| | | | What's news: The world pays tribute to Pelé and Vivienne Westwood. Courtney Love says she was fired from Fight Club. Broadway's Death of a Salesman had its Dec. 27 performance disrupted by an audience member. And finally, Today In Entertainment returns on Jan. 3. Happy New Year and see you all again in 2023! — Abid Rahman |
If Hollywood 2023 Was a Movie… ►"We open with a crane shot on a crowded theme park." Given how bonkers Hollywood was in 2022, there was only one person who could predict 2023: a comedy writer. THR tasked Joel Stein with envisioning the year ahead — then pitch it as a movie. Plus Damon Lindeloff, Jason Bateman and others offer their own loglines. The story.
—🤝 Hollywood’s deal dilemma for 2023 🤝 Cord-cutting, an advertising fallout, higher interest rates and an unfavorable regulatory environment present obstacles — but these are the companies that could be involved in M&A in the new year. The analysis.
—Hollywood stock picks for 2023. After the decimation of media sector stocks, entertainment industry CEOs and investors may want to quickly forget 2022. THR's business editor Georg Szalai writes that next year doesn't hold too much cheer, at least in the near term, but analysts remain bullish on a few companies. The picks. |
2023's Most Anticipated Films and TV Shows ►Which programs will be the talk (or flop) of the town? THR's Lesley Goldberg performed the Herculean task of whittling down literally hundreds of new scripted TV shows into a lean list of the 10 most anticipated series that will drop next year. Lesley's list has the obvious — don’t bet against Shonda Rhimes! — and the sensitive sleepers (looking at you, Jason Katims) plus everything in between. The list and the complete guide to 2023 TV premiere dates.
—Bear, Barbie, Beetle. THR's undisputed nicest person Kimberly Nordyke (sorry Chris!) was tasked with building the list of the most anticipated 2023 feature film releases. Kimberly writes that from a cocaine bear to a Willy Wonka origin story and the latest in the John Wick, Aquaman and Mission: Impossible franchises, there is a lot to look forward to next year. The list. |
THR Cinematographer Roundtable ►"I get emotionally involved in telling a story." THR's Roundtable series moves on to the cinematographers that are earning buzz this awards season. Carolyn Giardina sat down with DPs Roger Deakins, Janusz Kaminski, Darius Khondji, Polly Morgan, Mandy Walker and Russell Carpenter to discuss working side by side with cinematic masters, giving often-overlooked women’s stories a place of prominence or conjuring the exotica of Pandora. The roundtable.
—"I wouldn’t let Brad play Kurt." Courtney Love said she would’ve played Marla Singer in Fight Club if it weren’t for Brad Pitt. In a new interview, Love said director David Fincher had hired her to star opposite Pitt and Edward Norton in the cult classic film, but she got fired after she rejected a pitch Pitt brought to her. The story.
—"Tornado of fame." Ed Helms has revealed that the notoriety he received following the massive success of The Hangover was “very overwhelming.” In a new interview, Helms opened up to say he didn't think he "would have stayed sane" if it wasn't for his co-stars, Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis. The story. |
'SNL' Cast Reveal Their Favorite Sketches ►"The funniest, dumbest thing I had ever seen." Ahead of the last Saturday Night Live episode of the year, which aired Dec. 17, THR asked members of the cast which sketch inspired each of them to one day dream of making audiences laugh in Studio 8H. The sketches.
—"I get very nervous anytime James does a scary movie without me." THR's Brian Davids spoke to horror honchos Jason Blum and James Wan who discussed a number of topics including their new film M3GAN, an update on a Freaky Death Day movie, The Invisible Man sequel, AI-driven filmmaking and the proposed merger of their respective companies. The interview.
—Incident. Death of a Salesman had its Dec. 27 holiday performance disrupted by an audience member who approached the Broadway production’s stage and repeatedly engaged with members of its cast, including actor Wendell Pierce, amid the live show. The NYPD was called to the W. 44th St. Hudson Theatre on Tuesday night around 9 p.m. following a 911 call over a “disorderly person,” a spokesperson for the department told THR. No arrest was made. The story. |
Pelé 1940 - 2022 ►The King is dead. Pelé, the Brazilian national treasure who in the 1960s and ’70s made soccer popular in places on the planet that hadn’t yet embraced the “beautiful game” — in particular the U.S. — has died. He was 82. The three time World Cup winner died Thursday, after being hospitalized in São Paulo, Brazil, for the past month. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in September 2021. The obituary.
—"He understood the power of sports to bring people together." Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Usain Bolt and Barack Obama were among the friends, fellow athletes and notable figures remembering Pelé on social media. The reaction.
—"She led an amazing life." Vivienne Westwood, the rule-breaking, irreverent British fashion designer who came to prominence along with the Sex Pistols in the 1970s, has died. She was 81. On its Instagram page, her fashion brand announced that the designer — one of the original architects of the punk fashion look — died Thursday “peacefully and surrounded by her family in Clapham, South London.” The obituary.
—"She is and was revolutionary." Shortly after news broke of Vivienne Westwood's death a host of Hollywood stars, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Jeremy O. Harris and Juliette Lewis, took to social media to pay tribute to fashion's eternal rebel. The reaction. |
'Fleishman Is in Trouble' Star, Showrunner Talk Ending ►"Ultimately, Fleishman is a story about storytelling." THR's Jackie Strause spoke to Fleishman Is in Trouble showrunner Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who also wrote the novel on which the FX on Hulu series is based, and her star Lizzy Caplan about the questions posed in the finale. Warning spoilers. The interview.
—"It was just one trauma too many." Jackie also spoke to Fleishman star Claire Danes about her thoughts on the finale, while also unpacking her character, Rachel Fleishman. Warning spoilers. The interview. |
TV Review: 'Paul T. Goldman' ►"The finale could determine if this genre hybrid is more exploitative than provocative." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Peacock's Paul T. Goldman. The six-part docuseries finds Borat Subsequent Moviefilm director Jason Woliner telling the incredible, and possibly not believable, story of one man and his very bad second marriage. The review.
In other news...
—Marvel teases Disney+ Stan Lee doc
—AMC Theatres adds Keri Putnam, Dee Clark to board
—Eugene Levy, Victor Garber named to the Order of Canada
—Lupita Nyong’o and Selema Masekela buy Topanga Canyon home
—New Year’s Eve: 25 memorable scenes in film and TV
—Peter Sealey, former Columbia Pictures marketing exec, dies at 82
What else we're reading...
—Jacob Gallagher asks whether the superhero boom has made uncomfortably overbuilt bodies the norm in Hollywood [WSJ]
—Richard Lawson implores Hollywood’s eat-the-rich movie satires to have sharper teeth [VF]
—Paul Krugman eviscerates Elon Musk and Tesla's fuzzy history and calamitous recent performance [NYT]
—Writer and fat rights activist Evette Dionne grapples with her interest in shows like My 600-lb Life and The Biggest Loser [BuzzFeed News]
—An intriguing bi-partisan conversation between Sean Illing and Helen Andrews that posits the notion that millennials are stuck in the world boomers built [Vox]
Today...
...in 1953, Stanley Kramer’s motorcycle drama The Wild One, starring Marlon Brando, held its world premiere at the Palace in New York. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Sheryl Lee Ralph (66), LeBron James (38), Tyrese Gibson (44), Tracey Ullman (63), Eliza Dushku (42), Kristin Kreuk (40), Bennett Miller (56), George Newbern (58), Meredith Monroe (53), Caity Lotz (36), Russ Tamblyn (88), Kim Tae-hyung (27), Lloyd Kaufman (77), James Burrows (82), Faye Marsay (36), Lucy Punch (45), Lyliana Wray (18), Daniel Sunjata (51), Ashley Zukerman (39), Kelli Maroney (57), Jason Behr (49), Jeff Ward (36), Anna Wood (37), Chris Vance (51) |
| Ruggero Deodato, the Italian director behind the gruesome and controversial 1980 film Cannibal Holocaust, died Thursday in Rome. He was 83. The obituary. |
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