| | | | What's news: Paul Haggis has been ordered to pay an additional $2.5m in damages in a rape lawsuit. Jay Leno has been seriously injured in a fire. Len Goodman is leaving DWTS. ABC will broadcast the first two episodes of Disney+'s Andor. Jeff Bezos says he will give his fortune away. — Abid Rahman |
Box Office Draws May Dominate the Oscars ►"Hopefully this year’s crop will strike a perfect balance between worthy films of large and small scale." Studio blockbusters are among the strongest best picture contenders for the first time in years, which may give a hopeful ratings boost to the Oscars ceremony. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that tentpoles like Top Gun: Maverick, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: The Way of Water are all tipped to compete and could shake things up. The analysis.
—Settlement increased. Oscar-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis was ordered Monday to pay an additional $2.5m in damages in a rape lawsuit, bringing the total to $10m for a woman who said he sexually assaulted her nearly a decade ago. Jurors decided on the additional, punitive damages after hearing testimony about Haggis’ finances. The story.
—Fourth accuser to testify. Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and actress married to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, took the stand on Monday to testify against Harvey Weinstein in his sexual assault trial, bursting into tears when asked to identify the disgraced mogul. Weinstein allegedly raped Siebel Newsom in Los Angeles after their initial encounter during a meeting he set up to discuss her career. He’s maintained that they had consensual sex. The story.
—"I am OK. Just need a week or two to get back on my feet." Jay Leno has been seriously injured by a fire that broke out in his Los Angeles car garage. The 72-year-old former late night icon was burned in what he has described as a gasoline fire on Sunday. The former Tonight Show host was taken to Grossman Burn Center with burns to his face. The story.
—"I guess they don’t want to do it." Margot Robbie says Disney has moved on from a proposed Pirates of the Caribbean franchise spin-off movie that had the actor reteaming with Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson. The new, female-fronted Pirates movie, with Robbie attached to star, was first reported by THR in 2020 but in a new interview the actress said the project wasn't happening. The story. |
Why Not Everyone in Hollywood Is Deleting Twitter ►"I’m telling everyone to sit tight — for now." Some celebrities have revealed plans to drop Twitter in the wake of Elon Musk's takeover of the company, with Trent Reznor the latest to confirms he's ready to bail describing the platform as "a toxic environment." However, a digital strategist explains to THR's nicest man Chris Gardner why she is advising clients to proceed with caution. The story.
—A first. Disney is giving Star Wars drama’s Andor an unprecedented cross-platform publicity push going into the Thanksgiving holiday. The company is going to air the first two episodes on ABC, FX, Freeform and Hulu. The move comes as the show’s first season finale is set to stream on Disney+. Many critics regard Andor as the best Star Wars series yet, praising its grown-up tone, relatively complex morality and strong visual effects. The story.
—"It’s been such a wonderful experience for me." Dancing With the Stars judge Len Goodman is saying goodbye to the ballroom competition series. During Monday’s broadcast, Goodman announced that this season would be his final one. He has been the head judge of the ABC series since it debuted in 2005. The story.
—Expanding lineup. Hulu with Live TV is adding 14 new channels over the next few weeks, including two well-established independent options: Hallmark Channel and The Weather Channel. The addition of Hallmark comes in the midst of its popular annual holiday programming push Countdown to Christmas, which includes three original movies per week. The channel will join Hulu’s lineup Nov. 14, along with the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel. The story.
—"The hard part is figuring out how to do it." Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said he will give away the majority of his wealth during his lifetime. Bezos, whose net worth is estimated to be roughly $124.1b, made the announcement in a joint CNN interview with his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez. The billionaire didn’t specify how – or to whom – he will give away the money, but said the couple were building the “capacity” to do it. The story. |
How Marilyn Monroe Was Misunderstood Then and Now ►Perennially ignored. Despite a predictably effusive standing ovation at the Venice International Film Festival, reviews of Andrew Dominik’s Blonde took the film to task for underestimating Marilyn Monroe’s talent — not to mention being exploitative. THR's Gregg Kilday writes that the truth is the Academy never recognized Monroe in her lifetime, either. The story.
—"It will take a lot more than ALS to silence this icon." A representative for Roberta Flack announced Monday that the Grammy-winning musician has ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and can no longer sing. The progressive disease “has made it impossible to sing and not easy to speak,” Flack’s manager Suzanne Koga said in a release. The story.
—"Very grateful for the outpour[ing] of love and support for my brother." Nick Carter took to social media on Monday to thank fans for their support following the death of Aaron Carter, and announced a way to give back in his brother’s memory. In an Instagram Story, Carter added a direct donation link to children's mental health charity On Our Sleeves. The story.
—Inspiring story. The Imitation Game helmer Morten Tyldum has signed on to direct Ibelin, based on the true-story of Norwegian gamer Mats Steen who suffered from Duchenne muscular dystrophy and died in 2014 at the age of 25. On the surface, Steen lived an isolated and lonely life alone with his parents. Online, he helped create and support a global community on World of Warcraft that transcended age and geography. Tyldum will direct from a script by Kyle Killen. The story. |
Wes Bentley Warns of 'Yellowstone' S5 Wrath ►"He’s boiling — and it will explode." THR's Jackie Strause spoke to Yellowstone star Wes Bentley about his character Jamie Dutton, who begins season five down-and-out in the eyes of his family, and why that doesn't mean viewers should count him out as a threat. Warning spoilers. The interview.
—Breaking records. Yellowstone wrangled up a ratings record for its fifth season premiere. The Paramount Network drama delivered a cumulative viewership of 12.1m live-plus-same-day viewers, the biggest overnight launch yet for the neo-Western. According to Samba TV, the ratings make Yellowstone the top scripted series premiere of 2022. The story.
—Betting on Paramount. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has increased its stake in Paramount Global in recent months. Berkshire now owns more than 91m Class B shares in Paramount, making it the largest outside investor, holding about 15 percent of the company’s Class B stock, worth about $1.7b as of market close. Paramount is controlled via its Class A shares by National Amusements, the holding company run by Shari Redstone. The story. |
TV Review: 'Fleishman Is in Trouble' ►"Funny, sad, relatable and very faithfully adapted." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Fleishman Is in Trouble. Taffy Brodesser-Akner adapts her novel about a broken marriage as an eight-episode Hulu limited series that stars Jesse Eisenberg, Claire Danes, Lizzy Caplan and Adam Brody. The review.
—"Thoughtful and never preachy." THR film critic Sheri Linden reviews Chivas DeVinck's The Great Basin. The filmmaker's second feature-length doc touches down in rural Nevada to spend time with the locals, some of them fighting to preserve their way of life. The review.
In other news...
—Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Sade among Songwriters Hall of Fame nominees
—Pink to perform tribute to Olivia Newton-John at American Music Awards
—James Tynion IV launches Dark Horse comic book line
—Former Gimlet podcast The Pitch joins Vox Media podcast network
—Jeanette Moreno King re-elected president of Animation Guild
—Maximilian Davis’ first Ferragamo collection debuts in Beverly Hills
—Media vets David Levy, Chris Weil to lead Horizon Sports marketing label
What else we're reading...
—Lachlan Cartwright reports that NBC News has suspended reporter Miguel Almaguer for a retracted Paul Pelosi story that inflamed right-wing conspiracy theories [Daily Beast]
—David Smith on how Weird Al become an unlikely superstar [Guardian]
—Mónica Marie Zorrilla and Claire Cameron interview a particularly punchy Neil Gaiman who takes on The Sandman’s worst critics [Inverse]
—David Betancourt writes that Tenoch Huerta’s role in Wakanda Forever is a huge moment for Latinos [WaPo]
—Lane Florsheim spoke to Mark Wahlberg about changing up his infamous daily routine and why he now wakes up at 3:30 a.m. [WSJ]
Today...
...in 1991, Universal unveiled Martin Scorsese’s thriller Cape Fear in theaters, where it would go on to gross $182m globally. The film was nominated for two Oscars at the 64th Academy Awards, for Robert De Niro in the best actor category and Juliette Lewis as best supporting actress. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Jonny Lee Miller (50), Winston Duke (36), Shailene Woodley (31), Beverly D'Angelo (71), Sophia Di Martino (39), Sean Murray (45), Asia Kate Dillon (38), Bob Gunton (77), Ray McKinnon (65), Sam Waterston (82), Kevin J. O'Connor (59), Rachel True (56), Emma Dumont (28), Virginie Ledoyen (46), Susie Abromeit (40), Kathleen Rose Perkins (48), Danny Sapani (52), Maggie O'Neill (60), François Ozon (55), Sydney Tamiia Poitier (49), Judith Chapman (71), Roger Donaldson (77), David Kajganich (53) |
| John Aniston, the charming Greek-born actor and father of actress Jennifer Aniston, who for more than three decades portrayed the ruthless Victor Kiriakis on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, has died. He was 89. The obituary. |
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