| | | | | | What's news: Lil Nas X was arrested and hospitalized. Apple TV+ is going up in price. Erik Menendez was denied parole. Netflix is launching an astrology hub. Paramount has aggressively picked up comedy spec script Bald Eagles. Karen Gillan has joined the cast of Highlander. — Abid Rahman
Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at tips@thr.com. |
THR's Top Sports Agents and Managers in Hollywood ►The Big 38. Compared to only five years ago, managing an athlete’s career has become a whole new game. Putting together THR’s inaugural sports agent and manager list, of course, involved some consideration of the value of rich player contracts. But these days, a diverse off-the-field portfolio laden with streaming, movie and brand deals, not to mention production studios — the new “It” line item for those following in the footsteps of LeBron James and Steph Curry — are the new goalposts, with podcasts continuing to be a hot ticket (just ask Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift). As SMAC co-founder Constance Schwartz-Morini explains of clients’ top demand: “Now all the athletes want is to have production companies.” The list.
—Expansion. 3 Arts Entertainment has hired veteran sports executive and brand strategist Dr. Shey Olaoshebikan to grow its sports footprint. The move follows 3 Arts Entertainment expanding into competitive sports by acquiring A&A Management in a major deal by the Lionsgate-controlled company. Olaoshebikan will manage clients as executive vp of 3 Arts Sports as the Hollywood production and management company moves into athlete representation amid an industry-wide convergence of sports, entertainment and business. The story.
—Worth it? Apple TV+ is increasing its monthly price. (So much for that whole discount thing.) The streaming service will now cost $12.99 per month in the U.S., up from $9.99, representing a 30 percent increase. The price hike went into effect on Thursday for new customers; existing customers will see their bill go up within 30 days. “Select international markets” will also see a monthly-price increase, Apple said in a statement sent to THR. The $99.99 annual rate for Apple TV+ remains unchanged, as does the pricing for Apple’s big bundle of services, Apple One (starting at $19.95/month). The story.
—Denied. Erik Menendez was denied parole Thursday after serving decades in prison for murdering his parents with his older brother in 1989. A panel of California commissioners denied Menendez parole for three years, after which he will be eligible again, in a case that continues to fascinate the public. A parole hearing for his brother Lyle Menendez, who is being held at the same prison in San Diego, is scheduled for Friday morning. The two commissioners determined that Menendez should not be freed after an all-day hearing during which they questioned him about why he committed the crime and violated prison rules. The brothers became eligible for parole after a judge reduced their sentences in May from life without parole to 50 years to life. The story.
—Legal war. A dispute over the estate of John Amos has turned to court, with the Good Times actor’s daughter suing her brother and people in his orbit for elder abuse, fraud and wrongful death. Shannon Amos accuses Kelly Christopher Amos of manipulating their father into signing various legal documents — including new wills, trusts and powers of attorney — that gave him near-complete control over the estate while ignoring the actor’s medical needs. The petition also names John Amos’ former caretaker Belinda Foster, close associate Eugene Brummett and his production banner Step and One Half Productions. It seeks a court order to freeze the estate’s assets. The story. |
Beatles to Re-Release 'Anthology' Doc With New Episode ►Shut up and take my money! The Beatles' famed Anthology documentary is getting a new edition this fall for its 30th anniversary, as the band is set to re-release the eight-part project in November with a special ninth episode, along with a remastered musical collection and a special edition of the Anthology’s book. The Beatles' Apple Corps has restored the original Anthology doc with Peter Jackson’s Wingnut Films and Park Road Post teams, continuing Jackson’s collaboration with the group since his lauded Get Back documentary from 2021. The new ninth episode includes footage of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison coming back together to work on the 1995 documentary. The project will stream on Disney+ starting Nov. 26. The story.
—Concerning. Lil Nas X was arrested and hospitalized in the predawn hours on Thursday in Los Angeles after he was seen roaming the city streets nearly nude and appearing to be disoriented, according to police and as has been reported by multiple news outlets. The Grammy-winning “Old Town Road” rapper, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, was caught on video by TMZ wearing just his underwear and a pair of cowboy boots as he ambled down Ventura Boulevard in the Studio City section of L.A. Police said passersby made several calls to report the scene taking place around 4 a.m., the outlet reported on Thursday. The story.
—For completists. Taylor Swift listed two more limited-edition alternate vinyl variants for her upcoming 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl,on Thursday, along with a new alternate album cover, all a part of the album’s “Baby That’s Show Business” edition. The new variants come three days after Swift unveiled two other vinyl variants and another alternate album cover for the record’s “Shiny Bug” edition. Thursday’s new alternate vinyl options come in a dark blue dubbed “lakeside beach blue sparkle” and a yellow and orange “lovely bouquet golden.” The story. |
Nicolas Cage in Talks to Star in 'True Detective' S5 ►🎭 Give him the Emmy now! 🎭 Nicolas Cage is deep in talks to star in True Detective season 5 — the next iteration of the moody crime drama. The Oscar winner is up for an as-yet-unknown role in the anthology drama, but will presumably play the law enforcement officer at the center of another mystery thriller. The season will follow up HBO tapping another Oscar winner, Jodie Foster, headlining the anthology drama’s fourth season, True Detective: Night Country, to considerable acclaim. Night Country also was considered to have revived the brand, after a less-than-stellar previous two seasons. The fourth season’s showrunner, Issa López, is expected to return for the new season. Earlier this year, HBO announced that season five would be set in Jamaica Bay, New York. The show is expected to premiere in 2027. The story.
—🎭 Godly additions. 🎭 Disney+ is continuing to build out the mythology-drenched world of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Dafne Keen and Saara Chaudry are the latest actors to join the Disney+ series, signing to play recurring roles in the show’s third season. Logan star Keen will play Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon and the hunt. Chaudry will play Zoë Nightshade, an immortal hunter and Artemis’ lieutenant. Keen and Chaudry join fellow season three additions Levi Chrisopulos and Olive Abercrombie, who are playing siblings Leo and Bianca di Angelo. The story.
—Feeling confident. Peacock is changing the release schedule for its Office follow-up, The Paper. The NBCUniversal-owned streamer says it will make the comedy a binge release, debuting the full 10-episode season on Sept. 4. The Paper had previously been slated to roll out over four weeks, with the first four episodes coming on the premiere day and two per week after that through Sept. 25. Citing positive responses from people who have previewed the series (though not in print; reviews are embargoed until closer to the premiere), Peacock, Universal Television and the show’s producers decided to make the change and drop the entire season at once. The story. |
Netflix Launching Astrology Hub ►Wait, what? Netflix is launching a new hub within its platform devoted to astrology. The new “Your Zodiac Watchlist” feature will launch on subscriber homepages on Saturday (“When Virgo season officially kicks off,” noted a spokesperson), and will recommend movies and shows based on each astrological sign. The collection will be updated throughout the year to keep pace with the zodiac calendar. For instance, Scorpios are assumed to be “passionate, charismatic, seductive and mysterious” and will be pitched mysteries like Wednesday and The Night Agent. Geminis are thought to be “social, playful and funny” and will be pitched stand-up specials and shows with “talkative characters.” Leos are considered “confident, generous and loyal” and will be pitched content about royalty and leaders like The Crown and Bridgerton. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Charles Nieuwendyk is back on the case. Netflix has set a Nov. 20 premiere date for season two of A Man on the Inside, its comedy series starring Ted Danson as Charles, a retired professor who in the first season becomes an undercover agent for a private investigator (Lilah Richcreek Estrada) in a retirement community. The second season will see Charles taking on a new case — but maintaining some ties to the people he met in season one. The latter fact is evident in the first photos from season two, which show Charles interacting with his friend Calbert (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and the director of the retirement community, Didi (Stephanie Beatriz). The story.
—Sandman's still got it! The return of Happy Gilmore to the links brought a whole lot of eyeballs to Netflix. Happy Gilmore 2, the 29-years-later sequel to Adam Sandler’s golf comedy, set a record on Nielsen’s streaming charts for its premiere weekend. The film amassed 2.89b minutes of viewing time in the U.S. from July 25-27, the highest single-week total for a movie in the five-year history of the ratings provider’s streaming charts. Happy Gilmore 2’s total — 2.893b, to be precise — narrowly beat the 2.889b minutes for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery in the final week of 2022. Sandler and Netflix have a long-standing relationship that has produced 10 movies over the past decade. Nielsen says movies starring Sandler (including theatrical releases that later streamed on Netflix) have racked up 61b viewing minutes on the platform since 2018, with Murder Mystery (9.9b minutes) currently leading the list. The streaming rankings. |
Karen Gillan Joins 'Highlander' Remake ►🎭 Working from home. 🎭 THR's Borys Kit has the scoop that Scottish actress Karen Gillan has joined the sword-swinging cast of Highlander, Amazon MGM’s remake of the 1980s cult classic. Henry Cavill is leading the cast that includes Russell Crowe, Dave Bautista, and Marisa Abela. The action fantasy, which hails from Amazon MGM’s United Artists banner, is being directed by Chad Stahelski and is slated for a theatrical release. Principal photography is due to begin at the end of September. The original Highlander , released in 1986, starred Christopher Lambert as Connor MacLeod, a Medieval Scottish Highlander who discovers he is an immortal warrior. The story.
—🤝 Moving fast. 🤝 So far, the new Skydance-owned Paramount has made a wrestling deal, a talent deal, and a filmmaker deal, all of them splashy. Now comes the splashy spec script deal. THR's Borys "Scoops" Kit is back with another scoop that Paramount has aggressively picked up Bald Eagles, a comedy spec by rising scribe Brandon Cohen, that sources say is in the seven figures. Details on the deal and script are being kept under wraps, but Bald Eagles is described as an R-rated high concept workplace comedy. Cohen also sold I Can See You’re Angry to Miramax in March, with BoulderLight producing. The story.
—🎭 Lively project. 🎭 And it's a hat trick of scoops for Borys, this time he has news on Blake Lively teaming up with Wicked producer Marc Platt to set up a new feature project at Lionsgate. The studio, home of Lively’s A Simple Favor movies, has acquired The Survival List, a spec script by Tom Melia for the actress to star as well as produce. An action romantic comedy, Survival List tells of a highbrow reality TV producer named Annie who, against her wishes, is assigned to a new show hosted by a famous survival expert, Chopper Lane. However, when a shipwreck strands them on a deserted island, Annie discovers Chopper is a fraud and knows nothing about survival, leaving her in charge of figuring out how to keep them alive. Forced to work together, they begin to discover an unlikely chemistry. The story. |
THR's 25 Greatest Sports Movies of All Time, Ranked ►Escape to Victory erasure. As part of THR's Sports Issue, we've put together the list of the 25 best sports movies of all time. For the purposes of this list, a panel of six THR critics — Daniel Fienberg, Jon Frosch, Angie Han, David Rooney, Leslie Felperin and Jordan Mintzer — started with an initial field of roughly 100 movies, whittling that number to 25 and then ranking them. Like sports themselves, the process provoked much passion and a bit of heartbreak. The list.
—📅 Awards run? 📅 Bradley Cooper's forthcoming feature Is This Thing On? has landed a prime holiday season release date from Searchlight Pictures. The film hits theaters Dec. 19 following its premiere at the New York Film Festival on Oct. 10. The movie stars Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Cooper, Andra Day, Sean Hayes, Amy Sedaris and Ciarán Hinds. Is This Thing On? centers on Alex (Arnett) and Tess (Dern), who attempt to navigate their divorce as Alex changes his career path to pursue a life as a confessional stand-up comedian in New York City. The life of British comedian John Bishop inspired the movie’s story. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Bleecker Street has acquired the U.S. rights to the psychological horror-thriller Victorian Psycho, directed by Zachary Wigon and starring Maika Monroe, Jason Isaacs and Thomasin McKenzie. The film adapts the best-selling book by Virginia Feito, who also wrote the script. Set in 1858, the story centers on a governess named Winifred Notty (Monroe) who hides her psychopathic tendencies while arriving to work at a remote gothic manor. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Warner Bros.’ animated event pic The Cat in the Hat has landed a new release date in theaters, relocating from Feb, 27, 2026 to Nov. 6 of that year. The studio says the new date gives the film — the first title from the newly relaunched Warner Bros. Pictures Animation division — a long runway to play throughout the year-end holidays when families and kids are more readily available. Based on the beloved Dr. Seuss tale, Bill Hader voices The Cat. The A-list voice cast also includes Xochitl Gomez, Matt Berry, Quinta Brunson, Paula Pell, Tiago Martinez, Giancarlo Esposito, America Ferrera, Bowen Yang and Tituss Burgess. The story.
—🏆 Viel Glück! 🏆 Germany has chosen Mascha Schilinski’s Sound of Falling (In die Sonne schauen) as its submission for the best international feature film category at the 98th Academy Awards. The multigenerational drama, produced by Studio Zentral, was picked by an independent jury convened by German Films from a shortlist of five contenders. The jury praised the film as “formally uncompromising, emotionally existential and artistically unique — a solitary work within German and international cinema,” noting its rare urgency and poetic storytelling. The story. |
Film Review: 'The Thursday Murder Club' ►"Generic but irresistibly cast." For THR, Caryn James reviews Chris Columbus' The Thursday Murder Club. A cast of British and Irish acting legends bring star power to a feature adaptation of the murder mystery novel by Richard Osman. Starring Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Tom Ellis, Jonathan Pryce, David Tennant, Geoff Bell, Richard E. Grant and Ingrid Oliver. The review.
—"Not BoJack, but rich and distinctive in its own way." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews Netflix's Long Story Short. Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s BoJack Horseman follow-up is an animated series that explores family, memory and Jewishness. Voice cast featuring Ben Feldman, Max Greenfield, Abbi Jacobson, Paul Reiser, Lisa Edelstein and Nicole Byer. The review. |
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 Seth Rogen. One of the most influential comedic talents of his generation reflects on coming from Vancouver to Hollywood as a teenager, the backstories of the crude but heartfelt and largely improvised film comedies that made him a multi-hyphenate star (Knocked Up and Superbad), his occasional forays into drama (Steve Jobs and The Fabelmans) and how his own misadventures in the entertainment industry (The Green Hornet and The Interview) informed his hit Apple TV+ series The Studio. Listen here.
In other news...
—Anemone trailer: Daniel Day-Lewis returns to acting in intense first footage
—HBO Max shares first footage from The Pitt S2
—Josh O’Connor plans an art heist in The Mastermind trailer
—Love Island S7 reunion trailer: Tears, fighting and accusations fly
—MTV VMAs: Mariah Carey to receive Video Vanguard Award
—Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere to open AFI Fest
—London: Saoirse Ronan, Tessa Thompson, Amanda Seyfried movies set for competition
—TIFF: Idris Elba, Channing Tatum, Catherine O’Hara set for honors
—Oldenburg: Scott Glenn's Eugene the Marine to open festival
—Adam McKay signs with CAA
—John Legend signs with UTA
—Millie Bobby Brown and Jake Bongiovi welcome first child through adoption
What else we're reading...
—Emma Graham-Harrison and Yuval Abraham have a bombshell report that the Israeli military’s own data indicates a civilian death rate of 83 percent in Gaza [Guardian]
—Michael Smith and Robert Burnson report that the Florida concentration camp Alligator Alcatraz must wind down operations [Bloomberg]
—Laura Martin pushes back against Hulu's The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, suggesting the limited series is "misguided" [BBC]
—Anna North looks at what kids don’t want you to know about Gen Alpha culture (and also why they love Minecraft so much) [Vox]
—Here's your Friday list: The 25 most savage South Park celebrity spoofs [THR]
Today...
...in 2012, Open Road Films released David Palmer and Dax Shepard's chase comedy Hit and Run in theaters. The film, which starred Shepard, a dreadlocked Bradley Cooper, Kristen Bell, Kristin Chenoweth and Tom Arnold, was panned by critics. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Dua Lipa (30), Kristen Wiig (52), Naomi Ackie (34), Ty Burrell (58), James Corden (47), David Chase (80), Richard Armitage (54), Colm Feore (67), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (58), Andrew Wilson (61), Alfred Gough (58), Ross Marquand (44), Rodrigo Santoro (50), Courtney Gains (60), Brooke Dillman (59), Rick Yune (54), Melinda Page Hamilton (51), Brandon Quintin Adams (46), Raphael Alejandro (18), Dakota Goyo (26), Aparna Nancherla (43), Heidi Lenhart (52), Jennifer Finnigan (46), Jo Bo-ah (34), Chia-Hui Liu (70), Regina Taylor (65), Jenna Leigh Green (51), Keith Powers (33), Stephen Stanton (64), Jackie Geary (48), Jacob Dudman (28), Lara Harris (63), Laura Breckenridge (42), Shirine Boutella (35) |
| Brent Hinds, the co-founder and former lead guitarist of heavy metal band Mastodon, died in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta on Wednesday night. He was 51. The obituary. |
|
|
|
| | | |
