| | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover star is Dave Burd, a.k.a. rapper Lil Dicky. Dick Wolf has extended his overall deal at Universal Television. Audrey Diwan will head the jury for the Cannes Critics’ Week sidebar. 13 women have accused Gérard Depardieu of sexually inappropriate behavior. Mark Wahlberg is developing a doc and a feature film based on the life of Jack LaLanne. — Abid Rahman |
The Self-Proclaimed Genius of Lil Dicky ►On the cover. Is Dave Burd the greatest rapper alive? Unlikely. The comedic voice of his generation? Maybe. The star of one of TV’s most subversively hilarious hits? No doubt. THR's Lacey Rose offers a deep dive into the neurotically immodest mind behind FX's Dave. The cover story.
—🤝 Key extension 🤝 Dick Wolf has signed a two-year overall deal extension with Universal Television. The new deal means the procedural king, fresh off multiple-series renewals for his Law & Order and Chicago franchises, will remain with Universal TV until 2027. His previous pact, which was signed pre-pandemic in 2020 and came with three-season renewals for his slate of shows, was a five-year deal that a source at the time described as being the “largest deal in TV history.” The story.
—🤝 First-look deal 🤝 Paramount Television Studios and Brillstein Entertainment Partners are teaming up to produce scripted series. The two companies have signed a multiple-year, first-look deal that will see them collaborate to make scripted original series for both Paramount Global platforms and third-party buyers. The story. |
Behind Lucasfilm's 'Star Wars' Movie Bets ►Learning the hard lessons. After years of mulling options following the underperforming Solo spinoff, Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy revealed a slate of films at the recent London’s Star Wars Celebration. THR's Borys Kit writes that the lack of a commitment to a timetable leaves Kennedy's options open as to what title will hit the big screen in 2025. The analysis.
—"Massive drop in quality." While Star Wars fans embraced the news of new films and series, The Mandalorian was arguably having its worst week ever. THR's James Hibberd writes that the crown jewel of Disney+'s Star Wars TV universe has faced a backlash that has led to user review scores plummeting, a situation made all the worse by a strong fan and critic response to the final season of Paramount+'s Picard. The story.
—"We can’t wait to share what we have in store." James also reports that filming on the second season of House of the Dragon is underway. The HBO fantasy hit has restarted production at Leavesden Studios in the U.K. There is no release date for the second season, but the show is likely to return in 2024. The story. |
Brad Pitt and the Katrina Charity Mess ►"This has been one long nightmare." Owners of faulty homes built by Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina were relieved to learn in August 2022 that charity Global Green had promised $20.5m for repairs. THR's Gary Baum reveals that the deal has since imploded amid recrimination. The story.
—Months-long investigation. Gérard Depardieu faces fresh allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior by 13 women who spoke to French investigative news website Médiapart as part of a months-long investigation into the film star. The report, published on Wednesday, details numerous cases of groping, obscene comments and inappropriate acts by Depardieu on film and TV sets between 2004 and 2022. The story.
—The gang is all set. French filmmaker Audrey Diwan will head up this year’s jury for the Cannes Critics’ Week, a parallel festival sidebar that focuses on first and second features from emerging talents. Joining Diwan on the jury are German actor Franz Rogowski, Portuguese cinematographer Rui Poças, Sundance festival programming director Kim Yutani, and Indian journalist and Berlinale festival programmer Meenakshi Shedde. The story.
—Making the cut. Mariah Carey’s holiday staple “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Madonna’s best-selling seminal sophomore album Like a Virgin, Daddy Yankee’s reggaeton anthem “Gasolina” and the Super Mario Bros. theme will join the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. A total of 25 recordings were added this year, including John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” and John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The story.
—🏆 "Shining light on a wide range of people, places, and struggles" 🏆 The Peabody Awards have revealed the 27 nominees for its documentary and news categories. W. Kamau Bell’s We Need to Talk About Cosby, Amy Poehler’s Lucy and Desi and Alex Pritz’s The Territory received nominations in the documentary category, while PBS' Frontline received several nominations in the news category. The nominees. |
Alan Ruck Talks "Earth Shattering" 'Succession' Episode ►"We pulled that thing off — we actually pulled that thing off." For THR, Josh Wigler spoke to Succession star Alan Ruck about that brutal departure in the episode "Connor's Wedding" and how it impacts the HBO hit's final season. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"This series seeks to illuminate present-day controversies." MGM+ has greenlit Hollywood Black, a four-part docuseries from Dear White People director Justin Simien. The adaptation of historian Donald Bogle's eponymous book will chronicle the experience of Black creatives in the entertainment industry over the course of a century. The story.
—Buzzy filmmakers. Radio Silence, the team behind the recent Scream movies, has signed on to direct and produce a horror feature for Universal. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett will direct the untitled project, with Radio Silence’s Chad Villella producing. The studio is keeping plot details under wraps, but the project was at one point titled Dracula’s Daughter. That project centered on a group of kidnappers who abduct a band of young people, one of whom ends up being the titular character. The story.
—Inspiring story. THR's Mia Galuppo has the scoop on Mark Wahlberg's Unrealistic Ideas banner and Wonderfilm Media developing a documentary and a narrative feature film about the late fitness personality and television icon Jack LaLanne. The doc about LaLanne is already in production, while Scot Armstrong, the writer behind comedies Old School, Semi-Pro and The Hangover Part II, has been tapped to pen the movie, which is eyeing a spring 2024 production start. The story.
—🎭 Reunion 🎭 THR's Rebecca Sun has the scoop on Crazy Rich Asians star Chris Pang joining Hulu’s Interior Chinatown in a pivotal recurring role. He’ll reunite with CRA's Jimmy O. Yang in the limited series, this time, playing his legendary older brother. The drama is based on the National Book Award-winning novel of the same name from Charles Yu, who serves as showrunner and is an executive producer on the project. The story. |
Film Review: 'Renfield' ►"Anemic." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Chris McKay's Renfield. Nicolas Cage plays Dracula and Nicholas Hoult the titular long-suffering servant in this New Orleans-set comedy film co-starring Awkwafina. The review.
—"Polished but insipid." THR's Angie Han reviews Apple TV+'s The Last Thing He Told Me. Jennifer Garner leads the adaptation of Laura Dave's novel about a woman whose husband (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) mysteriously vanishes, leaving behind his teen daughter. The review.
—"There are worse ways for a star to use his platform, but surely better ones too." Angie reviews Disney+'s Rennervations. In this four-part reality series, Jeremy Renner oversees the overhaul of decommissioned public buses and trucks into custom-built vehicles to serve children's charities. The review.
In other news...
—Jennifer Lopez is a fierce killer in latest The Mother trailer
—Charlie Day is an accidental movie star in Fool’s Paradise trailer
—Pedro Almodóvar’s Strange Way of Life gets Cannes premiere
—Paramount+, Formula 1 ink promotional deal
—National CineMedia files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
—Melissa McCarthy to receive CinemaCon’s Cinema Vérité Award in Las Vegas
—SAG-AFTRA buys new national HQ in North Hollywood for $46.6m
—Solange Knowles sells stylish Hollywood loft for $725,000
What else we're reading...
—With the likes of Netflix and Disney+ diving into K-dramas, Lucas Shaw reports on Seoul's TV boom and what's behind the global popularity of Korean content [Bloomberg]
—As Picard wraps up, Paul Verhoeven (the writer, not the filmmaker) looks back and reflects on how radically hopeful Star Trek: The Next Generation was [Guardian]
—Megan Garber makes a valiant attempt to rehab Ted Lasso's Nate Shelley, suggesting the turncoat West Ham gaffer is the real hero of the show [Atlantic]
—A bit hindsighty, but Allegra Frank writes that it was always obvious that The Super Mario Bros. Movie would make bucket loads of money and that the box office prognosticators got it all wrong [Daily Beast]
—Geoffrey Bunting believes that Andor's overall greatness has inadvertently exposed The Mandalorian’s biggest weaknesses [Inverse]
Today...
...in 1987, Fox aired a two-hour Sunday night premiere of undercover cop series 21 Jump Street. The original review.
Today's birthdays: David Letterman (76), Saoirse Ronan (29), Claire Danes (44), Herbie Hancock (83), Ed O'Neill (77), Andy Garcia (67), Eline Powell (33), Ilana Glazer (36), Walter Salles (67), Retta (53), Amr Waked (50), Imani Lewis (24), Tracy Camilla Johns (60), Brendon Urie (36), Vince Gill (66), Shannen Doherty (52), Jennifer Morrison (44), Brooklyn Decker (36), Marley Shelton (49), Jordana Spiro (46), Christina Moore (50), Kim Bodnia (58), Mike Manning (36), Hannah Dunne (33), Claudia Jordan (50) |
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