| | | | | | What's news: Regal Cinemas has secured $250m in funding. CNN is cutting 100 jobs. CBS News' Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews is exiting the company. Lena Dunham is no longer directing the Polly Pocket movie. Jennifer Lawrence will star in A24's Why Don’t You Love Me? A Fistful of Dollars is set for a remake. Ellen Pompeo will be back for more episodes of Grey's Anatomy when S21 returns. — Abid Rahman
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Media Circus Heads to New Mexico as Baldwin 'Rust' Trial Begins ►"Will you be a free man in two weeks, Mr. Baldwin?" On Tuesday, the two-week trial on whether Alec Baldwin should be held criminally liable for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins began in New Mexico. Ahead of the opening statements today, THR's Rebecca Keegan and Winston Cho report on the latest from the trial that has attracted 41 credentialed news organizations from all over the world. The story.
—Possible new indictment. Prosecutors in the Harvey Weinstein case are investigating sexual assault claims from additional women who have come forward as they look to a possible new indictment against the disgraced former Hollywood mogul. In Manhattan criminal court Tuesday, Assistant ADA Nicole Blumberg said prosecutors have not yet summoned a grand jury but are continuing to investigate a “violent matter” committed within the Manhattan district that she said was believed to be within the statute of limitations. The plan is to proceed to trial in November. The story.
—"I responded to a question from a passerby. I shouldn’t have." George Stephanopoulos has apologized after being caught on camera making a remark to a pedestrian about President Joe Biden running for another term. According to a video obtained by TMZ, Stephanopoulos was asked by a passerby while walking in New York City, in workout clothes, on Tuesday, “Do you think Biden should step down? You’ve talked to him more than anybody else has lately.” Stephanopoulos responded, “I don’t think he can serve four more years.” The story.
—Upgrades incoming. Regal Cinemas, the second-largest movie theater chain in the U.S., has secured $250m to give its locations an upgrade, the exhibitor said on Tuesday. The funds are intended to boost its already existing locations (425 theaters across the country) with enhancements like luxury recliners and other amenities. Regal is owned by embattled theater giant Cineworld, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2022 and emerged from its financial restructuring process last year. The story. |
DEI Is Not DOA — At Least Not Yet ►"Stephen Miller and Ed Blum aren’t winning. They’re whining." The DEI dominoes started falling — or at least wobbling — last summer. There was a Supreme Court ruling all but gutting affirmative action on college campuses. In Hollywood, there was the mass exodus of diversity officers — at Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney, Netflix and the Motion Picture Academy. THR's Gary Baum writes that conservative activists are taking aim at race-based grants and programs designed to help members of marginalized communities. Will philanthropies soon find themselves in the crosshairs? The story.
—Ooooof. Layoffs will once again hit CNN as the cable news channel reorganizes in a push to expand its digital businesses. CEO Mark Thompson outlined his digital vision in a lengthy memo to staff Wednesday morning, announcing plans to build a flurry of digital products, including a subscription offering before the end of the year, plans to launch other paid offerings built around lifestyle journalism and a “strategic push into AI.” In his note, Thompson said that about 100 roles will be cut, representing just shy of 3 percent of CNN’s workforce. The story.
—"I felt it was important to be transparent at this juncture about my plans." CBS News president Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews will exit the company, after a year running the broadcast news division. The executive will shift to a role as a senior editorial adviser later this month, helping to oversee coverage of the 2024 presidential election, with plans to exit completely after that. Ciprian-Matthews announced the decision in a note to staff Wednesday, and a source says she immediately went on to lead the 9 a.m. editorial call to discuss the 2024 election. The story.
—Dream team. Viola Davis and James Patterson will co-write a novel together. Little, Brown and Company announced Tuesday that the EGOT-winner and the best-selling author are teaming on a book that will be set in the present-day rural South. The untitled novel will center on a "dynamic and brilliant female judge on the brink of a decision with seismic repercussions for her small county and potentially the whole nation." The story. |
'Shrek 5' Set for 2026 ►📅 It's official 📅 Universal/DreamWorks Animation's storied franchise Shrek will return on July 1, 2026, with stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz all back 25 years after the original film hit theaters. Shrek 5 has long been in development and will arrive 16 years after previous entry, Shrek Forever After, which bowed in 2010 and earned $752.6m globally. Walt Dohrn will direct after working as a writer on the second and third films, and as head of story on the fourth film. Brad Ableson will co-direct, with Gina Shay and Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri producing. The story.
—It's happening. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on Paramount closing deals with Robert Pattinson and Smile filmmaker Parker Finn to tackle a remake of Possession, the cult 1981 psychological supernatural horror movie written and directed by Polish filmmaker Andrzej Zulawski. The Possession pact is personal for Paramount CEO Brian Robbins and motion picture co-heads Daria Cercek and Michael Ireland, who fought hard to keep Finn in the Paramount family. He’s a homegrown talent, with Smile becoming a surprise hit at Paramount in 2022. The story.
—"I feel like the next movie I make needs to feel like a movie that I absolutely have to make." Lena Dunham is no longer attached to the previously announced Polly Pocket film. In a wide-ranging interview with The New Yorker published Tuesday, the Girls creator revealed that despite working on a script for three years, she decided it wasn’t the right project for her. The story.
—🎭 London calling 🎭 Sam Worthington and Gugu Mbatha-Raw will star alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Theo James in thriller Fuze. The feature follows the discovery of a long-buried World War II bomb in central London, which sparks a city-wide evacuation. Directed by Hell or High Water filmmaker David Mackenzie, and penned by Ben Hopkins, the project commenced filming in London this week. Also joining the cast are Elham Ehsas and Honor Swinton-Byrne. The story.
—🎭 Hot project 🎭 Jennifer Lawrence is set to star in the feature Why Don’t You Love Me?, an adaptation of the Paul B. Rainey graphic novel. A24 acquired the rights to the sci-fi comedy, which follows an unhappily married couple who struggle through their personal and professional lives until they realize that their reality is not what it seems and there may be alternatives. Robert Funke, the creator behind the series On Becoming a God in Central Florida, will write. Lawrence will produce alongside Justine Ciarrocchi for Excellent Cadaver. The story.
—🎭 One more 🎭 The Cleaning Lady star Eva De Dominici is set to join Peter Farrelly’s Ball’s Up, where she will star opposite Mark Wahlberg and the great Paul Walter Hauser. The Skydance action comedy has Farrelly reteaming with Amazon MGM Studios. Deadpool & Wolverine writes Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese wrote the script for the feature that focuses on two marketing executives who get fired for botching a potential opportunity. The story. |
'Fistful of Dollars' Remake in the Works ►Fresh spaghetti. A Fistful of Dollars, Sergio Leone’s classic 1964 Spaghetti Western, is set for a remake. The new take, currently in development, comes from Gianni Nunnari and Simon Horseman’s Euro Gang Entertainment and Italian production partner, Enzo Sisti and FPC S.r.l., and Rome-based Jolly Film, the film’s original producer and distributor. A Fistful of Dollars, which starred Clint Eastwood in a breakout role, was itself an unofficial remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1961 film Yojimbo. The story.
—Snapped up. Animation studio Laika has acquired the live-action movie Crumble from writer-director Brian Duffield and producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Duffield, who wrote and directed last year’s Hulu feature No One Will Save You, is set to helm the new project from his original script. Crumble focuses on a married couple who end up on a globe-trotting adventure as they pursue the cure to an ancient curse. Lord, Miller and Aditya Sood will produce the film through their Lord Miller banner alongside fellow producer Duffield. The story.
—📅 The end is nigh 📅 New Line has set a Sept. 5, 2025 release date for the untitled fourth Conjuring movie, which the studio is billing as a finale for the main set of films. Michael Chavez is directing the movie after helming 2021’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. He is a Conjuring mainstay, also known for the 2023 Conjuring spinoff, The Nun II. Screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick penned the script. The story.
—North of Eden. Ron Howard’s survival thriller Eden is set for a world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Eden stars Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney, Ana de Armas and Daniel Brühl and is based on real-life events and hails from Tetris scribe Noah Pink. The movie will play as a gala at Roy Thomson Hall. TIFF also added world premieres for Anderson .Paak’s K-Pops, Shepherds by Antigone director Sophie Deraspe, and Superboys of Malegaon by Indian director Reema Kagti, which will play as a gala from Amazon MGM Studios. The story.
—All set. The competition jury for this year’s Venice Film Festival has been finalized. American filmmaker James Gray, British director Andrew Haigh, Polish director, screenwriter, and producer Agnieszka Holland, and Brazilian director-screenwriter Kleber Mendonça Filho are the latest additions to the jury. They will join jury chair Isabelle Huppert, Mauritanian filmmkaer Abderrahmane Sissako, Italian director-screenwriter Giuseppe Tornatore, German director-screenwriter Julia von Heinz and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi. The story.
—Eclectic. The Locarno Film Festival has unveiled an eclectic lineup for its 77th edition. The Swiss fest will screen 225 total films, including 104 world premieres, five international premieres and some debut features, including new films from such directors as Hong Sang-soo, Spanish actress Paz Vega and Radu Jude. Gianluca Jodice’s Le Déluge, starring Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet, will also world premiere and open the fest, with Locarno revealing that the two French stars will receive the Excellence Award Davide Campari on the fest’s opening night. The story.
—"Tom and I just actually rewatched it about two months ago." Doug Liman and Tom Cruise haven’t shut down the idea of an Edge of Tomorrow sequel quite yet. Ten years following the release of the 2014 sci-fi action film, Liman, in a new interview, said that he and the actor “keep talking about” doing a follow-up because “we love that world.” Though an Edge of Tomorrow sequel was reportedly in development at Warner Bros. in 2019 with Matthew Robinson penning a script, a film never came to fruition. The story. |
Taylor Sheridan's 'Landman' Reveals First Look, Premiere Date ►📅 Ready to gush 📅 Paramount+'s next Taylor Sheridan series, Landman, now has some first-look photos and premiere date. The Texas-set oil rig drama, based on the podcast Boomtown, will premiere Nov. 17. The series is led by Oscar-winner Billy Bob Thornton and also stars Ali Larter, Michelle Randolph, Jacob Lofland, Kayla Wallace, James Jordan, Mark Collie, Paulina Chávez and Demi Moore. Jon Hamm will star in a recurring guest role, with Andy Garcia and Michael Peña also serving as guest stars. The story.
—🎭 A few more shifts 🎭 Ellen Pompeo will be back for more episodes of Grey's Anatomy when season 21 returns. Viewers will see her onscreen in at least seven episodes in the forthcoming season. Pompeo has starred as Dr. Meredith Grey since the Shonda Rhimes-produced ABC series launched in 2005, but has been in and out of the last two seasons. She appeared in eight episodes of season 19 and only four episodes of the 20th season, which was shortened due to 2023’s writers and actors strikes. The story.
—Heading south. Following the success of Welcome to Wrexham, FX and Disney+ Latin America have ordered a docuseries following the fortunes of Mexican soccer team Club Necaxa. The show’s executive producers include Eva Longoria — who has an ownership stake in the team — and the Welcome to Wrexham duo of Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds. Some of Necaxa’s backers purchased a 5 percent stake in Welsh club Wrexham AFC earlier this year, reciprocating a deal in which McElhenney and Reynolds got a piece of Necaxa. The story.
—📅 Dated 📅 NBC is spreading out its fall premieres, focusing on dramas and The Voice in the first couple of weeks of the 2024-25 season and holding its two comedy blocks for a little bit later. The rollout of the network’s fall schedule includes the usual Wednesday spot for the three Chicago series, all of which open on Sept. 25, and Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU — going into its record-extending 26th season — coming eight days later on Oct. 3. The two L&O shows will be joined on Thursdays by second-year drama Found now that Law & Order: Organized Crime has moved to Peacock. The story.
—Scribe found. Marvel has tapped Matthew Chauncey to pen the third season of Disney+’s wildly popular X-Men ’97 series. Chauncey, who was a writer on Marvel’s Disney+ animated series What If…?, will take over writing duties from Beau DeMayo. In March, a THR exclusive revealed that Marvel had suddenly fired DeMayo ahead of the Disney+ debut of X-Men’97, a revival and continuation of the classic ’90s cartoon X-Men: The Animated Series. The story.
—Enter the dragon. "The Red Dragon and the Gold," a pivotal episode of House of the Dragon that depicts the incredible Battle at Rook’s Rest, drew the show’s biggest first-night audience of its season so far. The episode, the fourth of season two, drew 8.1m viewers across all platforms Sunday (inclusive of the on-air HBO premiere, replays on HBO and streaming on Max). That’s a season high for the show. The ratings.
—🤝 First-look deal 🤝 Fremantle has struck a first-look drama development deal with Roughcut Television, the producer of the original British version of The Office and The IT Crowd. The agreement follows the companies’ recent team-up on Paramount+ psychological thriller series Little Disasters, starring Diane Kruger and Jo Joyner. Roughcut, founded by CEO Ash Atalla and COO Tim Sealey, is mostly known for comedy shows, such as Big Boys, Stath Lets Flats, and Cuckoo. The story. | TV Review: 'Sausage Party: Foodtopia' ►"Empty calories." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Amazon Prime Video's Sausage Party: Foodtopia. Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Edward Norton and much of the movie's cast return for eight episodes several years after Sausage Party. The review.
—"A gorgeously designed mixed bag." THR's Angie Han reviews Apple TV+'s Sunny. Rashida Jones plays an American expat in Japan who is gifted a domestic robot after losing her family in a plane crash. The review.
In other news...
—Severance S2 sets release date, unveils teaser trailer
—Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain face post-trauma feud in Mothers’ Instinct trailer
—Bubonic plague sparks wine-soaked sex romp in Netflix’s The Decameron trailer
—SpectreVision launches podcast network with shows from Mike Flanagan, David Lowery
—Sharon Stone to receive Taormina Film Fest lifetime achievement honor
—Kate Beckinsale details health struggles that led to 6-week hospital stay
—Gypsy Rose Blanchard reveals she is pregnant
—Joe Bonsall, longtime member of The Oak Ridge Boys, dies at 76
—Pat Colbert, Dora Mae on Dallas, dies at 77
—Sofía Vergara reveals inspiration behind new swimsuit line at Walmart
What else we're reading...
—After the horrifying events of the Battle of Rook's Rest in the latest episode of House of the Dragon, Ben Lindbergh reveals he is not comfortable with the idea of dragons dying [Ringer]
—Sophie Gilbert ruminates on why season three of The Bear is so hard to watch [Atlantic]
—Nicholas Barber writes that grisly serial-killer horror Longlegs is this summer's great "anti-blockbuster" [BBC]
—David Masciotra looks at the disarray at MSNBC caused by Biden's debate performance, as the stark reality of the situation has met with liberal self-delusion [Salon]
—Josephine Walker writes that amid Biden's flubs, his controversial senior adviser TJ Ducklo has become part of the story again [Daily Beast]
Today...
...in 1981, John Carpenter unveiled his R-rated dystopian thriller Escape From New York in theaters. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Sofía Vergara (52), Isabela Merced (23), Fiona Shaw (66), Alba Baptista (27), Golshifteh Farahani (41), Chiwetel Ejiofor (47), Peter Serafinowicz (52), Wyatt Russell (38), Thomas Ian Nicholas (44), Robert Pine (83), Adrian Grenier (48), John Simm (54), Marco Rodríguez (71), Mason Thames (17), Gina Bellman (58), Heather Hemmens (36), Gong Yoo (45), Gale Harold (55), Jessica Simpson (44), Aviva Baumann (40), Annie Mumolo (51), Haley Pullos (26), Janet Julian (65), Raghav Juyal (33), Alexandra Hedison (55), Jonas Bloquet (32), Charlie McDowell (41), Gwendoline Yeo (47), Jamie Glover (55), Lucy Gaskell (44), Moon Ga-young (28) |
| | Doug Sheehan, who portrayed the reporter Ben Gibson for four seasons of Knots Landing and the father of Cher Horowitz on the ABC adaptation of Clueless for two more, has died. He was 75. The obituary. |
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