| | | | What's news: Singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie has denied she faked her Indigenous heritage. Five Nights at Freddy's is on track to open to at least $45m to $50m domestically. Paramount+ has canceled Fatal Attraction and Rabbit Hole. Kitty Laing is stepping down as head of comedy at United Agents. — Abid Rahman
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Arrest of Majors' Accuser Draws Criticism, Confusion ►"We have not gotten a good answer from the NYPD about why they felt that they had to carry out that arrest." After Grace Jabbari, the ex-girlfriend of Jonathan Majors who accused the actor of assaulting her on March 25, was arrested Wednesday, some parties involved tell THR's Caitlin Huston that they are not sure why it happened, given the knowledge that no charges would be filed against her, while one outside expert points to it as a “publicity stunt.” The story.
—Stepping away from leadership. Kitty Laing will step down as head of comedy at United Agents after an investigation into her social media reposts and shares that were highly critical of Israel. Laing will, however, remain with the U.K. talent agency to represent her clients. The story.
—"It is with great sadness, and a heavy heart, that I am forced to respond to deeply hurtful allegations." Buffy Sainte-Marie, considered to be the first Indigenous Oscar winner (for co-writing the pop standard “Up Where We Belong” from 1982’s An Officer and a Gentleman), is facing allegations that she fabricated her heritage. Ahead of a doc on Sainte-Marie's background from CBC's The Fifth Estate, the singer-songwriter reached out to THR to defend herself. The story.
—Weekend at Freddy's. Universal and Blumhouse’s horror pic Five Nights at Freddy will have no trouble bumping Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour from the top spot at the domestic box office and winning the Oct. 27-Oct. 29 weekend. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Five Nights is tracking to open to at least $45m to $50m domestically, a huge sum considering the movie is being released simultaneously on Peacock (only paid-tier subscribers will have access). The box office report. |
Thousands of SAG Members Sign Letter in Solidarity of Strike ►"We have not come all this way to cave now." A group of SAG-AFTRA strike captains organized an open letter signed by apparently thousands of union members in solidarity amid the ongoing actors strike. The signatories of the letter appear to include Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Cynthia Nixon, Leslie Odom Jr. Demi Moore, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jon Hamm, Mark Ruffalo, Jonathan Groff, Kate Walsh, Chelsea Handler and more. The story.
—"People are losing their whole livelihoods." Makeup artists, set decorators, props suppliers and other workers across Hollywood gathered outside of City Hall in Los Angeles on Thursday, pushing government officials to offer more assistance amid the actors strike. The below-the-line workers — joined by actors, writers and directors — called for an increase to unemployment benefits, as well as for Gov. Gavin Newsom to intervene in negotiations. The story.
—Thinning the roster. Paramount+ has canceled its Fatal Attraction reboot as well as its Kiefer Sutherland-led drama Rabbit Hole. Both shows, which ran for one season each, will remain on the platform. Fatal Attraction, produced in-house by Paramount Television Studios, starred Lizzy Caplan and Joshua Jackson but did not garner favorable reviews despite its star power. The story.
—"It’s all just parked." Director David Yates gave an update on the Fantastic Beasts franchise, which halted after three of its five planned films were released. Speaking on a podcast, Yates said that Warner Bros. had hit pause on the beleaguered series of films. He also claimed the entire idea of a five-film franchise wasn’t the studio’s at all. It was initially planned as three films, and he suggested that J.K. Rowling made the announcement of a five-film plan without much of the creative team knowing ahead of time during a media event for the first film. The story. |
Inside THR's Beauty Dinner ►"Our glam teams are the reason why we can do what we do, and shine on the carpet and feel confident." THR's nicest man Chris Gardner recaps the highlights from the star-packed dinner to celebrate THR's 2023 Beauty Issue. The Instagram-presented soirée drew a chic roster of boldfaced names that were joined by their glam gurus at Holloway House for cocktails, dinner and electric mingling. The story.
—"I am shocked and deeply saddened." Patrick Dempsey reacted with shock and sorrow following the mass shooting that took place in his hometown of Lewiston, Maine, that left at least 18 people dead. The Grey’s Anatomy alum took to his Instagram Thursday to express his devastation over the tragedy. "Maine’s great strength is its sense of community, and now we are being asked to come together to support everyone that has been devastated by this senseless act," he wrote. The story.
—Rescheduled. John Mulaney and Pete Davidson have announced they will reschedule two upcoming shows in Maine in the aftermath of the Lewiston mass shooting. The two comedians were scheduled to perform at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland on Saturday before a Sunday show at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. Both of those 8 p.m. shows will now happen at a later date. The story.
—The Queen of Pop continues her reign. Madonna has been re-certified by the Guinness World Records as the biggest-selling female recording artist of all time. The singer, who is currently on her Celebration Tour, has reportedly sold more than 400m records — albums, singles and digital — during her 40-year music career. According to the website, the singer has held the record since 2009, with Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé following right behind. The story.
—ICYMI. Taylor Swift dropped her new album 1989 (Taylor’s Version) Thursday evening, which consists of 21 tracks, including the songs on the original deluxe version of the album as well as five bonus tracks. To celebrate its release, among a carousel of photos shared on Instagram, Swift wrote, “I was born in 1989, reinvented for the first time in 2014, and a part of me was reclaimed in 2023 with the re-release of this album I love so dearly. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the magic you would sprinkle on my life for so long.” The story. |
'Perfect Days' Star on Making of Wim Wenders' Oscar Contender ►"In this film, the idea of komorebi — or the light and shadow that shimmers through the leaves of a tree — is a very important concept." THR's Patrick Brzeski spoke to Koji Yakusho, the star of Wim Wenders' Tokyo-set drama Perfect Days that is garnering a lot of awards buzz. The Japanese screen icon, a longtime favorite for fans of world cinema who won Cannes' best actor prize this year, discusses the process of making the deceptively simple character study. The interview.
—"I’m hoping that the movie takes the audience through this wild zany, amazing world." THR's Abbey White spoke to Five Nights at Freddy's filmmaker Emma Tammi. Ahead of the BlumFest New York Comic Con panel, Tammi talked about visually adapting a point-and-click horror game, how she used the Jim Henson Company’s creature expertise, and casting stars Josh Hutcherson and Matthew Lillard. The interview.
—"There’s a specific group that gets media attention." For THR, Ronda Racha Penrice spoke to Found creator Nkechi Okoro Carroll and star/producer Shanola Hampton. The duo discuss how the show was influenced by amongst other things the 2017 social media storm over missing Black and Brown girls in D.C. and why the missing and marginalized are the real stars of the hit NBC drama. The interview.
—"It really is about these people who have no clue what’s going on around them." For THR, Natalie Oganesyan spoke to Sam Esmail about his new film, Leave the World Behind. The writer-director opened up about getting notes on the pic from the Obamas — who served as producers on the feature that premiered at AFI Fest — and comparisons of the project to his past work on Mr. Robot. The interview. |
Film Review: 'Five Nights at Freddy's' ►"There are better places to spend your evenings." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Emma Tammi's Five Nights at Freddy's. The giant animatronic animal figures at a family pizza restaurant come to murderous life in Blumhouse's horror film based on the video game, whose cast includes Josh Hutcherson, Mary Stuart Masterson and Matthew Lillard. The review.
—"Not very CW-y, but darkly funny and with ample potential." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews The CW's Everyone Else Burns. Simon Bird and Kate O'Flynn lead the cast of a transplanted British series about a Manchester family devoted to a fundamentalist Christian sect. The review.
—"A career-spanning conversation long on charm if a tad short on substance." Dan reviews Rob Reiner's Albert Brooks: Defending My Life. The director sits down with his friend and high school classmate for an intimate HBO documentary tracing Albert Brooks' career from alternative comic to filmmaking legend. The review.
—"Charmless action comedy delivers neither action nor comedy." THR's Angie Han reviews Pierre Morel's Freelance. A former Green Beret (John Cena) hired to protect a journalist (Alison Brie) becomes involved in a coup against a South American dictator (Juan Pablo Raba) in an action comedy directed by the Taken filmmaker. The review. |
Thank Pod It's Friday ► All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.
—TV's Top 5. THR's Lesley Goldberg and Dan Fienberg break down the latest TV news. This week's episode begins with the latest updates on the SAG-AFTRA strike. There's a section on Jon Stewart's future after The Problem got canceled at Apple. And there's a supersized Critic’s Corner, with Dan reviewing Showtime's Fellow Travelers, HBO's The Gilded Age, Netflix's All the Light We Cannot See and The CW's Everyone Else Burns. Listen here.
—Awards Chatter. THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this live episode, Scott spoke to Mark Ronson. The star DJ-turned-producer/songwriter reflects on his path to music, notable collaborations (with the likes of Amy Winehouse, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga) and his expansive work on Greta Gerwig's 2023 blockbuster Barbie. Listen here.
—Behind the Screen. THR's tech editor Carolyn Giardina's podcast focuses on the filmmaking crafts. In this special episode Carolyn moderates a panel discussion surrounding AI, recorded at the View VFX and computer graphics conference in Torino, Italy. Listen here.
In other news...
—The Crown S6 trailer focuses on Princess Diana tragedy
—Lisa Frankenstein teaser: Kathryn Newton tries to date an undead Cole Sprouse
—Kiefer Sutherland to narrate John Lennon murder doc series for Apple TV+
—Kyle Richards opens up about Mauricio Umansky separation
—Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson to receive Hollywood Icon Award
—Producer Nick Weidenfeld signs with WME
—UTA signs Paper Girls creator Stephany Folsom
What else we're reading...
—Elizabeth Lopatto reports from Sam Bankman-Fried's trial, and writes that the disgraced crypto mogul is going to talk himself right into jail [Verge]
—Dan Kois watched all the Daily Wire’s new children’s shows, most notably a rip-off of Bluey, and found that there's not really an overt political agenda [Slate]
—With Elon Musk's omnishambles ownership of Twitter hitting its first anniversary, Dan Primack looks at how the errant billionaire has bungled things so badly [Axios]
—Steve Rose talked to David Fincher about The Killer and his urge to make "a good B-movie," the filmmaker also discusses the misogynistic legacy of Fight Club [Guardian]
—Here's your Friday list: "21 horror-movie remakes that you should actually watch" [Vulture]
Today...
...in 1955, Warner Bros. released a teenage drama, Rebel Without a Cause, just a month after star James Dean’s untimely death in an automobile accident. The film would go on to earn three Oscar nominations at the 28th Academy Awards, including the first for young actress Natalie Wood. The original review.
Today's birthdays: John Cleese (84), Roberto Benigni (71), Elan Gale (40), Kelly Osbourne (39), Marla Maples (60), Joanna Scanlan (62), Fran Lebowitz (73), Robert Picardo (70), Emilie Ullerup (39), Inbar Lavi (37), Patrick Fugit (41), Elias Toufexis (48), Kivanç Tatlitug (40), Hamza Haq (33), Lukita Maxwell (22), Peter Firth (70), Jeff East (66), David Walton (45), Teilor Grubbs (22), Tom Jackson (75), Samantha Logan (27), Ted Wass (71), Alba Flores (37), Marcos A. Ferraez (57), Peter O'Meara (54), Laura Niemi (57), Melanie Minichino (40), Briana Lane (38), Gianni DeCenzo (22), Gavin Lewis (20) |
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