| | | | | | What's news: Unionized staffers at the WGA West will lose their health care benefits today. The Zuckerman sisters will pen Scream 8. Apple has landed Megan Park's next film project. Netflix has renewed Age of Attraction. An old episodes of Sesame Street are heading to Tubi. — Abid Rahman
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Kathleen Kennedy Isn't So Sure About AI ►"What's missing in the discussion right now is transparency." Over her more than four decades in in the film business, Kathleen Kennedy has been at the vanguard of tech, whether via her work on the Star Wars universe or producing all those groundbreaking Steven Spielberg films. You might expect Kennedy, then, to be similarly enthused about AI in filmmaking. But the Hollywood veteran sounded a more skeptical note Tuesday — even while speaking to an AI founder at an event he hosted. During an on-stage conversation with Runway co-funder Cristóbal Valenzuela as part of an AI summit that the startup hosted in Manhattan, Kennedy said: “It’s life experiences; it’s educational. The best directors of films and photography came out of art, they studied art,” she said. She suggested AI-driven films by definition couldn’t have that experience. The story.
—"I just find this very crazy that we weren’t notified of this." Seven weeks into their strike, unionized staffers at the WGA West will lose their health care benefits today. WGA West staffers can be covered by the Producer-Writers Guild of America Health Plan, the same plan that is offered to the Hollywood union’s members. Staffers accrue coverage on a month-to-month basis as long as they work 31 hours per week the previous month. Staffers unionized with the Writers Guild Staff Union, who have been out on strike since Feb. 17, say they learned on Tuesday that they will lose eligibility starting Wednesday. The story.
—No dice. A federal judge has struck down parts of an executive order seeking to cut off public funding for PBS and NPR, finding that the effort was unconstitutional. “The First Amendment does not tolerate viewpoint discrimination and retaliation of this type,” wrote U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in an order issued on Tuesday. The executive order, called “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media,” slashed subsidies for public media. It’s part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing campaign to leverage federal powers to undercut institutions whose viewpoints he disagrees with. The broadcasters, which filed a lawsuit against the government over the effort, get roughly half a billion dollars in Congressional funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The story.
—🤝 Rating deal. 🤝 Instagram will “substantially reduce” its reference to the Motion Picture Association‘s PG-13 rating thanks to a deal between Meta and the Hollywood trade organization. The social media platform will also add a disclaimer, marking a clear distinction between the MPA’s PG-13 rating, and its own variation. Terms of the agreement will go into effect beginning April 15. Last year Instagram announced teen accounts, including a disclosure that they would be “guided by” the PG-13 rating. The MPA was furious with the move, as it protects its film ratings system closely, and sent a cease and desist letter to Meta, calling the use of PG-13 "false and highly misleading." The story. |
Inside the Snappys ►🏆 Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony... Snappy? 🏆 Snapchat officially launched its inaugural awards show The Snappys on Tuesday, converting its Santa Monica headquarters into a theater and party space in celebration of the platform’s top creators. The evening — which was streamed live on Snapchat — handed out honors to influencers across entertainment, comedy, music, sports and beauty, with longtime user DJ Khaled receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award. Comedian Matt Friend served as the night’s host and Kehlani was billed to close out the evening with a special performance but did not appear, in what would become one of several bumps for the first-time ceremony. The winners.
—Not a great sign. Brunico Communications has shut down its U.S. television events business, including NAPTE and its Kidscreen and Realscreen Summits. “This decision was deeply considered and stemmed from the market consolidation that continues to progress and have structural impacts on the content production business,” Russell Goldstein, president and CEO of Toronto-based Brunico, said in a statement on Tuesday. The move follows NATPE, a onetime storied trade show, and the Realscreen TV conferences and markets being combined in one Miami event in February 2026 for one last time. The story.
—Upped. Darren Abbott has been named president of Hallmark Media, replacing the company’s former president John Matts less than a year into Matts’ tenure at that level. Now Abbott will be responsible for “shaping, operationalizing, and driving the ever-evolving business into the future, while continuing to oversee the ways in which consumers interact with Hallmark’s widely beloved content, products, and experiences,” according to Hallmark. Abbott was already the company’s chief brand officer. He now adds ad sales, distribution, and research under his purview, which previously included oversight of programming, creative product development, marketing and PR, licensing and brand partnerships. The story. |
ABC News, Nat Geo to Take Viewers Inside NASA's Artemis II ►Exclusive footage. Later today, NASA will launch its Artemis II mission, sending astronauts back to the moon (albeit on a flyby mission, no landing) for the first time in decades. It’s the sort of news story that has media outlets giddy with excitement. After all, it isn’t often that you get good news and compelling visuals on a pre-determined schedule. And while every TV news outlet is planning coverage of the launch, ABC News and its corporate sibling National Geographic is betting that it can deliver what others cant: Scale on broadcast TV and streaming, and perhaps most significantly: Exclusive access inside the spacecraft itself. The story.
—Quick as you like. Netflix has given a second season renewal to Age of Attraction after the dating reality series strongly hooked with viewers after a March 25 rookie season wrap. The premise for Netflix’s latest dating series ignores birthdates as participants rely on sparks and compatibility for a connection before finally revealing their ages in the the so-called Promise Room. The story.
—🤝 Archive deal. 🤝 Tubi is betting that viewers are feeling nostalgic for old-school episodes of Sesame Street. The free, Fox-owned streamer is bringing select episodes of seasons one through 38 of the iconic children’s series to its platform starting today. Two hundred fifty old-school Sesame Street episodes, aired between 1969 and 2007, will be available on the platform as part of the one-year deal. Every quarter, 10 percent of the available episodes will be swapped with new ones, bringing additional old-school favorites to the fore. The story.
—🎭 K-drama demon hunters. 🎭 Netflix has begun production on Long Vacation, a new Korean romance series from Lee Jung-hyo, the director behind the global mega-hit Crash Landing on You, and writer Jung Hyun-jung, one of Korea’s most prolific romance scribes. The project unites two of Korea’s fastest-rising young stars. Choo Young-woo stars in Long Vacation as Demon 3375, a powerful being who has lived for centuries without understanding love. Versatile actress Lee Se-young plays Deul-pan, a capable hotel room attendant whose everyday life is anything but easy. When the two keep crossing paths at a seaside hotel, an unlikely relationship begins to emerge, shaking up everything the demon thought he knew. The story. |
Why Mazda Is Making Movies Now ►Can movies move Mazdas? The Japanese car company is betting that they can. Mazda is launching a new version of its CX-5 SUV, and used this year’s Academy Awards to launch a film-themed campaign that it plans to bring to video platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Hulu, with CMO Brad Audet telling THR's Alex Weprin that it is thinking about bringing it to movie theaters as well. The automaker tapped director Paul Hunter to create five short films in classic film genres, from action and horror to musical and sci-fi, each featuring the new car. The story.
—Scribes founds. Scream 8 is in development at Spyglass, with Lilla and Nora Zuckerman, better known as the Zuckerman sisters, now set to write the eighth installment of the long-standing slasher franchise. The Zuckerman sisters previously served as showrunners for season one of Peacock’s Poker Face, starring Natasha Lyonne. They have also worked as writers and executive producers on series including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Suits, Fringe and Prodigal Son. The story.
—Ooooh mysterious. THR's Borys "El Scooperino" Kit has the scoop that Michael Shanks, the filmmaker behind last year’s cult horror fave Together , has teamed up with Adam McKay for a mystery project. Sony Pictures has picked up an untitled sci-fi comedy that will be written by Shanks that has McKay attached to direct. McKay is producing the feature with Todd Schulman via the duo’s Hyperobject Industries banner. Andrew Mittman, who is one of the executive producers on Wednesday and involved in the development of Tim Burton’s remake of B-movie classic Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman, is also producing via his 1.21 Pictures. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 El Scooperino also reports that Apple Original Films has prevailed in the bidding war for the new feature project from Megan Park, the well-regarded Canadian filmmaker behind the equally well-regarded coming-of-age comedy My Old Ass. LuckyChap, the company run by Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, Josey McNamara, and Milan Popelka, is attached to produce the untitled feature in association with FilmNation. Apple beat out WB, Sony, Universal as well as Amazon and Netflix for the project, which was previously known by the title Die Alive. Park wrote and is attached to direct. She will also executive produce. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Eli Roth’s new film Ice Cream Man is set to serve up a scoop of suffering when it hits theaters on Aug. 7, 2026. The first release from the splatter master’s The Horror Section banner plans a rollout on over 2,000 screens across North America via Iconic Events Releasing. Ice Cream Man follows an idyllic summer town descending into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet delights with horrifying results, according to a synopsis from the producers. The film stars Roth, Ari Millen as the titular character, along with Benjamin Byron Davis, Karen Cliche, Dylan Hawco, Sarah Abbott, Shiloh O’Reilly, Kiori Mirza Waldman, Charlie Zeltzer and Charlie Storey. The story. |
Megan Thee Stallion Hospitalized After Exiting 'Moulin Rouge' Mid-Show ►Thee latest. Megan Thee Stallion is hospitalized in New York City after falling ill during a showing of Moulin Rouge! The Musical and exiting the show mid-performance. "During Tuesday night’s production, Megan started feeling very ill and was promptly transported to a local hospital, where her symptoms are currently being evaluated,” her rep told THR. “We will share additional updates as more information becomes available." The rapper made her debut in the show last week at New York’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre in the role of The Zidler, marking not only her first ever Broadway performance but also the first time a woman has performed the role in the beloved and long-running jukebox musical. The story.
—Tap that. Broadway looks set to get a Happy Feet musical based on George Miller’s Oscar-winning animated feature about singing and dancing Emperor penguins. Tony-winning Michael Arden is on board to direct a live stage version being developed by Tony-winning producer Dori Berinstein. The musical, based on Miller and Warner Bros. Pictures’ 2006 foot-tapping, CG-animated musical movie, also has on its creative team book writer Douglas Lyons and a choreography team that includes tap dancer Ayodele Casel, Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher “Cree” Grant. The story.
—🎭 Benson on Broadway! 🎭 Mariska Hargitay will make her Broadway debut on Every Brilliant Thing this spring. Hargitay takes over the solo show from Daniel Radcliffe, who is set to play his final performance at the Hudson Theatre on May 24. Hargitay begins May 26, and the run has now been extended through June 28. Written by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe and directed by Jeremy Herrin, the play is about a person whose mother attempted to die by suicide and they attempt to cheer her up by listing things that make life worth living. The story.
—What a send Groff. Just In Time pulled in more than $2m last week, its highest tally yet, as Jonathan Groff played his final performance in the musical on March 29. The show, which chronicles the life of singer Bobby Darrin, has been trending up for the past several weeks, as fans flocked to the show ahead of Groff’s departure, but reached last week’s high as the average ticket price also jumped up to $362.22. Just In Time was the third-highest grossing show of the week, with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as the highest grossing, bringing in $2.6m, followed by Hamilton with $2.3m. The Lion King was the next highest, with $1.9m, with Wicked as the fifth highest, bringing in $1.8m. The Broadway box office report. |
Film Review: 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' ►"If you read reviews, this movie isn't for you." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic's The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Nintendo and Universal's Illumination followup their 2023 billion-dollar animated hit with a new adventure that introduces Yoshi. Featuring the voices of Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Benny Safdie, Donald Glover, Issa Rae, Luis Guzman, Kevin Michael Richardson, Brie Larson and Glen Powell. Written by Matthew Fogel. The review.
In other news...
—Netflix’s new releases coming in April
—Supergirl trailer: Milly Alcock's Kara crosses paths with Jason Momoa's Lobo
—Amazon’s Masters of the Universe trailer reveals Jared Leto as Skeletor
—ITV Studios-backed Poison Pen names Fern McCauley head of development
—Rebecca Rusheen joins CAA’s creators division
—Canal+ names Anne‑Laure Tingry chief data and AI officer
—James Pergola, longtime Baywatch cinematographer and producer, dies at 93
What else we're reading...
—Luis Parrales writes that pastors and politicians claim that a Christian revival is afoot among young Americans, but the data suggests something different [Atlantic]
—Ben Smith and Shelby Talcott report that a Texas plastic surgeon was patient zero for the right's Charlie Kirk conspiracy fever [Semafor]
—Shawn McCreesh talks to South Dakotans who are reacting to the bizarre scandal surrounding Kristi Noem’s husband [NYT]
—Amos Barshad has a piece on the dramatic change in CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil, who went from being a well-liked journalist to "a mouthpiece for the state" [CJR]
—Eleanor Burnard reports that the "succulent Chinese meal" speech has been added to Australia’s National Film and Sound Archive [Guardian]
Today...
...in 2011, Summit Entertainment released Duncan Jones' Source Code in theaters. The sci-fi action thriller starred Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright and was a big critical and commercial success. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Boots Riley (55), Lee Chang-dong (72), Mackenzie Davis (39), Tomas Alfredson (61), Asa Butterfield (29), David Oyelowo (50), Barry Sonnenfeld (73), Taran Killam (44), Troy Baker (50), José Zúñiga (61), Annette O'Toole (74), Ali MacGraw (87), JJ Feild (48), Ellen Hollman (43), Sam Huntington (44), Matt Lanter (43), Evan Jones (50), Jane Adams (61), Josh Zuckerman (41), Anamaria Marinca (48), Jessica Collins (55), Lachy Hulme (55), Jung Hae-in (38), Hannah Spearritt (45), Tess Haubrich (36), Siobhan Murphy (42), Samuel Blenkin (30), Royce Pierreson (37), Logan Paul (31) |
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