| | | | | | What's news: Fox has renewed The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers and American Dad! for four seasons each. Lionsgate's Michael Jackson biopic may become two movies. Disney is leaving the famed Fox Studio Lot. The White Lotus composer Cristóbal Tapia de Veer says he’s not returning for season four. — Abid Rahman
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The Incredible Shrinking Studio Chief ►"You're more of a brand manager than a creative advocate and playing it safe seems like the smarter career move." High-flying entertainment execs are dropping like flies right now — at Amazon MGM Studios, and possibly at Warner Bros. — turning what was once the most coveted job in Hollywood into one of the riskiest. THR's Borys Kit and Peter Kiefer ask has there ever been a more challenging and unpleasant time to be a studio executive than today? The story.
—Clown show. Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon declared what he called “Liberation Day”: Announcing wide-ranging tariffs that he argued will rebalance the global trade order, and in his words make America rich. Many entertainment executives were surely watching what happened closely, and they aren’t feeling rich. The media business might not be built on imported physical goods, but many of its largest advertisers are, and the ad business is already beginning to feel the pain, multiple sources on the buy side and the sell side tell THR's Alex Weprin. The story.
—End of an era. Disney is leaving the famed Fox Studio Lot amid plans to centralize production teams in Burbank. Fox retained the 53-acre lot on Pico Boulevard in Century City as part of its $71.3b deal with Disney in 2019 for the bulk of assets owned by 21st Century Fox. It reached a seven-year leaseback with the entertainment giant to avoid disruption of productions shooting at the lot. Over the past year, Disney’s TV arm has been bringing Los Angeles-based teams together in Burbank, with the goal streamlining services. As part of this plan, Disney isn’t renewing its lease with Fox. Teams based at the location are already relocating to workplaces in Burbank, where the company has its own studio lot, production services and office space. The story. |
Who Will Lead Hollywood's Political Revival? ►The end of the kingmaker. THR's Gary Baum and Peter Kiefer write that the precipitous decline of Jeffrey Katzenberg, long the town’s chief political power broker, has left the entertainment industry’s Democratic elite without a leader, a plan or the clout they once wielded — just as Trump retakes Washington with vengeance on his mind. The analysis.
—Leveling up. Spotify is introducing a suite of new tools, as the audio giant makes a larger commitment to its advertising business. The new tools include the ability for advertisers in the U.S. to use generative AI to create scripts and voice overs in Spotify’s Ads Manager for the first time, as well as new programmatic offerings and measurement tools for advertisers to evaluate how their ads are performing on the platform. Additionally, Spotify is establishing new brand partnerships with Visa and Kona Big Wave, through its in-house consultancy offering, Spotify AUX. The story.
—On the up. Sean Gamble, CEO of major theater chain Cinemark, earned $9.8m in overall pay in 2024, the company said in a securities filing on Wednesday. His compensation package came as Cinemark, the third-largest theater circuit in the U.S. behind AMC Theatres and Regal Entertainment Group, continues to recover at the box office coming out of the pandemic. Gamble, who became president and CEO of the cinema chain in January 2022, made $8.8m in overall pay in 2023, and $5.95m in the year-earlier period. The story. |
CinemaCon: Donna Langley Urges Theaters to Offer Better Experience Than Home Viewing ►"Our audiences are evolving, and we need to work harder than ever to earn a share of their time and their wallets." Donna Langley, chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios, presented Universal's slate and addressed theater owners at CinemaCon on Wednesday. Amid uncertain times for a number of major Hollywood studios, THR's Pamela McClintock reports that Langley was a calming force when taking the stage and assured cinema operators that Universal will continue to provide them with an unparalleled amount of product. The recap.
—"Once-in-a-generation cinematic masterpiece." Christopher Nolan did not make it to CinemaCon this year — the Oscar-winning auteur is deep in production on his upcoming epic The Odyssey — but his name did come up on the main stage. During Universal's presentation, the studio’s president of domestic theatrical distribution, Jim Orr, took the stage and praised Nolan’s “visionary take” on the Greek myth. The story.
—"We have the privilege of doing it all again." Filmmaker Jon M. Chu bewitched thousands of theater owners in Las Vegas when sharing footage of Universal's highly anticipated Wicked: For Good, the second title in his two-part on-screen adaptation of the iconic Broadway musical. And of course, the presentation wouldn’t have been complete without assistance from stars Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda the Good Witch, and Cynthia Erivo‘s Elphaba, aka the Wicked Witch of the West. The footage included the first look at Dorothy, albeit without showing her face, and there was also golden bricks, a wedding and flying monkeys galore. The story.
—Sneak peek. Wes Anderson‘s next feature The Phoenician Scheme revealed its first trailer at CinemaCon. The forthcoming film stars Benicio del Toro and Mia Threapleton as a father-daughter pair with a fractured relationship. The trailer, which has not been shared publicly, opens with del Toro’s character looking bloodied and injured after surviving his sixth airplane crash. No details about the plot were shared from the stage, although much of the action involved battle scenes. The story.
—They've spared no expense. Jurassic World Rebirth roared onto the CinemaCon stage with star Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and director Gareth Edwards. The presentation was brought to life at the start by a full orchestra performing a live rendition of the franchise’s familiar theme music, originally composed by John Williams. The group brought plenty of jokes with them ahead of the film’s July 2 release. The story.
—Doubling down. Universal is ready to sink its teeth into its live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon 2. The studio announced at CinemaCon that the feature sequel is set to hit theaters June 11, 2027. The first live-action How to Train Your Dragon, based on DreamWorks Animation‘s hit 2010 animated movie of the same name, is coming out June 13. Franchise mainstay Dean DeBlois returns for the sequel, along with castmembers Mason Thames as Hiccup and Nico Parker as Astrid. The story.
—🎭 Two more 🎭 Kristen Wiig and Gloria Estefan are moving into Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie. The two are confirmed to join the cast of the Ryan Crego-directed hybrid live-action and animated film, per DreamWorks Animation president Margie Cohn, who announced it during Universal's presentation. Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie finds Laila Lockhart Kraner reprising her role from the beloved small screen series. The film follows the tween as she goes on a road trip with her Grandma Gigi (Estefan) to the urban wonderland of Cat Francisco. The story.
More from Universal's CinemaCon presentation...
—Marlon Wayans reveals first trailer for Jordan Peele-produced horror movie Him
—Jason Blum, Madeleine McGraw team to debut The Black Phone 2 trailer
—Bob Odenkirk is back and bruised in Nobody 2 footage
—M3GAN 2.0 hits CinemaCon with 30 dolls dancing to Britney Spears hit
—M3GAN spinoff SOULM8TE debuts sexy trailer with romantic companion gone wrong
—Yorgos Lanthimos' film Bugonia reveals first look with (a bald) Emma Stone
—Jason Blum reveals Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 trailer in full costume |
CinemaCon: Amazon Comes Out Swinging ►New Affleck meme just dropped. How do you close an inaugural CinemaCon presentation featuring some of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars? If you’re the executives at Amazon MGM Studios, you ask them to close the show with an epic group selfie. Vivica A. Fox had the honors of hoisting a selfie stick to capture the talent that had appeared on the Colosseum stage inside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas during the two-hour show to cap a packed convention schedule on Wednesday night just before 10 p.m. It was a rare group gathering on the big stage at CinemaCon where stars usually come out in clusters to promote their respective films. The recap.
—"It’s an insanely ambitious story that’s massive in scope." Project Hail Mary got a soft launch at CinemaCon. The Phil Lord and Christopher Miller film got a share of the spotlight during Amazon MGM's presentation on Wednesday night thanks in large part to mega star Ryan Gosling. It actually got prime position in kicking off the studios’ inaugural presentation with a cold open that went straight into exclusive footage that lasted several minutes. Once it wrapped, Lord, Miller and Gosling hit the stage to talk about their collaboration. The story.
—First-look. Masters of the Universe got a major first look at CinemaCon. Amazon MGM Studios took the veil off the anticipated film from director Travis Knight by showing off a sizzle reel that showed the cast and creative collaborators on set, offering the first time they’ve been seen in their costumes. The views that hit the big-screen showed massive London sets with intricate backdrops, swords and accessories and He-Man (Nicholas Galitzine) in his full blonde glory with his hair blowing in the wind. The story.
—"The character never left me." Ben Affleck and his team from The Accountant 2 brought new footage for their action-packed sequel to CinemaCon. Affleck was joined by director Gavin O’Connor and other members of the cast to promote the follow-up to the 2016 original. The sequel from Amazon MGM Studios hits theaters April 25. The story.
—"This is a movie that’s built to see with other people to talk about and discuss." Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri brought the tense first trailer from their new thriller After the Hunt to CinemaCon. Luca Guadagnino joined his castmembers to tease the Amazon MGM Studios film that also stars Julia Roberts and hits select theaters Oct. 10 before expanding the following week. Hailing from Imagine Entertainment, After the Hunt focuses on a college professor (Roberts) who is forced to confront her own dark past when a prominent student (Edebiri) makes an accusation against one of her colleagues (Garfield). The story.
More from Amazon MGM's CinemaCon presentation...
—Hugh Jackman unveils sheep-filled footage for detective film Three Bags Full
—Michael B. Jordan teases new Thomas Crown Affair movie
—Amazon MGM debuts twisted Verity footage with cast message
—Chris Pratt begs for Mercy from CinemaCon crowd while teasing film
—Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry reveal first footage for L.A. heist movie Crime 101 |
James L. Brooks Is Back With a New Film and Already Has Notes on His Next One ►"I never had the ambition to be a director. Then somehow with Terms of Endearment, it evolved. It changed, and I truly have no idea when or where." Ahead of receiving CinemaCon's Cinema Verité prize on Thursday, legendary filmmaker James L. Brooks spoke to THR's nicest man Chris Gardner. The 84-year-old multihyphenate discusses the milestone moments in his six decade-plus career, as well as his new film Ella McCay, his first directorial effort in 15 years. The interview.
—In flux. A year ago at CinemaCon, Lionsgate closed out its presentation with a surprise, lengthy look at Michael, with the footage getting a strong response from the Coliseum crowd. Producer Graham King revealed that the Michael Jackson biopic would include 30 songs and have a lengthy run time in order to do justice to the late pop star’s story. Now, King and his fellow filmmakers are mulling a new reality for the project, where the superstar’s onscreen story can be further expanded across two features. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Angel Studios has drawn up a deal for Seth Worley’s Sketch. The company behind the box office phenomenon Sound of Freedom confirmed during its CinemaCon presentation that it has acquired the film for distribution and set a release date for Aug. 6. Wonder Project and UTA’s Independent Film Group negotiated the deal. Written and directed by Worley, Sketch stars Tony Hale, D’Arcy Carden, Bianca Belle and Kue Lawrence in the story of a single dad who is swept up in an insane adventure when his daughter’s comically dark drawings come to life and terrorize their small town. Hale also produced with Steve Taylor and Dusty Brown. The story. |
Why the TCAs Were Canceled (Again) ►More Hollywood cost-cutting. On Wednesday, the Television Critics Association's board of directors informed its members via email that the next big installment of the media press tour has gone the way of, well, quite a few other TCAs in recent memory. Often referred to simply as “The TCAs,” the press tour is a twice-a-year event in which TV and streaming platforms present their new (and occasionally returning) shows to a ballroom full of critics and reporters. THR's Tony Maglio explains what's going on with the TCAs and the event's future. The story.
—"I’ve got some exciting things in the works." Longtime Inside Edition anchor Deborah Norville is exiting the syndicated CBS newsmagazine after 30 years. Norville announced the decision on the program Wednesday, telling viewers that she would leave at the end of the current season. Norville has been a staple on TV sets each weekday afternoon for decades, delivering Inside Edition’s trademark mix of entertainment, true crime, lifestyle and tabloid news segments and stories to viewers. The story.
—Away we go. Paramount+ announced the start of filming on a second season of Landman. The Taylor Sheridan drama has started shooting new episodes after its breakout debut season last fall. In addition to star Billy Bob Thornton — who plays an operations executive for a Texas oil company — Demi Moore is set to return following her Oscar nominated turn in The Substance. The second season also stars Oscar nominee Andy Garcia, Ali Larter, Jacob Lofland, Michelle Randolph, Paulina Chávez, Kayla Wallace, Mark Collie, James Jordan and Colm Feore. There’s no premiere date yet. The story.
—New highs. ABC’s The Rookie drew its largest audience of the season — in several seasons, in fact — with its March 25 episode. The drama hit season highs in both total viewers (8.25m) and adults 18-49 (1.67 rating, equivalent to about 2.24m people in that demographic) with three days of cross-platform viewing. About 43 percent of the total audience (3.57m viewers), and more than 70 percent of the show’s 18-49 rating (1.19), came via streaming. The 8.25m viewers were the most for The Rookie after three days since January 2023, midway through the show’s fifth season. The 18-49 rating was the show’s best since the penultimate episode of season two in May 2020. The ratings. |
Fox Gives Huge Pickups to 'The Simpsons,' 'Family Guy' and 'Bob's Burgers' ►Embiggen to the max! Fox is locking in its animated cornerstones for the remainder of the 2020s. In a huge commitment to longer-running shows The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers, the network has ordered four more seasons of each show. Additionally, Fox officially announced that American Dad! will return to the network in 2025-26, also with a four-season order. The renewals will take all four series through the 2028-29 season. The Simpsons will extend its already ludicrous run through its 40th season and, depending on the episode count for the coming seasons, will likely approach 900 episodes by the end of the order. Family Guy will run through its 27th season and Bob’s Burgers through its 19th. The order for American Dad! will encompass seasons 20 through 23, by Fox’s count. The story.
—Oh no!!! The White Lotus composer Cristóbal Tapia de Veer says he’s not returning for the HBO drama’s fourth season after feuding with creator Mike White over show’s score across its acclaimed three seasons. The three-time Emmy winner — whose signature tribal score is practically a character on the series — told The New York Times that he is exiting the show. “I announced to the [editorial] team a few months ago that I was not coming back, that I was leaving,” he said. “At some point, [White] heard about that.” Pressed whether was for certain leaving the series, de Veer replied, “Yeah, yeah. For sure.” The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 South Park will finally return for its 27th season on July 9, on Comedy Central. The hit animated franchise has been away for a while. The show’s 26th season premiered more than two years ago, in February 2023. There was a TV special, South Park: The End of Obesity, in 2024, and a 2023 TV movie South Park: Joining the Panderverse. In 2021, TV movie South Park: Post COVID premiered. What craziness will be parodied in season 27? Well, the teaser includes the line, “I’m just gonna do some ketamine and fuck around with the government a little,” so, that sort of thing. The story.
—🎭 Busy, busy 🎭 Ted Lasso star Juno Temple is returning to Apple TV+ — in a different series. The four-time Emmy nominee will star in a “comedic drama” called The Husbands, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Holly Gramazio. The show comes from A24, which also produced Sunny and Mr. Corman for the streamer. In The Husbands, Temple will play Lauren, who comes home to her flat in London and is greeted by her husband, Michael. “There’s only one problem — she’s never seen him before in her life,” the show’s description reads. Temple remains in negotiations to reprise her role as Keeley Jones in Ted Lasso , which Apple recently picked up for a fourth season. The story. |
David Zucker Remembers Val Kilmer ►"His reading was spot-on, but when he broke into an impromptu rendition of Elvis’ “Turn Me Loose,” we knew we had our star." In a guest column for THR, filmmaker David Zucker, the co-director and co-writer of Val Kilmer's movie debut Top Secret!, shares how it “was hard to predict which Val would show up on any given day” before things turned around. The column.
—"A great character actor with the looks of a leading man, capable of melting into roles that almost invariably had an edge to them." In a tribute piece reflecting on Val Kilmer's diverse career, THR movie critic Jordan Mintzer writes that the actor was an unclassifiable heartthrob who always had an edge. The critic's appreciation.
—"Unbelievable, and so heartbreaking." Val Kilmer died just before the actor was set to walk the red carpet at the Beverly Hills Film Festival. "It was a shock to find this out. We had just confirmed Val to attend the West Coast premiere of American Badass: A Michael Madsen Retrospective this past weekend," Nino Simone, founder and president of the Beverly Hills Film Festival, said Wednesday in a statement. "He [Kilmer] was thrilled to come out in support of his friend [Madsen]." The story. |
Film Review: 'A Minecraft Movie' ►"Mindnumbing." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Jared Hess' A Minecraft Movie. In this video game adaptation, Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Sebastian Hansen, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks and Jennifer Coolidge star in the story of four strangers who must find their way back home after being pulled into a cubic wonderland created by a doorknob salesman. The review.
—"A strong cast boosts a familiar formula." THR's Angie Han reviews Netflix's Pulse. The Carlton Cuse-produced medical drama series centers on a group of ambitious residents navigating personal and professional crises in one of Miami's busiest emergency rooms. The review.
In other news...
—Ryan Kwanten battles dinosaurs in Vietnam in Primitive War trailer
—Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S3 trailer teases rom-com episode
—John Krasinski, Natalie Portman search for immortality in Guy Ritchie’s Fountain of Youth trailer
—Mark Ronson hospitalized after injuring himself during DJ set
—Shondaland ups 3 executives as company eyes further expansion
—Comedian Naomi Watanabe signs with UTA, Brillstein
What else we're reading...
—Kyle Chayka writes that the recent shocking spread of Studio Ghibli-inspired AI-generated slop may bode worse for audiences than for artists [New Yorker]
—Patricia Cohen, Adam Satariano, Eshe Nelson and Jeanna Smialek report that countries targeted by Trump’s tariffs may strike back at U.S. services, which make up the bulk of the American economy [NYT]
—Philip Heijmans reports that Trump's tariffs are a disaster for the world's poorest countries [Bloomberg]
—Rachael Bade reports that Trump has told his inner circle that Elon Musk will leave soon [Politico]
—Chloe Laws wonders why Hollywood is so afraid of Rachel Zegler and other women who speak their minds [Glamour]
Today...
...in 2015, Universal released James Wan's Furious 7 in theaters. The ensemble action film, which grossed a massive $1.5b worldwide, was Paul Walker's final screen appearance after the actor tragically died in an accident during production. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Eddie Murphy (64), Adam Scott (52), Matthew Goode (47), Sofia Boutella (43), Alec Baldwin (67), Cobie Smulders (43), Ben Mendelsohn (56), Amanda Bynes (39), Catherine McCormack (53), Jamie Bamber (52), Rachel Bloom (38), David Hyde Pierce (66), Jennie Garth (53), Josh Safdie (41), Elsie Fisher (22), Eric Braeden (84), Angela Featherstone (60), Natacha Karam (31), Lesley Sharp (65), Sarah Jeffery (29), Marsha Mason (83), Jennifer Rubin (63), Ruby Bentall (37), Will Mellor (49), Sebastian Bach (57), Tomas Arana (70), Alice Lowe (48), Hayley Kiyoko (34), Elizabeth Gracen (64), Ella Bleu Travolta (25), Chrissie Fit (41), Paris Jackson (27), Christiane Seidel (37) |
| Johnny Tillotson, the 1960s chart-topping and Grammy-nominated singer of “Poetry in Motion,” died Tuesday. He was 86. The obituary. |
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