| | | | What's news: Gwyneth Paltrow wins ski crash case. Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss addresses investigation reports. Killers of the Flower Moon will premiere in Cannes. ABC News has laid off 50 people. Megan Thee Stallion is in talks to appear in the next Safdie Brothers film. — Abid Rahman |
Netflix Execs Lisa Nishimura and Ian Bricke Depart ►Surprise move. Netflix has parted ways with longtime film execs Lisa Nishimura and Ian Bricke. Nishimura, who served as vp independent film and documentary features, handled an array of projects budgeted at $40m or below, including the Oscar-nominated doc Crip Camp and the western The Power of the Dog. Bricke, vp original film, was a big part of Netflix’s rom-com dominance. The exits come amid a restructuring, with projects under Scott Stuber’s film division now folding all live-action films under Kira Goldberg, Ori Marmur and Niija Kuykendall. The story.
—"I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity." Gwyneth Paltrow may have lost half a day of skiing — and spent seven years fighting litigation — but she has won her contentious ski slope collision trial. After eight days of testimony in Park City, the Oscar-winning actress and wellness mogul was found not liable in retired optometrist Dr. Terry Sanderson’s lawsuit claiming that she slammed into him at Deer Valley Resort in 2016 and caused his ongoing health issues. Paltrow countersued for a symbolic $1. The story.
—"I do believe I could have done more." Two days after news broke that The Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss was exiting the franchise, he has responded to a report that his departure followed an investigation into racial discrimination. In a statement, Fleiss did not directly address the investigation but said that he should have stepped up efforts to make the franchise more diverse. The story.
—Marty's heading to the Croisette. Martin Scorsese’s hotly anticipated new feature, Killers of the Flower Moon, will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The screening will be the first Scorsese film to screen in official selection in Cannes since After Hours bowed in competition in 1986, winning him the best director honor. The legendary filmmaker's Taxi Driver won Cannes’ Palme d’Or for best film in 1976, and he was head of the Cannes jury in 1998. The story. |
🏳️⚧️ Trans Visibility Is More Important Than Ever 🏳️⚧️ ►"I see my work as a political act." On Transgender Day of Visibility, documentary filmmaker Félix Endara pens a guest column for THR. Endara writes that "it is crucially important to encourage trans storytellers to be visible and tell our stories precisely because of the pervasive anti-trans propaganda that is corroding U.S. politics right now." The column.
—"A difficult time for all of us." The Disney layoffs have hit ABC News. The broadcast news division is laying off 50 people as part of the company’s planned cuts, with ABC News president Kim Godwin reorganizing her senior leadership team. The new structure will see Katie den Daas become vp newsgathering; Derek Medina add oversight of talent strategy, production operations and business affairs; and Stacia Deshishku add oversight of investigative and enterprise reporting, as well as booking. The story.
—One for the kids. Paramount+ has ordered a Starfleet Academy TV series. After more than a year in development, the streamer has greenlit Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. The new series hints at a more soapy YA Trek than the other shows, as well as increased diversity (which, given this is the world of Star Trek, could refer to species diversity, as well). The story.
—Heavy hitters. THR's resident baseball nut Lesley Goldberg has the scoop on Apple TV+ teaming with Universal Television and Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video to adapt author Jonathan Eig’s book, Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig, as a scripted television series. Dan Kay (Spider & Jessie) is on board to co-write the script alongside Eig, and serve as showrunner on the drama, which is currently in the development stages. Peter Farrelly is set to direct the potential pilot. The story.
—You had our curiosity, now you have our attention. The crew for one of the upcoming Star Wars series continues to fill out. Green Knight filmmaker David Lowery is among the directors of Skeleton Crew. The series wrapped production in recent months. However, news of who directed is just now coming out, with more expected to be revealed later. Earlier this month, word broke that Everything Everywhere All at Once filmmakers Daniels had directed an episode last year. The story. |
'Yellowjackets' Bosses Explain Shocking S2 Second Episode ►"We wanted it to have a sort of perversely celebratory feeling." THR's Jackie Strause spoke to Yellowjackets showrunners Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson and Jonathan Lisco about the big season two episode "Edible Complex." The trio unpack the long-trailed events as the hit Showtime survival drama returned to the wilderness. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—🎭 Bring back KG too! 🎭 Rapper Megan Thee Stallion is in talks to join the latest film from Josh and Benny Safdie. The project, which is set up at Netflix, is set to reteam the duo with their Uncut Gems star Adam Sandler. The plot for the project is being kept under wraps and it is unclear what role Megan Thee Stallion (née Megan Pete) will play. The story.
—🤝 First-look deal 🤝 Amazon has recruited one of Marvel’s former bigwigs as the streamer plans a greater focus on comic book films and TV series. Joe Quesada, the former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief and ex-Marvel Entertainment chief creative officer, has signed an exclusive first-look film and television deal with the retail giant. Under the deal, Quesada will focus on adapting existing and new comic book IP for the streamer. The story.
—🤝 Contract renewal 🤝 Universal Music Group has extended the contract of its CEO and chairman Lucian Grainge until May 1, 2028. As part of the extended agreement, Grainge will move from an all-cash compensation package to a combination of equity and cash, with the majority paid in UMG equity and UMG performance-based stock options. His annual salary will be cut to $5m, a reduction of more than two-thirds of his currency salary. The story.
—"I’d never played someone that was in that much pain before." Florence Pugh got candid about the lengths she went to in order to create her Midsommar character, Dani. In a recent appearance on the Off Menu podcast, the actress said that "each day the content would be getting more weird and harder to do," adding that "I was putting things in my head that were getting worse and more bleak. I think by the end I probably, most definitely abused my own self in order to get that performance." The story. |
Capitalism and TV Today, a Love/Hate Story ►"A steady stream of shows about the corrosive impact of a system that treats workers as interchangeable cogs." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg writes that the intersection of late-stage capitalism and late-stage Peak TV has made prophets of people normally fixated on profits. In an ironic twist, some of the biggest perpetrators of corporate ruthlessness in the entertainment industry are currently producing several of the most honest portraits of our bleak economic moment. Critic's notebook.
—🏆 Worthy winners 🏆 GLAAD announced recipients for 15 of this year’s 33 categories for the 34th annual GLAAD Media Awards on Thursday in Beverly Hills, with Bros, A League of Their Own, What We Do in the Shadows and The White Lotus among the top winners. Also at the event, Christina Aguilera received the Advocate for Change Award, Bad Bunny received the Vanguard Award and Jeremy Pope received the Stephen F. Kolzak Award. The story. The story.
—🏆 In God we trust 🏆 God of War Ragnorok made good on its record-breaking haul of BAFTA Games Awards nominations by emerging with the largest number of gongs from the 2023 ceremony. The awards, held at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall (and livestreamed on Twitch), also saw Elden Ring and Tunic land multiple awards. However, in something of a major shock, indie shooter Vampire Survivors landed the best game prize. The winners. |
Film Review: 'Murder Mystery 2' ►"Nick and Nora they ain't." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Jeremy Garelick's Murder Mystery 2. Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston return to solve another case in Netflix's follow-up to 2019's hugely popular comic thriller. The review.
—"The spark of promise takes too long to ignite." THR's Angie Han reviews Amazon's The Power. Toni Collette and John Leguizamo star in this sci-fi series based on Naomi Alderman's novel that is set in a world suddenly transformed when teenage girls develop the ability to generate electric jolts from their fingertips. The review.
—"Elusive yet entrancing." THR's Caryn James reviews Mark Jenkin's Enys Men. Following a single living character on an island off Cornwall, the poetic drama toys with time and memory. The review. |
Thank Pod It's Friday ► All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.
—TV's Top 5. THR's Lesley Goldberg and Dan Fienberg break down the latest TV news. The duo begin by running through the week's headlines, including renewals for The Night Agent, Blue Bloods and Grey’s Anatomy, the end of Grown-ish and possibly Curb Your Enthusiasm, Jessica Chastain's new Apple show and a potential reboot of The X-Files. Also, Dodger broadcaster Joe Davis drops by for a chat, there's an April TV preview and the monthly Mailbag segment. Listen here.
—Behind the Screen. THR's tech editor Carolyn Giardina's podcast focuses on the filmmaking crafts. In this episode Carolyn spoke to director Chad Stahelski, cinematographer Dan Laustsen and editor Nathan Orloff about the making of John Wick: Chapter 4. Listen here.
—Awards Chatter. THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this live episode, Scott spoke to Shohreh Aghdashloo. The Oscar-nominated (House of Sand and Fog) and Emmy-winning (House of Saddam) actress reflects on her journey to acting and away from Iran, her difficult decision to play a terrorist on 24 and the current crisis in her homeland. Listen here.
In other news...
—Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux accidentally topple the presidency in White House Plumbers trailer
—BBC to cut 1,000 hours annually as savings target leaps to $500m
—E3 show canceled for 2023
—New James Bond travel experience will create exclusive activities inspired by films
What else we're reading...
—Jeremy Barr reports Tucker Carlson and other Fox News pundits are calling for protests due to Trump's indictment [WaPo]
—A.B. Allen talks to a filmmaker about the whole "dark cinematography" trend that partially explains why movies and TV shows so hard to see these days [Polygon]
—Madeleine Aggeler visits the second annual 90s Con, where aging millennials traveled from across the U.S. to connect with the stars of their youth [NYT]
—With Twitter becoming precipitously worse, Shirin Ghaffary writes that galaxy brain genius Elon Musk wants to fill our feeds with paid accounts [Vox]
—Here's your Friday list: "Every Keanu Reeves movie performance, ranked" [Vulture]
Today...
...in 1983, the Monty Python team unveiled their latest feature, The Meaning of Life, in theaters. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Chloé Zhao (41), Christopher Walken (80), Phil Dunster (31), Ewan McGregor (52), Brian Tyree Henry (41), Rhea Perlman (75), Shirley Jones (89), Richard Chamberlain (89), Alejandro Amenábar (51), Tony Cox (65), Paul Mercurio (60), Kate Micucci (43), Jessica Szohr (38), Ryan Bingham (42), Adrian Holmes (49), Daniel Mays (45), Erica Tazel (46), Caitlin Carver (31), Liza Koshy (27), Gabe Kaplan (78), Melissa Ordway (40), Kellee Stewart (47), Valerie Curtin (78) |
| Mark Russell, the sly satirist who skewered America’s political elite for more than a half-century by blending stand-up comedy with biting song parodies, died Thursday. He was 90. The obituary. |
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