based production and distribution venture that previously backed faith-based hit The Chosen. THR's Pamela McClintock reports that the Jim Caviezel-led political thriller even ranked No. 1 for the weekend in some multiplexes, ahead of Insidious: Red Door and Dial of Destiny. The story.
—"That stress level still stays in your body." THR's Sydney Odman interviews Cruel Summer stars Sadie Stanley and Lexi Underwood about the Freeform series' second season. The performers discuss new developments in the murder mystery and whether or not they're satisfied with the show’s ending. The interview.
—"When you see this, you can't be a grown adult and not cry." For THR, Xennia Hamilton chats with director Rudy Valdez about the documentary short Translators. The film, which is available for free online and speaks to the strength of kids helping their families navigate everyday life by translating English, has garnered fans in singer Leslie Grace and John Leguizamo. The story. |
'Oppenheimer' First Reactions ►💅 Your move, Barbie 💣 Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer has finally unspooled for its first public audience at its Paris premiere. The three-hour historical drama stars Cillian Murphy and — like any Nolan release — is one of the more anticipated films of the year. First reactions have arrived and are largely sterling, with one critic calling the film "incredible." The reactions.
In other news...
—Emily Blunt on decision to take a year off from acting: "I just felt that in my bones"
—Netflix's Painkiller trailer sees Uzo Aduba taking on Purdue Pharma in opioid crisis series
—London revival of Cabaret will hit Broadway in spring 2024
—Microsoft wins FTC brawl over $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal as merger nears close
What else we're reading...
—Emily J. Wilson investigates why NYC's fries are so much better than those in L.A. (which are Wilson's words, not ours — stay strong, In-N-Out hive) [Eater]
—In honor of Reading Rainbow's 40th anniversary, Jonathan Taylor talks to LeVar Burton and other producers about how an untested, cash-strapped TV series about books became a classic [LAT]
—Ten years after Sharknado helped solidify the popularity of the Twitter watch party, James Poniewozik explores why the phenomenon of in-the-moment TV conversation on the platform no longer exists [NYT]
—Chris Richards explains why Taylor Swift's weirdness "might be her most essential trait" [WaPo]
—Reed Alexander interviews the Netflix assistant who launched a newsletter aimed at helping industry hopefuls get a break [Insider]
Today...
…in 1991, 20th Century Fox unveiled Kathryn Bigelow's actioner Point Break. Starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves, it would go on to become a cult hit. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Michelle Rodriguez (45), Rachel Brosnahan (33), Topher Grace (45), Cheyenne Jackson (48), Melissa O'Neil (35), Malala Yousafzai (26), Steve Howey (46), Phoebe Tonkin (34), Mason Alexander Park (28), Cheryl Ladd (72), Anna Friel (47), Natalie Martinez (39), Mikaela Hoover (39), Woo Do-hwan (31), Kristen Connolly (43) |
| Jimmy Weldon, the cheery ventriloquist, kids TV host and actor who provided the voice for the endangered duck Yakky Doodle on Hanna-Barbera cartoons starting in the early 1960s, has died. He was 99. The obituary. |
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