| | | | | | What's news: Elizabeth Warren is demanding an investigation into the Paramount-Trump settlement. Dr. Phil McGraw’s Merit Street Media is filing for bankruptcy. Jurassic World Rebirth is on course for an opening day gross of $28m. The Last of Us co-showrunner Neil Druckmann is exiting the HBO hit series. — Abid Rahman
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Diddy Trial Reaction ►ICYMI. Disgraced rapper and mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs was found guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution but was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy, the more serious charges in the case and what federal prosecutors spent six weeks trying to prove to the jury to no avail. On Wednesday, the foreman of the 12-person jury read their decisions on a verdict after deliberating for over 12 hours and decided that the government’s argument that he was at the center of a criminal enterprise run through the company he founded and where he was CEO was not used for nefarious purposes that ultimately led to the trafficking of multiple women. The verdict.
—Bail denied. Also on Wednesday, the New York judge overseeing Sean Combs’ federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial ruled that Combs would not be released on bail while awaiting sentencing after he was found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. After the verdict was read on Wednesday, Combs’ lead defense attorney told the court his client should be freed right away, given that he was no longer under indictment for the major crimes the government said he committed. Prosecutors cried foul on this, arguing he was a flight risk and meddler, even while in the Brooklyn lockup he’s called home for about a year. The story.
—WTF just happened? A split decision that saw Combs escape being convicted of the more serious charges left observers stumped and ponderous — and looking for answers, writes THR's Kevin Dolak. The reaction.
—"The cultural weight of this decision is immeasurable." Hollywood and music industry figures, including 50 Cent, Aubrey O'Day and Kesha, took to social media to react to the shock news of the verdict in the Sean Combs sex trafficking and racketeering case. “I’m floored by the jury’s verdict,” O’Day said. “The evidence is there. For me, it’s all the way there.” Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, a longtime rival of Diddy‘s, took to Instagram to share his thoughts. “Diddy beat the Rico, that boy a bad man !” he wrote, adding, “he like the Gay John Gotti.” The reaction. |
CBS News Staffers Voice Disgust, Anger, Relief and Anxiety After Trump Settlement ►Unanswered questions. THR's Alex Weprin reports that the settlement between Paramount Global and Donald Trump was greeted by CBS News employees with what one called a reaction of “disgust and relief.” Disgust, because universally within CBS News and at 60 Minutes, the lawsuit (which was about the editing of an interview the program conducted with Kamala Harris) was perceived as baseless, and a multimillion-dollar settlement cut by corporate executives is seen as unwarranted. Relief because the months-long melodrama over the suit appears to be over (though there are still some big loose ends that need to be tied). The reaction.
—Bribery fears. The Paramount and Trump deal elicited a furious reaction from Democratic lawmakers and regulators on Wednesday. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said that she is demanding an investigation into the settlement, and said that she “will soon introduce new legislation to rein in corruption through presidential library donations.” In addition, Democratic FCC commissioner Anna Gomez released a statement requesting that the broadcast regulator, chaired by Brendan Carr, bring the pending Paramount-Skydance transaction to a full-commission vote. The story.
—🤝 It's done. 🤝 Los Angeles is going through a rough patch right now — well, for a few years actually — but there’s a silver lining ahead, at least for some film and television productions that can secure subsidies in California’s newly expanded tax credit program. That was the gist of the blue skies mood in Burbank at The Ranch Lot Studios where a group of state and local officials, union leaders and Hollywood notables gathered to take a victory lap over the passage of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal, which lifts incentives for film and TV projects from $330m to $750m annually, in the legislature. On Wednesday, Newsom ceremonially signed the bill while noting that the application window opens for the next round of credits on July 7, six months to the day since a string of devastating wildfires hit the city. The story.
—Not looking good. Dr. Phil McGraw’s Merit Street Media is filing for bankruptcy, and is also suing its distribution partner, Trinity Broadcasting, for breach of contract. Merit Street is less than two years old, having launched in early 2024 with a McGraw-led talk show as its flagship program. In its filing, the company cites a “severely strained liquidity position” and the failure to secure additional outside capital as reasons for the declaration. It also mentions ongoing legal issues with Trinity Broadcasting and the Professional Bull Riders as contributing factors. The story.
—Wait, what? Nicola Borrelli, the longtime head of the film department at Italy’s Ministry of Culture, has resigned amid an escalating scandal involving a $1m tax credit awarded to a film that was never produced, for a producer now accused of a double murder. Borrelli stepped down late Wednesday, just days after Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli personally escorted law enforcement officials into the ministry’s offices to seize documents related to the case. The scandal centers on Stelle della Notte, a feature film project that received €863,595 (circa $1m) in production tax credits in 2020 through a program overseen by Borrelli’s department. Despite the funding, the film was never made. The story.
—"Manchester, we will be back." Music act Bob Vylan has been dropped from the lineup of a Manchester music festival in the wake of controversy. The rap duo were set to headline the Radar Festival at the city’s Victoria Warehouse on Saturday, but organizers posted to social media that they will not make an appearance. The group told fans in response on Instagram Wednesday: “Manchester, we will be back.” Bob Vylan had been scheduled to play a French music festival, Kave Fest, on Sunday, but a spokesperson told the BBC that won’t be happening either. An appearance at a gig in Germany will also no longer go ahead as planned in September. The cancelations come in the aftermath of the British act sparking outcry at Glastonbury for chanting "death, death to the IDF." The story. |
Soul Searching Begins at Blumhouse After 'M3GAN 2.0' Misfire ►"Not the sequel audiences wanted." Once nearly invincible at the box office, the Jason Blum-led horror outfit Blumhouse is reassessing its tactics after enduring four major box office misses in a row in 2025 — Wolf Man ($34. 1m globally), The Woman in the Yard ($23.3m globally), Drop ($28.6m globally) and the latest shocking failure M3GAN 2.0, which bombed over the June 27-29 weekend and stunned Hollywood, considering it is a sequel to an unqualified hit. THR's Pamela McClintock looks at what went wrong and how Blum is hoping to recapture the Blumhouse box office magic. The story.
—Dino-might! Jurassic World Rebirth is on course for an opening day gross of $28m at the domestic box office — among the top 20 Wednesday grosses of all time — for an estimated five-day debut of $127.5m, according to early returns. The summer tentpole opened Wednesday, July 2, in North America in order to take advantage of the long Fourth of July holiday corridor. It’s also opening almost everywhere overseas for a projected global debut north of $250m. The box office report.
—🎭 In demand. 🎭 Marisa Abela, one of the stars of acclaimed British drama Industry, has joined Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe in Highlander, Amazon MGM Studios' remake of the 1980s cult classic. Chad Stahelski is on board to direct the feature, which hails from Amazon MGM’s United Artists banner and is slated to get a theatrical release. The original Highlander , released in 1986, starred Christopher Lambert as Connor MacLeod, a Medieval Scottish Highlander who discovers he is an immortal warrior. With the help of a swordsman named Ramirez, played by Sean Connery, the titular Highlander battles other immortals across the centuries. In the remake, Cavill is playing MacLeod while Crowe is Ramirez. In what is being described as a leading role, Abela will play one of the new characters, an immortal who is a teacher of swordplay and one of MacLeod’s past loves. The story. |
'The Residence' and 'Pulse' Canceled at Netflix ►One and done. Netflix has canceled a pair of first-year series, The Residence and Pulse. The two shows both premiered in the spring and had four-week runs in Netflix’s internal, worldwide top 10 rankings. As usual, Netflix does cost-benefit analysis in making renewal or cancellation decisions. The Residence is a White House-set murder mystery starring Uzo Aduba as Cordelia Cupp, the “greatest detective in the world.” The series hails from Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland and creator/showrunner Paul William Davies. Had the series gone forward, the plan was for it to become an anthology, with Cupp taking on a new case each season. Pulse was Netflix’s first take at a medical procedural. Over its four weeks in the streamer’s worldwide rankings, it drew 20.2m views and 162.1m total viewing hours. Its release also coincided with growing momentum for Max’s hospital drama The Pitt, which had its first season finale the week after Pulse debuted. The story.
—Another huge exit. A show known for its devastating character departures now has a big one behind the scenes: The Last of Us co-showrunner Neil Druckmann is exiting the HBO hit series. The move leaves his co-creator Craig Mazin as the show’s sole showrunner going into a third season. Druckmann will continue to carry a co-creator and executive producer credit on the show. The shakeup comes on the heels of a divisive second season, which surprisingly declined a bit in the ratings (though, to be fair, the season was based strongly on the second PlayStation game, The Last of Us Part Two, which likewise sold less than the first game). The story. |
Theater Review: 'Evita' ►"Rachel Zegler takes London by storm as Eva Perón in an otherwise uneven revival." For THR, Demetrios Matheou reviews Jamie Lloyd's Evita. This new spin on the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical has caused a stir by sending the protagonist outside the theater to perform "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" to crowds on the street. The review.
—"More interesting in theory than in execution." THR India's Anupama Chopra reviews Vishal Furia's Maa. Inspired by the story of Kali and Raktbeej, the follow-up to 2024’s Shaitaan centers on a mother who transforms into a goddess to protect her daughter from a demon. Starring Kajol, Ronit Roy and Indraneil Sengupta. The review.
In other news...
—Mozart Mozart trailer: New series puts composer’s forgotten sister center stage
—Foo Fighters are back with first song since 2023 to celebrate 30th anniversary
—Zurich Film Festival embarks on new era with director-led buyout
—George Lopez set to keynote Social Impact Summit, hosted by THR and Social Impact Fund
—Sean Connery's Bond movies, Renee Zellweger-directed short set for Edinburgh Fest
—Miley Cyrus, Timothée Chalamet, Demi Moore, Shaquille O’Neal to receive stars on Hollywood Walk of Fame
What else we're reading...
—Anthony Breznican talks to Noah Hawley and goes behind the scenes at his new FX show Alien: Earth [Vanity Fair]
—With their attacks on Zohran Mamdani, David Weigel writes that Republicans are testing the dangerous new red line of denaturalization of U.S. citizens they don't like [Semafor]
—Jessica Toonkel and Josh Dawsey go inside Trump and Paramount’s wrangling over the controversial 60 Minutes settlement [WSJ]
—Julia Frankel and Sam Mednick talk to U.S. contractors who say their colleagues are firing live ammo at Palestinians who are seeking food in Gaza [AP]
—Gabriella Paiella investigates whether Bruce Springsteen’s ’90s fashion sense was actually great as widely believed [GQ]
Today...
...in 1985, Marty McFly skated into American theaters. Back to the Future, directed by Robert Zemeckis, then became a summer box-office win that spawned multiple sequels and propelled Michael J. Fox’s career. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Tom Cruise (63), Audra McDonald (55), Olivia Munn (45), Connie Nielsen (60), Patrick Wilson (52), Tom Stoppard (88), Tommy Flanagan (60), Yeardley Smith (61), Ludivine Sagnier (46), David Shore (66), Peyton Reed (61), Aleksey Serebryakov (61), Hunter Tylo (63), Sara Waisglass (27), Shawnee Smith (56), Thomas Gibson (63), Corey Reynolds (51), Kurtwood Smith (83), Jesse Corti (70), Bolo Yeung (79), Matt Schulze (53), Bruce Altman (70), Ian Anthony Dale (47), Betty Buckley (78), Jan Smithers (76), Ryan McPartlin (50), Diana Bang (44), Noemi Gonzalez (37), Corey Sevier (41), Jeff Sanca (51), Emma Cunniffe (52), Shoshannah Stern (45), Andrea Barber (49), Susan Penhaligon (76), Andreas Wisniewski (66), Alyah Chanelle Scott (28), Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin (44) |
| Maureen Hingert, the Sri Lanka-born beauty queen who appeared as an actress in The King and I, Gun Fever and Gunmen From Laredo, has died. She was 88. The obituary. |
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