| | | | What's news: The ratings for the 2024 Golden Globes were up 50 percent on 2023's event. Oprah has addressed reports that there is bad blood between her and Taraji P. Henson. Amazon handed out a series order for Ed Brubaker's Criminal. Martin Scorsese's upcoming Jesus film will be 80 minutes long. Imax delivered $1.06b in global box office in 2023. — Abid Rahman
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Jo Koy Deflated Over Globes Monologue Criticism ►"Getting that gig and then having the amount of time that we had to prepare, that was a crash course." Jo Koy acknowledged the sharp critical reaction to his Golden Globes opening monologue, describing the starry Globes audience as a "tough room" and the gig as a "hard job." Speaking to GMA3 the morning after the ceremony, the comedian conceded he felt deflated about the event. "I’d be lying if it doesn’t hurt," Koy said of the reviews, but he insisted he had "fun." The story.
—Hollywood returns to Globes party circuit. Stars, creatives and executives hit the red carpet en masse this past weekend to celebrate the Golden Globes, the first award show of 2024. But a question loomed large: Where's the afterparty? THR's nicest man Chris Gardner writes that the answer was complicated as Hollywood is not the same place it once was. The story.
—On the up. The 2024 Globes posted a big ratings improvement with their move to CBS — and a sizable assist from a big NFL lead-in. Sunday’s telecast averaged about 9.4m viewers, according to Nielsen. That’s a 50 percent improvement from the 6.25m who tuned into last year’s show on NBC. The 2023 awards drew the second-smallest audience of their 28 years on NBC, behind only a televised press conference in 2008 that replaced the usual show during that year’s writers strike. The ratings.
—🏆 Oppy leads the way 🏆 AARP The Magazine announced the nominees for its annual Movies for Grownups Awards on Tuesday, with Oppenheimer leading the pack with six nominations. Killers of the Flower Moon follows closely with five nods, and The Color Purple, Poor Things, The Holdovers and American Fiction each earned four nominations. In the TV categories, The Bear, Only Murders in the Building, Succession and The White Lotus all received two nods. The nominees.
—🏆 Full list of films 🏆 321 films are in contention for this year's Academy Awards, while 265 features are eligible in the best picture category, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Monday as it released its annual “reminder list” for members. Nomination voting starts on Jan. 11 and ends on Jan. 16. The nominations will be announced on Jan. 23. The list. |
Kimmel Slams "Ignorant" Rodgers ►"They let him host Jeopardy! for two weeks. Now, he knows everything." Jimmy Kimmel addressed the ongoing controversy over Aaron Rodgers' recent wildly false comments linking the late night host with Jeffrey Epstein on Monday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! Kimmel didn't hold back and launched into a seven-minute rant/roast of the New York Jets star, describing him as a "hamster-brained man" who was "too arrogant to be ignorant." The story.
—"I’m not in charge of the budget because that’s Warner Bros." Oprah Winfrey says that there is no bad blood between her and The Color Purple actress Taraji P. Henson, who has over the past few weeks shared her poor experiences with things like pay and on-set accommodations on the film, as well as other projects. In a new interview, Winfrey addressed online speculation over Henson’s treatment during production, including issues around trailers and actors being asked to transport themselves to set. The story.
—"It’s not meant to be a biopic." Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore responded to Vili Fualaau’s criticism of May December on Sunday, during the red carpet at the Golden Globes. In interviews, both actors said they were sorry to hear about Fualaau's criticism, but emphasized the movie was not meant to tell the exact story of his relationship with Mary Kay Letourneau. The story.
—"Cherry-picked their examples." OpenAI is firing back at The New York Times after the company was sued for copyright infringement over the use of the publisher’s articles to train its AI chatbot. In a blog post, the Sam Altman-led firm said that the Times is “not telling the full story” and claimed it “intentionally manipulated” prompts to make it appears as if ChatGPT generates near word-for-word excerpts of articles. The story.
—Early W. Netflix has won the first round of a case over allegations it downplayed the impact of account-sharing on subscriber growth, with a federal judge’s dismissal of the shareholder lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar found that investors failed to point to specific statements from Netflix executives demonstrating that they lied about the extent to which account-sharing was hindering growth. The judge rejected allegations that the company knew more than it let on. The story.
—Seriously injured. Fauda actor Idan Amedi is recovering after he was seriously injured while fighting in Gaza during reserve duty for the IDF, according to Israeli media reports. Amedi, who plays the role of Sagi Tzur on Netflix’s popular Israeli drama, joined Israel’s military campaign in Gaza immediately after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. Local reports say Amedi underwent surgery and continues to receive treatment, though his life is not in danger. The story. |
'Big Little Lies' S3 Inching Closer to Reality ►Looking good. Big Little Lies may indeed get a third season at HBO. Sources tell THR's Lesley Goldberg that stars and exec producers Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman are in the nascent stages of developing an idea for a potential third season of their Emmy-winning anthology-turned-ongoing drama series. Lesley reports the two stars have an idea to center the season on that they both are excited about, and are working in their capacity as producers to put together a formal pitch before taking it to HBO. The story.
—Six biggest revelations. Gypsy Rose Blanchard, whose story has been told numerous times, including in Hulu’s The Act, shared her own account of her past in a series of candid interviews over the course of 18 months for the Lifetime documentary The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. In the docuseries, Gypsy shares several big revelations, some of which she hadn’t previously shared with anyone, including her own family. The story.
—🎭 Lead in place 🎭 Annaleigh Ashford has been tapped to star in Paramount+'s true crime drama series Happy Face, from executive producers Robert and Michelle King (The Good Fight, Evil). Additionally, Michael Showalter has been tapped to direct the pilot for the series inspired by the podcast of the same name that itself was based on Melissa Moore’s autobiography Shattered Silence. Ashford will portray Melissa, who as a child discovered that her father was the prolific serial killer known as "Happy Face." The story.
—Let's gooo! Nearly a year since it was first put in development, Amazon Prime Video has handed out a formal series order for Criminal, the drama series based on Ed Brubaker's interlocking world of crime stories. Brubaker, whose TV credits include Westworld and Batman: Caped Crusader, will serve as showrunner alongside crime fiction author Jordan Harper. Legendary Television, where the comic book powerhouse was based with a deal, will exec produce the drama. The story. |
The Making of 'Origin' ►"A story that broke all of our hearts." THR's Rebecca Sun spoke to Origin director Ava DuVernay and stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, Niecy Nash-Betts about the making of the epic film based on Isabel Wilkerson’s 2020 best-seller Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. DuVernay and the creative team offer insights on the film about social hierarchies that spans centuries and continents to show how the killing of Trayvon Martin, Indian castes and the Holocaust are all connected. The story.
—"I’m trying to find a new way to make it." Martin Scorsese has completed his screenplay for a film about Jesus, which the filmmaker first teased in May. In a new interview, Scorsese said his project will film later this year and is expected to be only 80 minutes long. The auteur co-wrote the new project with critic and filmmaker Kent Jones. It is based on the book A Life of Jesus by Shūsaku Endō, the Japanese writer who also wrote Silence, which Scorsese adapted for the screen in 2016. The story.
—Stellar year. Imax delivered $1.06b in global box office in 2023, near to its highest grossing year ever, the $1.1b in pre-pandemic movie ticket sales worldwide made in 2019. On Tuesday, the company said last year's ticket receipts was buoyed by Oppenheimer — which was shot with Imax cameras and grossed $183.2m in global box office last year for the company — as well as the concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and a host of other Hollywood and local language titles, concert films and live events. The story. |
Do Critics' Picks Give Movies an Oscar Edge? ►Making voters care. People often deride the Oscars for being about artsy films most moviegoers don’t see. But the fact remains that it’s the studio-backed movies with fat FYC budgets that typically garner Oscar nominations — making critical darling Drive My Car’s success in 2021 all the more the outlier. THR's Tyler Coates writes that while critics don’t get to vote for the Oscars (most are not Academy members), they do have the power to strengthen the chances of a film, and its stars, in the race. The analysis.
—Crying fowl. As 2023 came to a close, a pair of animated movies — Aardman and Netflix’s Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget and Illumination/Universal’s Migration — delivered stories featuring carefully designed chickens and mallards, respectively, that leaned into simplicity to be expressive. THR's Carolyn Giardina spoke to the filmmakers who explained what makes their feathered characters soar. The interview.
—Elite voice cast. Andrew Garfield and Cynthia Erivo will lead Audible’s audio adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984. The actors will play Winston and Julia, respectively, alongside Andrew Scott as O’Brien and Tom Hardy as Big Brother. The audio adaptation will also feature an original score written by Muse front-man Matthew Bellamy and composer Ilan Eshkeri, which will be performed by a 60-piece orchestra at Abbey Road studio. The story. |
TV Review: 'Grimsburg' ►"A genial but uneven send-up of crime-drama tropes." THR's Angie Han reviews Fox's Grimsburg. In this animated comedy series, Jon Hamm voices a brilliant but troubled sleuth who can solve any mystery but his own personal life. The review. In other news...
—Tiger Woods parts ways with Nike after 27 years
—CNN’s Sara Sidner announces stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis
—Lisa Bonet files for divorce from Jason Momoa
—First look: New Cipriani to open in Beverly Hills as first location in California
—Daniel Battsek is stepping down as chairman of Film4
—CNN promotes senior reporters Kyung Lah, Ryan Young
What else we're reading...
—With the Jo Koy disaster still fresh in the memory, Chris Murphy writes that the Golden Globes should permanently do away with a host and rely on A-list presenters [VF]
—After the NYT ran an op-ed that speculated about Taylor Swift’s queerness, Danielle Cohen wonders why the paper is indulging in "Gaylor" theories [The Cut]
—With the anime industry increasingly embracing digital techniques, Calum Marsh writes that some fans are struggling to accept the change [NYT]
—With Millennials tired of dating apps and Gen Z is barely interested, Kate Lindsay writes that the likes of Tinder, Hinge, Bumble and Feeld are entering their flop era [Bustle]
—Chris Isidore writes that the terrifying accident aboard the Alaska Airlines jet adds to years of Boeing’s quality control problems [CNN]
Today...
...in 2009, 20th Century Fox released Gary Winick's Bride Wars in theaters. The rom-com, starring Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway, was panned by critics but was a box office hit and spawned a 2015 Chinese remake. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Kerry Condon (41), J.K. Simmons (69), Imelda Staunton (68), Omari Hardwick (50), Joely Richardson (59), David Johansen (74), Dave Matthews (57), James Acaster (39), Nina Dobrev (35), Nicola Coughlan (37), Nicola Peltz Beckham (29), David Costabile (57), Sope Dirisu (33), Joey Lauren Adams (56), Deon Cole (52), John Doman (79), Caitlin McGee (36), Laura-Leigh (33), Kerris Dorsey (26), Jade Eshete (39), Megan West (33), Julia Dietze (43), Tewfik Jallab (42), Kai Bradbury (30), Patrick Sabongui (49) |
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