| | | | What's news: Michael B. Jordan is doing well after crashing his car in Hollywood on Saturday evening. Amazon Prime Video has greenlit a series based on the movie Cruel Intentions. Apple TV+ has canceled its animated comedy series Central Park. Spotify has canceled podcasts Heavyweight and Stolen. Nicolas Cage is considering quitting making movies. — Abid Rahman
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Foxx Makes First Appearance Since Medical Issue ►"I saw the tunnel, I didn’t see the light." Jamie Foxx made a surprise appearance at the Critics Choice Association’s Celebration of Cinema and Television: Honoring Black, Latino and AAPI Achievements event on Monday night, marking his first public outing since he was hospitalized for a medical complication in April. Foxx, whose honor was not announced in advance, received the Vanguard Award for his performance in The Burial and took to the stage unassisted, showing off his trademark wit and humor as he discusses the health challenges he’s faced this year. The story.
—The latest. Opening statements for Jonathan Majors’ trial on misdemeanor assault and harassment charges began Monday, with the actor’s attorneys alleging his former partner made false allegations to “hurt him at the height of his career,” while prosecutors allege a pattern of psychological abuse culminating in the incident. The story.
—He's fine. Michael B. Jordan is doing well after crashing his car in Hollywood on Saturday evening. The actor reportedly crashed his blue Ferrari into another vehicle parked at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and North Beachwood Drive. A source close to Jordan says the actor is okay and uninjured after the car accident, and skipped Sunday night’s Academy Museum Gala out of an abundance of caution. The story.
—"A crazy, heated time." Ahead of the ratification vote on the tentative deal with studios and streamers, THR's Katie Kilkenny writes that SAG-AFTRA members are debating the deal's merits. Concerns over AI protections — including consent requirements for actors, the emergence of "synthetic performers" and using performances to train AI tools — have become a major flashpoint inside the guild. The story.
—"We're the folks who lost the jobs we love because we love each other." A year to the day after they were first suspended by ABC News following the public disclosure of their personal relationship, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes are speaking out about what happened. The pair discussed their relationship and subsequent departure from ABC on the first episode of their new iHeartMedia podcast, called Amy & T.J. The story. |
Kardashian, Murphy Team on Hulu Legal Drama ►🎭 Together again 🎭 After collaborating on American Horror Story, Kim Kardashian is reteaming with writer-producer Ryan Murphy for another project — an untitled legal drama that’s coming to Hulu. The reality star will play Los Angeles’ most successful divorce lawyer and the owner of an all-female law firm. The project has a series commitment and is written by Jon Robin Baitz (Brothers & Sisters) and Joe Baken. Kris Jenner serves as an executive producer as well. The story.
—Let's go! A series based on the 1999 movie Cruel Intentions is officially happening. Amazon Prime Video has given a series order to the project, which has been in development for two years. The eight-episode series will serve as an update to the movie — which itself is based on the classic French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses — set at a prestigious university in Washington, D.C. The series is from writers and executive producers Sara Goodman and Phoebe Fisher. The story.
—The pruning continues. Apple TV+ has canceled its animated comedy series Central Park after three seasons, according to star Josh Gad. The show’s co-creator and lead voice cast star made the announcement on social media that the series will not return for a fourth season when he responded to a fan’s inquiry with “Sadly, it’s done” on social media. Apple confirmed that the series is not returning. Central Park was produced by Disney’s 20th Television Animation, with Bob’s Burgers boss Loren Bouchard creating the series alongside Gad and Nora Smith. The story. |
McKay Shelves Netflix Political Satire ►"With the climate emergency having escalated a great deal." Adam McKay is shelving his Netflix political satire Average Height, Average Build that was set to star Robert Pattinson and Amy Adams, and instead is focusing on a project revolving around climate change. Average Height, Average Build was being described as part serial killer-thriller, part comedy, that followed a killer who uses political lobbyists to change laws in order to make it easier for him to kill. The story.
—🎭 Al returns to Cuba 🎭 Al Pacino, Diego Boneta and Xolo Maridueña are set to star in Killing Castro, director Eif Rivera’s debut feature now before the cameras in New Jersey. The Romulus Entertainment pic also stars KiKi Layne, Alexander Ludwig, Ron Livingston, Kendrick Sampson, Nicole Beharie, Logan Marshall and Titus Welliver. Killing Castro, written by Leon Hendrix, Thomas DeGrezia and Colin Bateman, follows true events when Cuban leader Fidel Castro visited New York City in 1960 to address the United Nations General Assembly. The story.
—🤝 First-look deal 🤝 Screen Gems and Sony Pictures have signed Gary Dauberman — the multi-hyphenate who has been involved in some of the biggest horror franchises of the past decade, including It, Annabelle, and The Nun — to a first-look deal for feature films. The move comes as Sony seeks to rebuild Screen Gems, its division focused on lower-budgeted fare, into a more productive label, with horror being a top focus. The story.
—The song "just felt like it deserved some kind of piece to help get it out there for another generation." THR's Rebecca Keegan has the scoop on Sean Ono Lennon and Peter Jackson partnering on animated film inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s "Happy XMas (War Is Over)." Directed by Pixar alumnus Dave Mullins with help from Jackson's WetaFX, the short film, called War Is Over, has had an Oscar-qualifying run and is seeking distribution. The story.
—"I may have three or four more movies left in me." Nicolas Cage, who’s getting ready to turn 60 years old, says he’s almost finished acting in movies. In a new interview, the famously prolific actor said he's eyeing a Hollywood endgame but said he’s open to trying other forms of acting, such as a television series, which he’s never done. The story. |
Hollywood Rabbis Prepare for Fraught Hanukkah ►"This is the first time I’ve seen people really afraid." THR's Gary Baum and Seth Abramovitch write that in the midst of the Israel-Gaza conflict, the creative community’s Jewish leaders talk about navigating ideological divides and congregant concerns about rising antisemitism: “It’s like they’ve been hit with a two-by-four.” The story.
—🏆 Worthy winners 🏆 The African American Film Critics Association held its fifth annual celebration of Black-led TV shows on Sunday at The Hotel Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica. Jennifer Hudson, Delroy Lindo, ABC's Abbott Elementary and Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso were among the winners. The winners.
—Solid line up. Hollywood has a strong presence on the shortlist for Time's 2023 Person of the Year. The magazine and global media brand announced the finalists for its annual Person of the Year Monday morning. The 2023 honoree will be officially announced Wednesday morning. Among the finalists this year are the Hollywood strikers at the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, Barbie, and Taylor Swift. The story.
—The cuts keep coming. Spotify is canceling two of its podcasts, Heavyweight and Stolen. The two podcasts will finish out their seasons at Spotify and then can shop their shows elsewhere. The cancellation of the podcasts, both of which were produced by Spotify’s Gimlet Media, was unrelated to the layoffs of 17 percent of the company announced earlier Monday, but rather come as the platform tempers its investment in the podcast space. The story.
—Heading to Broadway. Alicia Keys’ musical, Hell’s Kitchen, will come to Broadway this spring. The production, which features a score by Keys and a book by Kristoffer Diaz, made its world premiere at the Public Theater this fall and is currently running there through Jan. 14. The show will transfer to the Shubert Theater on Broadway starting March 28, with an opening night on April 20. Hell’s Kitchen is inspired by Key's life and includes existing and new songs written by the singer. The story. |
Hollywood's Top Dealmakers of 2023 ►Strikes? What strikes? From big podcasting paydays to the luxe French conglomerate that snapped up CAA, Hollywood still saw major deals in 2023, and these are the 35 playmakers who made them happen. The list.
—"We collected an eight and a half billion dollar check on Friday." Peacock has hit 30m paying subscribers, and Comcast thinks it will only continue to get bigger. At the UBS Global Media and Communications conference Monday morning, Comcast president Mike Cavanagh revealed the new subscribers number, adding that the average revenue per user is $10 per month. Cavanagh also added that Disney's payment for Hulu has cleared. The story.
—"[The studios] always built their studios to license. The unnatural state was kind of forced vertical integration." Ted Sarandos was also at the UBS Global Media and Communication Conference on Monday and Netflix's co-CEO spoke frankly about the streaming space. After the success of Suits on Netflix, Sarandos said he expects “a bunch of lawyer shows” from rivals and also argued that when the streamer's subscribers discover shows long after they air on broadcast it adds value to library licensing deals for original IP. The story.
—"We all agree that something simpler makes sense." SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz hasn’t put a timeline on negotiations to combine the satellite radio giant with the Liberty SiriusXM tracking stock group, but likes the proposed transaction and sees a deal on the horizon. Speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, Witz also discussed a new app and streaming platform for cars and mobile devices. The story. |
Film Review: 'Wonka' ►"Bad for your teeth." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Paul King's Wonka. Timothée Chalamet, Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman and Keegan-Michael Key appear in the origin story of Roald Dahl’s magical chocolatier, from the filmmaker behind the Paddington movies. The review.
—"A B-movie with heart." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Philip Noyce's Fast Charlie. Pierce Brosnan plays an assassin dealing with some dangerous problems in a film co-starring Morena Baccarin and the late James Caan. The review. In other news...
—True Detective S4 trailer plunges into the Alaskan winter
—Colman Domingo to receive Actor Spotlight Award at Palm Springs International Film Fest
—Switzerland Country of Honor at 2024 Cannes Film Market —International Documentary Association appoints Dominic Asmall Willsdon as executive director
—Reena Singh joins Macro as executive vp, head of scripted TV
What else we're reading...
—Nicole Acevedo reports that Daddy Yankee is saying goodbye to reggaeton to devote his life to his Christian faith [NBC News]
—Twenty years after the iconic Christmas special of the British version of The Office, Sam Parker talked to Stephen Merchant and Martin Freeman about one of the greatest episodes of TV ever made [GQ]
—Madeline Leung Coleman interviews Todd Haynes about his new film May December, and how the characters are incredibly hard to root for [Vulture]
—After Elon Musk's erratic New York Times Dealbook Summit interview, Drew Magary writes that he has become a public failure of a man [SFGate]
—Jacob Knutson reports that 23andMe has been subject to a personal data hack of 6.9m of its customers [Axios]
Today...
...in 1997, Miramax unveiled Good Will Hunting, a heartfelt drama starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Robin Williams that went on to win two Oscars at the 70th Academy Awards, including for Williams’ performance. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Lynne Ramsay (54), Catherine Tate (54), Paula Patton (48), Amy Acker (47), Tom Sturridge (38), Nick Stahl (44), Frankie Muniz (38), Linus Sandgren (51), Margaret Cho (55), Keri Hilson (41), Taz Skylar (28), Jessica Paré (43), Morgan Brittany (72), Tamara Feldman (43), Dolly Wells (52), Adan Canto (42), Lauren London (39), Lydia Leonard (42), Clara Rugaard (26), Gabriel Luna (41), Sophie Simnett (26), Ross Bagley (35), Jeroen Krabbé (79), Walt Dohrn (53), Kali Rocha (52), Johan Renck (57), Kurt Koehler (53), Ava Kolker (17), Alex Kapp (54) |
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