| | | | What's news: New DC heads James Gunn and Peter Safran are in final stages of prepping their multi-year plan for the studio. Jake Gyllenhaal circles Apple's Presumed Innocent. Fox cancels Monarch after one season. FX orders cartel drama The Border. Catalina Sandino Moreno joins Lionsgate's Ballerina. — Abid Rahman |
THR's 2022 Women in Entertainment Power 100 ►Influence. Power. Leadership. Navigating a concerning economy, rampant consolidation and a manic marketplace, the women who make up THR's Women in Entertainment Power 100 drove projects that brought moviegoers back to theaters, spent billions on the unrelenting content boom and — gasp! — even got the town excited about broadcast TV. The list.
—"Keep using our voices and platforms for something greater than ourselves." THR's Women in Entertainment event, presented by Lifetime, returned to the Fairmont Century Plaza on Wednesday for the annual celebration of Hollywood’s leading ladies. The star-studded event honored Charlize Theron with the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award, highlighting a woman who is a pioneer in her field. Issa Rae was also recognized with the Equity in Entertainment Award, given to an individual who amplifies the voices of underrepresented communities in the entertainment industry. The story.
—"I take this leadership award less as a mark of accomplishment, but more as a challenge to keep doing the work." Charlize Theron used her time accepting the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award to recognize the women who have supported and inspired her, including the next generation of female leaders. The story.
—"I have to make the changes that I want to see." Accepting the Equity in Entertainment Award, Issa Rae shared how personal fear inspired her tireless work in amplifying underrepresented voices. The story.
More from Women in Entertainment...
—Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey recount She Said barriers in Women in Entertainment gala keynote
—Margot Robbie, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janelle Monáe present $1m in college scholarships to high school seniors
—Gabby Giffords calls on people to move ahead together in challenging times
—Chelsea Handler encourages acting in the best interest of all women |
Patty Jenkins' 'Wonder Woman 3' Not Moving Forward ►DC in flux. THR's Borys Kit has the huge scoop that Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 3 is not moving forward and is considered dead in its current incarnation. Sources say that Jenkins recently submitted her treatment, co-written with Geoff Johns, and that new DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, as well as Warner Bros. Pictures co-chairs and co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, broke the news to the filmmaker, telling her the project did not fit in with the new plans. The story.
—Dethroned. Fox has canceled family drama series Monarch after a single season. The show’s season finale aired Tuesday night. Monarch, set in the world of country music, had initially been slated to premiere in January 2022 with the NFL’s NFC championship game as its lead-in. A few weeks before its debut, however, Fox pulled the show from that spot and moved it to the fall, citing pandemic-related concerns that production might be interrupted. The story.
—First ongoing TV role. Jake Gyllenhaal is in talks to exec produce and star in Apple TV+'s Presumed Innocent, a limited series adaptation of Scott Turow’s bestseller. Gyllenhaal will play Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor whose world is upended when a close colleague is murdered. The streamer ordered the drama to series in February with an A-list creative team that includes David E. Kelley, Castle Rock co-creator Dustin Thomason and J.J. Abrams. The story.
—It's happening. FX has ordered The Border, a pilot based on a trio of novels by best-selling author Don Winslow. The drama — named after the third book in Winslow’s cartel trilogy — will delve into the drug war at the U.S.-Mexico border via the lives of several people on both sides of the conflict. The cast includes E.J. Bonilla, Frank Blake, Annie Shapero, Sebastián Buitrón and Luis Bordonada. The story.
—🎭 Casting news 🎭 Oscar nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno has boarded Ballerina, Lionsgate’s John Wick spinoff that will see her appear opposite Ana de Armas. Production on the film is now underway, with Len Wiseman directing from a script from Shay Hatten. The story. |
The Memo That Helped Take Down Weinstein ►"I thought this was going to be a secret I had to carry my whole life." As a young creative executive at The Weinstein Co., Lauren O’Connor alerted her colleagues to Harvey Weinstein's toxic behavior, but even after the blistering memo she had written in 2015 leaked and helped launch the #MeToo movement, she remained silenced by NDAs. Finally ready to tell her story, O’Connor talks to THR's Rebecca Keegan about the memo that would change her life. The story.
—Suit filed. Five women are suing Bill Cosby and multiple companies involved with The Cosby Show under a New York law that temporarily suspends the statute of limitations on sexual assault claims. The suit alleges the companies facilitated sexual assault by “bestowing Bill Cosby with power or the appearance of power at The Cosby Show and beyond.” It also claims they knew or should have known about the assaults and did nothing to stop it. The story.
—"Don’t put my name in the company of white supremacists." Kathy Griffin has slammed Twitter CEO Elon Musk for her short-lived Twitter suspension in November and her subsequent reinstatement alongside previously banned accounts Jordan Peterson and the Babylon Bee. In a new essay for Newsweek, the comedian discussed cancel culture, how the industry has changed and running a series of Hollywood salons. The story.
—Dismissed. A federal judge dismissed on Wednesday a lawsuit against celebrity endorsers of the cryptocurrency EthereumMax accusing them of fraudulently misleading their followers into buying EMAX tokens only to sell their stakes once its value was inflated. The proposed class action alleged the celebrity promoters, including Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather and Paul Pierce, conspired with the founders of the cryptocurrency to dupe investors. The story. |
9 Awards Strategists on Golden Globes Return to TV ►"They should be given a shot to gauge if they can still pull an audience." On Jan. 10, 2023, the Golden Globe Awards will return to NBC after a year off the air. But will a host, talent and viewers return too? To try to get a better sense of where things stand just days before the Globes’ nominations are announced on Dec. 12, THR surveyed nine top awards strategists, offering anonymity in exchange for candor. The story.
—"Going live for the last awards of the night will raise anticipation." In a BAFTA first, the 2023 Film Awards ceremony will air the top four categories live, feature music performances throughout and see two hosts look to enhance the home experience for viewers. THR's man in London Alex Ritman spoke to BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip about the changes and the hoped for uptick in TV ratings. The story.
—"The history of portraying people with obesity in cinema is, in a word, troubling." In a guest column for THR, The Whale writer Samuel D. Hunter says the film is an invitation to experience humanity. In writing the Off-Broadway play and, now, A24 film, Hunter writes that he sought to push back against a “huge cultural boulder” and tell a story of compassion and hope. The column. |
Harry and Meghan Attack Tabloids in Netflix Series ►"They are destroying us." The first three installments of Netflix's Harry & Meghan dropped on Thursday and while expectations of what the docuseries might reveal were high, viewers will not learn anything truly groundbreaking from the early episodes. Prince Harry is seen describing to Meghan Markle how U.K. tabloids work to exaggerate information and create bloated versions of off-the-cuff comments made about the royal family, including how they use the title “Royal Correspondent” to give their claims “extra credibility.” The story.
—"I certainly never thought that I would hold my breath for seven minutes and 14 seconds." Avatar: The Way of Water stars Kate Winslet and Sigourney Weaver have lauded James Cameron for creating the franchise's "incredible" female characters. Speaking to THR at the film's press junket, the cast of the long-awaited sequel discuss the example the director set and how he raised the bar on the technical and performance aspects of filmmaking. The story.
—"There’s this blankness to Charlie." For THR, Hilton Dresden spoke to The Good Nurse star Eddie Redmayne on how he found humanity in the inhumane for the Netflix true crime drama. The Oscar winner reveals the struggle to understand his character even though the film never explains his devious nature. The interview. |
Sundance 2023 Lineup ►Utah bound. The 2023 Sundance Film Festival will feature 101 films, representing 23 countries, including a Michael J. Fox doc, a new Nicole Holofcener film and Cat Person, the big-screen adaptation of the much-talked-about New Yorker article. The upcoming edition will return as a hybrid event, with an in-person operation in Park City, with many of the films in the lineup later becoming available online for virtual festivalgoers. The lineup.
—"Every year we have the same problem where we face an embarrassment of riches." With the lineup revealed, THR's Mia Galuppo spoke to Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente, director of programming Kim Yutani and senior programmer John Nein about the next edition of the festival, the COVID contingencies in place and the lessons learned from the Jihad Rehab controversy. The interview.
In other news...
—Steve Martin torments Martin Short in Saturday Night Live promo
—Penske Media acquires contemporary art publication Artforum
—Vox Media promotes top podcast executives Ray Chao and Nishat Kurwa
—William F. White buys Studio City Toronto as film soundstage consolidation heats up
What else we're reading...
—David Smith has the true story that inspired Will Smith’s Emancipation [Guardian]
—With Christian Bale's Equilibrium celebrating its 20th anniversary, Ryan Britt has the entirely correct opinion that the film is a sci-fi action classic [Inverse]
—Kyle Buchanan talks to Rian Johnson who makes the case for movie theaters and streamers to co-exist [NYT]
—Aja Romano writes that The Good Morning America anchors made cheating scandals fun again [Vox]
—Bojan Pancevski has a wild report on Germany arresting QAnon extremists who were plotting to overthrow government [WSJ]
Today...
...in 2000, Sony Pictures Classics unveiled Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in theaters, where it would eventually gross $213m globally. It went on to be nominated for 10 Oscars at the 73rd Academy Awards, picking up four honors including best foreign language film. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Nancy Meyers (73), Kim Basinger (69), Utkarsh Ambudkar (39), Ian Somerhalder (44), Matthias Schoenaerts (45), Tanner Buchanan (24), AnnaSophia Robb (29), Dominic Monaghan (46), Ned Dennehy (57), Wendell Pierce (59), Owen Teague (24), Nicki Minaj (40), Hannah Ware (40), David Harewood (57), Carina Lau (57), John Rubinstein (76), Sinéad O'Connor (56), Rick Baker (72), Nick Thune (43), Dharmendra (87), Kate Voegele (39) |
| Peter Cooper, a Grammy-nominated producer, highly regarded Nashville journalist and Country Music Hall of Fame executive, has died. He was 52. The obituary. |
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