| | | | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover star is Hollywood titan Barry Diller. Kid Cudi is set to testify at Diddy's trial. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is looking to cut production red tape. Netflix is making a Clash of Clans animated series. Carey Mulligan has joined the cast of Greta Gerwig's Narnia. — Abid Rahman
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Diller Speaks: Hollywood's Most Fearsome Legend Bares His Soul ►On the cover. Barry Diller’s impact on Hollywood is so vast and enduring it’s sometimes easy to take for granted. As a young exec at ABC during the 1970s, he invented the Movie of the Week, giving a greenlight to a then-unknown Steven Spielberg for Duel, the director’s very first feature-length film. By 37, Diller was chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, where he greenlit Beverly Hills Cop, Flashdance, Terms of Endearment, Saturday Night Fever and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Ten years later, he was launching the Fox network with The Simpsons, Married … With Children and 21 Jump Street, single-handedly creating a rival to the top three networks in just a few short years. THR 's co-editor-in-chief Maer Roshan spoke to Diller about moguldum, marriage, the movie business and the backlash to his brutally honest new memoir: "All I ever wanted was to matter." The cover story. |
Fame and Shame: The Deadly Toll of Celebrity in South Korea ►"It’s excessive, but the reality is that the Korean public demands this of artists. The entertainment industry has no choice but to comply." On Dec. 27, 2023, Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun — one of the unforgettable leads of Bong Joon Ho’s multi-Oscar-winning drama Parasite and one of the country's biggest and most beloved movie stars — was discovered dead by suicide inside his car in a public parking lot near the center of Seoul. He was 48. Lee's tragic story sparked a national fury about an entertainment culture where the pressure to live up to impossible standards can lead to exile, despair and even death. THR's Patrick Brzeski and Soomee Park look into whether anything has changed in South Korea since Lee's passing. The story.
—"I believe women should be heard, but I’m wrongfully convicted." Harvey Weinstein continued to proclaim his innocence on Candace Owens’ show amid his retrial on a rape charge and two criminal sexual acts. The interview, which Owens, a far-right political commentator, claims is the first on-camera interview Weinstein has done in eight years, came out Tuesday on the same day that the third and final accuser, Jessica Mann, testified as part of Weinstein’s trial related to an alleged rape in 2013. He also faces criminal sexual charges related to Miriam Haley, who alleges he forced oral sex on her at his Tribeca apartment in 2006, and from Kaja Sokola, who alleges that Weinstein forced oral sex on her in a Manhattan hotel in 2006. It’s rare for a defendant in a criminal trial to release an interview during the course of the trial, and a source close to the situation says that Weinstein’s attorneys were not aware of the project until after it was set up. The story.
—Set to testify. Prosecutors have called rapper and actor Kid Cudi to testify in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex-trafficking and racketeering trial in New York this week. Prosecutor Maurene Comey announced Tuesday that the rapper, who had a brief romantic relationship over a decade ago with Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, is expected to take the stand on Wednesday or Thursday. Ventura testified last week at the trial that Combs learned she was dating Kid Cudi while going through her phone messages at one of the “freak-off” events the couple would have at various hotels. Combs, Ventura said in her testimony, threatened to blow up Cudi’s car in early 2012. She also testified that Combs threatened to release two sex tapes featuring her and that the rap mogul would send an individual to harm both of them. The story. |
L.A. Mayor Vows to Cut Production Red Tape ►Vow to cut red tape. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is advancing efforts to streamline film and television production in Los Angeles, amid cries for further policymaker intervention on the issue of runaway production. Bass calls for a reduction of city staffers on shoots and improved access for crews to iconic Los Angeles locations like the Griffith Observatory, the Central Public Library and the Port of Los Angeles in an executive order that was signed Tuesday at the L.A. headquarters of performers’ union SAG-AFTRA. The directive further enlists city departments to cut red tape and help ease basic production headaches in a bid to improve the city’s friendliness to filmmakers. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Steven Paul, one of the minds behind a proposal from Hollywood ambassador Jon Voight to boost filming in the U.S., has acquired a small studio in Van Nuys, with plans to use the facility as a new shooting base for his production company. As Voight’s manager, Paul helped construct a sweeping proposal centered around a federal film incentive program and tariffs to the government aimed at curbing runaway production. He’s chief executive of SP Media Group, which has a co-financing deal with Paramount Pictures and is active in making independent action thrillers. The story.
—Hmmmm. Richard Grenell, acting president of the Kennedy Center and Donald Trump ally, has been elected to Live Nation Entertainment’s Board of Directors. The announcement, issued on Tuesday, comes as chief executive Michael Rapino continues to navigate regulatory landmines with the potential to blow up the company. Under Trump, the Department of Justice hasn’t abandoned a lawsuit that looks to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster. In a separate inquiry, federal prosecutors are also looking into whether the company and AEG Presents colluded in violation of antitrust laws on refund policies for canceled concerts during the early days of the pandemic in 2020. The story. |
George Wendt 1948 - 2025 ►"A doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him." George Wendt, who bellied up to the bar to portray the beer-quaffing everyman Norm Peterson for all 11 seasons of the fabled NBC sitcom Cheers, has died. He was 76. Wendt died peacefully in his sleep at home, his family confirmed early Tuesday morning. Wendt’s guy-next-door persona and easy delivery won him appreciation from fans and castmates as he played the lovable lug Norm, an accountant by trade, on every installment of Cheers during its 1982-93 run. He received Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for six consecutive years. The obituary.
—"He was a true craftsman — humble, hilarious, and full of heart." Hollywood notables and many of George Wendt’s former co-stars paid tribute to the late actor on Tuesday. Cheers castmembers Ted Danson, John Ratzenberger, Kelsey Grammer and Rhea Perlman were among those who remembered Wendt. Perlman said in a statement to THR, "George Wendt was the sweetest, kindest man I ever met. It was impossible not to like him. As Carla, I was often standing next to him, as Norm always took the same seat at the end of the bar, which made it easy to grab him and beat the crap out of him at least once a week. I loved doing it and he loved pretending it didn’t hurt. What a guy! I’ll miss him more than words can say." The reaction. |
With Cord Cut, Can Old TV Brands Take Off On Streaming? ►"The HBO Max reversal isn’t just a branding U-turn; it’s a flashing neon sign pointing to a critical juncture in the streaming landscape." As ESPN and CNN prep standalone flagship services and HBO returns to Max's title, studios are betting that there's equity in familiar names that stand for quality. THR's Alex Weprin looks into whether audiences will care. The analysis.
—Barbarians at the gate. Popular mobile game Clash of Clans is coming to Netflix as an animated series. Clash is currently in preproduction and the streamer's description of the show says it will follow "a determined, but in over his head, Barbarian who must rally a band of misfits to defend their village and navigate the comically absurd politics of war." Fletcher Moules, who directed the original Clash of Clans animated videos for gaming studio Supercell, will showrun. Ron Weiner is executive producer, with Vancouver-based Icon Creative Studio leading animation. The story.
—No-brainer. Yellowjackets is coming back for a fourth season. Paramount+ With Showtime has renewed the hit survival series created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson following a season three finale that was full of revelations and courted a still-buzzing audience. Production dates are set to be announced soon. The season three ender, which streamed April 11 (and aired two days later on the Showtime cable channel), became Paramount’s most-watched season finale with 3m cross-platform viewers worldwide in its first seven days. The story.
—In the works. NBC is developing a game show that will give viewers a chance to win prizes along with its on-camera contestants. The show is called Win Win, and it’s based on a format from production company Hello Dolly that will debut on ITV in the U.K. NBCUniversal Formats, part of Universal Studio Group, is licensing the show internationally; the NBC version is the first sale. Universal Television Alternative Studio will produce the show with Hello Dolly. Win Win will feature 40 in-studio contestants answering trivia questions based on “a unique nationwide survey.” Viewers can also play through an app, giving them a chance to win prizes alongside the players in studio. The game will build to a finale where one contestant is guaranteed to win a jackpot. The story. |
Behind AMC Theatres' Decision to Slash Ticket Prices ►"It's exciting to see further market experimentation." For years, Tuesdays have been a boon for moviegoing. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why: Ticket prices are deeply discounted in the U.S. and Canada. Now comes along AMC Theatres, which is slashing Wednesday adult evening ticket prices by 50 percent, beginning July 9, just as Superman and Jurassic World: Rebirth enter the fray. THR's Pamela McClintock digs into the reasons behind AMC's bold Wednesday gambit. The analysis.
—Swing and a big miss. Hurry Up Tomorrow, a psychological thriller about a tormented pop star played by Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye, debuted to a mere $3.3m domestically from 2,020 theaters over the May 16-18 weekend to finish in sixth-place despite his status as one of music's best-selling superstars. Overseas, it likewise made roughly $3m. Heading into the weekend, the $15m movie was tracking to open to $5m to $9m in North America. But withering reviews — its score on Rotten Tomatoes was 14 percent — combined with lethal word-of-mouth torpedoed the title, which was financed by Live Nation and distributed by Lionsgate as a companion piece to The Weeknd’s studio album of the same time. The box office report.
—🎭 Award-winning addition. 🎭 Borys "Scoops" Kit is back with another, er, scoop, this time with the news that Carey Mulligan is in negotiations to nab a key role in Narnia, Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia fantasy novels. Netflix is backing the adaptation of the books, with Gerwig’s feature tackling the sixth novel of the series, The Magician’s Nephew . Gerwig wrote the script and is directing. The project is deep in the casting stage, with Daniel Craig, Emma Mackey and Meryl Streep the big names on the roll call as the production seeks out its young leads. Craig is reportedly playing the uncle, Mackey the White Witch, and Streep voicing Aslan, the talking lion who in the books is the King of Kings. Mulligan will play the very sick mother of Digory, one of the two kids in the adventure. The story.
—🎭 Two more. 🎭 Calm down Borys! Another scoop from Kit, in this one he brings us news Rashida Jones and Meg Ryan have joined the fast-growing cast of Good Sex, the romantic comedy Lena Dunham is directing for Netflix. The duo join Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo and Tucker Pillsbury (aka, the singer-songwriter known as Role Model) in the feature that Dunham also wrote. Good Sex centers on a pragmatic couples therapist named Ally (Portman), who after spending a decade in a failed relationship and now turning 40, reluctantly dips her toe back into the New York dating scene. But, per Netflix’s logline, Ally gets more than she bargained for when she meets two men, one in his twenties (Pillsbury) and one in his fifties (Ruffalo), who show her there is no set formula for good sex. The story.
—🎭 Effing great news. 🎭 THR animaniac Ryan Gajewski has the scoop that Elle Fanning is set to join the fray in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping . The Emmy-nominated actress has been cast as Effie Trinket in the forthcoming Lionsgate film. Francis Lawrence directs the movie adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-selling novel that will hit theaters Nov. 20, 2026. In the feature, Effie serves as the stylist for Haymitch Abernathy (played by Joseph Zada) in the preparation for the 50th Hunger Games. Elizabeth Banks portrayed an older version of Effie in the series’ first four films that kicked off with The Hunger Games hitting theaters in 2012. The story.
—🎭 Handsome off. 🎭 Daniel Craig and Cillian Murphy are in negotiations to star in Damien Chazelle’s untitled prison movie. Paramount will distribute the drama, which is being produced by Chazelle and Olivia Hamilton via their Wild Chickens Productions shingle. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the film is being described as a two-hander set in a prison. A late year start of production is being eyed. The story. |
Film Review: 'Lilo & Stitch' ►"Déjà vu, live-action style." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Dean Fleischer Camp's Lilo & Stitch. Tia Carrere, Zach Galifianakis, Hannah Waddingham and Billy Magnussen are among the stars of this new Disney live-action take on the popular 2002 animated film. The review.
—"A visually lush, narratively overstuffed feast." Frank reviews Sylvain Chomet's A Magnificent Life. Premiering at Cannes, the latest animated feature from The Triplets of Belleville and The Illusionist director is a whimsical biography of pioneering French writer and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol. The review.
—"Love in a cold climate." THR's Leslie Felperin reviews Anne Emond's Cannes Directors’ Fortnight selection, Peak Everything. Piper Perabo and Patrick Hivon star in Emond's film about how dread over climate change affects even the happy accident of falling in love. The review.
—"Poetically parallels the personal and the political." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Akinola Davies Jr.'s Cannes Un Certain Regard selection, My Father's Shadow. Slow Horses star Sopé Dirisu leads Davies Jr.'s debut feature, which follows a father trying to connect with his sons over the course of a consequential day in Nigerian politics. The review. |
Film Review: 'It Was Just an Accident' ►"A shrewdly crafted vengeance film." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Jafar Panahi's Cannes competition entry, It Was Just an Accident. The legendary Iranian dissident filmmaker, a Golden Bear and Golden Lion winner, arrives on the Croisette with his latest feature, which is also his first movie not to have been shot illegally since 2006. Starring Valid Mobasseri, Maryam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi and Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr. The review.
—"A fearless performance carries a meandering drama." Jordan reviews Anna Cazenave Cambet's Cannes Un Certain Regard selection, Love Me Tender. The French director adapts Constance Debré’s award-winning 2020 book about a woman fighting for custody of her son after she comes out as a lesbian. Starring Vicky Krieps, Antoine Reinartz, Monia Chokri, Vigo Ferrera-Redier, Aurélia Petit, Ji-min Park and Salif Cissé. The review.
—"The Bad Doctor." Jordan reviews Kirill Serebrennikov's The Disappearance of Josef Mengele. The new feature from the Russian director behind Leto, follows the infamous Nazi doctor during the decades he spent evading capture in South America. Starring August Diehl, Max Bretschneider, Dana Herfurth, Friederike Becht, Mirco Kreibich, David Ruland, Annamaria Lang and Tilo Werner. The review.
In other news...
—The Bear S4 trailer looks for calm amid the usual chaos
—Welcome to Derry trailer: Stephen King’s killer It the clown returns
—Netflix releases FUBAR S2 trailer with a dancing Schwarzenegger
—Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator: Killer of Killers trailer is brutal revenge violence
—UMG to move New York offices in 2027
—David Geffen files for divorce from Donovan Michaels
—Peppa Pig’s Mummy delivers new baby girl, Evie
What else we're reading...
—Brynn Shiovitz, one of the forty victims of James Toback, shares her story about the sexual abuse she suffered from the disgraced filmmaker, and also offers her thoughts on the court case that led to a $1.68b judgment against Toback [Vanity Fair]
—More changes coming to Google search, with Katherine Blunt reporting that the tech giant is rolling out feature that will answer search queries in chatbot-style conversation without classic blue links [WSJ]
—Brian Stelter reports that CBS News is in distress amid Trump’s pressure campaign on 60 Minutes [CNN]
—Damon Beres and Charlie Warzel report that AI slop has come for regional newspapers, with at least two titles syndicating AI garbage recently [Atlantic]
—Jason Zinoman writes that Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney is the weirdo talk show that understands what’s wrong with the genre [NYT]
Today...
...in 1980, George Lucas brought The Empire Strikes Back to theaters. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Mr. T (73), Da'Vine Joy Randolph (39), Hannah Einbinder (30), Chase Sui Wonders (29), Fairuza Balk (51), Sarah Ramos (34), Rachelle Goulding (39), Brett Tucker (53), Jonathan Hyde (77), Kate Phillips (36), Al Franken (74), Nick Cassavetes (66), Judge Reinhold (68), Noel Fielding (52), Juliet Cowan (51), Kyle Red Silverstein (23), Olivia Olson (33), David Ajala (39), Alexandre Rodrigues (42), Giovanna Lancellotti (32), Jeff Pierre (39), Robbie Magasiva (53), Russell Balogh (44), Sang Heon Lee (29), Cristina Rodlo (35), Belinda Bromilow (50), Kano (40), Liz Feldman (48), Sunkrish Bala (41), Keith L. Williams (18), Lino Guanciale (46), Maria Fernanda Cândido (51), Tim Hill (67) |
| | Kathleen Hughes, the statuesque 1950s starlet who unleashed a terrifying scream in connection with her role in the 3D sci-fi classic It Came From Outer Space, has died. She was 96. The obituary. |
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