| | | | What's news: The Venice Film Festival officially kicked off today. Incoming CNN CEO, Mark Thompson will run the business and editorial side of the company. Disney has been hit with another lawsuit over Disney+'s costs. The five late night hosts are starting a podcast to help staffers impacted by the strike. Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is getting a worldwide theatrical run. — Abid Rahman
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THR at Venice 2023 ►Ciao! Here is all the latest from THR's intrepid team of reporters and critics on the ground in Italy as the 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival gets underway. The day 1 digital daily.
—Plenty of potential bargains. With no formal market, THR's Scott Roxborough runs through the standout films that will tempt buyers in Venice. A mainstream action comedy from Richard Linklater, a bit of extreme art-house starring Travis Scott, and the last film from the late William Friedkin are among the titles on offer on the Lido this year. The hot list.
—"People need to be remunerated for each piece of art that is made." The writers and actors strikes in Hollywood were always going to play a major part in Venice. But few would have anticipated them showing up in the very first question in the first press conference. THR's Alex Ritman reports that at the media meet for the jury heads ahead of the opening night on Wednesday, Damien Chazelle — who chairs the main jury — showed up wearing a t-shirt in support of the WGA strike, as did his fellow jury members Martin McDonagh and Laura Poitras. The story.
—"Cruise and Kidman were crying on opening night." THR Roma's Concita De Gregorio spoke to Venice boss Alberto Barbera about his 15 years running the festival. Barbera shares his memories including comforting Lady Gaga, a tearful Tom Cruise and the “crazy strokes of luck” that landed him the Lido gig. The interview. |
How Should the Media Cover Venice's Problematic Men? ►"Just having these men at these festivals feels like a celebration of perpetrators." The Venice Film Festival is screening new films from Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, and Luc Besson, all of whom have been dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct. Scott Roxborough writes that for journalists, it raises the tricky question of how to report on directors accused of sexual predation — or whether to do it at all. The story.
—Water works. Can tears at a festival premiere boost an awards campaign? Alex Ritman writes that the video of Brendan Fraser crying during the standing ovation for The Whale in Venice is acknowledged to have achieved more than any piece of marketing, but also appeared to spark a renewed media interest in festival tears. The story.
—What the strike means for indie film sales in Venice. New conditions placed on film sales for movies that received SAG-AFTRA waivers to attend and promote at the fall fests mean the markets’ biggest buyers may be sitting things out this season. The analysis.
More from Venice...
—Venice flashback: Gina Lollobrigida always made waves at the festival
—Venice hidden gem: Michael Pitt seeks redemption in the ring in Day of the Fight
—Venice rising star: Finally Dawn newcomer Rebecca Antonaci
—Venice according to supermodel Elisa Sednaoui
—German actor Franz Rogowski on Lubo, imposter syndrome and his time spent in clown school |
Mark Thompson Set to Be CNN's Next CEO ►Safe pair of hands. Mark Thompson, the former chief executive of The New York Times, is taking over CNN. Thompson helped turn around the Times after he took over in 2012, helping it adapt to a rapidly changing digital media environment. He stepped down from his role at the Times in 2020. But he is a TV exec by trade, having previously served as the director general of the BBC, and before that the CEO of Channel 4 in the U.K. The story.
—"There isn’t a more experienced, respected or capable executive in the news business today than Mark." Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav formally announced Mark Thompson’s hiring Wednesday, naming him chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, beginning Oct. 9. Thompson will oversee CNN’s business, strategy and operations, and will also “act as editor-in-chief, ultimately responsible for all CNN content,” per the company. The story.
—"Cost-shifting scheme." Disney has been hit with another lawsuit alleging it misled investors about the success of Disney+ by concealing the true costs of operating the platform. THR's Winston Cho reports the suit takes aim at former CEO Bob Chapek's lofty subscriber growth and profitability targets for Disney+. The entertainment giant faces a host of litigation dealing with efforts to boost subscriptions for its streaming service. The story.
—Dismissed. Universal will not have to face a lawsuit accusing the studio of tricking people into watching Danny Boyle's Yesterday by featuring Ana de Armas in trailers, though she didn’t actually appear in the movie. U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson found on Monday that plaintiffs can’t pursue the proposed class action because they didn’t rely on alleged misrepresentations from the studio when making the decision to watch the film. The story.
—Suit filed. A former collaborator of Antoine Fuqua is suing the director for refusing to pay or credit him for his alleged work as a consultant on The Equalizer 3. In a complaint filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Paul Lozada says he provided the production with a “treasure trove of information” about European organized crime, weapons and fight choreography to heighten the film’s authenticity. Fuqua allegedly told Lozada that he’d have a position on the movie but never followed through. The story. |
Hosts Unite for Podcast Benefiting Strike-Impacted Staff ►Lovely gesture. With the dual strikes continuing to silence their late night shows, the five hosts — Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Seth Meyers — will test out another medium. The quintet will release a limited Spotify podcast, aptly titled Strike Force Five. The arrangement is said to call for at least 12 episodes, which will begin rolling out Aug. 30. Each episode will have all five of its hosts participating. All proceeds will be given to the out-of-work staff from their respective shows. The story.
—"You are dehumanizing the workforce." Several Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul castmembers came together on the picket line Tuesday to support fellow striking actors and writers. While speaking with THR, Bryan Cranston, who played Walter White on the hit series, said he just wants to see an “equitable contract” so that actors can make a living while working in the industry. The story.
—Going worldwide! Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is doubling down on its nationwide release date. Apple Original Films, in partnership with Paramount, has set a wide global theatrical release date of Oct. 20 for the historical epic, nixing the previously planned limited theatrical release on Oct. 6 before going wide. Killers, which will stream on Apple TV+ following its theatrical run, will also be released in Imax. The story.
—Some transparency at last. Disney+ is breaking with its usual practice to share some (strong) viewing numbers for the premiere of its latest Star Wars series, Ahsoka. According to the streamer, the first episode of the series has racked up 14m views worldwide in the five days after its Aug. 23 debut. Disney+ is using the same methodology for counting a “view” that Netflix has employed for the past couple of months — dividing the total viewing time by the run time for a given title. The story.
—Achievement unlocked. Taylor Swift has become the first female artist in Spotify history to reach 100m monthly listeners. Swift now trails behind The Weeknd, who became the first artist on Spotify to reach 100m monthly listeners in February. The story. |
'Suits' Boss on Series' Origins, Meghan Line Nixed by Royals ►"I will say, and I think Harry put this in the book, because I heard people talking about it — [the royal family] weighed in on some stuff." In the second part of a two-part interview conducted in accordance with a WGA ruling, THR's Lacey Rose spoke to Suits creator Aaron Korsh about the resurgence of a show that he initially envisioned as Entourage for Wall Street. Korsh also reveals the piece of dialogue written for Meghan Markle's character Rachel Zane that the royal family had removed from a script. Poppycock! The interview.
—"I am alive and well." Josh Seiter, a former contestant on ABC’s The Bachelorette, says a recent message on his Instagram page that announced his death was the result of his account getting hacked. In a video shared to his account Tuesday, Seiter said that he is alive and well and that a note posted a day prior that appeared to announce his death was the result of “a cruel joke.” The story.
—"I’m dying mentally." Jimmy Donaldson, aka social media star MrBeast, has revealed the mental toll of being one of the most popular content creators. A day before winning creator of the year at the 2023 Streamy Awards for the third year in a row, MrBeast wrote on Twitter that "in order to upload weekly videos later this year I’ve been filming every single day (and only have a couple days off filming between now and end of year)." He has previously revealed that his videos can get 100m views in their first week. The story. |
'Justified: City Primeval' Closes Out With Epic Twist ►"It was a dangerous idea." For THR, Josh Wigler recaps and reflects on the series finale of Justified: City Primeval, titled "The Question." Josh writes that the FX limited series ends with a huge throwback to the original series, paving the way for future stories. Creators Michael Dinner, Dave Andron and star Timothy Olyphant discuss how it played out. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"Carolyn is from Detroit, and I think she just introduces something new to his world." For THR, Ronda Racha Penrice spoke to Justified: City Primeval Aunjanue Ellis. The actress, who joined the revival that is set 10 years after the original series ended, speaks about her scenes with Timothy Olyphant, Boyd Holbrook and Vondie Curtis-Hall as attorney Carolyn Wilder. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"He is the kind of dad who's also your best friend." THR's scurrilous scrivener Ryan Gajewski spoke to You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah director Sammi Cohen. The filmmaker addresses the nepo baby debate surrounding the film with both of Adam Sandler's daughters starring in the Netflix feature. Cohen notes that Sandler has a history of casting his friends, and this is the latest evolution of that ethos. The interview.
—"The setup of our movie is pretty much the last few months." The Creator director Gareth Edwards took part in an IMAX first look event on Tuesday and THR's Kirsten Chuba was there. The Brit filmmaker discussed how apt his feature about a war between humans and AI was given the current disruption in Hollywood, his influences in making the film and the casting process. The story.
In other news...
—The Book of Clarence trailer teases LaKeith Stanfield as Biblical-era everyman
—Meg Ryan, David Duchovny are ex-lovers stranded in an airport in What Happens Later trailer
—London Film Festival unveils 11 competition titles
—Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days to open Tokyo Film Festival
—Plan to build film studio on Manhattan’s Pier 94 backed by Blackstone, Hudson Pacific
—Dufferin Gate Studios adds Toronto soundstages in post-strikes Hollywood bet
What else we're reading...
—Sobering piece from Jonathan Taplin who writes that four billionaire techno-oligarchs — Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg and Marc Andreessen — are creating an alternate, autocratic reality [VF]
—Steffan Powell looks into why Netflix is expanding into gaming and whether it really is a "natural extension" for the streamer [BBC]
—Glenn Whipp takes an exclusive tour of Hollywood’s restored Egyptian Theatre that is set to reopen this fall [LAT]
—Gabriel Szatan pays tribute to ambient legend Brian McBride (one half of Stars of the Lid) who died this week at 53 [Guardian]
—Diana Pearl considers the new generation of 'It Girls' and what it takes to become one nowadays [CNN]
What else we're listening too...
—"December Hunting for Vegetarian F***face" by Stars of the Lid
Today...
...in 2019, Fred Durst's The Fanatic was released in theaters. Starring John Travolta as an obsessive stalker, the film was a huge box office bomb, grossing a mere $3,153 from 52 theaters scattered across the U.S. for a location average of roughly $60 — a career-worst opening for Travolta. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Cameron Diaz (51), Jessica Henwick (31), Michael Chiklis (60), David Paymer (69), Lewis Black (75), Bebe Rexha (34), Marin Ireland (44), J.J. Philbin (49), Yasmin Finney (20), Elden Henson (46), Johanna Braddy (36), Raúl Castillo (46), Michael Michele (57), Timothy Bottoms (72), Michael Grant Terry (39), Gaia Weiss (32), Angel Coulby (43), Michael Gladis (46), Anjali Bhimani (49), Sarah-Jane Potts (47), Trevor Jackson (27), Emily Montague (39), Vanessa Britting (43), Sean Ryan Fox (22), Brian Yuzna (74), Kent Osborne (54) |
| Tina Howe, the Tony-nominated playwright and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist known for Coastal Disturbances, Painting Churches and Pride’s Crossing, has died. She was 85. The obituary. |
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