| | | | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover star is fast rising Brit actor Harris Dickinson. Hiroki Totoki is the new CEO of Sony Group. The Count of Monte Cristo beat Emilia Pérez to record the most Cesar noms. Kate Mara has joined Apple's Imperfect Women series. Spotify paid out $10b to artists in 2024. — Abid Rahman
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Meet Hollywood's New It Boy ►On the cover. After dirty dancing for Nicole Kidman in Babygirl — and launching a million memes — Harris Dickinson eyes a star-making role as John Lennon in Sam Mendes series of Beatles biopics as he catapults from indie prodigy to industry powerhouse. THR's Seija Rankin spoke to the supremely talented Brit actor just as it’s dawning on him that broader fame is coming for him — and he’s not sure if he’s ready for it. The cover story. |
Who Will Stand Up to Trump's Broligarchs? ►"What’s left of the legacy media appears cowed by economic uncertainty." As Elon Musk and his billionaire brethren take power in Trump’s second term, THR's Scott Roxborough writes that the lack of legal guardrails — and the fading power of Big Media — is becoming an existential crisis. The analysis.
—Head honcho. Sony Group revealed Wednesday that current president Hiroki Totoki will be elevated to the position of CEO, starting April 1, in the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant’s first major leadership change in seven years. Chairman and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida will continue in the sole role of chairman. Sony suggested that the promotion of Totoki will continue to accelerate its recent strategy of focusing on entertainment and leveraging IP for growth. In a preview of his coming leadership, Totoki led Sony's presentation at the CES in Las Vegas earlier this month, unveiling a raft of new entertainment initiatives. The story.
—"Our goal is to help artists get their work in front of existing and future fans." Streaming audio giant Spotify said Tuesday that it paid out $10b to the music industry in 2024, a new record high. And it has paid out a collective $60b since its founding a decade ago. The company notes that in 2014, total global recorded music revenue was $13b, and thanks in large part to Spotify, Apple and YouTube, the industry has seen its fortunes reverse. Still, the company has faced criticism over its payouts to artists, with many who are not at the top of the business frequently complaining about their compensation. Spotify pushed back in the blog post. The story. |
Listen to Justin Baldoni's Lengthy 2 a.m. Voice Memo to Blake Lively ►The latest. A lengthy voice memo Justin Baldoni sent Blake Lively at 2 a.m. — purportedly sometime in the spring of 2023 during preproduction of their film It Ends With Us — is the latest piece of communication to find its way to the media in the ongoing legal saga. The voice memo, lasting more than six minutes, paints a picture of an empathetic director trying to smooth over any hurt feelings Lively felt regarding his response to her suggested rewrites of a key opening scene by apologizing profusely. Yet Baldoni’s own lawsuit suggests he wasn’t feeling so apologetic at the time of the call. The story. |
The NSYNC Biopic That Almost Was ►Stalled. NSYNC fans clamoring for the return of the boy band will have to wait a little longer, as a gestating biopic project appears to be on hold. Sources tell THR's Shirley Halperin and Aaron Couch that veteran producer Neal H. Moritz has been shopping the feature, which would focus on the group’s success in the aftermath of its legal battle with former manager Lou Pearlman, and has met with the five members — Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, JC Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick — to seek their participation. The project proceeded to the screenwriting stage amid talk of attaching Timberlake as an EP. But its road to the screen faced immediate challenges. The story.
—🏆 Sacré bleu! 🏆 The Count of Monte Cristo, Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière’s retelling of the classic French revenge tale, is the front-runner for this year’s César Awards, scoring 14 nominations, including in the best film and best directing categories. The period drama, starring Pierre Niney, beat out Jacques Audiard’s Oscar frontrunner Emilia Pérez, which got 12 noms, and Beating Hearts, Gilles Lellouche’s contemporary reimagining of Romeo and Juliet featuring François Civil and Adèle Exarchopoulos, which earned 13 nominations. The nominees.
—Getting in there early. The Jonas Brothers revealed on Tuesday that they’re returning to Disney with a new holiday movie, with the working title Jonas Brothers Christmas Movie. The holiday comedy, which will see the three brothers face a series of escalating obstacles as they struggle to make it from London to New York in time to spend Christmas with their families, is slated to premiere later this year on Disney+. Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger serve as the film’s writers and producers, in addition to the Jonas Brothers producing, alongside Adam Fishbach, Spencer Berman and Scott Morgan. Jessica Yu is directing the project. The story.
—"Don’t let this noise diminish a truly terrific film." In a guest column for THR, Stan Brooks, a film and TV veteran and Emmy winner, says that the tech tinkering done on Brady Corbet's Oscar-nominated film The Brutalist should not be misrepresented as artificial intelligence of the jobs-threatening variety: "We do these minuscule adjustments on every movie, and nobody says a peep." The column. |
AI Ads Are Going to Take Over the Super Bowl This Year ►AI up, movies down. Super Bowl commercials are in many ways a reflection of the American economy. Want to understand how strong the car industry is? Just count the number of spots during the Big Game. Is travel back post-pandemic? The Super Bowl spots for airlines and hotels will provide an answer. But it is also an indicator of what has become mainstream (or at least what wants to become mainstream). Just look a few years back when crypto-related ads were everywhere, or the slow and steady rise of commercials for sports-betting apps. THR's Alex Weprin writes that this year’s Super Bowl will anoint AI companies and products as the new mainstream. The story.
—📅 The end is nigh 📅 ABC has set a March 26 premiere date for the seventh and final season of The Conners. The comedy is ending with an abbreviated, six-episode run; ABC announced the final season in May 2024. The show will take up its usual 8 p.m. Wednesday time period for the final episodes. That spot’s current occupant, Shifting Gears, is scheduled to conclude its first season on March 19. Season seven will bring The Conners to a total of 112 episodes, an increasingly rare accomplishment for a network comedy series. The story.
—🎭 Three and easy 🎭 Apple TV+ has found the third star of its upcoming limited series Imperfect Women. Kate Mara has joined the drama based on Araminta Hall’s novel of the same name. Mara will star opposite Elisabeth Moss and Kerry Washington in the series. Apple describes Imperfect Women as a psychological thriller examining a crime that “shatters the lives of a decades-long friendship of three women,” played by Moss, Washington and Mara. The story.
—🎭 Shocking story 🎭 David Tennant, Robert Carlyle and Toby Jones will lead a new ITV Studios-commissioned series about the U.K.’s phone-hacking scandal, The Hack. Set between 2002 and 2012, the series interweaves two real-life stories, including the work of investigative journalist Nick Davies (Tennant), who uncovered evidence of phone-hacking at the Rupert Murdoch-owned publisher News Group Newspaper, specifically the News of the World tabloid. Written by Jack Thorne, the seven-part drama is produced by the team from Mr Bates vs The Post Office — a show that set Britain alight with its exposure of gross maltreatment and a massive miscarriage of justice. The story. |
Film Review: 'Opus' ►"Fails to deliver on its promise." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Mark Anthony Green's Opus. In Green's debut feature, starring Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Tony Hale, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett and Amber Midthunder, a young writer scores an invite to the remote compound of a legendary musician. The review.
—"Meaningful in message, shaky in execution." Lovia reviews Rashad Frett's Sundance U.S. dramatic competition entry, Ricky. Stephan James, starring alongside Sheryl Lee Ralph, plays a young man navigating the tumult of life after incarceration. The review.
—"Lovely characters in search of a more detailed story." Lovia reviews Rachael Abigail Holder's Sundance U.S. dramatic competition entry, Love, Brooklyn. André Holland, Nicole Beharie and DeWanda Wise play emotionally entangled Brooklynites in Holder debut film, which is executive produced by Steven Soderbergh. The review.
—"There's a new triple threat in town." THR's Jon Frosch reviews Eva Victor's Sundance U.S. dramatic competition entry, Sorry, Baby. Victor also wrote and stars — alongside Naomi Ackie and Lucas Hedges — in this film about a young New England academic gradually recovering from a sexual assault. The review. |
Film Review: 'Peter Hujar's Day' ►"Tiny moments expand to capture a time and place." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Ira Sachs' Peter Hujar's Day. Starring Ben Wishaw and Rebecca Hall, the film is constructed from recently rediscovered tapes of a 1974 conversation between photographer Hujar and his author friend Linda Rosenkrantz for a book project. The review.
—"Worth a toast, even if the bubbly goes flat at times." David reviews Andrew Ahn's The Wedding Banquet. Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran star in this Seattle-set reimagining of Ang Lee’s international breakthrough. The review.
—"An intimate drama with epic resonance." David reviews Clint Bentley's Train Dreams. Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, William H. Macy and Kerry Condon appear in Bentley’s drama about an early 20th century logger in the Pacific Northwest, based on Denis Johnson’s novella. The review.
—"Mazel tough." THR's Leslie Felperin reviews Amber Fares' Sundance world cinema documentary competition entry, Coexistence, My Ass! The doc follows Israeli comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi as she grapples with the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The review. |
Film Review: 'Free Leonard Peltier' ►"Too much dry recitation, not enough reflection." THR's Daniel Fienberg reviews Jesse Short Bull and David France's Free Leonard Peltier. The documentary tells the Indigenous activist's story all the way through President Joe Biden's commutation. The review.
—"Highly imaginative, but requires a leap of faith." For THR, Justin Lowe reviews Isaiah Saxon's The Legend of Ochi. Willem Dafoe, Finn Wolfhard and Helena Zengel star in this A24 film about a young girl who encounters a fascinating new species. The review.
—"A pleasantly mellow time." THR's Angie Han reviews Sierra Falconer's Sundance U.S. dramatic competition entry, Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake). Falconer's directorial debut features four loosely interconnected vignettes, all unfolding over a single summer in a sleepy Michigan town. The review.
—"For fans only." For THR, Caryn James reviews Isabel Castro's Sundance U.S. documentary competition entry, Selena y Los Dinos. The late musician's family executive produces, narrates and provides previously unseen archival footage for Castro's affectionate film. The review.
In other news...
—Ryan Coogler talks Sinners secrets as he unveils new trailer
—Recording Academy sets performers, presenters for Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony
—Indigenous cinema celebrates 10 years at Berlinale and European Film Market
—Sony Music Publishing names Katie Welle president and head of U.S. A&R
What else we're reading...
—Jorge Liboreiro reports that the EU is hardening its line on Greenland as Trump doubles down on threat [Euronews]
—Eggs are pricey again. Jess Craig wonders what the government is doing about it [Vox]
—Ann-Marie Alcántara looks into the "no buy 2025" trend on TikTok and Instagram and what's driving some Americans to want to buy fewer products [WSJ]
—Aaron Blake reports that polls show views souring on Elon Musk as Trump’s wingman [WaPo]
—Meaghan Tobin, Paul Mozur and Alexandra Stevenson chart the rise of DeepSeek and the Chinese hedge fund behind it [NYT]
Today...
...in 2010, Touchstone released Mark Steven Johnson's When in Rome in theaters. The rom-com starred Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel and was panned by critics but a hit with audiences. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Oprah Winfrey (71), Tom Selleck (80), Heather Graham (55), Damien Leone (43), Katharine Ross (85), Sara Gilbert (50), Edward Burns (57), Justin Hartley (48), Lewis Pullman (32), Sam Jaeger (48), Isabel Lucas (40), Mark Rowley (35), Madison Bailey (26), Andrew Keegan (46), Bobbie Phillips (57), Nicholas Turturro (63), Marc Singer (77), Lisa Emery (73), Sharif Atkins (50), Brian Michael Smith (42), Sam Trammell (56), Jason James Richter (45), Terry Kinney (71), Monica Horan (62), Kelly Packard (50), Olivia Morris (28), Madeleine Madden (28), Shaun Majumder (53) |
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