| | | | | | What's news: Hollywood stars are paying tribute to Michael Madsen, who died Thursday. The U.K. has dropped plans for a levy on streamers. Jurassic World Rebirth is now eyeing a $133m+ U.S. opening. Paola Sorrentino's La Grazia will open the Venice Film Festival. — Abid Rahman
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Michael Madsen 1957 - 2025 ►Mr. Cool. Michael Madsen, the rough-and-tumble actor best known for his work in the Quentin Tarantino films Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2, The Hateful Eight and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, died Thursday morning. He was 67. Madsen was found unresponsive by deputies responding to a 911 call at his Malibu home and pronounced dead at 8:25 a.m., a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson told THR. Liz Rodriguez, his rep at EMR Media Entertainment, told THR “we understand Michael had a cardiac arrest.”
Madsen has 346 acting credits and counting on IMDb in a career that began in the early 1980s. His big-screen body of work included WarGames (1983), The Natural (1984), The Doors (1991), Thelma & Louise (1991), Free Willy (1993), Species (1995), Mulholland Falls (1996), Donnie Brasco (1997), Die Another Day (2002), Sin City (2005) and Scary Movie 4 (2006). The obituary.
—"A total stick of dynamite on screen." Prominent figures from across the entertainment industry took to social media to pay tribute to the late Michael Madsen. Walton Goggins, Jennifer Tilly, Billy Baldwin, Roberth Rodriguez, Rob Schneider were among those that shared their memories of Madsen. His sister the Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen posted a photo of the siblings with their mom, writing in the caption, “He was thunder and velvet. Mischief wrapped in tenderness. A poet disguised as an outlaw. A father, a son, a brother — etched in contradiction, tempered by love that left its mark. We’re not mourning a public figure. We’re not mourning a myth — but flesh and blood and ferocious heart.” The reaction. |
Trump: UFC Will Host a Title Fight at the White House ►Stay classy. The UFC is coming to The White House. Donald Trump, speaking at an event in Iowa Thursday night, said that he was hoping to host an event from the mixed martial arts promotion on the grounds of the White House, as part of the plans to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. A spokesperson for the UFC confirmed the plan to THR's Alex Weprin , with UFC CEO Dana White expected to reveal more on the event soon. Trump also announced another event as part of the America 250 celebration, a “nationally televised” competition called the “Patriot Games” that will pit youth athletes from all 50 states against each other. The story.
—Arrested. Just days after boxing Jake Paul in the main event of a match held at Anaheim’s Honda Center, former world champion Julio César Chávez Jr. has been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. According to a news release from the Department of Homeland Security, Chávez was arrested in Studio City, California Wednesday, where authorities allege that he is “believed to be an affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel.” ICE says that it will deport Chávez to Mexico, where it says there is an active warrant out for his arrest. Chávez is the son of the Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez, who is widely regarded as one of the best boxers of all time. The story.
—"Can you hold power to account after paying it millions?" How did CBS News cover the settlement between its parent company Paramount Global and President Donald Trump? It addressed it head-on, in a blunt piece of commentary from CBS Evening News anchor John Dickerson on Wednesday’s newscast. Dickerson, who was named co-anchor of the newscast earlier this year alongside Maurice DuBois, told viewers that “the Paramount settlement poses a new obstacle. “Can you hold power to account after paying it millions? Can an audience trust you when it thinks you’ve traded away that trust?” he continued. “The audience will decide that.” The story.
—Panic over, streamers! The U.K. government has rejected calls for a levy on platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+. The proposed streaming tax had been put to the government by the U.K's Culture, Media and Sport Committee in a bid to salvage local British production on high-end television and film, allowing public service broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV a chance to claw back some of the finance hogged by streamers. The suggested levy comes as the booming production industry in the U.K. continues to skew toward the platforms. U.K. production spend reached $7.9b in 2024, a 31 percent increase since 2023, with $6.5b of this total coming from inward investment and co-productions. In its response, published Thursday, the government did not agree with the proposed 5 percent levy, and instead expressed a wish to see “a healthy, mixed film and TV ecology.” The story. |
Can Diddy's Career Survive His Verdict? ►What the music industry is saying. Sean “Diddy” Combs scored a major legal victory this week as he managed to avoid the most serious of the sex trafficking and racketeering allegations in his criminal trial, leaving those in the music business questioning how an industry with a notoriously murky past in handling abusive behavior is going to move forward. THR's Ethan Millman and Shirley Halperin canvassed opinion in the industry on the chances of Combs rehabilitating his image, with one exec opining, "You’ve always had bad boys and bad behavior. It was glorified, it wasn’t punished. It’s built into the roots of the business." The story.
—"If anybody ever asked me about him, I would be completely honest." Charlize Theron is explaining why she won’t name the director she alleged sexually harassed her. While on the Call Her Daddy podcast on Wednesday, The Old Guard 2 actress was asked about coming forward with her story about once being asked to go to a director’s house late at night for an audition, which was her first audition ever. Theron first shared her experience during an April 2019 interview on The Howard Stern Show. At the time, she alleged the director opened the door in his pajamas and kept trying to talk during what she thought was going to be an audition. When the director put his hand on her knee, she said, she left. The story.
—"He wanted to ruin my chances of getting anything else." Olivia Munn is opening up about what she endured by a director on the series The Newsroom. Munn recently shared on the Armchair Expert podcast that while working on the former HBO show, created by Aaron Sorkin, one of the directors tried to “ruin” her career by telling others in the industry she was hard to work with after they disagreed on her character, Sloan Sabbith. Munn would not name who it was. She later found out the director spoke negatively about their experience working together to other filmmakers that could potentially hire her. “I was on the one-yard line for the movie, and my manager calls me and says, ‘Hey, you’re gonna get the role. But first, I guess there’s another director who they know, and he says that on The Newsroom, you were late all the time and really combative.’” The story. |
'Digman!' S2 Premiere Pushed to Follow Delayed 'South Park' ►Follow the leader. Where South Park goes, Digman! follows — literally. The season two premiere of Andy Samberg’s Digman! is being pushed out two weeks to Wednesday, July 23, just like the season 27 premiere of South Park. Digman! airs in Comedy Central’s 10:30 p.m. time slot, immediately after South Park at 10. South Park’s season 27 premiere was delayed on Wednesday. The news came amid a streaming-rights battle between the creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and the channel’s parent company, Paramount Global. South Park and Digman! were supposed to premiere their new seasons on Wednesday, July 9. The merger that will combine David Ellison’s Skydance and Paramount Global is set to close by July 6, though that deadline could be extended. The story.
—Family affair. The third season premiere of Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia recorded one of the biggest streaming weeks of 2025 so far. The mother-daughter series racked up 2.88b minutes of viewing (inclusive of the two previous seasons as well) for the week of June 2-8; season three of debuted on June 5. That’s the highest weekly total in the show’s history so far, beating 2.73b minutes in January 2023, a week after the premiere of season two. Ginny & Georgia also had the fourth-biggest week of any title so far this year on Nielsen’s streaming charts, behind Squid Game (4.6b minutes) in early January and two weeks for The Night Agent (3.11b and 2.92b) in January and February. The streaming rankings.
—Galanti's moment. Ryan Reynolds is coming for the competitive eaters. Ok, not exactly. Later today, Nathan’s will host its annual July 4 hot dog eating competition at New York’s Coney Island boardwalk. The event will, as usual, be televised live by ESPN. And this year will mark the return of hot dog eating champ Joey Chestnut, who skipped last year’s event due to a sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods (no veggie dogs from Nathan’s, only all-beef franks). But ESPN viewers will also get a heaping helping of Reynolds, who will appear in multiple Mint Mobile TV spots during the contest alongside one of the hot dog world’s biggest celebrities: Richard Galanti, the former CFO of Costco, the wholesale club that has sold a $1.50 hot dog and soda combo for the past 40 years, without raising the price once. The story. |
'Jurassic World Rebirth' Now Targets $133M U.S. Opening ►Looking good. Jurassic World Rebirth stomped to opening-day earnings of $30.5m in North America, one of the top 20 Wednesday grosses of all time, not adjusted for inflation. The better-than-expected turnout means that the film could now cross $133.5m in its five-day domestic debut, including $80m for the three-day weekend. The summer tentpole opened midweek 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 $260m. Heading into the holiday, it was eyeing a domestic start in the $100m to $120m range, considering it’s a reboot. The box office report.
—"Sorrentino’s return in competition comes with a film destined to leave its mark." This year’s Venice Film Festival will open with Paolo Sorrentino's La Grazia. As the Oscar-winning Italian director reteams with legendary actor Toni Servillo, the opening night film — which translates to “Grace” in English — will get its world premiere in competition on the Lido on Aug. 27. While plot details remain unknown, Diamonds actor Anna Ferzetti also stars in the feature. The story. |
Film Review: '40 Acres' ►"A tense and gripping debut." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews R.T. Thorne's 40 Acres. Till and Piano Lesson star Danielle Deadwyler plays a woman who must fend off a violent militia trying to steal her farmland in Thorne's feature debut. Also starring Kataem O'Connor, Michael Greyeyes, Milcania Diaz-Rojas and Leenah Robinson. The review. |
Hollywood's Most Patriotic Movies and TV Series ►USA! USA! USA! There will be plenty of food, fireworks and festivities this Fourth of July as America celebrates its independence. But for those needing a break from the heat, THR has compiled a list of the most patriotic movies and TV shows to get you in the spirit of the day. Whether it's Tom Cruise playing a cocky Navy pilot, Will Smith taking on aliens or Jessica Chastain helping bring down Osama bin Laden, Hollywood has plenty of films to satisfy one's Fourth of July cravings. The list.
—What about the tunes? Throwing a big bash for the Fourth of July and need a themed playlist? THR has you covered, as we've rounded up a list of songs about the good ole U.S.A., from Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” The songs. |
Thank Pod It's Friday ►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.
—Awards Chatter. THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott spoke to Kathy Bates. The Oscar and two-time Emmy winner reflects on the bumpy road to her breakthrough in Misery, why she didn't enjoy working on Titanic, how she was convinced to do a nude scene in About Schmidt and why, after nearly quitting the business, her creativity and passion have been reawakened by her hit new CBS drama series Matlock. Listen here.
In other news...
—Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Fest opening lineup announced
—Derek A.E. Fuhrmann, co-writer of Phillip Phillips’ “Gone, Gone, Gone,” dies at 44
What else we're reading...
—The always excellent Craig Jenkins offers his take on the Sean Combs verdict, and writes that it is "not a victory" [Vulture]
—Elizabeth Lopatto and Sarah Jeong are in reflective mood this July 4, and are of the opinion that the American system of democracy has crashed [Verge]
—John Jurgensen talks to Ken Burns about his new epic doc, The American Revolution, and whether people can agree on America’s origin story [WSJ]
—With Hollywood studios seemingly giving up on comedies, David Ehrlich writes that The Naked Gun is "the most important movie of the summer" [Indiewire]
—Here's your Friday list: "Hollywood’s 100 favorite movie quotes" [THR]
Today...
...in 2018, Universal and Blumhouse released Gerard McMurray's The First Purge in theaters. The fourth installment in the Purge franchise, the film was a big box office hit, earning $137m at the box office from a $13m budget. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Melissa Barrera (35), Post Malone (30), Becki Newton (47), Tracy Letts (60), Jen Tullock (42), Anwen O'Driscoll (26), Luke Thompson (37), Tahar Rahim (44), Ciera Angelia (31), Neil Morrissey (63), Milena Zdravkovic (56), Stephen Rannazzisi (48), Daniela Nieves (28), David Kross (35), Lee Je-hoon (41), Max Elliott Slade (45), Jenica Bergere (51), Kevin Hanchard (51), Alex R. Hibbert (21), Victoria Abril (66), Claire Price (53), Conor MacNeill (37), Emily Coutts (36), Angelique Boyer (37), Mick Wingert (51), Laci Mosley (34), Mo McRae (43), Romain Gavras (44), Ronni Ancona (57), Andrea Gabriel (47), Al Madrigal (54), Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino (43), Rae Gray (33), John R. Leonetti (69) |
| 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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