| | | | | | From Telluride to Venice to Toronto, Oscars narratives are forming as whispers kick in to a higher gear. For The Weekender, here's THR's must-reads, including a deep-dive on the plight of the PA, unraveling a fatal ponzi scheme and a stark look at studio market share. — Erik Hayden
+ Ticker: Kenya Barris' Altadena uproar; Dario Amodei settles; Jack White's sale; Kai Gayoso's new unit; Damon Dash's Chapter 7; Fede Alvarez steps back.
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Toronto In Full SwingExtra, extra: Hot off the press is the 44-page THR daily newspaper for Sept. 6 with the latest scoops, deals, reviews, updates around town, exclusive portraits from our studio and a screening guide. See all 36 portraits from THR's TIFF studio here.
+ A snapshot of Scott Feinberg's views on the awards narratives: Sydney Sweeney joins the best actress Oscar race for Christy, Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons are likely headed back to the Oscars for Bugonia; Hamnet, Sentimental Value join Sinners atop the list of frontrunners.
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The TIFF Hot ListBefore the curtain rises on the Toronto Film Festival's official market next year, this year’s lineup of hot projects includes prestige thrillers, A-list dramas and a dead body or two. Projects include titles with Angelina Jolie, Steven Soderbergh, Chris Evans and more. The full list. |
A Dead End Job?Production assistants have long endured brutal hours, low salaries and abuse in the hope of moving up the food chain. But contracting budgets and blatant nepotism have turned a job that was supposed to be a doorway into a holding cell. Now they’re finally pushing back. Katie Kilkenny spoke with about two dozen working PAs throughout the U.S. for this feature. |
A Fatal Ponzi Scheme William Santor charmed the movie world and turned the Cayman Islands into his own filmmaking paradise — one built on an allegedly massive fraud. As his scam unraveled, investors lost millions, but it was the conman who paid the ultimate price. Gary Baum has the investigative report.
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Winging ItAfter near-cancellation and a blown-up directorial debut, Aziz Ansari reveals how he convinced two of his A-list friends to star in a new angel-themed comedy that breaks every Hollywood commandment. The cover story.
Behind the cover: Seth Abramovitch writes in — "This story was particularly fun to report, from Seth Rogen challenging me to a ‘Seth-off’ before recreating The Studio mid-interview to Keanu Reeves sharing details about rehearsals for Broadway’s Waiting for Godot with Alex Winter (there will be winks to Bill & Ted). But the moment that will stay with me was a quiet one, when Aziz grew emotional thinking about the sudden, tragic loss of Harris Wittels, who was supposed to play his best friend on Master of None . Ansari is a sensitive soul and that informs every frame of his new film, which in addition to being very funny I found to be unexpectedly moving. I hope it finds an audience.”
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Ovitz on Armani Michael Ovitz says only one obstacle prevented him from becoming close friends with Giorgio Armani, the legendary Italian fashion designer who died at his home in Milan on Thursday: “He didn’t speak English, and I don’t speak Italian, so there always had to be an interpreter between us,” explains Ovitz, the co-founder and former chairman of CAA. “I couldn’t just pick up the phone and call him. But I do feel like I got to know him. He was a great designer and an even greater person.” His tribute.
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Jodie Foster En FrançaisFrom The Accused to The Silence of the Lambs, Jodie Foster built her career on strength, intelligence and control. Now, with Rebecca Zlotowski’s A Private Life, the two-time Oscar winner is stepping into new territory. Speaking onscreen in French for the first time in a leading role, she uncovers a different side of herself — fragile, funny and unexpectedly vulnerable. The profile.
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TV’s Latest It Brit After skyrocketing to global fame as Alicent Hightower in HBO's House of the Dragon, Olivia Cooke is about to break out big in Robin Wright’s new six-part thriller The Girlfriend for Amazon. Lily Ford's digital cover story.
Meanwhile, the chart that distribution execs are poring over... |
Studio Market ShareDisney maintains its lead in summer box office market share but the toast of the town was Warner Bros., which came in a close second thanks to standout hits including Weapons, Superman and Apple’s record-smashing F1: The Movie. A full wrap and detail from Pamela McClintock in the report + Many more charts here. |
Yes, They Did Say That ... “That’s karma. What goes around comes around.” — John Malone, on tech giants now being forced to spend billions defensively on AI in order to keep up with their rivals trying to disrupt them.
“The technology is getting closer to prompting entire films with AI." — Showrunner CEO Edward Saatchi, on using AI to "reconstruct" 43 missing minutes in an Orson Welles movie.
“Batman, screencap from The Dark Knight" — an image prompt from Warner Bros.' lawsuit against AI company Midjourney, showing how the tech giant's outputs infringe on its IP.
"I’ve never seen that happen on Zoom." — David Ellison, on his formative workplace moments, in a memo outlining Paramount's five-days-a-week in-office policy.
"In hindsight you think maybe it could’ve been theatrical." — Sony Pictures CEO Ravi Ahuja on whether he should've sent Kpop Demon Hunters to theaters instead of Netflix.
“Our brand campaign endures.” — American Eagle CMO Craig Brommers, taking a victory lap after a Sydney Sweeney pact led to a surge in sales and lifted its stock price. |
7 Days of DEALSBen Stiller and Jeremy Allen White are circling an adaptation of The Lost Airman for A24 ... Rocketman's Dexter Fletcher will direct The League of Gentlemen reimagining for Paramount ... Sam Raimi and Roy Lee are teaming with Lionsgate for a remake of 1978 feature Magic ... Will and Jada Pinkett Smith 's Westbrook banner inked a first-look deal at Paramount ... Mark Rylance has joined the sprawling cast of Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial ... Tiffany Haddish and Isla Fisher will star in action-comedy Double Crossed, being shopped at TIFF ... Kurt Russell is saddling up for Yellowstone series, The Madison ... John C. McGinley and Judy Reyes joined the Scrubs reboot at ABC... Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson, Jeremy Culhane, Veronika Slowikowska and Tommy Brennan will join season 51 of SNL.
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Events of the Week Disney Ent. co-chairman Alan Bergman and CEO Bob Iger joined Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail at the Hamilton event in New York ... Aisling Franciosi, Dylan O’Brien, and Chris Perfetti brought Twinless to L.A. ... Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor attended the New York premiere of The History of Sound ... Tom Pelphrey and Mark Ruffalo debuted HBO series Task in NYC on Thursday ... Director Andrew Renzi, Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards walked the carpet at the L.A. premiere of Netflix doc aka Charlie Sheen on Thursday ... Dan Reynolds and Minka Kelly had a date night at Cinespia’s screening of The Princess Bride at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. See all 36 photos.
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The Bottom LineSnapshots from THR's team of critics: Michael Chaves' The Conjuring: Last Rites shows "a franchise suffering from fatigue" ... Simon Curtis' Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is "an elegant farewell" ... In Colin Hanks’ doc portrait John Candy: I Like Me, "the affection is infectious" ... Sofia Coppola’s Marc Jacobs doc Marc by Sofia is "super-stylish and lighter than air" ... Greg Daniels' Peacock spinoff The Paper "beats the first runs of NBC's The Office and Parks and Rec" ... Kathryn Bigelow's Netflix thriller A House of Dynamite "leaves you breathless" ... Sterlin Harjo and Ethan Hawke's FX noir comedy The Lowdown is "a delightful rush of linked elements." |
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