| | | | | | What's news: Will Smith and Bad Boys: Ride or Die trounce expectations with a $56 million domestic opening weekend. The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke is THR's producer of the year. NBC lines up celebrity hosts for the Olympics. (If they can afford a hotel room in Paris!) — Julian Sancton
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Why Is Shari Redstone so Upset? ►“It’s probably the looniest sales process in the history of public companies.” While Hollywood awaits Redstone’s imminent decision on the future of Paramount, THR’s Kim Masters and Alex Weprin examine why she appears to be infuriated with David Ellison, the Skydance CEO making a bid to acquire the studio. Maybe Skydance's deal isn't what she expected. Or maybe no matter what happens, she knows she can't match her father's empire-building legacy. Meanwhile, Discovery’s David Zaslav may have added a new element to the mix by signaling his interest in acquiring CBS and Paramount Global’s TV stations — from either Redstone or Ellison, as the case may be. The story.
—Joy Ride. Sony’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die jolted the lackluster summer box office back to life with a better-than-expected domestic opening of $56 million and $104.6 million globally. Moreover, it puts Will Smith on the road to a career comeback two years after the infamous Oscars slap, writes Pamela McClintock. The action comedy, reteaming Smith with Martin Lawrence, is the first major film of summer 2024 to open well ahead of expectations in a needed boost of confidence for the battered movie industry. The analysis. PLUS: Seemingly confident in his redemption, Smith snuck into the theater on Friday night to watch Bad Boys before surprising fans in the audience.
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2024 Daytime Emmys: Dick Van Dyke Makes History ► Chim Chim Cher-ee! The 98-year-old TV legend became the oldest winner of the daytime trophy for his guest performance in Days of Our Lives. The awards were presented across two ceremonies on Friday and Saturday nights, both from the Westin Bonaventure Los Angeles. Saturday’s event also featured some notable first-time winners, including Dwyane Wade (The Dads), Robert Downey Jr. (Downey’s Dream Cars) and Buddy Valastro. The full list.
—“Let This Be the Start of a New Era.” John Leguizamo published an open letter to the television academy in the New York Times on Sunday, urging his peers to nominate artists of color across all categories ahead of next week’s Emmy voting. “Please let this be the year we finally embrace change,” Leguizamo wrote in a full-page letter that appeared in the Sunday edition of the paper. “The year we truly find Equity, and see artists of color represented across not just one category, but ALL categories.” Primetime Emmy voting will begin next week on June 13, and nominations will be announced July 17. The ceremony will take place Sept. 15. The story.
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THR’S PRODUCER OF THE YEAR: ‘The Boys’ Showrunner Eric Kripke ► "Sometimes we feel like we’re Satan’s writers room.” As The Boys showrunner grows his darkly comic satire into a franchise — and spoofs a certain trial and presidential election in the new season — he says he’s fine losing the viewers who just figured out his social agenda: “Go watch something else." Kripke, newly 50 and preparing to launch season four of The Boys on June 13, Kripke, told THR's Mikey O'Connell about the bliss of alienating woke-phobic viewers, the TV industry’s great market correction and spoofing late-stage capitalism on the very platform that shares its name with the “everything store.” The story.
—"It’s changed my life in so many ways." William Stanford Davis found the role of his career at 72, thanks to Quinta Brunson, who cast him as beloved janitor Mr. Johnson in her hit sitcom Abbott Elementary. In an interview with THR’s Mesfin Fekadu, Davis talks about loving his job and how a bad audition for Friends changed his trajectory for the better: The story.
—Tokyo Vice gets whacked. During a panel about the Max series at the Produced By conference Saturday in Los Angeles, producers confirmed that the recently concluded second season will be the yakuza drama’s last on the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed platform. Producers confirmed the Ansel Elgort-led show’s second season was designed to conclude the story but noted: “We know there is more story to tell.” The story. |
Would You Turn Over Your Home to a Hollywood Film Crew for $5,000 a Day? ►Let the right one in. While there are definite downsides to leasing your L.A. abode for a movie or TV production (broken sprinklers, upset neighbors), the one-day fees you may rake in could cover your monthly home payments. “We try to give you roughly around what your mortgage payment would be a day,” says legendary location scout Lori Balton (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.) “And if it’s something that’s an extraordinary, unique house in some way that they really like, then you can get more money for it.” The story.
—Air Buds. THR’s Christy Piña has the deep dive on Bark Air, a new private jet company that focuses on dog-first, human-second travel. On the flights, dogs are treated to a tasting menu, doggie champagne (aka organic bone broth, which is said to help their ears adjust to altitude changes), blankets with calming pheromones, earmuffs and more. Prices are in line with the steep cost of private jet travel: $6,000 one way from New York to L.A. and $8,000 from New York to London. The story.
—Parlez-vous Olympics? For the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, NBC Sports has lined up a host of celebrities to bring star power to the 17-day event, including Jimmy Fallon, Kelly Clarkson, and Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper. Among the other names who’ll provide coverage through the Games are NBA All-star Dwyane Wade (basketball), comedian Leslie Jones (who’s been named “chief super fan commentator”), long-time commentator Mary Carillo, NBC talent including Willie Geist and Steve Kornacki, and Snoop Dogg. “NBC is really pulling out the stops to make this a really big event,” says Chris Miller, the showrunner of The Tonight Show. The story.
—So you scored a ticket to the Olympics? Now try to land a hotel room. An expected 10 million people are expected to descend on Paris for the Games — that’s almost 10 times as many as Rio de Janeiro hosted in 2016, for the last Summer Games to be unaffected by COVID-19. Yet it turns out last-minute travelers to the City of Light can still book a few rooms — as long as they flash an Olympic-sized wallet. Some are laying out more than $200,000 for trips with special shopping perks and VIP athlete meet-and-greets. Mark Ellwood takes a tally. The story. |
James Gunn Fills Out Daily Planet Newsroom (Exclusive) ►'Superman' to the rescue (of the news business). Metropolis media reporter Borys Kit has the scoop that Mikaela Hoover and Christopher McDonald have joined the cast of Gunn’s Superman, the inaugural movie of DC Studios. The feature is currently in production in Atlanta with David Corenswet starring as Clark Kent/Superman, and Rachel Brosnahan playing Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane. The duo will have company on the news desk. Last week, THR reported that Saturday Night Live alum Beck Bennett had joined the production to play Steve Lombard, a blowhard and self-serving reporter who in the comics serves as a foil to boy scout reporter Kent. The story.
—“The biggest challenge was those teeth.” Ryan Gosling’s viral Beavis and Butt-head sketch from Saturday Night Live's recently concluded 49th season — which famously caused cast member Heidi Gardner to laugh uncontrollably — faced no shortage of hurdles in getting to the screen, and actually was several years in the making. The buzzy segment, starring Gosling and Mikey Day as adult versions of the grotesque couch potatoes from the MTV animated series, required remarkable speed and ingenuity from the SNL’s legendary makeup and hair team, Ryan Gajewski reports. The story.
—How the “howdunit” done it. Elsbeth showrunner Jonathan Tolins reveals how the show pulled off one final twist in the CBS procedural, bringing a satisfying (and legally concerning) end to its first season. The finale veers from the “howdunit” formula, as the title character follows the wrong lead with predictably hilarious — and fashion-forward — results. Tolins breaks down the script with the dearly missed Tyler Coates. The story. |
Bringing Sufjan Stevens to Broadway ►From 'Illinois' to the Great White Way. Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois (2005) had been a formative album for director and choreographer Justin Peck, and so when it came to reinterpreting it for the stage — with the Tony-nominated Illinoise — Peck felt a responsibility to do right by the other longtime fans. Peck, who also choreographed Steven Spielberg’s 2021 film West Side Story, spoke with THR’s Caitlin Huston about Stevens’ involvement in the show, the decision to lean into dance and not include dialogue and bringing a dance-based show to Broadway. The story.
—“Thrilling and terrifying.” Novelist Georgia Hunter, author of the New York Times bestseller We Were the Lucky Ones, opens up about her initial fears in adapting her book — based on her family’s Holocaust experience — to the screen for the new Hulu and how a call from director and showrunner Tommy Kail made all the difference. The essay.
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Tribeca Reviews: 'Darkest Miriam' ►"An elegant, imaginative gem." Britt Lower (of TV’s Severance) headlines Darkest Miriam, the Tribeca-premiering film directed by Naomi Jaye and executive produced by Charlie Kaufman. Jaye has taken the unpromising story of a soft-spoken young librarian and turned it into a small wonder of a film, eloquent and captivating, writes critic Caryn James. The review.
—"An unfortunate real-life thriller." The ironically titled documentary Antidote — about the travails of three Russians risking their lives to fight their country's current regime — provides yet another disturbing reminder of the evils of the Putin government, writes critic Frank Scheck. The review.
—"'Murderball' for esports." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Jess Jacklin's HBO documentary Quad Gods, a look at three members of an all-quadriplegic esports team that blends rehab, socializing and competition. The review.
In other news...
—Ray J suggests his sex tape with Kim Kardashian might have altered the course of humanity.
—Rob Schneider was booted mid-set from yet another stage after attendees walked out.
—A 60-year-old Disneyland employee died in a tragic golf-cart accident.
—Oscar De La Hoya on his new life in Las Vegas: "I should have done this a long time ago.”
—Queenie creator Candice Carty-Williams hopes to make noise with the Hulu series.
What else we're reading...
—Julia Louis-Dreyfus weighs in on her former co-star Jerry Seinfeld's recent comments on political correctness. [NYT]
—Jia Tolentino explains how Cocomelon conquered children's animation [The New Yorker]
—Adam Reiner assesses the complicated legacy of Morgan Spurlock and Super Size Me [Eater]
—Alan Siegel delivers the long-awaited oral history of Gremlins [The Ringer]
—Ron Howard looks back on the legacy of Jim Henson. [LAT]
Today...
...in 1993, Steven Spielberg ushered in a new franchise with the launch of Jurassic Park. The 126-minute film, which set fire to the summer box office that year (“dino-mite,” as a Hollywood Reporter headline blared), would spawn a series of tentpole films for Universal over the course of the next two decades. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Gina Gershon (62), Gina Prince-Bythewood (55), Jeanne Tripplehorn (61), Bill Burr (56), Leelee Sobieski (40), Kate Upton (42), Timothy Van Patten (65), Dustin Lance Black (50), Elizabeth Hurley (59) |
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