| | | | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover feature is about the growing problem of AI-generated Hollywood scams. HBO Max is officially back as of today. Grantchester will end wil S11. Superman is tracking to open at $130m. — Abid Rahman
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Inside the Billion-Dollar Celebrity Impersonation Scam ►On the cover. Online scams take many forms, but the ones weaponizing celebrity fandom are getting intense notice in Hollywood right now. With scammers aided by such rapidly evolving tools as AI, cryptocurrencies and messaging apps that make it easy to disseminate fakes and operate undetected, stars and talent agencies find themselves in an escalating game of Whac-A-Mole, hiring companies to scan the web for fakes and getting those accounts shut down. THR's Rebecca Keegan reports that the brazen AI-fueled con that fleeces lovestruck fans and has Hollywood finally fighting back. The cover story. |
Streaming Subscriptions May Get Tougher to Cancel ►Big business wins again. In a blow to consumers, streaming platforms won’t have to make it easier to cancel subscriptions. A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down the FTC's “click to cancel” rule, which would’ve required companies to provide users with simple cancellation mechanisms to immediately halt all recurring charges and get their consent to convert auto-renewals and free trials to paid enrollments. Under the measure, businesses would’ve been barred from making it more difficult to cancel than it is to sign up. It was intended to eliminate drawn-out cancellation processes aimed at trapping users in unwanted subscriptions. In Tuesday’s ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found that the FTC skipped a key procedural requirement in implementing the initiative. This deprived companies of the opportunity to dissuade the agency from adopting it, the court said. The story.
—Deluge of allegations. Gregg Wallace has been fired as a presenter on U.K. version of cooking show MasterChef after an inquiry into alleged misconduct, according to the BBC. More than 50 people approached the British broadcaster with fresh claims about Wallace, including allegations that he groped a colleague and pulled his trousers down in front of another. The 60-year-old denies any wrongdoing. In December, THR reported that Wallace was asked to step down from his TV presenter role while allegations of historical misconduct were investigated. The story.
—For sale! A one-of-a-kind piece of film history is becoming available for purchase for the first time in more than six decades. THR's Scott Feinberg reports that the property in question is at 7917 Woodrow Wilson Drive, on “Celebrity Row” in the Hollywood Hills, which was long the home and workplace of the king and queen of American independent cinema, writer/director/actor John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands. At the house, the couple would go on to raise their three children — Nick, Xan and Zoe — and to conceive, write, prepare for and edit nine additional big screen collaborations. They even shot significant portions of several of those films — including 1968’s Faces, 1971’s Minnie and Moskowitz , 1977’s Opening Night and 1984’s Love Streams — inside the home. The story.
—What's in a name? HBO Max is officially back! Warner Bros. Discovery rebranded its Max streaming service to HBO Max today. The name change, first announced onstage at WBD’s upfront presentation back in May, will see Max rebrand to HBO Max, the name it used from 2020 until 2023. “I know you’re all shocked, but the good news is I have a drawer full of stationery from the last time around,” HBO chief Casey Bloys quipped onstage at the upfront. The story. |
'Slow Horses' Gets Early S7 Renewal at Apple ►That's how you do it. Apple TV+ has renewed Slow Horses for a seventh season — even though the Gary Oldman-led spy drama’s fifth installment won’t premiere for another couple of months. The pickup follows a season six renewal in October 2024, which came shortly after season four concluded. With the renewal, Slow Horses will extend its run as Apple's longest-running scripted series in terms of seasons (though not in episode count). Season seven will be based on Bad Actors, the eighth book in author Mick Herron’s Slough House series about a misfit outpost of the U.K.’s MI5 intelligence service. The six-episode season will follow Oldman’s Lamb and the rest of the Slough House crew as they try to track down a mole inside the British government. The story.
—The end is nigh. Detective drama Grantchester will return and end with season 11 on PBS and British network ITV. Based on The Grantchester Mysteries books by James Runcie, the series was first broadcast in 2014 on ITV in the U.K. and on PBS in 2015 as part of the Masterpiece anthology. Happy Valley's James Norton led the initial cast alongside Robson Green, who still stars as police officer Geordie. Norton’s successor as the local vicar of a Cambridgeshire village in the 1950s was Tom Brittney, who was then succeeded by Rishi Nair as Alphy in 2024. The story.
—Change up top. Amy B. Harris, the showrunner for Amazon’s Prime Video series The Wilds, is grabbing the reins for the streamer’s Every Summer After adaptation, titled Every Year After. Harris, who has an overall deal at Amazon MGM Studios, will take over for Leila Gerstein as showrunner; Gerstein has exited over “creative differences,” a person with knowledge of the situation said. Every Year After is based on the bestselling novel by Carley Fortune. The story is told over the course of six years and a week in the (real) quintessential lake town, Barry’s Bay. The story.
—🤝 Sports rights deal. 🤝 Fox Corp. is bringing live sports to its Fox Nation streaming service for the first time. The Fox News-owned streaming platform has inked a deal with Professional Bull Riders to become the exclusive Friday night broadcast partner for its Camping World Team Series. The PBR Friday Night Live competitions will begin Aug. 8, and run through Oct. 24. In addition, Fox Nation will stream season two of the PBR competition series Last Cowboy Standing beginning July 11. The deal with Fox is the first new rights deal for PBR since it was acquired by TKO Group Holdings earlier this year. The story. |
A24 to Release Chinese Phenomenon 'Ne Zha 2' in U.S. Theaters ►📅 Dated! 📅 A24 and CMC Pictures are joining forces to bring an English-language version of Ne Zha 2, the runaway animated box office sensation from China, to theaters across North America this summer. The English version will feature Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh in a lead voice role. The film will open in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand on Aug. 22, screening in Imax, 3D, and other premium large formats. Ne Zha 2 became the world’s top-grossing animated film of all time following its release earlier this year during China’s Lunar New Year holiday. It has earned a massive $2.2b, surpassing Pixar’s Inside Out 2 ($1.7b) at the global office. It is also the fifth highest-grossing film worldwide overall, with nearly all of its revenue coming from the Chinese mainland. The story.
—Super-charged. While Hollywood’s leading tracking service shows James Gunn's Superman flying to $130m in its domestic box office debut, DC Studios is being far more conservative in sticking with a forecast of $100m-plus. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Gunn is in the unique position of being both the film’s writer-director and the co-head of the Warner Bros.-owned DC Studios, so he has plenty of sway in controlling the messaging. Superman , perhaps the summer’s biggest curiosity factor, opens everywhere in North America July 11. It is also opening in 78 markets overseas, where it is likewise predicting an opening of $100m-plus. The box office report.
—In the race. THR's Scott Feinberg reports that My Mom Jayne, Mariska Hargitay’s documentary about her late mom Jayne Mansfield, which dropped on HBO on June 27, received an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run the week before it hit cable. The filmquietly screened at the Laemmle NoHo 7 in North Hollywood from June 20-26, and thereby meeting the Academy’s documentary feature Oscar eligibility requirement of a one-week run in at least one of several major cities. Scott writes that Hargitay and the film's producers are committed to giving it a real grassroots push this awards season. The story.
—🎭 Mario is back! 🎭 Chris Pratt is set to return to his role as the Monday-hating, lasagna-loving cat Garfield in an animated sequel to last year’s The Garfield Movie. The 2024 animated movie, which was released by Sony Pictures globally (save for China), grossed over $230m at the global box office. Alcon co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson will produce the sequel, along with John Cohen, Steven P. Wegner and Pratt. Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios will co-produce alongside Alcon Entertainment. DNEG Animation, which worked on the first film, is back onboard as animation partner. The story. |
Film Review: 'Superman' ►"The man of steel reclaims his human heart." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews James Gunn's Superman. David Corenswet plays Superman and Rachel Brosnahan portrays Lois Lane, as they take on Nicholas Hoult's criminal mastermind Lex Luthor, who twists public opinion to turn the world against the superhero, while pitting him against metahuman adversaries. Also starring Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, Beck Bennett and Mikaela Hoover. The review.
—"Stephen King that plays like Stephen King-lite." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews MGM+'s The Institute. Ordinary kids with extraordinary gifts get poked and prodded in this eight-episode drama from writer Benjamin Cavell and director Jack Bender. Starring Ben Barnes, Mary-Louise Parker, Joe Freeman, Simone Miller, Fionn Laird, Julian Richings and Robert Joy. The review.
—"A horror movie without the horror." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Bence Fliegauf's Karlovy Vary competition entry, Jimmy Jaguar. The new feature from the Womb filmmaker investigates the phenomenon of a "revenge demon" lurking around the countryside and possessing the souls of the not-so-innocent. Starring Katerina Falbrova, Juraj Loj, Maya Kintera, Zuzana Sulajova and Mare Cisovsky. The review.
—"Paris Belongs to Her." Jordan reviews Laurent Slama's A Second Life. The French cinematographer turned director's second feature follows a young woman trying to land a steady job as the 2024 Summer Olympics kick off. Starring Agathe Rousselle, Alex Lawther, Suzy Bemba and Jonas Bachan. The review.
In other news...
—Apple's The Morning Show S4 teases a post-truth world
—Wednesday S2 trailer teases Jenna Ortega attempting to save Emma Myers
—First look at Michael Chernus as John Wayne Gacy in true-crime series Devil in Disguise
—Tina Knowles to be honored with Elizabeth Taylor Commitment to End AIDS Award
—Ryan Reynolds, Rob Mac, Roy Wood Jr. among Just For Laughs award winners, presenters
—Niels Swinkels named president, international distribution at Focus Features
—Hot Docs Festival sheds more top execs amid restructuring
—Rosalía joins New Balance as global ambassador
—Ted Cordes, longtime broadcast standards executive at NBC, dies at 87
What else we're reading...
—Natalie Allison reports that MAGA is in turmoil over Trump's Epstein cover up, immigration U-turns and renewed support for Ukraine [Washington Post]
—Angel Au-Yeung looks into the racism storm around tech oligarch Shaun Maguire, and how his far-right and Islamophobic commentary is clashing with the culture of his much quieter employer, Sequoia Capital [WSJ]
—Adrian Horton writes that Eva Victor’s Sorry, Baby is a smart film about sexual assault, and it’s here at just the right time [Guardian]
—Nicholas Quah looks at why the NYT is pushing its star writers and columnists like Ezra Klein and Wesley Morris to become video stars [Vulture]
—After the controversial Diddy verdict, Rianna Croxford and Anoushka Mutanda Dougherty look at why hip-hop is still struggling to have its own #MeToo moment [BBC]
Today...
...in 1999, Universal released the R-rated teen comedy American Pie in theaters, where it would go on to gross $235m worldwide and kickstart a franchise. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Tom Hanks (69), Chris Cooper (74), Kelly McGillis (68), Pamela Adlon (59), Jimmy Smits (70), Toby Kebbell (43), Kevin Nash (66), Courtney Love (61), Douglas Booth (33), Ruairi O'Connor (34), Scott Grimes (54), Georgie Henley (30), David O'Hara (60), Elnaaz Norouzi (29), Mitchel Musso (34), Mary Vernieu (62), Linda Park (47), Enrique Murciano (52), Drew Hancock (46), Robert Capron (27), Hanna Hall (41), Elliot Cowan (49), Ray Porter (60), Meg DeLacy (29), Courtney Grosbeck (25), Angélica Celaya (43), Ray Baker (77), Kyle Davis (47), Myra Lucretia Taylor (65), Wil Traval (45), K. Todd Freeman (60), Dare Taylor (31), Damián Szifron (50), Philip Martin Brown (69), Megan Parlen (45) |
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