| | | | What's news: UTA's Jeremy Zimmer joins WME's Ari Emanuel in calling for a boycott of Kanye "Ye" West. Universal rom-com Ticket to Paradise opens to a better-than-expected $16.3m. A writer alleges the late Sacheen Littlefeather made false claims about her heritage. F1 inks a long-term deal with Disney. — Abid Rahman |
Lindelof, Obaid-Chinoy Working on 'Star Wars' Film ►Lost and found. A new Star Wars film is in the works, with prolific scribe Damon Lindelof co-writing the script and Ms. Marvel filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy directing. Star Wars was last seen on the big screen in 2019, and the franchise's theatrical future has been in flux for several years, with Lucasfilm developing multiple takes. Presently, Disney has untitled Star Wars features dated for December 2025 and December 2027 on the release calendar. The story.
—Alleged false heritage. Three weeks after Sacheen Littlefeather’s passing, a writer has come forward with claims that the celebrated activist and actress spent her life fraudulently posing as a Native American. In a piece published in the San Francisco Chronicle's opinion section, Jacqueline Keeler (Diné/Dakota) alleges that Littlefeather, who cemented her pop culture legacy when she took the stage at the 1973 Academy Awards to decline the best actor Oscar on Marlon Brando’s behalf, was of Mexican and white descent. The story.
—"We can't support hate speech." UTA chief Jeremy Zimmer is the latest big Hollywood player calling on the entertainment industry to cut ties with Kanye "Ye" West over the rapper and fashion mogul’s repeated antisemitic comments. In a memo to staff sent on Sunday, Zimmer asked for support in a boycott of West and warned of the rise in antisemitism in the U.S. He joins WME's Ari Emanuel in calling for a boycott of the rapper. The story. |
'HOTD' Showrunner on Finale, Darkness Complaints and S2 Plan ►"There’s definitely more storytelling to come after season two." THR's James Hibberd spoke to House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal about the season one finale, and those particularly dramatic moments. Condal also discusses the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy, whether the show's much talked about lighting style will continue in season two, and the Daemon "Internet Boyfriend" uproar. Warning spoilers. The interview.
—"How is he a good partner?" Regarding that whole "Internet Boyfriend" drama, here is James' conversation with House of the Dragon writer/executive producer Sara Hess and director Clare Kilner that sparked it all. The duo seem genuinely baffled by the online discussion and the desire that Matt Smith's murderous character Daemon Targaryen elicits. The story.
—Too much volume? House of the Dragon is just the latest big-budget television series to make use of an LED stage, an inventive technology that has helped to control the costs, schedules and complexities of production. The overreliance on the technology, however, has drawn some criticism, especially with its limitations with regard to lighting.
THR's Carolyn Giardina talks to industry insiders who say that amid explosive growth and investment, a better understanding of LED stages and virtual production is needed: “Some [shows] have been super successful; others were a bloodbath because people were unprepared.” The story. |
Box Office: 'Black Adam' Blazes, 'Ticket to Paradise' Flies ►Great weekend! The domestic box office came alive after a tough fall thanks to DC and Warner Bros.’ Black Adam and Universal and Working Title’s Ticket to Paradise.
Black Adam flew to the top of the weekend chart with a promising $67m to mark the biggest domestic opening of Dwayne Johnson’s career outside the primary Fast & Furious franchise. (Johnson’s previous best was Hobbs & Shaw, which launched to $60m.) Overseas, the movie opened to $73m from 77 markets for a global start of $140m.
THR's Pamela McClintock writes that while a $67m domestic launch would usually be considered a relatively modest start for a big-budget superhero pic, Johnson’s movies are known to have especially strong multiples, which Black Adam will need to cover a production budget in the $195m to $200m range, including reshoots.
Coming in at No. 2 was the Julia Roberts and George Clooney rom-com Ticket to Paradise, with the movie boasting a better-than-expected $16.3m from 3,542 theaters. Globally, it has cleared $96.6m after earning a stellar $80.3m overseas. The box office report. | F1 Inks Long-Term Disney Deal ►🤝 Broadcast and streaming deal 🤝 Formula 1 has signed a new multi-year deal with Disney, running through the 2025 season. The new deal will see at least 16 races air on ABC and ESPN each season, in the commercial-free format ESPN has been using in its current F1 deal. Critically for ESPN, however, the deal also includes streaming rights, with F1 races to come to the ESPN+. The story.
—IRL buds. It seems like Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston were friends on and off the screen. In a preview clip for his upcoming interview with Diane Sawyer, Perry said Aniston remained in close contact with him throughout his entire addiction struggle, which dated back to his mid-20s and early years on Friends. The story.
—Horrific injuries. Salman Rushdie’s agent says the author has lost sight in one eye and the use of a hand as he recovers from an attack from a man who rushed the stage at an August literary event in western New York. Andrew Wylie told Spanish newspaper El Pais that Rushdie suffered three serious wounds to his neck and 15 more wounds to his chest and torso in the attack that took away sight in an eye and left a hand incapacitated. The story.
—Novel promotion. Drake and 21 Savage are releasing an album together this week. In the middle of their new "Jimmy Cooks" music video, which arrived Saturday, the rappers announced that Her Loss will drop on Friday. At the 1:25 mark in the Mahfuz Sultan-directed clip, the pair snuck in the title and release date for the new album. The story. |
Hirokazu Kore-eda Reveals First-Look at His Netflix Series ►Rarefied world. Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda has unveiled a slew of first-look images for his Netflix drama series, The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House. The sneak-peak images give fans a glimpse at Kore-eda’s original take on the rarefied world of the Japanese geisha. Based on a best-selling manga by Aiko Koyama, the nine-episode series is set in the Geiko district of Kyoto, depicting the inner sanctum of aspiring Maiko courtesans. The first-look.
—Japan's Squid Game moment? Despite having more than twice the population, and boasting a much larger economy than Asian neighbor South Korea, the Japanese TV industry has yet to produce a high-end TV drama that travels far beyond its borders. That could change, reports THR's Scott Roxborough, with the debut of conspiracy thriller Elpis. The story.
—🏆 Worthy winners 🏆 Carter Smith’s queer horror film Swallowed, starring Jena Malone and Cooper Koch, was awarded the U.S. narrative feature grand jury prize at the 2022 NewFest Festival. Juliana Curi’s doc UÝRA — The Rising Forest, Maryam Touzani’s drama The Blue Caftan and Nyala Moon’s short How to Not Date While Trans were also awarded jury prizes at the annual LGBTQ+ film festival’s 34th edition. The winners.
—"And if there’s any kind of slogan of what I’m trying to do with my work, I tend to inspire radical and defiant empathy." THR's Abbey White spoke to The Inspection writer-director Elegance Bratton, NewFest's Breakthrough Queer Visionary Award winner. Bratton talks about crafting his cinematic style, his working inspirations and how his documentary work informed his narrative feature debut. The interview. |
Film Review: 'The Quiet Girl' ►"A tiny jewel, fragile and lovely." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Colm Bairéad's The Quiet Girl. Writer-director Bairéad’s delicate first feature, Ireland's Oscar submission, observes a withdrawn child peeking out of her shell during a summer stay with relatives in rural Ireland. The review.
—"A tender if trying drama of feminine strife." THR film critic Jordan Mintzer reviews Bui Thac Chuyen's Tokyo Film Festival competition entry Glorious Ashes. The fourth feature from the Adrift writer-director is a compassionate portrait of three Vietnamese women. The review.
In other news...
—Netflix drops new trailer for historic horror series 1899
—When We Were Young Festival cancels opening day due to high wind concerns
—Marion Cotillard, Andra Day, Kaitlyn Dever and Chloé Zhao celebrate Chanel’s high-jewelry debut in L.A.
—Meet the vegetable gardener to Hollywood’s A-list
—Josephine Melville, EastEnders actress, dies at 61 backstage after play performance
—Tyler Grasham, talent agent at APA and Encompass, dies at 54
What else we're reading...
—Joseph Bien-Kahn profiles Joe Berlinger, the talent behind Netflix's serial killer/true crime hit factory [Bloomberg]
—Jeff Horwitz, Salvador Rodriguez and Meghan Bobrowsky report that Meta's metaverse play is not going to plan according to internal company documents [WSJ]
—Oliver Darcy analyzes Kanye West's Parler purchase, a social platform described as a "graveyard of hate" [CNN]
—Elmo Keep writes that Charles Leerhsen’s unauthorized Anthony Bourdain biography is not just unnecessary, but irresponsible [Guardian]
—Jeremy W. Peters and Rachel Abrams report on Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott's strategy to navigate the $1.6b Dominion lawsuit [NYT]
Today...
...in 1962, political thriller The Manchurian Candidate hit theaters, eventually earning two Oscar noms at the 35th Academy Awards, hosted by the film’s star Frank Sinatra. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Drake (36), Ashton Sanders (27), Kevin Kline (75), Zahn McClarnon (56), F. Murray Abraham (83), Oliver Jackson-Cohen (36), BD Wong (62), Eliza Taylor (33), Jacqueline McKenzie (55), Raúl Esparza (52), Natalie Anderson (41), Shenae Grimes-Beech (33), Jemima Rooper (41), Martin Campbell (79), Dervla Kirwan (51), David Castañeda (33), Hudson Yang (19), Adrienne Houghton (39), Raelee Hill (50), Kirby Bliss Blanton (32), Matthew Warchus (56), Austin Crute (27), Dave Callaham (45) |
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