| | | | What's news: Netflix added an impressive 9m new subs in Q3. Skydance Animation's Spellbound and Pookoo will now debut on Netflix and not Apple. Disney is breaking out financial figures for ESPN for the first time. Quentin Tarantino visited an Israeli military base. — Abid Rahman
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What Lies Ahead for Hollywood? Insiders Weigh In ►Burning questions. What comes after peak TV? What’s the next labor battle? Whose stories will still be told? THR asked four Hollywood players from different corners of the industry — Fargo creator Noah Hawley, filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood, Teamster's Lindsay Dougherty and CJ Group's Miky Lee — for their predictions on what a post-strike era might look like. The story.
—How profitable is ESPN? Disney is breaking out figures for ESPN for the first time. Beginning next quarter, Disney will change how it reports its quarterly financials. The move comes after CEO Bob Iger’s reorganization earlier this year "to restore creativity to the center of our business." According to an SEC filing Wednesday that outlines the new financial reporting structure, ESPN delivered $16b in revenue in fiscal 2022 (the company’s fiscal year ended Oct. 2022), and had profits of $2.9b. The story.
—Promo Meg engaged. THR's Mia Galuppo has the scoop that Meg Ryan's much-anticipated return to the rom-com genre, What Happens Later, has landed an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA ahead of its Nov. 3 theatrical release. Ryan is now free to promote the film. Bleecker Street is releasing the film nationwide, which stars David Duchovny and Ryan as a former couple who get snowed in at a regional airport overnight. The story. |
Netflix Plans "Substantial Changes" to Exec Pay ►"We recognize we don’t have wide support for our executive compensation model of the last 20 years." Yesterday was a rather newsy day for Netflix, with the company revealing its Q3 earnings. In a letter to investors, the company said "substantial changes" are coming in 2024 to executive compensation packages. The promise comes after shareholders rejected the company’s 2022 pay packages in a “Say on Pay” vote over the summer. Netflix says it will shift its pay plans "to a more conventional model." The story.
—Monster increase. Netflix revealed it is adding new subscribers at a torrid pace, as its password-sharing crackdown continues and as it makes moves that could push subscribers toward its nascent advertising tier. The company reported 9m new subscribers, with revenue of $8.5b and operating income of $1.7b for Q3. The company had reported 5.9m new subscribers last quarter, thanks in part to its crackdown on sharing passwords. The results.
—"We’re heading toward a world where streaming data will be more available." Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos says the company will look to be more transparent with viewership data in the future. Sarandos also defended the earlier practice as part of a “promise” to the company’s creative partners. The story.
—More price increases. Netflix has started rolling out price increases for some consumers in the U.S., U.K. and France. In the U.S., the prices for the basic plan — the lowest tier plan without ads — will increase from $9.99 to $11.99, while the premium plan, which allows users to watch in Ultra HD on supported devices and download on six supported devices at a time, will increase from $19.99 to $22.99. The plan with ads, at $6.99, and standard plan, at $15.49, will remain the same price. The story.
—Another big get for Netflix. Apple and the John Lasseter-led Skydance Animation have parted ways, with the latter bringing its full existing animation slate to Netflix. First up for release under the deal is Spellbound, Netflix will also release the once Apple-bound Pookoo from Tangled director Nathan Greno. Spellbound is due out in 2024, with Pookoo hitting the service a year later. The multiyear pact will also see Skydance Animation develop and produce animated movies for Netflix. The story.
—A landmark reborn. The last Netflix story, honest! The streamer and the American Cinematheque will reopen Hollywood’s iconic The Egyptian Theatre next month after more than three years of renovations and just in time to showcase the streamer’s awards lineup. The historic landmark, built during the silent era, has been dark since theaters across the country shuttered in March 2020. Netflix closed a deal to buy the Egyptian in May 2020 and committed to a major restoration. The story. |
'Euphoria' Creator Calls for "Peace and Dialogue" ►"The world must prevent further escalation." In a guest column for THR, Israeli-American writer-producer Ron Leshem, whose credits include HBO’s Euphoria, Hulu’s No Man’s Land, says that despite the "paralyzing horror" of the conflict in Israel-Gaza, artists can play a role in the de-escalation of violence: "We must keep believing that art can transform the world with the truth." The column.
—"All I do every day is try to do something that's going to make a difference and help people." Paramount Global chair and National Amusements president Shari Redstone has revealed that she's "not doing well" since Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel. Redstone offered her thoughts on the conflict to THR's Scott Feinberg on Tuesday, during the "Black & Jewish Conversations" event at Spago. Attendees of the gathering, that fosters partnership between Hollywood’s Black and Jewish communities, included Cookie Johnson, Don Lemon and Byron Allen. The story.
—"A bright moment during a dark time." Quentin Tarantino visited a military base in Southern Israel to help “boost morale” amid the state’s war with Hamas. The 60-year-old director toured military bases and mingled with soldiers, according the international nonprofit Israel education organization Stand With Us. The story.
—"We remain steadfast in our commitment to support the courageous journalists." Amid the Israel–Hamas conflict, the Golden Globes Awards has donated $75,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, nonprofit organization that defends the right of journalists to safely report in war zones, without harm or fear of reprisal. The story. |
'The Morning Show' Reacts to Roe v. Wade Overturn ►"Abort the court." THR's Jackie Strause recaps "Strict Scrutiny," the seventh episode of season three of Apple TV+'s The Morning Show. Most of the news team is having a big fashion night out when the headlines hit that Roe v Wade will be overturned. Warning: Spoilers! The recap.
—Heading to Broadway. Suffs — a musical about the suffragists movement — is transferring to Broadway, with Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai set to join the producing team. With a book, music and lyrics by award-winner Shaina Taub and direction by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman, the musical — which had its world premiere off-Broadway at The Public Theater in 2022 — is set to open at the Music Box Theatre on April 18, 2024. Preview dates and full casting have yet to be announced. The story.
—"It has always been there, but I packed it away as people do." John Stamos alleges he was sexually abused while he was an adolescent, an experience he says left him with feelings he "shouldn’t have had to deal with." In a new interview, the Fuller House star opens up about his childhood trauma that he writes about more fully in his upcoming memoir, If You Would Have Told Me. The story.
—"He did say, ‘Fede, what can I say? It’s f**king great!" Fede Alvarez, who is directing the new sequel to the Alien franchise, admitted that he was “terrified” to hear filmmaker Ridley Scott's feedback on the upcoming movie. During a recent discussion, the Don’t Breathe director revealed that his “director’s cut” of the film was finished, which meant he “had to go through the incredibly tense process of obviously sending it to Ridley,” who directed the original 1979 Alien and is a producer on the sequel. The story. |
Fisher Stevens on Getting David Beckham to Talk ►"I don’t think the guy ever sat for more than 20 minutes in his life and talked about himself." THR's Mikey O'Connell spoke to Fisher Stevens about directing the much-discussed new David Beckham Netflix docuseries, Beckham. Stevens discusses convincing the sporting icon to open up about his life and career and also that viral Rolls-Royce moment. The interview.
—"It's action, adventure, mystery and intrigue." Wattpad Webtoon Studios is tackling an adaptation of Hawk, its popular sci-fi webnovel by Mike Booth, tapping Christopher Yost (Thor: Ragnarok, The Mandalorian) to pen the project. The project is being developed as an animated series, which Yost, a Marvel Comics scribe, will write. Booth’s webnovel follows the adventures of space bounty hunter Kas Balera. The novel has over 1m reads on Wattpad. The story.
—"Per doctor’s orders." The Late Show is coming out of CBS' rotation at least until next week as host Stephen Colbert recovers from a COVID-19 diagnosis. The comedian shared the news Wednesday that he would be out and unable to tape for the remainder of the week. The show pivoted to its pandemic-era virtual style earlier this week, with Colbert performing his monologue from his home after news initially broke of his diagnosis. The story.
—"Exploited without permission." Universal Music Group, Concord Music Group and ABKCO are stepping into the legal battle against generative AI to stop the use of their copyrighted material to train AI systems, this time in a lawsuit against Anthropic. The trio of music publishers sued the company in Tennessee federal court on Wednesday, accusing it of “systematic and widespread infringement” by copying and distributing lyrics from at least 500 songs from artists such as Katy Perry, The Rolling Stones and Beyoncé. The story.
—Sticking around. Roger Goodell has signed a contract extension with the NFL. The league's commissioner has signed a new deal that will keep him at the helm of the NFL through March 2027. Under Goodell, the NFL inked rich media deals with NBCUniversal, Paramount, Fox, ESPN and Amazon in 2021 worth more than $110b, an extraordinary number that reset the standard for sports rights. But it also shifted more games to streaming, a strategic move to make them more accessible to cord-cutters. The story. |
TV Review: 'Bodies' ►"Strong acting and writing ground an outlandish narrative." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Netflix's Bodies. Four London detectives in four different time periods stumble upon the same mysterious body in a limited series starring Shira Haas, Stephen Graham, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Kyle Soller and Amaka Okafor. The review.
—"A sunny but surface-level journey." THR's Angie Han reviews Netflix's Neon. Three best friends make their way up the Miami reggaeton music scene in a comedy created by Shea Serrano and Max Searle and produced by Daddy Yankee. The review. In other news...
—Sylvester Stallone gets personal in Netflix doc trailer
—Ferrari trailer explores the automotive mogul’s life in Adam Driver-led biopic
—Callum Turner grabs Olympic glory in George Clooney’s Boys in the Boat trailer
—Taylor Swift releases remix and live version of “Cruel Summer” from concert film
—Imax expands in China with 20 new theater locations
—Camerimage: Michael Mann’s Ferrari among films added to competition lineup
—Lil Uzi Vert lists modern Bell Canyon house for $6m
—Ann Philbin to retire as director of the Hammer Museum in 2024
—Stephen Emery, producer at Big Swell Entertainment, dies at 46
What else we're reading...
—Amid conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, Kyle Chayka looks at how social media has become a net negative for big news events happening in real time [New Yorker]
—Anemona Hartocollis reports that Harvard students are being doxxed for writing an anti-Israel letter [NYT]
—Critic Roxana Hadadi believes that Mark Hamill is stealing the show in Netflix's The Fall of the House of Usher [Vulture]
—From Taxi Driver to Hugo, Alyssa Bereznak reflects on the swift and subtle art of Martin Scorsese's cameos in his own movies [Ringer]
—Savannah Walsh talked to Crossroads director Tamra Davis about how the film captured the real Britney Spears beyond the pop phenom [VF]
Today...
...in 1979, Columbia unveiled the R-rated legal drama …And Justice for All in theaters. The film went on to earn two Oscar nominations at the 52nd Academy Awards, for its screenplay and for Al Pacino in the lead actor category. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Rebecca Ferguson (40), Gillian Jacobs (41), Jon Favreau (57), Trey Parker (54), Chris Kattan (53), Jason Reitman (46), Gabrielle Dennis (42), John Lithgow (78), Desmond Harrington (47), Katie Douglas (25), Samantha Robinson (32), Katja Herbers (43), Hunter King (30), Vanessa Marshall (54), Caroline Catz (53), Sara Tomko (40), Ken Stott (69), Silje Torp (49), Sunny Deol (66), Art Parkinson (22), Benjamin Salisbury (43), Roger Cross (54), Annie Golden (72), David Labrava (61), Noah Le Gros (24), William O'Leary (66), Yayan Ruhian (55), Ciara Renée (33), Omar Gooding (47) |
| Burt Young, a former boxer who was in Sylvester Stallone's corner as his brother-in-law Paulie in the six Rocky films and received a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his turn in the original, has died. He was 83. The obituary. |
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