| | | | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover stars are the creative talent behind The White Lotus S3. A John Wick animated prequel series is in the works. Now You See Me 4 is a go. The Testaments has been picked up to series at Hulu. The NHL has signed a new $7.7b rights deal in Canada. — Abid Rahman
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Val Kilmer 1959 - 2025 ►Generational talent. Val Kilmer, the charisma-oozing leading man who lost himself portraying such tormented, self-loathing characters as Jim Morrison, gunslinger Doc Holliday and Batman during his all-too-brief career, died Tuesday. He was 65. Kilmer, who came to fame for playing the competitive naval aviator Tom “Iceman” Kazansky alongside Tom Cruise in Tony Scott’s 1986 mega box-office hit Top Gun, died of pneumonia in Los Angeles. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015, and Val, a stirring documentary about his life that premiered at Cannes in July 2021, showed him needing a breathing tube.
Raised in the San Fernando Valley in the shadow of Hollywood, Kilmer also was known for his meaty performances as Robert De Niro’s nasty henchman in Michael Mann’s Heat (1995); as Marlon Brando’s insane assistant in John Frankenheimer’s The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996); as the suave crook Simon Templar in Phillip Noyce’s The Saint (1997); and as the homosexual detective Gay Perry in Shane Black’s tribute to film noir, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005). The obituary.
—"A smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker." Michael Mann, Francis Ford Coppola, Josh Brolin, Josh Gad, Matthew Modine, Richard Roeper and Bill Simmons, were among the entertainment industry figures who have paid tribute to Val Kilmer. In a statement to THR, Mann said, “While working with Val on Heat I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character. After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.” The reaction. |
'White Lotus' Uncensored Oral History: Mike White and Cast Spill S3's Secrets ►On the cover(s). For seven weeks running, prosthetic privates, brotherly hand jobs and well-executed smirks have reliably titillated The White Lotus' very-online audience and dominated the entertainment news cycle. Ahead of the April 6 finale of season three, creator/writer/director Mike White, along with 25 castmembers, producers and creatives, talk to THR's Lacey Rose and Mikey O'Connell about every salacious moment of the season thus far and what, exactly, it takes to pull off the buzziest show about (very) bad behavior. The cover story.
—"Who is the most likely to go to a foreign country to seek revenge?" The cast of The White Lotus season three sat down with THR during their cover shoot to share some cast confessionals. Find out which member is most likely to reveal a spoiler, get kicked off a yacht, make creator Mike White laugh and more! The video. |
CinemaCon: Embattled WB Movie Chiefs Sidestep Job Drama ►What a difference a year makes. At CinemaCon 2024, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy exuded confidence when taking the stage before thousands of excited cinema owners eager to hear from the studio behind Barbie. This year— and nearly three years into the job — dark clouds hang over the duo after a string of high-profile misfires. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that the mood inside the Colosseum Theater at Caesars was subdued as the two executives presented their upcoming films. The recap.
—"Tapped into something politically and culturally." Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall and Teyana Taylor took the stage at CinemaCon to discuss One Battle After Another, the upcoming big swing film from filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson. In the comments during WB's presentation, DiCaprio heralded Anderson after their first feature collaboration. “I’ve been wanting to work for Paul for over 20 years now,” the star said. “He’s one of the most unique talents of our time.” The story.
—"I cannot wait to share the film with all you guys and the rest of the world." CinemaCon believed a man can fly on Tuesday as DC Studios head James Gunn showed off an extended look at Superman. The film is a make-or-break moment for DC, which has an ambitious slate, much of which depends on Superman working at the box office this summer. Gunn appeared alongside his DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran, while stars David Corenswet (Superman), Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane) and Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luthor) also took the stage. The story.
—"All of us have a little aspect of something monstrous in us." Maggie Gyllenhaal took the veil off The Bride in Las Vegas. The filmmaker, joined by title star Jessie Buckley, took to the Colosseum stage on Tuesday afternoon during WB's presentation to offer the first look at her anticipated sophomore feature. The story.
—"Expect amazing fights, epic battles and a few fatalities." Mortal Kombat 2 kicked its way into the Colosseum, where New Line chief Richard Brenner introduced the first footage from the film. A sizzle reel teased the video game adaptation’s key characters, including Karl Urban as Johnny Cage. “I am Johnny fucking Cage,” Urban says in the clip. “It’s showtime.” The film hits theaters on Oct. 24. The story.
—"The material we’re going to show is the tip of the iceberg." New Line dedicated part of its time in the spotlight inside the Colosseum to showing off the highly-anticipated horror film Weapons from Zach Cregger. The genre pic stars Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, June Diane Raphael, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Alden Ehrenreich and Amy Madigan, among others. Cregger did the honors himself by coming to the stage but keeping his comments brief due to the spoiler nature of his “twisty and turny” movie. The story.
—"It’s truly the ultimate theater experience." F1 director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer returned to the CinemaCon stage for the first time since promoting their explosive hit Top Gun: Maverick. WB is distributing the Apple film that stars Brad Pitt, Damson Idris and Javier Bardem. “We believe this is going to be the cinematic experience of the summer,” Bruckheimer teased, before showing 10-minutes of footage. The story. |
CinemaCon: Lionsgate Goes All-in on 'John Wick' ►It's official. After years of speculation about the franchise’s future, John Wick: Chapter 5 is officially moving forward at Lionsgate. Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski are both back for the feature, following the previous installment, which ended with the death of the titular assassin. Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson made the announcement at CinemaCon on Tuesday. The story.
—Pound that IP. The John Wick franchise is set to draw on its universe’s origins with a new animated prequel feature. Adam Fogelson announced that Shannon Tindle is directing an untitled animated movie from a script by Vanessa Taylor. Keanu Reeves is expected to voice the character, while Chad Stahelski is also involved in the project. The story.
—We want more! The John Wick spinoff starring action legend Donnie Yen has found its director: action legend Donnie Yen. The Hong Kong actor was already starring in the Lionsgate feature, reprising his role of the formidable blind assassin known as Caine. Now, Yen, known for marital arts movies such as the Ip Man series, will step behind the camera to direct the project. The story.
—Franchise legend. More big news from Lionsgate: Billy Ray is back in business on The Hunger Games. The Oscar-nominated scribe, who put pen to paper on the blockbuster that started it all back in 2012, has been tapped to write the screenplay for the next installment of the franchise by adapting Suzanne Collins’ newest bestseller The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. As previously reported, the film will be directed by Francis Lawrence, and it already has a release date set for Nov. 20, 2026. The story.
—🤝 First-look deal 🤝 Paul Feig has inked a first-look film producing deal with Lionsgate, the studio announced at CinemaCon. Adam Fogelson revealed Tuesday that the filmmaker signed the pact through his production company Feigco Entertainment, headed up by Feig and producing partner Laura Fischer. Feig directed and produced Another Simple Favor for Lionsgate and Amazon MGM Studios, with Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively returning from the 2018 original, A Simple Favor. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 An adaptation of Stephen King’s The Long Walk will finally be strolling into theaters this fall. On Tuesday morning, Lionsgate confirmed that the Francis Lawrence-directed film will be released wide on Sept. 12. The dystopian thriller stars Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis, Jordan Gonzalez and Josh Hamilton with Judy Greer and Mark Hamill. The story.
—"A book that I deeply love." Luca Guadagnino appeared in a video segment during Lionsgate's CinemaCon presentation to tease his new feature version of American Psycho that adapts author Bret Easton Ellis‘ 1991 novel of the same name. After confirming that the film has a script from Scott Z. Burns, Guadagnino noted, “He’s doing an incredible job. The script is coming out very handsomely.” The story.
—Abracadabra! Lionsgate's Now You See Me franchise is getting a fourth installment. Ruben Fleischer has signed a deal to develop and direct a fourth entry in the action-heist film series. Also announced at CinemaCon was the news that the forthcoming third film in the franchise is newly titled Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. The original 2013 feature Now You See Me centers on a group of magicians who perpetrate robberies during their performances. The story. |
CinemaCon: Theater Org Chief Declares War on Shortened Windows ►"We cannot sacrifice long-term success for short-term gain." The gloves came off at CinemaCon on Tuesday, as Cinema United president-CEO Michael O’Leary ended a relatively long period of détente over the issue of theatrical windows when delivering his second annual state-of-the-union speech. O’Leary called for studios and exhibitors to play a movie exclusively in theaters for 45 days before being available in the home. That’s instead of windows as short as 17 days or 31 days for bigger titles, a practice that arose during the pandemic. The story.
—🤝 Deal! 🤝 Imax and mega circuit AMC Theatres revealed on Tuesday an expansive agreement to grow a longstanding partnership and deploy Imax With Laser technology across more than 180 Imax auditoriums at AMC sites across the U.S. Already one of the largest Imax operators globally and the largest in the U.S., AMC will now boast the world’s largest number of laser locations. The agreement marks the largest such systems pact Imax has signed in the U.S. since 2018. Under the agreement, AMC will also add twelve new Imax locations and upgrade an additional 68 locations to Imax With Laser. The story.
More from CinemaCon...
—The Weeknd wows CinemaCon with performance introduced by Jenna Ortega
—Mark Hamill set to receive CinemaCon’s Icon Award
—Lionsgate debuts explosive Ballerina fight (and Keanu Reeves scene)
—Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried debut first trailer for thriller The Housemaid |
'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' Follow-Up in the Works ►Wait, what?! Stuntman and movie aficionado Rick Dalton and his TV star buddy Cliff Booth may be getting back together. A follow-up to Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is being assembled, with David Fincher, not Tarantino, in the director’s chair. It also has Brad Pitt and possibly Leonardo DiCaprio circling to reprise their popular and award-winning roles. Tarantino wrote the script for the feature project, which is set up at Netflix and which could go before cameras by late summer. The mystery project is also not The Movie Critic, according to one insider. That was the title to the feature being developed by Tarantino to serve as his 10th and, ostensibly, his final film. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Sony Pictures Classic has acquired the worldwide rights to the film of the recent Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along. The revival, which starred Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez, ran on Broadway last season and won four Tony Awards, including best revival of a musical. The filmed version of the Broadway show is set for a theatrical release. Maria Friedman directed the revival of the Stephen Sondheim show, which tracks the relationships of the three friends in reverse chronological order, spanning several decades and ending with their meeting in college. The story.
—📅 MAGA will love this 📅 Kevin Smith’s religious satire Dogma, which starred Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, is heading back to theaters. The 25th anniversary rerelease of the film has been set for June 5. AMC Theatres and Iconic Events Releasing plan a national tour in 25 cities for the limited release after Smith regained the rights to Dogma from onetime owner, the disgraced producer and convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein. Dogma, which was first released in 1999, follows Affleck and Damon as fallen angels who discover a loophole in Catholic doctrine that could allow a return to Heaven. The story. |
'The Testaments': 'Handmaid's Tale' Sequel Officially a Go ►Praise be. The Testaments has been picked up to series at Hulu and will go into production April 7. The streamer announced the update with a photo from the table read and some news: The Handmaid’s Tale star Ann Dowd, who plays Aunt Lydia, is confirmed to star in the follow-up, as had been expected, and Elisabeth Moss — star, director and executive producer of The Handmaid’s Tale — will be executive producing The Testaments. Joining the previously announced leads Chase Infiniti, playing Agnes, and Lucy Halliday, playing Daisy, are new cast Mabel Li, Amy Seimetz, Brad Alexander, Zarrin Darnell-Martin, Eva Foote, Isolde Ardies, Shechinah Mpumlwana, Birva Pandya and Kira Guloien. Rowan Blanchard (Shunammite) and Mattea Conforti (Becka) had been previously announced. The story.
—Icon. Liza Minnelli is set for an appearance on RuPaul’s Drag Race during its season 17 finale on April 18. Minnelli, a showbiz survivor who earned Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards, will receive the Giving Us Lifetime Achievement Award from host RuPaul Charles on the MTV show’s main stage. The story.
—"It was disappointing." Ryan Condal, the House of the Dragon showrunner, is responding to George R.R. Martin‘s post detailing “everything wrong” with the HBO series. Last year, the author and HOTD executive producer shared in a candid blog post — which he deleted within hours — his concerns about the fantasy drama, including a key change that Condal made from Martin’s book Fire & Blood that he disagreed with. In a new interview, Condal addressed Martin's comments directly. The story. |
25th Hour: Why Cory Booker's Speech Was the Screen Performance of the Year ►"What Booker was doing was nothing less than creating a cinematic spectacle, a bingeworthy awards contender in which all 25 hours happened to drop at once." You may not have watched anything but the last hour, or few minutes, or even a second of Democratic Senator Cory Booker’s 25-hour, one-sitting (or standing) opus on YouTube or C-SPAN. But THR's Steven Zeitchik writes that the whole thing was the kind of spectacle that should be eligible for an Emmy, so subtle were its layers and so ambitious the performance. The analysis. |
Dana White and Mark Zuckerberg Strike UFC-Meta Deal ►🤝 Broligarchy 🤝 UFC is now officially in business with the tech giant Meta Platforms Inc. The TKO-owned mixed martial arts promotion says that the Mark Zuckerberg-controlled tech company has signed on to become its first “official fan technology partner,” a multiyear deal that will leverage Meta’s platforms and products “to immerse fans deeper into UFC content than ever before.” The deal will include brand placement inside the UFC’s famous Octagon, broadcast features, and integrations into all UFC events. The story.
—🤝 Elbows up! 🤝 The National Hockey League has renewed its broadcast rights deal for hockey in Canada with Rogers Communications for another 12 years as part of an $7.7b agreement. In 2013, Rogers signed an initial landmark $4.94b deal to secure the exclusive English-language rights to TV hockey on all platforms for 12 years. In the latest deal, Rogers secured a second 12-year agreement for the national media rights to NHL games on all platforms in Canada, this time to run to the 2037-38 season. The new agreement will start in 2026-27, after the current 12-year deal ends. The story.
—🤝 Done and done 🤝 News Corp has completed the sale of Australian media company Foxtel Group to DAZN Group. News Corp and Aussie telecom giant Telstra had struck the deal with the sports streaming platform late last year. The transaction is worth about $2.1b. The completion of the deal follows DAZN receiving approval for the acquisition from the Foreign Investment Review Board, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and other regulatory authorities. With the completion, shareholder loans were repaid to News Corp, and News Corp received a 6 roughly percent stake in DAZN. The story.
—Taking his khakis elsewhere. One of MSNBC's election night stalwarts is jumping ship to NBC News, as Comcast’s “SpinCo” effort continues to shake up the talent rosters of the news channels in its portfolio. An NBC News spokesperson confirms that Steve Kornacki, MSNBC’s data guru and an election night regular at the cable news channel’s “big board,” has inked a new deal that will see him exit MSNBC to focus on NBC News and NBC Sports programming as a contributor. Kornacki is expected to become a regular presence on Meet the Press (where he already appears with some frequency) as well as NBC Nightly News and Today, as well as on the NBC News Now streaming service. The story. |
TV Review: 'Your Friends & Neighbors' ►"This crime series — think 'Break In? Bad!' — feels like a Peak TV throwback." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews Apple TV+'s Your Friends & Neighbors. Already renewed for a second season, the Jonathan Tropper-created series follows a hedge fund manager who turns to larceny after losing his job. Starring Jon Hamm, Amanda Peet, Olivia Munn, Hoon Lee, Mark Tallman, Lena Hall, Aimee Carrero, Eunice Bae, Isabel Gravitt and Donovan Colan. The review.
—"Fun when the gore's flying, iffy when it's not." THR's Angie Han reviews Amazon Prime Video's The Bondsman. Produced by Blumhouse Television, the half-hour horror dramedy series follows a Georgia bounty hunter (Kevin Bacon) who is murdered and then brought back to life with a new job: capturing escaped demons. The review.
In other news...
—TV premiere dates 2025: The complete guide
—Alan Cumming to host 2025 Clio Awards
—Javier Pons named chief content officer, head of Telemundo Studios
—Armin van Buuren’s Armada Music teams with Peloton for DJ residency
—Wet Leg announce Moisturizer, first album in three years
What else we're reading...
—Miles Bryan and Sean Rameswaram talk to leftist streamer Hasan Piker about why so many American boys are right wing [Vox]
—Peter Bradshaw asks why none of the actors cast in Sam Mendes' Beatles biopics are from Liverpool, but he has a cheeky few suggestions for the Beatles Cinematic Universe [Guardian]
—It just keeps getting dumber: John Hudson reports that Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz and his staff used Gmail for government communications [WaPo]
—After Tuesday's poor electoral performances, Irie Sentner reports that Republicans see "warning signs" for the midterms [Politico]
—Derrick Bryson Taylor explains why Morgan Wallen's abrupt exit from Saturday Night Live has become the talk of the internet [NYT]
Today...
...in 1978, CBS premiered its primetime soap opera Dallas, which would go on to run for fourteen seasons at the network. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Pedro Pascal (50), Jesse Plemons (37), Michael Fassbender (48), Christopher Meloni (64), Emma Myers (23), Clark Gregg (63), Linda Hunt (80), Simon Farnaby (52), Ajay Devgn (56), Adam Shulman (44), Adam F. Goldberg (49), David Frankel (66), Bobby Schofield (32), Roselyn Sanchez (52), Jaime Ray Newman (47), Bethany Joy Lenz (44), Lindy Booth (46), Adam Rodriguez (50), Pamela Reed (76), Shawn Roberts (41), David Rysdahl (38), Renée Estevez (58), Briga Heelan (38), Ceci Balagot (24), Drew Van Acker (39), Mayan Lopez (29), Jana Marie Hupp (61), Markian Tarasiuk (32), Roshan Seth (83), Donald Petrie (71), Jamison Newlander (55) |
| Patty Maloney, the 3-foot-11 actress who played the alien Honk on the Sid & Marty Krofft family show Far Out Space Nuts and Chewbacca’s son, Lumpy, on the long-lamented Star Wars Holiday Special, has died. She was 89. The obituary. |
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