| | | | What's news: Prince Harry's memoir sells 1.4m copies on its first day of release. The 2023 Golden Globes achieved the second-worst TV ratings for the event, ever. ABC renews Abbott Elementary. Freeform renews Grown-ish. Noah Oppenheim exits NBC News. — Abid Rahman |
THR's Producer Roundtable ►"It’s the emotion – that’s why all of us are here right now." THR's award-winning Roundtable series moves on to the producers. Mia Galuppo sat down with six producers of best picture contenders — Gail Berman (Elvis), Kristie Macosko Krieger (The Fabelmans), Nate Moore (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Jonathan Wang (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Jerry Bruckheimer (Top Gun: Maverick) and Viola Davis (The Woman King ) — who share stories of challenges defeated, from 200 cast and crewmembers coming down with omicron to almost every single actor throwing up in their fighter jets and how it’s all worth it. The roundtable.
—Stellar numbers. Penguin Random House announced Wednesday that first-day sales for the Prince Harry tell-all memoir Spare topped 1.4m copies, a record pace for non-fiction from a company that also publishes Barack and Michelle Obama, whose Becoming needed a week to reach 1.4m when it was released in 2018. The story.
—Not the worst ever, just. The Golden Globe Awards slid to the second-lowest viewer total in their 28-year history on NBC with Tuesday’s ceremony. The telecast averaged 6.25m viewers, down 10 percent from 6.91m for the last televised Globes ceremony in 2021 — a remote production, with hosts Amy Poehler and Tina Fey emceeing in front of a mostly empty Beverly Hilton ballroom. The all-time low for NBC came in the writers’ strike year of 2008. The ratings.
—No brainer. ABC has picked up a third season of its breakout comedy series Abbott Elementary. The show is coming off a Golden Globe win for best comedy series and acting awards for Quinta Brunson (who also created the show) and Tyler James Williams. The show also won three Emmys in 2022, for Brunson’s writing, supporting actress Sheryl Lee Ralph and casting for a comedy. The story.
—🎭 Inspiring story 🎭 Kerry Washington, Oprah Winfrey and Sam Waterston are toplining Tyler Perry’s Six Triple Eight, the prolific director’s fourth film for Netflix. Washington will also executive produce the film about the true story of the only all-black, all-female World War II battalion that proved key to the American war effort. The story. |
Disney Board Proxy Fight ►Board games. Disney is shaking up its board of directors, tapping Nike executive chairman Mark Parker to be chairman, effective as of its next annual meeting. Susan Arnold, who has been chair since Bob Iger retired from the company at the end of 2021, will step down from the board at that time. The company also disclosed that it is facing a proxy fight from activist investor Nelson Peltz and his fund Trian Partners. Trian has nominated Peltz to serve on the board. The story.
—Superfans rejoice! Staying with Disney, the company is adjusting some pricing and parking policies at its theme parks, after a push from former CEO Bob Chapek to drive up profits. At Disneyland in California, the company will now increase the number of days it offers its lowest price one-day park ticket (at $104) and will allow greater flexibility for moving between the parks. At Walt Disney World in Florida, annual pass holders will now be able to visit the parks after 2 p.m. without having to make a reservation, except on Saturdays and Sundays. The story.
—Gen Z park. Universal is adding another theme park to its roster with plans for a new site in Frisco, Texas, which will be aimed at “younger audiences” and “sized for a regional audience.” The park will be situated on part of 97 acres recently purchased by Universal, and the company also plans to add a themed hotel. The company is also reportedly planning a horror attraction in Las Vegas. The story. |
Attack of the Chatbots ►The screenwriters’ friend or foe? ChatGPT, an AI chatbot created by OpenAI, has been the talk of the internet in recent weeks and led to questions whether automation has a place in film and TV writing. THR's Katie Kilkenny and Winston Cho write that even as products like ChatGPT make advances, top Hollywood scribes are skeptical that the tech imperils their livelihoods, but some think talent advocates should be proactive about setting rules of engagement for writers. The story.
—Newsroom shakeup, part I. NBC News president Noah Oppenheim is exiting his post after five years, stepping down and inking a film and TV production deal with NBCUniversal. Oppenheim’s departure is part of a larger reorganization at the NBC News Group, with much of his responsibilities shifting to a new hire: New York Times veteran Rebecca Blumenstein, who will become president of editorial for NBC News. The story.
—Newsroom shakeup, part II. CNN has unveiled plans for a new weekday show to run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., to be anchored by John Berman, Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner out of the New York City studios. Post-midterm elections, the news network has also set Brianna Keilar, Boris Sanchez and Jim Sciutto as anchors of a weekday afternoon show out of Washington. The story.
—Coming back-ish. Freeform has renewed Grown-ish for a sixth season. The pickup comes a week ahead of the comedy’s Jan. 18 return to the schedule with the second half of season five. The Black-ish spinoff is the Disney-owned cable outlet's longest-running current series. The story.
—The future begins to take shape. The CW has renewed its drama All American for a sixth season in 2023-24. The pickup is the first since local TV giant Nexstar acquired a 75 percent stake in The CW and hired former Pop TV head Brad Schwartz as entertainment president. The story. |
SAG Awards: 'Banshees' and 'EEAAO' Lead Noms ►🏆 Momentum builds 🏆 SAG-AFTRA has revealed the nominations for the 2023 SAG Awards. The Banshees of Inisherin and Everything Everywhere All at Once topped this year’s nominations with five nods each, including in the top category of best cast. On the TV side, Ozark landed the most nominations, with four, including for best drama ensemble, followed by fellow best drama ensemble nominee Better Call Saul and comedy ensemble nominees Barry and Only Murders in the Building. The nominations.
—What it all means. THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg weighs in following Wednesday's SAG Awards nominations, and gives his thoughts on the Babylon and Adam Sandler surprises and the snubs for Michelle Williams and blockbuster features. The analysis.
🏆 Men only... 🏆 The Directors Guild of America has announced its nominees in the categories of theatrical feature-film and first-time director. Six male directors make up the nominees for theatrical feature film: Todd Field for Tár, Joseph Kosinski for Top Gun: Maverick, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for Everything Everywhere All at Once, Martin McDonagh for The Banshees of Inisherin and Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans. The nominations.
—🏆 Writers' picks 🏆 The Writers Guild has revealed its nominees in the categories of TV, new media, news, radio/audio and promotional writing. Abbott Elementary, Andor, Bad Sisters, The Bear and Severance were all nominated in the new series category; Abbott and The Bear also earned nominations for comedy series, while Andor and Severance earned nods for drama. The nominations.
—🏆 Dressed for success 🏆 The Costume Designers Guild Awards have revealed their 2023 nominees in eight categories across film and television. Avatar: Way of Water, Elvis and Babylon are among the film nominees, with House of the Dragon, The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, Westworld and What We Do in the Shadows all receiving noms on the TV side. The nominations. |
Jeff Beck 1944 -2023 ►Guitar god. Jeff Beck, one of the greatest guitarists of all time who rose to fame in the English rock band The Yardbirds and the Jeff Beck Group, died Tuesday at a hospital near his home in Surrey, England. He was 78. The obituary.
—"One of my band of brothers has left this world." Rock legends Ozzy Osbourne, Gene Simmons, Ronnie Wood and Jimmy Page were among those paying tribute to Beck on Wednesday. Page, who played with Beck in The Yardbirds, posted a photo of his late former bandmate to Instagram and wrote in the caption that the guitarist “could channel music from the ethereal. His technique unique. His imaginations apparently limitless.” The reaction. |
Film Review: 'House Party' ►"Turn down the invitation." THR film critic Frank Scheck reviews Calmatic's House Party. Written by Atlanta scribes Jamal Olori and Stephen Glover, the '90s classic Kid 'n Play comedy gets a new spin set in LeBron James' Los Angeles mansion. The review.
—"As cozy and comforting as a home-cooked meal." THR's Angie Han reviews Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Netflix series The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House. The Palme d'Or-winning filmmaker serves as showrunner for an adaptation of the manga by Aiko Koyama, about two teenagers who live and work in a home for apprentice geiko. The review.
—"Spirited and sensuous." THR film critic Sheri Linden reviews Lasse Hallström's Hilma. The Swedish filmmaker’s latest feature is the first biopic of the visionary painter Hilma af Klint. The review.
In other news...
—ABC adds Jeopardy! Masters to unscripted slate
—Michael B. Jordan flips L.A. farmhouse back up for sale for $12.9m
—Paramount combines TV studio casting under Deborah Aquila
—Banijay names ex-HBO Europe exec Steve Mathews to scripted division
—Issa Rae’s Hoorae Media hires Monique Francis as head of marketing
—Carole Cook, Lucille Ball protégé and Sixteen Candles actress, dies at 98
—Ben Masters, the billionaire Julian Crane on Passions, dies at 75
—Hubert G. Wells, famed animal trainer in Hollywood, dies at 88
What else we're reading...
—Laura Bradley reports on three women accusing horror director Richard Stanley of monstrous abuse [Daily Beast]
—Conor Dougherty wonders whether The Last of Us will unlock a gaming gold mine for TV [NYT]
—Anna Nicolaou looks at the coming corporate dramas in Hollywood’s age of anxiety [FT]
—Marc Hogan looks at how the music community is fighting the opioid overdose epidemic [Pitchfork]
—Mary McNamara writes that it’s a blast watching Harry and Meghan beat the press at its own game [LAT]
Today...
...in 1971, in the 9:30 p.m. time slot, the first episode of All in the Family debuted on CBS. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Issa Rae (38), Sam Richardson (39), Howard Stern (69), Rob Zombie (58), Rachael Harris (55), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (38), Oliver Platt (63), Alexandra Wentworth (58), Olivier Martinez (57), Simon Russell Beale (62), Mary Harron (70), John Lasseter (66), Matt Malloy (60), Jessie Graff (39), Jason Sklar (51), Pixie Lott (32), Mel C (49), Zayn Malik (30) |
| Dorothy Tristan, who had memorable turns in End of the Road, Klute and Scarecrow in the early 1970s before demonstrating remarkable resolve by co-writing and starring in the 2015 independent drama The Looking Glass, has died. She was 88. The obituary. |
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