| | | | What's news: AFM 2022 opens its doors today. Fox Corp.'s quarterly revenue is up on the back of stellar political ad sales. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will star in Marvel/Disney+'s Wonder Man. Jack Dorsey has held on to his Twitter shares. The U.S. government has blocked the sale of Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House. — Abid Rahman |
AFM 2022 ►The market hot list. The 2022 American Film Market opens today, and THR's Scott Roxborough and Alex Ritman have the lowdown on the titles creating the most buzz. A period drama with Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, a WW2 Jerry Bruckheimer-produced spy thriller starring Henry Cavill, Damian Lewis playing (twin!) vampires — the indie film biz may be struggling, but there will still be plenty of opportunities for dealmaking at the Loews. The list.
—"Not making movies is not an option." The independent movie world returns again to Santa Monica for AFM this week amid the cinema business still struggling to recover following the COVID pandemic. Scott Roxborough looks at the challenges faced by indie players and the possible green shoots of recovery. The analysis.
—Together again. Killing Eve star Sandra Oh is reteaming with director Ann-Marie Fleming for the sci-fi thriller Can I Get a Witness. Canadian distributor Mongrel Media is shopping the Canadian indie, now in development, at AFM via its Mongrel International banner. The story.
—Up for grabs. David Duchovny will star alongside Oakes Fegley and T.R. Knight in Irving Franco’s Adam the First. Franco wrote and directed the film, which follows Adam, who, when his foster parents are suddenly murdered, sets out on a cross-country adventure to track down a series of men who could be his estranged father. Archstone Entertainment is introducing the film to buyers at AFM. The story. |
Fox Revenue Rises on Record Political Ad Haul ►Bucking the trend. Fox Corp. reported revenue in its fiscal first quarter of $3.19b, up 5 percent from the same quarter a year ago, owing to higher affiliate fees and a strong advertising environment, led by a record-shattering midterm elections advertising haul. That being said, the company reported net income of $618m, down from $708m a year earlier. The results.
—Profit slips. Sony Pictures saw its fiscal Q2 operating profit drop to $202m, a decline of 30 percent from $288m in the year-ago period. Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30, meanwhile, rose 3 percent to $2.44b from $2.37b. The studio’s biggest theatrical release during the period was Brad Pitt’s Bullet Train, which disappointed somewhat, earning $240m worldwide. The results.
—Aggressive play. Amazon Music is sweetening the deal for Prime members by including ad-free podcast listening as a member perk and increasing its library of music from 2m to 100m songs, available on shuffle mode for members without Amazon Music Unlimited subscriptions. At launch today, publishers like CNN, NPR, The New York Times, Barstool Sports, Slate and ESPN will offer their top podcasts without ads on the platform. The story.
—Betting on Elon. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has retained his stake in the company, despite Elon Musk's takeover. According to securities filings, Dorsey decided against selling more than 18m shares in the social media giant, valued at about $1b. Dorsey and Musk are friends, with the Twitter co-founder having endorsed the Tesla CEO’s takeover effort. The rollover keeps Dorsey around as one of Twitter’s largest shareholders, after only Musk and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. The story.
—No dice. Paramount Global’s attempt to sell publisher Simon & Schuster to the owner of Penguin Random House has been blocked, a Washington D.C. judge ordered on Monday. The companies replied that they’re evaluating options and are looking to request an appeal. U.S. Circuit Court Judge Florence Y. Pan wrote that the impact of the $2.18b deal "may be substantially to lessen competition." The story. |
Inside the Rebirth of Transactional TV ►History repeats itself. During the 2009 recession, History Channel found an unlikely hit in Pawn Stars, the unscripted series in which everyday people found life-changing treasures in their attic and turned them into cash at a time when money was tight. Amid a new recession, producer Brent Montgomery is once again channeling the hunt for hidden treasures into a wave of new programming that includes Netflix’s Goldin Auctions, History’s Secret Restoration and a project with collectible asset platform Rally. The story.
—IP freed. Peacock has announced that it has gone straight to series on Crystal Lake, a prequel drama based on the hit horror movie franchise Friday the 13th. Bryan Fuller, the prolific television creator behind American Gods and Star Trek: Discovery, will write, showrun and exec produce the series, which will be produced by A24. The drama comes after a years-long copyright dispute. The story.
—Breakout star. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on Everything Everywhere All at Once star Stephanie Hsu joining The Fall Guy, Universal’s big-screen take on the 1980s adventure television series. Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are already on the call sheet for the action piece, which is being helmed by Bullet Train director David Leitch. The story.
—Superhero triple dip. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, the actor already known to comic book fans as DC’s Black Manta in the Aquaman movies and for his memorable role in HBO’s Watchmen, is in talks to star in Wonder Man, Marvel’s latest Disney+ series. Shang-Chi filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton and Brooklyn Nine-Nine writer-producer Andrew Guest are spearheading the series. Wonder Man is one of Marvel’s oldest characters, first introduced in 1964. The story.
—Snapped up. THR's Mia Galuppo has the scoop on Netflix optioning the latest book from bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch, The Rewind. Bryan Unkeless’ Clubhouse Pictures will develop the novel as a feature film. The Rewind, a romantic comedy, will be published in November by Berkley Books. The story.
—🎭 Casting news 🎭 Apple TV+’s critically acclaimed series Severance has begun production on its second season and is almost doubling the size of its regular cast. Eight actors are joining the ensemble, while Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Dichen Lachman, Jen Tullock, Tramell Tillman, Michael Chernus and Christopher Walken are all set to return. The newcomers to the cast are Bob Balaban, Robby Benson, Stefano Carannante, Gwendoline Christie, John Noble, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Alia Shawkat and Merritt Wever. The story. |
Hallmark Channel Coming to Peacock ►🤝 Wide-ranging streaming deal 🤝 Peacock announced a wide-ranging content deal with Hallmark Media on Monday, a deal that includes streaming simulcasts of Hallmark’s linear channels, as well as a library of on-demand and next-day content. The companies are branding the deal as a “first of its kind” arrangement that includes both the live linear channels (typically available through a cable or satellite provider) and a subscription video on-demand library deal. The story.
—Pretty stellar week. Taylor Swift scored one of the most historic weeks in the 64-year history of the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, becoming the first artist to claim the survey’s entire top 10 in a single frame. Swift surpassed Drake, who logged nine of the Hot 100’s top 10 for a week in September 2021. Leading the way for Swift on the Hot 100, “Anti-Hero” launched at No. 1, marking her ninth career chart topper. The story.
—"I’m OK and healing fast!" Chris Redd says he’s “resting up” after he was attacked in front of the Comedy Cellar last week. The SNL alum posted a statement to his Instagram story on Sunday with an update on his health status after he was punched in the face by an unidentified individual while exiting a car outside the New York venue’s front entrance. The story.
—"It definitely opened my eyes to the internet and how horrific it can be." Ben Platt opened up about the social media backlash to last year’s film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen. In a new interview, the actor said he felt “really grateful” for his time spent playing the title role in the Broadway production of the musical that made him a star. However, Platt said it was difficult to deal with negative response to Universal's movie adaptation, released in September 2021. The story.
—Yikes. Shanghai Disney Resort abruptly closed its doors on Monday in response to China’s strict COVID-19 prevention measures. All guests inside the park at the time of the announcement were trapped until they could present a negative test result. The decision marks the second time in 12 months that Disney has been forced to suddenly halt operations of the theme park due to China’s zero COVID policy. The story. |
Halloween: Most Outrageous Celebrity Costumes ►Maximum effort. From an opera-singing alien to a blue-coated villain, stars like Janelle Monáe and Kim Kardashian got in the spooky spirit this year to celebrate Halloween. THR's nicest man Chris Gardner is here with a morning after the night before rundown on the best — and weirdest — outfits seen around Hollywood for Halloween 2022. The looks.
—Keeping it alive. The Halloween talk-show tradition continued on Monday as the broadcast network morning and daytime hosts donned pop-culture-inspired ensembles. The hosts of NBC’s Today, the syndicated Live With Kelly and Ryan and ABC’s The View all dressed up for the holiday, with movie and TV show characters and popular musicians among the inspirations. The roundup. |
Film Review: 'Last Flight Home' ►"A thoughtful and wrenching goodbye." THR critic Lovia Gyarkye reviews Ondi Timoner's Last Flight Home. The director behind We Live in Public and Dig, captures her father’s decision to exercise his rights under California’s End of Life Option Act in her new documentary. The review.
In other news...
—TV ratings: World Series opener hits three-year high
—Amazon enters sports-talk arena with daily slate of shows
—Sinclair renews multiyear deal with ABC, Disney
—The Fabulous Four wedding comedy lands at Bleecker Street
—Pink, Carrie Underwood set to perform at American Music Awards
—SiriusXM adds 138,000 Subscribers, Pandora subs drop
—Imax revenue grows but posts overall loss in Q3
—Sue Kroll to head marketing at Amazon
—Bresha Webb signs with Gersh
What else we're reading...
—Ashley Wong reflects on the James Corden restaurant drama, and looks how it takes a lot to get banned by fancy a eatery [WSJ]
—Constance Grady writes that the romcom is alive and well, as long as they star the same people they did 20 years ago [Vox]
— Zack Whittaker reports that Twitter’s verification chaos is now a cybersecurity problem [TechCrunch]
—Edward Ongweso Jr. writes that Facebook’s monopoly is imploding before our eyes [Vice]
—Heartstopper’s Kit Connor comes out as bisexual: “Congrats for forcing an 18-year-old to out himself” [Gay Times]
Today...
...in 1967, Warner Bros. unveiled director Stuart Rosenberg’s prison drama Cool Hand Luke, starring Paul Newman, in theaters. The film went on to be nominated for four Oscars at the 40th Academy Awards, winning one in the supporting actor category for George Kennedy. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Toni Collette (50), Penn Badgley (36), Anthony Kiedis (60), Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (49), Jamie Demetriou (35), Daniela Melchior (26), Rachel Ticotin (64), Anthony Ramos (31), Max Burkholder (25), David Foster (73), Lyle Lovett (65), Logan Marshall-Green (46), Natalia Tena (38), Alex Wolff (25), Jaymes Butler (63), Kaylee Bryant (25), Morgan Krantz (36), Mary Kate Schellhardt (44), Lauren-Marie Taylor (61), Helene Udy (60), Stephen Hopkins (64) |
| Cormac Roth, a musician and son of British actor Tim Roth, has died after a yearlong battle with Stage 3 germ cell cancer, his family announced Monday. He was 25. The obituary. |
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