| | | | What's news: After 118 days, the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike is officially over. Sony has moved Venom 3 to November 2024. Disney will begin integrating Disney+ and Hulu in December. Disney is slashing its content spend for 2024. Kevin Feige's Star Wars film is dead. — Abid Rahman
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REJOICE! THE SAG-AFTRA STRIKE IS OVER! ►118 days. SAG-AFTRA has officially reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract with studios and streamers, a move that is heralding the end of the 2023 actors strike. The SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Committee approved the agreement in a unanimous vote on Wednesday. The strike ended at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. On Friday, the deal will go to the union’s national board for approval. The story.
—"A deal of extraordinary scope." SAG-AFTRA is calling its newly minted, strike-ending agreement with studios and streamers one that will benefit “every category” of its membership. In a statement Wednesday night, the union’s TV/theatrical negotiating committee said the tentative agreement is “a deal of extraordinary scope” that includes substantial pay increases, guardrails for the use of artificial intelligence and what it calls a “streaming participation bonus.” The story.
—"We did it!!!!" Mandy Moore, Alec Baldwin, Octavia Spencer, Daniel Dae Kim, Kumail Nanjiani, Albert Brooks, Jeffrey Wright, Alyssa Milano and Noah Schnapp were among Hollywood notables who took to social media to share their excitement over the end of the strike and getting back to work. The reaction.
—Now what? With Hollywood's "summer of strikes" officially over, THR's Rebecca Keegan, Alex Weprin, Lacey Rose, Lesley Goldberg, Pamela McClintock, Winston Cho, Chris Gardner and Rick Porter look at five existential issues that still loom large over the entertainment industry. The story. |
Actors Hit the Town to Celebrate ►"It's surreal." Spirits were high Wednesday evening as SAG-AFTRA members gathered at All Season Brewing in L.A. to toast the union reaching a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract. THR's Tiffany Taylor reports that the actors erupted in cheers when negotiating committee members, including Frances Fisher, Shari Belafonte and Avis Boone, arrived and joined the celebration after Wednesday’s vote. The story.
—"We wholeheartedly welcome this news." With the U.K.’s film and TV industries — so dominated by studios and streamers — having been paralyzed by the SAG-AFTRA strike, it was perhaps understandable that the biggest cheers outside the U.S. over the tentative deal were heard across the Atlantic. A recent Bectu report that highlighted the devastating impact of the strikes on U.K. crew. A survey of 4,000 freelancers found that 80 percent had their employment directly affected by the SAG-AFTRA strike, with three-quarters out of work. The story.
—"Their fight is our fight." The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists is “relieved” over the tentative deal reached by SAG-AFTRA with the AMPTP. ACTRA is studying the new contract with the AMPTP as it faces future contract renewal talks with local indie film and TV producers north of the border. The story.
—Hanging in the balance. The rescue mission to save Hollywood’s 2024 calendar — and the summer lineup in particular — has commenced now that the actors’ strike has been resolved. THR's Pamela McClintock and Aaron Couch write that the list of movies halted during the strike include the next installments in the Deadpool franchise, alongside Twisters and Gladiator 2, and now the studios will be looking to restart production as soon as possible. The story.
—First mover advantage. In the immediate aftermath of the SAG-AFTRA strike announcement, Sony pushed back the release date of the highly-anticipated third installment in the Venom superhero franchise. The Sony and Marvel film was initially set to be released in theaters on July 12, 2024, but has been pushed back to Nov. 8, 2024. Production had begun on the Venom sequel in late June in Spain, but it was among films that were halted the following month due to the actors' strike, which started on July 14. The story. |
Footage of Hamas Atrocities Screens in Hollywood Under Heavy Guard ►Gruesome. On Wednesday evening, some 200 invited members of the entertainment industry — most of them avowed supporters of Israel — convened at the Museum of Tolerance in West LA for a screening of Bearing Witness, a 43-minute film featuring footage of atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists against Israeli citizens on Oct. 7. THR's Scott Feinberg reports that the somber gathering took place under heavy guard, with protests taking place outside the venue. The story.
—Suit filed. Neil Portnow, former head of the Grammy Awards, has been sued by a member of the Recording Academy who claimed he drugged and raped her in a New York hotel in 2018. The lawsuit accuses Portnow of sexual assault, which the Recording Academy “aided and abetted” to “protect their reputations and silence Plaintiff and other women in the music industry.” The case nods to Portnow stepping down as chief of the institution after his contract expired in 2019 amid self-inflicted scandals. The story.
—"I started laughing and crying at the same time and I couldn’t stop because I became hysterical." Sharon Stone alleges that during the 1980s, an unnamed head of Sony exposed himself to her before implying she engaged in sexual acts in his office. While appearing on SiriusXM’s Let’s Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa, Stone went to explain why she didn’t name anyone at the height of the #MeToo movement and in her 2001 memoir. The story. |
Iger: Disney Now in "Building" Phase ►"While we still have work to do, these efforts have allowed us to move beyond this period of fixing." Disney, having restructured its operations, is now moving on to its next "building" phase, CEO Bob Iger said in a statement linked to the presentation of the company's quarterly results on Wednesday. Disney+ added 7m core subscribers in the quarter, which also saw the company report its earnings in a new format that breaks out ESPN. The results.
—Integration incoming. During Disney’s quarterly earnings call, Iger said that the company would begin integrating its Hulu streaming platform onto the larger Disney+ in December for users who have a Disney Bundle subscription. The news comes on the heels of Disney acquiring full control of Hulu after buying out Comcast’s stake in the streamer a week ago. The story.
—Licensing incoming. While Disney will continue licensing some of its content to third parties, Iger said Wednesday that the company will not “chase bucks” by giving away its core brands like Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars to the likes of Netflix. The story.
—Retrenchement incoming. Disney expects to cut billions of dollars from its content budget in fiscal 2024. Speaking on the company’s earnings call, Disney’s interim CFO Kevin Lansberry said that next year the company expects to spend $25b on content, down from $27b from fiscal 2023. The company was initially targeting content spend in the low $30b range this year, but the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes have impacted that spend, as did Iger’s new content strategy. The story.
—Not incoming. Kevin Feige's Star Wars film is dead. The Marvel Studios boss, who was developing a Star Wars feature to produce, is moving on to other things as he focuses on the dozens of films and TV shows on his plate in the MCU. In 2019, THR revealed that Feige was developing the project, and in January 2021, news broke that he had hired Loki creator Michael Waldron to pen the script. The story.
—"We lost some focus." On the call, Iger also addressed Disney's recent rough streak at the box office, having dominated the industry for years. Iger seemingly took a swipe at his short-lived predecessor, Bob Chapek, for ramping up content production across TV and film. Historically, including for most of the time Iger was CEO the first go-around, Disney’s film operation released far fewer titles than its rivals. The story. |
How Netflix Conquered Hollywood — And Then Broke It ►"Let them spend and piss away a lot of money." In a story adapted from his book Pandora’s Box: How Guts, Guile, and Greed Upended TV, legendary film and television historian Peter Biskind has the inside story of how Netflix muscled its way to the top of Hollywood by defying the industry’s conventions — and eventually paid the price. The story.
—"Much worse than what had been before." Brit Marling says Netflix's cancellation of The OA was a harbinger of the “broken business model” of streaming. In a new interview, the star and co-creator of the mystery drama, which was axed in 2019 after two seasons, said that the streamers initially disrupted TV and injected "creativity and market energy" into the space, but it became evident that the new approach "was going to calcify or solidify into something that in many ways was a broken business model and much worse than what had been before." The story. |
Inside THR's Latin Power Event ►"Our wish is that the next generation of Latinos know their worth." THR celebrated Latin leaders across film, television and music at its inaugural Latin Power Event, held Wednesday at Soho Beach House in Miami. The event, created in conjunction with the release of THR’s Latin Power Issue, honored actress America Ferrera, entertainment exec Cris Abrego, actor and restauranteur Danny Trejo and Emilio and Gloria Estefan. The story.
—🏆 Lainey's night 🏆 Teary-eyed and shaking onstage, breakthrough singer Lainey Wilson won entertainer of the year at the CMA Awards — solidifying her spot as the darling of country music and potential multiple Grammy nominee when nominations are unveiled on Friday. Tracy Chapman was also a winner, picking up the song of the year prize for Luke Combs' cover of her 1988 classic "Fast Car." The winners.
—Can you smell.... Trevor Noah’s first podcast guest will be Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. What Now? with Trevor Noah is the latest entry in the comedian’s dizzying portfolio, and he’s been keeping his guest roster under wraps until the weekly pod began rolling out. Going forward, the Spotify podcast will feature all different types of guests, some considerably more famous than others. The story.
—New chief lawyer. Fox Corporation revealed on Wednesday that Adam Ciongoli will lead all legal, compliance and regulatory matters, as well as oversee government affairs, at the company. Ciongoli takes on the job as Fox faces at least three shareholder lawsuits involving alleged election falsehoods since the $787.5m settlement over a defamation complaint brought by Dominion Voting Systems, as well as a second defamation suit brought by Smartmatic. The story. |
Film Review: 'The Marvels' ►"Typical Marvel fare freshened up with sparkling lead turns." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Nia DaCosta's The Marvels. In the highly anticipated follow-up to Captain Marvel, three heroes — played by Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani — find their fates and powers intertwined. The review.
—"Since the dog is OK, you can just enjoy the amusing chemistry." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Paramount+'s Colin From Accounts. In this Aussie import, series creators Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer star as two single people who meet in a lighthearted animal-endangerment situation. The review. In other news...
—Ghostbusters teaser trailer heats up with first look at Afterlife sequel
—Hannah Waddingham shows off vocal chops in Apple TV+ holiday special trailer
—Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie trailer teases Tony Shalhoub’s return in pandemic-affected world
—Reneé Rapp reigns as Regina George in trailer for Mean Girls musical movie
—Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross battle Christmas elf in Candy Cane Lane trailer
—Masters of the Air trailer: Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks’ WWII drama takes flight
—Timothée Chalamet is convinced he’s Superhuman in SNL promo
—Roku vet Alison Levin joins NBCU as president of advertising, partnerships
—Tubi hires former Freevee exec Sameer Balgi as CFO
What else we're reading...
—Igor Derysh writes that Fox News' biggest stars such Sean Hannity are struggling to cope after a brutal election night for the GOP [Salon]
—Ray Brewer reports that the Las Vegas Sphere made a $98.4m loss in Q3 and CFO Gautam Ranji has quit [Las Vegas Sun]
—The Vatican has announced that transgender people can be baptized in the Catholic Church and be godparents [BBC]
—Madeline Roth, Laura Bradley and Kyndall Cunningham have gathered together the juiciest bits Barbra Streisand’s massive new memoir [Daily Beast]
—Despite the soft tracking numbers for The Marvels, Mark Hughes writes that Marvel Studios's woes are overstated [Forbes]
Today...
...in 1988, the horror character Chucky debuted as Child’s Play hit theaters. While the technical aspects of the film were praised, the characters and material were not. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Ryan Murphy (58), Teryl Rothery (61), Finn Cole (28), Eric Dane (51), Jennifer Holland (36), Vanessa Lachey (43), Nick Lachey (50), Fernando Meirelles (68), Marco Bellocchio (84), Bille August (75), Lio Tipton (35), Robert Duncan McNeill (59), Scottie Thompson (42), Delta Goodrem (39), Toni Hudson (63), Lou Ferrigno (72), Emma Jenkins-Purro (25), Alyson Court (50), Elysia Rotaru (39), Billy Howle (34), Karen Dotrice (68), Madison Cheeatow (30), Nikki Blonsky (35), Chris Jericho (53), Cory Hardrict (44), Jordan Bolger (29), Karoline Eichhorn (58), Gökçe Bahadir (42), Grace Palmer (29), Melinda Dahl (39), Joanna Riding (56) |
| | Hengameh Panahi, the French-Iranian producer and sales agent who founded Celluloid Dreams and was a pivotal figure in bringing works from such auteurs as Jacques Audiard, Jafar Panahi, François Ozon, Marjane Satrapi and Todd Haynes to the world, has died. She was 67. The obituary. |
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