| | | | What's news: Lance Reddick was remembered at the John Wick 4 premiere. Universal has dated Jordan Peele's next film. Amazon has ordered YA drama We Were Liars. A Brokeback Mountain stage adaptation is heading to the West End. Julianne Hough is returning to DWTS. And finally, I'm still extremely tired. — Abid Rahman |
Veteran Marvel Exec Victoria Alonso Exits ►Shocker! THR's Borys Kit and Aaron Couch have the huge scoop on longtime and high-profile Marvel Studios exec Victoria Alonso leaving the studio. The reasons for the exit are unclear, but she parted ways with Marvel on Friday, sources say. Her departure comes in the shadow of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's poor showing at the box office and among critics and fans. During her tenure, the MCU became the highest-grossing franchise in film history. The story.
—📅 Mark it down 📅 Jordan Peele’s next feature is shaping up, with Universal dating the filmmaker’s project for Christmas 2024. The untitled fourth film directed by the Oscar winner will arrive on Dec. 25, 2024. Alas, no castings or other details have been revealed about the project. Additionally, Universal revealed a horror thriller from Peele’s Monkey Paw banner will arrive on Sept. 27, 2024. The story.
—Turn down for Watts. Newly minted Oscar winners Daniels have set a course for the Star Wars galaxy. The filmmakers behind Everything Everywhere All at Once are working on the Disney+ series Skeleton Crew. It is not known if Daniels are directing just one episode, or multiple. Skeleton Crew stars Jude Law and hails from Spider-Man trilogy director Jon Watts. The story.
—Leaning into YA. Amazon has handed out a series order for a drama series based on author E. Lockhart’s novel We Were Liars. The series, which was first put in development at the streamer in December, is being adapted by Julie Plec and Carina Adly MacKenzie, who previously collaborated on The Originals and Roswell, New Mexico. Universal Television, where Plec and her My So-Called Company are based, is the studio. The story. |
'Yellowjackets' Creators Get Real on S2 Pressure and Spinoffs ►"We have a couple of ideas." THR's Mikey O'Connell spoke to married Yellowjackets showrunners Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, who detail the “soul-crushing” expectations to follow up their drama’s breakout debut and why they think Hollywood has devalued writers. The interview.
—"Every time you were in his presence, he was such a special person, special artist, and he had a grace and dignity, and a passion for life and his craft." Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre hosted the premiere of John Wick: Chapter 4 on Monday night and the focus fell on the missing member of the franchise's family: Lance Reddick. The beloved actor, who reprises his role as hotel concierge Charon in the film, died suddenly on Friday at age 60, and Reddick was on the hearts and minds of the creative talent as they made their way down the press line wearing blue ribbons in his honor. The story.
—🎭 Touch of class 🎭 The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has added a trio of actors for its upcoming second season, including acclaimed actor Ciarán Hinds. The production has also cast Rory Kinnear and Tanya Moodie in the new season, which is currently in production in the U.K. There is no description yet of the new roles, but all are recurring in the series. The story.
—🎭 Fresh meat for the Colosseum 🎭 Roland Emmerich is filling out the cast of Those About to Die, a gladiator action series which the Independence Day director has begun shooting in Rome. Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon, Vikings actor Johannes Haukur Johannesson and Summertime's Alicia Edogamhe, are among the new additions to the ensemble cast, as well as Liraz Charhi, Rupert Penry-Jones, Eneko Sagardoy, Gonçalo Almeida, Kyshan Wilson and Pepe Barroso. The story. |
'Ted Lasso' Cast Make White House Visit ►Believe. Jason Sudeikis and members of the Ted Lasso cast dropped in on Monday’s White House press briefing to discuss mental health awareness, and in the process took a question from coach Ted's favorite journalist, Trent Crimm. Sudeikis, alongside co-creator Brendan Hunt, writer Brett Goldstein and castmembers Toheeb Jimoh and Hannah Waddingham took the stage with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ahead of the group’s private meeting with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden. The story.
—"A new play with music." A stage adaptation of Brokeback Mountain will come to London's West End this spring, starring Mike Faist and Lucas Hedges. The adaptation is based on Annie Proulx’s short story, which was later adapted into the 2005 Ang Lee film. The stage version was written by Ashley Robinson and features direction by Jonathan Butterell and songs by Dan Gillespie Sells. The show will make its world premiere at London’s Soho Place and run from May 10 through Aug. 12. The story.
—Running it back. Following the departure of Tyra Banks, Dancing With the Stars has found a new co-host — one who’s likely familiar to viewers of the show. Julianne Hough, a former pro dancer and judge on the long-running competition series, is rejoining DWTS as a host for its 32nd season. She’ll co-host the Disney+ show alongside Alfonso Ribeiro, who is taking over emcee duties. The story.
—Mixing it up. Searchlight Pictures has set Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot for a simultaneous release on Hulu and Disney+ on June 9. The first-ever dual platform release by Disney follows the film having a world premiere at SXSW. The film will debut on Disney+ internationally. Longoria’s feature directorial debut tells the story of Richard Montañez, the Mexican American janitor who claims to have invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos. The story. |
Why Experts Think Fox News Will Settle Dominion Dispute ►"I’m worried about the neutral report privilege getting stomped on." A courtroom showdown between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems over the network’s coverage of the 2020 election is putting a spotlight on legal protections for journalists, with both sides arguing a loss for them would have a devastating impact. THR's Ashley Cullins writes that lawyers watching the fight expect it to end in a draw as the network weighs "how much risk they want to take and how much money they have on hand." The analysis.
—What's in a name? The sports-focused streaming virtual multichannel video provider FuboTV is rebranding itself. The company will now be called Fubo (no more “TV”), and is launching a new marketing and branding effort, from Ryan Reynolds' Maximum Effort, to help it grow market share. NBA star Kevin Garnett and NFL veteran Mark Sanchez are appearing in the campaign. The story.
—Oh, bother. Viral slasher hit Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey has been quietly pulled from theaters in Hong Kong, a move that has fueled speculation about censorship over an apparent likeness between the children’s character and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. THR's Alex Ritman reports that the microbudget British film was due to land in more than 30 cinemas in the city this Thursday, but has now been removed from schedules. The film has also reportedly been pulled from release in Macau. The story. |
GLAAD: Overall LGBTQ Representation Drops on TV ►"When networks and streamers put their full brand influence into LGBTQ-inclusive shows, our stories are successful critically and commercially." After a record-setting showing last year, overall representation of LGBTQ characters on TV has decreased from 637 characters to 596 characters while racial diversity has increased to more than 50 percent of those characters being people of color. This is according to GLAAD's 18th edition of Where We Are on TV report that analyzes the number of LGBTQ regular and recurring characters on scripted primetime broadcast, scripted primetime cable and scripted series on the eight major streaming platforms. The report.
—"I don’t particularly feel that there should be a blanket rule." Taron Egerton says that although he believes his body type means he’s “not the right choice” to play James Bond, actors regardless of their sexuality should be allowed to play gay. In a new interview, the Tetris star also opened up about his difficult 2022, revealing that his decision to back out of his West End play Cock was so that he could support his mother following her cancer diagnosis. The story.
—"I’m just in awe of her talent." Zach Braff is opening up about how his former partner Florence Pugh inspired his upcoming film A Good Person. In a new interview, the filmmaker explained that he knew the Don’t Worry Darling star, who he dated for three years before breaking up earlier in 2022, was meant for the role of Allison from the start. The story. |
Film Review: 'Parachute' ►"Smart and compassionate." THR's Leslie Felperin reviews Brittany Snow's Parachute. This portrait of a relationship between a woman with an eating disorder (Courtney Eaton of Yellowjackets) and a boy with co-dependency issues (Thomas Mann) won two awards at SXSW and is the directorial debut of the Pitch Perfect actor. The review.
—"Barely heard whispers sometimes speak volumes." Leslie reviews Kit Zauhar's This Closeness. Zauhar writes, directs and stars in the film about a couple and their Airbnb host getting acquainted over a weekend in a Philadelphia. The review.
In other news...
—The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel trailer: Midge still struggles for career success in final season
—Vanderpump Rules trailer shows Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix’s tense sit-down
—Sarah Snook is pregnant, expecting first child with husband Dave Lawson
—Moschino creative director Jeremy Scott stepping down
—TikTok now has more than 150m U.S. users
—Hollywood powers Ontario to record $3.15b production spend
—BFI unveils new film fund strategy, sets $45m for production, development of features
What else we're reading...
—Emma Stefansky reflects on the late Lance Reddick's most essential roles [Vulture]
—Lucas Shaw reports that Netflix's ad-tier is up to 1m users and looks at whether that's good or bad news [Bloomberg]
—Jihane Bousfiha writes that Daisy Jones & The Six star Riley Keough is finally having the moment her talent deserves [Daily Beast]
—Ryan Faughnder writes what we're all thinking: superhero movies have a quality problem [LAT]
—Lane Florsheim interviews living legend Guy Fieri about his signature frosted tips and his mayoral ambitions [WSJ]
Today...
...in 1997, Warner Bros. brought the story of Selena Quintanilla Perez to the big screen with Selena, with Jennifer Lopez in the title role. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Timothy Dalton (77), Rosie O'Donnell (61), Gary Oldman (65), Karyn Kusama (55), Sonequa Martin-Green (38), Matthew Broderick (61), Rhys Darby (49), Jasmin Savoy Brown (29), Scott Eastwood (37), Joseph Mawle (49), Jaye Davidson (55), Suraj Sharma (30), Jace Norman (23), Rachael MacFarlane (47), RJ Cyler (28), Cynthia Geary (58), Brad Hall (65), Ellise Chappell (31), Sabrina Le Beauf (65), Tom Leeb (33) |
| Steven Ungerleider, co-founder of Sidewinder Films, the label behind documentaries about the USA Gymnastics scandal, the 1972 Munich Olympics and Arthur Ashe, has died. He was 73. The obituary. |
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