| | | | | | What's news: A judge has temporarily blocked a proposed sports streamer from Fox-Disney-WBD. The Late Show is going live from the DNC this week. Apple has renewed Dark Matter. Amazon has canceled My Lady Jane. Neon's Longlegs crossed the $100m mark at the box office. A third hour of CBS Mornings is in the works. — Abid Rahman
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Washington, Kaling Tapped to Serve as DNC Hosts ►Star power. Kerry Washington, Mindy Kaling, Tony Goldwyn and Ana Navarro will serve as hosts at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, which kicks off Monday in Chicago. Each of the stars will host one night of the four-day event. The plan is that, on their respective nights, one of the four will kick off the broadcast with opening remarks and make appearances throughout the evening. The schedule is as follows: Goldwyn (Monday), Navarro (Tuesday), Kaling (Wednesday) and Washington (Thursday). The story.
—Ad blitz. As the DNC gets underway, the Harris-Walz campaign is also unveiling how they’ll be spending their advertising dollars to get their message to voters ahead of early voting and Election Day in November. As part of a $370m buy between Sept. 2 and Nov. 5, about $170m will go to traditional television ads to reach mass audiences on broadcast and cable, with $200m going to digital platforms. The campaign will target spots during Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, Abbott Elementary, Grey’s Anatomy, and Survivor, as well as sporting events like college and NFL football games, WNBA and NBA games, NHL games, and MLB games. The story.
—Selina will be there! Julia Louis-Dreyfus is teaming up with the Democratic Governors Association during the DNC to highlight the country’s women governors. The Emmy-winning Veep star, producer and activist will host a daytime panel on Aug. 21. Joining her will be the country’s eight Democratic women governors: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek. The story.
—Live from Chicago. Stephen Colbert is taking The Late Show to Chicago for the DNC — with some big names set to join him for live shows this week. Colbert’s stint in the Midwest kicks off on Monday, and he’ll be joined by Hillary Clinton and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Tuesday’s episode will feature Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, while Wednesday’s show will have Pete Buttigieg and a performance by Chance the Rapper. Details for the closing episode on Thursday have not been announced yet. The story.
—ICYMI. From Jon Stewart's live The Daily Show taping to John Legend's concert for Illinois governor JB Pritzker, THR's nicest man Chris Gardner has rounded up details on the DNC shindigs in the Windy City this week. The story.
—Dressed for success. The Harris-Walz campaign have tapped 16 Hollywood-loved designers for their latest merch drop. Following the viral Chappel Roan-inspired camo cap, the campaign released the Designers for Democracy collection featuring apparel and accessories by Sergio Hudson, Thom Browne, Joseph Altuzarra and other labels worn by Harris, former First Ladies Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton and countless stars. The story.
—LFG. How to stream the Democratic National Convention online |
Perry's Stepfather Looks Forward to "Justice" After Arrests ►Reaction. Matthew Perry’s stepfather Keith Morrison is speaking out after authorities charged five people in connection with the Friends star’s death in October 2023. The Morrison family shared in a statement, "We were and still are heartbroken by Matthew’s death, but it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously. We look forward to justice taking its course, and we’re grateful for the exceptional work of the multiple agencies whose agents investigated Matthew’s death. We’re hoping unscrupulous suppliers of dangerous drugs will get the message." The story.
—New details. Matthew Perry asked his assistant to “shoot him up with a big one” on the day of his untimely death, new documents reveal. Authorities have now brought charges against five individuals, including three doctors, the so-called "Ketamine Queen" Jasveen Sangha and Perry’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, as part of an investigation that revealed a “broad underground criminal network” in connection with the Friends star’s death from ketamine. Following a press conference on Thursday, further details of Perry’s final days came to light, including thousands of dollars in illegal ketamine deals over the course of about a month. The story.
—"I’ve actually never said that out loud to anybody in an interview before." Julianne Hough opened about the trauma and abuse she endured as a child and how she’s worked to heal her pain over the years. In a new interview, the professional dancer and actress revealed that she was “about 4 years old” when she was sexually abused for the first time. Hough said her abuser was a neighbor who lived in the same Utah cul-de-sac as her family. The story.
—"I’ve had a fantastic life." Saturday Night Live alum Victoria Jackson has revealed that doctors found an inoperable tumor in her windpipe amid her battle with cancer. The actress-comedian confirmed on Wednesday in a new video for her “Is the Cancer Back?” Instagram series that her cancer had returned. She also estimated that she has roughly three years to live. The story. |
Animation Guild, Studios Fail to Reach Agreement ►New dates eyed. THR's Katie Kilkenny reports the Animation Guild and Hollywood studios have scheduled additional negotiations dates for September after concluding a week of bargaining last week without reaching a deal. The union — which represents more than 5,000 animation workers — and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers previously only allotted one week, ending Friday, to reach a new three-year contract. But a consensus wasn’t reached by that time. The story.
—Antitrust concerns. A federal judge has temporarily blocked a joint venture from Fox, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery teaming up to pool together their sports licensing rights to form new streaming service Venu, which was challenged by rival sports streamer Fubo. U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett on Friday ruled against the three companies in barring Venu to proceed with its planned release slated for later this year. She found that Fubo is likely to prevail on claims that the partnership will "substantially lessen competition and restrain trade." The story. |
'Romulus' Opens to $108M Globally ►Unleashed! Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus scared up strong business in its box office debut as it sets out to revive the classic franchise. The 20th Century and Disney movie topped the domestic weekend chart with $45.1m, well ahead of a projected debut in the high-$20m range and the second-best opening of the franchise, not adjusted for inflation. Overseas, Romulus opened to a better-than-expected $66.7m for a worldwide start of $108.2m.
Deadpool & Wolverine falls to No. 2 after ruling the roost for three consecutive weekends. The threequel earned a stellar $29m in its fourth outing for a domestic tally of $545.9m. Its foreign tally is $596.8m for a worldwide cume of $1.142b, making it the No. 9 MCU movie of all time.
Coming in No. 3 in its sophomore outing is Sony and Wayfarer Studios’ film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's best-selling novel It Ends With Us. The Blake Lively starrer declined a respectable 52 percent to $24m, for a domestic total of nearly $100m through Sunday. The box office report.
—Un-Caged! Neon's Longlegs, from director Osgood Perkins and starring Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe, has crossed the $100m global box office mark since launching on July 12. The serial killer chiller has become the highest grossing film for Tom Quinn's Oscar-winning specialty production and distribution outfit. Longlegs has to date earned a North American gross of $72m. The box office report. |
'Crossed' Movie in the Works From 'The Boys' Creator ►Midas touch. THR's second-nicest man Aaron Couch has the scoop on Garth Ennis, the comic creator, whose Preacher and The Boys have already been adapted for TV, penning a script for a movie adaptation of his comic Crossed. Indie outfit Six Studios has acquired the screenplay, with an intention to finance and back the movie. Crossed takes place in a pandemic-stricken world, in which those who catch a disease are marked with a cross-like rash on their faces. Those afflicted follow their worst impulses and become homicidal maniacs. The story.
—Niche. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on Derek Connolly, the franchise scribe whose work includes the Jurassic World movies, being tapped to write a live-action adaptation of Sega video game Eternal Champions for Skydance. Originally released in 1993, Eternal Champions was a fighting game that Sega developed and published for the Sega Genesis console. David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger will produce for Skydance, while Toru Nakahara, who has overseen the adaptation of Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, will produce for the video game producer. The story.
—"God, I hope not." Despicable Me director Chris Renaud has zero plans for a live-action Minions movie, and he hopes to keep it that way. In a new interview, the filmmaker was asked if he was ever interested in seeing the Minions make the jump from animation to live-action, given Disney’s success with it. "For me personally, not very appealing. But again, who knows what can happen but that’s my personal feeling about it," Renaud said. The story.
—"The critics said it sucked balls. And balls aren’t that bad." Halle Berry is clapping back at critics of Catwoman amid the 20th anniversary of the 2004 film. During a recent interview on The Tonight Show, the Oscar winner continued to praise the comic book movie despite its negative reviews. The infamous film also won Berry the Razzie for worst actress of the year. "What I’m happy about is that the children have found it now on the internet, and they love it," said Berry. "So, it’s so vindicating. Because now they’re saying it’s cool and what the heck was everybody’s problem with it, so like, I’m like, ‘I’m so brat now.’" The story. |
Apple Renews 'Dark Matter' ►Doubling down. Apple TV+ has renewed Dark Matter, starring Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly, for a second season. The pickup comes not quite two months after the show’s nine-episode first season concluded in late June. Dark Matter, from Sony Pictures TV, is based on a best-selling novel by Blake Crouch, who also serves as showrunner on the series. Edgerton stars as a physicist, professor and family man who, while walking home in Chicago, is abducted into an alternate version of his life and has to piece together how to get back. The story.
—One and done. Amazon Prime Video has canceled the period drama My Lady Jane, which combined romance and alternate-world fantasy. The cancellation comes about seven weeks after Amazon released all eight episodes of the show’s first (and now only) season. My Lady Jane, based on a novel by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows, is set in a 16th century England where humans coexist with shape-shifters who can take the form of either people or animals. The story.
—3 is the magic number. A third hour of CBS Mornings is in the works, in a significant expansion of the morning news program. The third hour is slated to launch in late September on some CBS-owned stations, and will also simulcast on the network’s streaming platform CBS News 24/7, though many details remain TBD. CBS Mornings executive producer Shawna Thomas revealed the news in a note to staff Friday. The story.
—Universe expands. MTV and Paramount+ have ordered more RuPaul’s Drag Race, RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars: Untucked. That means RuPaul’s Drag Race is headed to a 17th season on MTV. After initially bowing on Logo back in 2009, Drag Race has since expanded internationally, too, with local editions in the U.K., Canada and Australia featuring local “queens” and runway challenges. The story. |
Phil Donahue 1935 - 2024 ►Pioneer. Phil Donahue, the talk show innovator who changed the conversation and the course of daytime television with the weekday program he hosted for nearly three decades, has died. He was 88. The Cleveland native hosted more than 6,000 iterations of The Phil Donahue Show, from the first, broadcast from a Dayton, Ohio station on Nov. 7, 1967, through the last, seen nationwide on syndication via Multimedia Entertainment, on Sept. 13, 1996. An 11-time Daytime Emmy winner, Donahue forged a path for Oprah Winfrey and others to follow. The obituary.
—Complicated legacy. Alain Delon, the dark and dashing leading man from France who starred in some of the greatest European films of the 1960s and ’70s, has died. He was 88. With a filmography boasting such titles as Luchino Visconti’s Rocco and His Brothers (1960) and The Leopard (1963), René Clément’s Purple Noon (1960), Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Eclipse (1962), Joseph Losey’s Mr. Klein (1976) and Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï (1967) and The Red Circle (1970), Delon graced several art house movies now considered classics. The obituary.
—"A trailblazer in comedy writing." Patt Shea, the Norman Lear regular who co-wrote the 1979 series finale of All in the Family and co-created and worked on two spinoffs of the fabled sitcom, Archie Bunker’s Place and Gloria, has died. She was 93. Shea received her first TV writing credit on The Jeffersons in 1977, and she also worked for Lear on the spinoff Sanford, the McLean Stevenson-starring In the Beginning and the Terrence McNally-created Mama Malone. The obituary.
—Charismatic character actor. John Aprea, the actor who portrayed the young Salvatore Tessio in The Godfather Part II and the father of John Stamos' character on Full House, has died. He was 83. The New Jersey native appeared for director Jonathan Demme in Caged Heat (1974), Crazy Mama (1975) and The Manchurian Candidate (2004), played the brother of Ray Sharkey's up-and-coming music promoter in Taylor Hackford's The Idolmaker (1980) and was a mob guy in Mario Van Peebles' New Jack City (1991). The obituary. |
Lily Collins Talks 'Emily in Paris' S4 ►"I'm definitely not done playing Emily." THR's Christy Piña spoke to Lily Collins about part one of the fourth season of Netflix's hit series Emily in Paris. The British-American actress discusses how Emily is finding comfort in the uncomfortable in the new season, teases what's to come in part two and why she is keen to play the character in a fifth season. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"The course of love never goes smoothly." Christina also spoke to Emily in Paris creator Darren Star about season four and how part one's big moments are going to play out in part two. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"It felt like the first season of Thrones getting nominated felt, because it seemed similarly unlikely that the first season of a genre show gets that nod." THR's James Hibberd spoke to David Benioff, Dan Weiss and Alexander Woo about their Emmy-nominated Netflix sci-fi drama 3 Body Problem. The showrunners reveal they painfully sacrificed a scene from the book and a cameo by a former Doctor Who star to make their debut season as strong as possible. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"It was the right story for the moment." THR's Rick Porter spoke to showrunner Noah Hawley about his multi Emmy-nominated FX series Fargo. Hawley discusses not knowing how season five of the crime drama would end, and also talks about bringing the Alien franchise to TV in Alien: Earth, his next project for FX. The interview.
—"This is a show that is centered around grief and community grieving, coming to terms with loss." Rick also spoke to Sterlin Harjo about his FX series Reservation Dogs finally getting well-deserved Emmy nominations. The co-creator and showrunner discusses the show’s closing season, why he refused to film anywhere but Oklahoma and choosing the right time to end things. The interview. |
'Baby Reindeer' Creator on Difficult Decision of Casting Himself ►"My whole life flipped on its head." For THR, Brande Victorian spoke to Baby Reindeer creator, writer and star Richard Gadd about Netflix's monster hit. Gadd talks about the show’s 11 Emmy nods and looking forward to putting some distance between himself and the trauma he had to relive with his next project. The interview.
—"I think I went into it thinking I would feel more uncomfortable with the changes and that I would be more protective of the book, but I feel like it was such a collaborative process." THR's Carly Thomas spoke to bestselling author Colleen Hoover about the feature adaptation of her book It Ends With Us. Hoover discusses the book "mistake" she fixed in the movie and what it was like working alongside Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively on the film. The interview.
—"When I read the script, there were so many challenges regarding my character and my character’s arc that I found really intriguing and scary." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Adria Arjona about her new film Blink Twice. The busy actor recalls the surprising note director Zoë Kravitz gave her on the film and also discusses Hit Man and says that Tony Gilroy "really outdid himself" on the upcoming new episodes of Disney+'s Andor. The interview.
—"The attitudes towards trans people, trans lives — it's so important." For THR, Abbey White spoke to Elliot Page about the final season of Netflix's The Umbrella Academy. Page unpacks the significance of his character Viktor Hargreeves’ four-season journey and trans representation. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
THR's 20 Best Political Movies ►'Tis the season. As the U.S. presidential election gets into full swing, THR’s chief film critic David Rooney ranks 20 indelible films — from thrillers to biopics to satires to issue-driven dramas — that grapple, either explicitly or implicitly, with themes of power, governance, civic engagement and what it means to be American.
The list.
In other news...
—Venice sets Sigourney Weaver, Ethan Hawke, Peter Weir master classes
—NFL’s Chargers stun fans with kiss cam fake-proposal stunt
—Locarno Film Festival's top prize goes to Lithuanian drama Toxic
—Jasmila Zbanic’s I Know Your Soul big winner at Sarajevo Festival TV Awards
—Rihanna is the new queen that Dior has been promising
—Maxie Solters, third-generation Hollywood publicist, dies at 37
—Perry Kurtz, L.A. comedian and America’s Got Talent candidate, dies at 73
—Maurice Williams, writer and lead singer of “Stay,” dies at 86
What else we're reading...
—With some pundits comparing the 2024 DNC to 1968's event, Kara Voght counters that the vibes are more akin to 2008 [WaPo]
—Alex Abad-Santos tries to explain why everyone is mad at Blake Lively [Vox]
—Michael Sokolove talked to NFL star Michael Oher on why he believes his early life was misrepresented by the Oscar-winning movie The Blind Side [NYT]
—Rachel Feintzeig looks into whether superfans of Taylor Swift, Disney and Star Wars are happier than the rest of us [WSJ]
—Max Tani looks at how Ezra Klein has become the leading liberal media figure, and how that may become a problem for the NYT [Semafor]
Today...
...in 1973, Warner Bros. unveiled Enter the Dragon, the 98-minute, R-rated actioner starring Bruce Lee, in theaters. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Manny Jacinto (37), John Stamos (61), Peter Gallagher (69), Jonathan Frakes (72), Ethan Cutkosky (25), Sara Martins (47), Erika Christensen (42), Kyra Sedgwick (59), Melissa Fumero (42), Giorgia Whigham (27), Adam Arkin (68), Diana Muldaur (86), Isabel Gravitt (21), Ian McElhinney (76), Greg Bryk (52), Kevin Dillon (59), Gerald McRaney (77), Michelle Borth (46), Jill St. John (84), Tracie Thoms (49), Maria de Medeiros (59), Callum Blue (47), Brighton Sharbino (22), Jim Carter (76), Simone Kessell (49), Martin Donovan (67), Tasma Walton (51), Paula Jai Parker (55), Simon Bird (40), Peter Mooney (41), Randi Oakes (73), Siena Agudong (20), Valérie Kaprisky (62), Ahmed Best (51), Marcello Hernández (27) |
| Bob Weatherwax, who trained dogs who played Lassie as a member of the famous family that also taught Hollywood hounds a thing or two in The Thin Man (Asta), The Wizard of Oz (Toto) and Old Yeller (Spike), has died. He was 83. The obituary. |
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