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What's news: Films from Paweł Pawlikowski, Hirokazu Koreeda, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Asghar Farhadi and Pedro Almodóvar have made the Cannes competition lineup. Paramount is launching book imprint Paramount Global Publishing. National Enquirer has inked a deal to create vertical series from its story archive. Peter Dinklage is joining the S2 cast of Alien: Earth. Fremantle has revealed is first native AI TV production. And an IShowSpeed anime series is in the works. — Abid Rahman
Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at tips@thr.com. |
Jeff Shell Exiting as President of Paramount►Shellacked. Less than a year into the job, and with a mega merger looming, Paramount president Jeff Shell is exiting the company. The executive is set to leave the company imminently, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. In a statement, Paramount’s board of directors said that Shell is stepping down as president of the company and from the board “to focus on this lawsuit” brought by high-stakes gambler RJ Cipriani, the man who made claims against him. Shell had been facing an internal investigation after the notorious gambler and whistleblower alleged that he disclosed non-public information about the company. The story.
—"Don’t you mess around with me." After the Shell news, THR's Gary Baum spoke to R.J. Cipriani. The notorious provocateur, who may have been the proximate cause for Shell's undoing, goes on the offensive: "I’m sure if there were a time machine, Jeff would like to give me three shows and a five-picture deal. But it’s too late now." The story.
—IP play. Paramount is getting back into the business of books, nearly three years after previous ownership sold Simon & Schuster for more than $1.6b. The entertainment company says that it will launch Paramount Global Publishing this year, a new imprint that will both leverage Paramount’s library of characters, stories and intellectual property, and support the development of new original stories that could potentially be adapted for the screen. The story. |
WGA Reveals Details of 4-Year Deal►✊ Health plan infusion, higher residuals. ✊ The Writers Guild of America on Wednesday disclosed the details of the surprise four-year deal leaders reached with studios and streamers the previous weekend, revealing that the tentative contract contains a $321m infusion into the union’s ailing health plan, higher foreign and domestic residuals and language covering licensing of work for AI training. The deal also raises minimum payments by 10.5 percent over the course of four years, sweetens the union’s streaming success bonus and increases second-step payments for screenwriters. The story.
—Stepping up. A coalition of filmmakers are uniting to “champion the future of cinema worldwide.” Cinema United confirmed today the formation of a Filmmaker Leadership Council that will provide “meaningful support” for theatrical exhibition. It will be led by blockbuster veteran Jerry Bruckheimer and Oscar winning producer Emma Thomas as chair and vice chair respectively. Rounding out the council will be Oscar winners Ryan Coogler and Brad Bird, and Oscar nominees Jason Reitman and Celine Song. Per the organization, the council will work with Cinema United to “provide vital feedback and recommendations on the most pressing issues facing theatrical exhibition today,” such as consolidation, windows, promotion, marketing, innovation and technology. The story.
—🤝 IP deal. 🤝 THR's Katie Kilkenny has the scoop that microdrama streaming app GammaTime and MediaCo, the current owner of the long-running tabloid National Enquirer, have inked a production deal to adapt stories from the Enquirer archives as vertical series. The partnership kicked off on Wednesday with the release of National Enquirer Presents: The Drew Peterson Story , a true-crime series about the infamous Illinois police sergeant-turned-convicted murderer, on the GammaTime app. The story.
—Always Making Changes. AMC Networks is changing its name to AMC Global Media. The name change is effective Wednesday, with the company filing new articles of incorporation in Nevada to reflect the new brand. AMC Networks is rebranding itself to distinguish itself in an environment where TV networks are becoming less and less important to the strategic priorities of their parent companies. AMC, in particular, has put more focus on its streaming platforms AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, ALLBLK, HIDIVE and All Reality, as well as its AMC Studios business. The story.
—Sentenced. The North Hollywood drug linchpin who pleaded guilty to selling the ketamine that killed Matthew Perry was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 years in prison. With the sentencing, Jasveen Sangha became the third defendant of the five people who’ve pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s death to be issued time in prison. She’s the only one whose plea deal included an explicit acknowledgment of causing the overdose. The story. |
Cannes 2026 Lineup Revealed►C'est ici! The 2026 Cannes Film Festival lineup is taking shape. In Paris on Thursday morning, artistic director Thierry Frémaux, with president Iris Knobloch by his side, unveiled the official selection, the popular Un Certain Regard sidebar and other parts of the program for the 79th edition of the world’s biggest film festival. The main competition includes films from auteurs Paweł Pawlikowski, László Nemes, Cristian Mungiu, Hirokazu Koreeda, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Asghar Farhadi and Pedro Almodóvar. Just five of the competition films unveiled are from female directors. The lineup.
—"When the studios are less present in Cannes, they are less present full stop." Cannes 2026 lineup has some prominent Hollywood acting talent — such as Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve for Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord, Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder for Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, and Cara Delevingne for Jordan Firstman‘s Club Kid — but they’re going with the likes of indie outfits Neon, Mubi, and UTA behind them. But one question screams from this year's lineup: Where are the Hollywood studios? The analysis. |
'Price Is Right' Models Battle Against Bob Barker Getting Movie Treatment►Barker’s Beauties bite back. THR's Borys "Le Scoopeur" Kit has the scoop that the story of The Price is Right models and their fight to stand up to Bob Barker, the show’s famous host, is getting the screen treatment. The Gotham Group, the management and production company run by founder Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, has optioned the film and television rights to “The Unsung Warriors of The Price is Right,” an investigative article written by award-winning journalist David Kushner and published in Business Insider in September 2024. The story.
—🎭 Routh and ruff. 🎭 Le Scoopeur is back with another scoop, this time with news that Brandon Routh has joined the cast of indie family drama Ethan Almighty – Ethan’s Law. Sean Patrick Flanery, Selma Blair, and Trevor Donovan are already on the roll call for the feature that is due to begin in Kentucky starting late April. Tané McClure is directing the project that tells the true story of Ethan, a dog who was left to die under a pile of blankets and was nursed back to life by Jeff Callaway and by vets at the Kentucky Humane Society. Callaway bonded with the canine and eventually adopted him. The story.
—🎭 No-brainer. 🎭 Chris Hemsworth and Idris Elba will return for the latest installment in Netflix‘s Extraction franchise. The streamer announced Wednesday that the third movie in the action series is officially moving forward, with Sam Hargrave, who helmed the first two films, returning to direct the latest sequel. Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani also returns for the project that has a script from David Weil. Plot details for Extraction 3 have not yet been revealed. Elba joined the franchise with a cameo in Extraction 2, which premiered in 2023. The story.
—Nooooooooooo!!!!! Steven Soderbergh is planning to utilize artificial intelligence for a movie he has in the works with Wagner Moura. In a new interview with Filmmaker Magazine, the Black Bag director said he was “trying to get a movie made about the Spanish-American War.” The interviewer replied by asking, “With ships and everything? For which you would use…” Soderbergh responded, “A lot of AI.” The story.
—🎭 Star vehicle. 🎭 Cameron Diaz is heading to camp with a planned sequel to Troop Beverly Hills. Clea DuVall is set to write and direct the feature that is in the works at TriStar Pictures and serves as the follow-up to the original 1989 comedy that starred Shelley Long. Diaz is developing the project as a possible star vehicle. Plot details are currently under wraps. Laurence Mark serves as a producer alongside Diaz and the star’s business partner, Katherine Power. The story. |
Why Spring TV Has Us Seeing Stars►"One of the oddest maladies of our current TV era has been a desensitization to Nicole Kidman." The television industry is making room for big-name actors to appear in multiple shows at the same time — a shift that’s simultaneously depressing and exciting, writes THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg. The critic's notebook.
—🎭 Filling out. 🎭 As Bridgerton rolls into its fifth season, the show continues to add to its cast. Tega Alexander, Jacqueline Boatswain and Gemma Knight Jones are joining the Netflix series for the coming season. Season five will focus on the romance between the Bridgertons’ middle daughter Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and her late husband’s cousin Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza). The story.
—🎭 Touch of class. 🎭 FX’s Alien: Earth is adding a multiple Emmy winner Peter Dinklage to its cast for season two. Details on Dinklage’s role are under wraps for the moment. Production on season two is scheduled to begin in May in London. Along with lead Sydney Chandler, the season one cast of Alien: Earth featured Alex Lawther, Timothy Olyphant, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, David Rysdahl, Adrian Edmondson, Adarsh Gourav, Jonathan Ajayi, Erana James, Lily Newmark, Diem Camille and Moe Bar-El. The story.
—🎭 Everybody wants this. 🎭 Netflix has added to the season three cast for Nobody Wants This with nine new recurring roles. Along with series creator Erin Foster set to play Nicole, a terminally single and chaotic mess, there’s also recurring roles for Sarah Silverman as Rabbi Eden, who teaches an intro to Judaism course; Andrew Rannells as Sebastien, Joanne’s nemesis in her conversion class; and Keyla Monterroso Mejia as Amber, a single woman obsessed with finding a Jewish husband. Alongside returning series regulars Kristen Bell, Adam Brody, Justine Lupe, Timothy Simons and Jackie Tohn, there’s also guest roles for Avan Jogia as Travis; Poorna Jagannathan to play Eleanor; Sadie Sandler as Denise; Stephanie Koenig as Poppy; and Steven Weber as Julian, a funny and secure divorced dad. The story. |
Fremantle Unveils First Native AI Project►*Scream face!* THR's Scott Roxborough has the scoop that indie production giant Fremantle's first native AI TV production will be Art Awakens . Hailing from Fremantle's AI hub Imaginae Studios, The short-form educational TV series uses generative AI to take viewers into the inner worlds of history’s most iconic paintings. Over six episodes, the series literally dives into the some of the best-known masterpieces of the past five centuries, from Jan van Eyck’s The Arnolfini Portrait to Whistler’s Mother from James McNeill Whistler; from Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night to Hokusai’s The Great Wave; and The Scream by Edvard Munch to Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks. The story.
—Chat, is this real? Former Paramount co-CEO Brian Robbins has lined up his first original project at Big Shot Pictures. The nascent studio is developing an anime series based on the popular YouTube creator and streamer IShowSpeed. One Piece showrunner Matt Owens will create and write the series, which will star an animated version of the creator (whose real name is Darren Jason Watkins Jr). The company will be taking the package to market in the coming months. The project will sit at the intersection of the creator economy, family-friendly programming and the red-hot anime genre, which numerous studios are exploring. Speed is known primarily for his sports, sports-adjacent and gaming content. The story.
—Woof! A pair of powerhouse matchups in the NCAA basketball championships resulted in big audiences for the men’s and women’s finals. Both games showed year-to-year ratings gains — which is particularly notable for the men’s side, as Monday’s final aired on TNT Sports rather than CBS; the broadcast network’s years with the title game typically bring in larger audiences. Michigan’s 69-63 win over Connecticut Monday night averaged 18.3m viewers on TBS, TNT and TruTV, up a little from the 18.1m who watched the 2025 title game on CBS. Monday’s telecast improved by about 23 percent over the last time TNT Sports carried the championship in 2024 and was the most watched men’s title game since 2019. The ratings. |
Donna Karan Emerges With a Play About Halston►"He paved the way for what was to come." For the better part of two decades, Donna Karan has been living quietly in the Hamptons mostly keeping to herself since selling her namesake brand in 2001. This summer, she’s back. For THR, Merle Ginsberg reports that Karan is exec producing Mister Halston, a new play about her old pal Halston, the swashbuckling Studio 54 habitué whose spectacular rise and even more spectacular fall is getting the stage treatment for the first time. Written by Raffaele Pacitti and directed by Michael Wilson, Mister Halston is set in the decadent decades of ’70s and ’80s New York. The story.
—Good times ahead. Industry grosses are rising as Proof, Schmigadoon and more began previews last week. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has been at the top of the grosses chart for weeks, thanks to the casting of Tom Felton, who starred in the film series, and will continue in the role through Nov. 1. The Lion King took the top grossing spot last week, hitting $2.82m but across nine shows, followed by Cursed Child with $2.8m, which played the typical eight, Hamilton with $2.6m, Wicked with $2.1m and Aladdin with $1.8m. The Broadway box office report.
—🎭 Péi Chúnhuá heads to New York. 🎭 Rosamund Pike will make her Broadway debut this fall in Suzie Miller’s Inter Alia. The play is currently running in the West End and is set to come to Broadway’s Music Box Theatre starting Nov. 10, ahead of a Dec. 1 opening. The one-woman legal drama follows Jessica Parks, a London Crown Court Judge “who is determined to change a system she knows isn’t always just.” The play was created by BAFTA-Award-winning director Justin Martin and Olivier Award-winning writer Miller, who previously collaborated on the legal drama Prima Facie, which ran in the West End and Broadway starring Jodie Comer. The story.
—🎭 Fox trots in. 🎭 Slow Horses star Freddie Fox will make his musical theater debut as the charismatic and unpredictable Mike Connor in the West End production of High Society. From the producers of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes and Kiss Me Kate, the run at the Barbican Theatre opens on May 19 for a limited eight-week season, followed by a major 20-week U.K. and Ireland tour. Starring alongside Fox, are Helen George and Felicity Kendal. They’ll be joined by Julian Ovenden as the suave, sophisticated Dexter Haven, Carly Mercedes Dyer as the sharp-witted Liz, Nigel Lindsay as Uncle Willie, and Malcolm Sinclair as Seth Lord. The story.
—Big get. Juilliard Dean Evan Yionoulis has been named the new dean of the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. Yionoulis, who has been dean and director of The Juilliard School’s drama division since 2018, will take over the post at Yale starting July 1. She succeeds James Bundy, who has been in the role for close to 25 years and announced his retirement last year. The move marks a big shakeup in the world of drama schools, as both have long been viewed as the premiere institutions for actors. In her tenure at Juilliard, Yionoulis ushered in a tuition-free M.F.A program, and pushed for further waivers, helped graduating actors better prepare for film roles and oversaw the school’s multi-million-dollar renovation. The story. |
TV Review: 'Euphoria' S3►"Great moments and tawdry moments still competing." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews HBO's Euphoria . The misbehaving high-schoolers hit their 20s in new episodes that place Zendaya in a strip club, Sydney Sweeney on OnlyFans and Jacob Elordi at the head of his father's real estate business. Also starring Hunter Schafer, Eric Dane, Alexa Demie, Maude Apatow, Martha Kelly, Chloe Cherry, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Toby Wallace. Created by Sam Levinson. The review.
—"Broadly funny, occasionally suspenseful and not particularly deep." Daniel reviews Netflix's Big Mistakes. Schitt's Creek creator Dan Levy stars alongside Taylor Ortega and Laurie Metcalf in the series, which follows a family that gets tangled up with the criminal underworld in the run-up to a local election. Also starring Jack Innanen, Boran Kuzum, Abby Quinn and Elizabeth Perkins. Created by Dan Levy and Rachel Sennott. The review.
—"A big misfire." THR's Angie Han reviews Peacock's The Miniature Wife. A bickering couple finds their marriage tested when the husband, an arrogant scientist, shrinks his wife, an embittered author, down to six inches tall. Starring Elizabeth Banks, Matthew Macfadyen, O-T Fagbenle, Sian Clifford, Sofia Rosinsky, Aasif Mandvi, Ronny Chieng and Zoe Lister-Jones. Created by Jennifer Ames and Steve Turner, based on the short story by Manuel Gonzales. The review. |
Film Review: 'You, Me & Tuscany'
►"Welcome escapism." For THR, Caryn James reviews Kat Coiro's You, Me & Tuscany. From Girls Trip producer Will Packer and the Marry Me director, the film sets off rom-com sparks between two strangers in a pretty Italian vineyard. Starring Halle Bailey, Regé Jean Page, Marco Calvani, Lorenzo De Moor, Aziza Scott, Isabella Ferrari, Stefania Casini, Paolo Sassanelli and Stella Pecollo. Written by Ryan Engle. The review.
—"Boldly assured and original." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Kai Stänicke's Trial of Hein. A jury prize winner in the Teddy Awards competition for outstanding queer films in Berlin, Stänicke's first feature tracks the title character’s uneasy return to his North Sea island roots. Starring Paul Boche, Philip Froissant, Emilia Schüle, Stephanie Amarell, Aaron Hilmer, Irene Kleinschmidt, Jeanette Hain, Julika Jenkins, Sebastian Blomberg and Margarita Broich. Written by Kai Stänicke. The review.
In other news...
—Fanatics inks wide-ranging sponsor deal with AT&T
—Morgan Jay to host Golden Trailer Awards
—Heated Rivalry composer Peter Peter signs with Range Music
—Aubrey Plaza is expecting her first child with actor Christopher Abbott
—Arne Olsen, Cop and 1/2 and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers screenwriter, dies at 64
What else we're reading...
—Joe Flint and Ben Fritz report that Disney is planning to eliminate as many as 1,000 positions in the coming weeks [WSJ]
—Rebecca Ackermann believes that ghostwriting is a literary job AI can’t replace [Atlantic]
—Sophie Lee interviews The Pitt star Patrick Ball, who talks about his rise to stardom, grappling with student debt and more [Cultured]
—Bhaskar Sunkara wonders why elite Democrats fear politics streamer Hasan Piker [Guardian]
—Charlotte Tobitt reports on the bold "fewer, better stories" strategy (with no AI or staff cuts!) by the Times of London that has seen a big uptick in traffic [Press Gazette]
Today...
...in 1949, the Kirk Douglas boxing drama Champion premiered in New York at the Globe Theatre. The movie went on to earn six nominations at the 22nd Academy Awards ceremony, winning in the film editing category. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Kristen Stewart (36), Cynthia Nixon (60), Elle Fanning (28), Jay Baruchel (44), David Gordon Green (51), Jay Chandrasekhar (58), Dennis Quaid (72), Leighton Meester (40), Michael Learned (87), Keshia Knight Pulliam (47), Sorcha Cusack (77), Paulina Porizkova (61), Anamaria Vartolomei (27), Mark Pellegrino (61), Dom Hetrakul (50), Kathleen Munroe (44), Kathryn Hunter (69), Neve McIntosh (54), Isaac Hempstead Wright (27), Brenock O'Connor (26), Amber Lee Connors (35), Tanner Novlan (40), Jesse McCartney (39), Jaicy Elliot (33), Marine Vacth (35), Amalia Holm (31), Arlen Escarpeta (45), Kim Da-mi (31), Morgan Taylor Campbell (31), Alex Gaumond (48), Justine Eyre (50), Cameron Dye (67), Arsher Ali (42)
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Mitchell Fink, the author and entertainment journalist who wrote gossip columns for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, People Magazine and the New York Daily News, has died. He was 82. The obituary.
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