| | | | What's news: Lizzo has addressed the allegations made against her by her former dancers. Sony veteran Jason Clodfelter is the new president of Legendary TV. The SAG-AFTRA Foundation has raised over $15m. Christopher Landon will direct Scream 7. Jeffrey Goldberg is the new moderator of PBS' Washington Week. Leah Remini is suing the Church of Scientology. — Abid Rahman
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WBD Results: Zaz Talks Strikes, Max Loses 1.8M Subs ►Mixed bag. Warner Bros. Discovery posted its Q2 results on Thursday, and they were below Wall Street expectations. The company managed to narrow losses at streamer Max to $3m in Q2, compared with a loss of $558m in the year-ago period. Streaming revenue rose 13 percent to $2.73b in the same period. Global streaming subscribers at the end of the period were 95.8m, down 1.8m from Q1 — a fall likely driven by the merger of HBO Max and Discovery+.
Addressing the strikes, WBD CEO David Zaslav struck a conciliatory, yet urgent tone, adding that he was focused on a resolution to the impasse: "We’ve all got to fight to get this resolved." The results.
—Huge loss. Lionsgate is set to buy Hasbro’s Entertainment One film and TV business for $500m. The price tag consists of $375m in cash and the assumption of production financing loans the companies said Thursday. The toy giant is selling eOne to focus on branded assets like Peppa Pig, Transformers and Dungeons & Dragons as it looks to become a digital games giant. Hasbro acquired eOne in 2019 for $4b. The story.
—On the move. Jason Clodfelter is leaving Sony Pictures Television after a nearly two-decade run. Clodfelter, who most recently served as co-president of the studio under the recently installed Katherine Pope, has joined Legendary Television and will become the president of the studio behind shows including Amazon’s Carnival Row. He will work closely with vice chairman of worldwide production Mary Parent to develop new scripted series across all platforms. Clodfelter replaces Chris Albrecht atop Legendary TV. The story. |
Writers React to AMPTP's Overture to Restart Talks ►"We’ll be picketing until it’s real." After news broke that the WGA and AMPTP were set to return to the negotiating table, THR's Katie Kilkenny and Lesley Goldberg hit the picket line to get the reaction of striking writers. While some scribes expressed guarded optimism there was plenty of wary skepticism as to why AMPTP president Carol Lombardini chose now to restart discussions. The story.
—✊ Solidarity ✊ The SAG-AFTRA Foundation has raised over $15m from Hollywood’s top-paid actors for an emergency financial assistance program for journeymen performers facing economic hardship during the stoppage. Those giving $1m or more to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation include George Clooney, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hugh Jackman, Dwayne Johnson and Nicole Kidman. The story.
—Confusion. Nearly three weeks into the actors strike, SAG-AFTRA has issued more than 100 interim agreements allowing independent productions to go forward. THR's Rebecca Keegan writes that questions remain about who qualifies and what the risks they might carry once the strike ends. The story. |
Lizzo Responds to Hostile Work Environment Allegations ►"I am not the villain." Lizzo is speaking out amid sexual harassment and hostile work allegations aimed at the pop star from former dancers. The Grammy winner posted a statement on Instagram addressing the accusations, writing that the past few days had been "gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing" with people questioning her work ethic, morals and character. Lizzo also vehemently denied many of the claims that have been made against her in a lawsuit brought by her former dancers. The story.
—Horror vet. Spyglass Entertainment has tapped Christopher Landon to direct the seventh installment of the long-running Scream franchise. The Happy Death Day and Freaky filmmaker takes over duties from the creative team known as Radio Silence, which helmed the previous two entries. The two most recent Scream movies, distributed by Paramount, scared up $137.7m and $168.9m worldwide, respectively, and introduced a fresher-faced cast. The story.
—New face. PBS has found a new moderator for its weekly political program Washington Week. WETA, the PBS station that produces the show, says that Jeffrey Goldberg will join the program as its new moderator. Goldberg succeeds Yamiche Alcindor, who stepped aside from the long-running public affairs show earlier this year. Goldberg, who has been the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic since 2016, starts his new gig on Aug. 11. The story. |
'Elemental' Weathers Summer Storm, Crosses $400M ►Well, well, wellity, well. Pixar's Elemental cleared the $400m mark at the global box office on Tuesday, becoming the first Hollywood animated movie based on original IP to do so since before the pandemic. Elemental finished Tuesday with a domestic tally of $146.2m and $257.5m overseas for a worldwide total of $403.7m. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Elemental, which cost a reported $200m to make before marketing, won’t be a huge theatrical money loser for Disney after all. The box office report.
—Battle of the sexes. Between them, Barbie and Oppenheimer are attracting consumers from nearly every age group, who don't want to miss out on the biggest cinematic cultural event in years. THR's Pamela McClintock digs into the data to see what trends have become apparent as Barbenheimer heads into its third weekend. The analysis.
—"A world where women can be feminine and dress in skimpy sequins just because it is fabulous and fun and not to attract the male gaze." In a guest column for THR, Andrea Nevins, who wrote and produced the 2018 documentary Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie, explores the dynamics behind the movie Barbie's escape to the real world. The column. |
How Aldean Cynically Built "Small Town" to Appeal to Trump Country ►"What upsets people is the coded language and coded pictures." "Try That In a Small Town" has become Jason Aldean's biggest hit on the pop charts and his first No. 1 on the country charts since 2014. But while it's having a historic run, the song has divided people, with some calling it a pro-lynching anthem and anti-Black. THR's Mesfin Fekadu looks at how the song came to be and the barely concealed dog whistles found within it. The story.
—"Enemy" of the church. Leah Remini has sued the Church of Scientology in a wide-ranging lawsuit that includes claims of harassment, stalking and defamation.THR's Winston Cho reports that Remini, who broke with the organization in 2013 before becoming an outspoken critic, alleges in a suit filed on Wednesday that she has been “stalked, surveilled, harassed, threatened, intimidated, and, moreover, has been the victim of intentional malicious and fraudulent rumors” to intimidate and silence her. The story.
—Settlement. Triller has settled a lawsuit from Sony Music that accused the social media platform of showing “brazen contempt for the intellectual property rights” of its artists by ceasing to pay license fees for the use of the company’s songs. The deal was reached on July 21 after a federal judge overseeing the case sided with Sony on its breach of contract claim and ordered Triller to pay $4.6m, according to a securities filing issued on Wednesday. The story. |
'Reservation Dogs' Director on Ending With S3, Future of Native-Led TV ►"This show has meant so much to so many people." THR's Abbey White spoke to director Danis Goulet, who helmed two episodes of the final season of FX/Hulu's critical hit series Reservation Dogs. Goulet also discussed Hollywood's historic double strike and celebrating the Emmy-nominated series while standing with her fellow creatives. The interview.
In other news...
—Feinberg Forecast: Updated Emmys projections for first week of August
—Tom Sizemore’s final film gets trailer, release date
—Where is Jho Low? Jailed Malaysian leader Najib Razak questioned in 1MDB scandal doc trailer
—Gal Gadot stars in music video for "Heart of Stone" single
—Altice USA loses 68,000 video subscribers as quarterly earnings fall
—Diane Kruger to receive Zurich Film Festival lifetime achievement award
—Female directors dominate San Sebastian’s Horizontes Latinos lineup
—Paramount’s Pluto TV to launch in Australia with 50 FAST channels
What else we're reading...
—Eric Betts explains why the U.S. Women’s National Team looks so bad right now [Slate]
—Tirhakah Love suggests some ways to process and talk about Lizzo’s new lawsuit [Vulture]
—Lane Florsheim reports that celebrity divorce lawyers are confronting a summer of star splits [WSJ]
—In the aftermath of Angus Cloud's death, Shaad D'Souza pens a tribute to the Euphoria star's "astonishing talent" [Guardian]
—With a host of musicians being hit by objects while on stage recently, Jon Caramanica writes that some fans are looking to go viral by making themselves part of the show [NYT]
Today...
...in 1994, Paramount Pictures unveiled the Harrison Ford starrer Clear and Present Danger in theaters, where it would go on to gross more than $215m worldwide. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Martin Sheen (83), Evangeline Lilly (44), John C. McGinley (64), John Landis (73), Michael Ealy (50), Mathieu Kassovitz (56), Isaiah Washington (60), Lambert Wilson (65), Justin Kurzel (49), James Hetfield (60), Stephen Graham (50), Lisa Ann Walter (60), Molly Hagan (62), Hannah Simone (43), Brigid Brannagh (51), Mamie Gummer (40), Christine Ko (35), Steven Berkoff (86), Kyle Schmid (39), Georgina Haig (38), Melissa Ponzio (51), Anne Marie DeLuise (54), Oona Roche (28), Tommy Dewey (45), Tómas Lemarquis (46) |
| Jess Search, the veteran documentary producer and co-founder of the nonprofit film foundation Doc Society in the U.K., has died. She was 54. The obituary. |
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