| | | | | | What's news: Russell Simmons is suing WBD for $20m over a doc. A legal battle has broken over Jimmy Buffets $275m estate. Dog Day Afternoon is heading to Broadway. Love Island USA contestant Yulissa Escobar has left the show amid a racism storm. — Abid Rahman
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THR's Comedy Actress Roundtable ►"Nobody wants to play that f***ing game." THR's award-winning Roundtable Series continues, next up are the TV comedy actresses. Six stars — Kristen Bell, Hannah Einbinder, Kathryn Hahn, Natasha Lyonne, Jessica Williams and Michelle Williams — find themselves careening wildly between laughter and tears as they gather with THR's Lacey Rose to unpack their own personal and professional vulnerabilities, reveal the empowering side of onscreen nudity and, yes, even debate the merits of emojis — the eggplant included. The roundtable. |
WBD Lays Off Staffers Across Cable Channels ►Spinoff incoming? Warner Bros. Discovery is undergoing a new round of layoffs. The job cuts, which are numbered in the double digits but was described to THR as being well under 100, come across the company’s linear cable groups. No particular channel was affected more than others, a person with knowledge of the layoffs said, and no specific function was targeted. In December 2024, WBD took steps toward spinning its cable channels away from its studio and streaming businesses, a la NBCUniversal and the newly created Versant. A reorg at WBD created a global linear TV division, which is the one impacted today. The story.
—Suit filed. WBD has been sued by Russell Simmons, who alleges that the filmmakers behind On the Record defamed him by turning a blind eye to evidence disputing accusations that he sexually assaulted women in his orbit. In a lawsuit filed in New York state court on Tuesday, Simmons brings claims for defamation, invasion of privacy and false advertising, among others. He seeks $20m and a court order that would force WBD to remove the title from its platforms. On the Record tells the stories of Simmons’ accusers — including former Def Jam executive Drew Dixon, domestic violence awareness activist Sil Lai Abrams and screenwriter Jenny Lumet — as they decide to go public with allegations of sexual assault. The story.
—No dice. Disney’s bid to temporarily block YouTube's hiring of Justin Connolly in a newly created role as global head of media and sports has been denied. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant on Wednesday concluded that Disney is unlikely to prevail on claims that YouTube illegally poached Connolly in violation of his contract with the entertainment giant. Last month, Disney filed a lawsuit faulting YouTube for Connolly’s defection to YouTube to spearhead its media and sports division. It sought a temporary restraining order to prevent him from starting at the Google-owned company, claiming that he could leak confidential information or trade secrets belonging to Disney ahead of a licensing renewal with YouTube. The story.
—Messy. A legal battle has broken over Jimmy Buffets $275m estate, with his wife and accountant initiating proceedings for control of the trust. In a petition filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, Jane Buffett points to an “unsolvable rift” with Rick Mozenter, the co-trustee of her husband’s estate allegedly acting against her best interests. She accuses Mozenter of mismanaging the trust, which is paying her roughly $2m annually at a rate of return of less than one percent. Based on the estimate, Mozenter told the late singer’s wife to “consider adjustments” to her lifestyle or sell her own assets to make up the difference, the lawsuit says. The story. |
Dustin Lance Black, Sean Penn Hit Back as Navy Ship Is Stripped of Harvey Milk's Name ►"He's an icon. Renaming a ship isn't going to change that." Dustin Lance Black and Sean Penn, who won Academy Awards for writing and starring in the 2008 Harvey Milk biopic Milk, are speaking out on orders from U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to remove the name of the gay rights activist and late San Francisco Supervisor from a Navy ship. “This is yet another move to distract and to fuel the culture wars that create division,” Black told THR's Seth Abramovitch . "It’s meant to get us to react in ways that are self-centered so that we are further distanced from our brothers and sisters in equally important civil rights fights in this country. It’s divide and conquer." The story.
—"I adore, I love this woman madly." Walton Goggins is finally explaining the great mystery of our time: Why the actor unfollowed his White Lotus season three co-star Aimee Lou Wood on Instagram after the finale aired. Or, at least, Goggins is giving a detailed reason as to why he did it. Readers can judge for themselves — and most assuredly will — as to whether there’s more to the story. Goggins and Wood — who played doomed lovers Rick and Chelsea on the HBO anthology hit — seemed ready to clear up any such gossip as awards season gets underway. In a new interview, Goggins and Wood tackled the Instagram controversy head on. The story.
—"I’m not dying." Howard Stern revealed a conversation with Billy Joel where the music icon discussed his recent diagnosis of a brain condition. The 76-year-old “Piano Man” singer recently revealed he was diagnosed with a brain disorder called Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus and announced while canceling his upcoming concerts for at least four months. NPH is a brain disorder where excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain’s ventricles. The news has caused fans to worry about Joel’s health. On Tuesday’s episode of his radio show, Stern said he had dinner with Joel a couple of weeks earlier for the singer’s birthday. “We had dinner together, it went fine,” Stern said. “He does have issues. But he said to me — so I’m not saying anything crazy — ‘Yeah, you can tell people: I’m not dying.’ He wants people to know that." The story.
—"He's going to be fine." The 2025 Tribeca Festival kicked off with the world premiere of the HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So it Goes, but its subject was unable to attend the celebration. In keeping with that focus on recovery, Joel wasn’t on hand for the Tribeca opening night celebration, but the directors and producers of the two-part film, echoed comments made by Howard Stern, indicated there’s no reason to be too concerned. The story. |
THR's Tonys Roundtable ►Roundtable bonus! Ahead of the 78th Tony Awards, which will take place on Sunday night at Radio City Music Hall in New York and air on CBS, THR gathered seven of the 2024-2025 Broadway season’s standout performers for our annual Tonys Roundtable. THR's executive editor of awards Scott Feinberg sat down with Sarah Snook, Darren Criss, Nicole Scherzinger, Jonathan Groff, Audra McDonald, Cole Escola and Louis McCartney, who dish about non-trad casting, pushing people's buttons and life on the Great White Way. The roundtable.
—🎭 Shut up and take my money! 🎭 A stage version of 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon from the theatrical arm of Warner Bros. is headed to Broadway, with The Bear actors Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach in starring roles. Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis adapted the film about a bank heist gone awry for the live stage, with Rupert Goold directing. Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures will open the play on Broadway in the spring of 2026. Bernthal will play Sonny Amato and Moss-Bachrach will perform the role of Sal DeSilva. The Oscar-winning film Dog Day Afternoon was set in summer 1972 in New York City and followed one man’s desperate act with a Brooklyn bank hold up that quickly went wrong and generated national attention. In 1975, Al Pacino and John Cazale starred in Sidney Lumet’s Academy Award-winning hostage drama. The story.
—🎭 He's back! 🎭 Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, will reprise the role on Broadway. Felton will join the cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway starting Nov. 11, for a 19-week engagement through March 22, 2026. The play is set 19 years after the end of the original Harry Potter series, and sees Draco as a father, alongside Harry, Ron and Hermione, who are all sending their children off to Hogwarts. This will mark Felton’s Broadway debut and the first time a member of the Harry Potter film cast has joined the stage production. The story.
—"You want it to be a big event. You want it to land big." George Clooney’s play Good Night, and Good Luck is set to air live on CNN this Saturday, in a move meant to spread the play’s timely message and raise the profile of Broadway. 2929 Entertainment, a production company owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban, Jeff Skoll’s Participant Media and Clooney are financing the effort. THR's Caitlin Huston spoke to the key players behind the move to put the Broadway blockbuster on cable and how they are preparing to go live. The story. |
Blumhouse in Talks to Buy Into 'Saw' Franchise ►Spiraling to a deal. The on-again, off-again talks of Blumhouse acquiring part of long-running horror franchise Saw are back on, and this time may actually be far enough to close. Blumhouse is in the midst of a deal to take over the ownership stake of Saw from Twisted Pictures, the banner run by Oren Koules and Mark Burg. Twisted co-owns the rights with Lionsgate, which has distributed the films since the releasing the first film in 2004. If a deal makes, it would bring the franchise back into the partial hands of James Wan, the filmmaker who directed that movie and created the franchise with co-writer Leigh Whannell. Blumhouse, run by Jason Blum, merged with Wan’s production banner, Atomic Monster, in early January 2024. The talks between Blumhouse and Twisted began last year but broke down earlier this year. A sale price was one of the big sticking points. The story.
—📅 Off the calendar. 📅 Fans of The Exorcist might feel their stomachs turn a bit upon learning that Mike Flanagan‘s planned film could take longer to hit theaters than expected. The filmmaker took to Tumblr to respond to a fan’s question regarding whether his new movie in the franchise was still moving forward. THR reported last year that Flanagan would be writing, directing and producing a new project in the Exorcist universe for Universal that was scheduled for release on March 13, 2026. Flanagan explained in his post that his first priority is his Carrie series for Amazon MGM Studios. “Production hasn’t started, we need to finish Carrie first,” Flanagan wrote. “No way it’s coming out next March. Nothing to worry about though.” On Wednesday, Universal removed the Exorcist from its 2026 release calendar and replaced it with an untitled Blumhouse movie. The story.
—🎭 Ma Ma land. 🎭 Octavia Spencer is on board for more Ma. On a busy news day for Blumhouse on Wednesday, the company revealed that a sequel to the psychological horror thriller is in development. The 2019 feature earned $60m at the box office and starred Oscar-winner Spencer as Sue Ann, a lonely woman who befriends a group of teens, allowing them to use her basement for parties. But things take a sinister turn as she implements a series of strict rules for the kids hanging out at her house, including never allowing them upstairs. The story. |
Mikey Madison in Talks for A24's 'Masque of the Red Death' ►🎭 Mikey makes her move. 🎭 THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on Oscar winner Mikey Madison's potential next role. Madison is in talks to star in The Masque of the Red Death , a re-imagining of the creepy Edgar Allan Poe story from filmmaker Charlie Polinger. It hails from A24, which will distribute worldwide, and Picturestart, which is producing. Sources say that Madison would play twin sisters in a story that sees a mad prince take in the noble class into his castle while a plague devastates the peasantry. Madison has developed a reputation of being very particular in choosing her roles, and despite numerous outreaches, has not engaged in much since her comet-like ascendance after Anora premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024. Madison replaces Sydney Sweeney in Red Death who dropped out due to scheduling. The story.
—Another One of Them Days. Things are looking up for One of Them Days. A sequel is in early development for the original comedy movie that Sony Pictures released earlier this year. Stars Keke Palmer and SZA are expected to return, as is the film’s creative team. Lawrence Lamont helmed the TriStar Pictures feature from a script by Syreeta Singleton. It hit theaters in January and surpassed $50m at the global box office. Lil Rel Howery, Janelle James, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Maude Apatow, Katt Williams, Joshua Neal, Aziza Scott, Patrick Cage and Amin Joseph also starred in the first film. The story.
—Schools in. Gerard Johnstone, the filmmaker who broke out with M3GAN, is on board to direct Monster High, the feature based on the Mattel brand. Universal is partnering with the toy company for the film, and in a piece of corporate synergy, Mattel and Universal are also teaming for a Monster High Skullector M3GAN Doll, in honor of Johnstone’s upcoming M3GAN 2.0, which arrives June 27. The toy line debuted in 2010 and centered on the teenage children of monsters such as Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman. It followed them as they grow up and deal with the trials and tribulations of high school. The story. |
'Love Island USA' Contestant Exits Show Amid Racism Storm ►Abrupt. Love Island USA contestant Yulissa Escobar has left the show shortly after season seven got underway. While the reason for her departure from the villa hasn’t been revealed, Escobar’s exit comes shortly after clips of her using racial slurs resurfaced online. During the second episode, which premiered Wednesday night, series narrator Ian Stirling quickly announced about 18 minutes into the show, “Yulissa has left the villa.” She was coupled up with Ace Greene, but he also noted later in the episode that he’s now single. Peacock has yet to comment on the reals reasons behind the Escobar's departure. The story.
—New era. ESPN will use this year’s NBA Finals to tee up its big bet on direct-to-consumer. The sports giant will debut a new brand campaign with the tagline “Sports Forever” during the series, leaning into its heritage on TV, and setting the stage for its “next era” on whatever device viewers choose. The spot, which you can watch below, features a clip from ESPN’s first ever broadcast on Sept. 7, 1979, with anchor Lee Leonard introducing viewers to “sports heaven.” In the background, as clips of Leonard are interspersed with current athletes, teams and games, an anthemic version of ESPN’s “dadada, dadada” sound plays in the background. The story.
—🎭 Puck and passion. 🎭 Jacob Tierney is set to direct a TV adaptation of Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry, a gay hockey romance novel, for Canadian streamer Crave. Tierney, a veteran actor and director, is shooting the six episode series in southern Ontario. Hudson Williams is playing pro hockey star Shane Hollander of the Montreal Voyageurs and Connor Storrie has the role of Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov. Both are rivals on ice, but share a secret away from the hockey rink that could change their lives. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 The second season of Amazon Prime Video’s hit series Maxton Hall has a release date. The streamer announced Wednesday that the series’ second season, based on the second part of the bestselling novel series Save You by author Mona Kasten, will debut on Nov. 7. Following its release last year, the series became Amazon’s biggest-ever international launch and the most watched international show of all time in its first week. Amid the show’s success, Kasten’s German-language book trilogy, will be translated in English and published in America for the first time. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Paramount Global’s Nickelodeon has acquired Mr. Crocodile, a new animated kids series based on the beloved French children’s book Monsieur Crocodile a Beaucoup Faim (Mister Crocodile Is Very Hungry) by author Joann Sfar and published by Gallimard. The series, produced by Sfar’s Magical Society and distributed by Mediawan Kids & Family, with the participation of Nickelodeon and France Télévisions, will air globally on Nick Jr. channels, as well as on France Télévisions in France. The story. |
Film Review: 'From the World of John Wick: Ballerina' ►"Everyone understands the assignment." THR's chief film David Rooney reviews Len Wiseman's From the World of John Wick: Ballerina. Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne and Keanu Reeves appear in Wiseman’s bloodbath of grief and revenge, in which an elite assassin doffs her tutu and goes rogue. Also starring Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, Ian McShane, David Castañeda, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Anne Parillaud and Abraham Popoola. The review.
In other news...
—Wicked: For Good trailer teases Glinda and Elphaba’s fates as Dorothy arrives
—Thus Spoke the Wind trailer hints at a vivid, metaphysical ride in Armenian drama
—USA's The Rainmaker trailer pits a new Rudy Baylor against John Slattery’s Leo Drummond
—John Candy: I Like Me doc to open Toronto Film Festival
—Stephen A. Smith to launch 2 new shows with SiriusXM
—Jessie J reveals early breast cancer diagnosis
—Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman buy an Australian sailing team
What else we're reading...
—Lila Shapiro reports that a lot of film and TV production companies are using AI already, and hiding the fact [Vulture]
—Brian Schwartz, Natalie Andrews and Olivia Beavers report that Trump is losing patience with his former favorite oligarch Elon Musk over his outbursts over the Big Beautiful Bill [WSJ]
—Max Tani reports that Business Insider recommended nonexistent books to staff as it leaned into AI [Semafor]
—Oscar Holland reflects on Kylie Jenner’s recent surgery revelation and asks whether it is a setback for beauty standards [CNN]
—Rebecca Rodriguez has a helpful explainer on the Labubu craze [NBC News]
Today...
...in 1987, Universal and Amblin released Harry and the Hendersons, about a family who takes a lovable Sasquatch into their home. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Kathleen Kennedy (72), Mark Wahlberg (54), Nick Kroll (47), Stephen J. Anderson (55), Ron Livingston (58), Troye Sivan (30), Amanda Crew (39), Liza Weil (48), Nicholas Cirillo (28), Jeff Garlin (63), Susan Lynch (54), Nancy Stafford (71), Navi Rawat (48), Mark Harelik (74), Steven Pacey (68), Chad Allen (51), Emy Coligado (54), Sophie Lowe (35), Stefania Sandrelli (79), Amélie Hoeferle (23), Malcolm Sinclair (75), Haluk Bilginer (71), Chelsey Crisp (42), Johan Rheborg (62), Karen Strassman (59), June Gable (80), Leslie Hendrix (65), Ken Hudson Campbell (63), Ellen Foley (74), Gillian Hills (81), Elizabeth Faith Ludlow (36), Marc Pickering (40), Bárbara de Regil (38), Ryan Devlin (45), Mel Giedroyc (57), Beth Hall (67), Tyler Bates (60) |
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