| | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover stars are Priscilla collaborators Priscilla Presley and Sofia Coppola. Max has renewed And Just Like That for a third season. Idina Menzel has parted ways with Scooter Braun. Another Fyre Festival is supposedly happening. North America's summer box office revenue could hit $4b. — Abid Rahman
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Priscilla Presley on Trusting Sofia Coppola to Tell Her Story ►On the cover. In a year marked by personal tragedy and estate drama, Priscilla Presley, Elvis’ famously private ex-wife, debuts Priscilla, a portrait of her tumultuous marriage directed by fellow showbiz royal Sofia Coppola. Ahead of the A24 film's premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 4, THR's Rebecca Keegan spoke to Presley and Coppola about the collaboration that will offer a rare look at Elvis and Priscilla's story from the latter's point of view. The cover story. |
Studios Reveal New Proposal On Data, AI and Residuals ►"Our priority is to end the strike." The AMPTP has detailed its Aug. 11 proposal to the WGA on the heels of a meeting between guild leadership and Hollywood CEOs. THR's Katie Kilkenny reports that the studios are proposing to ban written material produced by generative AI from being considered “literary material” in the contract and to provide quarterly reports to the union detailing SVOD view hours per streaming project. The document detailing these and other proposals was released after a meeting occurred between top CEOs and guild leadership on Tuesday night. The story.
—"It is their only strategy — to bet that we will turn on each other." After the studios released its Aug. 11 proposals package, the WGA shot back late Tuesday, telling its members that the offer “failed to sufficiently protect writers” and accused the AMPTP of leading an effort “not to bargain, but to jam us.” The story.
—"Enough to low wages that don’t keep up with inflation. Enough to unsafe work conditions. Enough to dehumanizing technology. Enough to de-valuing our work." THR's Lesley Goldberg reports that more than 1,000 union members of the WGA, SAG-AFTRA and other guilds gathered at Disney in Burbank on Tuesday, in a show of force designed to “protect all workers.” Among the speakers were Kerry Washington, Martin Sheen and Ron Perlman as well as such labor leaders as Lindsay Dougherty, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and Joely Fisher. The story.
—Anonymous strike diary. THR's series of frank accounts of the writers strike continues. The Eastside Warrior returns, and explains why studios should want to agree to room-size minimums: "Many brains made for better product." And, crucially, cheaper product. The diary entry. |
Why Streamers Are Pushing Subs to Ad Tiers ►"Consumers don’t just tolerate advertising in video content — in most cases, they actually see benefits from it." THR's Alex Weprin writes that with better margins on advertising-supported offerings, Disney, Netflix, Paramount, NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery increasingly find themselves incentivized to push subscribers to the ad tier plans, be they new subs, existing subs, or those caught in password-sharing crackdowns. The analysis.
—Let her go. Idina Menzel is no longer being managed by Scooter Braun. A source close to the Tony-winning star tells THR's Mesfin Fekadu that Menzel parted ways with the talent manager in January. 2023 has been rough for Braun, with Demi Lovato and J Balvin ending their relationship with him and a report that Justin Bieber and rumors that Ariana Grande have left or are considering leaving his stable of artists. The story.
—Rushed off stage. Drew Barrymore was escorted off the stage during a special event on Monday night in New York following a crowd disruption. Barrymore appeared at the 92nd Street Y as part of the Recanati-Kaplan Talks series. Just a few minutes into the talk, a man in the crowd interrupted the event, briskly walking down the aisle toward the stage after shouting Barrymore’s name. Venue security then escorted the man out. The story.
—Fool me once. Years after the disastrous 2017 Fyre Festival, convicted conman Billy McFarland has revealed that Fyre Festival II is in the works. McFarland said in a video posted on social media that the festival would be “coming back to the Caribbean” with a target date at the end of 2024. On Tuesday, McFarland said that presale tickets had sold out. According to the festival’s website, ticket prices range from $499 to $7,999. Specific locations, dates and lineup have yet to be revealed. No word yet on Ja Rule's involvement. The story.
—"I don’t put everybody in the Harvey Weinstein basket." Jennifer Aniston says she is "so over cancel culture." In a new interview, The Morning Show star said she wasn't really sure what cancel culture means, and wondered if it meant there was no hope of redemption for people who had been canceled. Aniston added that she refuses to hold people who make mistakes in the same regard as convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein. The story. |
First Look: 'Frasier' Revived After 19 Years ►He's back. Kelsey Grammer is returning to his iconic comedy role as Frasier Crane after 19 years. Paramount+ has released first-look images from its revival of the sitcom Frasier along with a premiere date: Thursday, Oct. 12. The scheduling move puts the streaming series right in the middle of the traditional broadcast network fall-season rollout, and back on a night where it was part of NBC’s Must-See TV lineup for several seasons of its original run. The story.
—Also coming back. Max has picked up a third season of Sex and the City sequel series And Just Like That. The renewal comes just ahead of the show’s second-season finale, which is set for Aug. 24 and will feature a buzzed-about cameo from the fourth member of the core SATC cast, Kim Cattrall. Work on season three won’t begin until after the resolution of the writers and actors strikes. The story.
—40 years on. Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson is set to adapt Liv Ullmann's 2000 feature Faithless as a limited TV series. The six-part drama, written by Sara Johnsen, will explore the tale of love and adultery told in the original film. Lena Endre will reprise her role as Marianne for the series with Jesper Christensen playing the older David Howard. The story.
—From the Hawley Arms to the World's End. Disney+ will put the spotlight on music stars Dua Lipa, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Mark Ronson, Little Simz, Boy George and the Black Eyed Peas in Asif Kapadia's upcoming documentary series Camden. The show will also feature Pete Doherty, Questlove, Little Nile Rodgers, Yungblud, Jazzie B, Bob Vylan, Chuck D and Sister Bliss among its lineup of musicians whose careers and lives have been changed forever by London’s Camden neighborhood. The story. |
Summer Box Office Revenue Could Hit $4B in North America ►Barbenheimer to the rescue. The mood across Hollywood was glum in mid-July after a number of high-profile tentpoles underperformed at the domestic box office, led by DC flameout The Flash. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that movie ticket sales for the season were running 7 percent behind last summer until Barbie and Oppenheimer came along. Now, domestic revenue is up by nearly 17 percent in an impressive turnaround. The analysis.
—Fair is fowl, fowl is fair. Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the long-awaited sequel to Aardman’s 2000 smash hit Chicken Run is set to get its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival. The Netflix film, still the most successful stop-motion animated feature of all time, will bow on Oct. 14 at London’s Royal Festival Hall, with simultaneous preview screenings at sites around the U.K. The story.
—Turmoil. THR's Carolyn Giardina has the scoop on the National Association of Theatre Owners losing another team member following Friday’s exit of exec vp and general counsel Jackie Brenneman, who sources say was ousted. Carolyn reports that Jerry Pierce, who has served as NATO’s technical advisor since 2012, resigned in protest on Monday. The story.
—New proposal. Microsoft has proposed divesting from Activision Blizzard’s cloud streaming rights in a bid to secure approval of the $69b deal from U.K. competition regulators. Under the agreement, Microsoft will not be able to exclusively release popular Activision titles like Call of Duty, Diablo or Overwatch on Xbox cloud gaming or control the terms of licensing to rival services. Instead, Ubisoft will acquire the rights to the company’s existing and future games for the next 15 years. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 The Weather Company has found new ownership in private equity. IBM, which has owned the digital products of The Weather Channel and brands like Weather Underground since 2016, has sold the assets to investment firm Francisco Partners, the companies said Tuesday. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed. The deal is expected to close early next year. The story. |
TV Review: 'Ahsoka' ►"Blandly entertaining." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Disney+'s Ahsoka. Rosario Dawson is joined by Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and the late Ray Stevenson in this Star Wars show about the titular former Jedi. The review.
—"High-concept, low-impact." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Nimrod Antal's Retribution. Liam Neeson plays a businessman who's informed that his car is rigged with bombs that will explode if he or his kids attempt to get out. The review.
—"In sync with a maestro's musical essence." THR's Sheri Linden reviews Amazon Prime Video's Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity. The three-part portrait explores the life and music of the revered and influential saxophonist Wayne Shorter, who died in March. The review.
In other news...
—Rebel Moon trailer brings Zack Snyder’s space opera into focus
—Gael García Bernal wants to be taken seriously as a luchador in Cassandro trailer
—Liz Hurley-starring supernatural thriller Piper gets first trailer
—Streamy Awards: Dylan Mulvaney, Druski and xQc among presenters
—VFX vet Tim McGovern to receive Visual Effects Society Founders Award
—Andy Lau, Carolina Markowicz, Lukasz Zal to receive Toronto Film Fest awards
—Culinary talent Eitan Bernath signs with Range Media
—Serena Williams gives birth to second child
—Garth Craven, film editor for Sam Peckinpah, dies at 84
—Phil Lind, Canadian cable pioneer, dies at 80
What else we're reading...
—Emily Stewart reports on the non-actor and writer workers in and outside of Hollywood that are being hit by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes [Vox]
—Nabila Ahmed, Adam Haigh, Ainsley Thomson and Ellie Harmsworth report that deepfake AI imposter scams are driving a new wave of fraud online [Bloomberg]
—Cat Cardenas writes that the rather good Blue Beetle offers a different kind of cure for superhero fatigue [Slate]
—In light of the recent climate chaos, a rather chilling excerpt from Rosanna Xia's book reimagines California's coastline in the age of rising sea levels [LAT]
—David Gilbert looks into the background of the man who shot and killed store owner Laura Ann Carleton for flying a pride flag, and finds that he was a far-right conspiracist [Vice]
Today...
...in 1985, Michael J. Fox’s Teen Wolf took the court, going on to gross $33m in late summer and becoming a film and TV franchise. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Park Chan-wook (60), Shelley Long (74), Barbara Eden (92), Alexandre Desplat (62), Lexi Alexander (49), Trixie Mattel (34), Joanne Froggatt (43), Ray Park (49), Scott Caan (47), Ruta Gedmintas (40), Andrew Rannells (45), Rick Springfield (74), Joey Cramer (50), Annie Ilonzeh (40), Tony Bill (83), Clare Grant (44), Kim Matula (35), Nic Novicki (41), Jake Manley (32), David Robb (76), Jaime Lee Kirchner (42), Charley Boorman (57), Erin Foster (41), Vaani Kapoor (35) |
| David Jacobs, the writer and producer who changed the face of television in the 1980s by creating the primetime soap operas Dallas and Knots Landing, has died. He was 84. The obituary. |
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