| | | | What's news: The first teaser for Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer has dropped. Paramount+ renewed iCarly for a third season. Sally El Hosaini’s The Swimmers will open TIFF. George R. R. Martin missed the House of the Dragon world premiere after testing positive for COVID-19. Seth Meyers canceled new episodes of his late night show after testing positive for COVID-19. And COVID also shut down production on Netflix's The Witcher — Abid Rahman |
With Next Phases Set, Marvel Homes in on Directors ►"It’s about resetting the MCU and meeting all these new characters." Earlier this week, THR's Borys Kit dropped the news that Shang-Chi helmer Destin Daniel Cretton has signed up to direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. After setting the stage at Comic-Con, Borys looks at how Marvel Studios is lining up helmers and years' worth of storylines that will conclude with a familiar one-two punch of Avengers movies. The analysis.
—Settlement. Stan Lee's estate is one step closer to clearing up a messy legal battle involving accusations of exploitation and elder abuse by the comic book legend’s inner circle, with the settlement of a lawsuit against Lee’s former business manager, Jerardo “Jerry” Olivarez. According to a court document, Lee’s estate moved to dismiss claims against Olivarez. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The story.
—"The most important man that ever lived." Universal has released a brief teaser for its upcoming Christopher Nolan movie Oppenheimer, in which Cillian Murphy plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the fathers of the atomic bomb. The preview, just a few seconds long, dropped early Thursday on Universal’s social media channels and was playing on a loop. The teaser.
—Stalled subs. NBCUniversal's Peacock grew its revenue during Q2, but its paid subscriber base stalled, and its loss widened, while NBCU overall increased its earnings. After ending Q1 with more than 13m paid subs and 28m monthly active accounts in the U.S., the company said on Thursday that Peacock's paid subs "stayed relatively flat" as of the end of June, in a quarter that lacked marquee sports events. The results.
—Don't try to be a hero! A stage adaptation of the classic Western film High Noon is planning a Broadway run in 2023. Eric Roth, who wrote the screenplays for Forrest Gump, Dune and more, will write the adaptation. Michael Arden, who last directed revival Once on This Island on Broadway, will helm the production. The story. |
Comic-Con Regains Status as Key Studio Marketing Launchpad ►"We have to earn the right to have fans engage with us." San Diego Comic-Con 2022 saw Marvel Studios blow the roof off Hall H, Amazon wow fans with Lord of the Rings and a supersized Dwayne Johnson appearance light up DC's presentation among many highlights, all of which showed that the Con is still seen as a must-attend event for studio marketers. The story.
—Rallying support. THR's Scott Feinberg reports that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the embattled organization behind the Golden Globe Awards, has been methodically courting support from key Hollywood constituencies — studios and networks, publicists and philanthropic causes related to the entertainment industry — ahead of a return to NBC in 2023, possibly on Tuesday, Jan. 10. The story.
—iRenewed. Paramount+ has renewed iCarly for a third season, which is set to return to production later in the year for a 2023 premiere. The revival of the former Nickelodeon show wrapped season two in June and ended on a cliffhanger involving Carly and Freddie’s relationship. The story.
—Opening up strong. Sally El Hosaini’s The Swimmers, about real-life sisters on an inspiring odyssey as refugees from war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics, will open the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 8 at Roy Thomson Hall. The Working Title and Netflix drama stars Lebanese actresses and real-life sisters Manal and Nathalie Issa who play sisters Yusra and Sarah Mardini. The story. |
Hollywood on Alert As Feds Take Aim at Books Megadeal ►Renewed focus on restricting mergers. In targeting ViacomCBS’ $2b-plus sale of Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House, THR's Winston Cho writes that the DOJ is looking at monopolies through a labor lens — and they could do so on other M&A, and that should unnerve companies in the entertainment industry that have yet to get the green light for pending deals, among them Microsoft’s $68.7b bid for video game developer Activision Blizzard. The story.
—COVID strikes. George R.R. Martin missed the glitzy premiere of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon in Los Angeles on Wednesday night after testing positive for COVID-19. The 73-year-old fantasy author tested positive after his appearance at San Diego Comic-Con. “I’m being well taken care of. I’m taking the drugs. I should be good,” Martin said in a video posted on Wednesday. The story.
—COVID strikes again. Seth Meyers has become the latest late night host to get hit with COVID — and for the second time. The host announced that NBC’s Late Night With Seth Meyers would be canceled for the rest of the week due to testing positive for COVID-19. The story.
—COVID strikes again, again. Netflix has halted production of The Witcher season three due to COVID-19. The news comes amid unconfirmed online rumors that star Henry Cavill tested positive for the virus, but the streamer is only saying that filming has “paused due to COVID and we will be up and running as soon as it is safe to do so.” Cavill’s rep also declined to comment. The story. |
'Saul' Director on "Icon" Carol Burnett and Visiting Gene From Omaha ►"There are certain moments in Jimmy and Gene and Saul’s story where Jimmy and Gene are becoming Saul." THR's Dan Fienberg spoke to director Michelle MacLaren about helming Better Call Saul season six episode "Nippy." MacLaren, who has helmed pivotal episodes of both Saul and Breaking Bad, discusses returning to New Mexico one more time and the episode's very special guest star. Warning spoilers. The interview.
—It’s official. Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings are the permanent hosts of Jeopardy. Newly installed showrunner/exec producer Michael Davies made the announcement Wednesday, revealing in a blog post that the duo will share hosting duties with both dividing an assortment of specials. The story.
—Helping hand. Conan O’Brien, Bowen Yang, Meg Stalter, X Mayo and Nichole Sakura have joined the cast of Universal's untitled buddy comedy from SNL writers Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy. The film centers on three childhood friends who head off to a nearby mountain in search of treasure rumored to be buried there. The story.
—"I’ve taken the right time to heal." Shawn Mendes is canceling the rest of his Wonder world tour dates, the singer announced on Wednesday. In an Instagram post, Mendes shared that he would “unfortunately” have to cancel all the North American, U.K. and European dates of the tour, as he looked to focus on his mental health. The story. |
TV Review: 'The Resort' ►"A journey that starts strong but gets lost in its own jungle." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Peacock's The Resort. The show stars Cristin Milioti and William Jackson Harper as a couple on vacation who try to crack the case of two tourists (Skyler Gisondo and Nina Bloomgarden) who disappeared 15 years earlier. The review. — "Barrera shines, but don't expect this drama to survive in TV's wilderness." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Netflix’s Keep Breathing. Melissa Barrera plays a Manhattan lawyer forced to fend for herself in the Canadian wilderness in this one-woman limited-series spin on Yellowjackets. The review. In other news... —Shia LaBeouf starrer Padre Pio from Abel Ferrara to premiere in Venice Days lineup —San Sebastian Festival unveils New Directors lineup —FTC sues to block Meta’s bid to buy virtual reality firm —Spotify promotes Gimlet’s Mimi O’Donnell to lead scripted fiction —Comedian Chad Daniels signs with CAA —WB's Kim Waugh to receive HPA lifetime achievement award —Asia’s APOS Convention to draw execs from Hollywood studios, streamers, Big Tech and more — Jered Barclay, screen and stage veteran, dies at 91 — Faye Marlowe, actress in the film noir classic Hangover Square, dies at 95 What else we're reading... —This is a pretty shocking story: "I’m a VFX artist, and I’m tired of getting "pixel-fucked" by Marvel" [ Vulture] —This Craig Jenkins interview with Usher, is a great walk down memory lane and reinforces what an underrated genius he is [ Vulture] —Amber Kallor reports that the latest beauty trend is looking sweaty and we have the Kardashians to thank [ WSJ] —Jack King rants on Netflix retroactively editing Stranger Things, and suggests it is the beginning of a dangerous TV trend [ GQ] —Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, Stephen Kelly reflects on how the film's release was mishandled in the West [ BBC] Today... ...in 1954, Elia Kazan brought his gangster drama On the Waterfront to theaters, starring Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint. The film went on to claim eight Oscars at the 27th Academy Awards ceremony, including best picture. The original review. Today's birthdays: Hannah Waddingham (48), Dhanush (39), Elizabeth Berkley (50), John David Washington (38), Lori Loughlin (58), Dustin Milligan (37), Sally Struthers (75), Peter Cullen (81), Michael Hitchcock (64), Huma Qureshi (36), Noma Dumezweni (53), Randall Wallace (73), Huma Abedin (46), Richard Flood (40), Bruce Abbott (68), Rachel Sweet (60), Dick Ebersol (75) |
| | Mable Haddock, the founding president and first CEO of Black Public Media, a major film and TV funding nonprofit, has died. She was 74. The obituary. |
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