| | | | What's news: WBD launched Max with a slew of new shows based on its strongest IP. Cannes has revealed its 2023 lineup. Billy Porter will play James Baldwin in a biopic. Amazon's A League of Their Own is coming to an end. Fox orders celebrity competition show Stars on Mars. Mia Goth has joined the cast of Blade. — Abid Rahman |
Goodbye HBO Max... Hello Max ►Max power. Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday officially unveiled Max, its refreshed streaming service combining programming from HBO Max and Discovery+. At a launch event in Burbank, WBD execs revealed the pricing tiers for the streamer that debuts under the new branding on May 23, but also took the opportunity to announce a slew of new projects for Max and dropped several teasers for upcoming marquee shows. The story.
—It's happening. Also on Wednesday, WBD CEO David Zaslav revealed plans for a Harry Potter live-action TV series that will head to Max. David Heyman, who produced all eight feature films, is in talks to exec produce the original series based on the books. J.K. Rowling will exec produce and "her insights will be helpful," says HBO boss Casey Bloys, who declined to discuss the controversy over the author’s remarks on transgender people. The story.
—Back to bazinga! Max is reteaming with Big Bang Theory creator Chuck Lorre for a new series set in the same world as the former CBS hit. Plot details are being kept under wraps for what would be the second offshoot of television’s longest-running multicamera comedy series ever. Prequel series Young Sheldon, currently airing its sixth season on CBS, was the first offshoot from Big Bang Theory. The story. —Mining that IP. The Conjuring universe is expanding to television. Max is developing a series based on the horror franchise, which encompasses eight movies so far. The film series’ producer, Peter Safran (who’s also now co-head of WBD’s DC Studios), will exec produce. James Wan, who directed the first two Conjuring films and produced seven of the eight movies in the franchise, is also in talks to serve as an exec producer. No writer is attached yet. The story.
—More Westeros incoming. The Game of Thrones empire is expanding once again, with Max officially ordering to series a new prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. The title is based on George R.R. Martin’s popular trio of Dunk and Egg novellas, which chronicle the story of “Dunk” (the future Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Duncan the Tall) and “Egg” (the future king Aegon V Targaryen) as they wander Westeros having adventures roughly 100 years before the events of the novels. The story. |
Jamie Foxx Suffers "Medical Complication" ►"We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers." Jamie Foxx is recovering from a medical complication he experienced while shooting his latest film. According to Foxx’s daughter, Corinne, the actor “experienced a medical complication” and is “already on his way to recovery.” The Oscar winner is currently filming the upcoming Netflix feature Back in Action in Atlanta. The story.
—Dream project. Billy Porter is set to play James Baldwin in a feature based on the life of the legendary novelist, essayist and activist for Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group Motion Pictures. Porter and Dan McCabe will pen the script for the film based on David Leeming’s 1994 book James Baldwin: A Biography. The Pose star is a longtime devotee of Baldwin, having quoted the writer during his 2019 Emmy-winning acceptance speech. The story.
—Mission to Mars. Fox has ordered Stars on Mars, a space-themed celebrity competition series fronted by the legendary William Shatner. The unscripted show, from Fremantle-owned Eureka Productions, will see celebrities leave behind their pampered earth-bound lives for life in a space station that simulates the conditions on Mars. The story.
—🎭 Horror queen 🎭 Mia Goth, who established herself as a rising talent in horror with last year’s X and Pearl, is jumping into the horror-centric side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by joining the cast of Blade. Mahershala Ali stars as the titular half-human, half-vampire who spends his time hunting vampires to avenge his late mother. Yann Demange is at the helm of the project, which has a script by Michael Starrbury. The story.
—It begins! There's officially 158 days till the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards and THR's executive editor for awards Scott Feinberg is already on the case. Here, Scott offers his initial assessment of 24 categories. The Feinberg Forecast. |
Cannes 2023 Goes Back to the Future ►Cinema's biggest names. The 76th Cannes International Film Festival looks like an all-killer, no-filler program, with some of the biggest names in international cinema, many of whom got their start on the Croisette, returning to that famed red carpet. The 2023 competition lineup includes new films from Wes Anderson, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Ken Loach, Todd Haynes, Nanni Moretti and Aki Kaurismäki. The lineup.
—Progress, but not really. In 2022, Cannes smashed its record for women directors in competition. However, the news of five names from 21 films vying for the Palme d’Or didn’t quite make for something to be overly enthusiastic about. This year looks marginally better with a record six female directors set to compete for the top prize, and this time from a shortened total selection of 19 films. The story.
—Doubling dip. Among the quirks of the Cannes 2023 lineup is the programmers making the rare choice of featuring two filmmakers twice in their selection. German filmmaking legend Wim Wenders will be doing double duty with two films showing at the festival (Perfect Days and Anselm). Chinese documentarian Wang Bing will also get a double bill next month (Youth and Man in Black). There will also be double Depp this year, with Johnny Depp's Jeanne du Barry opening the festival and Lily-Rose Depp's HBO series The Idol premiering out of competition. The story. |
Flurry of New Movies Hit the Box Office ►We are so back, baby! A slew of new movies will hit North American cinemas this weekend in what marks one of the most varied and crowded lineups since the pandemic struck. Among the five new nationwide titles are Universal’s modern-day vampire comedy Renfield, TriStar’s supernatural thriller The Pope’s Exorcist, Makoto Shinkai’s coming-of-age anime adventure Suzume, Bleecker Street's crime boss comedy Mafia Mamma and the indie sports bio Sweetwater. The box office preview.
—COVID content. THR's Rick Porter has the scoop on Amazon Studios developing a TV thriller based on 56 Days, a best-selling 2021 novel by Catherine Ryan Howard. Set in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, 56 days tells the story of a lockdown romance that turns deadly. Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher are adapting the book, and James Wan’s Atomic Monster banner is producing along with Amazon. The story.
—An end, of sorts. Staying with Amazon, the streamer's baseball drama A League of Their Own is ending with an abbreviated run. As THR previously reported, the final season will be billed as a limited series and conclude with four additional episodes. The news followed months of negotiations between Amazon and Sony Pictures Television and after the cast and creatives had to ink new deals for the abbreviated run. The story.
—Coming back for more. Syfy has renewed sci-fi drama The Ark for a second season. The pickup comes a week ahead of the show’s first season finale, set for April 19. The series has been a solid performer for Syfy, with its series premiere in February topping 1m viewers over three days — the network’s best showing for an original series since Resident Alien in January 2021. The story.
—New product just dropped. Spotify is targeting radio broadcasters with its latest product update that will make it easier to covert radio shows into on-demand podcasts and offer a new source of ad revenue on existing content. Beginning today, Spotify’s “broadcast-to-podcast” technology will be fully integrated into the audio giant's Megaphone platform. Fox Corp. is one partner using the tech to turn existing Fox radio shows into on-demand podcasts. The story. |
THR's Power Lawyers 2023 ►The cream of the crop. Meet the 100 entertainment dealmakers and litigators at the top of their game in THR's 17th annual power list. The list.
—The select few. In 2019, THR launched Legal Legends, a Power Lawyers special feature that honors entertainment attorneys whose career achievements and contributions to the industry hare extraordinary. Each year, a new group of attorneys is inducted, and those who are chosen retain the title for life. Meet the new honorees. The story.
—The specialists. From negotiating Rihanna’s return to the stage to selling Justin Bieber’s catalog, these lawyers are handling the hottest deals in music. The story. |
TV Review: 'Barry' S4 ►"Reaches new heights of ambition — and new depths of darkness." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews HBO's Barry. Everyone's favorite hitman-turned-actor continues looking for his fresh start in the final season of the pitch-dark series by Bill Hader and Alec Berg. The review.
—"High concept, low brow." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Catherine Hardwicke's Mafia Mamma. Toni Collette and Monica Bellucci star in this action comedy about a woman who travels to Italy for a funeral only to reluctantly become a crime boss. The review.
—"Admirable premise, shaky execution." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Katie Holmes' Rare Objects. The star directs, co-writes and appears in a contemporary adaptation of Kathleen Tessaro's novel about a woman healing from a traumatic experience. The review.
In other news...
—Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda get rowdy on bachelorette trip to Italy in Book Club: The Next Chapter trailer
—The Continental teaser trailer: Mel Gibson stars in John Wick TV series
—Ana de Armas threatens violence during wild sketch pitch for SNL promo
—Ariana DeBose returns to host 2023 Tony Awards
—Hailey Bieber launches YouTube cooking show
—Jen Reberger tapped as HR chief for Disney Entertainment Television
—AMC Networks promotes Kim Granito to head of marketing
What else we're reading...
—John Herrman explains why every app now feels like TikTok, but worse [Intelligencer]
— Dave Holmes profiles man-of-the-moment Pedro Pascal who discusses his current ubiquity, his trans sister and the internet making him "daddy" [Esquire]
—As a strike looms, five writers share their stories with Stacy Perman and Anousha Sakoui [LAT]
—Katie Robertson and Jeremy Peters report that an investigation was likely into Fox’s handling of documents in the Dominion case and whether it had withheld details about Rupert Murdoch’s corporate role [NYT]
—Social media legend Dril has unmasked himself and given the extremely lucky Nate Rogers the chance to profile him [Ringer]
Today...
...in 2001, Renee Zellweger brought Bridget Jones’s Diary to U.S. theaters. The R-rated rom-com, which grossed north of $280m worldwide, went on to become a film franchise. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Allison Williams (35), Ron Perlman (73), Ruben Östlund (49), Bokeem Woodbine (50), Glenn Howerton (47), Ricky Schroder (53), Dylan Conrique (19), Matthew Needham (39), Caroline Rhea (39), Yoo Ji-tae (47), Courtney Peldon (42), Erick Avari (71), William Sadler (73), Genevieve Angelson (36), Peter Davison (72), Saundra Santiago (66), Kyle Howard (45), Alexandra Adi (52), Dylan Penn (32), Bill Conti (81) |
| Emily Marshall, who parlayed a gig as a secretary for producer Fred de Cordova on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show into a two-decade career as a sitcom writer on Newhart, Rhoda, WKRP in Cincinnati and Designing Women, has died. She was 79. The obituary. |
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