| | | | | | What's news: Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter will star in Waiting for Godot on Broadway. Don Lemon is suing Elon Musk. GLAAD's Sarah Kate Ellis is under fire. Tom Cruise will have a starring role in the Olympics Closing Ceremony. Punkie Johnson is leaving SNL. THR and SAG-AFTRA are bringing back Emmy Nominees Night event. — Abid Rahman
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Inside NBC's Olympics 'Gold Zone' ►"It’s a four hour shot of adrenaline." THR's Alex Weprin spent a day in the Gold Zone, the Peacock studio show that has become a breakout for NBC during the Paris Games. Alex was in the control room, and dressing rooms as the streamer's whip-around show covered Simone Biles securing gold for the U.S. The story.
—Mission: Possible — Zut Alors! Tom Cruise will have a starring role in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games’ Aug. 11 closing ceremony, when he may skydive to the Hollywood Sign during the orchestrated handoff to Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympiad. According to reports, the stunt was quietly shot in March. Cruise has been a regular attendee of the Paris games, notably supporting Simone Biles and U.S. gymnastics team. The story.
—Max-ing out. Over the first five days of the Paris Olympics, viewership and subscriber growth on Max in Europe has outpaced expectations, boding well for the streamer’s prospects as it expands its continental footprint. Official figures, supplied to THR, show that, so far, more than 4m viewing subscribers have tuned in for the Olympics on Max and WBD’s Discovery+ platform in Europe. The story.
—Grim. Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling has been slammed after labeling a female Olympic boxer a man. The fight between Italian boxer Angela Carini and Algeria’s Imane Khelif ended after just 46 seconds on Thursday when Carini broke down in tears and abandoned the bout. Khelif has become the target of a vicious transphobic disinformation campaign questioning her gender on social media, that was signal boosted by Rowling. The story. |
NFL's $4.7B Loss in 'Sunday Ticket' Trial Overturned ►Stunning twist. A federal judge has overturned a $4.7b verdict against the NFL, whose broadcast model was found in a jury trial to have violated antitrust laws. U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez granted the NFL's bid to void the verdict, finding that some of the testimony from experts who testified in the trial should’ve been excluded. Without that testimony, she concluded that "no reasonable jury could have found class-wide injury or damages." The court is expected to grant the NFL a new trial. The story.
—Yikes! GLAAD's Sarah Kate Ellis is under fire following an NYT investigation focused on her spending and expenses as the nonprofit’s long-serving president and CEO. The piece details months of expense reports, lavish travel costs, a rental in popular summer vacation destination Provincetown, Massachusetts, and a home office renovation paid for by GLAAD, the country’s prominent media watchdog group that campaigns for fair treatment and coverage on behalf of the LGBTQ community. The story.
—Team set. Janet Yang, the veteran producer who has served as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since August 2022, has been re-elected to that position by the Academy’s board of governors. Also elected to vice president positions were Lesley Barber (chair, Membership Committee); DeVon Franklin (chair, Equity and Inclusion Committee); Donna Gigliotti (chair, Finance Committee), who will also serve as treasurer; Lynette Howell Taylor (chair, Awards Committee); and Howard A. Rodman (chair, Governance Committee), who will also serve as secretary. The story.
—It's back! THR and SAG-AFTRA on Friday announced the return of their glittery Emmy Nominees Night event. The two groups are teaming up again to co-host the bash, which will take place the weekend of the Emmys. Heineken Silver is serving as a sponsor. This marks a return of both SAG-AFTRA and Heineken in their longstanding support of this event. This year’s Emmy Nominees Night party is set to be held at the Stanley II mansion overlooking Los Angeles. The story.
—Finally home. The U.S. and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free. Astonishing in scope, the trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations. The story. |
Hollywood Basic Crafts Overwhelmingly Ratify New Studio Deal ►"We are proud of what was accomplished for our members." Hollywood Basic Crafts coalition members on Thursday voted to ratify their unions’ new three-year deal with major studios and streamers. Each of the Basic Craft Locals saw overwhelming ratification by their respective memberships. The two parties began negotiating on June 10, with the unions focusing on key issues like higher wages, an infusion of funding into benefits plans, language governing the use of AI, staffing minimums and changes to working conditions. The story.
—Soaring. Apple's services business continues to shine. The tech giant reported services earnings of $24.2b in its fiscal Q3, up from $21.2b a year ago. That also beat Wall Street estimates of $23.96b. Overall revenues were $85.8b in Q3, up from $81.8b a year ago, with net income of $21.4b. As usual, Apple remained mum on how its media businesses, including Apple TV+ and Apple Music, factored into its quarterly growth. The results.
—Caveat emptor? The July announcement from a Las Vegas-based auction house that it will be auctioning off several dozen of Micheal Jackson’s signed drawings to the highest bidder is being called into question by the late pop superstar’s estate, which had the drawings examined years ago and has issued a “buyer beware” warning to potential bidders. Kings Auctions is set to sell off 78 pieces. The story.
—Suit filed. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon is suing Elon Musk and his social platform X, alleging a breach of contract and misappropriation of Lemon’s name and likeness, among other claims. Lemon signed a deal with X to host a show on the platform (other hosts announced at the time including Jim Rome and Tulsi Gabbard). The first episode was set to be an interview with Musk, however after the contentious interview, Musk announced that he was canceling the deal. The story. |
Keanu Reeves to Make Broadway Debut ►🎭 Bill & Ted's Existential Adventure 🎭 Keanu Reeves will make his Broadway debut in Waiting for Godot. Samuel Beckett’s play, directed by Jamie Lloyd, will come to Broadway in fall 2025. In the revival, the John Wick star will play Estragon and in most excellent casting Alex Winter, Reeves' co-star in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, will play Vladimir. The exact theater for the revival has not yet been announced, but the production says it will play at one of Ambassador Theatre Group’s seven theaters. The story.
—🎭 Strings McCrane haha 🎭 Adam Driver will star as a fictional country music icon in Kenneth Lonergan’s play Hold On to Me Darling this fall. The play, directed by Neil Pepe, is slated to begin performances at Off-Broadway’s Lucille Lortel Theatre on Sept. 24, ahead of an Oct. 16 opening night. The production is currently slated for a limited 13-week engagement. The play follows Strings McCrane, played by Driver, who faces an existential crisis after learning about his mother’s death and decides to abandon his music career to move home to Tennessee. The story. |
Britney Biopic Lands at Universal ►Lucky! In a highly competitive situation, Universal has landed the rights to Britney Spears' 2023 best-selling memoir The Woman in Me. Jon M. Chu, who is helming the studio’s forthcoming two-part Wicked feature adaptation, is attached to direct. La La Land's Marc Platt is set to produce. Spears took to social media to celebrate the news. "Excited to share with my fans that I’ve been working on a secret project with #MarcPlatt," she posted. "He’s always made my favorite movies … stay tuned." The story.
—🎭 Three more 🎭 Maia Mitchell, Belmont Cameli and Peter Stormare have joined the cast of Until Dawn, Sony’s Screen Gems and PlayStation Productions’ feature adaptation of the hit horror video game. Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Ji-young Yoo and Odessa A’zion are also on the call sheet for the production, which begins shooting in mid-August. David F. Sandberg directs in a return to the horror genre for the Shazam! Fury of the Gods filmmaker. The story.
—Into the wild. Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman, the writing team behind Knock at the Cabin, have been tapped to adapt Paramount's coming-of-age horror thriller Wilderness Reform, based on the novel of the same name written by Harrison Query and Matt Query. Pet Sematary: Bloodline director Lindsey Anderson Beer is producing the feature through her Lab Brew production company as part of her first-look deal with Paramount. The story. |
Ramy Youssef Inks First-Look Deal With Netflix ►🤝 Mo projects 🤝 Comedian, writer and actor Ramy Youssef has signed a first-look deal with Netflix. Under the partnership, Youssef and his Cairo Cowboy production company will develop and create “serialized projects” that Netflix will have the first shot at ordering. Youssef and Cairo Cowboy have worked with Netflix previously on Mo, whose second, final season is in post-production. The story.
—Batter up! The Yankees’ YES Network is launching its first animated series, part of a strategic effort to expand the programming that an RSN can program, and one that can, hopefully, engage young fans. The series is called Bronx Buds, and it follows the antics of a Bronx-based youth baseball team, The Pinstripes. The show will debut the morning of Aug. 17, and will be available in the YES app. The story.
—"No bad blood, no bridges burned, no hard feelings." Saturday Night Live regular Punkie Johnson is leaving the show after four seasons. Johnson told the audience Wednesday night at a comedy show in Brooklyn that she wouldn’t be returning to SNL for its landmark 50th season, and followed up with an Instagram video Thursday explaining why. The story.
—Record breaker. The week that includes the July 4 holiday is usually a big one for streaming services — but it’s never been as big as this year. Nielsen’s streaming content ratings show the week of July 1-7 as the biggest one ever since the measurement firm began regularly tracking streaming several years ago. TV users spent 313b minutes on streaming platforms for the week, and for the first time, every entrant in the top 10 overall titles had at least 1b minutes of viewing. The story.
—Channel 50. Lionsgate has inked a deal with rapper and TV mogul Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson to launch a free ad-supported channel, 50 Cent Action. The new FAST channel will offer premium content from Lionsgate’s library, including the original Power series. Other action fare to land on the FAST channel from the Hollywood studio’s vault will include popular movies like The Expendables, The Hitman’s Bodyguard and Rambo, and over a dozen films that starred Jackson. The story. |
What If … RDJ Didn’t Show His Face as Doctor Doom? ►"There has been a growing fascination with the relationship between Doctor Doom and Iron Man." For THR, Richard Newby weighs in on the massive casting news out of Comic-Con: Robert Downey Jr. returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom. Richard writes that it's unclear if the actor is playing a variant of Tony Stark in an upcoming pair of Avengers films, but one bold move would be for the character to keep his mask on. The analysis.
—"I love him. I love Kang." Jonathan Majors got candid about being sidelined in the MCU. In a brief street interview, Majors gave his thoughts on RDJ being cast as Doctor Doom and the reset of the Avengers films that dumps the Kang storyline after the actor's conviction for reckless assault in the third degree and harassment. Majors admitted he was “heartbroken” over the news. The story.
—"I will do better." Jamie Lee Curtis has reached out to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and vowed to choose her words about the MCU more carefully. The Oscar winner went viral on X this week after a SDCC interview with MTV where she was asked to name what phase the MCU is in at the moment. “Bad,” she replied. The story.
—"This son of a bitch didn’t say anything to me, and we’re good friends." Jeremy Renner was just as shocked as Marvel fans when RDJ revealed at SDCC that he would be playing Doctor Doom. In a new interview, the Mayor of Kingstown star revealed he “had no idea” his fellow actor and friend would be taking on the villain role and he "started blowing up [Downey’s] phone" when he found out. The story. |
Bette Midler on Her Life of Raunch and Rock 'n' Roll ►"I had such fun." For THR, Andrew Goldman spoke to Bette Middler about the highlights — and lowlights — of an extraordinary life and brilliant career. The 78-year-old THR Icon delves into being sex-positive before AIDS, a weird dinner party with Donald Trump, and how she feels about millennials on YouTube weeping to Beaches. The interview.
—"The last thing he wants to do is join in a stupid dance with a squabble between families." For THR, Josh Wigler spoke to House of the Dragon star Abubakar Salim as the HBO show edges closer to its season two finale. Salim weighs in on Alyn of Hull's decision to ditch the dragons in favor of the sea. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"I was inspired by the concept of examining the slice of life moment of a pandemic." THR's Nicole Fell spoke to showrunner Kathleen Jordan about Netflix's lavish period drama The Decameron. Jordan breaks down the impetus behind the dark comedy loosely based on Giovanni Boccaccio's short story collection set during the bubonic plague pandemic. The interview.
—"Being number one on the call sheet, I had to be ready. I wanted to set the tone." For THR, Brande Victorian spoke to veteran actor Courtney B. Vance about season two of The CW's legal drama 61st Street. The actor also opens up about O.J. Simpson’s recent death, the country's current political state and why people need to vote. The interview. |
Film Review: 'Trap' ►"Rarely scary, sometimes suspenseful, always silly." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews M. Night Shyamalan's Trap. In the director's latest film, a father (Josh Hartnett) and daughter (Ariel Donoghue) attend a pop concert that becomes part of a ploy to catch a deadly serial killer. The review.
—"A soothing experiment in building atmosphere." Lovia reviews Shatara Michelle Ford's Dreams in Nightmares. The Test Pattern director's latest, which premiered at BlackStar Film Festival, follows a group of queer Black femmes journeying across America's heartland in search of their friend. The review.
"Move along, nothing to see here." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Doug Liman's The Instigators. Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Hong Chau, Michael Stuhlbarg, Ving Rhames and Alfred Molina also appear in Apple TV+'s Boston-set crime caper about a botched robbery with spiraling consequences. The review.
In other news...
—Amazon Prime Video’s new releases coming in August 2024
—Tokyo Film Festival reveals 2024 competition jury members
—Cardi B reveals pregnancy after Offset divorce filing
—Van Cleef & Arpels creates a coffee-table book worth coveting
What else we're reading...
—Joe Parkinson, Drew Hinshaw, Bojan Pancevski and Aruna Viswanatha go inside the secret negotiations that led to Evan Gershkovich's release [WSJ]
—Ezra Klein asks whether Harris VP contender, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is the midwestern dad Democrats need [NYT]
—Ashley Carman reports that all is not well at Pod Save America parent company Crooked Media, with staff rebelling over union issues, Gaza and Biden [Bloomberg]
—Ian James reports that California's State Water Project supplies could fall up to 23 percent within 20 years due to climate crisis [LAT]
—Here's your Friday list: "The 50 best movies on Netflix right now" [NYT]
Today...
...in 2013, A24 released James Ponsoldt's The Spectacular Now in theaters. After premiering at Sundance earlier in the year, the coming-of-age drama, starring Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley and Brie Larson, was a big critical hit. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Lily Gladstone (38), Charli XCX (32), Sam Worthington (48), Kevin Smith (54), Zuleyka Silver (33), Simon Kinberg (51), Uli Latukefu (40), Mary-Louise Parker (60), Jacinda Barrett (52), Edward Furlong (47), Britt Lower (39), Joanna Cassidy (79), Cynthia Stevenson (62), Matthew Del Negro (52), Angus Imrie (30), James Preston Rogers (52), Nadia Bjorlin (44), Kerry James (38), Skyler Day (33), Hallie Eisenberg (32), Hannah Hoekstra (37), Artemis Pebdani (47), Apollonia Kotero (65), Michelle Lee (46), Chiara Mastalli (40), Joy McAvoy (42), Amir El-Masry (34) |
| Sandy Bresler, who served as Jack Nicholson's agent and spokesman for more than 60 years, died Thursday in Santa Monica after a short illness. He was 87. The obituary. |
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