| | | | | | What's news: Music will not be removed from the lineup at SXSW. Lady Gaga's new album Mayhem debuted at No. 1. Kelli Turner is the new CEO and president of Audacy. Colin Farrell is in talks to take the lead role in DC's Sgt. Rock. — Abid Rahman
Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at tips@thr.com. |
Kramer Named CEO of UTA, Zimmer Shifts to Executive Chairman ►"While transition is never easy, this particular moment feels very right." In a changing of the guard at one of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies, UTA says that David Kramer will take over as CEO in June, succeeding longtime leader Jeremy Zimmer. Zimmer, the UTA co-founder who has been CEO of the talent agency since 2012, is shifting to a role as board member and executive chairman. Paul Wachter will remain chairman of the board of UTA. The new role for Kramer is not completely unexpected, with the company describing the move as part of a long-planned succession process. Kramer was elevated to president of UTA in 2022. The story.
—All change. Kelli Turner has been appointed president and CEO of Audacy. Turner had been operating in the role on an interim basis at the radio and podcast giant since the end of January, when David Field stepped down. Additionally, Chris Oliviero has been named chief business officer and Bob Philips has been named chief revenue officer. The company is also seeing an overhaul of its leadership team with the departure of chief operating officer Susan Larkin, chief digital officer J.D. Crowley, chief marketing officer Paul Suchman and executive vice president and general counsel Andrew Sutor. Earlier this month, the company conducted layoffs that impacted hundreds of people. The story.
—Big year coming up. The 2025 upfronts are a couple of months away, but NBCUniversal's ad sales chairman Mark Marshall is already sending a message to Madison Ave. Marshall sent a message to NBCU’s clients and partners Monday afternoon, confirming that the company will once again convene the morning of May 12 at Radio City Music Hall, and that Telemundo will move its traditional evening celebration to Tuesday after Amazon took over its Monday night slot. But the focus of Marshall’s memo is about teeing up 2026, the 100th anniversary of NBC, and the onslaught of live events that the company plans to bring to market in this year’s upfront. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Fifth Season-backed Blink49 Studios has acquired Pier21 Films to extend its Canadian production reach. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the acquisition will see Pier21 Films’ current productions, library and active development projects move to Blink49 Studios. In addition, Pier21 founder Laszlo Barna will exit the company with an exclusive first-look agreement with Blink49 Studios, while co-CEOs Nicole Butler and Vanessa Steinmetz will leave the Toronto-based company on completion of the transaction. The story. |
Tracy Morgan Leaves Knicks Game in a Wheelchair ►Health emergency. Tracy Morgan appeared to become physically ill while watching the New York Knicks take on the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. According to videos and photos posted online by those in the crowd, the comedian became ill while sitting courtside, with photos showing him vomiting onto the floor. He was then escorted out of the arena in a wheelchair while holding what appeared to be a white towel, covered in red stains, up to his face. Morgan has had public health scares in the past. In 2012, he collapsed outside a building in Park City while attending Sundance, and in 2014, the limo he was riding in was hit by a Walmart truck from behind while speeding on the New Jersey Turnpike. Morgan, who is diabetic, received a kidney transplant two years prior to his fall at Sundance. The story.
—"I’ve been harassed by women and men." Former CNN anchor Don Lemon revealed that he was subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace on multiple occasions throughout his career while appearing on Bill Maher’s podcast, and the veteran broadcaster shared a dark part of his past as he explained his thoughts and experiences with gender and power dynamics. Early in the episode, the two TV hosts touch on the topic of harassment and Lemon delved into his uncomfortable moments with colleagues, which include being touched inappropriately by a woman in a CNN cafeteria and being sexually harassed by a superior at the cable news channel. The story. |
UMG Moves to Dismiss Drake's "Misguided" Suit ►Mortifying. Universal Music Group movied to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by their artist Drake on Monday, pointing out that the rapper launched the legal action in an attempt to save face after he lost a rap battle with Kendrick Lamar. "[Drake] lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated," states UMG in the filing. "Instead of accepting the loss like the unbothered rap artist he often claims to be, he has sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds." UMG represents both Drake and Lamar. The story.
—And breathe. Reports of the demise of South by Southwest’s music element seem to have been exaggerated, with SXSW organizers clarifying that while next year’s event will be shorter, its music presence will not be diminished. A spokesperson for SXSW confirmed that the festival is reconfiguring as the Austin Convention Center is set to shut down for renovation. As such, SXSW 2026 will be two days shorter, cutting into what has traditionally been the festival’s music-focused second weekend. But next year’s event will feature an additional night of music, melding into SXSW’s film and television programming. The story.
—"I have a choice to make and can make a difference for my music loving friends." Neil Young will stop selling platinum-priced tickets for his future concerts, the musician confirmed on his website, calling the practice “a bad thing that has happened to concerts worldwide.” Young said he was inspired by The Cure’s Robert Smith, who took a similar stance for the band’s North America tour back in 2023, calling platinum and dynamic tickets “a greedy scam” that artists can choose to opt out of (at the expense of some of their ticketing revenue). The story.
—🏆 Usual suspects 🏆 Billie Eilish and Finneas won album of the year (pop) for Hit Me Hard and Soft and Taylor Swift was named artist of the year at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, which were handed out Monday night. Benson Boone, SZA, GloRilla, Sabrina Carpenter and Green Day also were among the winners during the show. The iHeartRadio Music Awards aim to celebrate the most-played artists and songs on iHeartRadio stations and the iHeartRadio app throughout 2024, while also offering a preview of the upcoming hits of 2025. Swift won a total of eight awards, along with her Eras Tour being named tour of the century. The winners.
—Still got it. Lady Gaga‘s Mayhem has debuted at no. 1 on Billboard's top 200 albums chart, the publication confirmed on Sunday, marking Gaga’s seventh no. 1 album in her legendary career. Mayhem opened with 219,000 units total, per Luminate, off of 108.05m streams and 136,000 traditional sales. It’s just the latest chart victory for Gaga, who’s enjoyed a strong year thus far as “Die With A Smile,” her duet with Bruno Mars, spent five weeks this year atop the Hot 100. Mayhem is Gaga’s first solo album since 2020’s Chromatica, which also topped the charts. The story.
—"They have missed the point entirely." The band Semisonic is pushing back at the White House for using their hit song “Closing Time” over a social media post that shows a shackled deportee. The White House added the song in a post of a man with his wrists handcuffed to his waist as he is patted down at an airport. The video was captioned with the song’s lyrics: “You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.” “We did not authorize or condone the White House’s use of our song in any way. And no, they didn’t ask. The song is about joy and possibilities and hope, and they have missed the point entirely,” the power pop trio from the Twin Cities said in a statement. The story.
—In the works. A new musical featuring the songs of James Taylor is in development. The project, entitled Fire & Rain, will feature an original story written by Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts and direction by Tony Award winner David Cromer. The show is in early development stages and a production timeline has not yet been announced. Gail Berman, Sam Feldman, Michael Gorfaine and Broadway theater owner Jimmy Nederlander are producing in association with Frank Marshall and Jere Harris. The story. |
'Saw XI' Stalled Amid "Inter-Squabbling" ►Uh-oh. Saw XI appears to be struggling to survive. THR rapscallion Ryan Gajewski has learned “zero progress” has been made on the next installment since writing partners Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan turned in a draft back in spring of 2024. “We haven’t heard anything since May,” says Saw XI screenwriter Melton, who has been involved with the franchise since 2007’s Saw IV . “It’s stalled at a managerial level. It has nothing to do with the creative or anything else. There’s higher-level things at play.” In late December 2023, Lionsgate announced that franchise mainstay Kevin Greutert was attached to direct Saw XI for a September 2024 release, but the studio ultimately delayed it by a year to Sept. 26, 2025. It is unclear if Greutert is still involved in Saw XI. The story.
—🎭 Circling 🎭 Colin Farrell, who waddled his way to considerable acclaim for his work as a classic DC villain in The Penguin, is in negotiations to return to the world of DC with Sgt. Rock, the World War Two action movie to be directed by Luca Guadagnino for DC Studios. The move comes after Daniel Craig, who circled the feature project, officially stepped away and is now entertaining a role in Greta Gerwig and Netflix’s take on Narnia. No offer was ever made to Craig, DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran said in February. At the time, they said the project would shoot this summer “only if we find the perfect actor.” The story.
—🎭 No regrets 🎭 Scott Eastwood has been added to the cast of Paramount Pictures’ feature adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel Regretting You. Hitting theaters Oct. 24, the film stars Eastwood alongside previously announced castmembers Allison Williams, Dave Franco, Mckenna Grace, Mason Thames and Willa Fitzgerald. The Fault in Our Stars' Josh Boone helms the film from a script he wrote that is based on a previous draft by Susan McMartin. Regretting You centers on the aftermath of a tragic car accident that claims the lives of two family members and leads to an exploration of past secrets and regrets. The story. |
Streaming Nearly Equals All of Linear TV in February, Despite Super Bowl ►Slump. The record-setting audience for the Super Bowl in February wasn’t enough to stop a decline in linear TV viewing for the month. In fact, streaming’s share of all TV use in the U.S. — 43.5 percent — came within a single percentage point of matching the combined total for broadcast (21.2 percent) and cable (23.2 percent). Despite the Super Bowl driving one of the biggest single TV days in the four-year history of Nielsen's Gauge reports, broadcast and cable viewing for Nielsen’s February reporting period (which ran from Jan. 27-Feb. 23) both declined compared to January. While events like the Grammys and SNL ’s 50th anniversary special drew big audiences, the end of football season contributed to declines for linear outlets after a steady diet of college and NFL playoff games in January. Broadcast viewing fell from 22.5 percent of all TV use in January, and cable came down from 24.4 percent. The story.
—🎭 Answering the call 🎭 ABC's next 911 series has found its first lead actor. Chris O’Donnell is set to star in 911: Nashville, which ABC picked up in February with a straight-to-series order. He’s the first actor cast in the show, which is set to premiere in the 2025-26 season. O’Donnell will play Capt. Don Sharpe, who’s described as “a rugged fire captain and rodeo rider who runs Nashville’s busiest firehouse alongside his beloved son. Don is a devoted husband and family man, but he has his secrets.” The story.
—🎭 Going on a McTeer 🎭 The star-studded cast of Guy Ritchie’s crime drama MobLand is adding another notable name. Janet McTeer will be part of the Paramount+ series, which is set to premiere March 30. The Emmy and two-time Oscar nominee joins an ensemble led be Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren. MobLand centers on a London-based Irish crime family headed by Brosnan’s Conrad Harrigan, that’s fighting for power within a global syndicate. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Will Arnett’s animated comedy Super Team Canada is set to bow May 16 on Canadian streamer Crave, just in time to ride a surge in Canadian nationalism amid an escalating cross-border tariff war with the U.S. The series about six Canadian superheroes saving the world from giant evil robots has an all-Canadian cast that includes Cobie Smulders voicing the role of Niagara Falls, Kevin McDonald as the Canadian prime minister and Charles Demers as Poutine, a French Canadian crime fighter. The story. |
TV Review: 'Happy Face' ►"A bitter blend of santimony and hypocrisy." THR's Daniel Fienberg reviews Paramount+'s Happy Face. Annaleigh Ashford plays a TV makeup artist whose dad (Dennis Quaid) is notorious serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson in the eight-episode season. The review.
—"A personal look at one man examining a vast cosmos." Daniel reviews Robert Stone's Starman. A thoughtful documentary examines space exploration and life beyond earth through author Gentry Lee. The review.
In other news...
—Materialists trailer: Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal vie for Dakota Johnson’s affection
—Adam Sandler returns to the golf course in trailer for Netflix’s Happy Gilmore 2
—The Narrow Road to the Deep North trailer: Jacob Elordi stars in Justin Kurzel’s WWII series
—First look at Duster: J.J. Abrams, LaToya Morgan’s new action drama series
—The Wedding Banquet trailer: Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran star in rom-com reimagining
—National Geographic’s next move: A changemakers power list
—Jesse Colin Young, Youngbloods’ frontman and “Get Together” singer, dies at 83
—Émilie Dequenne, star of Palme d’Or winner Rosetta, dies at 43
What else we're reading...
—Adam Nayman writes that Netflix's The Electric State is a dismal movie for dismal times [Ringer]
—Fascinating piece from Frédéric Durand looking at whether Netflix's obscenely expensive original movies have long term viewership on the platform or if they fade into obscurity [What's On Netflix]
—Holly Otterbein reports that Chuck Schumer's attempts at damage control are not going well [Politico]
—Wild story from Dealbook, about a case of corporate espionage, with HR startup Rippling accusing rival Deel of spying [NYT]
—Yi Ma reports that the Chinese government is spending billions on increasing wages and benefits as it seeks to stave off deflationary threats to its economy [BBC]
Today...
...in 1942, Paramount unveiled Cecil B. DeMille’s high seas adventure movie Reap the Wild Wind in Los Angeles. The film went on to earn three nominations at the 15th Academy Awards ceremony, winning in the special effects category — presumably for the giant squid attack prominently featured in the marketing. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Queen Latifah (55), Vanessa Williams (62), Sutton Foster (50), Lily Collins (36), Brad Dourif (75), Thomas Ian Griffith (63), Yul Vazquez (60), Danneel Ackles (46), Adam Pally (43), Geoffrey Owens (64), Adam Levine (46), Sophia Myles (45), Lilli Kay (29), Madeline Carroll (29), Kevin McGarry (40), Ciara Bravo (28), Tamer Hassan (57), Julia Goldani Telles (30), Abigail Cowen (27), Dane Cook (53), Chris Geere (44), Cindy Busby (42), Parker Finn (38), David Cubitt (60), Olek Krupa (78), Eva Noblezada (29), Jacob Collins-Levy (33), Blake Garrett Rosenthal (21), Mike Rowe (63), Gretchen German (64), Luci Christian (52), Chiké Okonkwo (43), Ayisha Issa (41) |
| | Lenny Schultz, the frenetic stand-up comic who used food and other stuff as props in a madcap act that took him to The Tonight Show and the rebooted Laugh-In — all as he kept his job as a high school gym teacher — has died. He was 91. The obituary. |
|
|
|
| | | |
