| | | | | | What's news: Taylor Swift's gigs in Austria have been canceled amid a terrorist threat. Lawmakers are ramping up scrutiny of sports streamer Venu. Oliver Darcy is leaving CNN. Steve Martin has turned down the chance to play Tim Walz on SNL. Apple is developing a sequel to Wolfs. Alas, there will be no sequel to Confess, Fletch. — Abid Rahman
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Why Streamers Are Battling for Stand-up Comics ►The war for laughs. What industry contraction? Platforms from Hulu to Amazon Prime Video are spending wildly to woo comedians like Nate Bargatze and Bill Burr to secure their standup specials and put a dent in Netflix’s dominance. THR's Lacey Rose and Alex Weprin look into what's behind this comedy arms race. The story.
—Terrorist plot. Taylor Swift‘s three Eras Tour shows have been canceled in Vienna after two men were arrested over an apparent terrorist plot in the area where Swift’s concert was going to take place. Austrian concert promoter Barracuda Music shared the announcement in a social media post on Wednesday. "With confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety," Barracuda said. The story.
—Could get messy. Lawmakers are ramping up scrutiny of Disney-WBD-Fox's streaming sports bundle Venu, with the aim of blocking the joint venture. In a letter, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) called on the DOJ and FTC to initiate a probe of Venu and stop the three companies from pooling their sports licensing rights to form the streaming service. They say that the platform will result in price hikes by further consolidating the market for live sports. The story.
—More legal woe. OpenAI has been sued by a YouTuber whose videos were transcribed and used to train its artificial intelligence system, opening a new front in the legal battle against companies leading development of the technology. With the lawsuit, creators on YouTube join sprawling litigation over the unauthorized utilization of copyrighted material to power ChatGPT. Creators who’ve initiated legal action against AI firms include artists, authors, news publishers and record labels. The story.
—Exiting. More changes are coming to CNN‘s media coverage, with the cable channel’s lead media reporter Oliver Darcy leaving the news outlet. Darcy, who appeared frequently on CNN to talk about media topics and wrote the company’s Reliable Sources Newsletter, is now launching his own newsletter, Status, which hit inboxes Thursday morning. According to the introductory email, Status is framing itself as the “definitive nightly briefing that informs readers about what is really happening in the corridors of media power.” As with Reliable Sources, Status will release new editions Sundays-through Thursdays. The story. |
A Cultural History of the Word "Weird" ►Election buzz term. Has one word ever decided an election? It’s possible we’re about to find out. The word in question is “weird” — a term even a 5-year-old could understand, and one that’s proving extraordinarily effective in Kamala Harris' bid to defeat Donald Trump in November. THR's Seth Abramovitch looks into the history of a word that has shifted along with popular culture. The story.
—"We’re seeing growth in consumption." Disney announced a streaming profit for the first time Wednesday, and with price increases on their way and increased content offerings, CEO Bob Iger said he expects additional growth to come. Speaking on the earnings call Wednesday, Iger attributed the streaming achievement to the “success of our creativity,” citing the company’s 183 Emmy nominations and demand for shows such as Shogun, The Bear and Abbott Elementary. The company plans to build on its streaming success with price increases that Iger says he's confident will not cause significant churn. The story.
—Making moves. As Endeavor‘s take-private deal with Silver lake draws closer, big changes are already coming to the Ari Emanuel-led firm. In its Q2 earnings report Thursday morning, Endeavor said that it has put the businesses in its “sports data & technology segment up for sale: OpenBet and IMG Arena. Endeavor had acquired the sports betting platform and servicer provider OpenBet in 2022 for about $800m. IMG Arena, meanwhile, is the sports data business. The results.
—That impairment charge though. Warner Bros. Discovery posted a Q2 loss of $107m for its DTC unit, a swing from a Q1 profit of $86m. The DTC segment includes the studio’s streaming and premium pay-TV services and saw overall revenues fall 6 percent to $2.56b. WBD also posted a $9.1b non-cash goodwill impairment charge related to legacy TV networks, and a $2.1b pre-tax charge on intangibles and restructuring expenses. The results.
—"It does not fit well with our strategy." Even though Shari Redstone has inked a deal with Skydance Media to relinquish control of Paramount Global, the company has until Aug. 21 to mull any other takeover options during a “go-shop” window. On Wednesday, during an Aug. 7 earnings call, Sony president, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki reiterated that it won’t be making another proposal for Paramount. The story. |
'Glengarry Glen Ross': Odenkirk, Culkin and Burr to Star in Broadway Revival ►🎭 Must-see theater 🎭 Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr will star in a Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross in spring 2025. The production will be directed by Patrick Marber, who won a 2023 Tony Award for his direction of Leopoldstadt. Odenkirk and Burr will make their Broadway debut in the play. The David Mamet play, which was adapted into a 1992 film, is set in a Chicago real estate office, where four, cutthroat salespeople compete against each other. The story.
—"I said, ‘Lorne, I’m not an impressionist. You need someone who can really nail the guy.’" Steve Martin has turned down the chance to play Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz on Saturday Night Live. The LAT reported that SNL boss Lorne Michaels offered him the role, but Martin politely declined. The story.
—First time collab. Japanese sci-fi classic The Human Vapor is set to receive a contemporary reimagining as a live-action series courtesy of Netflix and Toho Studios. The remake project marks the first time the global streamer and Japanese studio giant are collaborating. The series is being co-helmed by a Korean-Japanese creative dream team. Korean filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan, Hellbound) is serving as the film’s EP and co-scriptwriter, while Japan’s Shinzo Katayama will direct. Japanese stars Shun Oguri and Yu Aoi will co-star in the series. The story.
—Returning to Hillman. THR's Rick Porter reports that Netflix is in the early stages of development on a sequel series to A Different World, the 1987-93 NBC sitcom that was set at a historically Black university. The new project would center on the youngest daughter of Whitley (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison), now a student at Hillman. The potential sequel comes from writer Felicia Pride and includes several members of the original show’s creative team. The story.
—FAST love. Roku has unveiled plans to launch a free, ad-supported premium sports channel on Aug. 12. The Roku Sports Channel will feature sports the streaming platform owns and licenses as part of one FAST service. The channel will offer live Major League Baseball games with MLB Sunday Leadoff, The Rich Eisen Show talker, live Formula E car races, Top Rank boxing matches and sports-themed Roku Originals produced with major pro sports leagues. The story.
—FASTer love. A slew of CNN Originals, including shows hosted by Anthony Bourdain, W. Kamau Bell, Lisa Ling and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, will be available for free. CNN launched a FAST streaming channel on Wednesday that will specifically be dedicated to CNN Original programming. The channel, “CNN Originals,” will include a variety of shows from the CNN Originals library, curated in a linear stream. The story. |
Sequel to Clooney and Brad Pitt’s 'Wolfs' In the Works at Apple ►On to a winner? Ahead of its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Wolfs is getting a sequel. Jon Watts has a deal with Apple to write and direct a follow-up to his movie that stars Brad Pitt and George Clooney as fixers who accidentally end up working the same job. It is unclear if deals for Clooney and Pitt to return are done. A part of the news of the sequel, Apple announced that the movie would be getting a Sept. 27 release on Apple TV+, coming after its Sept. 20 limited theatrical release via Sony. It previously was expected to get a wide release. The story.
—"The Fletch curse got me." Alas, fans of Confess, Fletch may have to give up hope on a sequel. Greg Mottola, who directed the 2022 feature, took to social media to give an update about his planned sequel to the film that starred Jon Hamm as Irwin “Fletch” Fletcher, the character created by Gregory Mcdonald. Mottola said the new head of Miramax "shot down" his sequel project. A source told THR that Miramax granted the filmmakers an opportunity to set up the sequel elsewhere. This window to shop the project has since expired. The story.
—🎭 Absolutely fabulous news 🎭 Jennifer Saunders has joined the star-studded cast for the film adaptation of Enid Blyton's beloved children’s book, The Magic Faraway Tree. Hiran Abeysekera and Pippa Bennett-Warner will also feature alongside the previously-announced cast of Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Nicola Coughlan, and Jessica Gunning. Based on the Faraway Tree series of novels for children, the film follows Polly (Foy) and Tim Thompson (Garfield) and their children, Beth, Joe and Fran, who find themselves forced to relocate to the remote English countryside. The story.
—🎭 New tenants 🎭 Oscar-winner Patricia Arquette and Tom Felton have joined the cast of They Will Kill You, the thriller being produced by Nocturna Pictures, the horror label formed earlier this year by Skydance and Andy and Barbara Muschietti. New Line is co-financing and distributing the feature, which will have Kirill Sokolov in the director’s chair when shooting gets underway in mid-September. Zazie Beetz is toplining They Will Kill You, which tells the story of a woman who answers a help wanted ad to be a housekeeper in a mysterious NYC high-rise. The story. |
Film Review: 'Borderlands' ►"Pandora’s box is empty." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Eli Roth's Borderlands. Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Ariana Greenblatt and Jamie Lee Curtis star in this fight to survive on the lawless planet Pandora, with Jack Black providing the voice of a wisecracking robot in this movie adaptation of the role-playing first-person shooter game. The review.
—"Struggles to make a splash." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Peacock's Mr. Throwback. NBA icon Steph Curry and Happy Endings favorite Adam Pally are joined by Ego Nwodim in a six-episode mockumentary about superstars and the normal folks they left behind. The review.
—"The actresses sell it." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Tina Mabry's The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Uzo Aduba and Sanaa Lathan play women who endure life's ups and downs together in this feature adapted from the novel of the same name by Edward Kelsey Moore. The review.
—"Heads will roll." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Gianluca Jodice's The Flood. Guillaume Canet and Mélanie Laurent star as Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette in Italian director's latest feature, opening the Locarno Film Festival. The review.
In other news...
—Netflix unveils The Diplomat S2 release date, first-look photos
—Adam Sandler spreads the love in trailer for Netflix special from director Josh Safdie
—The best hotels in Florence
—NY Film Fest sets Luca Guadagnino’s Queer as spotlight gala selection
—Seventeen’s Mingyu officially named Dior ambassador
—Jin of BTS is Gucci’s newest global brand ambassador
—Robert Logan, 77 Sunset Strip and Wilderness Family actor, dies at 82
—Lisa Westcott, British makeup artist who won Oscar for Les Misérables, dies at 76
What else we're reading...
—Luke Winkie attended a weekend-long cruise and concert festival for rock band Creed, and tried to make sense of how the "worst band of the 90s" became popular again [Guardian]
—With The Blair Witch Project hitting 25 this year, Maya Salam looks at how the groundbreaking film blurred reality and dealt in misinformation well before the dystopia of today [NYT]
—Nicole Narea explains why Kamala Harris’s fundraising spree might prove more valuable than Donald Trump’s [Vox]
—Noor Ibrahim writes that Tim Walz’s 23-year-old daughter Hope is making him a Gen Z hit [Daily Beast]
—Esther Webber and Vincent Manancourt report that the race riots in the U.K. have put the British government on a collision course with Elon Musk's X [Politico]
Today...
...in 2012, Sony released David Frankel's rom-com Hope Springs. The relationship drama starred Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Dustin Hoffman (87), Matt Shakman (49), Shawn Mendes (26), Jon Turteltaub (61), Martin Brest (73), Enzo Cilenti (50), JC Chasez (48), Rafael Casal (39), Meagan Good (43), Keith Carradine (75), Lindsay Sloane (47), Laura Wiggins (36), Nita Talbot (94), Katie Leung (37), Devery Jacobs (31), Tobias Santelmann (44), Maria Zhang (25), Mãdãlina Ghenea (37), Bebe Wood (23), Aiysha Hart (34), Michael Chernus (47), Michael Urie (44), Jackie Cruz (38), Veronica Falcón (58), Senta Moses (51), Larry Wilcox (77), Lochlann O'Mearáin (51), Branscombe Richmond (69), Tawny Cypress (48), Guy Burnet (41), Don Most (71), Jimmy Jean-Louis (56), David Midthunder (62), Donald P. Bellisario (89), Jocelyn Towne (48), Makenzie Leigh (34) |
| Jack Karlson, the Australian man behind the “democracy manifest” meme who became a worldwide sensation later in life after a 1991 clip of his arrest for consuming a “succulent Chinese meal” went viral, has died. He was 82. The obituary. |
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