| | | | | | What's news: David Ellison is taking his case directly to WBD shareholders. Sundance has revealed its final Park City lineup. YouTube TV is planning a major overhaul next year. And Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson will appear in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. — Abid Rahman
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Disney to Invest $1B in OpenAI ►Bubble latest. In what may prove to be a milestone move for major Hollywood studios, Disney has decided to partner with OpenAI and invest $1b in the Sam Altman-run AI juggernaut as well as ink a licensing deal that would allow users of its AI video creation platform Sora to create clips using iconic characters from Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars franchises. Disney CEO Bob Iger said: "Bringing together Disney’s iconic stories and characters with OpenAI’s groundbreaking technology puts imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we’ve never seen before, giving them richer and more personal ways to connect with the Disney characters and stories they love." The story.
—"I think it’s imperative that CNN be sold." THR's Gary Baum looks at how Donald Trump has positioned himself as the kingmaker in any prospective deal by either Netflix or Paramount for Warner Bros. Discovery. Gary writes that the business players involved in this saga presume that the regulatory state is likely a sideshow, the question is, will Hollywood let Trump get his way on issues like CNN? The story.
—Change of tactics. David Ellison is taking his case directly to WBD shareholders, as David Zaslav doesn’t seem to be listening any longer. On Wednesday, Ellison sent a lengthy letter to WBD stockholders stating the case for why his Paramount Skydance would be the best buyer, not Netflix. His call to action was for investors to “tender their shares today” — basically, Ellison wants them to write a letter of transmittal stating their shares are up for sale to Paramount. The story.
—Genre bundles. YouTube TV is planning a major overhaul next year, launching a slew of genre-specific programming bundles called “YouTube TV Plans,” that executives say will offer lower prices and a more refined experience for users of the pay-TV product. At a dinner in New York Tuesday evening, YouTube VP of global media and sports Justin Connolly framed the new offerings as “the next phase of YouTube TV,” and a major push into the world of sports specifically. The story.
—✊ Vote unionize. ✊ The production assistants unionization movement has reached Willard R. Abbott Elementary School. PAs on the ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary voted in favor of unionizing, with Production Assistants United on Tuesday. Eight eligible PAs participated in a National Labor Relations Board election, with all voting to join the union. The story. |
Sony Greenlights '28 Years Later III,' Cillian Murphy in Talks to Return ►YESSSSSS!!!!! Zombie dreams are coming true for Danny Boyle, with Sony moving forward with a third installment of the 28 Years Later franchise. Cillian Murphy is in talks to return to star after kicking off the franchise more than 20 years ago with 28 Days Later. Scribe Alex Garland is working on the script after penning the previous installments (save for 28 Weeks Later). Boyle has previously stated he will direct the third, should it get made. The first 28 Years Later was released in January and grossed $151.3m, a respectable sum, but not one that made a third installment a foregone conclusion. The Nia DaCosta directed 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple arrives in theaters on Jan. 16. The story.
—🎭 Blast from the past, part II. 🎭 In more beloved-characters-returning-to-iconic-franchises news, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are returning to The Hunger Games. The two stars will appear in the forthcoming prequel movie The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Lawrence will reprise her role as Katniss Everdeen, while Hutcherson will return as Peeta Mellark, with the pair likely appearing in a flash-forward. No details have been disclosed. Lionsgate releases the new feature in theaters Nov. 20, 2026. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Tribeca Films has acquired the Star Trek documentary Beam Me Up, Sulu. The distribution label from Tribeca Enterprises and Giant Pictures will release the film, featuring George Takei and others, digitally on Feb. 17. The feature from directors Timour Gregory and Sasha Schneider unearths a lost 1985 student film made with Takei, revealing fan history and sharing a larger story of representation, resilience and the battle for inclusion in media and society. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 The future of AI is set to be examined in a new documentary feature from the Oscar-winning filmmakers behind Everything Everywhere All at Once and Navalny. Focus Features is set to release The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist in theaters March 27, 2026. Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell co-directed the film that is set to premiere in January at Sundance. The story.
—ICYMI. The stage is nearly set for Sundance’s final bow in Park City, Utah. Sundance Institute revealed on Wednesday the 90 feature films and seven episodic projects picked to hit big screens on what will be a milestone Sundance Film Festival next January, the last edition before it moves to its new home in Boulder, Colorado, for 2027 and beyond. Festival officials have once again filled the schedule with Oscar winners, veterans, first-time auteurs and bold-faced names like Charli XCX, Channing Tatum, Antoine Fuqua, Courtney Love, Salman Rushdie, Ethan Hawke, Olivia Wilde, Billie Jean King, Brittney Griner, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Natalie Portman, Jon Hamm and more. The lineup. |
Johnny Depp to Produce 'Master and Margarita' ►Comeback continues. Johnny Depp is set to produce the first English-language feature adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s Russian literary masterpiece The Master and Margarita. The news was announced at Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Depp appeared at the festival to promote the project that is backed by his production company IN.2 Film. No director is attached to the project and no casting details were revealed, though the film is set to go into production in late 2026. The story.
—A potential snag. Russian American director Michael Lockshin heard along with the rest of the world that Depp was producing a Master and Margarita feature on Wednesday. But Lockshin knows well Depp’s co-producers on the project, Svetlana Migunova-Dali and Grace Loh, because he’s locked in an ongoing legal battle with them via his sales company, Luminosity Pictures. Lockshin told THR Migunova-Dali and Loh have been trying to block a U.S. release of his own Russian-language adaptation of Bulgakov’s novel produced by Len Blavatnik. The story. |
'Beauty in Black' Set for Third and Final Season at Netflix ►Epic conclusion incoming. The Tyler Perry-created drama Beauty in Black is getting a third and final season. Netflix on Thursday announced that Kimmie’s journey with the backstabbing beauty brand Bellarie family will reach an epic conclusion ahead of the second season’s Part 2 release March 19, 2026 on the streamer. Beauty in Black centers on Kimmie (Polidore Williams), a stripper who becomes entangled in the world of a family that runs a cosmetics empire — and a trafficking scheme. The story.
—The Antichrist is here. South Park returned for the final episode of its 28th season Wednesday night, closing out a back-to-back two-season run that brought the show’s Donald Trump character plot thread to a conclusion that was both satisfying and a total crap out. The episode, titled “The Crap Out,” begins with Stan Marsh seeking a kind ear from Jesus, his school guidance counselor, after the past few months saw ICE raids across town, his family’s loss of the marijuana farm and then their home. The recap. |
The Legal Woes of the 'Real Housewives' ►From DUIs to a nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme, and everything inbetween. Sometimes, the wildest storylines on the Real Housewives take place when the cameras are down. Reality television stars are no strangers to legal woes, and the long-running Bravo franchise has seen its fair share of unlawful scandals. THR's McKinley Franklin runs through all the travails of the Housewives and some of them are spectacular. The story.
—About those legal woes. Former Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah has been released from prison. THR confirmed that Shah was transferred from the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, on Wednesday to a community confinement program overseen by the Bureau of Prisons' Phoenix Residential Reentry Management Office. Nelson confirmed Shah’s new projected release date is Aug. 30, 2026. In total, she served almost three years of her initial six-and-a-half-year sentence. The story. |
Film Review: 'Ella McCay' ►"Stale sitcom fodder." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews James L. Brooks' Ella McCay. An all-star ensemble stars in this portrait of a young woman whose family and professional lives lurch between trauma and hope. Starring Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Lowden, Kumail Nanjiani, Ayo Edebiri, Albert Brooks, Woody Harrelson, Spike Fearn, Rebecca Hall, Julie Kavner, Becky Ann Baker and Joey Brooks. Written by James L. Brooks. The review.
—"Intriguing build-up, flat follow-through." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews Paramount+'s Little Disasters. Based on the book by Sarah Vaughan, this six-part limited series focuses on four couples whose relationships are complicated by the hospitalization of one of their kids. Starring Diane Kruger, Jo Joyner, Shelley Conn, Emily Taaffe and JJ Field. Adapted by Ruth Fowler and Amanda Duke. The review.
In other news...
—Idris Elba just cannot find a safe mode of transportation in Hijack S2 trailer
—Film4 names Mubi exec Cate Kane senior commissioning exec
—Assistants vs. Agents founder Warner Bailey signs with UTA
—Celebrity photographer Markus Klinko signs with CAA
What else we're reading...
—Christine Chung reports that the U.S. plans to scrutinize five years’ worth of social media of foreign tourists before entry, including people from countries like the U.K. and France [NYT]
—Louise Radnofsky and Kara Dapena have a visual representation of Trump's record-breaking pardon spree [WSJ]
—Steve Rose talks to Hasan Piker about how he became one of the biggest voices on the American left [Guardian]
—Yuna Ku and Koh Ewe report on the string of recent celebrity scandals in South Korea that is reviving the debate about cancel culture in the country [BBC]
—Allie Jones runs through the top 5 most divorced guys of 2025, in order [The Cut]
Today...
...in 1987, Warner Bros. unveiled Steven Spielberg’s 152-minute World War II-era drama Empire of the Sun in theaters. The film went on to earn six nominations at the 60th Academy Awards ceremony. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Rita Moreno (94), Hailee Steinfeld (29), Gabriel Basso (31), Yasiin Bey (52), Mo'Nique (58), Max Martini (56), Rider Strong (46), Gary Dourdan (59), Colleen Hoover (46), Karla Souza (40), Tom Shadyac (67), Alexa Demie (35), Courtney Henggeler (47), Ben Browder (63), Donna Mills (85), Chris Wagganer (60), Nesta Cooper (32), Alex Russell (38), Ashley Hinshaw (37), Bess Armstrong (72), Moe Dunford (38), Liam Hughes (20), Taylor Hickson (28), Isabella Hofmann (67), Susan Blanchard (77), Jack Griffo (29), Tiffany Alvord (33), Tim Mielants (46), Dawn Steele (50), Marco Calvani (45), Dola Rashad (39), Peter Kelamis (58), Xosha Roquemore (41), Neil Ashton (56) |
| Jeff Garcia, the stand-up comedian who provided the voice for the teenager Sheen Estevez on The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and the spinoff Planet Sheen, has died. He was 50. The obituary. |
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