| | | | | | What's news: Smokey Robinson has denied sexually assaulting four women. The latest trailer to GTA6 received over 475m views in one day. The DOJ and FTC will investigate the concert and ticketing industries. Fox has renewed Animal Control and Going Dutch. CBS has ordered Yellowstone spinoff Y: Marshals. — Abid Rahman
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The Hollywood CEO Pay Mega Chart Revealed ►One hefty payout. THR's business editor Georg Szalai reports that the top-paid Hollywood executive of the past year is one who isn’t around any longer and actually left the entertainment industry scene more than a year ago. With his severance package alone worth $69.3m, more than the total pay packages disclosed for any other industry player, Bob Bakish, the former CEO of Paramount Global, was catapulted to the top of the annual compensation list. The three co-CEOs who succeeded him — aka “The Office of the CEO,” Chris McCarthy, George Cheeks and Brian Robbins — all received packages in the $20m range. The Paramount trio all made about as much combined as Ted Sarandos. The Netflix co-chief received the biggest compensation among still active industry top executives, closely followed by his co-CEO Greg Peters. The list.
—"Ugly method of trying to extract money." Smokey Robinson has denied the “vile, false” allegations of sexual assault after four women filed a lawsuit against the Motown singer on Tuesday. In a statement shared with THR , Robinson’s lawyer, Christopher Frost, affirmed that he was “responding on behalf of our clients Smokey and Frances Robinson,” adding that “the evidence will show that this is simply an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year-old American icon — $50 million dollars, to be exact.” According to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on May 6, four anonymous women accused Robinson of raping them, with the causes of action including negligence, sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment and a hostile work environment, among other allegations including failure to pay them minimum page. The story.
—Sentenced. David Ozer, president of Strong Studios, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for defrauding investors in TV productions. Ozer, who remains free on $25,000 bond, was charged in two separate criminal cases. He’s pleaded guilty in both to two counts of wire fraud. Over a one-year period starting in February 2023, federal prosecutors alleged that Ozer embezzled over $210,000 meant for Safehaven, an upcoming supernatural thriller backed by Ravenwood Productions. To create the impression that the funds were spent on legitimate production costs, he created fraudulent accounting records, including falsified invoices, and forged a letter from his accountant. The story.
—"Stalking is a crime that can quickly escalate from harassment to dangerous, violent actions." A Mississippi man has been charged after crashing his vehicle through the front gate of Jennifer Aniston’s Bel-Air home on Monday. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman charged Jimmy Wayne Carwyle with one count each of felony stalking and felony vandalism. He also faces an aggravating circumstance of the threat of great bodily harm. Carwyle is accused of repeatedly harassing the Emmy-winning actress between March 1, 2023, and May 5, 2025, sending her unwanted social media messages, voicemails and emails, according to the district attorney’s office. The story. |
Who's Going to Halt Hollywood's Production Exodus — and How? ►Chaos and confusion. Donald Trump’s intention to impose a “100 percent tariff” on movies produced abroad jolted advocates who have been working for months to return more film and television production to California. THR's Katie Kilkenny reports that between the Stay in LA coalition, the Hollywood guilds, the state legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom, production insiders thought they knew the players and what their positions were. But, as the White House and Trump ambassador Jon Voight took a stab at offering up a plan, studio chiefs are mostly staying silent (publicly) while union leaders’ considered statements have signaled guilds are keeping their options open. The story.
—All on California. At the Milken Institute Global Conference, a panel of four film and TV executives (and one television writer) were asked about Trump’s foreign-film tariff plan. The consensus answer from the group that included Amazon Prime Video's Mike Hopkins, Sony's Ravi Ahuja, NBCUniversal's Pearlena Igbokwe and HBO's Casey Bloys, was a bit of a swerve. “It’s a big issue, obviously,” Ahuja said. “In terms of production leaving here, it’s almost more a California issue, honestly, than a U.S. issue. So, while it’s true a lot of production has left the United States, it’s even worse for California, and there are a lot of people — including our companies — that are working on this with the state government and trying to come up with different bills that will help.” The story.
—"It will only embolden him to shakedown, extort and silence." Opposition to CBS News parent Paramount potentially opting to settle a $20b lawsuit from Donald Trump is growing, with Sen. Bernie Sanders warning the network that doing so will embolden the government to continue targeting the press. In the letter sent to controlling shareholder Shari Redstone on Tuesday, Sanders nods to chatter that Paramount may reach a deal to resolve the case for up to $75m. “Rewarding Trump with tens of millions of dollars for filing this bogus lawsuit will not cause him to back down on his war against the media and a free press,” the senator writes. “It will only embolden him to shakedown, extort and silence CBS and other media outlets that have the courage to report about issues that Trump may not like.” The story.
—Not great. A Hollywood box office slowdown led AMC Entertainment Holdings to post sharply lower first quarter revenue and a quarterly loss in the first quarter of 2025. The parent of AMC Theatres recorded revenue of $862.5m for the three months to March 31, which is down 9 percent from a year-earlier revenue line at $951.4m. The mega-exhibitor also widened its first quarter loss to $202.1m, down nearly 36 percent from a year-earlier loss of $163.5m. AMC Theatres had a tough comparison with the first quarter of 2024, when Dune: Part 2 and Kung Fu Panda 4 played on its screens. During the latest financial quarter, tentpoles like Disney’s Snow White failing to perform well left it to Christmas holdovers like Moana 2 and Wicked to drive recent box office. The results.
—🤝 Ad sales deal 🤝 When NBCUniversal holds its upfront presentation next week at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, it will have a new offering to sell: Versant, the forthcoming spinoff of cable TV brands that includes USA, CNBC, MSNBC, Syfy and E!. The company on Wednesday said that NBCU and Versant had signed a two-year deal that will see the media giant continue to sell advertising for the spinoff under its One Platform banner. The deal covers the next two upfront cycles, with NBCU ad sales chief Mark Marshall leading sales for the combined entities. The story. |
'GTA6' Trailer Smashes Past 475M Views in First Day ►Wowza! The next installment in the Grand Theft Auto franchise might be pushed until 2026, but gamers are eating up every morsel of detail that developer Rockstar Games is releasing to the public. Case in point: Rockstar released the second trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI on Tuesday, and the company tells THR that it has received over 475m views across platforms. For comparison, the first trailer for the game, which was released all the way back in 2023, saw a relatively modest 93m views in the same window (that trailer was a YouTube exclusive, and the biggest non-music video launch at the time on the platform). The company claims that the trailer release is the biggest video launch of all time. In the film space, the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer debuted to 365m views in its first 24 hours, while The Fantastic Four: First Steps debuted to more than 200m. Additionally, Spotify says that the song featured in the trailer, "Hot Together" by The Pointer Sisters, increased its streams by 182,000 percent. The story.
—Probe begins. The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission announced a public inquiry into the concert and ticketing industries on Wednesday, calling on the public and industry stakeholders to submit comments detailing issues they face in the business, and what they think should be done about it. The move comes a month after President Trump — with Kid Rock beside him — signed an executive order on March 31 aimed at the live music business. Along with calling for increased enforcement to crack down on ticket scalper bots, the president also called on the DOJ and FTC to submit a report within the next six months detailing recommendations for potential remedies. The story.
—🏆 K-Dot's year 🏆 BET has revealed its nominees for the 25th annual BET Awards, and competition is stiff among rappers. Kendrick Lamar sits in the lead with 10 nominations, though close behind are fellow hip-hop artists Doechii, Future, GloRilla and Lamar’s lyrical nemesis Drake, with six nominations each. Lamar received a nomination for album of the year for GNX and video of the year for “Not Like Us,” as well as three viewer’s choice award nods for “Not Like Us,” “Luther,” featuring SZA, and “Like That” with Future & Metro Boomin, and an additional three noms for best collaboration for “Like That,” “30 for 30” and “Luther.” His final two nominations come in the categories of video director of the year with Dave Free and best male hip hop artist. The nominations. |
Hugh Laurie to Topline Apple's 'The Wanted Man' ►🎭 House arrest 🎭 Hugh Laurie will star in a crime thriller called The Wanted Man for Apple TV+. The eight-episode series comes from Hijack and Lupin creator and showrunner George Kay and his Observatory Pictures, which is co-producing with All3Media’s New Pictures. Thandiwe Newton also stars, along with Fionn Whitehead, Gina McKee, Hazel Doupe, Elliott Heffernan and Stephen Dillane. The Wanted Man centers on Felix Carmichael (Laurie), the head of a London crime syndicate called The Capital. The previously untouchable Felix is finally captured, but while being held in prison, he discovers that he was betrayed by someone close to him. As the traitor moves to dismantle his empire, Felix risks a daring escape in order to exact revenge, making him a wanted man once more. The story.
—Sticking around. Fox is keeping the live-action comedy lights on for 2025-26. The network has renewed Animal Control and Going Dutch — the only two live-action comedies currently on its schedule — for next season. The pickups will mean a fourth season of Animal Control, starring Joel McHale, and a second for the Denis Leary-led Going Dutch. The two series join long-running animated shows American Dad, Bob’s Burgers, Family Guy and The Simpsons — all of which got massive four-season orders in April — along with Krapopolis and Universal Basic Guys on Fox’s comedy slate for 2025-26. The story.
—One and done. As the May upfronts loom, Fox has cancelled the Hawaii-set lifeguard drama Rescue: HI-Surf after one season. The freshman drama followed a group of heavy-water lifeguards along the north shore of Oahu and came from John Wells and writer Matt Kester. Warner Bros. Television, Wells’ long-time studio home, produced the series along with Fox Entertainment. In 2023, Fox gave a straight-to-series order to Rescue: HI-Surf for its 2023-24 lineup, with Wells to executive produce and direct the first two episodes. The series starred Zoe Cipres, Kekoa Kekumano, Arielle Kebbel, Robbie Magasiva, Adam Demos and Alex Aiono. The story.
—Coming out strong. Bravo is expanding its programming slate with a slew of new titles, including a Wife Swap edition of its ever popular Real Housewives franchise. Just in time for NBCU upfronts on May 12, the network, too, ordered a brand-new Rhode Island-based Real Housewives series and a spin-off of its new show The Valley. Additionally, Bravo announced Tuesday that it’s bringing back Ladies of London, which previously ran for three seasons and was shut down in 2017. The story. |
'Yellowstone'-verse Expands With CBS' 'Marshals' Spinoff ►Unstoppable. The world of Yellowstone is getting a new outpost — and a new network. CBS has ordered a spinoff of the hit western as part of its 2025-26 slate. Currently, titled Y: Marshals (with the “Y” standing for Yellowstone, naturally), the show will star Luke Grimes, who will reprise his role as Kayce Dutton from the flagship series as he joins an “elite unit of U.S. Marshals, combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana,” per the show’s logline. It’s set to premiere in spring 2026 and is one of seven new series the network will roll out next season. Spencer Hudnut will be the showrunner on Marshals , executive producing with Taylor Sheridan, John Linson, Art Linson, Grimes, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin and Bob Yari. As with all the Yellowstone-verse series, the show comes from MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios. The story.
—Together again. Peacock is staging a Parks and Recreation reunion of sorts — though it will be set far from Pawnee. Amy Poehler and Mike Schur are reteaming for the first time since their NBC show ended in 2015 on a comedy called Dig, which Peacock has ordered to series. Poehler is set to star and executive produce alongside Schur and J.J. Philbin; all three will serve as writers on the show. Dig, from Universal Television (where both Schur and Poehler have overall deals), is based on the novel Excavations by Kate Myers. The logline reads, “Four women working at an archeological dig in Greece are at wildly different crossroads in their lives. When the team uncovers a long-buried secret with the potential to rewrite history, they find themselves at the center of a high-stakes international conspiracy.” The story.
—🎭 Second star found. 🎭 Sonequa Martin-Green will play a lead role in CBS' Blue Bloods spinoff Boston Blue opposite Donnie Wahlberg, who is reprising his role as Danny Reagan from the long-running series that ended in December 2024. Martin-Green will play Lena Silver, a Boston police detective who becomes Danny’s partner as he moves to a new city. Like Danny, Lena is the eldest child in a prominent law enforcement family. CBS placed a straight-to-series order for Boston Blue in February, calling it a “universe extension” of Blue Bloods. The story.
—Broadcast holding its own. With streaming now the platform of choice for the largest share of TV viewers in the U.S., it would seem logical that a streaming show would top the ratings rather than a traditional network show. As it turns out, that’s correct: Netflix’s Squid Game is, by a sizable margin, the most-watched series of the 2024-25 season. But in Nielsen’s multiplatform ratings, which measure viewing over five weeks and across all outlets, a number of broadcast series are still commanding large audiences. Of the top 20 shows through March 15 (the most recent date for which the 35-day ratings are complete), eight originate on broadcast networks — six from CBS and two from ABC. All of them average at least 11.5m viewers per episode across their network showings and streaming over five weeks. CBS’ Tracker is the top network show and fourth overall with 17.6m viewers via CBS and Paramount+. The ratings. |
Shia LaBeouf and David Mamet Just Might Save Each Other ►"I wrote him a fan letter. I’ve been chasing him for 10 years." Shia LaBeouf and David Mamet, two legendary Hollywood outcasts, open up to THR's Seth Abramovitch about joining forces for Henry Johnson — a film so indie, they're distributing it themselves — and somehow winding up with some of the best work of their careers. The interview.
—Fab 3. Sam Mendes' four biopics about The Beatles have found their writers. Spectre scribe Jez Butterworth, Conclave writer Peter Straughan and Adolescence's Jack Thorne will pen the screenplays for the films that are set to be interconnected narratives, one from each band member’s point of view. As previously announced, Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon, Joseph Quinn has been cast as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan will portray Ringo Starr. All four Beatles films are set for theatrical release in April 2028. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 THR's Borys Kit has the scoop that, in a pre-emptive purchase, 20th Century Studios has muscled in on the rights to Ripped, a short story by Joe Ballarini for an adaptation to be produced by Seven Bucks and 12:01 Films. Seven Bucks’ Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson, and Hiram Garcia, as well as 12:01’s Scott Glassgold are producing a potential feature. While Johnson is not currently attached to star in Ripped , there does seem to be a character for which he could go beast mode. The logline concerns an insecure man who, in anticipation of his wedding day, enters a hardcore underground training facility led by a magnetic fitness guru, who commands cult like devotion with the promise of peak performance at any cost. The story.
—🏆 Congratulazioni! 🏆 Maura Delpero’s Italian WW2 drama Vermiglio won best film at the 70th David Di Donatello awards, Italy’s version of the Oscars, held at Rome’s historic Cinecittà film studio on Wednesday night. Delpero also took best directing honors en route to a 7-trophy sweep. Vermiglio beat out the two award frontrunners, Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope and Andrea Segre’s The Great Ambition, which lead the pack going into the David awards with 15 nominations each. Parthenope went away empty-handed, but The Great Ambition took two awards: Best actor for Elio Germano and best editing for Jacopo Quadri. The winners. |
TV Review: 'Poker Face' S2 ►"No dud episodes, but no triumphs either." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews season two of Peacock's Poker Face. Human Lie Detector Charlie Cale is back, with guest stars including Kumail Nanjiani, Cynthia Erivo, Katie Holmes and John Mulaney. The review.
—"An update on an old favorite that stands on its own." THR's Angie Han reviews Netflix's Forever. Creator Mara Brock Akil's take on Judy Blume’s's 1975 YA classic moves the action to 2018 Los Angeles, following two Black teens as they navigate the ups and downs of first love. Starring Lovie Simone, Michael Cooper Jr., Karen Pittman, Wood Harris, Xosha Roquemore and Barry Shabaka Henley. The review.
—"Killers on a plane." THR's Frank Scheck reviews James Madigan's Fight or Flight. Josh Hartnett continues his recent winning streak, playing a government agent finds himself battling dozens of hired killers while looking for a cyber-terrorist on a packed airplane. Also starring Charithra Chandran, Katee Sackhoff, Julian Kostov, Marko Zaror, Juju Chan Szeto, Danny Ashok and Hughie O’Donnell. The review.
In other news...
—Stephen King's The Long Walk comes to life with tense trailer
—Sydney Sweeney, Julianne Moore try to hide dead body in Apple’s Echo Valley trailer
—Ginny & Georgia S3 trailer questions if Brianne Howey and Antonia Gentry are really "in this together, ride or die"
—Owen Wilson is a golfer who can no longer hack it in Apple’s Stick trailer
—Sony's Pixomondo to open new volume stage In Vancouver
—3 Doors Down singer Brad Arnold reveals Stage 4 kidney cancer diagnosis
—Paul Nichols, longtime TV publicist, dies at 76
What else we're reading...
—Joshua Rivera has found one glaring problem with Seth Rogen’s hit Apple TV+ comedy The Studio [Slate]
—Joanna Stern digs into Apple's future, and whether it's slow start with AI will cause an existential crisis [WSJ]
—Rohan Goswami reports that activists are coming for IAC media mogul Barry Diller [Semafor]
—Incredibly grim James D. Walsh story about how ChatGPT has made cheating in college so pervasive that it is becoming an existential threat to higher education [Intelligencer]
—Another AI horror story: Cy Neff reports that an AI recreation of a dead Arizona road rage victim was used to address the killer in court [Guardian]
Today...
...in 1998, Paramount unveiled disaster film Deep Impact, featuring a cast that included Téa Leoni, Robert Duvall and Morgan Freeman. The film went on to gross $140m stateside. The original review.
Today's birthdays: David Attenborough (99), Michel Gondry (62), Brian Tyler (53), Enrique Iglesias (50), Stephen Amell (44), Raoul Max Trujillo (70), Román Zaragoza (29), Melissa Gilbert (61), Kim Seon-ho (39), Matthew Davis (47), Jodhi May (50), Christina Cole (43), Laura Spencer (39), David Keith (71), Aneurin Barnard (🏴38), Vicky McClure (42), Martin Compston (41), Elyes Gabel (42), Josie Maran (47), Ariane Labed (41), Corey Mylchreest (27), Zach Tinker (31), Abby Trott (39), Ayesha Antoine (44), Marissa Neitling (41), Olivia Culpo (33), Jeff Wincott (69), Nikki Roumel (25), Ana Mulvoy Ten (33), Elizabeth Whitmere (44) |
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