| | | | | | What's news: The Wild Robot opened at No. 1 at the box office. Amazon is in talks with Brian Williams to anchor an election special. A film featuring Batman villains Bane and Deathstroke is in the works. CBS Studios is developing a series adaptation of The Corrections starring Meryl Streep. Hilary Swank has joined the cast of Yellowjackets. USA/Syfy has canceled Chucky. Hulu has canceled Unprisoned. — Abid Rahman
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Kris Kristofferson 1936 - 2024 ►Renaissance man. Kris Kristofferson, the Grammy-winning soulful country music superstar who wrote “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” performed with the supergroup The Highwaymen and made audiences swoon in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and A Star Is Born, has died. He was 88.
Kristofferson died Saturday at home in Maui, Hawaii, his family announced. “We’re all so blessed for our time with him,” they said in a statement. "Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all."
A native of South Texas, Kristofferson was an exceptional talent in a number of fields who starred in football and rugby and won a Golden Gloves boxing tournament while attending Pomona College in California; earned an Oxford University Rhodes Scholarship to study literature abroad; and piloted helicopters in the U.S. Army. The obituary. |
DirecTV to Acquire Dish and Sling TV ►🤝 Giant emerges 🤝 DirecTV and EchoStar said Monday that they have agreed to a deal which will see DirecTV acquire EchoStar’s video distribution business Dish DBS, including Dish TV and Sling TV, through a debt exchange transaction. DirecTV will pay EchoStar $1 plus the assumption of debt. The landmark deal has been decades in the making, effectively seeing satellite TV giants DirecTV and Dish merge. If approved by regulators, it would create the largest pay-TV provider in the U.S., with a combined 20m pay-TV subscribers. DirecTV is owned by AT&T and the private equity firm TPG, while EchoStar is publicly traded. The story.
—No dice. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed SB 1047, a sweeping artificial intelligence safety bill, arguing that it is not the best way to deal with the looming threats and opportunities presented by AI. In a statement explaining the decision to veto the bill, Newsom noted that 32 of the top 50 AI companies are based in California, and that the bill would really focus on only the largest companies, which would potentially undercut any safety benefits. He also noted that he had signed many bills that focus or touch on risks associated with AI (earlier this month, for example, he signed bills backed by SAG-AFTRA regulating AI performance replicas). The story.
—🤝 Tentative agreement 🤝 After eight days of negotiations, New York and Los Angeles-based casting directors have reached a new tentative contract agreement with Hollywood studios and streamers, according to their union. The provisional three-year deal was announced on Friday by the Teamsters Local 399, which represents freelance casting professionals alongside Teamsters Local 817. Details were not immediately available about the agreement. The story.
—Mad for it. Oasis are coming to North America! On Monday, the Gallagher brothers, who recently settled their differences to reform the band that made them household names, confirmed tour dates in the U.S., Canada and Mexico in 2025. Oasis will play Rogers Stadium in Toronto on Aug. 24, Soldier Field in Chicago on Aug. 28 and MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Aug. 31. The band will also play the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Sept. 6 and Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City on Sept. 12. American indie band Cage the Elephant will open for all the shows. The story.
—Pulled. Songs by Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, Green Day and Mariah Carey, among others, are currently unavailable on YouTube due to a contract dispute between the platform and SESAC, a performing rights organization that in the U.S. collects royalties and helps protect copyrights on behalf of songwriters and publishers. A similar legal dispute between Universal Music Group and TikTok happened for several months earlier this year before they finally reached a music licensing agreement. The story. |
Hoda Kotb's 'Today' Exit Could Shake Up Morning Show Wars ►What happens next. Network morning show anchor chairs don’t become available very often, but when they do, they are arguably the most valuable seats in the house. With NBC evaluating how to reboot Today with Hoda Kotb's looming exit and CBS Mornings prepping a third hour, THR's Alex Weprin writes that the mornings are poised to heat up. The analysis.
—Surprise comeback. Former NBC News and MSNBC anchor Brian Williams is in talks to return to the anchor desk for Amazon Prime Video. The streamer is in talks with Williams to lead an election night special. The special would be non-partisan. Williams spent nearly three decades with NBC, where he was an anchor for NBC News and MSNBC. He led the flagship NBC Nightly News broadcast from 2004-2015, before stepping down after exaggerations and falsehoods were found in some of his reporting. The story.
—"It’s good to be home." Kamala Harris' presidential campaign rolled into Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, marking her first major fundraiser in the city and bringing along a starry group of supporters. The vice president hosted an afternoon event at the J.W. Marriott in DTLA, with a lineup of celebrity speakers and guests that included Stevie Wonder, Sterling K. Brown, Lily Tomlin, Demi Lovato, Keegan-Michael Key and Jessica Alba; Alanis Morissette and Halle Bailey also performed during the fundraiser. The story. |
Diddy Accuser's Attorney Says "High-Profile" Person Seen With Mogul in Porno Video ►"To me, it doesn’t seem like that person knows they’re being videotaped." A lawyer for a new Sean “Diddy” Combs accuser claims that she’s been contacted about the “sale of one of the Diddy tapes,” specifically a pornographic video featuring the embattled hip-hop mogul and someone "more high-profile" than the mogul. In a new interview, attorney Ariel Mitchell-Kidd said, "There already have been tapes leaking around Hollywood being shopped around, … but one particular person contacted me to shop a particular video they were in possession of and to contact the person who was in the video to see if they were interested in purchasing the video before it became public knowledge." The story.
—Moving forward. A federal court has advanced the key defamation claim in a lawsuit against Netflix over its portrayal of a woman depicted as a stalker in Richard Gadd's Baby Reindeer, while dismissing other allegations. U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner on Friday found that Netflix could’ve defamed Fiona Harvey, the inspiration behind Jessica Gunning’s Martha depicted as a twice-convicted stalker sentenced to five years in prison for sexual assault, by stating that the series was “based on a true story.” Netflix may have “insisted on adding” the disclaimer despite Gadd’s concerns, the court said. The story.
—Looking for a piece. A legal brawl has broken out between Comcast's Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery, with the European media giant suing over breaches to a 2019 deal for exclusive rights to shows. Sky, in a lawsuit filed Friday in New York federal court, says WBD is obligated to offer the opportunity to partner on at least four shows per year, including the upcoming Harry Potter series, but “fell far short of that mark” for nearly the entire duration of the contract. Instead, WBD has “largely disregarded the parties’ agreement and sought to keep the Harry Potter content for itself so that” it can be used as the “cornerstone of the launch of its Max streaming service in Europe,” the complaint states. The story.
—🎭 Coming to America 🎭 Andrew Scott will bring his one-man show of Uncle Vanya Off-Broadway this spring. This marks the American premiere of the production, which sees Scott taking on every character in the classic Chekhov drama. The play comes to New York after a West End run in 2023 and a filmed live capture of the show. Performances begin March 11, 2025, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, with opening night set for March 18. The play is set for a limited run of eight weeks. Scott co-created the adaptation with Simon Stephens, designer Rosanna Vize and director Sam Yates. The story. |
'Megalopolis' Bombs With D+ CinemaScore ►Francis' folly. Francis Ford Coppola — in one of the low points of his long and illustrious career — is watching his new movie Megalopolis get mauled by critics and moviegoers alike. THR's Pamela McClintock reports that the film received a disastrous D+ CinemaScore from audiences and only cleared an estimated $4m in its domestic debut. Heading into the weekend, tracking and Lionsgate expected it to do at least $5m to $7m.
Doing markedly better is DreamWorks Animation/Universal’s family film The Wild Robot, which is charming reviewers and audiences alike, is boasting both a stellar 98 percent Rotten Tomatoes critics score and a 98 percent audience score, not to mention an A CinemaScore from moviegoers. Thanks to great word of mouth, Wild Robot came in No. 1 at the domestic box office with an estimated $35m. The box office report. |
Bane, Deathstroke Getting Movie Treatment at DC Studios ►In the works. THR's Borys Kit has the big scoop that Bane, the super-steroid injecting antagonist who was previously seen in the 2012 Christopher Nolan movie The Dark Knight Rises, and Deathstroke, another popular Batman villain, are being lassoed together for a movie at DC Studios. The James Gunn and Peter Safran-led company is developing a script from Captain America: Brave New World scribe Matthew Orton. There is no director on the project as yet. The story.
—Patriotic choice. China has selected The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, a World War II documentary by director Fang Li, as its representative for the 2025 Academy Awards in the best international feature film category. The pick marks the first time since China began sending titles to the Oscars in 1979 that it has put forward a documentary, but the choice also continues a trend of the country picking movies that stir nationalistic sentiments at home. The story.
—"Not an Indian film taking place in India." The Film Federation of India, a non-governmental body of producers, distributors and studio owners, is facing backlash for selecting Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies as India’s submission for the best international feature category. The selection of the film from a competitive slate of 29 films came as a surprise, as many experts expected Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix winner All We Imagine as Light to represent the country. After reports that the jury saw All We Imagine as Light as “less Indian” than Laapataa Ladies, FFI president Ravi Kottarakara told THR India , "The jury said that they were watching a European film taking place in India, not an Indian film taking place in India." The story. |
Meryl Streep to Lead 'The Corrections' TV Adaptation ►🎭 Second time's a charm 🎭 Jonathan Franzen’s novel The Corrections is getting a second shot at a TV adaptation — with Meryl Streep attached to star. CBS Studios is in the early stages of development of a drama based on the acclaimed 2001 novel, with Franzen adapting his own work and executive producing. The project doesn’t have a streaming or network outlet attached. The CBS Studios project is the second attempt at a TV adaptation of The Corrections. HBO shot a pilot for a series adaptation in 2012 that starred Chris Cooper and Dianne Wiest but opted not to take it to series. The story.
—🎭 Award-winning addition 🎭 Paramount+ With Showtime's Yellowjackets has cast two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank in a recurring role. Details on her character are being kept under wraps for now, although she’ll make her first appearance in the latter stages of the season. The show is currently filming season three in Vancouver. Swank is the second high-profile actor to join Yellowjackets for its coming season; Joel McHale was cast in a guest role in August. As is the case with Swank, there’s no word yet on who McHale is playing, or whether either actor will show up in the series’ 1996 or 2021 timelines (though the latter seems more likely). The story.
—"I’m heartbroken over the news." Despite a fan led campaign to renew the show, Chucky won’t be returning for a fourth season. Syfy and USA Network’s horror-comedy series based on the terrifying killer doll aired season three, part two, in May 2024 after the first part premiered in October 2023. In a statement, creator Don Mancini thanked fans for the ultimately futile campaign: "Your incredible #RenewChucky campaign really warmed Chucky’s cold heart. Chucky will return! He ALWAYS comes back." The story.
—Talking about my generation. MSNBC has ordered a new documentary series, featuring a slew of boldface names that will serve as narrators and participants. The four-part series from NBC News Studios and MSNBC Films, My Generation, will feature interviews and archival footage to explore each of the four generations that make up the vast majority of Americans: Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964), Generation X (born 1965 to 1981), Millennials (born 1981 to 1996) and Gen Z (born after 1997). Each episode will feature celebrity narrators who are from that generation to walk viewers through their experiences. The story. |
'Lanterns': Aaron Pierre, Stephan James in the Mix to Play John Stewart ►🎭 Aaron's on PACE 🎭 DC Studios and HBO’s much-ballyhooed series Lanterns is hitting its final casting stages. THR's Borys Kit reports Aaron Pierre, star of Netflix thriller Rebel Ridge, and The Piano Lesson actor Stephan James are in the mix to play fan favorite hero John Stewart. It is unclear if the pair are testing or reading — and sources say a decision could be made imminently. Damson Idris, star of FX’s Snowfall, was on the shortlist, but is no longer in contention due to a scheduling conflict, according to sources. The story.
—🤝 Five-year deal 🤝 Netflix is getting deeper into business with the hitmaking Japanese director Hitoshi One. The streamer revealed that it has inked an exclusive five-year deal with the filmmaker, whose most recent project, Tokyo Swindlers, became an international sensation over the summer. Under the agreement, Netflix will exclusively produce and distribute One’s series and film output for the next half-decade. Tokyo Swindlers debuted on Netflix in July and ranked on the platform’s global top 10 list for non-English TV for five consecutive weeks. At home in Japan, it held the No. 1 spot for all TV series for six consecutive weeks. The story.
—Host found. Whitney Cummings is set to host the upcoming Max Friends fan-competition game show, titled Fast Friends. The four-part special, announced earlier this week amid the 30th anniversary of the hit NBC sitcom’s 1994 premiere date, is set to start filming next month in New York at the city’s flagship location of the Friends Experience interactive exhibit. The location features a number of Friends set pieces, creating a familiar backdrop for series superfans to test how well they know the beloved show. The story.
—"I wanted you to hear it from me because while we’re super duper disappointed, we’re also crazy deeply grateful." Unprisoned star Kerry Washington says the Hulu series has been canceled after two seasons. Washington and Delroy Lindo starred in Unprisoned, a Hulu father-daughter dramedy based on the life of creator Tracy McMillan, and draws on her lived experience growing up in the foster care system as her father, Harold, ultimately, spent a total of 37 years incarcerated. The story. |
Maggie Smith: Mistress of Scintillating Wit and Withering Disdain ►"Smith’s unsurpassed command of acerbic dialogue made her a favorite of gay men." THR's chief film critic David Rooney pays tribute to multiple Emmy and Oscar winner Maggie Smith, who died Friday at 89. David writes that while the veteran British stage and screen actress became best known for her long-running roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, many of us fell under her spell decades earlier. The critic's appreciation. |
Film Review: 'Afternoons of Solitude' ►"A work of barbaric beauty." THR's David Rooney reviews Albert Serra's Afternoons of Solitude. The Catalan director trains an intimate gaze on star torero Andrés Roca Rey, in and out of the bullring, in this unflinching study of a controversial Spanish tradition. The review.
In other news...
—Zachary Levi endorses Trump following RFK Jr. exit
—The Standard Singapore Hotel set to open this fall
—Barbara Leigh-Hunt, actress in Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy, dies at 88
—Warren Wilson, pioneering L.A. broadcaster and former KTLA reporter, dies at 90
—Drake Hogestyn, Days of Our Lives veteran, dies at 70
What else we're reading...
—Kylie Robison writes that OpenAI began as a research lab, and is now, after all the recent turmoil, just another tech company [Verge]
—A relieved Kevin Fallon writes that The Great British Baking Show is nicer — and better — than ever [Daily Beast]
—With The Sixth Sense celebrating its 25th anniversary, Tim Grierson posits that the film trapped M. Night Shyamalan in a twist ending forever [LAT]
—Thomas Buckley and Lucas Shaw report on Apple's plan to scale back its theatrical ambitions after some high profile misfires [Bloomberg]
—Jason Schreier goes inside the chaos at Annapurna's video game division, which saw 25 people resign en masse last month [Bloomberg]
Today...
...in 1960, The Flintstones first were introduced to television audiences by ABC. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Monica Bellucci (60), Marion Cotillard (49), Tony Hale (54), Fran Drescher (67), Kieran Culkin (42), Vondie Curtis-Hall (74), Lacey Chabert (42), Jenna Elfman (53), Maddie Ziegler (22), Angie Dickinson (93), Katrina Law (39), Eric Stoltz (63), Silas Weir Mitchell (55), Havana Rose Liu (27), Amy Landecker (55), Crystal Bernard (63), Andrea Roth (57), Teal Redmann (42), Toni Trucks (44), Victoria Tennant (74), Debrah Farentino (65), Chris Jackson (49), Alistair Petrie (54), Tiana Upcheva (29), John Light (51), Daniel Wu (50), Donna Biscoe (69), John Finn (72), Greyston Holt (39), Omid Djalili (59), Ki Hong Lee (38), Lyric Ross (21) |
| John Ashton, known for playing John Taggert in Beverly Hills Cop and three sequels, has died. He was 76. The obituary. |
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