Startups try to make "vibe directing" a thing while moviegoers say "enough already" with CGI sludge in movies like Supergirl and look for practical effects. Brand marketers at Cannes Lions deliver keynote odes to authenticity while pushing ad dollars to AI-powered products. The Weekender has the news slices that stand out in strange times.
— Erik Hayden
Ticker: Ari Emanuel plots Broadway take over; James Murdoch builds a thought leader business; Rebecca Kutler reworks MS NOW's lineup.
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Some TV and film veterans are taking gigs in the world of what's called "Reinforcement Learning From Human Feedback," helping smooth out AI systems that may pave the way to their own obsolescence: "I don't really necessarily fault somebody if you're all of a sudden you're given potentially $1,200 for four hours' worth of work. Then it's really enticing, but that may be the only four hours you're ever going to work in that job."
Katie Kilkenny and Steven Zeitchik's report.
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*With a catch. Sony Pictures is making a significant strategic investment into Cosm, the immersive theatrical company that builds domed venues that let attendees watch live events and theatrical content in a new format. Sony is pouring $100 million into the business for a minority stake, with SPE chairman and CEO Ravi Ahuja joining its board of directors. Sony of course is in the theatrical business already, having acquired the Alamo Drafthouse chain. Alex Weprin's story.
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Actors Jacob Elordi, Teyana Taylor, Bill Skarsgard, Jenna Ortega and Josh O'Connor have been invited to become members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as have new Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro, filmmaker brothers Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie, casting director Cassandra Kulukundis, director Zach Cregger, producer Eli Bush, singer/songwriters Sara Bareilles and EJAE, power-managers Aleen Keshishian and Jason Weinberg, top personal publicist Megan Moss and events producer Madelyn Hammond, and rising-star awards strategists Jonathan Epstein, Josh Haroutunian and Emily Lu Aldrich. The list of 529 invitees released by the Academy includes 95 Oscar nominees, 21 Oscar winners and three Scientific and Technical Award recipients. Scott Feinberg's read.
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"48 hrs in Milan. Congrats on an incredible show." — Curry Barker, who sat front row at Thom Browne's spring show along with Charlie Hall, Jamie Campbell Bower, Joe Burrow and Olivia Cooke.
"You can ask all the questions you want, you’re going to get no answers." — Michael Ovitz, in a CAA case deposition, being asked about any ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
"With acting, only the first day is stressful. Writing is stressful all the time. I love it." — Jemaine Clement, in an interview at Annecy Animation Festival.
"What’s old is new again." — Tessa Lyons, Instagram vp of product, revealing that television is "the next frontier" for its app.
"I don’t think the movies' division kept up with times, shall we say." — Chris Aronson, ex-Paramount distribution chief, on rebuilding box office platform Rentrak.
"Bring that kind of variety to my characters that I have been able to do in India." — Priyanka Chopra Jonas, asked about career goals at Cannes Lions, adding, "in my English-language work, I haven’t really done it as much."
👀 Logline of the Week
"When radical Islamic terrorists hijack a liberal college’s pro-Palestine encampment to enforce barbaric Sharia law on students and execute infidels in a makeshift caliphate, a ragtag band of red-blooded students, a security guard tired of ‘Uncle Tom’ smears and a Delta Force vet must arm up to save their clueless peers." -> Jonathan Majors' new feature Run, Hide, Fight 2 from the Daily Wire crew.
By the Numbers
(Most-read stories on THR.com this week)
1) "Love Island USA Season 8 Casa Amor Cast Revealed"
2) "Scott Pelley, Fired 60 Minutes Star, Signs With CAA"
3) "Bradley Whitford Knows How to Drop Into a Hit Show and Take Over"
Deal of the Week
Dattner Dispoto & Associates (Est. 1987) and Worldwide Production Agency (Est. 2010) are merging. The deal brings together two notable below-the-line talent agencies that represent cinematographers, production designers and producers: "This is a way we can maintain independence without being bolted on to someplace."
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With all attention on a rapidly consolidating media industry, a look at Nielsen's latest Media Distributor Gauge is striking for a couple reasons: Yes, YouTube is still dominating, but look at Paramount (which includes CBS and Paramount+ and more) in this ranking matching Netflix in total TV use. And that's before David Ellison will get to add in Warner Bros. Discovery's 6 percent share when his $111 billion deal closes. Another wild card, keep in mind that if Lachlan Murdoch has his way that 3 percent you see on The Roku Channel will be added in to Fox if his $22 billion deal closes.
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Steven Zeitchik ponders the question: "You don’t take $75 million from the world’s largest tech company in the name of slop tools and keep your counterculture cred for long. That became evident when the company’s trailer for a totally unrelated (non-AI) movie from Jesse Eisenberg about community theater brought a pile-on of roasts about the tech. ("Why would I pay and support a company that doesn’t support or believe in the power of human creativity?” and "a24 was so cool until you chuds sold out to AI monoliths for some monopoly bucks” were among the nicer ones.)" The column.
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After 20-something directors Curry Barker and Kane Parsons made box-office history, THR asked young moviegoers whether the filmmaker still carries weight with their generation. "It's tapped in," says one 21-year-old student of Gen Z audiences and Steven Spielberg. However, "I think a lot of our generation is really into grassroots things, whether it's directors from YouTube or low-budget movies." Lexi Carson's story.
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You may not see yet it from the above photo. But that's Netflix's next $1 billion film and TV production base at the site of New Jersey's Fort Monmouth. In December 2022, Netflix purchased a quarter of the 1,200-acre vacant U.S. Army base Fort Monmouth, a business decision entirely tied to the Garden State's generous film tax incentive program. Now its set to be finished in 2028. Tony Maglio goes on-site.
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Pop singer-songwriter’s Audrey Hobert debut was a critical success. An NYU graduate and daughter of television writer Tim Hobert, Audrey started her career writing for TV before pivoting to songwriting. She teamed up with her childhood friend, Gracie Abrams, to pen several songs on the singer’s second album. Now, she’s taking her album on the road for her Staircase to Stardom tour, which she’s "entirely" involved in shaping. Nicole Fell's interview.
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"I hope everybody who reviews the score uses the word 'indulgent' because by God, it was," composer John Powell says of Minions & Monsters, laughing, to Borys Kit. "I just kind of cranked it right up to a level that often today you would be told to go and get therapy," says the composer about his first Minions movie. And stay for the musical featurette.
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HBO's House of the Dragon hosted a premiere event in NYC, where cast member Harry Collett hopped into the DJ booth. Pete Davidson had a night out as Pacha New York officially opened its doors. Peacock transformed Rockefeller Center Plaza into a Love Island USA destination with alum Kaylor Martin. Lindsay Lohan stopped by a NYC event for Chime's new “Welcome to 30” campaign. Todd Goldstein and Bryan Lourd toasted the grand opening of CAA's Nashville office. Rose Byrne was on hand to honor Paul Feig at the Nantucket Film Festival. Lance Bass, Chrishell Stause, Erika Jayne and Michael Turchin attended the Pride on PCH event at Calamigos Ranch Resort and Beach Club. John Early and Kate Berlant celebrated Maddie's Secret with a screening in Santa Monica. All 42 photos from this week's premieres and events.
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Upcoming Releases
Notable movies heading to theaters
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One-liners from THR's team of film critics
Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri lead FX's The Bear to a finale with "emotion, laughs and a touch of caution." HBO's pairing of Larry David and Barack Obama for Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness is a "hit-or-miss" sketch show. Netflix’s Tom Hanks-produced The American Experiment "inspires and irritates." Johnny Knoxville's Paramount prank film Jackass: Best and Last is "emblematic of the dumbing down of America." DC Comics' tentpole Supergirl is "more stupor than super." Scott Eastwood and Colin Hanks-led World War II indie thriller Lucky Strike "features far too many clichés endemic to the genre." John Cena and Eric André's Netflix comedy Little Brother is a "shamelessly recycled odd-couple raunchfest."
Winners & Losers
James Hibberd's weekly scorecard
"Milly Alcock survives a Supergirl wipeout. House of the Dragon underwhelms while dramatically improving. Movie influencers lose influence. Apple flexes."
And finally,
A Hollywood Flashback...
"If David Letterman is late-night's elder statesman, Jimmy Kimmel is his goofier, prank-prone little brother. He isn't going to delve into pointed political commentary like Comedy Central's Jon Stewart, but he'll stand up to late-night's bully, Jay Leno."
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