| | | | | | What's news: Fox's Lachlan Murdoch saw his 2024 compensation rise. Lakota Nation vs. United States was named best doc on night two of the News & Documentary Emmys. Yellowstone's S5B premiere will air delayed on CBS. Power Book II: Ghost has become Starz's most watched show ever. Mike Flanagan's TIFF winner The Life of Chuck has landed at Neon for U.S. distribution. — Abid Rahman
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Maggie Smith 1934 - 2024 ►Icon. Maggie Smith, the two-time Oscar and four-time Emmy winner whose work in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Downton Abbey — plus everything before and after — made her one of the most formidable British actors of all time, has died. She was 89.
A statement from her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin to the BBC said on Friday: “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.” The obituary. |
Baldwin's 'Rust' Case Was Dismissed. What Happens to the Armorer? ►"One of the biggest debacles of ethical misconduct in the history of New Mexico." Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial related to a shooting on the set of the Western movie Rust, abruptly ended in July with the dismissal of the case after a last-minute hearing over how police and prosecutors treated a handful of bullets. THR's Winston Cho writes that Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, is arguing that she's entitled to a new trial or have the case against her entirely dismissed. The story.
—"It is so important to us that everyone feel comfortable and secure at our events." The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has postponed a reception for new members in New York from Oct. 7 — the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel — to a date to be determined later this year. The Academy held well-attended receptions for new members in Los Angeles and San Francisco last week, and will hold a reception for new members in the United Kingdom in two weeks. The story.
—New protections. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two state bills into law on Thursday that offer new financial protections to children who perform and appear in income-generating online content. One of those bills, California Assembly Bill 1880, expands California’s longtime Coogan Law protections for child performers to influencers and online content creators who are minors. The Coogan Law, which was signed into law in the state in 1939 and was named after child silent-film star Jackie Coogan, mandates that 15 percent of a child performer’s earnings be saved in a protected trust that they can access when they reach adulthood. The story.
—Switching it up. Live Nation Entertainment has unveiled plans for a 50,000-seat stadium in north Toronto to host top global music acts. Rogers Stadium, to be built on a former runway, will open in June 2025 on former Downsview Airport lands earlier slated to host a giant film studio complex. Live Nation is partnering with Northcrest Developments after it shelved plans for the film studio on the 370 acre site. The property developer has an option to revive plans for a film studio development in the future. The outdoor Rogers Stadium will be built on the north end of the runway, not where the film studio was planned. The story. |
Newsmax Settles Smartmatic Defamation Lawsuit ►🤝 Settlement 🤝 Newsmax has settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Smartmatic over false claims the right-wing news channel aired during the 2020 presidential election. The deal was reached on Thursday after jury selection started. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed. In a lawsuit filed in 2021, Smartmatic accused Newsmax of promoting lies that the company helped rig the election by switching votes. It alleged that Newsmax aimed to draw viewers from Fox News, which had seen its ratings at the time dip after Donald Trump denounced the network for calling Arizona for Joe Biden. The story.
—🏆 Second night champs 🏆 Lakota Nation vs. United States was named best documentary on night two of the 2024 News & Documentary Emmy Awards. The film counts Mark Ruffalo and Marisa Tomei among its executive producers. It was directed by Jesse Short Bull and Laura Tomaselli and produced by Benjamin Hedin and Phil Pinto, with all four serving as writers. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences handed out the awards, which were presented at the Palladium Times Square in New York City, on Thursday night. W. Kamau Bell hosted the ceremony. The winners.
—A bump for the No. 1 boy. Lachlan Murdoch saw his compensation rise in Fox Corp.’s fiscal 2024, while Rupert Murdoch is in line to receive some “enhanced” retirement benefits in connection to his decision to step away from the company last year. Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch secured a pay package valued at $23.8m, including a $3m salary, $9.3m in stock awards, $2.75m in option awards, $6m in non-equity incentive comp, and $1.8m in other compensation, comprised mostly of security costs. Rupert Murdoch, meanwhile, took home a package valued at $21.2m, including a $1.9m salary, a $2.3m bonus, $6.5m in stock awards, and $2.1m in option awards, among other benefits. The story.
—🤝 Payout 🤝 UFC and former fighters suing for wage suppression have reached a new deal to settle a class action accusing the MMA promoter of violating antitrust laws. TKO Group — born out of the merger between UFC and WWE — will pay $375m to resolve the lawsuit, according to a Thursday securities filing. The agreement was reached after their last deal was nixed by the court, which said that the payment may be too low. UFC, which stood to lose more than $4b since damages in antitrust cases can be trebled, said that it believes the revised terms will “address [his] stated concerns.” The story. |
'East of Eden' Series Starring Florence Pugh a Go at Netflix ►🎭 Revisiting a classic 🎭 Netflix has formally greenlit East of Eden, a seven-episode limited series based on John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel. The book was previously adapted for a 1955 movie directed by Elia Kazan that was notable as James Dean’s first lead role. Zoe Kazan, Elia Kazan’s granddaughter, is adapting the novel and will serve as co-showrunner with Jeb Stuart. Florence Pugh heads the cast, with Christopher Abbott, Mike Faist (playing the role Dean had in the film) and Hoon Lee also starring. Fifth Season and Anonymous Content are producing. The story.
—"Grotesque shockadrama." The full Menendez family is now sharing their thoughts on the Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, accusing co-creator Ryan Murphy of never speaking to the relatives of Erik and Lyle Menendez, the incarcerated brothers who are the subjects of the hit series. In a searing statement from the 24-person extended Menendez family shared on social media, Erik and Lyle Menendez’s family members described true-crime drama as a "phobic, gross, anachronistic, serial episodic nightmare that is not only riddled with mistruths and outright falsehoods but ignores the most recent exculpatory revelations." The story.
—Maximizing the audience. The return of Yellowstone is getting bigger. In addition to its regular airing on Paramount Network, the show’s Nov. 10 premiere — its first original episode in 22 months — will also air on CBS. The broadcast network won’t simulcast the premiere, however, instead it will air at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS, two hours after it debuts on Paramount Network. Yellowstone was traditional TV’s biggest show when it last aired in the 2022-23 season, and the CBS airing of the Nov. 10 episode will follow last season’s most popular network series, Tracker. The network also has an NFL doubleheader scheduled for that afternoon, which will deliver a large audience into CBS’ primetime lineup. The story.
—Powering into the home straight. The final season of Power Book II: Ghost will go down as the most watched show ever on Starz. The drama, which is headed toward its series finale on Oct. 4, is averaging 10.5m viewers across all platforms, measured for 90 days post-premiere. Several years ago, Starz noted that season five of Ghost’s predecessor, Power, averaged 10.8m viewers, but over a longer span of time than 90 days. The Power franchise, which encompasses four series, has set a number of ratings records for Starz. The flagship series displaced Spartacus as Starz’s most watched show at the time back in 2015 and continued to roll up big audiences over the course of its run. The ratings.
—Holding strong. The second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power opened to big viewing numbers in the U.S. — just not as big as its first season. The Amazon Prime Video series amassed 1.02b minutes of viewing in the U.S. for the week of Aug. 26-Sept. 1, good for first place among original series and second among all titles in Nielsen’s streaming rankings. Season two premiered on Aug. 29 with three episodes, and Nielsen says about 70 percent of the show’s weekly total was for those three, with the remainder devoted to season one. The ratings. |
TIFF Winner 'Life of Chuck' Lands at Neon ►Sold! Mike Flanagan's adaptation of the Stephen King novella The Life of Chuck has landed distribution. Neon will release the movie that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, going on to win the audience award. The anthology film is told in three parts and focuses on the life, internal and external, of Charles Krantz (Tom Hiddleston). Karen Gillan, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mark Hamill also star. While Flanagan has adapted other King works, specifically in the horror genre, The Life of Chuck has drawn closer comparisons to Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption. The story.
—🎭 Next up 🎭 Longlegs star Maika Monroe has signed on to topline 20th Century Studios’ remake of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. Michelle Garza Cervera is directing the feature that is being produced by Radar Pictures’ Ted Field and Michael Schaefer and Mike Larocca via their banner, Department M. The project adapts the 1992 thriller originally distributed by Buena Vista Pictures and directed by Curtis Hanson. Rebecca De Mornay starred as a twisted widow who, distraught over losing her own baby, insinuates herself into a family as their nanny, with the ultimate goal of taking the kids and the husband for herself. The story.
—🎭 Tia and Ty reunion! 🎭 Tia Mowry is returning to Lifetime to continue her run of holiday comedy features. Mowry is set to executive produce and star in A Very Merry Beauty Salon, which will premiere on the channel later this year. Mowry's Sister Sister co-star RonReaco Lee, Donna Biscoe, Cocoa Brown and Ashli Auguillard round out the cast for the film that marks the final project in Mowry’s three-movie deal with Lifetime. Bobby Yan directs A Very Merry Beauty Salon from a script by Tara Knight. The story. |
'Grey's' Boss on More Meredith in S21 ►"I’ll push whatever boundaries they’ll let me." THR's queen of chat Jackie Strause spoke to Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Meg Marinis about season 21 of the long-running medical drama. Marinis dives deep into her twisty plans ahead following a premiere episode that heavily focused on Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), while also unpacking exciting cast returns (hello, Jesse Williams and Jason George!), and looking ahead to cast departures (Midori Francis and Jake Borelli are both exiting this season) and the arcs she has in store. The interview.
—"This was the right version that needed to be told all along." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Rebel Ridge star AnnaSophia Robb. The actress discusses how the critically acclaimed action thriller nearly died more than once, but ultimately became a hit on Netflix, and reveals which scenes from the abbreviated 2021 shoot made it into the final cut of the film. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"My options at times are so limited, and that’s the reality of it." Brian also spoke to Halle Berry about her new movie, Never Let Go. Berry also discusses the varied roles she's taken on in the years since winning an Oscar for Monster's Ball and a potential John Wick spinoff for her character Sofia. The interview. |
Film Review: 'Salem's Lot' ►"Better at serving creature feature thrills than creeping dread." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Gary Dauberman's Salem's Lot. In this Max adaptation of the Stephen King classic, Lewis Pullman and Alfre Woodard star in the horror drama about an author who returns to his hometown in search of creative inspiration, only to find it under attack by a monster. The review.
—"Gory serial killer thriller goes for baroque." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Fox's Grotesquerie. A weary detective (Niecy Nash) and a plucky nun (Michaela Diamond) team up to solve a string of gruesome ritual murders in a new drama created by Ryan Murphy, Jon Robin Baitz and Joe Baken and co-starring Courtney B. Vance and Lesley Manville. The review. |
Thank Pod It's Friday ►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.
—It Happened in Hollywood. THR senior writer Seth Abramovitch goes behind the scenes of the pop culture moments that shaped Hollywood history. In this episode, Seth spoke to Emile Hirsch. The star of Sean Penn’s provocative Into the Wild, discusses going off-grid for the movie, and describes the physical toll of the production. Listen here.
In other news...
—Ana de Armas joins the John Wick universe in Ballerina trailer
—Peacock's Hysteria! trailer showcases a 1980s satanic panic
—Pablo Larraín’s Maria teaser sees Angelina Jolie as legendary singer
—The Last of Us S2 releases intense, ominous teaser trailer
—Shrinking S2 trailer: Jason Segel faces consequences for unconventional therapy
—Tribeca launches creators forum ahead of 2025 festival
—Aussie travel gets boost from Chris Hemsworth and Baz Luhrmann in Qantas campaign
—K-pop stars are already dominating Paris Fashion Week
—How to stream Wolfs starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney
What else we're reading...
—Jimmy Vielkind has a comprehensive piece on how Eric Adams became New York City’s first indicted mayor [WSJ]
—Miles Surrey plays the "best four-film run" game, and sees if anyone can match Francis Ford Coppola's all-timer streak of The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II and Apocalypse Now [Ringer]
—Hannah Verdier writes that Cat Glover, who died this week, was Prince’s thrillingly sexy sidekick – and brought out the best in him [Guardian]
—With Freaks and Geeks celebrating its 25th anniversary, James Poniewozik pays tribute to the niche comedy that became highly influential [NYT]
—Here's your Friday list: "Sophia Loren's greatest films – ranked" [Guardian]
Today...
...in 1968, ABC tried out a new half-hour comedy show at 9 p.m., The Don Rickles Show, which proved to be short-lived. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Jenna Ortega (22), Gwyneth Paltrow (52), Tamara Taylor (54), Indira Varma (51), Anna Camp (42), Andy Lau (63), Carrie Brownstein (50), A Martinez (76), Sofia Milos (55), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (74), Thomas Mann (33), Amanda Detmer (53), Liz Torres (77), Marc Maron (61), Lola Kirke (34), Christopher Cousins (64), Sam Lerner (32), Daeg Faerch (29), Ames McNamara (17), Avril Lavigne (40), Patrick Muldoon (56), Shaun Cassidy (66), Gail Edwards (72), Denis Lawson (77), Travis Aaron Wade (49), Scott Lawrence (61), Stephen Caffrey (65), Michael C. Maronna (47), Grace Helbig (39), Tod Williams (56), Charlie Spradling (56), Arielle Vandenberg (38), Anthony Marciona (63) |
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