| | | | | | What's news: Village Roadshow has filed for bankruptcy protection. Novocaine opened to $8.7m. Disney+ has renewed Percy Jackson. All We Imagine as Light won best film at the Asian Film Awards. Jenna Ortega and Taylor Russell are in talks to star in a remake of Single White Female. — Abid Rahman
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'Bachelor' Showrunners Quit Franchise Amid "Toxic" Workplace Allegations ►Crisis. The showrunners of The Bachelor are set to depart in the latest behind-the-scenes shakeup at the ABC reality franchise. Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner are set to leave their positions, which they’ve held since series creator Mike Fleiss left the show in 2023. Their exits come in the wake of allegations that Freeland and Graebner oversaw a “toxic” and “hostile” workplace on The Bachelor, claims the pair have denied through their attorney. The accusations came to light soon after ABC announced it would not air The Bachelorette in the summer, leading to layoffs for the show’s crew. The story.
—Uncertainty. Following the death of Gene and Betsy Hackman earlier this month, the fate of the actor’s $80m estate is uncertain as his living will left out his three adult children and left everything to his wife, who died in their mansion at least a week before him. A source close to the Hackmans told THR that Gene had a trust established and that in terms of his assets, his will is going to “ultimately leave everything to the trust.” The story.
—Rock bottom. Village Roadshow Entertainment Group has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The film production and financing company that worked on franchises like The Matrix, Ocean’s, Joker, The Lego Movie and Wonka filed for bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware Monday. In the filing, Village Roadshow framed its ongoing arbitration dispute with Warner Bros. over The Matrix Resurrections as a turning point, effectively ending what had been its most lucrative business arrangement. Village Roadshow had sued for breach of contract after WB released the franchise film on Max the same day it was released in theaters, and has cost the company $18m in legal fees and counting. The story.
—Massacre. The Trump administration on Saturday began making deep cuts to Voice of America and other government-run, pro-democracy programming as the president continued his campaign to restructure government without congressional approval. On Friday night, shortly after Congress passed its latest funding bill, Trump directed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law. That included the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which houses Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba. The story.
—"They say I have incapacitation… I do not." Wendy Williams called in for an interview with hosts of The View on Friday, just days after police had escorted the former daytime host out of the Manhattan facility where she has been living with a diagnosis of dementia and aphasia since 2023. “I just needed a breath of fresh air,” Williams told The View’s panel of hosts by phone. “I needed to see the doctors, so that’s why I went to the hospital. And then while I was at the hospital, I also got blood drawn for my thyroid. But most importantly, at the hospital, it was my choice to get an independent evaluation on my incapacitation." The story. |
Conan to Return as Oscars Host in 2026 ►No-brainer. Conan O’Brien, the beloved comedian, writer and producer who hosted the 97th Oscars telecast, has agreed to return and host the 98th Oscars telecast on March 15, 2026, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Monday. The O’Brien-hosted Oscars generated rave reviews, attracted a five-year high in both total viewers (19.69m) and adults 18-49 (4.54 rating) and ranked as the No. 1 primetime entertainment telecast in both total viewers and adults for the 2024-25 season. It also generated 104.2m total social interactions, ranking as the No. 1 most-socialed TV program season-to-date, outperforming both the Grammys (102.2m) and the Super Bowl (62.4m) for the first time. The story.
—Quick as you like. Disney+ is giving Percy Jackson and the Olympians an early start on its future. The streamer has renewed the series, based on author Rick Riordan’s quintet of novels, for a third season. The pickup comes well ahead of season two for Percy Jackson, which Disney+ says will premiere in December — two years after the debut of its first season. The early renewal will allow the show’s writers and crew to begin work on the third installment, which, in turn, could potentially cut down on the time between seasons. That’s something co-showrunner Jonathan E. Steinberg said was on his mind in a recent interview with THR. The story.
—🎭 Ritter in 🎭 HBO's Lanterns is adding to its cast again, signing Jason Ritter for a recurring role. Ritter will play a character named Billy Macon in the series based on DC’s Green Lantern. Billy is described as “a good-looking charmer who does his father’s bidding. Capitalizing on his family’s reputation, he clings to his small-town ego and has everything to lose.” Billy’s father, William Macon, is being played by Garret Dillahunt. William is a self-righteous and conspiracy-minded and ruthlessly ambitious man who hides his darker side behind a charming facade. The story. |
New 'Starship Troopers' Movie in the Works ►Would you like to know more? THR's Borys Kit has the scoop that Columbia is plotting a new Starship Troopers movie, setting Neill Blomkamp to write and direct an adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel story by Robert A. Heinlein. Blomkamp will also produce the feature alongside Terri Tatchell, his partner and wife who co-wrote the South African filmmaker’s District 9 and Chappie. Published in 1959, Troopers ostensibly told of an interstellar war between Earth and a host of bug-like aliens, and focused on a rise of a soldier named Johnny Rico. While the book won a Hugo Award and has been quite influential, some quarters described it as fascist. It was that tone that was satirized in the 1997 movie from Paul Verhoeven, who mocked military jingoism, propaganda, fetishized costumes, and highlighted Nazi influences. The story.
—🎭 Renting is hell 🎭 Wednesday's Jenna Ortega and Bones and All star Taylor Russell are in negotiations to star in a remake of Single White Female. Elizabeth Gabler’s 3000 Pictures, which has a deal with Sony, is looking to remake 1992 horror drama that starred Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The feature was directed by Barbet Schroeder and was based on John Lutz’s 1990 novel SWF Seeks Same. Lutz co-wrote the adaptation with Don Roos. Both Russell and Ortega will star in the remake and produce. The story.
—🤝 New anime venture 🤝 Sony Group’s flagship anime subsidiaries Aniplex and Crunchyroll revealed Monday that they have partnered to establish Hayate, a joint venture anime production company based in Tokyo. The companies say the entity’s primary purpose is “planning, developing, and producing anime content for the Crunchyroll streaming service.” The investment continues Sony's ongoing prioritization of anime as a key pillar of its growth strategy. Hayate’s staff will be made up of current employees from both Aniplex and Crunchyroll. The company will be led by chairman and CEO Masanori Miyake and president and COO Leo Watanabe, both from Aniplex. The story.
—"It’s time to put it all under one umbrella." Filmmaker Eli Roth has launched The Horror Section, a new, all-encompassing horror media company that aims not just to make a killing in the independent scary movie space, but to also make horror fans an integral part of the company. The splatter master, who has spent a most of his 25-plus year career making movies ranging from Cabin Fever and Hostel to Knock Knock and Thanksgiving, has partnered with Media Capital Technologies for the venture, which includes not only producing and distributing original films theatrically, but also carving out a place for horror television, gaming, podcasts and live events. The story. |
Asian Film Awards: 'All We Imagine as Light' Wins Best Picture ►🏆 Incredible year 🏆 Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s poignant drama All We Imagine as Light went home with the best picture prize Sunday night at the 18th Asian Film Awards. It was the film’s final stop on a ten-month festival and awards season journey that began last May when it won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. The best director prize went to Japan’s Yoshida Daihachi for his atmospheric character study, Teki Cometh. Hong Kong’s Sean Lau took home the best actor trophy for his arresting turn in Philip Yung’s family drama Papa. The best actress honor, meanwhile, was awarded to Shahana Goswami for her lead performance in Santosh directed by first-time filmmaker Sandhya Suri, who also won the best new director prize. The winners.
—🏆 Congrats to all! 🏆 The American Cinema Editors announced its winners for the 2025 ACE Eddie Awards on Friday. The 75th annual ceremony celebrating the best editing of the year was originally set to take place on Jan. 18 before it was postponed due to the L.A. wildfires. Emilia Pérez and Wicked won in the feature film categories, while The Wild Robot and Will & Harper won best animated feature and documentary feature, respectively. What We Do in the Shadows, Shogun and Baby Reindeer won in the TV categories, among others. The winners.
—🏆 Viel Glück! 🏆 Tim Fehlbaum’s real-life thriller September 5, Mohammad Rasoulof’s Iranian drama The Seed of the Sacred Fig, and Andreas Dresen’s historic drama From Hilde, With Love are the frontrunners for this year’s German Film Awards, also called the Lolas, Germany’s equivalent of the Oscars. Also up for best film are Jan-Ole Gerster’s sun-soaked neo-noir Islands, Ido Fluk’s Köln 75, which chronicles the events that led to Keith Jarrett’s celebrated piano recording, "The Köln Concert," and Chiara Fleischhacker’s Vena, a drama about a drug-addicted young mother. The nominees. |
Is China's $2B Blockbuster 'Ne Zha 2' a One-off Hit? ►"[Proof] that the Chinese audience has not abandoned interest in cinema-going." THR's Patrick Brzeski writes that China’s record-smashing animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2 has brought a much-needed burst of enthusiasm to Beijing’s beleaguered film industry. An irreverent twist on Chinese mythology and a classic 16th-century novel, the sequel has earned a massive $2.03b and counting and smashed virtually every box-office record that exists for an animated feature: It is the highest-grossing animated film of all time (overtaking Pixar’s Inside Out 2 at $1.7b) and the top-earning movie ever in a single market. But does Ne Zha 2 signal a recovery of China's box office? The analysis.
—Quiet week. Paramount’s action-comedy Novocaine easily topped the domestic chart with an $8.7m launch to ice out Mickey 17, which fell to No. 2 in its second frame. However, the studio had hoped to do closer $10m. Novocaine stars Jack Quaid as a new kind of action hero who is not so great at dishing it out, but boy, can he take it — thanks to his genetics, which make him feel no harm. Duking it out for No. 2 was Steven Soderbergh‘s new movie Black Bag and Warner Bros.’ ill-fated Mickey 17 with around $7.5m each (final rumbers will be released today). The latter tumbled more than 60 percent from its opening weekend to finish Sunday with an estimated domestic total just north of $33m and $90.4m domestically. The box office report. |
Playboi Carti's New Album Breaks Spotify Record ►"Making history." Playboi Carti came to play with his new album Music. On Friday, the same day the rapper dropped his long-awaited third studio album, he also broke a Spotify record. The audio streaming giant shared on Saturday that Music became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day in 2025 so far. Music comes five years after Carti released his second studio album, Whole Lotta Red, in 2020. Leading up to its release on Friday, the rapper had been teasing fans for months, including with Spotify’s help. The music streamer put up billboards across Los Angeles, New York City and Miami. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Will Smith has announced the date that his latest album will be released as his imminent return to the world of hip-hop continues after a 20-year hiatus. The actor-rapper-producer shared the news on Instagram on Sunday, writing in a post that his new album is scheduled for release in two weeks. “It’s OFFICIAL!! My new album, Based On A True Story, drops on March 28. TWO WEEKS!! Hit that presave. Been working on this project for a minute and I’m itchin’ to get it out to y’all 🫶🏾,” Smith posted on the social media platform to his 69.5m followers. The story.
—The end is nigh? South by Southwest Festival organizers are reportedly cutting back on the music portion of the annual event. According to the Austin American-Statesman, this will result in the 2026 edition of the festival being two days shorter than this year’s, which ran March 7-15. Next year’s edition is set for March 12-18. The move eliminates the weekend traditionally dedicated to music performances and a conference, for the first time in SXSW history. The news comes just after the end of the 2025 edition, which wrapped Saturday. Participation in the music festival has reportedly been dropping since the 2010s, when the average band count peaked at around 2,000. This year’s edition reportedly saw 1,012 bands showcasing. The story. |
'White Lotus': Breaking Down That Surprising New Arrival ►"There’s always more than what meets the eye of the shock value on screen." For THR, Josh Wigler breaks down the latest episode of HBO's The White Lotus. Warning: Spoilers! The recap.
—"I actually auditioned for John Dutton." THR's queen of chat Jackie Strause spoke with Brian Geraghty about the latest episode of Yellowstone prequel series 1923. The actor who plays a Dutton ranch foreman on the show talks about his timely and personal interracial marriage storyline, how they pulled off a 1920s-style brain surgery and the “Harrison Ford line I got to say with Harrison Ford.” Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"Why was this all so important to me? Why did I seek out a man in finance to try to make these things happen for myself? Where did that deep need come from? And that’s what season two is all about." THR's Hilary Lewis spoke to Gugu Mbatha-Raw and other castmembers about the second season of Apple TV+'s Surface. The actors share when they learned of that midseason twist and how they helped their American showrunner craft an authentic London-set story. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
Film Review: 'The Makings of Curtis Mayfield' ►"Strong portrait of the art, less so of the artist." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews H.E.R.'s The Makings of Curtis Mayfield. In her SXSW-bowing film, the Grammy- and Oscar-winning singer invites a range of artists — from Maxwell to Mary J. Blige — to capture the enduring legacy of Curtis Mayfield's music. The review.
—"A sweet and sour charmer." THR's Angie Han reviews Nastasya Popov's Idiotka. Premiering at SXSW, writer-director Popov's film stars Anna Baryshnikov as an aspiring fashion designer who gets cast on a show featuring underprivileged contestants. The review.
In other news...
—Freakier Friday trailer: Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis return to swap bodies over 20 years later
—8 places to stay in Hong Kong during Filmart
—Noah Cyrus signs management deal with Range Music
—Justin Theroux and Nicole Brydon Bloom are married
—Joseph Di Palma, veteran producer, dies at 94
What else we're reading...
—Katherine Blunt reports that the prime suspect behind the Eaton fire was a "zombie" power line [WSJ]
—With companies running away from DEI policies as fast as they can, Jonquilyn Hill wonders if they were ever serious about them in the first place [Vox]
—Benjamin Hart talks to Moody's chief economist, who tells him that Trump is designing his own recession [Intelligencer]
—Andrew Marantz reports on the battle for the hearts and minds of young men in America, and how leftists like Hasan Piker and Stavros Halkias are fighting back against the manosphere [New Yorker]
—Sadiba Hasan writes that Apple's Severance has created a “cultural moment” that is changing the way people discuss work-life balance [NYT]
Today...
...in 2000, Stephen Frears' rom-com High Fidelity hit Austin for its premiere at the South by Southwest Festival. Based on Nick Hornby's bestselling book, the film starred John Cusack, Jack Black, and Iben Hjejle and was a box office bust but has since become an enduring classic. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Kurt Russell (74), John Boyega (33), Rob Lowe (61), Morfydd Clark (🏴36), Gary Sinise (70), Natalie Zea (50), Brittany and Cynthia Daniel (49), Patrick Duffy (76), David Glasser (54), Billy Corgan (58), Vicki Lewis (65), Mark Boone Junior (70), Gina Holden (50), Kardo Razzazi (40), Olesya Rulin (39), Lesley-Anne Down (71), Marisa Coughlan (51), Arye Gross (65), Yanic Truesdale (55), Casey Siemaszko (64), Nijirô Murakami (28), Eliza Bennett (33), Christian Clemenson (67), Michelle Nolden (52), Amelia Heinle (52), Pattie Boyd (81), Mathew St. Patrick (57), Coco Austin (46), Damien Garvey (65), Mark Pellington (63) |
| Jesse L. Kearney Jr., a playwright, attorney and arts advocate, has died. He was 49. The obituary. |
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