| | | | | | What's news: John Dickerson is leaving CBS News. Sundance Institute workers are launching a unionization effort. Sean “Diddy” Combs’ release date has been revealed. CNN's new subscription offering will include never-before-see Bourdain programming. And THR has been nominated for 85 NAEJ awards! — Abid Rahman
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Did Paramount Blow It By Losing Taylor Sheridan? ►"[He has] a name that you can slap on a show’s marketing campaign, put in a headline for a new show’s trailer, and it will drive viewers." You’ve probably heard the big news. Taylor Sheridan — the prolific creative force behind Yellowstone, 1923, Tulsa King, Special Ops: Lioness and a slew of other well-reviewed hits — is moving his television deal from Paramount to NBCUniversal in 2028 when his current pact expires. He’ll also begin making films for Universal starting next year. With one of Hollywood's biggest creators ditching Paramount, THR's Steven Zeitchik and James Hibberd debate the latest drama at David Ellison's corral. The debate.
—✊ Unionization. ✊ Three months ahead of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, the workers of the Sundance Institute are launching a unionization effort. Over 40 staffers at the Sundance Institute are seeking unionization with Communications Workers of America Local 9003. Hours after being asked, management at the non-profit voluntarily recognized the union. "After our numerous efforts to express concerns have gone unaddressed, including multiple staff letters, we have reached the conclusion that we need the structure and power of a union to advocate for ourselves," reads the mission statement from the Sundance Institute workers. The story.
—Release date set. Sean “Diddy” Combs’ release date has been revealed by the federal Bureau of Prisons, weeks after the rap mogul was sentenced to 50 months behind bars after he was found guilty of violating the Mann Act. Combs can anticipate a May 8, 2028, release from federal lockup. If the disgraced mogul serves his sentence without a hitch, he will serve 85 percent of the 50-month term he was handed earlier this month; he has the opportunity to earn “good conduct time” each year while serving his sentence as part of the First Step Act. The prospect of a presidential pardon for the Bad Boy Records founder was rebuffed by the White House at a recent press conference, where an official told a reporter there’s “zero truth” to that rumor. The story.
—"We are grateful for the support of this impressive group of film industry professionals, and could not do this without them!" Osgood Perkins, Mike Flanagan, Sean Baker, Zach Lipovsky and Finn Wolfhard are among a group of private investors backing the rescue of Vancouver’s historic Park Theatre. The new Park Theatre operations team will be led by Corinne Lea, CEO of the city’s Rio Theatre, and will replace Canadian exhibition giant Cineplex in running the iconic cinema on Cambie Street. Cineplex had been operating Park Theatre under a lease agreement since 2013. The exhibitor ceased operations at the cinema on Oct. 26. The exhibitor added it will remove and relocate the theatre’s 70mm projector to a new Cineplex location yet to be named. The story. |
John Dickerson Exiting 'CBS Evening News' ►"I am grateful for my dear colleagues who’ve made me a better journalist and a better human." CBS News has its first high-profile exit following the hire of Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief earlier this month. John Dickerson, the co-anchor of the CBS Evening News, said Monday that he will leave CBS News at the end of the year. Dickerson currently anchors the evening newscast alongside Maurice Dubois, having been paired up early this year in a bid to reboot the program. It is not immediately clear why Dickerson is leaving CBS. Dickerson’s looming exit portends significant changes to the flagship evening newscast, which has been stuck in third place behind ABC News and NBC News for years. The story.
—Surprise! When CNN launches its new streaming service as part of its All Access subscription tier, it will have a tasty surprise for fans of the late Anthony Bourdain. CNN says that its new subscription offering will include Bourdain programming that has never been available to stream, until now. The program is called Prime Cuts, and it served as a companion series to the flagship show Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Prime Cuts combined clips from the series with revealing interviews with Bourdain, who reminisced about the trips, people, food and cultures that he encountered, and gave a behind-the-scenes look at the show. The story.
—The future is NOW. MSNBC's days are numbered, but the era of MS NOW is about to begin. In a memo to staff Monday, MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler said that the cable news channel will officially rebrand from MSNBC to MS NOW on Nov. 15, ahead of the planned spinoff into Versant. Along with the name change comes a new tagline: “Same Mission. New Name.” The channel and news brand began rolling out 15 second spots on Monday featuring talent like Rachel Maddow, officially introducing the rebrand to viewers. A larger marketing effort will begin in earnest in early November. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Erika Kirk, the CEO of Turning Point USA and the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, is expected to give her first TV interview since her husband’s assassination to Fox News Channel’s Jesse Watters. The interview would be for Fox’s 8 p.m. show Jesse Watters Primetime, and would air Nov. 5. Kirk is expected to discuss her husband’s impact, faith, the timeline of what happened the day he was killed and the future of Turning Point USA. The story. |
NAEJ Awards: THR Scores Record Number of Noms! ►Yay us! THR has been nominated for a record number of National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards, including best publication. Among THR’s 85 noms, Mia Galuppo and Katie Kilkenny are vying for print journalist of the year, James Hibberd and Gary Baum are among the best columnist nominees, Scott Feinberg is up for best podcast host, and Jon Frosch, Dan Fienberg, Angie Han and David Rooney all landed noms for best critic. In the photography and art categories, THR landed noms for its photos of newly minted Oscar winner Mikey Madison (best portrait), 50 Cent (best portrait), the L.A. fires (best photo essay) and more. The art department earned noms for its covers of the fires and Hollywood’s succession wars along with moving graphics of Ben Stiller and The White Lotus, among others. The nominees.
—🤝 Settlement. 🤝 Steve Coogan has settled a libel claim over 2022’s The Lost King after a university academic sued over his depiction in the film. The British actor-comedian wrote and starred in the drama following the hunt for King Richard III’s remains in 2012. But a University of Leicester employee named Richard Taylor later sued Coogan — as well as his production outfit Baby Cow and Pathé Productions — over what he called a defamatory, “misogynistic” and “weasel-like” portrayal. Taylor, then the deputy registrar of the University of Leicester, was played in the film by English actor Lee Ingleby. The story.
—Suit filed. The Terrifier franchise has spawned plenty of blood-drenched kills, but one stands above the rest: The death-by-sawing butchering in the original where Art the Clown bisects a victim hung upside down. Since the film’s 2016 release, the ultraviolent killer-clown slasher has become an unlikely hit, unexpectedly breaking into the mainstream and earning millions at the box office. But Catherine Corcoran, the actress in the iconic scene, alleges she hasn’t seen her cut of profits from the franchise. She filed a lawsuit on Sunday in California federal court accusing the producers of the film of breach of contract over her backend deal for one percent of all profits. The story.
—New full-service studio. Emmy and Peabody winner Suzanne de Passe is embarking on a new business venture. De Passe, Madison Jones (her partner in de Passe Jones Entertaiment) and Corey Martin, a managing partner at Granderson Des Rochers, are launching Immortal Studio, which aims to be a full-service studio involved in a variety of media, including television, film, animation and games. The company has formed a strategic alliance with Vobile — which provides digital content asset protection and software services used widely in the industry — and its chairman and CEO, Yangbin Wang, on financing. The story. |
Feinberg Forecast: Scott's Picks Post-AFI Fest, Pre-Halloween ►Enter Timmy. THR's executive editor of awards Scott Feinberg coverage weighs in on more than a dozen categories, now including best original song. Since Scott's last update, Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme (A24) screened for industry insiders on Oct. 8, with Timothée Chalamet’s leading performance popping above all else. And AFI Fest (Oct. 22-26) hosted the world premiere Song Sung Blue (Focus), with Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson on hand; the film was well received at the TCL Chinese Theater, but faces more of an uphill climb with critics. The forecast.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Magnolia Pictures has picked up U.S. rights to TIFF Midnight Madness hit The Napa Boys. The distributor plans a theatrical release early next year. Directed by Nick Corirossi, co-written with Armen Weitzman, and starring the pair, the high-concept comedy is a send-up of Hollywood comedy franchises, particularly of the raunchy American Pie variety. The film is billed as the fourth installment in the imaginary “Napa Boys” franchise, in which rowdy bros, in increasingly contrived plots, take on wine country, learning some valuable life lessons on the way. The story.
—📅 Sulley, meet Saquon. 📅 Disney will once again present a live animated alternative broadcast of an upcoming NFL game, this time featuring characters and a stadium set in the world of Pixar‘s Monsters Inc. ESPN announced the game during halftime of Monday Night Football. The special edition of Monday Night Football, called Monsters Funday Football, will be televised Dec. 8, when the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Los Angeles Chargers. It’s the third straight iteration of the animated altcast for Disney, following a Toy Story-themed effort in 2023, and Simpsons-themed game last year. The story. |
Inside Vogue World: Hollywood ►Anna and friends celebrate film, fashion and fun (finally!). It was an electric night on the Paramount Pictures lot on Sunday, as Anna Wintour and her Condé Nast comrades brought their Vogue World franchise to Hollywood after previous iterations in New York, London and Paris. THR's nicest man Chris Gardner was there to witness actors becoming models, models becoming actors and A-listers cheering, dancing and letting loose: “I just feel so charged by this evening.” The recap. |
Film Review: 'Anniversary' ►"Sly and chilling." THR's Sheri Linden reviews Jan Komasa's Anniversary. Big Brother is your sister-in-law in Komasa’s thriller about an American family caught up in authoritarian politics. Starring Diane Lane, Kyle Chandler, Madeline Brewer, Zoey Deutch, Phoebe Dynevor, Mckenna Grace, Daryl McCormack, Dylan O’Brien and Sky Yang. Written by Lori Rosene-Gambino. The review.
—"A shaky mix of realism and esotericism." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Chong Keat Aun's Tokyo competition entry, Mother Bhumi. Chinese mega star Fan Bingbing portrays a widowed mother and spiritual healer trying to defend her neighbors as the government takes away their land. Also starring Natalie Hsu, Bai Run-yin and Pearly Chua. Written by Chong Keat Aun. The review.
In other news...
—Veteran German film exec Thorsten Ritter leaves Beta Cinema
—MrBallen podcast moves to SiriusXM
—Livvy Dunne signs with Wasserman
—Too Hot to Handle breakout Melinda Melrose signs with CAA
—Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles signs with CAA
What else we're reading...
—Jonathan Watts and Wajã Xipai report that the UN is warning that humanity has failed to limit global heating to 1.5C and must change course immediately [Guardian]
—James Folta reports that over 300 prominent writers, scholars, and public intellectuals are boycotting the NYT's op-ed page over their anti-Palestinian bias [Literary Hub]
—Samantha Barry talks to kids TV phenom Ms. Rachel, quite rightly Glamour Magazine's Women of the Year [Glamour]
—Sean McClain reports that Amazon is set to lay off up to 30,000 corporate workers [WSJ]
—Hoo boy! Isaac Chotiner has done it again. His interview with former Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is an all-timer [New Yorker]
Today...
...in 1994, MGM unveiled sci-fi actioner Stargate in theaters, where it would go on to gross $196m globally and later launch a TV franchise. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Julia Roberts (58), Joaquin Phoenix (51), Gwendoline Christie (47), Andy Richter (59), Lauren Holly (62), Matt Smith (43), Chris Bauer (59), Kevin Macdonald (58), Lola Tung (23), Annie Potts (73), Jami Gertz (60), Finn Wittrock (41), Troian Bellisario (40), Daphne Zuniga (63), Nolan Gould (27), Sierra McCormick (28), Jason Watkins (63), Dennis Franz (81), Michael Dougherty (51), Joe Thomas (42), Wes Ball (45), Jan Komasa (44), Eliana Jones (28), Elvira Lind (44), Zoie Palmer (48), May Calamawy (39), Romy Rosemont (61), Telma Hopkins (77), Simone Kirby (49), Michael Stahl-David (43), Vivienne Medrano (33), Jake Kasdan (51), Brad Paisley (53), Oliver Dimsdale (53), Tracy Reed (76) |
| Charlie Jablonski, who won 12 sports Emmy Awards over a career at NBC and NBC Sports bringing the Olympic Games to TV viewers, has died. He was 69. The obituary. |
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