| | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover story is a behind the scenes look at the curious end of The Wendy Williams Show. German director Wolfgang Petersen has died. A movie based on the Disneyland ride Big Thunder Mountain is in the works. The Oscars telecast is likely to show all 23 categories once more. Spotify is testing a ticketing platform — Abid Rahman |
Inside the Final Days of 'The Wendy Williams Show' ►On the cover. For 12 years Wendy Williams was one of daytime’s most bold and beloved personalities. Then she was gone, replaced by a string of guest hosts amid tabloid rumors. Now THR's Lacey Rose takes a behind-the-scenes look at what really went down with TV’s queen of the purple throne. The cover story.
—One of cinema's great craftsmen. Wolfgang Petersen, the German writer-director who surfaced in Hollywood following the triumph of his submarine masterpiece Das Boot to make the action blockbusters In the Line of Fire, Air Force One and The Perfect Storm, has died. He was 81. Petersen died Friday at his Brentwood home of pancreatic cancer, his publicist told THR. The obituary.
—Cause revealed. Actress Lindsey Pearlman’s cause of death has been revealed nearly six months after she was found dead in Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, Pearlman died by suicide from sodium nitrite toxicity. Pearlman, 43, had recurring roles on General Hospital and Chicago Justice and was found dead inside a vehicle Feb. 18. The story.
—New Verzuz battle just dropped. Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, the creators of the popular battle platform Verzuz, are suing Triller for breach of contract, alleging they’re owed more than $28m from the aspiring TikTok rival. Triller in March 2021 announced it was acquiring Verzuz for an undisclosed sum in a deal that made Timbaland and Swizz Beatz shareholders in its parent company Triller Network. According to the complaint, Triller defaulted on the agreement. The story. |
De Niro to Star In Mob Drama 'Wise Guys' ►Bada bing! THR's Borys Kit has the big scoop on birthday boy Robert De Niro returning to the gangster movie genre with Wise Guys, which also happens to be Warner Bros.' first original feature of the Warner Bros. Discovery era. The creative team includes a trio of Hollywood big hitters, with Barry Levinson directing, Nicholas Pileggi penning the script and Irwin Winkler producing. The story.
—There's movie gold in them thar hills. Hawkeye directors Bert & Bertie are staying in the Disney family. The duo, who helmed three episodes of the Marvel/Disney+ series, have signed on to direct a feature for Disney based on the theme park attraction Big Thunder Mountain. Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment and Ridley Scott’s Scott Free will produce, with Kieran and Michele Mulroney penning the script. The story.
—Supply problems. Movie theater giant Cineworld Group, whose business includes the Regal cinemas, warned on Wednesday that “despite a gradual recovery of demand since re-opening in April 2021” following COVID-related theater closures "recent admission levels have been below expectations." The update came despite such recent box-office hits as Top Gun: Maverick, with Cineworld pointing to a "limited film slate" as a factor. The story.
—"We need to produce an Oscars show that celebrates the collaborative work of the industry." A year after eight Academy Award statuettes were controversially presented prior to the live Oscars telecast, it looks increasingly likely that all 23 categories will again be treated equally moving forward. Bill Kramer, the Academy’s new CEO, signaled as much in a new interview, saying he would like to see "all artistic and scientific disciplines honored on the show." The story. |
Disney's Price Hikes Usher in Era of the Not-So-Cheap Ad Tier ►Profitability concerns reign. As it aims for Disney+ profitability by 2024, THR's Caitlin Huston looks at how CEO Bob Chapek’s team has run the numbers and decided that it has enough market clout to avoid too much subscriber churn with increased prices. The analysis.
—A natural extension. Music streaming giant Spotify is currently testing a direct-to-consumer ticketing platform. While stopping short of a direct challenge to giants like Live Nation, the Swedish company has launched a designated website to sell presale tickets directly to Spotify listeners in the U.S. for a select group of seven artists: Annie DiRusso, Tokimonsta, Osees, Dirty Honey, Limbeck, Crows and Four Years Strong. The story.
—"It’s a scary time to have an opinion." Zoë Kravitz is reflecting on her social media messages that followed Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars ceremony, saying she wishes she had "handled that differently." In a new interview, The Batman star addressed her Instagram posts that seemingly referenced the incident, without directly naming anyone, but faced a backlash from Smith’s supporters and was later deleted. The story.
—An "eight-hour Tim Burton movie." Wednesday showrunners Miles Millar and Alfred Gough say the Tim Burton-directed live-action Addams Family series is its “own thing” that hopefully watches more like a long movie in the famed filmmaker’s catalog. In a new interview, Millar and Gough discussed how the series fits into the Addams Family universe and how they were able to bring Burton onboard as both director and executive producer. The story. |
Was 'Better Call Saul' Better Than 'Breaking Bad'? ►"I adore that the finale is exactly as sincere as you want it to be." THR's TV critics Dan Feinberg and Angie Han reflect on the final episode of Better Call Saul and the cumulative creative legacy of the Breaking Bad spinoff after six seasons. Warning spoilers. The critics’ conversation.
—"This is them at their best." THR's resident Better Call Saul/Breaking Bad expert Brian Davids spoke to series co-creator Peter Gould and stars Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seahorn about finding closure with the finale. The trio reflect on the creative decisions and the closing shot that was debated until the last minute. Warning spoilers. The story.
—Going out strong. The final episode of Better Call Saul drew the show’s biggest audience in three seasons — a span of more than five years. Monday’s series finale averaged 1.8m viewers for AMC, a same-day season high by almost 400,000 viewers (the season premiere in April had 1.42m viewers). The episode, “Saul Gone,” also had more viewers than any episode in season five, or season four. The ratings.
—"How do you break these loops?" THR's Abbey White spoke to Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy about the HBO show’s season 4 finale and how it isn’t the endgame. Joy also discusses bringing humans and hosts closer than they've ever been, Dolores' new role in the sublime, and why everything old on the series always becomes new again. Warning spoilers. The interview.
—This Week in TV. THR's Rick Porter runs down the TV premieres, returns and specials over the next seven days. Among the things to look out for over the coming week include the debut of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon and Disney+'s latest Marvel series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Also there's the second — and last — season of Kevin Can F**k Himself debuting on AMC. The full guide. |
TV Review: 'She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'►"As goofy as the title implies." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Disney+'s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Tatiana Maslany plays attorney Jennifer Walters and her big, green alter ego in Disney+'s new Marvel comedy. The review. — "Entertaining but a little empty." THR critic Angie Han reviews Apple TV+'s Bad Sisters. Sharon Horgan and Anne-Marie Duff lead the thriller series about five sisters who fall under suspicion when one of their husbands (Claes Bang) unexpectedly winds up dead. The review. In other news... — Cobra Kai gears up for karate empire battle in S5 trailer — Call Jane trailer: Elizabeth Banks joins forces with underground abortion network —TIFF: S am Mendes tapped for Ebert Director Award —Entertainment One CEO Darren Throop to step down —CNBC chairman Mark Hoffman to exit in September — The Daily Wire hires f ormer Disney exec as CMO —Paramount horror film Smile to open Fantastic Fest —Florence Pugh confirms breakup with Zach Braff What else we're reading... —Matt Zoller Seitz remembers the jagged life of Anne Heche [ Vulture] —Sarah Krouse reports on the rise of customers pursuing a "watch, cancel and go" policy towards streaming services [ WSJ] —Sonia Rao looks at Netflix's growing number of Indian American shows that are putting a new spin on arranged marriages [ WaPo] —Finn Cohen interviews Better Call Star Jonathan Banks who finally says goodbye to Mike [ NYT] —Aja Romano tries to make sense of Ezra Miller's fall from grace [ Vox] Today... ...in 1979, the Monty Python team brought religious satire Life of Brian to theaters. Financed at the last minute by George Harrison, the film was a huge critical and commercial hit and is widely considered one of the greatest comedies ever made. The original review. Today's birthdays: Robert De Niro (79), Sean Penn (62), Taissa Farmiga (28), Austin Butler (31), Julian Fellowes (73), Raphael Bob-Waksberg (38), Donnie Wahlberg (53), Rachel Hurd-Wood (32), David Conrad (55), Natalie Gold (46), Tim Bagley (65), John Marshall Jones (60), Robert Joy (71), Alex Honnold (37), Martha Coolidge (76), Belinda Carlisle (64), Phoebe Bridgers (28) |
| Sheldon Mittleman, who spent more than two decades as the house counsel for MCA/Universal, died Sunday night in Los Angeles of natural causes, a family spokesperson announced. He was 89. The obituary. |
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