| | | | | | An ABC show managing to stay on the air shouldn't feel like a win for Hollywood. But this week it does. For The Weekender, here are the must reads, telling details and storylines to follow from THR's team of reporters. — Erik Hayden
+ Ticker: Lachlan Murdoch's raise; Jennifer Lawrence's Gaza stand; Dua Lipa's clarification; Nate Bargatze's explanation.
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Perhaps the most audacious gamble of Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another is that for all of the project’s ambitions — to translate auteur pedigree to Leonardo DiCaprio box office numbers, to continue Warner Bros. hot streak — much of its potential rests on the shoulders of an unknown actress: Chase Infiniti, a 25-year-old from Chicago, making her film debut. THR's Seija Rankin writes that the unknown is not wasting her moment. Cover story.
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AFTER KIMMEL: THE LONG GAME Don't be tricked by the Trumpian moment — what's happening now is just the latest move in a very long (40-year) chess match to boot liberals off TV.
+ THR's Steven Zeitchik traces that winding road: "It's a playbook devised by figures like Donald Wildmon and Jerry Falwell, carried out by a generation of successors from Brent Bozell to Dan Quayle, and now just reaching its latest rest stop with Brendan Carr and Donald Trump." Past is prologue.
+ Peter Kiefer on whether Kimmel's win can provide the down-on-their-luck Democrats with any donor momentum. The report.
+ There goes the boycott. Alex Weprin on Nexstar and Sinclair folding.
By the Numbers
$4B
How much value Disney's stock had lost in the lead up to Kimmel's return. But Bob Iger and Dana Walden still face a shareholder legal salvo.
22.3M
The current YouTube view count meter for the big Sept. 23 Jimmy Kimmel Live! return, on top of the 6.26 million viewers on linear.
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Best jokes from Kimmel's return, ranked. From "The Happiest Place on Earth" to "Cruz (on Government) Control" to "Disney’s Family (of Affiliates’) Feud."
*Caveats apply: the secret to TV ratings success? Trump trying to cancel you.
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Yes, They Did Say That "We’re not aligned on the decision to pause the release of The Savant." — Jessica Chastain, pictured above in the Apple TV+ series, which was pushed by the tech giant in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination.
"I’ve Had the Slime of My Life." — Email subject line of the exit memo sent by Pam Kaufman, the outgoing international business chief of Paramount.
"I realized that this guy, his face is toxic." — Glen Powell, on deciding not to take a picture with a famous "canceled" actor he saw at a party.
"But this is exactly the kind of fight our Guild was created for." — From a missive on censorship sent to members of the Directors Guild, now newly led by Christopher Nolan.
“We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple." — Amazon spokesperson Mark Blafkin, on settling an FTC lawsuit over Prime "cancellation trickery" for $1.5 billion (or $51 per user).
"AI can be used by bad actors and content farms to confuse or deceive listeners." — Spotify, led by Daniel Ek, in explaining why it removed 75 million "spammy" tracks.
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A Wild ComebackThis week in Ventura, Seinfeld star Michael Richards returned to the stage for the first time since his racist tirade in 2006 by headlining "An Evening of Conversations." THR's Chris Gardner was in the audience for an unpredictable night. "I don’t really work with an act, I’m very loose on stage, very loosey-goosey. That goosey got me into some trouble," Richards says of the infamous incident.
+ In his own words, Larry David recounts staging Curb's Seinfeld reunion. Story.
+ George Costanza, Kith streetwear model? Yes, in Yankees gear. |
Phil's Happy Place Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal offers an exclusive sneak peek into his coming upscale Larchmont Village diner Max & Helen's: "I’d like to not lose money. But this is just an act of love for where I live." So, why a diner? "They're disappearing all over America, and they're small-D democratic," he explains, "for the rich or poor, young or old — everyone." First look.
Also: Dwayne Johnson, Selena Gomez, Brad Pitt and the top celebrity side hustles.
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Angel's Leap of FaithFresh off its IPO, the Sound of Freedom indie disruptor led by chief content officer Jeffrey Harmon is betting big on global audiences. Its values-based playbook may not translate everywhere though. But its secret weapon has been its 1.5 million-strong “Angel Guild,” paying members who double as financiers and gatekeepers. The report.
C-suite revolving door: Fifth Season co-CEO Chris Rice is exiting ... ITV Americas chief Philippe Maigret is out ... Nintendo's America CEO Doug Bowser is retiring ... Amazon Studios hired Peter Friedlander as its global head of TV ... Paramount enlisted former DoJ head Makan Delrahim as chief legal officer.
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7 Days of DEALSRick Moranis, Bill Pullman and Daphne Zuniga will reprise their Spaceball roles, as will Mel Brooks, in the Amazon MGM sequel (that's the table read photo above ) ... Bill Burr is joining the star-studded cast of Aaron Sorkin's Social Network sequel, which is now called The Social Reckoning ... Millie Bobby Brown is in talks to star as Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug in director Gia Coppola‘s Netflix feature Perfect ... Caleb Landry Jones, Peter Sarsgaard and Andrea Riseborough are set to star in Michael Almereyda's adaptation of Don DeLillo’s novel Zero K ... Row K has nabbed the U.S. rights to the Cliffhanger reboot that stars Pierce Brosnan and Lily James ... Roadside Attractions and Vertical acquired U.S. rights to Tow, the true-life drama starring Rose Byrne ... Lucy Liu will topline Superfakes drama at Peacock ... Meredith Averill will take the reins as showrunner of the Prime Video series Fourth Wing ... Matt Nix will showrun Fox's Baywatch reboot, which nabbed a series order.
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About TownEvents this week: Gillian Anderson, Jared Leto, Greta Lee and Joachim Rønning kicked off the Tron: Ares press tour in NYC ... The Paper‘s Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg and Ramona Young united at Rockefeller Center’s iconic Top of the Rock Observation Deck ... Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Joshua Jackson took part in the Dawson’s Creek Class Reunion charity benefit ... Tony Shalhoub, Keegan-Michael Key, Rosa Salazar and Mark Wahlberg debuted Amazon thriller Play Dirty at its NYC premiere ... Lil Rel Howery and Tiffany Haddish bowed Haunted Heist at Austin’s Fantastic Fest. All 36 photos from the gallery.
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The Bottom LineSnapshots from THR's team of critics: Glen Powell's Hulu football comedy Chad Powers is "unconvincing — but perhaps intentionally so?" ... Netflix’s 19th-century family saga House of Guinness from Steven Knight is "considerably less dark and bitter than its namesake ale." ... Mae Martin 's Netflix limited-series Wayward is "unsettling and unsettled, for better and worse." ... Olmo Omerzu's drama Ungrateful Beings is "a stealthy and surprising domestic portrait." ... Joachim Lafosse's San Sebastian competition feature Six Days in Spring is "an anxious, intimate, sun-dappled tale." |
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