| | | | | | What's news: Mufasa topped the Christmas Day box office. Max has renewed Creature Commandos. Liz Plank has quit the podcast she co-hosted with Justin Baldoni. Animation Guild members have voted to accept a new contract with the AMPTP. Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter case has been dismissed. — Abid Rahman
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Judge Denies Jay-Z's Efforts to Dismiss Rape Lawsuit ►The latest. A judge has denied Jay-Z’s efforts to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the rapper and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping a 13-year-old girl more than two decades ago. In the lawsuit, originally filed in October, a woman identified only as “Jane Doe” sued Combs for allegedly raping her at a party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. The complaint was amended on Dec. 8 to include the allegation that Jay-Z was also present and participated in the assault. The rapper has denied all allegations, and his attorney sought to dismiss the case. On Thursday, in her written order, Judge Analisa Torres denied attempts to have the suit tossed out. Torres also ruled the woman accusing the two artists that she could proceed anonymously at this early stage of the litigation. The story.
—"This was an unspeakable tragedy but Alec Baldwin committed no crime." Almost six months after a Santa Fe judge dismissed the involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin in the Rust tragedy, the case is finally over. On Monday, the Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office announced in a press release that special prosecutor Kari Morrissey withdrew the state’s notice of appeal filed on Nov. 21. Had it moved forward, the appeal would have challenged the court’s decision to dismiss the criminal charges against Baldwin in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The story.
—✊ Deal accepted ✊ On Monday, members of The Animation Guild voted to accept their new contract with studios and streamers. Per the guild, 76.1 percent of voting members chose to accept the deal, which covers 2024-27 and includes wage increases and key protections for members with regard to use of artificial intelligence in animation. After three months of negotiations, the Guild reached a tentative deal with members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in late November. The story. |
Justin Baldoni Faces Growing Backlash ►Suit filed. Hollywood publicist Steph Jones has accused her former client, filmmaker and actor Justin Baldoni, of breach of contract in a lawsuit filed against him in New York this week, just days after his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively filed a complaint against him for sexual harassment on the set of the film. The lawsuit also names publicists Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan as conspirators in a smear campaign against Lively and asserts that they then attempted to shift the blame for besmirching the actress around the release of It Ends With Us to Jones. The story.
—"No negative press was ever facilitated, no social combat plan." Jennifer Abel, Justin Baldoni‘s publicist at the heart of the smear campaign scandal, has explained her side of the story. Abel posted a defense of her crisis team exchanges on Facebook, saying they largely amounted to joking about how fans were reacting to the Lively-Baldoni feud during the marketing campaign and did not show that Baldoni’s team ever took specific action against Lively. The story.
—"Contrary to the values of Vital Voices and the spirit of the Award." On Dec. 9, Justin Baldoni received the Voices of Solidarity Award from Vital Voices. The honor celebrates “remarkable men who have shown courage and compassion in advocating on behalf of women and girls.” This week, in light of the Blake Lively complaint, Vital Voices revoked the award. The story.
—"Every woman has the right to dignity in that workplace." A recent How to Fail podcast episode that featured Justin Baldoni has been deleted. Podcast host and British author Elizabeth Day wrote on Instagram Tuesday that she made the decision to remove the Baldoni interview "while the distressing allegations made against him in Blake Lively‘s recent [filing] are fully investigated.” The story.
—"I will miss you, the listeners, so much." Journalist and author Liz Plank shared on Monday that she is leaving her gig at The Man Enough Podcast, on which she joins Justin Baldoni to discuss masculinity. The 37-year-old Montreal native, announced that she’s departing the podcast she’s co-hosted for three years as denouncements of Baldoni tore across the web. The story. |
Netflix Bets on 'Squid Game' to Turbocharge Video Game Ambitions ►New innovations. To say Netflix has a lot riding on the return of Squid Game is an understatement. The Korean series immediately emerged as a flagship show when it debuted three years ago. Since then there have been countless Halloween costumes worn, tickets to live Squid Game experiences sold, and ample anticipation for the show’s return to the streaming service. THR's Alex Weprin writes that Netflix is using Squid Game to help boost its still-nascent video game business, making a couple of unprecedented strategic moves in the process. The analysis.
—"Brace for less impact." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews season two of Netflix's Squid Game. Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk and Emmy winner Lee Jung-jae are back for more death-defying games and nefariously masked villains as the series returns after a three-year absence. The review.
—"Unique chemistry." THR's Patrick Brzeski spoke to Squid Game stars Lee Byung-hun and Lee Jung-Jae about season two. The actors break down The Front Man's secret. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
Netflix NFL Christmas Games Set Streaming Record ►The future. The first NFL games on Netflix brought in big audiences for the streamer — and the biggest ever for a streaming NFL matchup. But they came up short of the audience for last year’s Yuletide contests that ran on broadcast networks. Netflix’s two games averaged 24.2m viewers in the U.S., according to Nielsen fast national ratings. The Netflix audience peaked at 27m viewers during Beyoncé’s halftime performance at the Ravens-Texans game. The NBA also enjoyed a fruitful Christmas, with its five-game slate growing by a collective 84 percent from a year ago. The ratings.
—Solid start. The opening round of the expanded College Football Playoff didn’t produce any classic games, but it did bring in sizable TV audiences. Friday and Saturday’s four first-round games averaged 10.6m viewers on ABC, ESPN and TNT Sports, with the two primetime contests (Tennessee at Ohio State on Saturday and Indiana at Notre Dame on Friday) drawing the second- and third-most viewers of any college football contest this season. The ratings.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Cobra Kai is ready to land its final blow. The hit Netflix series from creators Hayden Schlossberg, Josh Heald and Jon Hurwitz has been rolling out its final season in three parts. Following the release of Parts 1 and 2, Cobra Kai will now conclude with its series finale on Feb. 13, 2025 with Part 3/The Finale Event. Each part consists of five episodes. The story.
—Super speed. Max has renewed its adult animated series Creature Commandos for a second season. The pickup comes midway through the show’s seven-episode first season, which premiered Dec. 5. The series, created by DC Studios co-chairman James Gunn, is the first title to be released in the DC Universe continuity, which will continue when Superman hits movie theaters next summer. DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation produce the show, and Dean Lorey is the showrunner. The story. |
'Mufasa' Wins Xmas Day Ahead of 'Sonic 3,' 'Nosferatu' ►Comeback king. Many were quick to write off Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King when it lost badly to Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 last weekend, but the landscape changed on Wednesday as families became more available after holiday duties. Mufasa topped the Christmas Day chart with $15m, followed by filmmaker Robert Egger’s new star-studded vampire pic Nosferatu with a promising $11.6m and Sonic 3 with $10.7m. Mufasa is anticipating a five-day gross north of $50m, while Sonic 3 is likewise targeting $50m. A flurry of other titles also opened nationwide on Christmas Day, particularly award contenders (A Complete Unknown and Babygirl ) hoping to capitalize on the long five-day holiday weekend (Wednesday-Sunday) as 2024 comes to a close. The box office report.
—ICYMI (somehow). Christopher Nolan’s next movie will be an adaptation of The Odyssey, the epic Greek poem from Homer that follows Odysseus’ journey home after the Trojan war. The Odyssey is a marked change of pace for the filmmaker. Homer’s fantastical work dates back to the 8th century BC and tells of gods, goddesses and monsters — the type of material foreign to Nolan’s work so far. Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway and Charlize Theron star in the feature that Universal will release on July 17, 2026. The story.
—"For some reason, the press decided that they didn’t want us making these films." Outgoing Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra defended Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter despite the harsh criticism the films received from critics. In a new interview, Vinciquerra, who is stepping down as SPE boss at the end of the year, insisted that S.J. Clarkson's Madame Web isn’t bad and blames the press for its negative reception. Both Madame Web and Kraven bombed at the box office, and Vinciquerra conceded that the studio would have to "rethink" their Spider-Man universe strategy. The story.
—"I also see actors mourning the matriarch of the show, and it feels more genuine and more meaningful." The third Downton Abbey movie will have a special message for the late Dame Maggie Smith. In a new interview, Downton executive producer Gareth Neame opened up about a tribute that will be featured in the untitled A New Era sequel when it hits theaters in September 2025. The film was always set to include a tribute to Smith’s Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, following her death at the end of the previous project. The story. |
Richard Parsons 1948 - 2024 ►"The right guy in the right place at the right time." Richard Parsons, the former Time Warner chairman who became a go-to executive brought in to steady such troubled organizations as CBS Corp., Citigroup and the Los Angeles Clippers, died Thursday. He was 76. Parsons died at his Manhattan home of bone cancer. He also battled multiple myeloma, a pernicious blood cancer, over the years. Parsons was for many years the highest-ranking African American in any media company, though that was a distinction he frequently played down. He advised young African Americans to focus on their new opportunities. In September 2018, Parsons was named interim chairman of CBS after chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves resigned following allegations of sexual harassment. The obituary.
—"His 16 years on this earth were far too short, but he accomplished so much and significantly impacted everyone he met." Hudson Meek, a young actor known for portraying the child version of the title character in the hit action movie Baby Driver and, more recently, a handful of TV series roles, has died after falling from a moving vehicle in Alabama. He was 16. Meek’s accident occurred Dec. 19 in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, and he “sustained blunt force injuries after falling to the road from a moving vehicle,” Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said to local news outlet AL.com. The obituary. |
Thank Pod It's Friday ►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.
—Awards Chatter. THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott spoke to Pamela Anderson. The iconic Playboy model and Baywatch babe, who is now a Golden Globe-nominated actress thanks to her performance in Gia Coppola's new film The Last Showgirl, reflects on the odds-defying way in which she was discovered, how the infamous sex tape derailed her career for decades and what sparked the 'Pamaissance' of the last two years. Listen here.
—Awards Chatter. Scott also spoke to Richard Gere. One of the great leading men of the last 50 years reflects on how gymnastics and music helped to make him a better actor; how, over the decades, the sort of projects to which he's been drawn hasn't changed, but the industry's desire for them has; and what it was like reuniting with Paul Schrader, 44 years after their first collaboration, on his latest film Oh, Canada. Listen here.
In other news...
—Happy Gilmore 2 trailer: Adam Sandler’s explosive golfer is back
—The Night Agent drops S2 trailer during Netflix NFL games
—Netflix’s Zero Day teaser shows Robert De Niro investigating cyber attack
—Richard Perry, record producer behind "You’re So Vain" and other hits, dies at 82
—Geoffrey Deuel, who played Billy the Kid in Chisum, dies at 81
—Terry Ree, “The Indian” in Williams and Ree comedy team, dies at 75
—Art Evans, Die Hard 2 and A Soldier’s Story actor, dies at 82
—Aziza Barnes, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and Snowfall writer, dies at 32
What else we're reading...
—Ben Berkowitz and Zachary Basu break down the MAGA civil war that has erupted over Vivek Ramaswamy's immigration comments [Axios]
—Laura Martin reflects on "Mid TV" and posits why television was so bad in 2024 [BBC]
—Joe Reid looks back to 2004, the year when Jude Law was seemingly in every prestige movie and led to the actor becoming an Oscars punchline [Vulture]
—Does listening to a book count as reading it? Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg reports on the debate that is roiling the literary world [WSJ]
—Here's your Friday list: "The best movie moments of 2024" [Guardian]
Today...
...in 2002, Rob Marshall’s musical Chicago debuted in theaters on its way to award season glory. The film, starring Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones, claimed six Oscars at the 75th Academy Awards, including best picture. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Timothée Chalamet (29), Olivia Cooke (31), Theresa Randle (60), Emilie de Ravin (43), Lisa Jakub (46), Chloe Bridges (33), Hera Hilmar (36), Gaspar Noé (61), Tovah Feldshuh (76), Maryam d'Abo (64), Aaron Stanford (48), Elizabeth Rodriguez (44), Eva LaRue (58), Bill Goldberg (58), Barbara Crampton (66), Thomas Wilson Brown (52), Masi Oka (50), Lily Cole (37), Siobhán McSweeney (45), Wilson Cruz (51), Jessica Harmon (39), Ian Gomez (60), Lanette Ware (56), Halley Wegryn Gross (39), Tom McKay (45), Carlos Cuevas (29), Desiree Akhavan (40) |
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