| | | | | | What's news: Four-time Tony winner Ron Simons has died. Inside Out 2 is tracking to open around $85m+. HBO has renewed House of the Dragon for a third season. Jimmy Fallon will keep hosting The Tonight Show through 2028. Hunter Schafer will star in Amazon's Blade Runner 2099. — Abid Rahman
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Disney Wins Approval of $17B Development Deal With DeSantis Truce ►Money talks. Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have put the finishing touches on a deal to end a contentious legal battle for control of the district that oversees development around its theme parks. On Thursday, Disney dropped its appeal of a ruling dismissing its First Amendment lawsuit against the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. The move followed approval of $17b in planned development at Walt Disney World near Orlando that will bring a fifth theme park and three smaller parks to the resort. The story.
—"Our beloved, blessed, and highly favored friend." Ron Simons, an actor and four-time Tony Award-winning producer, has died. He was 63. His production company SimonSays Entertainment shared that Simons died Wednesday. A cause of death wasn’t immediately available. Simons produced numerous Broadway productions including Porgy and Bess, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Jitney. The obituary.
—Saving the summer. Hollywood’s leading tracking service the National Research Group upped its domestic opening forecast for Inside Out 2 from $85m to $90m. Tracking has been notoriously off this year, and especially this summer, so the decision to go out with a higher number is significant. For its part, Disney is sticking with $80m to $85m. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that at this pace, Inside Out 2 has a strong shot of scoring the top domestic opening of the year to date, supplanting Dune: Part Two ($82.5m). The box office report. |
R.E.M., Timbaland Inducted Into Songwriters Hall of Fame ►Let's hear it for the Bacon Boys. Kevin Bacon reprised his role in Footloose to honor the title track’s songwriter, R.E.M. reunited after calling it quits 13 years ago, and SZA said winning an honor for her songwriting “validates my entire career.” All this and more occurred at a jam-packed and starry Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards gala on Tuesday night, as R.E.M., Timbaland, Steely Dan, Hillary Lindsey and Dean Pitchford officially became members of the prestigious organization’s 2024 class. The story.
—🏆 Congrats! 🏆 Griffin in Summer won the Founders Award for best U.S. narrative feature as well as two additional awards at the 2024 Tribeca Awards: special jury mention for new narrative director for Nicholas Colia and best screenplay in a U.S. narrative feature, which also went to Colia. Meanwhile, Bikechess won best international narrative feature, and Hacking Hate won best documentary feature. The winners.
—🤝 First-look deal 🤝 Dwayne Johnson and his Seven Bucks Productions, co-founded by Dany Garcia, have signed a first-look deal with Disney. The agreement will see Johnson and Garcia develop films for theatrical and streaming platforms, with Johnson to potentially star in the projects. The multi-year deal will also allow Seven Bucks to collaborate across Disney divisions. The story. |
'House of the Dragon': The Story So Far, Heading Into S2 ►Here be dragons. HBO's House of the Dragon returns this Sunday for its highly anticipated second season. With the war between Team Black and Team Green finally kicking into overdrive, and plenty of those ferocious winged beasts fueling the fight, for THR, Josh Wigler helpfully gets us all up to speed on the goings-on in Westeros. The recap.
—No-brainer. HBO has greenlit a new season of House of the Dragon ahead of the season two premiere. Though season three is confirmed, the cable network isn’t specifying how many episodes, just yet. The story. |
Hunter Schafer Cast in 'Blade Runner 2099' ►🎭 Time on her hands 🎭 With Euphoria delayed, Hunter Schafer has been cast as a lead character in Amazon Prime Video’s Blade Runner 2099. The actress will co-star alongside Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, who was previously announced as starring in the series in an unspecified role. There’s no word yet what role Schafer will play. Blade Runner 2099 is a limited series is from showrunner Silka Luisa and executive produced by original Blade Runner director Ridley Scott. Shogun's Jonathan van Tulleken will direct the first two episodes. The story.
—🎭 Opportunity Knox 🎭 Hulu has found a new lead actress for its limited series about Amanda Knox. Grace Van Patten, who starred in Hulu's Tell Me Lies, will play Knox in the drama. She steps in for Margaret Qualley, who was set to star and executive produce but had to depart due to scheduling conflicts. Knox is among the executive producers of the untitled series, which Hulu ordered in March from writer and showrunner KJ Steinberg. The story.
—On the low. Netflix has quietly canceled animated series My Dad the Bounty Hunter after two seasons and 19 episodes. The show’s second season debuted in August 2023, and the silence surrounding it in the intervening months prompted speculation on social media about whether it would return. Co-created by Everett Downing Jr. and Patrick Harpin, My Dad the Bounty Hunter follows two kids who stow away on their father’s latest business trip, discovering that their dad is an intergalactic bounty hunter. The story.
—"It’s been a privilege to be at the helm of The Tonight Show." Jimmy Fallon has renewed his deal with NBCUniversal, which will keep him hosting The Tonight Show through 2028. Fallon’s renewal comes a month after Seth Meyers re-upped at NBC, keeping him at Late Night for four more years. Both hosts recently passed the 10-year mark at their respective shows. The story.
—Snapped up. Fox Sports has picked up the rights to the Indianapolis 500 in a major new media rights deal with IndyCar. The deal will include 19 broadcast windows, with every 2025 race being available on the Fox broadcast network. The Fox Sports app and FS1 will also televise qualifying races, with Fox also committing to five hours of network coverage for the Indy 500 next year from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The story.
—Worldwide Madame Web. Sony's theatrical flop Madame Web found a promising start to its streaming life. Despite being derided by critics and fans alike, the film premiered May 14 on Netflix and racked up 1.16b minutes of viewing for the week — the equivalent to about 10m complete showings of the movie. But Bridgerton easily captured the top spot among all streaming titles for the show’s return. Bridgerton drew 2.76b minutes of viewing time in the U.S. for the week of May 13-19. The first half of season three premiered on May 16, and Nielsen says those four episodes accounted for 70 percent of the total. The streaming rankings. |
Is Hollywood Afraid of Political Movies? ►"Putting your money in a political movie is asking for trouble." Ali Abbasi's Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice premiered to cheers at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and hype marketing departments could only dream of. But as the project continues to struggle to land U.S. distribution, industry insiders tell THR's Mia Galuppo and Scott Roxborough that underlying reason is a broad climate of reluctance to pick up polarizing real-world titles. The story.
—Mystery abounds. Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin has a new mysterious project described as a modern take on something ancient. The filmmaker has set a new movie with James Wan’s Atomic Monster and Jason Blum’s Blumhouse. New Line Cinema will release the project and has given it a date of April 17, 2026. Cronin will write and direct the movie, which is noteworthy as the first feature greenlit under a recently merged Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. Cronin’s Doppelgängers banner will also be involved. The story.
—🎭 In the mix 🎭 Emily Blunt is in early talks to join Steven Spielberg’s next feature. The untitled Universal Pictures feature is written by David Koepp, who worked with Spielberg on Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Universal has dated the film for the prime summer spot of May 15, 2026, marking Spielberg’s first summer offering in a decade following The BFG in 2016. No plot details are available for the project, but it is described as an event film. The story.
—Scribe found. Derek Connolly, the franchise screenwriter whose work includes Jurassic World movies and Detective Pikachu, has been tapped to pen the script for Paramount’s untitled Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover project. The feature will pit the good guys — the Autobots and the Joes — against their archenemies, the Decepticons and the terrorist organization Cobra. Chris Hemsworth is in talks to star in the feature for Paramount and Hasbro. The story. |
Animation at a Crossroads as Hope Mixes with Anxiety at Annecy ►"It’s a more challenging year overall for animation." THR's resident rascal Ryan Gajewski managed, somehow, to find himself in France for the Annecy Animation Festival. The event is one of the biggest weeks of the year for the animation industry, and also coincided with the release of Pixar's Inside Out 2 hitting theaters. But the mood at the festival is subdued as concerns still loom over AI, a contracting landscape and recent layoffs. The story.
—"Creating this series has been one of the absolute joys of my life." James Gunn shared more insight into his vision for Creature Commandos, his first project to debut since he and Peter Safran took the reins as heads of DC Studios. Gunn introduced the presentation for the animated series via a video message at Annecy on Friday, explaining that he was unable to attend due to being in Atlanta to shoot his forthcoming live-action feature Superman. The story.
—Legacy lives on. More breaking news out of Annecy, Adult Swim is cooking up two new series, one of which adapts the late Anthony Bourdain's graphic novels. THR can exclusively reveal that Get Jiro! has received a series order from Adult Swim. The animated half-hour project is based on the New York Times best-selling DC/Vertigo graphic novels written by famed chef and TV personality Bourdain and Joel Rose, with accompanying artwork from Langdon Foss and Alé Garza. The story.
—Hometown heroes. Despicable Me 4 got the crowd going bananas over big moments at its French premiere at Annecy. Director Chris Renaud and co-director Patrick Delage took the stage Thursday to introduce the latest installment in Universal Pictures‘ popular film series. The franchise is clearly special to the nation; Delage is a French filmmaker, as is Pierre Coffin, who directed 2010’s initial Despicable Me movie with Renaud and continues to voice the mischievous Minions. The story.
—"Her journey must take her to waters far beyond where any person has ventured." Moana 2 made a splash at Annecy as the highly anticipated sequel from Walt Disney Animation Studios revealed exclusive footage, music and storyboard art during its presentation Friday. Directors David Derrick Jr. and Jason Hand took the stage to introduce the sequences and give new details about the film’s story and characters. Hitting theaters Nov. 27, the movie is a follow-up to the 2016 original, and shouldn't be confused with live-action Moana that is in the works from Disney. The story. |
Film Review: 'Jazzy' ►"A poignant chronicle of girlhood." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Morrisa Maltz's Tribeca U.S. narrative competition entry, Jazzy. Lily Gladstone stars and produces this sweet tale of two friends navigating heartbreaking change in a feature from The Unknown Country filmmaker. The review.
—"Deft and disturbing." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Simon Klose's Tribeca documentary competition entry, Hacking Hate. The Swedish director's latest feature follows investigative journalist My Wingren as she tracks an elusive online far-right agitator stirring up hate across the globe. The review.
—"Touching." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Baltasar Kormákur's Touch. The Icelandic director’s latest is a novelistic saga of an elderly widower who sets out to solve the mystery of his first love’s sudden disappearance 50 years earlier. The review. | Thank Pod It's Friday ►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.
—TV's Top 5. THR's Lesley Goldberg and Dan Fienberg break down the latest TV news. This week's episode begins with the headlines, including news on Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Game of Thrones, The Boys, Hunter Schafer, Paul Giamatti, After Midnight and Tokyo Vice . There's a section on Paramount's future after a deal with Skydance collapsed. There's another section on WTF is going on at USA Network and an incredibly important spotlight on Netflix picking up the Kobayashi-Chestnut clash. And Dan reviews Apple’s Presumed Innocent, Amazon’s The Boys, HBO’s House of the Dragon. Listen here.
—Awards Chatter. THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott spoke to Tom Hollander. The veteran British character actor reflects on starting his screen career at just 14, juggling art house projects with big-studio franchise films and, in just the last two years, finding himself in the center of the zeitgeist as a central part of both season two of The White Lotus and, most recently, FX's limited series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. Listen here.
In other news...
—Matt Damon, Casey Affleck go on the run in The Instigators trailer
—Kim Kardashian Facetimes Sister Helen Prejean in Rebel Nun clip
—Former Warner Bros. COO Carolyn Blackwood tapped as head of Sphere Studios
—Robin Roberts’ production company adds 2 top execs
—Harry Daniels, TikTok celebrity serenader, signs with UTA
—The best last-minute digital gifts for dads who "don’t want anything"
What else we're reading...
—Annie Hamilton has penned this month's must-read WTF essay about her platonic love story with writer/actor Tavi Gevinson [GQ]
—Ahead of House of the Dragon returning on Sunday, Simran Hans spoke to Emma D’Arcy as her character Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen takes center stage in season two [NYT]
—Steven McIntosh reports on how the Klitschko brothers, the boxing champs turned wartime politicians, have used fame to aid Ukraine's war effort [BBC]
—Anna North writes that the Christian right in the U.S. is coming for divorce next [Vox]
—Here's your Friday list: "Five of the best fashion memoirs" [Guardian]
Today...
...in 2002, Doug Liman and Matt Damon’s thriller The Bourne Identity hit theaters, kick-starting an action franchise that has spanned five films so far. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Will Patton (70), Diablo Cody (46), Traylor Howard (58), Lucy Hale (35), Daryl Sabara (32), Sullivan Stapleton (47), Yasmine Bleeth (56), Marla Gibbs (93), Jay Roach (67), Robert Cormier (33), Lauren LaVera (30), Pascale Hutton (45), Kara Killmer (36), Park Hae-joon (48), Brianne Tju (26), Phillip Rhys Chaudhary (52), Sharvari Wagh (28), Tyler Johnston (37), Kevin McHale (36), Louis Garrel (41), Dayo Okeniyi (36), Celeste Desjardins (28), Torrance Coombs (41), Faizon Love (56), Ellie White (35), Agathe Rousselle (36), Kelvin Han Yee (63), Jordan Hayes (37) |
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