| | | | | | What's news: If there's light at the end of the tunnel, to paraphrase the poet Robert Lowell, it's probably an oncoming train. But as 2024 comes to a close, that distant glimmer may just be a film projector, as moviegoing appears to be making a surprising rebound. Elsewhere in this edition, a new trailer for Superman shows the Man of Steel bruised and battered, just like the nation; Emily Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón lands her next role and Logan Paul out-heels his brother with a return to the WWE. — Julian Sancton
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Theater Owners See Good Signs for Moviegoing Despite 2024 Slump ►Holiday cheer. More than 76 percent of Americans between ages 12 and 74 saw at least one movie in a cinema this year, while 85 percent plan to go as often or more often in 2025, according to a new report by The National Association of Theatre Owners. The report comes as domestic revenue for the full year looks to be down as much as 5 percent from 2023 in what many believe is a result of a slowdown in product due to the labor strikes and post-production delays due to the pandemic. The good news: before Thanksgiving, revenue was down by 11 percent. The story. |
Superman Is Bruised and Bloody in First Trailer as James Gunn Shares Secrets from Set ►A better tomorrow. Superman is at a low point when audiences first glimpse him in the trailer for his new movie. Bloody and bruised, he crash lands in a frozen landscape. His breathing is labored, like he’s got fluid in his lungs, or maybe some broken ribs. During a trailer launch event for the press on the Warners lot in Burbank this week, writer-director said the Man of Steel's sorry state in the trailer reflects that of the nation these days. “We do have sort of a battered vision of Superman at the beginning, and I think that is our country," he said. The story.
—Absolute-ly Fabulous. The death of comic books has been foretold for many years, but just like the superheroes and villains it chronicles, the medium always returns, sometimes bolder than before. No one had a bigger year, arguably, than DC, which boasted the biggest comic of the year (Absolute Batman), a hot new line of graphic novels (the Absolute franchise), and new distribution channels. Says DC’ president Jim Lee, "There's no off switch to what we do." The story. |
Hollywood’s Most Notable Deaths of 2024 ►Late, lamented. The entertainment industry has already had to say goodbye to several actors, singers, performers, creatives, executives and all-around industry legends this year. THR is highlighting some of the most well-known names who have died in 2024, including Jon Landau, Carl Weathers, Donald Sutherland, Shannen Doherty, Liam Payne, Maggie Smith, Chita Rivera, James Earl Jones, Bob Newhart, Gena Rowlands, Richard Lewis, Chance Perdomo and Toby Keith, among others. The story.
—Bottoms Up. Curious, did something happen in 2024 that inspired musicians to reflect deeply into their brown bottles, from Shaboozey and Hozier to Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson? Not since the 1970s has there been such a cavalcade of whiskey-related tunes in the public consciousness. The world’s longest election, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, soaring inflation and wealth inequality at home, and a host of other natural and unnatural disasters made 2024 ripe for whiskey content. They don’t call it the Devil’s Water for nothing. The story. |
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav Sells $30M in Stock ►Cashing out. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has made his first significant sale of stock in the entertainment company since he led the merger of Discovery Communications and WarnerMedia two and a half years ago, reports THR's Alex Weprin. According to an SEC filing, Zaslav sold more than 2.5 million shares in the company at an average price of $11.73, netting him just north of $30 million. The filing notes that Zaslav “sold shares in connection with year-end income tax and gift/estate planning activities.” The story.
• PLUS: Warner Bros. Discovery is establishing a new leadership team at its U.S. TV networks business, which will soon report to Channing Dungey. Dungey, who also runs WBD’s TV studios group, will add oversight of the U.S. TV networks following the retirement of Kathleen Finch. The story.
—Not going anywhere. ABC News has inked Good Morning America and This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos to a new multiyear contract. The new deal and the high-profile, $15 million settlement with President-Elect Donald Trump that was signed this weekend were handled separately, with no correlation between one and the other, a source says. While terms of the deal were not immediately available, it will keep the veteran ABC News anchor at its flagship morning show for the foreseeable future, and news of the deal should end any speculation that Stephanopoulos’ role at ABC is in jeopardy after the settlement. The story.
—Double Pump-ed. Two board members of Fortnite studio Epic Games resigned after the U.S. Department of Justice expressed concern that their positions on the board of Epic and that of one of its investors, the Chinese gaming giant Tencent, violated Section 8 of the Clayton Act. The DOJ antitrust division announced the resignations Wednesday, adding that “Tencent also decided to amend its shareholder agreement with Epic to relinquish its unilateral right to appoint directors or observers to the Epic board in the future.” The story. |
‘Emilia Pérez’ Breakout Karla Sofía Gascón to Star in Trans Fairy Tale ‘Las Malas’ ►While the iron is hot… In her first major casting since breaking out with Cannes hit Emilia Pérez, Karla Sofía Gascón has signed on to star in Las Malas, a Spanish-language adaptation of the dark fairy-tale novel Bad Girls by author Camila Sosa Villada. Armando Bó, who won an Academy Award for co-writing Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2014 drama Birdman, will direct the feature and is co-penning the script with Josefina Licitra. THR's Borys Kit got the scoop.
—Christmas bonus. Legendary has come out on top of a bidding war for Homewreckers, the erotic thriller with a sci-fi twist that has white-hot Glen Powell attached to star and produce. The deal marks the last major acquisition of the year, occurring just a day or two before Hollywood closes its doors for the holidays. According to sources, the deal involves a seven-figure outright purchase price for the rights to the story as well a seven-figure arrangement for Neil M. Paik to write the screenplay. He would also serve as a producer. The story.
—Back from the dead. Magazine Dreams has finally secured a release date, nearly two years after the Jonathan Majors-led bodybuilding movie was a sensation at the Sundance Film Festival. Writer-director Elijah Bynum‘s feature hits theaters March 21, 2025, from Briarcliff Entertainment. After its buzzy Sundance launch in January 2023, Magazine Dreams was poised to help catapult Majors into the awards race. Searchlight acquired the title in a bidding war, but the company jettisoned it earlier this year after Majors was convicted of assault and harassment following an incident with ex-partner Grace Jabbari. The story.
—Dress the part. True to the method dressing trend — whereby stars tailor their red-carpet looks to the themes of the movie they’re promoting — Felicity Jones showed up to The Brutalist premiere in a stark, black Proenza Schouler number inspired by brutalist architecture. Asked what she makes of the trend, the recent Golden Globe nominee offered a fresh take. “I think it’s fantastic,” noted Jones, who works with stylist Nicky Yates. “Increasingly, the press around films has become as entertaining in many cases as the film itself, so why not embrace the theater of it for everything? I also just love when you can find a little character in the red carpet.” The story. |
Logan Paul Following Jake Paul to Netflix With Return to WWE ►Heel turn. Last month Netflix shattered streaming viewership records when it played host to a boxing match between the former YouTube star Jake Paul and boxing legend Mike Tyson. Now it’s hoping to replicate some of that magic with his older brother Logan Paul, who will return to the WWE next year to be one of the stars of Raw, which will make its Netflix debut Jan. 6. “I’m not here to take part. I’m here to take over. Your approval means nothing to me,” Logan said, before leaning into the persona that he and his brother have crafted as must-see TV, whether viewers like them or no. “Whether you love me, whether you hate me, I don’t care, because you’re still watching. The story.
—Advantage Netflix. The streamer's push into sports continues at full throttle. Following the success of earlier docuseries like Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Full Swing and NASCAR: Full Speed, Netflix unveiled plans with Skydance sports to develop a docuseries that follows retiring tennis legend Rafael Nadal’s career, which includes 22-time Grand Slam champion trophies and his dramatic final season in 2024. Netflix on Wednesday also announced production had started on a 2024 season-long series to follow college football’s dominant Southeastern Conference. The story. |
Filmmakers Sue to End “Unconstitutional” Permitting Rules to Shoot in National Parks ►Public domain? Two filmmakers are suing to overturn government guidelines requiring a permit to film in national parks. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Wyoming federal court, Alexander Rienzie and Connor Burkesmith challenge the constitutionality of federal permit and fee requirements on First Amendment grounds. In a statement, Burkesmith stressed that “independent filmmakers don’t have the resources of the big production companies.” He added, “It’s a gut punch every time we throw down hundreds of dollars, only to be denied permits for reasons that are vague, arbitrary and unfair.” The story.
—California Dreamin’ As Gov. Gavin Newsom readies a plan to double California’s film and TV incentive program from $330 million to $750 million a year in tax relief for producers who shoot in the state, a new coalition is forming to lobby aggressively to keep Hollywood in Hollywood. The formation arrives the same day as the California Film Commission touted that it had enticed season two of Apple TV+’s Bad Monkey to relocate from Florida with $20 million in tax credits. The story.
In other news...
—Vanderpump Rules' James Kennedy Breaks Silence After Domestic Violence Arrest
—Taika Waititi to Receive Norman Lear Achievement Award at Producers Guild Awards
—Nick Jonas Receives Backlash for Tweet Seemingly Supporting Elon Musk
—Justine Bateman Says Cancel Culture Has Become “F***ing Unbearable”
—Violet Grohl Readying Debut Album
What else we're reading...
—Bridget Read lives up to her surname with an unputdownable story about a hapless group of stranded cruise passengers. [Curbed]
—E. Alex Jung has the Brian Alvarez story everyone knew was coming. [New York]
—Google has entered its “agentic era,” reports Kylie Robison. [The Verge]
—Vanity Fair’s Radhika Jones and Michael Hogan indulge in deep Dylan-ology in their podcast discussion of A Complete Unknown (beginning at 33:41). [Little Gold Men]
Today...
...in 2012, Columbia released Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, which tells the story of the hunt for Osama bin Laden and stars Jessica Chastain and Jason Clarke. “Whether you call it well-informed speculative history, docudrama re-creation or very stripped-down suspense filmmaking,” wrote THR’s Todd McCarthy, “Zero Dark Thirty matches form and content to pretty terrific ends.” The original review.
Today's birthdays: Jake Gyllenhaal (44), Soji Arai (49), Marla Sokoloff (24), Kristy Swanson (55), Alyssa Milano (52), Jennifer Beals (51), Til Schweiger (61), Ken Marino (56), Nico Hiraga (27), Ronan Farrow (37), Hermione Corfield (31), Anna Enger Ritch (36), Béatrice Dalle (60), Tara Summers (45), Lauren Sanchez (55) |
| Marisa Paredes, the admired Spanish actress who collaborated with Pedro Almodóvar in such films as The Flower of My Secret, All About My Mother and The Skin I Live In, has died. She was 78. The obituary. |
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