| | | | What's news: The Daily Show will be looking for a new host after Trevor Noah revealed he is leaving. Marvel's Armor Wars will be reshaped as a theatrical release. Ruben Fleischer will direct Now You See Me 3. The Rings of Power topped a billion viewing minutes in its first week. Amazon is now the exclusive streaming home of James Bond. Jonathan Majors is in talks to play Dennis Rodman. — Abid Rahman |
Trevor Noah Leaving 'Daily Show' ►"My time is up." Trevor Noah announced that he is leaving The Daily Show during Thursday’s episode of the Comedy Central late-night show. He debuted as host on Sept. 28, 2015, following the departure of Jon Stewart. Noah, the youngest of the late-night hosts at just 38, explained that returning to stand-up after a two-year hiatus amid the pandemic led him to realize he wanted to continue exploring other aspects of his life. The story.
—Theatrical revival. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on Marvel Studios changing up the release strategy for Armor Wars, a Don Cheadle project that was initially set as a Disney+ series but that will now be redeveloped as a feature film. The move essentially pushes the title further down the development slate. Yassir Lester, who was acting as head writer on the series, will remain as main scribe. The story.
—More pie. THR's Rebecca Sun has the scoop on Universal adding a new installment to the American Pie movie franchise. The newest entry of the long-running sex comedy series will be penned and developed by Insecure actor and Definition Please filmmaker Sujata Day. Plot details have yet to be revealed, but the story is based on Day's original pitch and is being described as a fresh take. The story.
—Franchise man. Ruben Fleischer will direct the third entry in Lionsgate's magic-centric franchise Now You See Me. Seth Grahame-Smith, the genre scribe behind The Lego Batman Movie and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, has also boarded the film as a screenwriter. The new installment will reunite old characters as well as introduce new players to the world of the illusionists known as the Four Horseman. The story.
—🎭 Casting news 🎭 Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley are set to star in Yorgos Lanthimos’ next movie, And. The Greek director of The Favourite and The Lobster will helm the film based on a script developed by Element Pictures and Film4, and penned by Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou. The storyline for And remains under wraps. The story. |
'Rings of Power' Tops Streaming Chart ►A billion bucks for a billion minutes. Amazon's big-budget The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power had a huge opening weekend on Nielsen’s streaming charts, outdrawing HBO's House of the Dragon. Rings captured 1.25b minutes of viewing time following its Sept. 1 premiere in the U.S., the only streaming title to top a billion minutes for the week. HOTD, meanwhile, ticked up week-to-week with 781m minutes on HBO Max. The streaming rankings.
—Yes, water can make a volcano erupt. The sixth episode of The Rings of Power concluded with a spectacular reveal of an iconic Middle Earth landmark: The volcanic Mt. Doom. THR's James Hibberd spoke to the showrunners — and a geologist — to explain what happened in the episode. Warning spoilers. The story.
—Bond market. Amazon’s Prime Video will be the new streaming home of 007, with all 25 James Bond films — including the most recent installment, No Time to Die — available to watch on Oct. 5. Also available to stream will be The Sound of 007, Mat Whitecross' doc about the six-decade history of music in the franchise. The Bond series was the crown jewel of Amazon’s $8.5b purchase of MGM, which closed this year. The story.
—The Worm's turn! Jonathan Majors is in early talks to play Dennis Rodman in Lionsgate’s 48 Hours in Vegas movie. If a deal makes, Majors will portray Rodman during his infamous 48-hour romp through Las Vegas midway through the 1998 NBA Finals. The film, based on a screenplay by Jordan VanDina, will be produced by Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Aditya Sood for Lord Miller. The story.
—Coming into focus. 20th Century Studios has confirmed the cast and title of the next Planet of the Apes movie. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, from director Wes Ball, will star Owen Teague alongside newly announced castmembers Freya Allen and Peter Macon. It is slated for a 2024 release. Kingdom picks up the action many years after 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes. The story. |
#MeToo, 5 Years Later: Accusers Reflect ►"I’m eager to move on beyond my identity as a survivor." Some spoke out. Some stayed silent. THR hears from five accusers on the feelings of closure, turbulence and regret that resulted from their decision. The stories.
—Going to trial. Dominique Boutonnat, president of France’s state film financing body the National Cinema Center, will face a criminal trial on accusations of the sexual assault of his adult godson. One of the most powerful figures in French cinema, Boutonnat has been under police investigation since the criminal complaint was filed against him in October 2020. He was indicted in February 2021. The story.
—Clown prince. Prince Andrew is getting the doc treatment at Peacock. The streamer has released the trailer for Prince Andrew: Banished, a 90-minute film debuting Oct. 5 that will dive into the “tumultuous and complex” life of the scandal-plagued royal. The doc will also cover the prince's close relationship with convicted sex offenders Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. The trailer.
—"I thought the marginalized were supposed to have a voice." Author Jordan Peterson was moved to tears when commenting on Olivia Wilde’s recent remarks about him. Peterson visited Piers Morgan Uncensored on Wednesday, where he was asked about Wilde revealing that Chris Pine’s villainous character Don’t Worry Darling is based on Peterson, who the director described as a "pseudo-intellectual hero to the incel community." The story. |
THR's TV Producers of the Year: Reese Witherspoon & Lauren Neustadter ►"It's a big year for romance for us." Hello Sunshine’s top creative duo Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter talk to THR's Mikey O'Connell about that much talked about $900m sale to Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs' Candle Media. The pair also discuss the rom-com renaissance and the potential return of Big Little Lies: "I talk to Nicole Kidman about it all the time." The interview.
—"Record-breaking number of documentaries this year." National Geographic’s COVID doc The First Wave took home the top prize at the 43rd News & Documentary Emmy Awards held in New York City on Thursday. Other major winners included The Rescue, Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi's Thai cave rescue doc; and Alex Gibney's The Forever Prisoner. Sir David Attenborough received the lifetime achievement honor at the ceremony. The winners.
—Epic choice. Mexico has selected Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths as its official contender for the 2023 Academy Awards in the best international feature category. The epic comedy, which also marks Iñárritu’s first Mexican feature since 2000's Amores Perros, will be released in theaters starting on Oct. 27, before dropping on Netflix on Dec. 16. The story.
—Rising stature. The Critics Choice Association will be saluting established and emerging Asian Pacific Islander talent at a new, standalone event this awards season. The Celebration of Asian Pacific Cinema and Television will take place Nov. 4 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. The story. |
Why the NFL's Deal With Apple Is Bigger Than the Halftime Show ►Big Tech embrace. Last week, Apple Music was revealed as the new official sponsor of the NFL's Super Bowl Halftime Show in a deal said to be in the five-year, $50m-a-year range. THR's Alex Weprin writes that the Apple deal, along with Amazon securing Thursday Night Football, signifies the NFL pivoting to a future beyond the pay TV bundle. The analysis.
—"Perfectly suited for this critical role." Disney has named Alisa Bowen, previously Disney Streaming’s executive vp global business operations, as the president of Disney+. In her new role, the exec will lead the launch of the streamer’s ad-supported tier and promotion of the service and its content slate. She will continue reporting to Michael Paull, Disney’s president of direct-to-consumer. The story.
—Layoffs imminent. Comscore, the analytics measurement firm and box office data provider, is embarking on a restructuring plan aimed at cutting costs. In an SEC filling, Comscore did not disclose the number of staff impacted by the changes but noted the restructuring plan includes cash charges of approximately $6m to $8m "for severance, termination benefits and related costs." Comscore has 1,700-plus total employees currently. The story.
—Another pickup. NBC has given a series order to a multi-camera show from creator Mike O’Malley (Survivor’s Remorse, Snowpiercer) and star and executive producer Jon Cryer. The untitled series, likely to debut in the 2023-24 TV season, is the second off-cycle pickup for NBC in recent months. In July, the broadcaster gave a series order to missing-persons drama Found. The story.
—"Help Ukraine stand up in this war with the evil empire." Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has tapped Mark Hamill to help fundraise for his country’s military effort against an invading Russia. The Star Wars actor has been named an ambassador of the UNITED24 fundraising platform. Hamill will be tasked with helping to raise funds to purchase drones for the Ukrainian military. The story. |
TV Review: 'Interview With the Vampire' ►"Nosfera-tune in!" THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews AMC's Interview With the Vampire. Anne Rice's classic vampire novel gets a handsomely mounted, and queer-forward, small-screen adaptation that aims to please fans while also attracting new viewers. The review.
—"God is love, but Todd is hard to." Dan reviews CBS' So Help Me Todd. Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin star in this series revolving around a son helping his attorney mom with investigative work. The review. |
Thank Pod It's Friday► All the latest content from THR's podcast studio. — TV's Top 5. Lesley Goldberg and Dan Fienberg break down the latest TV news. The guys begin by running through the week's headline makers, including Hannah Gadsby returning to Netflix, AMC's quick renewal of Interview With the Vampire (see review above), Epix's rebrand and Hulu’s affinity for true crime. Rolling Stone chief TV critic Alan Sepinwall drops by to talk about his 100 greatest TV shows list (see link further down). There's also some chat about the best shows of 2022 and Dan reviews Hulu’s Reasonable Doubt, AMC’s Interview With the Vampire and Hulu’s Ramy. Listen here. In other news... — Bones and All trailer: Mark Rylance plays creepy oddball alongside Timothée Chalamet, Taylor Russell —Why Shelli Azoff missed her own tribute event in Beverly Hills —Bad Bunny wins big at Billboard Latin Music Awards —Phil Collins, Genesis catalogs sell to Concord —SK Global sells majority stake to private equity firm Centricus —Final Bob Saget film among Austin Film Festival highlights —Willie Mays documentary gets HBO date —Janelle Monáe to be honored as trailblazer at Outfest Legacy Awards —Netflix vp of international film David Kosse departing —VFX studio Digital Domain names Hanno Basse CTO —Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort taps Ashley Fox and Johnny Pariseau as co-presidents of production —Media Res taps Michael McCormick to lead physical production —Gersh ups Matt Vioral and Sandra Lucchesi to partner What else we're reading... —Julia Jacobs has the story behind Coolio's biggest hit "Gangsta's Paradise" [ NYT] —Josef Adalian compares the release strategies of House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power and which show is coming out on top [ Vulture] —Ryan Gilbey talks to living legend Mark Rylance about Hilary Mantel, Meryl Streep and climate disaster [ Guardian] —Jeremy Gordon writes about the curious always-online nature of Radiohead fans, despite the band's own tech-skeptism [ Pitchfork] —Here's your Friday list: "The 100 greatest TV shows of all time" [ RS] Today... ...in 1983, Columbia unveiled the R-rated Lawrence Kasdan ensemble drama The Big Chill in theaters. The film went on to be nominated for three Oscars at the 56th Academy Awards, including best picture. The original review. Today's birthdays: Marion Cotillard (47), Monica Bellucci (58), Fran Drescher (65), Maddie Ziegler (20), Jenna Elfman (51), Katrina Law (37), Lacey Chabert (40), Kieran Culkin (40), Tony Hale (52), Angie Dickinson (91), Amy Landecker (53), Eric Stoltz (61), Crystal Bernard (61), Greyston Holt (37), Teal Redmann (40), Andrea Roth (55), Toni Trucks (42), Levi Miller (20), Alistair Petrie (52), Vondie Curtis-Hall (72), Daniel Wu (48), Lyric Ross (19), Ki Hong Lee (36), Omid Djalili (57) |
| Bill Plante, who spent more than a half-century with CBS News as one of the longest-serving White House broadcast journalists in history, died Wednesday of respiratory failure at his home in Washington, his family announced. He was 84. The obituary. |
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