Donald Trump has yet to announce definitively whether he will participate in the first Republican debate next week, something that would likely make the difference between blockbuster ratings for Fox News if he does and very different dynamics if he does not.
So far, all indications are that the former president will not participate, the most recent being his Truth Social post on Thursday morning, as he complained that Fox & Friends was purposely showing an unflattering big “orange” picture of him. “And then they want me to debate!” he wrote.
“How the other candidates react to it will be interesting,” Baier, the network’s chief political anchor and executive editor of Special Report, told Deadline in an interview this week. “In the GOP primary, we have seen these indictments increase his polling numbers, increase his fundraising…How others react to it and how differently they approach it will be a part of this primary and this debate.”
Martha MacCallum, anchor and executive editor of The Story, said that the indictments — including new racketeering charges in Georgia — are “also a good reason for the former president to come and make his own mark on where he stands on it.”
She said that “maybe because of everything that is going on, it would make sense to be there and to rebut some of what is going to be said in real time.” >>>5M-15M Expected To Watch |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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Third Time's The Charm - Low-end forecasts have Sony’s Denzel Washington-starring, Antoine Fuqua-directed action pic, The Equalizer 3 at $30M+ over 4-days. Some box office sources even think the threequel, which was shot in Italy, has a shot at $40M and that’s because of the film's big first choice numbers. >>>Key Demo
Close 'Encounters' - Steven Spielberg is no stranger to close encounters of the third kind. Therefore, it’s fitting that his production company Amblin Television has teamed up with Boardwalk Pictures, which is behind Netflix’s Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?, and Vice Studios on a four-part docuseries about aliens. Encounters has landed at Netflix, which will launch the four-parter on September 27. >>>True Stories
PR Firms Are Spinning Out - “I know how to change bad news into good news,” Edward L. Bernays, the father of public relations, used to boast. But during these times of gridlock, PR reps are widely forbidden from hustling the wares of their star clients. Further, free-spending corporate clients, once focused on image building, are now running for cover and laying off PR teams. >>>Peter Bart's Column
'Strays' Review - Credit Universal Pictures for not only seeing the potential in a Cocaine Bear this year, but now also with the four-pack of lovable down and dirty dogs who hump everything in sight and use four-letter words in just about every conversation. Strays is as raunchy as Ted or anything Seth Rogen ever thought of, but fortunately it also has a huge heart, and in the end that is why it works as well as it does. >>> Pete Hammond's Take
Soul Sisters - Hailing from Scandinavia, producer Cindy Cederlund and actor-writer Stephanie Corneliussen (Mr. Robot) have launched LA-based film and TV production company, Soullanders Entertainment. The company is currently developing six projects, including the series Rogue, a thriller following a young spy who wages war against the world of human trafficking. David Unger’s Artist International Group is on board to produce. >>> More Project Specifics
Putin Play Sets Sights On Broadway - Patriots, the hot new play by The Crown’s Peter Morgan, has recouped during its 12-week run in London’s West End, making a move to Broadway more than likely. There’s also been a lot of chatter about Netflix being interested in turning Patriots into a six-part drama. Rupert Goold, the show’s director, declined comment on that specific scenario but says that Morgan “has considered doing a series in Russia with Russians in the cast, but that’s a long shot.” >>> Baz Bamigboye's Column |
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Four years ago this week, the New York Times published its momentous series The 1619 Project, a groundbreaking endeavor that sought to reframe our understanding of the foundational role Black people have played to build this country and perfect its democratic ideals. To say it touched a nerve doesn’t begin to describe the project’s profound impact on our culture and politics. But for all the conservative voices raised in chorus against The 1619 Project, a legion of admirers has sung its praises. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize, and earlier this year a six-part documentary adaptation of The 1619 Project premiered to acclaim on Hulu. The docuseries hosted and executive produced by Project creator Nikole Hannah-Jones. It is contending for three Emmys including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. Here, she talks about her journey. >>> Read The Interview |
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Exclusive
Madeline Zima (Californication) and Leonardo Nam (Westworld) are currently in production in Canada on Love Is the Monster, a new thriller they’re leading for filmmaker Alex Noyer (Sound of Violence) that has landed a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement. Written bv Noyer, Hannu Aukia and Blair Bathory, Love Is the Monster centers on a couple, Ana (Zima) and Justin (Nam) who, rocked by infidelity, attend an exclusive couples retreat in Finland, under the golden rays of the summer’s midnight sun. But the idyllic setting soon takes a turn... |
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BY THE NUMBERS
140 mph - The maximum sustained windspeed of Hurricane Hilary as of Thursday night, making it a Cat 4 storm |
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More News
☀️ Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine has teamed with Making Space Media, the TV and film producer that places disabled voices front and center. The Candle Media-backed outfit has struck a first-look deal with Making Space for unscripted content, which will “shine a light on the lived experience of the world’s largest and yet most overlooked and misrepresented community on the planet.” First projects will be announced soon.
🤝 Chloe Melas is joining NBC News as an entertainment correspondent based in New York. Melas had been at CNN and announced her exit Wednesday. Melas will focus on the intersection of entertainment, business and culture and report for all platforms of NBC News, including digital and MSNBC.
🔍 A new study by USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has found that, while 2022's films saw increases in characters onscreen among women and girls as well as among underrepresented racial ethnic groups, overall those numbers were static over time, specifically among the former group, which despite seeing a 16-year high in leading or co-leading roles in 2022 (44%) saw little change since 2007 in the percentage of female-identified speaking characters (34.6% in 2022 compared with 29.9% in ’07). |
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Trending  Audiences don’t appear to be slowing down on their Suits binge any time soon. For the fourth consecutive week, the legal dramedy has set a Nielsen viewing record with a whopping 3.9B minutes viewed across Netflix and Peacock from July 17 to 23. That is, once again, the most viewing minutes ever in one measurement week for an acquired title.
🔻 Netflix is getting ready to mark the end of an era: The company is shutting down its DVD-by-mail business after 25 years. All discs must be returned by October 27. |
| OBITUARIES
🕯 Young Capone, a rapper protégé of Jermaine Dupri, has died, according to his publicist. He was 35. No cause of death was given. Capone (real name Rodriguez Smith) had been missing from Chicago since July. It is unclear if he surfaced before his death or why he went missing. 🕯 Kathryn Hoedt , a morning news producer at Sacramento NBC affiliate KCRA3, died from trauma suffered after falling 30 feet from a rope swing onto a rocky shoreline at Lake Folsom in Northern California. She was 23. On Saturday, Hoedt fell from an illegal swing set up near the Rattlesnake Bar Boat Launch of Folsom Lake, around 25 miles from Sacramento. 🕯 Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries |
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On the Radar
Sat - Stand Up to Cancer special
Sun - Women's World Cup final (England v. Spain)
Wed - First GOP debate; Ashoka premieres on Disney+
Fri - Deadline for Trump to be booked in GA election fraud case |
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Back For Seconds - The effervescent Mandy Patinkin has been a stalwart on the picket lines and also, now, in Deadline's Photo of the Day section. He is the only person we have featured twice. |
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