| | | | | | What's news: Netflix has canceled comedy series Unstable after two seasons. A sequel to Ready or Not is in the works. The Wild Robot edges near $150m at the global box office. R. Kelly's daughter has alleged the jailed singer abused as her as a child. Kanye 'Ye' West is being sued by a former assistant over a sexual assault. — Abid Rahman
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Halloween Wars: Theme Parks Fight Over $12B Seasonal Industry ►Scream economy. For THR, Abbey White digs deep into the fight between theme park giants Disney, Universal and Six Flags over the $12b Halloween seasonal industry, with each company upping the ante with pricey new experiences. The story.
—New suit. Kaney “Ye” West is being sued by his former assistant, Lauren Pisciotta, for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting her during a studio session co-hosted by Sean “Diddy” Combs, according to California court documents. Pisciotta previously sued the rapper in June, accusing him of sexual harassment, breach of contract and wrongful termination. She also sued him and his various companies for fraud, unpaid wages and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The story.
—"I was too scared to tell anybody." R. Kelly’s daughter Buku Abi, also known as Joann Kelly, has alleged the imprisoned singer sexually abused her as a child in a new documentary for the TVEI Streaming Network. “He was my everything. For a long time, I didn’t even want to believe that it happened. I didn’t know that even if he was a bad person that he would do something to me,” a tearful Buku Abi says in R. Kelly‘s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey. Her untold story is revealed as part of the two-part documentary that includes emotional interviews with Abi’s siblings, Jaah and Robert Kelly Jr. and their mother, Drea Kelly. The story.
—What happened to Outfest? After a season of upheaval and internal conflict, Outfest, the LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces film festivals, has been sued by its former executive director for defamation, harassment and discrimination. Damien Navarro, in a lawsuit filed on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims he repeatedly warned Outfest’s board of directors, several of whom blamed him for its collapse, of the organization’s dire financial situation but that it refused to take action. He alleges that some board members engaged in a campaign to discredit and remove him as the head of the film festival in retaliation for raising concerns of discrimination. The story. |
Why Hollywood Wants to Be in the Druski Business ►"Everything happens for a reason. My whole life is like that." For THR, Brande Victorian writes that the ubiquitous comedy influencer Druski, a protégé of Kevin Hart who boasts 15m followers across social media platforms, is developing a Netflix series and is shopping a movie with comics Shane Gillis and Theo Von. The story.
—Don’t look at me! For THR, Taylor Lorenz writes that women who showcase their closets, their bath rituals and, yes, their carefully manicured hands — but never reveal themselves — are the next influencer craze. The story.
—"Influencer Studies." Influencing is a serious and very lucrative business, so much so it has become one of the most sought-after occupations for young people. For THR, Lia Haberman writes that given the growing demand, higher education institutions are stepping up, from high-profile guest lecturers — e.g., MrBeast sharing the workings of his business empire with Harvard Business School students — to a more comprehensive approach. Universities from Penn State to Duke and UCLA to the University of Alabama are introducing courses, clubs and entire degree programs dedicated to the art and business of content creation. The story. |
How to Prevent L.A. From Becoming a Production Ghost Town ►"If we don’t make the market competitive now, Los Angeles will be Spahn Ranch." In a guest column for THR, Preston Garrett, a producer and co-founder of Rakish, proposes a list of (sometimes radical) ways to try to lower the cost of shooting locally in an effort to reckon with film and TV projects leaving Los Angeles. The column.
—Back with a bang! The 50th American Music Awards averaged more than 6m viewers in its Oct. 6 broadcast on CBS. That’s a 54 percent increase over the previous edition of the AMAs, which last aired in 2022 on ABC. That marks the largest year-over-year growth of a music special or award show on TV this year. It also stands as the second-most-watched music awards show in the U.S. in 2024 and the most-watched entertainment program on CBS in October so far. The ratings.
—Lowe point. Netflix has canceled its comedy series Unstable after two seasons. The series, co-created by and starring Rob Lowe and his son John Owen Lowe, debuted its second season on Aug. 1. The show didn’t make the streamer’s internal top 10 rankings in the weeks following its release; the 10th-ranked show for its premiere week had 1.4m views (hours viewed divided by running time). Unstable also didn’t show up in Nielsen’s streaming rankings for August. The show’s first season, which premiered in March 2023, made one appearance in Netflix’s own rankings and two in the Nielsen streaming charts. The story.
—🎭 Filling out 🎭 Netflix has added to the cast for its limited series Death By Lightning, from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Joining Michael Shannon, Matthew Macfadyen, Nick Offerman and Betty Gilpin in the series about U.S. President James Garfield is Vondie Curtis Hall, Archie Fisher, Barry Shabaka Henley and Željko Ivanek. The latest additions to the series that has completed production in Budapest, Hungary also include Kyle Soller, Ben Miles, Shaun Parkes and Alistair Petrie. The story. |
Exec Bringing 'The Apprentice' to Screens Decries Hollywood's "Cowardice" ►"I don’t wake up in the morning wondering what controversies I’ll stumble into that day, but I’m certainly not going to walk away from them." THR's Rebecca Keegan spoke to Tom Ortenberg, the founder of indie distributor Briarcliff Entertainment that is in the news for closing deals to put Ali Abbasi's Donald Trump origin movie The Apprentice and the Jonathan Majors-starring Magazine Dreams in theaters. After releasing movies like Fahrenheit 9/11 and Spotlight earlier in his career, Ortenberg has never been afraid of controversy, but says he's still feeling "needed" in a risk-averse movie industry. The interview.
—Finally! Samara Weaving and Radio Silence are walking down the aisle one more time. The actress and filmmaking collective comprised of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett and Chad Villella are reuniting to make Ready or Not 2, a sequel to their 2019 dark comedy horror hit, for Searchlight Pictures. Written by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, the first movie told of a bride, played by Weaving, who learns of her new family’s wedding night ritual: Pulling a card from a puzzle card game. While playing if someone draws the Hide and Seek card, as she does, then a murderous game is played, all in order to appease an ancient family deal with the devil. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 There will be plenty of early 2000s nostalgia at movie theaters next year. Disney has set release dates for the live-action Lilo & Stitch and Freaky Friday sequel Freakier Friday. Lilo & Stitch hits theaters May 23, 2025, which pits it against Paramount’s Mission: Impossible 8. Freakier Friday will bow on Aug. 8, 2025. Warner Bros. already has a movie on that date, a Leonardo DiCaprio starrer directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The story. |
Clown Off: 'Terrifier 3' Tops 'Joker 2' ►New clown prince. Slasher pic Terrifier 3 easily won a weekend of curiosity and carnage at the domestic box office, where Joker: Folie à Deux is suffering the worst decline in history for a comic book movie and one of the biggest among any film. Cineverse and Icon Events’ Terrifier threequel opened ahead of expectations for Chris McGurk’s new venture with an estimated $18.2m from 1,988 theaters.
The next closest film is The Wild Robot, which continues to shine for DreamWorks Animation and Universal. Now in its third weekend, the family pic is on course to earn another $13.4m from 3,854 cinemas for a domestic cume of $83.7m. It also pulled in another $24m overseas for a global haul of $148.5m.
THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Todd Phillips’ Joker sequel is falling off a cliff in its second weekend with an estimate just north of $7m from 4,102 theaters, a historic decline of 81 percent. Until now, The Marvels held the record among comic book movies for the worst second-weekend decline at 78 percent. Joker 2′s fall is also nearly the worst drop in history for a film opening in more than 2,000 locations. The box office report. |
Paul Robeson's Exile From Hollywood ►The blacklisting of a great artist. A preeminent artist-activist of the mid-twentieth century, Paul Robeson's banishment by the studios lasted longer than any other performer of the blacklist era — twenty-five years, ending only with his death in 1976. For THR, Thomas Doherty, a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University, looks at the unjust treatment given to Robeson that remains a stain on Hollywood. The story. |
Marianne Jean-Baptiste on Awards Buzz for 'Hard Truths' ►"It was amazing to be able to work in that way again. Terrifying and exciting." THR's Scott Roxborough spoke to Marianne Jean-Baptiste about her new film Hard Truths. Twenty-eight years after scoring a supporting actress Oscar nomination for Secrets and Lies, the British actress discusses reuniting with filmmaker Mike Leigh in a film that is already garnering awards talk. The interview.
—"I auditioned years ago, I sent in a tape, and they asked me to resend it with a few more political impressions. I’m not really a politics guy." THR's Seija Rankin spoke to Lamorne Morris about his new film Saturday Night. The freshly minted Emmy winner reveals he always dreamed of being on Saturday Night Live, proper, he just never imagined he’d end up doing it on the big screen as Garrett Morris. The interview.
—"I'd be crazy not to enter the Ryan Murphy universe right now." For THR, Brande Victorian spoke to Raven Goodwin about her new show, FX's Grotesquerie. The actress breaks down her character Merritt Tryon, and also talks about working with Travis Kelce and deciding to film the FX horror series while pregnant. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
Malala on Why Filmmaking Has Become Essential to Her Activism ►"We need more women, more people of color, to get the opportunity to tell their stories and more Muslim people as well to tell their stories." For THR, Ronda Racha Penrice spoke to Malala Yousafzai about The Last of the Sea Women, the latest doc from her production company Extracurricular. Ahead of the Oct. 11 premiere of the doc on Apple TV+, the Pakistani Nobel Prize winner reveals how her mission as a film producer is to tell stories "we don’t often see on the screen." The interview.
—"I wanted to make iconic television." Ronda also spoke to Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist producer Will Packer and creator Shaye Ogbonna about the Peacock limited series. The duo talk about how the series with Kevin Hart leading an all-star Black cast as the ultimate dreamer exceeded their expectations and what to take away from chicken man in the end. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"If I can lose them in episode one, can I win back the audience as we go?" For THR, Max Gao spoke to Scott Speedman about his new Peacock show Teacup. Speedman breaks down his role in the mysterious eight-episode horror series from James Wan, and also looks back on Felicity and teases what's next for his Grey's Anatomy role. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
'Grey's' Cast Shares Behind-the-Scenes Look on Set ►"It’s still new, it’s still fun." For THR, Lesley Corral got a behind-the-scenes look at season 21 of Grey's Anatomy. Lesley spoke to cast members Anthony Hill, Jake Borelli, Alexis Floyd, Niko Terho, Midori Francis, Harry Shum Jr., Adelaide Kane and James Pickens Jr. about all things Grey, including their avid fanbase and what their characters mean to people, behind-the-scenes tidbits, table reads, what it’s like when Ellen Pompeo is on set and how long they think the show will last. The interview.
—"The story that we’re telling shouldn’t be burdened by everybody’s past." THR's Nicole Fell spoke to Joshua Jackson about his new show, the Ryan Murphy-produced ABC medical drama, Doctor Odyssey. The actor reveals he was looking for a project that, despite the medical emergencies, was lighter than his recent work and "ended up in a positive place." The interview.
—"I feel like this season we really got a good opportunity to explore the relationships between these characters and really flesh it out onscreen." THR's Christy Piña spoke to Outer Banks stars Chase Stokes, Drew Starkey, Rudy Pankow, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Davis and Carlacia Grant about season four part one of the Netflix drama. The cast dive into where their characters are left off after the first five episodes. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
Film Review: 'The Summer Book' ►"Slender but tender." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Charlie McDowell's The Summer Book. Glenn Close, Anders Danielsen Lie and young newcomer Emily Matthews star in this adaptation of Tove Jansson’s novel about a grieving family on an islet in the Gulf of Finland. The review.
In other news...
—Apple TV+'s Silo S2 trailer: Rebecca Ferguson explores harsh truth of outside world
—Malachi Kirby goes up against Stephen Graham in the ring with A Thousand Blows teaser
—Kerry Washington inspires WWII Black women to battle in Tyler Perry’s The Six Triple Eight trailer
—Why is L.A.’s most expensive house still on the market?
—Rungano Nyoni’s On Becoming a Guinea Fowl wins Zurich Film Festival
—John Lasell, Dark Shadows and Twilight Zone actor, dies at 95
—Arlene Winnick, veteran entertainment publicist, dies at 77
What else we're reading...
—Natan Odenheimer, Bilal Shbair and Patrick Kingsley look at how Israel’s army is using Palestinians as human shields in Gaza [NYT]
—Myah Ward watched 20 Trump rallies and writes that his "racist, anti-immigrant messaging is getting darker" [Politico]
—Alex Sherman and Lillian Rizzo profiles incoming Paramount chief Jeff Shell, and the bold changes he could make that he wasn't able to do at NBC [CNBC]
—Bobby Allyn, Sylvia Goodman and Dara Kerr report that TikTok executives know about app’s effect on teens according to a lawsuit [NPR]
—Charlie Warzel writes that what’s happening in America today is something darker than a misinformation crisis [Atlantic]
Today...
...in 1954, Paramount held the world premiere of White Christmas at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The Michael Curtiz-directed musical went on to earn an Oscar nomination for Irving Berlin song “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” at the 27th Academy Awards. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Steve Coogan (59), Lori Petty (61), Usher (46), Ben Whishaw (44), Jon Seda (54), Max Thieriot (36), Udo Kier (80), Rowan Blanchard (23), Greg Evigan (71), Mekai Curtis (24), Stacy Keibler (45), Chang Chen (48), Ariela Barer (26), Jay Pharoah (37), Christine Quinn (36), Skyler Shaye (38), Edwin Kho (35), Natalie Maines (50), Zoya Akhtar (52), Stephen A. Smith (57), Benh Zeitlin (42), Thomas Dolby (66), David Oakes (41), Jack Farthing (39), Mackenzie Mauzy (36), David Kaye (60), Owen Kline (33) |
| Toni Vaz, a screen veteran who blazed a trail as an extra, stunt performer and actress before becoming an activist and founder of the NAACP Image Awards, has died. She was 101. The obituary. |
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