What's news: Tubi has struck a podcast streaming deal with SiriusXM. M.I.A. is suing Kid Cudi. Jeymes Samuel will direct the Streets of Rage movie. DTF St. Louis was the big winner at the Gotham TV Awards. And Taylor Swift is set to appear on the Toy Story 5 soundtrack. — Abid Rahman
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Pelley Gives Bari Helley: "She's Murdering '60 Minutes'"
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►"She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that." Veteran CBS News 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley accused the network’s editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of trying to kill the venerable newsmagazine Monday. Pelley, the former anchor of the CBS Evening News, made the comments in a fiery staff meeting with the show’s new executive producer Nick Bilton. In the stormy meeting, Bilton said that Weiss loves 60 Minutes, which is the most-watched news program in America, to which Pelley responded, “She’s murdering 60 Minutes. She does not love this place, she was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that." The story.
—🤝 Podcast deal. 🤝 Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Rotten Mango, What Now? with Trevor Noah, and more will soon be available to stream on Tubi as part of a new deal with SiriusXM. The streamer and SiriusXM have partnered on a distribution and advertising deal for a selection of its podcasts. Additional titles soon to be available on Tubi include The School of Greatness and The Deep 3 Podcast, with more to come. The deal is non-exclusive, meaning that the podcasts do not have any exclusive window on Tubi and will still be available on YouTube and other audio and distribution platforms. The story.
—Killer Diller strikes again. Barry Diller is making a major play in the casino and gaming business. The mogul’s holding company People Incorporated is proposing to acquire MGM Resorts in a deal that valued the casino giant at $18b. People Inc. (formerly IAC) is already MGM’s largest shareholder, holding more than 26 percent of its stock. It is proposing to buy the remaining 24.9 percent for $48.30 per share. In a letter to MGM’s board, Diller wrote that the deal would be funded by cash on hand, as well and debt and equity commitments. Should the deal be completed, People would own just over 50 percent of the company, and be its controlling shareholder, with minority investors joining. The story.
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M.I.A. Sues Kid Cudi Over Tour Firing |
►"He knew her politics." M.I.A. is suing Kid Cudi for $2.8m over his decision to axe her from his tour last month following controversial statements she made about immigrants on stage, alleging that she was let go not because of her words, but rather to drum up headlines to sell more tickets. "Here is the truth," M.I.A.’s complaint reads. "M.I.A. was terminated to generate publicity for the tour, which has struggled with ticket sales. She was contractually allowed to say whatever she wanted on stage. M.I.A. now holds Kid Cudi accountable for his bad faith destruction of her contractual rights, business opportunities and reputation." The story.
—📅 MFF summer. 📅 Move aside, Brat: Charli XCX has announced her next album, Music, Fashion, Film, is coming July 24. The pop superstar released the news via Instagram on Monday, adding that the upcoming record will be comprised of 11 songs. It is exactly 30 minutes and five seconds long. Music, Fashion, Film will include the previously released tracks “SS26” and “Rock Music.” The artwork for the album cover is shot by Aidan Zamiri with John Cale, Marc Jacobs and acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese on the cover. The story.
—It’s official. Taylor Swift is set to appear on the Toy Story 5 soundtrack. After much speculation — along with a suspicious countdown on the singer’s website and billboards around several cities around the world — Disney and Pixar have confirmed that Swift is releasing a new original song “I Knew It, I Knew You” for the film. The song, her first release since her record-breaking The Life of a Showgirl, is set to drop this Friday (June 5) ahead of the film’s June 19 release, the film studio announced Monday. The story.
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Why Did 'Backrooms' and 'Obsession' Spark Ghost-Directing Speculation?
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►"This is just a chronic pattern of contempt for the next wave of cultural production." The buzz and box office for Kane Parsons' Backrooms and Curry Barker's Obsession, and the fact the two filmmakers are in their 20s and got their starts with viral online videos, have led to some social media users to post unfounded speculation that the projects had more established Hollywood names quietly ghost-directing behind the scenes. THR's Ryan Gajewski unpacks where all this scurrilous speculation has come from. The story.
—"Recognize the best movie theaters around the world and unite our global film industry." The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will honor outstanding movie theaters starting in the spring of 2027, coinciding with the Academy’s 100th anniversary. The Academy Marquee Theater List will highlight theaters that provide exceptional audience experiences, preserve cinematic history and serve as cultural anchors in their communities. The initial list will include 50 theaters, 25 from the U.S. and 25 from outside of it. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Neon will open cult South Korean director Na Hong-jin‘s sci-fi feature Hope exclusively in U.S. theaters on Sept. 9. One of the buzziest titles in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the film premiered to a six-minute standing ovation and a wave of sharply divided critical reaction, ranging from rapture to notes of bafflement. The story.
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Snyder Tackling Reimagining of 'Escape From New York'
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►It's happening. Some folks may have heard that Snake Plissken is dead, but Zack Snyder is not one of them. THR's Borys "Skewpz" Kit has the scoop that the singular filmmaker has come aboard to write and direct a reimagining of Escape from New York, the classic dystopian action movie from John Carpenter that introduced audiences to the cool, eye-patch-wearing, cobra-tatted anti-hero. The project is being put together and will be taken out to market in the coming weeks, and marks the first concrete steps of getting an Escape movie up and going in years. The intent is to release the feature theatrically. The story.
—Shut up and take my money! Lionsgate has hired The Harder They Fall and The Book of Clarence filmmaker Jeymes Samuel to direct the movie adaptation of Sega’s Streets of Rage classic video game. Sonic The Hedgehog writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller will write the project, and build on an earlier draft of the screenplay by Derek Kolstad. The action fighting game franchise began as a popular video game series in the 1990s. The story.
—Sophomore effort. Anna Kendrick is stepping in to direct Netflix's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, a film adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s 2017 best-selling novel. Little Fires Everywhere creator, showrunner and executive producer Liz Tigelaar will write the film, with current revisions by Francesca Sloane. Seven Husbands centers on reclusive, iconic Hollywood starlet, who enlists unknown reporter to write her tell-all book, which will chronicle her life story and rise to fame during the golden age of Hollywood. The story.
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Inside 'Euphoria's Final Season
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►"I just thought that if I’m going to come back and we’re going to get everyone together, I’d like to explore what feels like the Wild West of adulthood." THR's David Canfield spoke to Euphoria creator and showrunner Sam Levinson about the third and final season of the era-defining HBO drama. Levinson discusses raising the stakes for Rue, leaning into comedy and adopting a more cinematic style. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"As long as Sam Levinson's directing, I'll revisit Faye anytime in my life." David also spoke to Euphoria star Chloe Cherry about the series finale. Cherry discusses her character's fate and more. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
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►🏆 Congrats! 🏆 The 2026 Gotham TV Awards took place in New York on Monday night, with DTF St. Louis winning a leading two awards. The HBO Max show won outstanding limited or anthology series and best supporting performance (David Harbour). The final limited series award, for best lead performance, was won by Death by Lightning‘s Michael Shannon, though he wasn’t present to accept the prize. Death by Lightning went into the night tied with Big Mistakes for a leading four nominations. The winners.
—Scott's latest Emmy predictions. With less than 10 days remaining before the start of the Emmy nominations voting window, which runs June 11-22, THR's executive editor for awards Scott Feinberg offers his latest take on 35 categories encompassing programs — narrative, nonfiction, variety, reality and animation — as well as performances, hosting and casting. The forecast.
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Tonys: Predicting the Winners Using Just Math
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►🏆 A possible three-way race?! 🏆 Ahead of Sunday's Tony Awards, Ben Zauzmer is here with his final prize predictions based on math. Ben offers his category-by-category look at which musicals and plays have the best chance of claiming honors during the June 7 telecast on CBS and Paramount+, based on a model built on historical data. The predictions.
—"I do think that we’re pretty good at making people happy." Saturday Night Live alums Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer and Rachel Dratch are currently on Broadway at the same time. In honor of this rare occurrence, THR's Caitlin Huston spoke to the three self-professed theater kids about Rudolph's Broadway debut in Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary! and the Tony-nominated returns for Gasteyer (Schmigadoon!) and Dratch (The Rocky Horror Show). The interview.
—🎭 Broadway debut. 🎭 This Is Us star Chrissy Metz will join the cast of & Juliet as Angelique, the nurse and close friend to Juliet in the revised musical version of the Shakespearean classic. She joins the show June 18 for a limited engagement through Sept. 13, 2026. Metz takes over the role from Jeannette Bayardelle, who will play her final performance June 14. & Juliet opened in November 2022 and will celebrate its 1500th performance at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on June 23, 2026. The story.
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Film Review: 'Masters of the Universe' |
►"Doesn't have the power." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Travis Knight's Masters of the Universe. An all-star cast appear in this latest cinematic incarnation of Mattel's enduring toy franchise. Starring Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, James Purefoy, Morena Baccarin, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Charlotte Riley, Sasheer Zamata, Jon Xue Zhang, Christian Vunipola, Kristen Wiig, Jared Leto and Idris Elba. Written by Chris Butler, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee and Dave Callaham. The review.
—"Get on board." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Adam Shankman's Stop! That! Train! RuPaul and Ginger Minj star in this campy descendant of Airplane! and its movie-parody stepchildren, about a runaway high-speed passenger train headed into the path of a “stormaganza.” Also starring Jujubee, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Symone, Marty Lauter, Latrice Royale, Rachel Bloom and Matt Rogers. Written by Connor Wright and Christina Friel. The review.
—"A throwback, for better or for worse." THR's Angie Han reviews Hulu's Not Suitable for Work. In this Gen Z comedy, five 20something neighbors in New York's Murray Hill neighborhood navigating their careers, friendships and love lives. Starring Ella Hunt, Avantika, Will Angus, Jack Martin, Nicholas Duvernay and Jay Ellis. Created by Mindy Kaling. The review.
In other news...
—Netflix’s new releases coming in June
—BTS, Cardi B and Zara Larsson to perform at iHeartRadio Music Festival
—Phoebe Bridgers announces surprise MSG show
—Meta hires Snapchat’s Creator Connector in wearables push
—Kendall Ostrow joins CAA Creators
—Matt Brown, Alaskan Bush People star, dies at 42
What else we're reading...
—Christopher Palmeri highlights data that shows that cable cordcutters don't necessarily switch to streaming for cost reasons [Bloomberg]
—Chris Lee goes inside Hollywood's hunt for the next Kane Parsons and Curry Barker [Vulture]
—Lillian Rizzo talks to Disney's global advertising chief Rita Ferro about the company's plans to ramp up its ad business for a big 2027 [CNBC]
—Oliver Whang explains why AI slop is everywhere and only becoming more and more ubiquitous [NYT]
—Jessica Toonkel looks at 84-year-old Barry Diller's push to reinvent himself as a casino mogul [WSJ]
Today...
...in 2002, HBO premiered David Simon’s The Wire. The Baltimore-set crime drama ended up spanning five seasons, and to this day is considered by many to be one of the best television shows ever created. The original review.
Today's birthdays...
Liam Cunningham (65), Kevin Feige (53), Morena Baccarin (47), Dana Carvey (71), Awkwafina (38), Jack Lowden (36), Wayne Brady (54), Justin Long (48), Wentworth Miller (54), Jewel Staite (44), Dominic Cooper (48), Brittany O'Grady (30), Zachary Quinto (49), Stacy Keach (85), Dennis Haysbert (72), Nikki Cox (48), Ethan Slater (34), Pip Torrens (66), Paul Greene (52), Amber Marshall (38), James Ransone (47), Jerry Mathers (78), Ol Parker (57), Alexa Barajas (26), Joanna Gleason (76), Navid Negahban (58), Lasse Hallström (80), Sterling Beaumon (31), Leah Cairns (52), Brittany Curran (36), Jeremy Ray Taylor (23), Madison Hu (24), Cheonguk Park (28), Joel Tobeck (55), Lilimar (26), Charles Haid (83), Jessica Sutton (33)
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