| | | | What's news: Disney is hiking the prices of its ad-supported streaming services. HBO has greenlit a superhero franchise comedy series from Sam Mendes and Armando Ianucci. Taylor Swift's 1989 is the next album to get the re-recording treatment. Big Brother expelled a contestant for using the N-word. SAG-AFTRA has clarified its strategy behind interim agreements. — Abid Rahman
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2023 Emmy Telecast Sets 2024 Date ►📅 Mark it down 📅 Both the live telecast of the Primetime Emmy Awards and the pre-taped Creative Arts ceremonies are leaving their annual September spot for January, in hopes of some resolution to Hollywood’s ongoing labor strife. After several months of dialogue between the Television Academy and Emmy broadcaster Fox, the new date for the awards is Jan. 15, at 8 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. PT at the newly renamed Peacock Theater at LA Live. As for the Creative Arts ceremonies, they’ll take place Jan. 6 and Jan. 7. The story.
—Not guilty plea. Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering charges in a trial that will begin on Dec. 6 over the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Gutierrez-Reed submitted the plea on Wednesday after she waived her right to an arraignment and preliminary hearing, which would’ve decided if there’s probable cause for the case to go to trial. The story.
—It's official. 1989 is set to be the next re-recorded Taylor Swift album to be released. The singer revealed the news during the sixth night of her Eras Tour shows at SoFi Stadium in California. The album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), will release on Oct. 27. The upcoming record follows the release of Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). The story.
—Zero tolerance. A contestant on the current season of Big Brother has been kicked out of the house for using a racial slur. Luke Valentine was removed from the set of the 25th season of the CBS summer reality series after using the N-word in the middle of a conversation with the other houseguests. The story. |
Iger Adopts More Diplomatic Tone on Strike ►"I am personally committed." After mystifying Hollywood with remarks made from a billionaire’s retreat that cast striking writers and actors’ asks as “not realistic” earlier in July, Disney chief Bob Iger took a more diplomatic tack during his company’s quarterly earnings call on Wednesday. Iger, previously seen as talent friendly, reiterated the company's support for "actors, writers, animators, directors and producers" and committed himself to finding a solution to the labor standoff. The story.
—Mixed bag. The impact of Iger’s restructuring of Disney is apparent in the company’s latest quarterly earnings report. The Disney CEO says that the company is now set to exceed its initial goal of $5.5b in cost savings. The company reduced its workforce by about 7,000 jobs, with much of the cuts happening last quarter (Disney reported $210m in severance costs). The company also disclosed a $2.4b charge related to removing content from its streaming services. The results.
—Hikes. Disney is expanding its advertising-supported Disney+ tier to new countries, and hiking prices in its ad-free tiers as it seeks to bring its direct-to-consumer business to profitability. For starters, Disney will expand its ad-supported Disney+ tier to Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, Sweden, Italy and other countries in Europe on Nov. 1. At the same time, Disney is also raising U.S. prices for its ad-free tiers of Disney+ and Hulu, as well as ESPN+ and Hulu with Live TV. The story.
—"The trends fueled by cord-cutting are unmistakable." The idea of Disney spinning off its linear TV networks gained momentum in the company’s quarterly earnings call. While ABC, Disney Channel (and its offshoots), Freeform, FX and Nat Geo remain profitable, CEO Bob Iger said that the company is looking into “a variety of strategic options” for those networks. The story.
—"Penn stepped up in a very aggressive way." Also on Wednesday, Iger addressed why ESPN struck a $2b deal with Penn Entertainment to launch online sportsbook ESPN Bet. The Disney chief said Penn secured the deal by making the best offer and offered more details on the betting tie up. The story. |
Writers Mark 100 Days of the Strike ►"Picketing Disney is more fun than writing a Star Wars movie." With no timetable for when negotiations with studios will resume, THR's Lesley Goldberg caught up with writers for Grey's Anatomy and Star Trek — and two that recently penned a scrapped Lucasfilm project — as they pounded the pavement in Los Angeles: "Strike the Empire back!" The story.
—"Turning my 2-year-old into a YouTube star." Lesley also talked to 20 writers on how they stayed creative over the 100 days of the WGA strike. With studio work a no-go during the stoppage, Hollywood scribes including Bill Prady, Katori Hall and Liz Tigelaar are writing passion-project novels, comics, plays, poetry — and specs, of course — to scratch that collective creative itch. The story.
—Clarification. SAG-AFTRA unpacked its position behind interim agreements on Wednesday, with the union saying they are a critical part of its strategy to “undermine the production slates and timing of the AMPTP companies and ensure that they come back to the table.” In a message to members, the leadership said the agreements are designed to allow “journeymen performers and crew the opportunity to pay their bills” by working on indie productions and prove that the union’s proposed terms are reasonable. The story.
—"Rewatch, recap and companion shows are promotional, and they can drive viewers to struck companies’ platforms to watch struck shows." THR's Mikey O'Connell looks into how actor-led podcasts have been impacted by the ongoing strike, with many worried about speaking out of turn. Mikey writes that under SAG-AFTRA’s strict strike guidelines, a few popular rewatch podcasts have still forged ahead — either pivoting the subject or leaning on union permission slips. The story. |
A Hollywood Insurrectionist on the Lam ►Stranger than fiction. The real identity of one of the most infamous Capitol rioters, known as "Swedish Scarf" for his distinctive Jan. 6 neckwear, has remained a frustrating mystery — until now. For THR, Samuel Braslow looks into how a life of thwarted entertainment ambition descended into extremism. The story.
—Wait, what? According to a new securities filing, Dave Portnoy acquired Barstool Sports from Penn Entertainment for just $1. Of course, there are other pieces to the deal, but the shocking sale price (Penn spent $551m to acquire Barstool) makes for an interesting end to that relationship. Penn says that it expects to record a loss of between $800m and $850m on the deal. The story.
—Delay play. THR's Winston Cho reports that Apple will get to keep rules barring developers from directing users to avenues that allow them to bypass a commission on sales in the App Store, where the company exacts a toll of up to 30 percent on all transactions, pending an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. On Wednesday, Justice Elena Kagan denied a bid from Epic Games to lift a federal appeals court’s ruling that allowed Apple to delay implementing changes to App Store payment rules. The story.
—"The crew of an unloved franchise movie fight for their place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe." HBO has greenlit a half-hour comedy series, The Franchise, going behind-the-scenes of a fictional struggling superhero movie. The Franchise comes from Sam Mendes and Veep veterans Armando Iannucci and Jon Brown. The series stars Himesh Patel and Aya Cash along with Jessica Hynes, Billy Magnussen, Lolly Adefope, Darren Goldstein, Isaac Powell, Richard E. Grant and Daniel Brühl. The story.
—🎭 Positions 🎭 Michael Urie and Ethan Slater are among those set to star in the upcoming Broadway revival of Spamalot. The newly announced cast includes Christopher Fitzgerald as Patsy, James Monroe Iglehart as King Arthur, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer as The Lady of the Lake, Jimmy Smagula as Sir Bedevere and Nik Walker as Sir Galahad. Urie is set to portray Sir Robin, with Slater cast as The Historian/Prince Herbert. The story. |
'Barbie' Costume Designer on Barbiecore Rules ►"Dressing up is really a great fun thing to do, but I worry about the amount of waste." For THR, Brande Victorian spoke to costume designer Jacqueline Durran on her incredible work on Greta Gerwig's Barbie. The Oscar-winner discusses her approach to creating the Barbieland wardrobes, the Chanel collaboration and why she's keener for fans of the film to buy secondhand and vintage clothing. The interview.
—"We come to this place for magic." Barbie music producer Mark Ronson has shot back at comments made by Bill Maher that the film was "preachy" and "man-hating." Ronson, who co-produced and co-wrote several of the movie’s standout songs, including “I’m Just Ken,” tweeted that people went to see Barbie to have a good time and not to "furiously google ‘Mattel board configuration’." The story.
—New bans. Despite passing censors in Saudi Arabia, Barbie has been banned in Kuwait with moves to do the same in Lebanon. In Lebanon, which has traditionally been considered among the more liberal countries in the Middle East regarding the LGBTQ community, the culture minister Mohammad Mortada said that Barbie “promotes homosexuality” and “contradicts values of faith and morality,” by diminishing the importance of the family unit. The story. |
Rodriguez 1942 - 2023 ►"May his dear soul rest in peace." Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, the Detroit-born singer-songwriter who found cult success in South Africa and Australia before becoming the subject of the Oscar-winning 2012 documentary Searching for Sugar Man, has died. He was 81. The musician, known professionally as Rodriguez, died Wednesday, it was announced on his official website. No cause of death was revealed. The obituary.
—Legend. Robbie Robertson, the guitarist, songwriter and frontman of The Band, has died. He was 80. The Canadian musician died Wednesday after an unspecified long illness. Robertson was the sole writer of The Band’s first four hits on the Billboard Hot 100 — “The Weight” (peaked at No. 63), “Up on Cripple Creek” (No. 25), “Rag Mama Rag” (No. 57), and “Time to Kill” (No. 77). He was also the sole writer of the biggest hit Joan Baez ever had, “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” which reached No. 3 in 1971. The obituary.
—Veteran character actor. Robert Swan, the actor who appeared in key roles in the notable sports films Hoosiers, Rudy and The Babe, has died. He was 78. Swan died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer at his home in Rolling Prairie, Indiana, his friend Betty Hoeffner told THR. Swan also portrayed a Canadian Mountie in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables and a bloodied deputy in Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers and was a lawman in Who’s That Girl and Mo’ Money. The obituary. |
TV Review: 'Painkiller' ►"An important story buried in bells and whistles." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Netflix's Painkiller. Uzo Aduba, Matthew Broderick, Taylor Kitsch star in a Peter Berg-directed show about the launch of OxyContin and the subsequent opioid epidemic of addiction. The review.
—"Quietly disquieting." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Lucy Kerr’s Family Portrait. The writer-director's debut feature stars Deragh Campbell as a young woman returning home for a family gathering beset by a looming disaster. The review. In other news...
—John Wick Continental trailer reveals Mel Gibson’s mysterious villain
—Netflix unveils 5 Japanese reality series
—Netflix to reopen NYC’s famed Paris movie theater after upgrades
—NBC News taps Laura Jarrett as co-anchor of Saturday Today
—Good Mythical Morning hosts Rhett & Link sign with WME
—Victoria Garrick Browne signs with UTA
—Avid to be acquired by STG for $1.4b
—Austin Butler is the face of YSL Beauty’s newest men’s fragrance
—Yellowstone star Cole Hauser launching a Western-inspired coffee company this fall
What else we're reading...
—Chris Black writes that Netflix's new docuseries Quarterbacks has finally made him understand all the fuss around football [GQ]
—Fabiola Cineas reflects on the Megan Thee Stallion shooting incident and its depressing connection to Me Too and hip-hop’s cycle of misogynoir [Vox]
—Matt Zoller Seitz has a great piece on William Friedkin's career and how the late filmmaker insisted on making films his way despite changes in the industry [Vulture]
—Eari Nakano and Caelyn Pender tested out AI dating apps Teaser AI, Iris and Blush, that all promise less ghosting and more matches [Bloomberg]
—Important piece from Melissa Korn, Andrea Fuller and Jennifer S. Forsyth on how well-known public universities have spent the last 20 years investing huge sums in new buildings and facilities and are now passing on the cost to students [WSJ]
Today...
...in 1950, Paramount’s Billy Wilder-directed drama Sunset Boulevard premiered in New York. The film went on to earn 11 nominations at the 23rd Academy Awards, winning in the art direction, music and writing categories. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Antonio Banderas (63), Luca Guadagnino (53), Kylie Jenner (26), Justin Theroux (52), Brenton Thwaites (34), Lucas Till (33), Megan Stevenson (40), JoAnna Garcia Swisher (44), Angie Harmon (51), Rosanna Arquette (64), Tone Bell (40), Vincent Rodriguez III (41), Devon Aoki (41), Ryan Eggold (39), Claudia Christian (58), Diane Venora (71), Roxanne McKee (43), Leo Fitzpatrick (45), Brigette Lundy-Paine (29), Don Swayze (65), Katherine Boecher (42), Josh Gates (46), Marcus Rosner (34), Denim Richards (35), Evan Evagora (27) | | | | | | | | | | | |
