| | | | What's news: AMC Theaters is set to launch a credit card. The Tony Awards is moving to the United Palace theater. Adam Sandler will receive the Mark Twain Prize. FX orders another Peep Show pilot. A Winnie-the-Pooh feature film is in the works. — Abid Rahman |
Patty Jenkins Breaks Silence on 'Wonder Woman 3' ►"There was nothing I could do to move anything forward." Patty Jenkins has publicly addressed her current involvement with DC's Wonder Woman 3 and Star Wars project Rogue Squadron. The filmmaker released a statement on social media to shoot down the speculation that came in the aftermath of THR's bombshell Dec. 7 report that Jenkins' iteration of Wonder Woman 3 was not moving forward after she submitted a treatment to Warner Bros. leadership. The story.
—"The pilot light jumped and my face caught on fire." Jay Leno has revealed how he sustained third-degree burns in a garage fire last month. The former Tonight Show host told NBC News’ Hoda Kotb that he was injured while working on one of his vintage cars, specifically a 1907 White Steam Car. The story.
—On the move. The 76th annual Tony Awards will take place on June 11, 2023 and for the first time will be presented at the United Palace in Washington Heights. The American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League did not give a reason for the move, but it brings the awards show to a smaller venue. The story.
—Throwing everything at the wall. AMC Theatres has found its next investment to appease its retail investors. The movie theater chain is set to launch the AMC Entertainment Visa Card in early 2023. Credit card holders will be able to earn additional AMC Stubs Rewards points when making purchases at the theater, as well as purchases outside the theater chain. The card is only available to AMC Stubs members. The story. |
Damien Chazelle Signs Paramount Deal ►🤝 First-look deal 🤝 Paramount Pictures has signed a multiyear, first-look directing and producing deal with Damien Chazelle and producing partner and wife Olivia Hamilton’s Wild Chickens Productions. The deal comes as the studio and the Oscar-winning filmmaker prepare for the Dec. 23 theatrical opening of Babylon. The story.
—The Paddington effect. A prequel feature to A.A. Milne’s classic book Winnie-the-Pooh is in development. Dreamworks alum Mike de Seve (Madagascar, Monsters vs. Aliens) is lined up to direct and co-write with John Reynolds (The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show). In a similar vein to Paddington, the film — which has a planned release date of 2024 — is set to be immediately followed by a TV series. The story.
—Enter Sandman. Adam Sandler has been selected to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, one of comedy’s highest honors. The Hustle star will receive the honor during a gala ceremony at Washington, D.C.’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on March 19. Previous recipients include Richard Pryor, Whoopi Goldberg, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Dave Chappelle and Jon Stewart. The story.
—🏆 Time for TV 🏆 Film Independent has revealed the TV nominees for the 2023 Spirit Awards. Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Severance and Station Eleven landed three nominations each, the most of any series. The nominees join the previously announced movie nominees, with winners set to be unveiled in a March 4 awards ceremony. The nominees. |
FX Orders 'Peep Show' Pilot ►Fifth time lucky? FX has handed out a pilot order to an update of the cult favorite U.K. series Peep Show from original creator Jesse Armstrong. Atlanta grad Stefani Robinson will pen the script and exec produce the half-hour comedy that will be produced in-house via her overall deal with FX Productions. Armstrong, who has an exclusive overall deal with HBO, is attached to exec produce but will not be involved given his commitments with Succession. This will be the fifth attempt to adapt Peep Show. The story.
—Another classic incoming. Anime hit factory Studio Ghibli is set to open Oscar-winning director Hayao Miyazaki’s new movie, How Do You Live, in Japanese theaters on July 14, 2023. Miyazaki is adapting the 1937 novel by Genzaburō Yoshino, a coming-of-age tale with two narrators — a young boy, Copper, who must confront change in his life after the death of his father, and his uncle, who offers his nephew answers to life’s big questions. The story.
—"I’m a romantic, and romance is tragedy." Pamela Anderson’s reaction to Hulu’s Pam & Tommy, which is based on the fallout from the theft of her and Tommy Lee’s honeymoon tape, will be among the things featured in her upcoming Netflix doc Pamela, a love story. Directed by Good Night Oppy's Ryan White, the doc drops on Jan. 31 and is timed to the release of Anderson’s HarperCollins memoir Love, Pamela. The story. |
'When Harry Met Sally,' 'Iron Man,' 'Carrie' Enter National Film Registry ►Certified classics. When Harry Met Sally…, Iron Man, The Little Mermaid, Hairspray, House Party and Carrie are among the 25 cinematic gems chosen this year for the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. Also voted in are Michael Gordon's Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), Stanley Donen‘s Charade (1963), Frederick Wiseman's Titicut Follies (1967), Julia Reichert's Union Maids (1976), Gordon Parks Jr.'s Super Fly (1972) and Robert M. Young's The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982). The full list.
—Back in business. Less than a year after he was pushed out of WarnerMedia, former CNN chief Jeff Zucker has been named CEO of a new joint venture backed by Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital and International Media Investments, an Abu Dhabi-based private investment fund. RedBird and IMI are pouring an initial $1b into the new venture, called RedBird IMI, which will see Zucker acquiring and building companies in the sports, media and entertainment sectors. The story.
—Big change. Seemingly putting an end to a long battle over information listed on IMDb and IMDb Pro profiles, the online entertainment database is rolling out changes that will authorize industry professionals to control the age and name information included on their pages. The story. |
Making of 'Decision to Leave' ►"That kind of self-imposed limitation is a great challenge for a creator." THR's Patrick Brzeski spoke to Park Chan-wook on how he sublimated his explosive style to create a masterful “movie for adults” with the excellent Decision to Leave. The Korean maestro opens up about eschewing the graphic violence and eroticism he made his name with in the Vengeance trilogy. The interview.
—A right royal hit. Netflix’s docuseries Harry & Meghan got off to a strong start, recording the best opening week for any documentary title on the streaming giant. The first three episodes of the six-part series logged 81.55m hours of viewing worldwide, according to Netflix’s internal measurement. That was good for second among all English-language series for the week of Dec. 5-11, behind the runaway hit Wednesday. The story.
—"The violence is in your face and hardcore." Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy says he has every intention of maintaining the same level of carnage that fans have come to expect from the first two films in the Ryan Reynolds-led franchise. In a new interview, Levy provided an update on the third Deadpool film, set for release on Nov. 8, 2024, that will see the foul-mouthed superhero enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The story. |
Film Review: 'Avatar: The Way of Water' ►"Just ignore the drippy dialogue and get wet." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water. Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña return to Pandora with a Na’vi family to protect as the “Sky People” menace follows them to a bioluminescent ocean hideout. The review.
—"Fatally lacking that Cage charisma." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Disney+'s National Treasure: Edge of History. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays the villain in this series follow-up to the Nicolas Cage films, which revolves around a woman (Lisette Olivera) on the hunt for riches hidden since the age of Montezuma. The review.
—"Uneven, but full of moments of fascinating process and access." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Alexandra Pelosi's Pelosi in the House. The filmmaker's HBO documentary about her mother Nancy Pelosi shows the House leader at work in several historical moments, including the Jan. 6 insurrection and the fight for the Affordable Care Act. The review.
In other news...
—Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trailer promises a sea of new web-slingers
—TV ratings: Football, Dolly Parton score in seven-day charts
—Beverly Hills mansion where Bugsy Siegel was murdered lists for $17m
—Banijay names HBO Max exec Christian Wikander global scripted head
—Nigel Sinclair gets new role as White Horse Pictures reorganizes
—Former BET Networks CEO Debra Lee to release memoir
—Universal Studios Hollywood’s Super Nintendo World opening in February
—Bill Thompson, veteran exhibition and distribution exec, dies at 73
What else we're reading...
—Alan Siegel interviews some of James Cameron’s creative collaborators to find out the secrets behind his success [Ringer]
—Nick Schager asks why you would bother doing another National Treasure without Nicolas Cage [Daily Beast]
—Mark Gurman reports that Apple is preparing to allow alternative app stores on its iPhones and iPads due to an upcoming EU law [Bloomberg]
—A bit late to this, but this is a great Delia Cai profile on Everything Everywhere All at Once star Ke Huy Quan [VF]
—Daniel Dylan Wray has a touching tribute to the late Twin Peaks composer Angelo Badalamenti [Guardian]
Today...
...in 1984, Columbia Pictures bet on Jeff Bridges as Starman in a PG sci-fi action romance that garnered positive reviews but faltered in its initial box-office debut. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Natascha McElhone (51), Vanessa Hudgens (34), Jackson Rathbone (38), Barbie Ferreira (26), Tori Kelly (30), Miranda Hart (50), KaDee Strickland (47), Nancy Valen (56), Sophie Monk (43), Ted Raimi (57), Jane Birkin (76), Tammy Blanchard (46), Giles Terera (46), Tia Texada (51), Héctor Jiménez (49), Dino Stamatopoulos (58), Rebecca Gibney (58), Don Franklin (62) Dee Wallace (74) |
| Terrence O’Hara, who directed 85 episodes of the CBS dramas NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles from 2003 until this year, died Dec. 5 after a five-year battle with cancer. He was 76. The obituary. |
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