| | | | | | What's news: TikTok is suing the U.S. government. Robert Downey Jr. will make his Broadway debut in Ayad Akhtar's play McNeal. SXSW London is set for June 2025. Michelle Yeoh will star in Amazon's Blade Runner series. Isabelle Huppert will head the competition jury at Venice this year. — Abid Rahman
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Cohen Spills the Tea on Those Angry Housewives ►On the cover. Ex-Bravo stars are hurling charges (and lawsuits) over alleged sexism, racism and substance abuse on set, but the network's golden boy Andy Cohen tells THR's co-editor-in-chief Maer Roshan that he is having the time of his life celebrating 15 years as the host of Watch What Happens Live. The cover story. |
The Hollywood CEO Mega Pay Chart ►Top executives' compensation revealed. In his annual survey of top executive pay in the entertainment industry, THR's business editor Georg Szalai writes many bosses saw their pay packages increase during a tumultuous 2023 that included dual strikes, a production slowdown and cost-cutting across the industry. The story.
—Shooting. Amid his ongoing feud with Kendrick Lamar, Drake's Toronto mansion was the scene of a drive-by shooting early Tuesday, but the Canadian rapper is safe and cooperating with a police investigation. Toronto Police in a post on X said the shooting at Bayview Avenue and Lawrence Avenue in the city’s Bridle Path district left one man with “serious injuries” who was treated at nearby Sunnybrook Hospital. The story.
—It's finally happening. Robert Downey Jr. is making his Broadway debut this fall in a new play by Ayad Akhtar. The play, called McNeal, will see Downey portraying a talented writer who grapples with a new novel, a broken family life and "an unhealthy fascination with artificial intelligence." Bartlett Sher, resident director at the Lincoln Center who also helmed To Kill a Mockingbird, among others, is directing. Downey’s production company, Team Downey, is producing, in association with Lincoln Center Theater. The story.
—Chuffed to bits, bruv. South by Southwest is heading to London. The creativity, culture and tech event is expanding with SXSW London in June 2025. The move gives SXSW, which was founded in 1987 in Austin, a presence in Europe. SXSW previously expanded into the Asia Pacific region, with SXSW Sydney, in 2023. Organizers said each of these events will feature "their own distinct flavor," making SXSW "an indispensable three-stop tour for the global creative community." The story. |
TikTok Ban Sparks First Amendment Lawsuit ►Lengthy legal battle incoming. TikTok has sued the U.S. government, accusing it of trampling on its First Amendment rights when legislation was signed into law forcing its Chinese parent company to sell the social media platform or face a national ban. The lawsuit marks the most momentous challenge to the government’s forceful rebuke of a Chinese firm’s ownership of the leading video-sharing app in America alleged to hoover up troves of data. The story.
—Ad revenue. Fox Corp. beat Wall Street estimates with its fiscal Q3 earnings report Wednesday, with revenue hitting $3.4b and net income growing to $704m. The gain in profits was due to last year’s settlement at Fox News, combined with a gain on the value of its USFL assets, which it merged with the XFL to create the UFL. Ad revenue was down sharply in the quarter though to $1.2b from $1.9b a year ago, but that was because last year’s quarter included the Super Bowl. Affiliate fee revenue rose slightly to $1.9b. The results.
—Class action. Apple Studios is facing a lawsuit accusing it of violating a series of California labor laws on the set of Palm Royale. Daniel Ferguson, in a proposed class action filed on May 3 in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims the studio stiffed him and other background actors on pay, “maintained a policy and practice of not paying” them for all of the hours they worked and refused to provide legally-mandated meal breaks. The story.
—🤝 AI deal 🤝 Barry Diller's IAC has cut a deal with OpenAI. Dotdash Meredith, the IAC-controlled publishing company that owns publications like People, Food & Wine, Better Homes & Gardens, InStyle, Southern Living and Real Simple, has cut a “strategic partnership and licensing agreement” that will bring DDM’s content to ChatGPT. The content that will be accessible includes “time-tested recipes, expert health and financial information, leading style and entertainment content, and rigorous product reviews." ChatGPT will display content and links in its responses. The story.
—"We hope that solutions will be found." The Cannes film festival has responded to calls for a strike by festival workers over pay and labor regulations. On Tuesday, the festival issued its first official statement, saying it hoped “solutions will be found” to prevent film festival workers from disrupting the 2024 festival, which kicks off May 14. On Monday, a group calling itself Broke Behind the Screens, and representing workers at the festival, called for strike action to protest what it termed the “precarious” position of the Cannes festival’s freelancer employees. The story. |
Netflix Edits Out Kardashian Boos During Brady Roast ►Nothing is real. Who was harshly booed during Netflix‘s live roast of Tom Brady? Not Kim Kardashian. At least, not anymore. Netflix has now edited out the boos from its blistering comedic special on its service. The reality TV icon received a harsh reception as she took the podium during The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady and tried to launch into a Kevin Hart joke, causing others onstage to yell “woah-woah” to get the audience to be more respectful. The story.
—"He’s having fun. You know, it’s like that’s his dad." The Brady roast made headlines when comedian Jeff Ross made a joke that alluded to Patriots owner Robert Kraft being charged with soliciting prostitution after an investigation into massage parlors in Florida. Though Brady told Ross at the podium, “don’t say that shit again,” Ross now says the NFL star wasn’t that upset about the joke. While appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, Ross set the record straight on Brady’s reaction. The story.
—"What is happening with your cheeks? You look like a Ken doll that was microwaved. You love deflating things, stop." Nikki Glaser, one of the standouts from the Brady roast, has revealed that she didn’t get to deliver every joke she had planned during the live comedy event. During an interview on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show following the roast, the comedian and actress, who earned widespread praise for her set, shared some of the punchlines the audience missed on Sunday night. The story.
—Brady owned again. The Roast of Tom Brady got loads of press coverage, but a different live special from the streamer’s Netflix Is a Joke festival racked up more views over the weekend. Katt Williams: Woke Foke, which streamed live on May 4, earned 4m views (determined by total viewing time divided by running time) worldwide, according to Netflix’s internal measurement for April 29-May 5. That’s double the 2m for the Brady roast, albeit with an extra day for users to watch, as the roast streamed Sunday evening. The ratings. |
Kelce Joins FX Series 'Grotesquerie' ►🎭 Dabbling in the arts 🎭 Travis Kelce continues his push into Hollywood, scoring a role in Ryan Murphy's FX horror series Grotesquerie. Niecy Nash-Betts confirmed Kelce’s involvement in the show in an Instagram video posted on Tuesday. Although details on the show are scant, Nash-Betts along with Courtney B. Vance and Lesley Manville are among the announced castmembers. No details have been revealed on what role Kelce will be playing. The story.
—Reba's back! Ahead of next week’s upfront presentation to Madison Avenue ad buyers, NBC has solidified its comedy lineup for the 2024-25 broadcast season. The network has handed out a series order to the multicamera comedy Happy's Place, starring Reba McEntire, and renewed George Lopez’s half-hour Lopez vs. Lopez for a third season. Additionally, NBC has canceled rookie comedy Extended Family, starring Jon Cryer. Drama pilots Suits L.A. and Grosse Pointe Garden Society remain in contention at the network. The story.
—Caitlin fever begins again. Live sports are coming to Disney+ sooner than you might think. ESPN says that next Tuesday’s WNBA tip-off games, including Caitlin Clark’s regular season debut with the league, will stream on Disney+. On May 14, Clark’s Indiana Fever will face off against the Connecticut Sun, and the Phoenix Mercury will face the Las Vegas Aces. Both games will stream on Disney+, the company says, and will also be available on ESPN+, and on ESPN2. The story.
—🎭 First big name 🎭 Amazon Prime Video’s Blade Runner TV project has cast Michelle Yeoh in a lead role. The Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once actress has signed on to the limited series Blade Runner 2099. The show is from showrunner Silka Luisa (Shining Girls) and executive produced by original Blade Runner director Ridley Scott. Jonathan van Tulleken (Shogun) will direct the first two episodes. Alas, there’s no description yet of Yeoh’s role. The story.
—Helmer on board. The Game of Thrones prequel series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has added a major talent from Black Mirror to serve as its debut season’s lead director. Owen Harris has boarded the HBO drama as an executive producer and will also direct the first three episodes, establishing the directorial vision for the series. The Brit TV director is best known for helming two of Black Mirror's finest episodes — "Be Right Back" and the widely acclaimed "San Junipero." The story. |
Huppert Named Venice Film Festival Jury President ►"Becoming a privileged spectator is an honor." French actress Isabelle Huppert will serve as the president of the international jury of the competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, which takes place Aug. 28-Sept. 7. The jury will decide on the Golden Lion for best film, as well as other official awards. The story.
—Sea change. Last year, the Cannes Film Festival shrugged off protests by women’s rights groups to open with Maïwenn’s Jeanne du Barry, a period movie starring alleged abuser Johnny Depp. A year and a mini-#MeToo revolution later, Cannes has picked Moi Aussi (Me Too), a short film by French actress turned activist and filmmaker Judith Godrèche, to open its Un Certain Regard sidebar. Godrèche's film is inspired by the thousands of abuse victims who contacted her after she went public with her own #MeToo story. The story.
—Engene assemble! Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine banner is set to produce feature doc Fanmade: Enhypen about K-pop group Enhypen and their fandom, Engene. Good-People, the new production shingle from Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99 filmmakers William Swann and Casey Feldman, is set to produce alongside the Hello Sunshine. Caroline Suh, who was behind K-pop doc Blackpink: Light Up the Sky, will direct. The description of the film notes that the doc will highlight the band’s fans, "putting them at the heart of the concert creation process." The story.
—YES! Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock might be down for Speed 3. The original Speed stars stopped by the 50 MPH podcast to discuss the 1994 action-thriller. When asked about a possible threequel, Reeves said, “I mean, you know — we’d freakin’ knock it out of the park.” Bullock chimed in, saying that she may be up for it, “Before I die, before I leave this planet, I do think that Keanu and I need to do something in front of the camera. Are we, you know, in wheelchairs or with walkers? Maybe. Are we on little scooters at Disneyland?” The story. |
'Baby Reindeer' Star on Struggling With "Toxic Empathy" for Stalker ►"It was a constant process between what works for a TV show and not selling out on your own story." The stars and creative team behind Netflix phenomenon Baby Reindeer were in L.A. on Tuesday for a FYC event for TV Academy members. The show's creator, writer and star Richard Gadd and co-stars Jessica Gunning (who plays Martha) and Nava Mau (who plays Teri) shared their creative process in shaping the intense, seven-episode series and they also discussed the incredible reaction to the show. The story.
In other news...
—Ariana Madix debuts as Love Island USA host with Barbie-inspired teaser
—How to stream Eurovision 2024 online in the U.S.
—American Express to host outdoor Tony Awards simulcast event
—Kate Winslet to receive Munich Film Festival’s CineMerit Award
—Billy Porter to receive Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for LGBTQ+ activism
—YouTuber LaurenZside signs with CAA
—Live Nation’s Concert Week returns — $25 tickets to Alanis Morissette, Missy Elliott, Peso Pluma, Blink-182 and more
—Ian Gelder, actor who played Kevan Lannister in Game of Thrones, dies at 74
—Susan Buckner, cheerleader Patty Simcox in Grease, dies at 72
What else we're reading...
—Kate Christobek and Jesse McKinley have the 6 big takeaways from an incredible day at Trump's trial that saw Stormy Daniels take the stand [NYT]
—Craig Jenkins takes a step back and considers the increasing nastiness of the Kendrick Lamar-Drake rap beef [Vulture]
—Alex Barinka and David Westin report that Steven Mnuchin believes that TikTok's coveted algorithm could be rebuilt if he is allowed to buy the embattled company [Bloomberg]
—Margaret Hartmann reports on Kristi Noem's flailing attempts to hit back at the "fake news" media for questioning her Kim Jong-un story [Intelligencer]
—With the subdued opening for The Fall Guy, a film that audiences claim they wanted, an exasperated Matt Singer tries to make sense of it all [Screen Crush]
Today...
...in 2015, Warner Bros. released the Anne Fletcher action comedy Hot Pursuit. The film, which starred Reese Witherspoon and Sofía Vergara, was panned by critics, scoring only 8 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. The original review.
Today's birthdays: David Attenborough (98), Stephen Amell (43), Melissa Gilbert (60), Michel Gondry (61), Geneva Robertson-Dworet (39), Vicky McClure (41), Martin Compston (40), Jodhi May (49), Corey Mylchreest (26), Román Zaragoza (28), Elyes Gabel (41), Christina Cole (42), Laura Spencer (38), Nora Arnezeder (35), Matthew Davis (46), Aneurin Barnard (🏴37), David Keith (70), Raoul Max Trujillo (69), Josie Maran (46), Deborah Harmon (73), Ariane Labed (40), Kim Seon-ho (38), Stella Gonet (64), Zach Tinker (30), Krista Errickson (60), Olivia Culpo (32), Patrick McKenna (64), Rick Jaffa (68), Evan Hofer (27), Mia Ford (27), Cooper Huckabee (73), Nikki Roumel (24) |
| Rochelle Oliver, who starred on Broadway in Lillian Hellman’s Toys in the Attic and Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and taught acting at New York’s respected HB Studio since the 1970s, has died. She was 86. The obituary. |
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