| | | | | | What's news: Pat McAfee has apologized for referring to Caitlin Clark as a "white bitch" on his ESPN show. Spotify is hiking its prices again. BBC Studios and PBS are bringing back Walking With Dinosaurs. The CW has renewed All American. Amazon is rebooting American Gladiators. Cyndi Lauper has set her final tour. — Abid Rahman
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Paramount Endgame Nears ►Shari's choice. The future of Paramount Global may be decided in the next couple of days, with the ball now in controlling shareholder Shari Redstone’s court. With the company set to hold its annual shareholder meeting Tuesday, Paramount’s board and the buyer consortium led Skydance Media and RedBird Capital have come to terms on a revised deal for the company. Now it is up to Redstone to approve the deal and move forward, or look at other options. The story.
—"Build back the best of Paramount." At Tuesday's annual shareholder meeting, Paramount's trio of co-CEOs Brian Robbins, Chris McCarthy and George Cheeks laid out their vision for the Hollywood studio as Shari Redstone mulls Skydance and RedBird's sweetened takeover offer. “Our plan looks forward to build back the best of Paramount by delivering higher revenue with lower costs, which translates to higher earnings and better returns,” Robbins told shareholders. The story.
—"Success in streaming is really about engagement." Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters was in London Tuesday to tout the streamer's strong recent performance. Peters said with Netflix now reaching about 270m subscribers, a conservative estimate of an average of two viewers per home means the streamer serves more than 500m viewers worldwide. Speaking at Deloitte’s Media & Telecoms 2024 and Beyond Conference, Peters' speech highlighted that streaming, film and gaming present a $600b-plus total revenue opportunity for Netflix. The story.
—Doesn't sound great. Spotify is hiking the prices of its premium plans for the second time in a year, a sign that streaming inflation is still running hot. The music streaming giant said Monday that it is adjusting the prices for all of its premium plans, with the individual plan rising by $1 per month to $11.99, the duo plan rising by $2 per month to $16.99, the family plan rising by $3 per month to $19.99. The student plan, which is offered at a discount to verified students, remains at $5.99. The story.
—🏆 Child's play 🏆 Taylor Swift leads the nominees for the 2024 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards with a total of six mentions. Olivia Rodrigo, Miley Cyrus and Beyoncé follow with four noms apiece. Other nominees this year include Jack Black, Caitlin Clark, Ryan Gosling, Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, Post Malone, Reneé Rapp, Ryan Reynolds, Sha’Carri Richardson, Olivia Rodrigo, Zoe Saldaña, Justin Timberlake and Zendaya. The nominees. |
Stewart Mocks GOP Response to Trump Verdict ►"What planet do you live on?" Jon Stewart slammed the media’s response to Donald Trump's hush money conviction during The Daily Show on Monday, criticizing conservative outlets’ denial of the trial’s legitimacy and denouncing both sides’ polarized coverage of the event. The recap.
—"That’s 100% on me and for that I apologize." Pat McAfee took to social media on Monday to apologize for referring to Indiana Fever basketball star Caitlin Clark as a “white bitch” during a segment on his ESPN show. “I shouldn’t have used ‘white bitch’ as a descriptor of Caitlin Clark,” McAfee wrote on Twitter. “No matter the context.. even if we’re talking about race being a reason for some of the stuff happening.. I have way too much respect for her and women to put that into the universe." The story.
—"An amazing Spock, but a terrible customer." Toronto restaurant Manita slammed Star Trek actor Zachary Quinto on Monday, taking to social media to outline his alleged bad behavior. "Yelled at our staff like an entitled child after he didn’t reply to two texts to inform him his table was ready and refused to believe the empty tables in the dining room weren’t available for him despite being politely informed they were spoken for," the restaurant wrote on Instagram. "Made our host cry and the rest of our brunch diners uncomfortable." The story.
—One last dance. Cyndi Lauper is closing the chapter on touring with her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour. Ahead of the release of her documentary, Let the Canary Sing, Lauper announced her final North America tour, which kicks off this fall in Montreal. It also includes stops in Los Angeles, Boston, Nashville, Chicago and New York City—the latter being a hometown show for the singer. Special guests will accompany Lauper throughout the tour, with their names announced at a later date. The story.
—No mercy. Actor and musician John Stamos is known for lending his talents to bands like The Beach Boys, but now he’s going in a very different direction. Stamos has recorded a song for Willy’s Candy Spectacular, an upcoming live musical that takes inspiration from a disastrous Fyre Fest-style Willy Wonka-inspired event in Scotland earlier this year. He sings on a new track the production released Monday. The parody musical features songs from Riki Lindhome, Tova Litvin, and Doug Rockwell and Daniel Mertzlufft. The story. |
Sarah Snook Finds 'Succession' Follow-Up ►🎭 Next up 🎭 Sarah Snook has set her first TV role following the end of Succession, signing on to star in and executive produce a thriller called All Her Fault at Peacock. The series, which Peacock ordered in February, is based on a best-selling novel by Irish writer Andrea Mara. The suburbia-set story tells the story of a mother whose life spirals after her son goes missing. All Her Fault comes from Universal Studio Group’s Universal International Studio. Megan Gallagher created the series and executive produces with Snook. The story.
—The walking dead. BBC Studios and PBS are teaming up to bring back Walking With Dinosaurs to screens 25 years after the series first aired. In 1999, the BBC’s documentary-style miniseries became a cultural phenomenon thanks in part to its state-of-the-art CGI creatures. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh, the show won two BAFTAs and three Emmys (Discovery Channel aired it in the U.S.), spawning a companion book and an arena show that toured the globe. The new six-part series is co-produced with ZDF and France Télévisions. The story.
—There’s always a catch. The CW has renewed All American for an abbreviated 13-episode seventh season that won’t arrive until 2025. A decision on the future of its spinoff, All American: Homecoming, has not yet been determined as the show is currently airing on the network. The CW also announced that Penn & Teller: Fool Us has been picked up for an 11th season and secured broadcast rights for the fourth season of Jesus drama The Chosen. The story.
—Heading back to the arena. Amazon Prime Video has picked up a reboot of the classic competition series American Gladiators, with a nationwide search now underway for contestants to take on the professional gladiators in the custom-built arena. The arena will include brand-new challenges, as well as some classics from the original series like “Gauntlet,” “Hang Tough,” and “The Eliminator.” The competition series originally ran in syndication from 1989-1996. The story. |
Josh Brolin Joins 'Knives Out 3' ►🎭 This is getting ridiculous 🎭 Josh Brolin has joined the all-star cast of the new Knives Out mystery movie. Rian Johnson is furiously casting up Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, which, like the other installments, is being headlined by Daniel Craig. The Netflix feature is heading toward an early June production start in the U.K. and already has a cast that includes Josh O’Connor, Cailee Spaeny, Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington, Glenn Close, Jeremy Renner and Mila Kunis. The story.
—🎭 Circling 🎭 Elle Fanning is in talks to star in Badlands, a new movie set in The Predator universe. The film is directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the filmmaker who revamped the franchise with the 20th Century/Hulu feature Prey, which was set in 1719 and starred breakout Amber Midthunder as a young Comanche woman pitted against an alien hunter. Trachtenberg reteamed with Prey scribe Patrick Aison for the Badlands story, with Aison penning the script. The premise for Badlands is unknown, but sources indicate that it will not be set in the past like Prey. The story.
—Portrait of the dictator as a young man. Pieces of a Woman filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó is set to direct The Revolution According to Kamo, a biopic on the early life of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. The feature is based on a script by Cold War director Pawel Pawlikowski and Ben Hopkins, co-writer of Kirill Serebrennikov’s Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie. Kamo spans 30 years from 1891 to 1922, tracing the birth of one of history’s most murderous dictators as seen through the eyes of his devoted friend, ally, and henchman Kamo. The story.
—"We didn’t make Citizen Kane, but f**cking hell." Matthew Vaughn was not expecting the critical mauling his film Argylle received. In a new interview, the Brit director said, “My guard came down on Argylle." He added: "We had done test screenings that had gone fantastically well. The premiere was a really fun night, and it was like going back to the Snatch days where there was such excitement. And I started drinking the Kool-Aid." The story. |
Nicole Brown's Sisters Talk Lifetime Doc ►"I felt like: God, people need to know and remember who Nicole was 30 years later." For THR, Brande Victorian spoke to Nicole Brown's sisters Denise, Dominique and Tanya about the Lifetime docuseries The Life and Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson. The sisters open up about the surprising revelations they learned in the four-part doc and why Nicole's children didn’t participate: "There was a lot to swallow." The interview.
—"It really became something deeper for me, because I could really suddenly feel the past 30 years when I would walk on set." For THR, Max Gao spoke to Sandra Oh about her latest TV project, The Sympathizer. The actress unpacks the final choice for her Ms. Mori in the HBO adaptation and also looks back on Grey's Anatomy: "I never, ever forget how important Cristina [Yang] is." The interview.
—"It’s such an interesting thing to have a dad-daughter relationship, and there’s so much intensity and care there." For THR, Jaden Thompson spoke to Ishana Night Shyamalan about her directorial debut The Watchers. The filmmaker discusses her working relationship with her father M. Night Shyamalan, an executive producer on her film, and what drew her to A.M. Shine's gothic horror novel. The story.
—"So many young people don’t know [Albert], and I wanted everybody to be able to see what I’ve seen for 60 years now." For THR, Matthew Jacobs spoke to Albert Brooks and Rob Reiner about the HBO documentary film Albert Brooks: Defending My Life. The duo talking about their lifelong friendship, with Brooks reminiscing on the way the comedy industry has changed. The interview.
In other news...
—Roger Federer tearfully bids farewell to tennis career in Twelve Final Days trailer
—Tom Hardy unleashes inner monster in trailer for his final Venom movie
—Tensions arise for Polin in Bridgerton S3, part 2 trailer
—Taraji P. Henson to host the 2024 BET Awards
—IllumiNative expands leadership team, launches production company
—La La Anthony signs with WME
—Rupert Murdoch marries for fifth time
—Janis Paige, star of Silk Stockings and Broadway’s Pajama Game, dies at 101
What else we're reading...
—After Jennifer Lopez canceled her tour elicited some online bullying, Kevin Fallon asks why everyone is so eager to see J.Lo fail [Daily Beast]
—In over two decades only five shows have ever won the reality TV Emmy. Joe Reid suggests an easy fix for this broken race [Vulture]
—Jason Zinoman wonders whether the current season of HBO's Hacks is trolling Jerry Seinfeld [NYT]
—A source close to Brad Pitt tells Emma Aerin Becker that the actor is upset that daughter Shiloh has dropped his last name [People]
—Robert Faturechi, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski report that nine witnesses in criminal cases against Trump have received significant financial benefits from his businesses and campaign [ProPublica]
Today...
...in 1987, director Brian De Palma unveiled The Untouchables, based on the true story of how Treasury agent Eliot Ness brought down notorious Chicago mobster Al Capone. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Angelina Jolie (49), Keith David (68), Bruce Dern (88), Maria Bakalova (28), Oona Chaplin (38), Noah Wyle (53), Sean Pertwee (60), Scott Wolf (56), Robin Lord Taylor (46), Rob Huebel (55), Izabella Scorupco (54), Michael Greyeyes (57), Amrit Kaur (31), Jordan Danger (33), Tim Rozon (48), Karin Konoval (63), Theo Rossi (49), James Callis (53), Kerem Bürsin (37), Amelia Warner (42), Rebecca Henderson (44), Josh McDermitt (46), Julie White (63), Jillian Murray (40), Parker Stevenson (72), Kathryn Prescott (33), Mackenzie Ziegler (20), Michele Hicks (51), Lindsay Frost (62), Mandela Van Peebles (30), Horatio Sanz (55), Gary Weeks (52), Erica Piccininni (45) |
| Mark Ross, a rapper better known by his stage name Brother Marquis and a member of the influential and often controversial Miami hip-hop group 2 Live Crew, has died. He was 58. The obituary. |
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