| | | | | | What's news: Eva Green is joining the cast of Wednesday. Spotify is looking to raise its prices. Warner Music Group has settled a lawsuit with AI firm Suno. Hulu has renewed The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. And a trio of top film agents are leaving CAA for WME. — Abid Rahman
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'Rush Hour 4' Shocker: Paramount in Talks to Distribute ►Can we have another Bloodsport, as a treat? In a move sure to send shockwaves thought Hollywood, Paramount is closing in on a deal to distribute Rush Hour 4, which would mark the big studio return of disgraced director Brett Ratner. If a deal makes, Paramount would be distributing the sequel and would receive a distribution fee. It would not be financing the movie. The potential film, which would bring back stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, would be Ratner’s first narrative feature since being accused of sexual misconduct in 2017. Ratner got a foothold back in Hollywood earlier this year, when it was announced that he would direct a doc about Melania Trump, that was acquired by Amazon.
Donald Trump may have held the keys to Ratner’s Rush Hour reversal of fortune. The move reportedly comes after a push from the president, who has strong ties to Larry Ellison and son David Ellison, the latter who runs Skydance, Paramount’s new owner. Semafor reported Sunday that Trump personally pressed Paramount to revive Rush Hour as the Ellisons eye an acquisition of Warner Bros. The story. |
WBD Sets New Bidding Deadline ►👋 Zaz hands. 👋 It’s time to up the ante. After the first round of offers for Warner Bros. Discovery arrived, the David Zaslav-run entertainment giant has set the next deadline for the sweetened bids from suitors. That next wave of multibillion-dollar offers is expected by Dec. 1. That’s only 11 days removed from the initial offers that were submitted by Nov. 20. While the David Ellison-owned Paramount has pursued a full takeover of WBD's assets, both Brian Roberts-run Comcast and the Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos-led Netflix have submitted bids. The story.
—🤝 Landmark settlement. 🤝 Warner Music Group is settling its infringement lawsuit against AI music generation platform Suno, the companies announced Tuesday, with WMG becoming the first of the major record labels to officially partner with the company. Neither WMG nor Suno disclosed financial details of the settlement or of the new partnership beyond saying that it would be “compensating and protecting artists, songwriters, and the wider creative community.” WMG and Suno said that with the partnership, Suno will be launching “new, more advanced and licensed models” for music generation, adding that Suno’s current models will be phased out. As was the case with the Udio settlement, WMG’s Suno deal is putting new limitations on downloads for users. The story.
—🤝 Moving on. 🤝 Barry Poznick is exiting his gig as Amazon MGM Studios’ head of unscripted programming. He is not abandoning his shows, however, and Poznick will continue as EP on all of MGM’s reality franchises, including The Voice, Shark Tank, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Real Housewives of Rhode Island, The Real Housewives of Orange County, Vanderpump Rules and American Gladiators, under a new three-year first look deal. Poznick joined MGM in 2016 as its president of alternative programming. There, he oversaw 20 seasons of Survivor and led the company’s acquisitions of Evolution Media and Big Fish Entertainment. The story.
—Sounds expensive. Spotify is reportedly readying a price hike in the U.S. as soon as the first quarter of next year. The move would mark the first time Spotify has raised prices in the U.S. since 2024, when subscriptions went up by $1 to $11.99. It’s unclear how much Spotify would raise prices this time, though price raises in the past several years have been $1. Spotify previously raised its price from $9.99 to $10.99 in 2023. The news would be welcome from the music industry, as the major music companies have called for price increases on streaming services in recent years as streaming growth in the U.S. has slowed given market saturation. The story.
—Wait, what??? In Dec. 2020, Michelle Latimer’s doc Inconvenient Indian, a National Film Board of Canada adaptation of Thomas King’s book The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of the Native People in North America, was pulled from Sundance after the director came under scrutiny for falsely claiming Indigenous family roots in an Algonquin community. Now King, the American-Canadian writer of the 2013 meditation on what it means to be “Indian” in North America, has had to apologize after revealing the inconvenient truth about his own Indigenous identity: He is not, as long claimed, part Cherokee. “No Cherokee on the King side. No Cherokee on the Hunt side. No Indians anywhere to be found,” King wrote Monday in a column for The Globe and Mail. The story. |
Range Countersues CAA Over Noncompetes, Retaliation ►Getting messy. Range Media Partners has sued CAA over the agency’s use of noncompetes, a countermove to an earlier lawsuit accusing the management firm of stealing confidential information and operating as a rival organization. Range alleges CAA is maneuvering to undermine its growth by threatening to cancel equity for employees at the agency who want to work at the management start-up. It seeks a court order barring CAA from enforcing noncompetes and at least $1m for claims of unfair competition tortious interference with economic relationships. The filing is the latest salvo in a legal feud between the two companies, one that was — in CAA’s telling of events — set in motion after a set of high-profile agents allegedly defected from the agency with trade secrets to help CEO Peter Micelli run an unlicensed competitor. The story.
—More bad news. A trio of top film agents at CAA are defecting to rival WME Group. Film agents Adam Schweitzer, Matt Martin and Trevor Astbury are decamping from CAA for WME. It’s not clear why the defections are under way but this time of year sees contract negotiations occur at the majors. And sometimes those talks don’t go the way you think they should. Schweitzer, formerly co-head of the talent department at ICM, had joined CAA when it closed its deal to buy ICM for $750m in 2022. His clients include Rachel Zegler, Rebecca Ferguson, Cillian Murphy and Christoph Waltz. Martin, who reps Dean Fleischer Camp, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, has been with CAA since 2010 as a motion picture literary agent. Astbury, who has Travis Knight, Louis Leterrier, Jon Spaihts and Eric Heisserer, joined CAA in 2014 after a decade-plus at run at Paradigm. The story. |
THR's Women in Entertainment Gala Adds to Lineup ►Glitzy. THR on Tuesday announced a host of additional speakers for its annual Women in Entertainment breakfast gala. Dakota Johnson, Goldie Hawn, Rachel Sennott, Regina Hall, Chase Infiniti, and Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney join the impressive star-studded lineup for the event, presented by Lifetime, which will take place Dec. 3 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. THR previously announced that Gwyneth Paltrow is set to receive the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award and Jennifer Lopez will be honored with the Equity in Entertainment Award, presented to her by Kerry Washington, who received the Equity in Entertainment Award in 2023.
Actress, comedian and I Love LA creator Rachel Sennott is set to host the annual event, which will be attended by nearly 600 industry leaders and VIPs. As part of the program, acclaimed late-night host Jimmy Kimmel will introduce the head writer and executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Molly McNearney, to deliver the breakfast’s keynote address. Academy Award-winning actress Goldie Hawn will lead a tribute to her longtime friend Diane Keaton, who died in October. The story. |
'Stranger Things': Predicting the Duffers' Endgame ►Landing on the right side up on the Upside Down. Who will live? Who will die? Whose fate will fall somewhere in between? After nearly a decade streaming on Netflix, Stranger Things begins its endgame this week, with the Nov. 26 release of the first four episodes of its final season. For THR, Josh Wigler runs through the permutations for our final visit to Hawkins, Indiana and the horrors that lurk beneath it. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Netflix on Tuesday surprise-dropped the first trailer and an official premiere date for its hotly anticipated four-part docuseries on the rise and fall of Sean “Diddy” Combs, executive-produced by his longtime rap-world rival, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. Sean Combs: The Reckoning will debut on the streamer Dec. 2, with all four episodes dropping at once. The series offers a career-spanning look at Combs’ ascent as one of hip-hop’s most influential power brokers and his subsequent downfall amid multiple allegations of sexual coercion, assault and rape. Combs has denied involvement in any alleged crimes of which he has been accused. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Nicole Kidman has stepped into the iconic literary character of Dr. Kay Scarpetta for her next series, Scarpetta. In a first look from Prime Video at the forthcoming adaptation of Patricia Cornwell’s best-selling novels, Kidman is seen starring in the forensic crime thriller that was developed and written for television by Liz Sarnoff. Scarpetta releases March 11, 2026. The series will unfold across two timelines, the dual narrative tracking Kay Scarpetta from her beginnings as a chief medical examiner in the late ’90s to her present-day return to her hometown, where she resumes her former position while investigating a grisly murder. The story. |
Eva Green Joins S3 Cast of 'Wednesday' ►🎭 Burton favorite. 🎭 Another member of the Addams family is set to join Wednesday in its third season. Eva Green has been cast in the Netflix hit as Aunt Ophelia, Morticia Addams’ (Catherine Zeta-Jones) sister. Her casting follows through on a revelation in the season two finale that Ophelia — who’s been missing for 20 years — was in fact still alive and locked in a cell in her mother Hester’s (Joanna Lumley) basement. The character was seen only from behind in the scene and was writing “Wednesday must die” on the wall of the cell. Green is the first major addition to the show’s cast for season three. The story.
—No-brainer. Hulu has renewed The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives for a fourth season with the ladies of MomTok set to return for more expected binge-worthy drama. The glitzy reality series received an order for another 20 episodes to debut in early 2026. That follows the third season bowing on Nov. 13 as the No. 1 show on Hulu’s Top 15 Today list, the streamer reported, and viewership growing season over season. The anticipation for season four was preceded by Jennifer Affleck and Whitney Leavitt competing on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and #MomTok leader Taylor Frankie Paul, the epicenter of the cultural phenomenon, being named as ABC’s next star of The Bachelorette. The story.
—🎭 Indie darlings. 🎭 The Sex Lives of College Girls star Pauline Chalamet will be looking for a different kind of love in her next series project. Chalamet, sister of Timothée, and For All Mankind's Coral Peña star in an independently produced series called Switch. The show from creators Isabelle Platt and Sofya Levitsky-Weitz has wrapped production in Los Angeles and will be shopped to potential buyers in the near future. Switch will follow “two women who embark on a journey to find a man to have a threesome with —raising the question: Can a relationship survive our deepest desires?,” per the show’s logline. The cast also includes Alex Hernandez and Nikki Snipper. The story.
—Scribe found. Sisters With Transistors writer Sophia Al-Maria has boarded TV series The Many Lives of Miss K from Finite Films & TV and Shoni Productions. The series is an adaptation of a biography written by Jean-Noël Liaut and will “depict the remarkable life of iconic fashion model and WWII secret agent, Toto Koopman.” Expanding its scripted TV slate, Finite Films & TV said it will work with Al-Maria to develop the series about Dutch woman Koopman’s “extraordinary and trail-blazing life.” The story. |
Popcorn Palooza: AMC Theatres Offers Half-Off Yearly Concession Pass ►Going on the offensive. AMC Theaters is launching its most aggressive concessions discount pass to date that will provide members of its Stubs loyalty program a 50 percent discount on a large popcorn every day of the week. The pass, costing $29.99 a year before taxes, also includes the existing Stubs perk of one free refill per day. The AMC Popcorn Pass is launching on Cyber Monday, Dec. 1, as the year-end box office heats up with Thanksgiving releases Wicked: For Good and Zootopia 2, followed by a Five Night’s at Freddy’s, the new SpongeBob movie and Christmas tentpole Avatar: Fire and Ash. The story.
—🎭 Boxing clever. 🎭 Andre Holland and Wendell Pierce are stepping into the ring for the true-life boxing movie They Fight. The feature is based on the 2018 doc of the same name that told the story of a down-and-out fighter who becomes involved with one of the country’s top youth boxing programs. Holland plays boxing savant Walt Manigan, a reformed ex-convict who returns home to rebuild his family with the love of his life, Ketta (Samira Wiley). His path leads him to a boxing gym inside a D.C. youth recreation center that is about to be closed. There, he works under the wise coach Slim (Pierce) to mentor a group of boys to train for the junior national boxing tournament. The story.
—🎭 Leads found. 🎭 Madelaine Petsch and Gavin Casalegno will star in the upcoming young adult romance Chasing Red, based on the Wattpad webnovel by Isabelle Ronin. Mackenzie Munro will direct from a screenplay by Lauren Schacher, with Greg Silverman and Grant Torre of Stampede Ventures producing together with David Madden and Jason Goldberg of Webtoon Productions. Petsch will play Veronica, a straight-A student determined not to fall for college heartthrob Caleb (Casalegno) and become his next conquest, even after a chance encounter sparks an undeniable attraction between the two of them. The story. |
'Queen of Versailles' to Close on Broadway After 3 Months ►📅 Reign-check. 📅 The Queen of Versailles, starring Kristin Chenoweth, is cutting its Broadway run short. The new musical, which featured a score by Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz, is ending its run Jan. 4, after opening at the St. James Theatre Oct. 8. The show is based on the 2012 documentary about Jackie and David Siegel, who attempt to build a replica of the Palace of Versailles in Florida, until they’re hit by the 2008 financial crisis. It received mostly mixed to negative reviews. The musical had been bringing in just above $1m a week in the preceding weeks with capacity just above 90 percent, which would be healthy for a show but not with the high running costs of large musicals. The story.
—As you were. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is staying atop the Broadway box office charts, as Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the films, continues his run in the play. Cursed Child brought in $2.97m last week, the highest gross the play has brought in since opening at the Lyric Theatre in 2018, as the average ticket price increased $1 from last week to $229. The theater played to 100 percent capacity. This is a major turnaround for the play, which has seen flagging grosses in recent months. The play was the second highest earner in the industry last week, behind Hamilton, which brought in $3.7m, with original cast member Leslie Odom Jr. still continuing his run. Wicked was the third highest grossing, bringing in $2.5m ahead of the release of the film adaptation Wicked: For Good. The Broadway box office report.
—📅 ICYMI. 📅 Jonathan Groff‘s time as Bobby Darin is coming to a close. Groff is set for his final performance of Just in Time on March 29, 2026. In the Broadway show, which began previews March 31, 2025, Groff portrays the legendary singer-actor throughout his life and rise to fame at the Circle in the Square Theatre that’s transformed into a 1950s and ’60s-style nightclub. However, even though Groff’s run will be over in March, the jukebox musical isn’t, as Groff’s replacement will be announced at a later date. The story. |
Film Review: 'Zootopia 2' ►"Worth the wait." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Jared Bush and Byron Howard's Zootopia 2. The long-awaited follow-up to the 2016 Oscar-winning animated hit about a rabbit-fox police partnership features Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Quinta Brunson and Ke Huy Quan in a sprawling voice cast. Also featuring Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Shakira, Patrick Warburton, Nate Torrence, Alan Tudyk, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake and Jean Reno. Written by Jared Bush. The review.
In other news...
—Jackson Hole Film Festival adds Song Sung Blue as closing film
—CORE Livestream Benefit Concert: Arcade Fire’s Win Butler and Régine Chassagne to perform
—On shoes are up to half off for Black Friday
—Hulu Black Friday deals
—YouTuber Airrack signs with CAA
—Michael DeLano, actor in Rhoda, Commando and Ocean’s Eleven, dies at 84
What else we're reading...
—Jonathan Abrams reflects on the career of the late Jimmy Cliff, and writes that his 1972 film The Harder They Come and its accompanying soundtrack changed reggae forever [NYT]
—Harry Sekulich reports that fame can take as many years off a musician's life, according to a new study [BBC]
—After the release of Gemini 3, Mark Bergen and Newley Purnell write that Google has taken a huge leap ahead in the AI race [Bloomberg]
—Disturbing story from Kashmir Hill and Jennifer Valentino-DeVries about what OpenAI did when ChatGPT users lost touch with reality [NYT]
—Jeremy Barr reports that Fox Corp. chief told Sean Hannity that Trump could not go on air in 2020 if he attacked network [Guardian]
Today...
...in 1942, Michael Curtiz's classic Casablanca made its world premiere at the Hollywood Theatre in New York City. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Rita Ora (35), Peter Facinelli (52), Garcelle Beauvais (59), Arturo Castro (40), Leslye Headland (45), Mark L. Lester (79), Jessica Camacho (43), Daniel Davis (80), Thea Sofie Loch Næss (29), Don Lake (69), Kristin Bauer (59), Trevor Morgan (39), Tamsin Egerton (37), Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (37), Ryan Robbins (53), Adam J. Harrington (53), Lia Williams (61), Asha Banks (22), Arjun Rampal (53), Scott Adsit (60), Aidan McArdle (55), Jamie Rose (66), Mallory Bechtel (26), Ike Amadi (46), Ilona Staller (74), Sara Mitich (35), Ryan Toby (49), Aubrey Joseph (28), Jessica Bowman (45), Martyna Byczkowska (30), Park Ji-hyun (31), Katrina Lenk (51), Susanne Zenor (78) |
| Jonathan Farwell, who appeared on soap operas, on Broadway and on regional stages for six decades but never got a chance to go on for Yul Brynner in The King and I despite serving as his understudy for hundreds of shows, has died. He was 93. The obituary. |
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