| | | | What's news: Amber Heard and Johnny Depp reach a settlement in their defamation fight. The Russo brothers plan an Indian spinoff of their Citadel series. The Almost Famous musical is set to close on Broadway. ABC Signature agrees to pay $3m in a sexual harassment case brought against the Criminal Minds producers. — Abid Rahman |
Weinstein Found Guilty of Rape in L.A. Trial ►Mixed verdict. After 10 days of deliberations, Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape in a Los Angeles trial, the jury found on Monday. But, in a mixed verdict, the 12-member jury acquitted Weinstein of another sexual assault charge related to a different Jane Doe accuser and couldn’t reach a decision on three other counts. The story.
—Settlement. ABC Signature will pay $3m to resolve claims of sexual harassment and retaliation brought by the state of California on behalf of a group of crewmembers. The California Civil Rights Department in May 2020 sued Disney, ABC Signature and others alleging that Criminal Minds director of photography Gregory St. Johns sexually harassed male crewmembers for 14 seasons of the series and that producers ignored the behavior and fired workers who complained. The story.
—Pushing for change. The Writers Guild of America East and Writers Guild of America West have crafted a pledge committing to improving diversity, equity and inclusion in late night and comedy/variety TV, signed by more than 50 supervisory scribes in the space. The signatories include John Oliver, Amy Schumer, Amber Ruffin and Charlamagne tha God. The story.
—Another one gone. The Almost Famous musical will play its final Broadway performance on Jan. 8. The musical, an adaptation of Cameron Crowe’s 2000 film, began previews at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Oct. 3 and opened on Nov. 3. Almost Famous is the latest Broadway show to announce its closure, following KPOP, which closed on Dec. 11, two weeks after opening, and Ain’t No Mo, which received a closing notice, but is now extended through Dec. 23. The story. |
Kim Masters on Hollywood's Year of Wishful Thinking ►Memory hole. THR's editor-at-large Kim Masters writes that this year brought some big box office wins, most notably Top Gun: Maverick, but 2022 was mostly a time for film execs to stanch the bleeding, rethink radical change and figure out how to get consumers to magically forget all about that whole direct-to-streaming thing. The analysis.
—"We are pleased to formally close the door on this painful chapter." Amber Heard has settled her defamation fight with ex-husband Johnny Depp. Heard announced her decision Monday in a lengthy Instagram post. She said the decision followed “a great deal of deliberation” and denied that it was an admission or an act of concession. Heard added that “there are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward.” The story.
—"I’ll always know home is here." Cecily Strong took to social media on Monday to reflect on her decision to leave Saturday Night Live. Strong shared a story about her first night at Studio 8H and how, after she said goodbye to her co-workers, she couldn’t find the “secret nighttime elevator,” so she had to return and ask for help. The story.
—🤝 First-look deal 🤝 THR's Mikey O'Connell has the scoop on Octavia Spencer’s Orit Entertainment and Skydance Television signing a multiyear first-look deal for scripted TV projects. The Oscar-winning actress’ shingle, headed by Brian Clisham and Stephanie Kluft, will develop and produce original series for the studio with the potential for Spencer to star in one. The story. |
Jury Is Out on 'Avatar 2' Riding the Box Office Waves ►"Can James Cameron pull the rabbit out of the hat for the third time?" Avatar: The Way of Water opened to $134m in domestic ticket sales, notably below tracking forecasts, but THR's Pamela McClintock writes that no one in Hollywood is ready to write off the long-awaited sequel. The analysis.
—"When I am in the persona of Quaritch, I tend to be in a place where I have very little self-doubt." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Avatar 2 star Stephen Lang about playing the new and improved (and more dastardly) version of Colonel Quaritch. Lang also addresses a key moment at the end of the film involving Jack Champion’s Spider. The interview.
—Well deserved. James Cameron and producer Jon Landau are scheduled to accept the Advanced Imaging Society and earthday.org’s Voices for the Earth Award for Avatar 2. The award will be presented to the Academy Award-winning duo at the AIS' 13th annual Lumiere Awards, Feb. 10 at The Beverly Hills Hotel. The story. |
Playing Sexy on TV Is No Small Feat ►"A spate of series went beyond shallow titillation." THR's Robyn Bahr writes that sensual performances captured TV audiences’ attentions this year in series such as The White Lotus and Bridgerton — but erotic intrigue requires more than a hot appearance. The analysis.
—"If showing support is a crime, tens of millions of people of this land are criminals." Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi says he stands with his The Salesman star Taraneh Alidoosti after the actress was arrested over the weekend. Iranian state media reported that Alidoosti was detained after she posted a comment on Instagram expressing solidarity with Mohsen Shekari, the first person to have been officially executed by the Tehran regime over the recent protests. The story.
—🎭 Rising star 🎭 South African actress Ama Qamata, the star of Netflix’s breakout hit Blood and Water, has signed on to star in Fight Like a Girl, an upcoming feature from writer/director Matthew Leutwyler (The River Why, Uncanny). NBA star Serge Ibaka is executive producing the feature, about a woman who finds a new life after joining an all-women boxing club. The story.
—🎭 Hero found 🎭 Bollywood star Varun Dhawan will lead the cast of AGBO-produced Indian spinoff of Amazon's mega-budget action spy series Citadel. The still-untitled Indian project is set within the Russo brothers' “Citadel universe,” a sprawling series franchise that spans productions in various countries, all of which build back to an interconnected storyline. The core U.S. component of the franchise is reportedly already among the most expensive TV series ever produced. The story. |
Ford and Mirren on Why '1923' Was "Step Into the Unknown" ►"We didn’t read scripts before we signed up." THR's Jackie Strause spoke to 1923 stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren on what pushed them to join the Sheridanverse and make the TV commitment. The screen icons discuss working on the Yellowstone prequel in which they star as ancestors of the Dutton family. The interview.
—The brand is strong. The premiere of 1923 drew a sizable cross-platform audience Sunday night. Paramount Global says 7.4m people watched the episode. That figure includes four cable telecasts — three on Paramount Network and one on CMT — plus streaming on Paramount+, where 1923 will run for the remainder of its season. The ratings.
In other news...
—Prince Harry, Meghan Markle drop teaser for next Netflix docuseries, Live to Lead
—Till to receive Stanley Kramer Award from Producers Guild
—Sundance sets official AAPI House with Daniel Dae Kim, Gold House and Asian American Foundation
—Epic Games to pay record $520m in FTC privacy and billing settlement
—Rick Hilton exiting Hilton & Hyland real estate brokerage as ownership changes hands
—Drew Griffin, tenacious CNN investigative correspondent, dies at 60
—Shirley Watts, widow of drummer Charlie Watts, dies at 84
What else we're reading...
—Joe Flint, Robbie Whelan, Erich Schwartzel, Emily Glazer and Jessica Toonkel have the definitive lowdown on Bob Chapek's demise at Disney [WSJ]
—Michael Schulman reports on how the fat-acceptance movement feels about Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale [New Yorker]
—Terrifier star Catherine Corcoran responds to the recent fan demand for more nudity in horror films [Daily Beast]
—With a few cold cases solved by true crime podcasters recently, Laura Barton wonders if the legal system can keep up [Guardian]
—Justin Peters writes that the Twitter Files don't reveal what Elon Musk wants them to [Slate]
Today...
...in 1991, Oliver Stone and Warner Bros. unveiled the 188-minute conspiratorial thriller JFK, which was nominated for eight Oscars at the 64th Academy Awards. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Dick Wolf (76), Tim Bevan (65), Jonah Hill (39), Ramón Rodríguez (43), Jenny Agutter (70), Todd Phillips (52), JoJo (32), Brian O'Halloran (53), Jason McKinnon (42), Jillian Rose Reed (31), Chris Robinson (56), Conner O'Malley (36), Colin Woodell (31), Iqbal Theba (59), Joe Cornish (54), Anoop Desai (36), Azie Tesfai (30), Alison Luff (34), Eduardo Sánchez (54), Terry George (70), Melanie Scrofano (41), Nicole de Boer (52), Alexandre Willaume (50), Bob Morley (38) |
| Terry Hall, the frontman of influential U.K. ska band the Specials and later a member of new wave pop act Fun Boy Three, has died. He was 63. The obituary. |
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