| | | | What's news: HBO is producing a new episode of its docuseries The Case Against Adnan Syed. Marvel's Fantastic Four has found its writers. Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey will star in the Wicked movie. Ted Lasso's AFC Richmond will feature in FIFA 23. CNN is temporary shaking up its primetime lineup. Olivia Wilde says Harry Styles did not spit on Chris Pine — Abid Rahman |
'Scanners' Heads to HBO as a Series ►👀 It's happening 🤯 THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on David Cronenberg's horror cult classic Scanners getting the series treatment at HBO. William Bridges (Black Mirror) is writer and showrunner for the series, which is in development, with White Boy Rick filmmaker Yann Demange directing. Both will exec produce. The story.
—Exclusive access. Staying with HBO, the cabler says it is in production on a new episode of its documentary series The Case Against Adnan Syed following Syed’s release from prison this week. The new episode will be directed by Amy Berg, and will feature “exclusive access” to Syed “leading up to and following his release from prison,” HBO says. The new episode will debut in 2023. The story.
—Fantastic two. Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer have signed on to pen Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four. The writing duo is behind the spec script Disaster Wedding, which has Palm Springs filmmaker Max Barbakow attached to direct for Warner Bros. They also penned the Rebel Wilson comedy K-Pop: Lost in America, which is in development. It was previously announced WandaVision director Matt Shakman will helm Fantastic Four. The story.
—Musical chops. Jonathan Bailey has been cast opposite Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Universal's upcoming Wicked movie. Bailey is a lead in Netflix's Bridgerton, where he plays Anthony Bridgerton, and has also appeared onstage, most recently in the West End production of Mike Bartlett’s play Cock. He’s also appeared in musicals, including the 2019 West End revival of Company. He will play Fiyero in Wicked. The story. |
Netflix Ad Push Has Echoes of Its DVD-by-Mail Era ►Still banking on that halo effect. Netflix first flirted with advertising in 2005, via slips placed in its iconic red DVD envelopes. Back then it was seeking unusually high CPMs, and targeting and tracking were nearly nonexistent. Now a streaming giant, Netflix's plan to enter the ad market recalls its early days, with unusually high CPMs and minimal targeting and tracking. THR's Alex Weprin wonders whether the company change its culture and embrace data transparency to be competitive in the modern era. The analysis.
—A+ marketing. EA Sports' upcoming FIFA 23 game will allow players to take control of AFC Richmond — the fictional team in Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso — and their affable coach, as played by Jason Sudeikis. Fan-favorite characters like Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein), Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster), Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh) and Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernández) will all be players in the game. FIFA 23 drops on Sept. 30. The story.
—Coming to America. Secret Cinema, the U.K.-based immersive entertainment pioneer, has been acquired by cultural experience company TodayTix Group, which has plans to permanently bring the company to the U.S. next year. A source close to the deal said it was worth in excess of $100m. The story.
—Getting the band back together. Eddie Murphy is reteaming with key original Beverly Hills Cop castmembers for their long-awaited sequel for Netflix. Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser and Bronson Pinchot have boarded Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley, reuniting with Eddie Murphy in his iconic role of officer Axel Foley. The storyline for Beverly Hills Cop 4, which has started production, remains under wraps. The story. |
'Bachelorette' Stars on Finale, Blackface Photo and Diversity ►"There's no excuse for his behavior." With season 19 of The Bachelorette in the books, THR's resident casanova Ryan Gajewski spoke to Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia about all the controversies on and off screen. Windey and Recchia also discussed the criticism regarding The Bachelor’s continued lack of diverse leads following the selection of Zach Shallcross, concerns about the show’s vetting process, and the much-debated off-camera conversations that Recchia had with both Tino Franco and Shallcross. The interview.
—Primetime shuffle. CNN is shaking up its programming lineup, albeit only on a temporary basis ahead of November’s midterm elections. The biggest changes are happening in primetime, where CNN CEO Chris Licht is giving anchor Jake Tapper the 9 p.m. hour, with anchor Alisyn Camerota and legal analyst Laura Coates sharing the 10 p.m. – 12 a.m. hours. The story.
—New home. Another former CNN+ series has found a landing spot. CNN will debut the new original series (More Than) A Cooking Show with Alison Roman this fall. The series will see Roman traveling around New York and Italy, learning about some of her favorite ingredients and sharing ways to cook them. The story.
—🤝 First look deal 🤝 Safehouse Pictures, the outfit from screenwriter Joby Harold and producer Tory Tunnell, has inked a first-look deal with Amazon. The three-year deal encompasses films that the company intends to produce. Safehouse's credits include the features Spinning Out, My Blind Brother, and King Arthur, as well as the upcoming Godzilla and the Titans series at Apple and sci-fi thriller Atlas for Netflix. The story. |
Behind Disney's Jules Verne-Inspired 'Strange World' ►"We wanted to create a kind of utopia." On Wednesday, Disney Animation released the full trailer and new concept art for its upcoming animated feature Strange World, that boasts a voice cast of Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid and Jaboukie Young-White. THR's Carolyn Giardina goes inside the film that tries to capture the adventure of pulp novels, with inspiration from stories such as Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth as well as King Kong. The story.
—Going public. A woman who previously accused celebrity chef Mario Batali of sexual misconduct anonymously has gone on the record for the first time in an upcoming Discovery+ doc. In Batali: The Fall of a Superstar Chef, which premieres on Thursday, a former employee of one of Batali’s restaurants, Eva DeVirgilis, accuses Batali of sexually assaulting her in 2005. The story.
—🤝 First look deal 🤝 Michael London has signed a first-look deal with Lionsgate TV, and his first project at the studio is a limited series about the rise and fall of Jerry Falwell Jr., the former president of Liberty University and son of the prominent evangelist and conservative activist. Lionsgate has optioned Gabriel Sherman’s Vanity Fair profile of Falwell, which he’ll adapt for TV. The story. |
Could 'Don't Worry Darling' Open to $20M-Plus? ►Bad PR is good PR. After weeks of making headlines for one controversy after another, director Olivia Wilde’s sophomore feature Don’t Worry Darling could surprise in its box office debut this weekend with $20m-plus. Official tracking and Warner Bros. are being more conservative in projecting $17m. But based on advance ticket sales, exhibitors are giving a range of $20m to $24m (some think it could score even more). The box office report.
—"Harry did not spit on Chris." Ahead of Don’t Worry Darling's release on Friday, Olivia Wilde dropped by CBS’ The Late Show on Wednesday and addressed several of the rumors surrounding the project. Wilde kinda-but-not-really clarified the whole Shia LaBeouf, talked about her relationship with star Florence Pugh and also gave her take on "spit-gate." The story.
—Three-decade career. Jennifer Kuo, the veteran business and legal affairs executive who worked for Sony Pictures Entertainment and DreamWorks Animation, has died. She was 62. Kuo died July 23 at her home in Pasadena after a battle with cancer, a family spokesperson announced. Her three-decade career also included stints at Interscope Communications, TriStar and Sony Pictures Animation. The obituary. |
Film Review: 'Meet Cute' ►"Flickers with potential." THR critic Lovia Gyarkye reviews Alex Lehmann's Meet Cute. Kaley Cuoco and Pete Davidson play a couple caught in a time loop of first dates in this Peacock film. The review. In other news... — THR's Power Broker Awards recognize L.A.’s top real estate agents —Dave Chappelle, John Mayer pay tribute to Bob Saget at Scleroderma Research Foundation benefit —Pioneers Award: Hollywood lauds James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson —TV ratings: Monarch tumbles while FBI stays solid —Fox News taps Trace Gallagher to anchor Fox News @ Night late night newscast —London Film Fest adds Bones and All, Bros, No Bears to lineup —What to read right now: Timely books with Hollywood appeal —Paramount’s Pluto TV sets launch date for Canada What else we're reading... —Helena Andrews-Dyer writes The Woman King is Viola Davis’s ultimate career flex [ WaPo] —Critic Robert Lloyd on why Norman Lear's All in the Family would be all but impossible to pull off today [ LAT] —Nina Li Coomes writes that repeated viewings of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away is a gift [ Atlantic] —Savannah Walsh talks to The Perks of Being a Wallflower writer-director Stephen Chbosky as the cult film turns 10 years old [ VF] —Better late than never: "TikTok sets new verification rules for politicians and political parties" [ NBC News] Today... ...in 1999 at 9 p.m., The West Wing premiered on NBC. The Aaron Sorkin-created political drama ran for 7 seasons and won 26 Primetime Emmy Awards. The original review. Today's birthdays: Tatiana Maslany (37), Tom Felton (35), Michael Rainey Jr. (22), Joan Jett (64), Toni Basil (79), Bonnie Hunt (61), MyAnna Buring (43), Laura Vandervoort (38), Billie Piper (40), Dina Shihabi (33), Teyonah Parris (35), Katie Lowes (40), Rupert Penry-Jones (52), Lorie Griffin (62), Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (51), Catherine Oxenberg (61), Nick Cave (65), Chelsea Tavares (31), Ruth Jones (56), Shari Belafonte (68), Sue Perkins (53) |
| Sara Shane, who starred opposite Gordon Scott in Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure and appeared alongside Clark Gable in The King and Four Queens, has died. She was 94. The obituary. |
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