| | | | | | What's news: Newsmax is planning an IPO. Gina Carano's lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm can move forward. Kevin Spacey claims he is essentially broke. Parker Finn and Robert Pattinson are remaking the 1981 cult film Possession. USA Network has ordered a series based on John Grisham's The Rainmaker. — Abid Rahman
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Sony Pictures Acquires Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas ►🤝 Game changer 🤝 Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in a deal that puts a major Hollywood studio back in the business of owning a movie theater for the first time in more than 75 years, with certain exceptions. For more than seven decades, studios weren't allowed under certain conditions to own an exhibition company under the Paramount Consent Decrees, which were rescinded in 2020. Alamo — an indie chain with 35 locations that has been at the forefront of in-theater dining and other consumer-friendly initiatives — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2021 amid the pandemic. The story.
—"We are confident will set the stage for growth." A day after Skydance’s bid for the company officially ended, Paramount Global‘s three co-CEOs are beginning to execute on their strategic plan for the company. The executives — Brian Robbins, Chris McCarthy and George Cheeks — sent a note to staff Tuesday addressing the deal, adding that the strategic plan they outlined at last week’s annual shareholder meeting is still very much their priority, and “work is already underway” on the plan. The story.
—IPO curious. The conservative cable news channel Newsmax is planning to go public, and is also seeking to raise as much as $225m in a private placement, in a push to expand its presence in both cable TV and in streaming. The company posted an investor presentation to its website Tuesday outlining the planned private placement, as well as revealing that it planned to raise another $75m when going public on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. The company says it has already reserved the ticker NMAX. The story. |
THR's Comedy Actor Roundtable ►Power, pressure and puking. THR's award-winning Roundtable Series continues, up next are the comedy actors. John Goodman (The Conners and The Righteous Gemstones), Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), Theo James (The Gentlemen), Anthony Mackie (Twisted Metal), Ricky Martin (Palm Royale) and Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) sit down with THR's Mikey O'Connell to discuss overcoming fears, subverting expectations and the emojis that define them. The roundtable.
—🏆 Well deserved! 🏆 The sibling Bond movie producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have been tapped to receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, writer-director Richard Curtis will be feted with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and composer-producer Quincy Jones and casting director Juliet Taylor will receive honorary Oscars at the 2024 Governors Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday. The awards will be presented at a ceremony at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles on Nov. 17. The story.
—Finally! Soho House will finally reach Japan, after the global private members club for creatives revealed plans for a Tokyo house that is set to open in 2026. Located in the Tokyo’s upmarket Aoyama district, an area known for independent boutiques, fashion stores that is a stone’s throw from the Omotesando shopping area, Soho House Tokyo will become the company’s fourth branch in Asia. The story. |
Why Subscription Prices Are Suddenly Spiking (Again) ►Streamflation alert. If 2023 was the year of “streamflation,” to use a term coined by the consulting firm KPMG, 2024 is shaping up to be a fast sequel — Streamflation Part 2: They’ll Keep Paying. THR's Alex Weprin writes that streaming platforms are boosting prices for the second time in as many years, hoping to nudge customers into their more lucrative ad-tiers. The story.
—Moving forward. A federal judge has signaled that Gina Carano‘s lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm over her termination from The Mandalorian will be allowed to proceed as the court considers whether the First Amendment allows private companies to sever ties with employees who publicly clash with their values. At a Wednesday hearing, a judge expressed skepticism that the Carano's lawsuit should be tossed before discovery is allowed to take place. The story.
—"I’m not quite sure where I’m going to live now." Kevin Spacey is essentially broke and is having his Baltimore home foreclosed upon, the beleaguered actor admitted while sitting for a lengthy interview this week with Piers Morgan. The interview with a sympathetic Morgan on his YouTube show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, takes a wide-ranging look at Spacey’s life, with the Oscar-winning actor revealing that he has millions in legal debt as his various sexual assault lawsuits work through the courts. The story. |
Marvel's 'Blade' Loses Director Yann Demange ►Cursed. Blade is once again in search of new talent behind the camera after French filmmaker Yann Demange exited the long-gestating project. The departure is described as amicable and happened some time ago. It’s the latest in a number of creative challenges for the project, which Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige announced to fanfare at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019 when he surprised the crowd by bringing out star Mahershala Ali. The story.
—Hot new project. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on Smile filmmaker Parker Finn teaming up with Robert Pattinson to remake Possession, the cult 1981 psychological supernatural horror movie written and directed by Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski. The project has engaged the town’s attention, with a bidding war breaking out among A24, Netflix, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros. The process is in the early stages, with meetings taking place this week, according to sources, and other companies may enter the fray. The story.
—🎭 Rising star 🎭 After an extensive search, Disney has found the next Moana. Newcomer Catherine Laga‘aia will star as the titular character in the remake of the 2016 hit animated film. The 17-year-old actor hails from Sydney, Australia, and joins Dwayne Johnson in the feature, reprising his role as demigod Maui. Other cast for the Moana remake include John Tui as Moana’s father Chief Tui, Frankie Adams as Moana’s mother Sina and Rena Owen as Gramma Tala. The story. |
'The Boys' Refresher: What to Remember Before S4 ►Beginning of the end. For THR, Demetrius Patterson gets everyone up to speed on Amazon Prime Video's The Boys as season four drops today. Like Homelander’s anger, the penultimate season of the hit series isn’t expected to hold anything back. The recap.
—For the dog in me. Netflix says that it will host a live-streaming event on Labor Day, Sep. 2, featuring two legends of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest: Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi. The live special will be called Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef, with the location and specific timing still TBD. One thing that Netflix has confirmed: The hot dogs will be all-beef. The story.
—"She has been kept busy by me and HBO." As Game of Thrones fans prepare for the season two premiere of House of the Dragon this Sunday, saga creator George R.R. Martin is giving a promising update on a potential new series. Martin revealed that the Princess Nymeria prequel Ten Thousand Ships is alive again and making progress under a new writer — Eboni Booth, who won a Pulitzer Prize in May for her play Primary Trust. The story.
—Making it rain. USA Network has handed out a straight-to-series order for a reboot of The Rainmaker, from producers Lionsgate TV and Blumhouse TV, marking its first non-shared scripted series since 2020. Based on the best-selling 1995 novel by John Grisham and subsequent 1997 film adaptation from Francis Ford Coppola starring Matt Damon, Claire Danes, Jon Voight and Danny DeVito, The Rainmaker revolves around a fresh out of law school attorney who goes head-to-head with courtroom lion. The story.
—In the works. Lionsgate Television has optioned the rights to a June Vanity Fair story about the work of the U.S. special envoy for hostage affairs and is teaming with The Rookie showrunner Alexi Hawley to develop a scripted series titled The Envoy. From Peabody-winning journalist Adam Ciralsky, the June story chronicled the work of Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, as he and his colleagues work for the release of American hostages worldwide. The story.
—Budget cuts. The 8G Band will be playing its last tunes on Late Night With Seth Meyers this summer. NBC-imposed budget cuts to the show mean that the house band — keyboard player Eli Janney, guitarist Seth Jabour and bassist Syd Butler — will be going away when Late Night begins its new season in the fall. The trio have been part of the show since its debut in 2014; Fred Armisen was the bandleader for much of that time but has been more of a guest performer in the past few years. The story. |
Shonda Rhimes Plans to Return to Her TV Roots ►"Everybody’s much more autonomous now and it’s great." Now settled on the East Coast, THR’s TV titan Shonda Rhimes opens up to THR's Lacey Rose about the pains of being a global brand, her 12-year-old’s reaction to Grey’s Anatomy and the reason she keeps her opinions to herself on set. The interview.
—"We’re kind of on a two-year pace, we’re trying to speed up." THR's lady in London Lily Ford spoke to Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell at Wednesday night's U.K. premiere for part two of season three. Although she didn't give too much away, Brownell did drop some clues about season four of the Netflix mega hit and when we can expect it. The interview.
—"We’re still writing, still breaking story. We’re very much in the middle of it." THR's queen of chat Jackie Strause spoke to The Morning Show's showrunner Charlotte Stoudt as work begins on the fourth season of the Apple TV+ newsroom drama. Stoudt teases season four’s exploration of coming back from cancellation (this time, it’s Bradley) and women in power. The interview. |
Scooter Braun on His Nova Music Festival Exhibition ►"We’re not going to stop, and we’re going to Los Angeles next." THR's Seth Abramovitch spoke to Scooter Braun about Nova: Oct. 7 6:29 am — The Moment Music Stood Still: The Nova Music Festival Exhibition that is currently open in New York. Inspired by a visit to the hallowed grounds where 360 young Israelis were murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, the new exhibit from the music mega-manager has already hosted 100,000 visitors — despite violent protests outside. The interview.
—"They got a lot of my goodies." Goldie Hawn revealed in a new interview that the L.A. home she shares with longtime partner Kurt Russell was robbed several years back while the couple was out to dinner. Despite assuming “the odds are that’s not gonna happen again,” Hawn experienced an attempted home invasion four months later. Regarding the first incident, Hawn said the couple returned from a night out in 2020 to find their home ransacked. The story.
—"Honestly, my mom is my hero." Miley Cyrus is getting candid about her relationship with both of her parents, Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus. Amid recent rumors of estrangement from her father, the Grammy-winning singer was asked on a new episode of David Letterman’s Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction if she would consider Billy Ray her hero. The story.
—"We were young performers who just wanted to do this with our lives more than anything, and we got to and that was so beautiful." Ariana Grande has revealed she is still reflecting on her time on Nickelodeon and admits that she is now “reprocessing” her experience amid Investigation Discovery’s Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV docuseries. While appearing on the most recent episode of the Podcrushed podcast, Grande recalled her time starring on Victorious and Sam & Cat, both of which were series created by Dan Schneider, who was a key subject in Quiet on Set. The story. | Film Review: 'Inside Out 2' ►"Teenage anxiety was never this much fun." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Kelsey Mann's Inside Out 2. In this Pixar sequel, Amy Poehler is back as the voice of Joy, with a new whirl of emotions represented by Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri, Adèle Exarchopoulos and Paul Walter Hauser. The review.
—"Gather and worship." David reviews Bruce David Klein's Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story. Showbiz survivor Liza Minnelli looks back on her life and career, her emergence from her mother’s shadow and the mentors who helped shape her megawatt persona. The review.
In other news...
—The Imaginary trailer brings hand-drawn animation to Netflix
—British dramatist James Graham to deliver MacTaggart Lecture at Edinburgh TV Festival
—Sphere Entertainment ups Jennifer Koester to president and COO
—Tony Lo Bianco, actor in The French Connection and The Seven-Ups, dies at 87
—Armando Silvestre, actor in Mexican movies and Two Mules for Sister Sara, dies at 98
—Françoise Hardy, French singing legend and pop icon, dies at 80
What else we're reading...
—With plenty of great first look images, David Canfield talks to the creative team behind Peacock's Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist which covers the infamous robbery that changed Atlanta forever [Vanity Fair]
—Colin Groundwater talks to soon-to-be-everywhere Joseph Quinn, with the engaging Brit actor discussing A Quiet Place: Day One, Gladiator II, as well his upcoming turn in the MCU [GQ]
—Reflecting on Richard Linklater's 2011 film Bernie, Jeremy Gordon writes that the Jack Black comedy serves as a warning on the dangers of despising people who are not like you [Atlantic]
—Alexis Soloski talks to the makers of Bridgerton and their liberal approach to the historical record [NYT]
—After a string of concerning election wins for far-right parties, Ellen Ioanes explains why Europe is lurching to the right [Vox]
Today...
...in 2014, Columbia Pictures unfurled Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's 22 Jump Street in theaters. The sequel to the 2012 comedy 21 Jump Street, the film saw Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill go back undercover, this time in college. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Chris Evans (43), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (34), Tim Allen (71), Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (38), Greg Daniels (61), Charlotte Wells (37), Steve-O (50), Stellan Skarsgård (73), Kat Dennings (38), Ally Sheedy (62), Malcolm McDowell (81), Kodi Smit-McPhee (28), Richard Thomas (73), Disha Patani (32), Ethan Embry (46), Luke James (40), Ruth Codd (28), Brande Roderick (50), Kate Lyn Sheil (39), Kathy Burke (60), Lisa Vidal (59), Laura Kightlinger (55), Tygh Runyan (48), Daisy Waterstone (30), Jamie Walters (55), Jeff Davis (49), David Kammenos (48), Ian Alda (40) |
| Mark James, the Grammy-winning Songwriters Hall of Fame member behind hits like “Hooked on A Feeling, “Suspicious Minds” and “Always on My Mind,” has died. He was 83. The obituary. |
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