| | | | | | What's news: Peacock now boasts 41m paying subs. Bill Hader and HBO are developing a drama about the Jonestown Massacre. Snoop Dogg has signed a film, TV and sports deal with NBCU. Fyre Fest is up for sale. Netflix is adapting The Age of Innocence and Unaccustomed Earth for TV. Kristen Stewart's directorial debut has been added to the Cannes lineup. — Abid Rahman
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Can '60 Minutes' Prized Independence Survive a Major Deal? ►"The stakes are high, and the pressure is on." CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes has long prized itself on its independence, not only from its topics of coverage, but from the rest of CBS News. In the aftermath of executive producer Bill Owens' shock exit from the show over issues of editorial independence, and amid the ongoing attempts by Shari Redstone to sell Paramount Global, THR's Alex Weprin asks whether securing a deal changes the future of the show. The analysis.
—New accuser. Opening arguments in Harvey Weinstein’s retrial on rape and sexual charges in Manhattan began Wednesday, with prosecutors previewing testimony from two accusers at his 2020 trial as well as claims from a new accuser. Weinstein is being retried on a criminal sexual charge and a rape charge related to respective claims from former production assistant on Project Runway , Miriam Haley, who alleges he forced oral sex on her at his TriBeCa apartment in 2006, and from aspiring actress Jessica Mann, who alleges she was raped by Weinstein in 2013 in a Manhattan hotel. Weinstein is being newly charged with a criminal sexual charge related to claims from a third woman, Kaja Sokola, whose name was publicly revealed as part of the trial for the first time Wednesday. The story.
—Oh Billy! Fyre Fest founder Billy McFarland has announced he’s putting the festival’s brand up for sale, weeks after postponing the second iteration of the ill-fated music fest. “A new chapter begins. After two years of rebuilding FYRE with honesty, creativity, and relentless effort, it’s time to pass the torch,” a statement shared on Instagram Wednesday read. “We’re officially putting the FYRE brand up for sale. To the right buyer: the platform is yours. Execute the vision. Make history.” Earlier this month, Fyre Festival 2 — initially set to take place May 30 to June 2, 2025 — was postponed by organizers, with no new date set. The story. |
Peacock Narrows Loss, Subs Jump to 41M ►Edging closer to the black. Comcast reported Q1 results for its entertainment unit and other operations on Thursday morning. Streamer Peacock narrowed its loss to $215m, from $639m in the year-ago period, and overall revenue rose 16 percent to $1.2b. Peacock ended March 2024 with 41m paying subscribers, compared with 36m for the year-end 2024 quarter and the previous third quarter of 2024. Comcast reported Q1 overall revenues at $29.8b, compared to a year-earlier $30.05b. The results.
—Canada 🤝 China. The box office recovery at Imax continued during the first quarter amid a record-breaking box office performance in China and a strong slate of “Filmed for Imax” titles released into theaters, including Captain America: Brave New World and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners opening strongly last weekend. Overall revenue at the cinema technologies company came to $86.7m, up 10 percent from a year-earlier $79.1m. That beat a Wall Street analyst projection of Imax posting Q1 revenues at $84.23m. Imax posted net income at $8.2m, up 52 percent from a year-earlier $5.4m. The results.
—Ouch! The European Union has issued its first major fines under its antitrust legislation, the Digital Markets Act, hitting Apple and Meta with a combined $793m in penalties as part of a broader effort to rein in the influence of major tech companies operating across the bloc. Apple was fined $566m over restrictions in its App Store that the European Commission said limit competition by preventing developers from offering alternative app marketplaces. Meta received a $227m fine for its controversial “consent or pay” model, which required users to either allow cross-platform data collection or pay for ad-free services — an approach regulators said does not constitute genuine consent under the law. The story.
—It's happening. Lionsgate investors have given their backing to the proposed full separation of Lionsgate and Starz into standalone publicly-traded companies. During a special shareholders meeting on Wednesday, shareholders voted overwhelmingly for the planned splitting of the studio business and Starz. Other proxy resolutions, including voting in a new slate of board of director nominees and another on executive compensation, also received strong approvals by a majority vote. The story.
—🤝 Multi-year deal 🤝 Snoop Dogg has inked a partnership with NBCUniversal that will see the multihyphenate and his Death Row Pictures working with studio verticals on projects that span film, television, sports and streaming. The multi-year deal, announced Wednesday by NBCUniversal chairman Donna Langley, is a first-look pact in film and television. Death Row is already working with the studio on a biopic about the rapper turned media darling that is set to be written by Joe Robert Cole and produced by Brian Grazer. On the television front, Snoop will return to NBC competition series The Voice this Fall as a judge for S28. And, this past summer, he joined NBC and Peacock’s coverage of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The story. |
Ted Sarandos: "We're Saving Hollywood" ►"We’re kind of getting of thrown under the bus in trade deals." On a busy Wednesday for Ted Sarandos, the Netflix co-CEO made a newsy appearance at Semafor 's World Economy Summit. Sarandos gave some intriguing backstory on why the streamer isn’t available in China, and how Hollywood gets “overlooked” during trade deals. "We’re one of the rare companies in the U.S. has no exposure to China. I mean, no exposure to China’s censorship, taxes, tariffs, anything. There’s a big business in the rest of the world that is happy to host Netflix," Sarandos said. Speaking of tariffs, Sarandos was also asked about the timely subject of trade deals, and whether Hollywood tends to gets “a bad rap” as an industry despite generating hundreds of billions in global sales each year. The story.
—"Engagement, revenue, profit." Sarandos also made an appearance at the Time100 Summit on Wednesday, and was hit with a number of questions about the potential problems with Netflix's market dominance and whether the streamer was "destroying Hollywood." Sarandos pushed back, saying that Netflix was actually "saving Hollywood." “Netflix is a very consumer-focused company. We really do care that we deliver the program to you in a way you want to watch it, and it’s a program that you love and desire. So we don’t let a lot of other outside forces get in the way of that,” Sarandos said. “The box office being done by way of example, what does that say? What does a consumer trying to tell us? That they like to watch movies at home.” The story. |
'Age of Innocence,' 'Unaccustomed Earth' Series Greenlit at Netflix ►CliffNotes TV. Netflix is adding two adaptations of prestigious literary works to its series roster. The streamer has ordered a limited series based on Edith Wharton’s classic novel The Age of Innocence and a drama based on Jhumpa Lahiri’s best-selling short story collection Unaccustomed Earth. Additionally, Netflix has renewed its series Sweet Magnolias, based on books by Sherryl Woods, for a fifth season. Netflix made the announcements in conjunction with Wednesday’s World Book Day. The two new series come as the streamer is also in production on another adaptation of a literary classic, John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, which stars Florence Pugh. The story.
—Not quite Scorsese's Kool-Aid. HBO, Bill Hader and Daniel Zelman are developing a drama about Jonestown, the site of the infamous 1978 massacre of more than 900 members of the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones. Hader is also set to direct and could star in the project as well, should it go forward. The project will tell “the story of Reverend Jim Jones and his people,” per its logline. Hader and Zelman are writing and executive producing. Jonestown has been the subject of numerous books documentaries in the years since the November 1978 massacre, where more than 900 Peoples Temple members died in Guyana after drinking poisoned Flavor Aid. The story.
—🎭 Hamm radio 🎭 Your Friends and Neighbors star Jon Hamm is adding another series to his schedule. The Emmy winner will star in and executive produce American Hostage, a planned anthology series at MGM+. The show comes from Sony Pictures TV and creators Shawn Ryan and Eileen Myers. The series is based on a podcast of the same name, whose first season also featured Hamm. The eight-episode season, based on a true story, is set in 1970s Indianapolis. Hamm will play Fred Heckman, a beloved radio reporter who finds himself in the middle of a life-and-death situation when a man named Tony Kiritsis takes a hostage and then demands airtime on Heckman’s show. The story.
—New doc. The BBC has joined a crowded field with its own documentary about the hip hop career ascent and crash of Sean “Diddy” Combs ahead of his sex trafficking trial. BBC presenter Yinka Bokinni will front P Diddy: The Rise and Fall for BBC3, which, according to a synopsis, “explores the world that propelled Diddy to stardom — and the system that may have protected him for years.” Combs faces an upcoming trial for racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution and has denied the criminal allegations against him. He remains in jail in New York City awaiting his trial set for May. The story. |
'Andor' Creator Explains That Shocking Assault Scene ►"We're all the product of rape." THR's James Hibberd spoke to Andor creator Tony Gilroy on why that sexual assault in the show's season two premiere block was necessary to tell an accurate tale of revolution — even within the Star Wars universe. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—Best of Star Wars project, ever? Andor might not have any Jedi Knight characters, but the Force is strong with the new season of the Star Wars prequel series nonetheless. The acclaimed drama’s second season has the best critics score on Rotten Tomatoes of any live-action Star Wars TV show — or movie. Andor season two, which premieres tonight, currently has a 98 percent positive rating. The new season edged out the previous top-rated title which was … Andor season one (96 percent). The story.
—"She’s just keeping herself from screaming." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Andor star Genevieve O’Reilly about the second season of the Disney+ series. After 20 years of playing Mon Mothma, the actor has the answer to a long-standing mystery about the character. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—A grim echo from the past. A key scene in the Andor season two premiere takes some real-life inspiration from World War II Nazi history. About 20 minutes into the first episode, there’s a secret Imperial meeting led by Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelson) on a snowy mountain compound. There he plots the takeover and potential destruction of the peaceful textile-producing planet of planet Ghorman with a select group of high command officers. It’s a scene that has major importance for the final scene of the Disney+ show, which leads up to the creation of the Death Star. James Hibberd talked to Tony Gilroy about the horrific historical inspiration for the scene. The story. |
Annecy Unveils 2025 Lineup ►Zut alors! Annecy, the world’s leading animation film festival, unveiled its official program on Wednesday. The lineup includes the big-budget 3D computer animated feature Into the Mortal World from Chinese director Zhong Ding; the hand-drawn title Balentes by Italian filmmaker Giovanni Columbu; and the digital cut out animation of Mexican filmmaker Aria Covamonas: The Great History of Western Philosophy. The 2025 lineup also features a best-of selection of recent fests, including Berlinale highlights Lesbian Space Princess and Tales from the Magic Garden, and several features premiering in Cannes next month, including The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol from The Triplets of Belleville director Sylvain Chomet; Dandelion’s Odyssey from Japanese director Momoko Seto; and Death Does Not Exist from Canadian filmmaker Felix Dufour-Laperrière. The lineup.
—Late additions. This year’s Cannes Film Festival lineup just got a little splashier. Kristen Stewart’s long-awaited directorial debut The Chronology of Water and the Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson-starring Die, My Love from director Lynne Ramsay have been added to the schedule. Stewart’s film, which stars Imogen Poots, will screen in the fest’s Un Certain Regard section while Die, My Love will be in the fest’s competition section. Also joining the competition section is Woman and Child, the latest title from Iranian director Saeed Roustaee. The filmmaker previously competed for the Palme d’Or at the 2022 fest with his film Leila’s Brothers. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Honey Don’t! is getting ready to slide into theaters this summer. Focus Features announced Wednesday that the dark comedy feature is set for wide theatrical release Aug. 22. Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, Billy Eichner and Chris Evans round out the cast for director Ethan Coen‘s movie. Honey Don’t!, which is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, centers on Honey O’Donahue (Qualley), a small-town private investigator looking into deaths related to a mysterious church. The story.
—🎭 Haymitch found 🎭 Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping has found its stars. Joseph Zada will play Haymitch Abernathy, with Whitney Peak playing Haymitch’s girlfriend, Lenore Dove Baird. The prequel story is focused on fan favorite Haymitch, who later acted as a mentor in the Hunger Games to heroine Katniss Everdeen. (Woody Harrelson played Haymitch in the original Hunger Games films.) Francis Lawrence is back in the director’s chair for the film, while screenwriter Bill Ray is back to pen the story. The bestselling book of the same name (1.2m copies sold in the U.S. during the first week of release) takes place in Panem 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games. The story. |
What Happened When 'The Encampments' Director Debated a Pro-Israel Creator Over Gaza ►Rare meeting. Much of the conversation about Israel's war in Gaza happens in silos. THR asked if pro-Israel influencer Hen Mazzig and The Encampments director Kei Pritsker were open to talking at length to articulate their views. The results were illuminating. The conversation.
—"Every link in the chain failed." In a guest column for THR, Lee Trink, a music industry veteran who was previously the president of Capitol Records, writes that Coachella booking Irish band Kneecap was a collapse of conscience. The column. |
TV Review: 'Étoile' ►"Showcases the usual Sherman-Palladino pros and cons." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews Amazon Prime Video's Étoile. Luke Kirby, Charlotte Gainsbourg and a standout Lou de Laâge lead the eight-part season ballet dramedy set in Paris and New York from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. The review.
In other news...
—Predator: Badlands trailer teases Elle Fanning making an unlikely ally
—The Pee-Wee as Himself trailer is a party, and you’re invited
—Annecy to honor Michel Gondry, Matt Groening, Joanna Quinn
—NBC News promotes Chloe Arensberg to Washington bureau chief
—Fifth Season promotes Sheridan Thayer to head of TV physical production, hires Netflix’s Lauren Deitch
—TCM’s The Plot Thickens podcast takes on Cleopatra
—Mike Patrick, longtime ESPN play-by-play man, dies at 80
What else we're reading...
—Max Tani reports that Paramount owner Shari Redstone sought to know which upcoming 60 Minutes stories were about Donald Trump [Semafor]
—Sam Adams writes that Netflix's Broadway play Stranger Things: The First Shadow is so bad that it makes the TV show worse [Slate]
—J Oliver Conroy does a deep dive on Night Owl Video, the Brooklyn store that hopes formats such as VHS, DVD and Blu-ray will see a vinyl-like revival [Guardian]
—Jon Caramanica reflects on comedian Theo Von's rise and rise as an influential podcaster, and how his politics are difficult to pin down [NYT]
—Josh Chin reports that Xi Jinping is ratcheting up China’s pain threshold for a long fight with Trump [WSJ]
Today...
...in 2015, Lionsgate released Lee Toland Krieger's The Age of Adaline in theaters. The romantic fantasy film starred Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Harrison Ford, Kathy Baker, Amanda Crew, and Ellen Burstyn and made $66m at the box office. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Barbra Streisand (83), Shirley MacLaine (91), Joe Keery (33), Aidan Gillen (57), Djimon Hounsou (61), Cedric The Entertainer (61), Eric Bogosian (72), Eric Kripke (51), Damon Lindelof (52), Jack Quaid (33), West Duchovny (26), Derek Luke (51), Kelly Clarkson (43), Tyson Ritter (41), Rory McCann (56), Michael O'Keefe (70), Eric Balfour (48), Austin Nichols (45), Sam Corlett (29), Melinda Clarke (56), Joséphine Jobert (40), Thad Luckinbill (50), Glenn Morshower (66), Rebecca Mader (48), Jordan Fisher (31), Stacy Haiduk (57), Kim Tae-ri (35), Sasha Barrese (44), Anastasia Barzee (54), Courtnee Draper (40), Viveca Paulin (56), Jasmine Trinca (44), Varun Dhawan (38), Julie Cox (52), Abigail Thorn (32), Steven Lisberger (74), Ashley Reyes (30) |
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