| | | | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's issue is THR's third annual Sustainability Issue. Bill Kramer will remain the Film Academy CEO through July 2028. Steve Cohen's hedge fun has acquired a 5.5 percent stake in Sphere Entertainment. Michael Fassbender will star in Paramount+’s The Agency. Babylon Berlin has been renewed for a fifth and final season. Timo Tjahjanto will direct Nobody 2. — Abid Rahman
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THR's Sustainability Issue ►The time is now. Hollywood has faced no shortage of existential threats lately, but none more daunting than the climate crisis that threatens us all. Thankfully, the industry is in a unique position to do something about it. In its third annual Sustainability Issue, THR assesses studios’ efforts to incorporate green practices — and climate-focused storylines — into their productions to help the world understand the stakes. The issue.
—Which blockbuster movies pass the climate test? Earlier this year, nonprofit story consultancy Good Energy teamed up with Colby College’s Buck Lab for Climate and Environment to release a tool to measure the representation of climate change onscreen, dubbed the Climate Reality Check. Using this climate-change version of the Bechdel test, THR surveyed 20 top Hollywood hits to see how many of them addressed the environmental crisis. The survey.
—"Little kids aren’t just small adults, they have a much more vulnerable reaction to extreme heat or pollution from wildfires." THR's Rebecca Keegan spoke to Hillary Clinton about the new Clinton Foundation initiative, Too Small to Fail. Through the initiative, the former Secretary of State is trying to help people make the connections between children’s mental and physical health and the impact of climate change. The interview.
—"So often when it comes to the environment, specifically with culinary consumerism, the mass majority of people are left out of the conversation for economic or accessibility reasons." Rebecca spoke to actress Shailene Woodley. After spending more than half her life championing environmental causes, Woodley now asks herself, "Am I just going to be adding to the noise?" With a new PBS docuseries on sustainable seafood, the Big Little Lies star finds a subject worth taking the dive. The interview.
—"I did understand that they wanted to move [the bus]." Rebecca also spoke to Sean Penn about the enduring appeal of his 2007 film Into the Wild. The Oscar-winning actor-filmmaker also discusses how the bus depicted in the book and movie about Christopher McCandless' life and death was tempting too many would-be adventurers to make a dangerous pilgrimage. The interview.
—"We may not save everything, but there’s still a lot that we can save." Actor Ed Begley Jr. has been Hollywood’s most famous environmentalist for nearly four decades, and now his daughter Hayden is helping him bring his message to Gen Z. The father-daughter duo talk to THR's Kirsten Chuba about collaborating on engaging TikTok videos to bring the actor's longtime activism to a new generation. The interview.
—"I feel that we are losing our understanding of where we are in our relationship with nature." For THR, Rebecca Sun spoke to filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung about his new film Twisters. Chung, who grew up in Oklahoma's tornado belt, discusses how films like Twisters have a part to play in shaping the public's relationship with the environment: "As a production, we want to inspire people to embrace the natural world." The interview. |
Hollywood Talks Big on Climate. But What Is It Really Doing? ►"These days, there’s little trace of climate denialism among the Hollywood studios." THR's Gary Baum reports that rival studios and streamers have banded together to battle the climate crisis, but since there's little accountability, it's unclear how much progress is being made. The story.
—The greening of reality TV. THR's Mikey O'Connell spoke to producer Cyle Zezo about the push to increase climate representation — the inclusion of environmental issues in storylines — that had until recently largely been a focus of scripted entertainment. Now activists like Zezo are urging reality shows to follow. The interview.
—"We firmly believe that good business does not require sacrificing sustainability." Just two months after launching their formal initiative to make unscripted TV more sustainable, eco-entertainment organization Reality of Change and environmental nonprofit Rare have assembled 30 studios and production companies to work on an advisory committee to address the climate crisis across the industry. Participating producers on the advisory committee include MGM Alternative, Scout Productions and Chip and Joanna Gaines' Blind Nil. The story. |
How Hollywood Can Make Climate Stories Sexy ►"We’re not looking to sacrifice what makes a great story for heavy-handed messaging or information overload." In a guest column for THR, Allison Begalman, Heather Fipps and Ali Weinstein, the founders of the Hollywood Climate Summit, break down the ways — subtle and not — our entertainment can address environmental themes while remaining, well, entertaining. The column.
—The new wave. From Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Evil Does Not Exist to Ramata-Toulaye Sy's Banel & Adama, THR critic Lovia Gyarkye writes that indie films are representing climate change as a fraught ongoing negotiation between humans and the environment instead of a single catastrophic event. The critic's notebook.
—Sneaking in climate activism between jokes. One show that has been very good with climate representation is HBO's award-winning comedy Hacks. THR's Julian Sancton spoke to Hacks' writers who break down the season three episode in which Ava opens Deborah’s eyes to the crisis: "We hope it's not too much of a fantasy that older people really start to listen to the younger voices about what an emergency this really is." The interview.
More from THR's Sustainability Issue...
—Why TV weather forecasters can no longer avoid climate change
—How Hollywood turned the humble Prius into an “it” car — and helped launch a green revolution
—Noma's René Redzepi on his new series Omnivore and how restaurants can combat climate change
—A climate-focused film studio takes root in Ojai
—Indie rockers AJR spotlight sustainability on their summer tour
—Hollywood’s hottest vegan restaurants
—The 7 most luxe, sustainability-focused resorts around the world |
Record Labels Hit AI Industry $350M In Lawsuits ►Escalation. On Monday, in lawsuits filed in federal courts in New York and Massachusetts, the music labels — led by Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music — accused Suno AI and Uncharted Labs Inc., the developer of Udio AI, of illegally powering their AI systems on massive troves of copyrighted recordings. The music majors are seeking injunctions that could force the companies to cease further infringement, which may include the destruction of models taught on their intellectual property, and damages of nearly $350m. The story.
—Re-upped. Bill Kramer, who has served as the CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since June 2022 and whose contract was not up for renewal until 2025, has reached an agreement with the Academy to remain its chief through July 2028. The deal guarantees that Kramer will be at the organization through the 100th Oscars ceremony in the spring of 2028 and the duration of its current Oscars broadcasting deal with ABC, which is set to expire after that ceremony. The story.
—Fed ex. The Motion Picture Association has hired former FBI official Larissa Knapp to lead its content protection services. Knapp, who was the fourth-highest ranking FBI official, will serve as executive vp and chief content protection officer to lead expansion of the MPA's Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, an anti-piracy organization, and take on piracy services and individuals around the world. The story.
—Deeper into entertainment. Steve Cohen, the hedge fund billionaire and owner of the New York Mets, has revealed that his firm, Point72 Capital, has taken a 5.5 percent stake in Sphere Entertainment Co., the company that owns and operates The Sphere in Las Vegas. According to a securities filing Monday afternoon, Point72 now owns over 1.5m shares (including options), with a market value of over $50m. Point72 disclosed a 5 percent stake in Fox back in March, valued at about $350m at the time. The story.
—More increases. The Paramount+ essential plan and the Paramount+ with Showtime plan will both increase their prices in the coming months. The Paramount+ essential plan will increase by $2 per month to $7.99 for all new subscribers, and the Paramount+ with Showtime plan will increase by $1 to $12.99. The rate for existing monthly subscribers of the essential plan will remain unchanged, as will the pricing of both annual subscription plans. The limited commercial plan will also increase by $1 to $7.99 for current subscribers. The story.
—Denied. The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Josh Duggar, the former reality television star convicted of downloading child sexual abuse images. Duggar was on the TLC show 19 Kids and Counting with his large family before his 2021 conviction. Duggar was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison after federal authorities investigated following Arkansas police finding child sexual abuse material was being shared by a computer traced to him. The story. |
Kevin Costner Talks 'Yellowstone' Exit ►"I don’t need drama." Kevin Costner has revealed why now was the right time to confirm his departure from Yellowstone. While promoting his forthcoming Western feature Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1, the actor and director told THR "it wasn’t tough" to make the decision to step away from the hit Paramount Network show. "It was a necessary decision to say, ‘Hey, OK, I don’t want to really talk about this anymore. It’s time to move on,'" he said. The story.
—🎭 Lead spy found 🎭 Michael Fassbender will star in Paramount+’s spy thriller The Agency, which is based on the French series Le Bureau des Legendes. The two-time Oscar nominee will also serve as an executive producer of the show, that has started production and which will stream on the platform’s Paramount+ With Showtime tier. George Clooney and Grant Heslov are executive producing the show; Jez and John-Henry Butterworth are writing all 10 episodes, and Joe Wright will direct the first two installments. The story.
—Bye-bye Berlin. After more than a year of negotiations and financial wrangling, the producers of Babylon Berlin have received the green light for a fifth and final season of the ground-breaking award-winning German period drama. Volker Bruch and Liv Lisa Fries will return to reprise their lead roles as police detective Gereon Rath and assistant Charlotte Ritter for a final 8-episode arc set in February 1933 as the Nazis finally seize power in Germany. The story.
—Early opening. Season three of The Bear will be dropping a little earlier than previously announced. Hulu will premiere the Emmy-winning, FX-produced show’s new season at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on June 26, three hours ahead of the show’s original June 27 date. The streamer is staying with the binge release pattern of the first two seasons. The series will also premiere on Disney+ at the new time — i.e., the equivalent of 9 p.m. ET — in other countries. The story. |
'Jaws' Doc in the Works From Nat Geo, Amblin ►Behind the bite. The notoriously fraught making of Steven Spielberg's Jaws and the writing of its best-selling source material by Peter Benchley are getting the documentary treatment. Timed to the 50th anniversary of the 1975 film, Nat Geo has greenlit Jaws @ 50 (working title), a doc feature that will focus on the making-of both the book and film. A summer 2025 release is planned on National Geographic and for streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. Laurent Bouzereau, the filmmaker behind Faye Dunaway doc Faye, is set to direct the film. The story.
—Heading stateside. Sideshow and Janus Films have snapped up U.S. distribution rights to Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke’s latest feature Caught by the Tides, which premiered to rave reviews at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The two distributors said they will "release the film exclusively in theaters in the coming months." Caught by the Tides is composed almost entirely of improvisational footage Jia shot across China over nearly 25 years with his troupe of longtime collaborators. The story.
—Timo time! The sequel to Bob Odenkirk's 2021 thriller Nobody has found its director and is slated for release next summer. Indonesian action director Timo Tjahjanto, who helmed Netflix's The Night Comes for Us and The Big 4, is set to direct the follow-up movie for Universal Pictures and 87North. The project has a script from Odenkirk, Derek Kolstad, Aaron Rabin and Umair Aleem and is set to hit theaters Aug. 15, 2025. The story.
—📅 Dated 📅 Freaky Friday is heading back to theaters, with the sequel getting a nationwide 2025 release date. Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis are returning for the film, which began filming this week in Los Angeles. Late Night helmer Nisha Ganatra will direct. The sequel picks up years after Tess (Curtis) and Anna (Lohan) switched bodies, with Anna now having a daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. The story.
—Expanding. Rite Here Rite Now, the concert/narrative film hybrid from Swedish hard rock band Ghost, is expanding its release. The move comes after the movie grossed $5.04m from opening on 751 screens for distributor Trafalgar Releasing. The haul was a surprise, as the band it not a well known commodity, but the band does have a dedicated fanbase consisting of metalheads and goths. The story. |
TV Review: 'Supacell' ►"Distinctive setting, distinctive characters, familiar genre tropes." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Netflix's Supacell. The streamer's new six-part London-set superhero drama, features an ensemble led by Tosin Cole, Josh Tedeku and Eddie Marsan, and was created by writer-director Rapman. The review.
In other news...
—Hugh Grant imprisons his houseguests in chilling Heretic trailer
—Nosferatu trailer: Robert Eggers and Bill Skarsgard reveal intense vampire epic
—Teyana Taylor, CAA’s Lorrie Bartlett to be honored at Culture Creators Awards
—One of the best luxury family resorts in the world is less than 3 hours from Hollywood
—The 5 Love Languages relationship book returns to bestsellers chart following new reprint
—Mindy Kaling reveals she quietly welcomed her third baby
—Tamayo Perry, Pirates of the Caribbean actor and star surfer, dies in shark attack at 49
What else we're reading...
—Molly Jong-Fast writes that the abortion has become the issue weighing down the GOP as we head towards the November election [Vanity Fair]
—Mark Savage looks into Seventeen, the K-pop boyband about to make history at Glastonbury by headlining the Pyramid Stage [BBC]
—Tejal Rao tries to explain why we all love FX's The Bear so much [NYT]
—Lucas Shaw reports that BuzzFeed is struggling to sell First We Feast, the owner of hit YouTube show Hot Ones [Bloomberg]
—Kate Lindsay sheds a light on a growing trend among men of "rawdogging" flights, that is flying with no entertainment and no headphones, just watching the flight map (I didn't realize this was a thing, as I've been "rawdogging" flights before it was cool) [GQ]
Today...
...in 1971, MGM held the premiere for Gordon Parks’ adaptation of Shaft in Los Angeles. The film, starring Richard Roundtree as private detective John Shaft, grossed a remarkable $13m and became an enduring classic. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Hong Chau (45), Linda Cardellini (49), Mckenna Grace (18), Busy Philipps (45), La La Anthony (42), Rain (42), Jimmie Walker (77), Ricky Gervais (63), Jason Lewis (53), Chloe Webb (68), Angela Kinsey (53), Jeff Cohen (50), June Lockhart (99), Jackie Swanson (61), Sheridan Smith (43), Annaleigh Ashford (39), Shannon Lucio (44), Kylie Cantrall (19), Erica Gimpel (60), Tom Lipinski (42), Michael McShane (69), John Benjamin Hickey (61), Mason Cotton (22), Seamus O'Hara (34), Daman Mills (31), Devin DeVasquez (61), Timur Bekmambetov (63), Eve Gordon (64), Tillotama Shome (45), Charlie Carrick (38), Josh Braaten (47), Sibongile Mlambo (34) |
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