| | | | | | What's news: The backlash to Trump's tariffs has begun. Robert Pattinson is circling a role in Dune: Messiah. Apple TV+ has dropped its price to $2.99 a month for three months. NBCU will build its first European theme park in the U.K. CBS has renewed The Bold and the Beautiful through its 41st season in 2027-28. — Abid Rahman
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Market Chaos Fuels Viewing Spike for Cable Business Channels ►The only people happy right now. The Trump administration’s push for a huge increase in tariffs on imports last week sent financial markets into a tailspin — and a host of new viewers to the cable channels who cover those markets. With the Dow Jones, Nasdaq and S&P all tanking, a couple of lines, however, are going up: those representing the audiences on CNBC and Fox Business Network. Both saw their ratings jump in the days after the announcement. The ratings.
—"I feel for small businesses though. Could really be a nail in the coffin for them." MrBeast has become one of the first major entertainment figures to speak out about Trump's tariffs. The popular YouTuber and creator and host of the Amazon hit Beast Games criticized the president’s “Liberation Day” policies, which experts have said will raise inflation, halt business growth, slow hiring and very likely lead to a recession. Referencing his Feastables chocolate bar business, MrBeast told followers on X, “Ironically because of all the new tariffs it is now way cheaper to make our chocolate bars we sell globally NOT in America because other countries don’t have a 20%+ tariff on our cogs." The story.
—MAGA regret. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is one of several Republicans speaking out against the economic impact of Trump’s tariffs. On a live stream Monday, Portnoy railed against the crashing stock market, which he said had caused him millions of dollars in personal losses. However, he also pointed to the larger impact the stock market will have on his business, and media companies generally. Oligarch Elon Musk, who has been working closely Trump and the administration, posted on X saying Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro, who is reportedly one of the big drivers of the tariffs, is "truly a moron." The story.
—Blimey! Some good economic news...for the U.K. NBCUniversal and the British government have unveiled plans for a multibillion-pound Universal theme park and resort in Bedford, England that is set to be the largest visitor attraction in the U.K. and "one of the largest and most advanced" theme parks in Europe. Set to open in 2031, it will create nearly 20,000 jobs during the construction period, with a further 8,000 new jobs across the hospitality and creative industries upon its opening, according to a joint announcement. Universal said it expects the new attraction, the first Universal-branded theme park and resort in Europe, to generate nearly $64b for the U.K. economy by 2055, with 8.5m visitors expected in its first year. The story. |
France's #MeToo Probe Condemns "Endemic" Sexual Violence In Entertainment Industry ►Damning. A French parliamentary investigation into sexual violence has condemned what it called “endemic” abuse in the country’s entertainment industry. The damning report, details of which were released to French media ahead of the presentation to parliament on Wednesday, is calling for an overhaul in funding and regulations to protect vulnerable actors and minors on set. “Moral, sexist, and sexual violence in the cultural sector is systemic, endemic, and persistent,” read a conclusion from French MP Sandrine Rousseau, who led the inquiry. The story.
—"It proves that the defendant intended to take the sexual gratification he wanted, regardless of consent." Prosecutors in New York building a case against Sean "Diddy" Combs' ahead of his sex trafficking and racketeering trial asked the court to introduce evidence from the disgraced rap mogul’s past that they insist is relevant to the testimony slated from their four key witnesses, but the defense team is crying foul, claiming such a “horror show” would paint him in an unfair light to the jury. On Monday, federal prosecutors with the Southern District of New York revealed in a filing that they believe that testimony regarding the “sexual abuse of other victims” by Combs over the past several years should be admitted and heard by the jurors to stand in contrast to Combs' assertion that the relationships he shared with the women victims were consensual. The story.
—Big hire. Netflix has found its new head of public policy, turning to a veteran partner at the powerful law firm Akin Gump to oversee the streaming giant’s policy strategy and manage its policy teams around the world. Clete Willems will become Netflix’s chief global affairs officer, based in Washington, D.C., he will report to co-CEO Ted Sarandos, starting later this month. Willems is a veteran of both the Trump and Obama administrations — during Trump’s first term he was an adviser on trade and economics issues, and worked in the office of the U.S. Trade Representative during Obama’s administration. The story.
—🏆 Congrats! 🏆 Platform game Astro Bot led the winners of the 2025 BAFTA Games Awards, which were handed out in London on Tuesday evening, earning five honors, including for best game of the year. The psychological horror game Still Wakes the Deep received three gaming BAFTAs, including two performance honors. During Tuesday evening’s ceremony in London, Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh took to the stage to hand the BAFTA for a performer in a leading role in a game to Alec Newman for his role as Cameron McLeary in Still Wakes the Deep. The winners.
—Aggressive play. Apple is coming off a very strong month for its Apple TV+ streaming service, with season two of Severance emerging as a bona fide smash, and Seth Rogen’s comedy The Studio capturing the imagination of Hollywood. But it is also coming at a precarious moment for the company at large, and the economy generally. With that unusual context, Apple is using the current moment to try and drive subscriptions to Apple TV+. The company says that it will offer three months of Apple TV+ to both new and returning customers for $2.99 per month, a discount from the $9.99 standard price, and a substantially better deal than the free seven-day trial it currently offers. The offer is valid through April 24. The story. |
Secret 'Predator' Movie Revealed as Animated 'Killer of Killers' ►Surprise! Late last year, 20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell turned heads when he revealed to THR that the studio had not one, but two Predator movies dropping in 2025. The first was already known: Predator Badlands, a live-action take directed by Prey's Dan Trachtenberg and starring Elle Fanning. The second was a secret project, one that now has finally been revealed as Predator: Killer of Killers. 20th Century shared the trailer Tuesday, as well as a release date of June 6 on Hulu and Disney+. The story.
—🎭 Circling 🎭 Robert Pattinson may give Timothée Chalamet a hard time in Legendary’s upcoming Dune: Messiah. Sources say the actor has been circling the role of the chief villain in the film, one that is possibly Scytale from Frank Herbert’s books. No offer has been made to Pattinson, whose call sheet includes starring in The Batman sequel for Matt Reeves, and appearing in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. Dune: Messiah is expected to film this summer ahead of a Dec. 18, 2026, release date from Warner Bros. Villeneuve has stated that this will be his final Dune film before he turns his attention to other projects. The story.
—"This movie is a labor of love and longing." Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay is making her feature directing debut with a very personal subject: her mother, Jayne Mansfield. HBO will premiere Hargitay’s documentary My Mom Jayne in June. The film will follow her “as she seeks to know, understand, and embrace her mother for the first time,” according to the documentary’s logline. Hargitay is the daughter of Mansfield, an actress and sex symbol of the 1950s and ‘60s, and actor and bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay. Mansfield died in a 1967 car accident, when Hargitay was 3 years old; she was involved in the accident as well but survived, as did two older siblings. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 The Angry Birds Movie 3 has landed at Paramount, which has set a theatrical release date of Jan. 29, 2027 for the video game adaptation. Game creator Rovio Entertainment and owner Sega are producing the threequel, which sees Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Rachel Bloom and Danny McBride reprising their leads roles as Red, Chuck, Silver and Bomb in the animated comedy. New arrivals to the voice cast include Emma Myers, Keke Palmer and Tim Robinson alongside Lily James, Marcello Hernandez, Walker Scobell, Sam Richardson, Anna Cathcart, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Nikki Glaser, James Austin Johnson and Psalm West. The story.
—🎭 Stacked cast 🎭 Takehiro Hira, best known for his Emmy-nominated work in FX’s Shogun, has joined the cast of Karoshi, a unique action thriller from Lionsgate. Teo Yoo, who broke out with A24’s romantic drama Past Lives, is toplining the feature that will also star Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo and 1923 actress Isabel May. Takashi Doscher, who was behind the 2019 postapocalyptic thriller Only, wrote the script and is directing. The project has producers with a notable pedigree. Chad Stahelski, who is the director and one of the producers of the John Wick franchise, along with Alex Young and Jason Spitz, are producing with their 87Eleven Entertainment. The story.
—📅 On the move 📅 Sony Pictures Classics has unveiled a new theatrical release date for Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. French writer-director Laura Piani’s romantic comedy will now arrive in select theaters on May 23. The romantic comedy that bowed at the Toronto Film Festival last year will then go wider nationwide a week later on May 30. Piani’s feature-length debut had originally been scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 16, where it would have gone head-to-head with the release that weekend of Lionsgate’s Hurry Up Tomorrow starring The Weeknd and Jenna Ortega and New Line’s Final Destination: Bloodlines. The story. |
Where Will 'White Lotus' Film Next? ►There are a few clues. The White Lotus creator Mike White has dropped some hints about his personal preferences (maybe less "crashing waves" imagery) for the location for season four, but tax incentives in emerging production hubs also play a factor as well. The story.
—"It was kind of a bitch move." Now that the dust has settled from The White Lotus third season finale, Mike White is getting candid about the show’s Emmy-winning composer, announcing he’s quitting the show. Talking to Howard Stern on Tuesday, White was asked about composer Cristóbal Tapia de Veer saying he’s not returning for the HBO drama’s fourth season after feuding with White over the show’s score. “I honestly don’t know what happened, except now I’m reading his interviews because he decides to do some PR campaign about him leaving the show,” White said. The story.
—"He's going through a full-blown identity crisis." THR's Seija Rankin spoke to The White Lotus star Sam Nivola, for his take on the season three finale. The actor discusses why his character will fare better than the rest of the financially-ruined Ratliff family — and why he's shocked people have questions about the fatal smoothie. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
'Black Mirror' Creator Charlie Brooker Wants Us Worried ►"I can’t look at anything without thinking, 'How could that hurt me?'" Ahead of the April 10 release of the latest season of Netflix's Black Mirror, THR's Mikey O'Connell spoke to creator Charlie Brooker. The high-strung satirist, who says he calms down when everybody else is on edge, discusses surrendering to Alexa and his knack for making prescient TV: "The cynic in me says, 'We should have fucking monetized that.'" The interview.
—Beautiful forever. CBS is extending the already long run of its daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful for several more seasons. The network has ordered three more seasons of the soap, which will take The Bold and the Beautiful through its 41st season in 2027-28. That lines up with CBS’ other long-running daytime soap, The Young and the Restless, which is on the first year of a four-year order that also runs through the ‘27-28 season. CBS has yet to make a decision on its first-year soap Beyond the Gates. That series, the first daytime drama to center Black characters in more than 35 years, premiered in February to solid ratings. The story.
—"To be honest, with the way we ended season two it would have been weird not to make a third." Colin from Accounts has been renewed for a third season at Paramount+ in the U.S. The real-life married couple Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer will return to write, executive produce and star in the new season of the Aussie comedy; both seasons one and two have a 100 percent “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The story.
—Growth spurt. Last week, the U.K. limited-series drama Adolescence jumped from No. 9 on Netflix‘s Most Popular English TV list to No. 4, the streamer revealed on Tuesday. It leapfrogged over seasons one and three of Bridgerton, fellow limited series The Queen’s Gambit and Fool Me Once, and season one of The Night Agent. Adolescence debuted less than a month ago and already has more than 114m views, Netflix says. Of that total, 17.8m happened last week, making Adolescence No. 1 yet again, besting Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer and and the streamer’s medical-procedural experiment Pulse in their respective debut weeks. The story. |
'Handmaid's Tale' Bosses Unpack All Those Reunions ►"We really wanted this season to be a season of triumph and uplift." THR's queen of chat Jackie Strause spoke to The Handmaid's Tale co-showrunners Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang about the three-episode season six premiere. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"I want to disconnect pleasure and shame." THR's Lexi Carson spoke to Michelle Williams about her new FX show Dying for Sex. The actress who stars in the spicy series, which is based on a true story, discusses her character's journey with sexual discovery and forgiveness. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"It was the opportunity to work with Rami and also have a front row seat to him as an actor who also produces." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Rachel Brosnahan about her new film, The Amateur. Brosnahan also discusses her recent PaleyFest reunion with Amy Sherman-Palladino and the unique challenge she’s faced, post-The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The interview. |
TV Review: 'The Clubhouse: A Year With the Red Sox' ►"Expertly captures the roller-coaster of a middling season." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews Netflix's The Clubhouse: A Year With the Red Sox. The Cheer, Last Chance U and Wrestlers team turns its attention to the 2024 Red Sox for a look into a season of mediocrity. The review.
—"Espionage made easy." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews James Hawes' The Amateur. Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan, Laurence Fishburne and Caitríona Balfe star in this feature adaptation of the Robert Littell novel about a man shattered by loss but galvanized by justice. The review.
In other news...
—Daniel Battsek named Film at Lincoln Center president
—MSNBC taps Crooked Media vet Madeleine Haeringer to lead digital efforts
—Susan Senk, veteran film publicist, dies at 75
—Judith Parker Harris, president of the company that’s home to The Blob, dies at 74
—William Finn, Tony-winning writer of Falsettos, dies at 73
What else we're reading...
—Meg James writes that the Trump tariffs are another nail in the coffin for Hollywood in China [LAT]
—Rob Copeland, Maureen Farrell and Lauren Hirsch report that Wall Street is bursting with anger over the stupidity of Trump's tariffs [NYT]
—Tom Sanders reports on an absolutely mortifying incident for Elon Musk, where the oligarch was bullied off a livestream by gamers [Daily Beast]
—Douglas Belkin reports that the Trump administration is freezing $2b of funding allocated to Cornell and Northwestern [WSJ]
—Ana Santi reports that fur, despite being more devisive than ever, is back in fashion with celebrities, fashionistas and Gen Z driving demand [BBC]
Today...
...in 2010, 20th Century released Shawn Levy's Date Night in theaters. The rom-com, starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey, was a big box office hit, making $152m at the global box office. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Kristen Stewart (35), Cynthia Nixon (59), Elle Fanning (27), Jay Baruchel (43), David Gordon Green (50), Jay Chandrasekhar (57), Dennis Quaid (71), Leighton Meester (39), Michael Learned (86), Keshia Knight Pulliam (46), Sorcha Cusack (76), Paulina Porizkova (60), Anamaria Vartolomei (26), Mark Pellegrino (60), Dom Hetrakul (49), Kathleen Munroe (43), Kathryn Hunter (68), Neve McIntosh (53), Isaac Hempstead Wright (26), Amber Lee Connors (34), Tanner Novlan (39), Jesse McCartney (38), Jaicy Elliot (32), Marine Vacth (34), Amalia Holm (30), Arlen Escarpeta (44), Kim Da-mi (30), Morgan Taylor Campbell (30), Alex Gaumond (47), Justine Eyre (49), Brenock O'Connor (25), Cameron Dye (66), Arsher Ali (41) |
| Marvin Levy, who spent nearly five decades handling public relations for Steven Spielberg and his films en route to becoming the only publicist to receive an Oscar, died Monday. He was 96. The obituary. |
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