| | | | What's news: Ryan Reynold's Maximum Effort signs an unscripted deal with FuboTV. Willow Smith has broken her silence on the Oscars slap incident. Beyoncé's Renaissance hit No.1 on the album charts. Andy Serkis is making a drama series based on the life of Madame Tussaud — Abid Rahman |
Anne Heche in Stable Condition After Fiery Car Crash ►The latest. Anne Heche’s team is offering a health update after she was hospitalized Friday following an accident in which her car smashed into a house and flames erupted. “Anne is currently in stable condition,” the rep told THR in a statement about the 53-year-old actress, who remains in the hospital. Her speeding car came to a T-shaped intersection and ran off the road and into the house in the Mar Vista section of Los Angeles’ Westside shortly before 11 a.m. Friday, Los Angeles police Officer Tony Im said. The story.
—🤝 First-look deal 🤝 Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort Productions has signed a multiyear first-look deal for unscripted content with the live sports streamer FuboTV. Maximum Effort, which maintains its first-look deal with Paramount, will also launch a linear channel on FuboTV called the Maximum Effort Network, which the production company will maintain creative control over. FuboTV will oversee ad sales for the channel. The story.
—"Humanness sometimes isn’t accepted." Willow Smith says that the media cycle and industry response to her father Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars didn’t “rock me as much as” as other issues she’s personally faced. In a new interview, Willow Smith addressed the incident, saying that the attention and scrutiny that followed ultimately hasn’t derailed her artistic endeavors. The story.
—"A master class of what not to do in court." John Oliver says that Alex Jones turned his recent trial over calling the Sandy Hook massacre a hoax into a "circus." On Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, Oliver, remarking on the chaotic nature of proceedings, said that "a lot of this was deliberate shtick on Jones' part" as he sought to make the "hearing a circus because he’s in the circus business." The story. |
'Bullet Train' Books $30.1M Opening ►On track. Sony's Bullet Train easily topped the North American box office chart with an estimated weekend haul of $30.1m, including a Friday haul of $12.6m. Overseas, the R-rated pic earned an impressive $32.4m for a global start of $62.4m.
THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Bullet Train opened in line with expectations following an aggressive marketing campaign on Sony’s part. Critics haven’t exactly embraced the film, which currently holds a 53 percent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences bestowed the film with a B+ CinemaScore.
The weekend’s other new offering is Jay Chandrasekhar’s Filipino-American comedy Easter Sunday, starring stand-up sensation Jo Koy. Easter Sunday opened to an estimated $5.2m, likewise in line with expectations. Asian moviegoers made up more than 35 percent of ticket buyers, according to PostTrak. The box office report.
—Can't stop, won't stop. Beyoncé’s seventh studio album Renaissance came in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with 2022’s biggest week by a woman — and the second-largest week of the year overall. The record launches atop the chart with 332,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 4. The story.
—Brunson burner. ABC comedy Abbott Elementary led all the winners Saturday at the 38th annual Television Critics Association’s Awards, taking home four awards. Abbott Elementary earned wins for creator and star Quinta Brunson (individual achievement in comedy), new program, achievement in comedy and program of the year. The awards were announced virtually after the semi-annual press tour was shifted in response to rising COVID-19 cases in Southern California. The winners. |
'Prey' Star on Bringing an Indigenous Hero Into 'Predator' Franchise ►A star is born. THR's Mia Galuppo spoke to rising star Amber Midthunder about her incredible performance in Hulu's monocle poppingly good Predator prequel, Prey. The 25-year-old actress reveals she had been hesitant to try out for Indigenous roles: "You very rarely get good representation. Good being accurate, respectful or something to be proud about." The story.
—"@AmberMidthunder, you definitely ain’t got time to bleed." Staying with Prey, Dan Trachtenberg's film has received widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike, as well as OG Predator star Jesse 'The Body' Ventura. Ventura, who played Blain Cooper in the original film, took to social media to share his thoughts on the film. The story.
—"Nichelle represented me as a little girl." In a guest column for THR, Star Trek: Lower Decks star Dawnn Lewis remembers her friend, and original Lt. Nyota Uhura, the late Nichelle Nichols. Lewis writes that she went from growing up watching the sci-fi icon to enjoying a decades-long friendship with her. The column.
—Wax on, wax off. Andy Serkis’ Imaginarium Productions is to co-develop and distribute Madame!, an epic period series on the life of Marie Tussaud, the French artist and entrepreneur who founded world-famous wax museum Madame Tussauds. Serkis created the series and will act as showrunner and director. Newen Connect will help finance the development of the series as well as selling the show internationally. The story. |
David Leitch On Going From Brad Pitt's Stuntman to Brad Pitt's Director ►"There were small growing pains, but it was actually pretty quick." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Bullet Train director David Leitch about his new film and his journey from stunt doubling for Brad Pitt in the late '90s in David Fincher’s Fight Club to directing some of the biggest action films of recent years. Now a first rank filmmaker in Hollywood, Leitch opens up about reconnecting with Pitt for Bullet Train, admitting that it took a minute to adjust to their new dynamic. The interview.
—"I feel like it’s a rite of passage for an actor to have a good death." Pulling Bullet Train double duty, Brian also interviewed star Zazie Beetz who opened about fighting Brad Pitt and her first proper on-screen death. Beetz also spoke about the fate of her character in Joker and teased her Deadpool future. The interview.
—"She is making progress every day." Amy Grant's recent bike accident left her unconscious for nearly 10 minutes and with a concussion, but her team says her recovery is going well. Grant was hospitalized on July 27 after she fell while on a bicycle ride with friends in Nashville. The story.
—"Hulu is the streaming version of the slave master." Mike Tyson is again coming out swinging over Hulu’s upcoming limited series about his life. The former boxing heavyweight champion took to social media to criticize the streamer over Mike, the show that stars Trevante Rhodes in the title role and launches Aug. 25. Tyson claimed that Hulu “stole my life story,” emphasizing that he was not involved or financially compensated for the biographical project. The story. |
'Ted Lasso' Star on Nate's Transformation, What's to Come►"It’s not like Thanos is in it and half of us die." THR's Rick Porter spoke to Ted Lasso co-creator, co-writer and co-star Brendan Hunt about what lies ahead for its third season, rumored to be its last. Coach Beard also opens up about the hit Apple TV+ show's repeat and new Emmy nominations, criticisms of season two and Nate's treacherous turn to the dark side. The interview. — "This is not the show you expect." THR's Scott Huver spoke to Only Murders in the Building showrunner John Hoffman about finding humor in a show about murder mystery. Hoffman, who co-created and co-writes the Emmy nominated show, also opened up about working with his comedy hero Steve Martin. The interview. — "Not just a story about a fascinating person." In a guest column for THR, Rebecca Jarvis, the host of the ABC Audio podcast The Dropout which would be adapted into the Emmy nominated Hulu series, recalls the process of bringing Elizabeth Holmes' incredible and ultimately fraudulent story to life. The column. In other news... —Where to stay in New York: The new Aman, updated Hotel Chelsea and more —Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson welcome second child — Roseanna Christiansen, Teresa the maid on Dallas, dies at 71 — Judith Durham, lead singer of The Seekers and Australia’s folk music icon, dies at 79 — Clu Gulager, actor in The Virginian, The Last Picture Show and Return of the Living Dead, dies at 93 — Paul Eenhoorn, actor in This Is Martin Bonner and Land Ho!, dies at 73 What else we're reading... —Not ideal: "Amazon’s Roomba deal is really about mapping your home" [ Bloomberg] —This story needs to be a movie, or prestige HBO drama: "The inside story of Carlos Ghosn’s brazen escape from Japan" [ WSJ] —Adam Gabbatt wonders if a billion-dollar lawsuit could be why the relationship between Fox News and Trump has cooled [ Guardian] — Frank Pallotta writes that Netflix is not in trouble as it is not really a tech company, rather a boring old media company [ CNN] —Simon Abrams charts the pop culture success of Indian action gem RRR [ NYT] Today... Today's birthdays: Dustin Hoffman (85), Tawny Cypress (46), Meagan Good (41), Matt Shakman (47), Keith Carradine (73), Devery Jacobs (29), Michael Chernus (45), Katie Leung (35), Laura Wiggins (34), Veronica Falcón (56), David Midthunder (60), Aiysha Hart (32), Anne Wheaton (53), Branscombe Richmond (67), Jocelyn Towne (46), Martin Brest (71), Shawn Mendes (24), Jon Turteltaub (59), Donald P. Bellisario (87), Rafael Casal (37) |
| Roger E. Mosley, who portrayed Theodore “T.C.” Calvin, the helicopter pilot and buddy of Tom Selleck’s character on all eight seasons of the original Magnum, P.I., died Sunday. He was 83. The obituary. |
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