| | | | What's news: Greg Berlanti has left WME for CAA. Rust assistant director Dave Halls is countersuing Alec Baldwin and crewmembers. Netflix's Wednesday racked up almost 6b viewing minutes during its premiere week. Jeff Garlin has joined Netflix's Never Have I Ever. — Abid Rahman |
Shortlists for Oscars Unveiled ►Whittled down. The Academy has unveiled its shortlists for the 2023 Oscars in 10 categories, including documentary and international features as well as documentary short subject, makeup and hairstyling, original score, original song, animated short, live-action short, sound and visual effects. Fifteen international features advanced, out of the films from 92 countries and regions that were eligible. The shortlists.
—Going populist, kinda. The Academy shortlists for 10 Oscar categories reveals an organization in which some branches are markedly more open to giving the public what it wants than others, writes THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg. The music branch has shortlisted some of the industry's biggest names, but the documentary branch rejected the biggest crowd-pleasers they were asked to consider. The analysis.
—🤝 Last piece on offer 🤝 The NFL has struck a deal with Google’s YouTube for rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket subscription package beginning with the 2023 season. Sunday Ticket, which lets users watch Sunday afternoon games not aired by CBS and Fox in their home markets, will be available through the YouTube TV multichannel streaming video service, as well as through YouTube Primetime Channels, where users can subscribe to standalone offerings like Showtime and Starz. The story.
—"I do feel that nepo babies are being somewhat scapegoated here." With Hollywood’s so-called “nepo babies” being the topic of conversation this week, some celebrities took to social media to share their thoughts on the matter. The likes of O’Shea Jackson Jr., Lily Allen, Lottie Moss and more stars offered their opinions and defended themselves against accusations of nepotism. The story. |
Bale and Cooper on Their "Ethics of Revenge" Trilogy ►"I am really bad at auditions. I’m terrible. I’ve never been good at them." THR's Brian Davids spoke to frequent collaborators Christian Bale and Scott Cooper about their new film The Pale Blue Eye, the third entry in their “Ethics of Revenge” trilogy after Hostiles (2017) and Out of the Furnace (2013). The duo, who have one of the more distinctive working relationships in Hollywood, reveal how they meticulously planned their gothic whodunnit so that it will be viewed differently a second time. The interview.
—Big coup. Greg Berlanti is switching agencies from WME to CAA for representation in all areas. The prolific showrunner had been repped for the past 15 years by WME’s Ari Greenburg and will now be with a team at CAA led by Bryan Lourd. The news comes as Berlanti has been in the midst of negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery to extend his $400m overall deal, which he signed in 2018. The story.
—Suit filed. Rust assistant director Dave Halls is moving to shield himself from legal trouble over his role in the on-set shooting that resulted in the death and injury of two crewmembers. Halls countersued Alec Baldwin and other crew members, arguing that it was their “active and primary negligence” that caused the incident. The suit comes on the heels of another countersuit filed by Baldwin in November. The story. |
Tom Rothman is This Year's Studio Valedictorian ►"The most valuable studio chief currently working." As 2022 wraps, Sony’s movie studio chairman and theatrical evangelist Tom Rothman has plenty to celebrate seven years after being asked to rebuild the unit following the devastating cyber hack. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that by holding out for theatrical, making grown-up movies that don’t break the bank and exploiting IP with savvy, Rothman had a stellar year. The story.
—"Henry has given so much to the show." Although the upcoming third season of Netflix’s The Witcher wasn’t written as a farewell to Henry Cavill’s version of Geralt of Rivia, the show’s team is doing all it can to give the actor a proper exit from the fantasy drama. In a new interview, series creator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said season three, which is set to debut in summer 2023, will provide “the most heroic sendoff” possible for the departing star. The story.
—Goth queen. Wednesday has already taken its place as one of Netflix’s biggest series based on the streamer’s internal measurement. Now comes outside confirmation of the show’s breakout. The Addams Family offshoot racked up almost 6b minutes — 5.988b, to be precise — of viewing time in the U.S. during its premiere week of Nov. 21-27, according to Nielsen. That’s the second-largest week in the two-year history of Nielsen’s weekly rankings, trailing only the 7.2b for Stranger Things 4 from May 30-June 5. The streaming rankings. |
Jersey? Sure! ►Expansion. New Jersey has given Lionsgate a “Studio Partner” designation as the state expands its tax credit program to draw more high-profile film and TV projects to shoot locally. Lionsgate has been increasing its production footprint in the Tri-State area as its film division becomes the anchor tenant in a $125m Lionsgate Newark Studios complex, to be owned and operated by Robert Halmi’s Great Point Studios. The story.
—Putting down roots. Netflix has unveiled its plans for one of the largest fully integrated production facilities in the world in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. The streamer bid $55m for the 293-acre parcel at the former military base. Outside of that, Netflix will invest about $850m in the production hub, with plans to build 12 soundstages, ancillary production support and a backlot. The company plans to shoot features, series and scripted projects at the studios. The story. |
'Willow' Star on Queer Representation ►"It feels like I’m healing my inner child." THR's Sydney Odman spoke to Willow star Erin Kellyman about episode five of the Disney+ series. Kellyman discusses Jade and Kit’s long-awaited moment together and the importance of LGBTQ+ representation on-screen. Warning spoilers. The interview.
—Moving the goalposts. Audiences will have to wait a bit longer for Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins to take the field, with the Searchlight Pictures soccer comedy pushing back its theatrical release from April 21, 2023, to Sept. 22, 2023. The movie had to undergo reshoots when Armie Hammer exited the project after the actor was accused by multiple women of sexual assault. The story.
—🎭 Come back 🎭 Jeff Garlin has joined the cast of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever for its final season. Garlin will play a man who sparks the interest of Devi’s (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) grandmother, Nirmala (Ranjita Chakravarty). It marks the first series Garlin has joined since he was let go from ABC’s The Goldbergs a year ago following an HR investigation. The story. |
THR's Best Horror Movies of 2022 ►Frightfully good year. As the box office recovers, 2022 continued to make it clear that the thing audiences are guaranteed to show up for, outside of Marvel movies, is horror movies. THR's Richard Newby selects the 10 best major horror releases, as well as 10 under-the-radar indie and streaming picks. The selection.
—What was the best episode of a bad show? Sweetest subplot? THR's TV critics Angie Han and Dan Fienberg wrap up a year of television with honors celebrating specifics from most valuable voiceover to best opening credits sequence and beyond. The selection.
—Sounds good. Beyoncé’s dazzling celebration of house music, SZA’s long-awaited and just-released sophomore record and Kendrick Lamar’s confessional concept album were among the year’s standouts and all make THR music editor Mesfin Fekadu's 10 best records of 2022. The selection.
In other news...
—Sundance sets festival’s first South Asian lodge with nonprofit 1497
—Montecito mansion where Meghan Markle and Prince Harry filmed Netflix doc listed at $33.5m
—Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party special full talent lineup revealed
—Tony Barry, veteran Australian film and TV actor, dies at 81
What else we're reading...
—David Sims writes that Steven Spielberg’s movie magic has a dark side [Atlantic]
—Kyle Buchanan goes inside the Oscars’ best-actress fight, writing that it is the deepest and most dynamic race for the upcoming Academy Awards [NYT]
—With season 3 of Jack Ryan having just dropped, Miles Surrey believes that Amazon has cornered the "Dad TV" market [Ringer]
—Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli, Valentina Pop, Eleni Varvitsioti and Javier Espinoza have a blockbuster story on the Qatar bribery scandal rocking Europe [FT]
—Andrea Chang and Samantha Masunaga report that after all the recent furor over flight tracking, some private jet owners have had enough [LAT]
Today...
...in 2000, Robert Zemeckis’ 142-minute survival tale Cast Away hit theaters. The film went on to earn two Oscar nominations at the 73rd Academy Awards, including a mention in the best actor category for Tom Hanks. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Ralph Fiennes (60), Diane Sawyer (77), Victoria Alonso (57), Hector Elizondo (86), David S. Goyer (57), Meghan Trainor (29), Dina Meyer (54), Brooke Nevin (40), Joanne Kelly (44), Gregor Fisher (69), Chris Carmack (42), Joshua Bassett (22), Aliana Lohan (29), Shioli Kutsuna (30), Darri Ingolfsson (43), Poorna Jagannathan (50), Vanessa Paradis (50), Hugh Quarshie (68), Jordin Sparks (33), Anthony Jeselnik (44), Geeta Vasant Patel (47) |
| Diane McBain, whose career playing spoiled rich girls included turns as the yacht owner Daphne Dutton on the ABC crime show Surfside 6 and an author stalking Elvis Presley in Spinout, has died. She was 81. The obituary. |
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