| | | | | | What's news: Author Sophie Kinsella has died. Craig Kallman is the new chief music officer of Warner Music Group. Priya Dogra is the new CEO of Channel 4. Jeff Williams, the former COO of Apple, has joined Disney's board. And Starz has landed a drama based on the Ippei Mizuhara gambling scandal. — Abid Rahman
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Movie Theaters Dread A Warner Bros. Merger ►"Existential threat." Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos extended an olive branch to theater owners on Monday after rival David Ellison and his mega billionaire father, Larry Ellison, launched a $108.4b hostile bid that could derail the streamer’s $82.7b deal to buy Warner Bros. Speaking at an investor’s conference Monday in New York City, Sarandos made it clear that Warner Bros. will remain in the business of releasing movies theatrically (conversely, original films made for Netflix will stick to their gameplan). THR's Pamela McClintock spoke to worried cinema owners who oppose a megadeal that would see one of the last Hollywood legacy studios snapped up only five years after the demise of 20th Century Fox. The story.
—Is the Netflix-WB deal “pro-worker”? THR's Katie Kilkenny spoke to Teamsters motion picture leader Lindsay Dougherty about the deal that has Hollywood spooked. Dougherty didn’t rule out the possibility of supporting either merger attempt but said top priorities for labor would need to be addressed first. She also discussed the current state of the Hollywood workforce and what the best-case scenario for Hollywood workers would be as Warners hangs in the balance. The interview.
—"We’re in for more fireworks." THR's Alex Weprin with Kevin Mayer, who was one of the architects of Disney's $71b deal for Fox, about the prospect of the latest media mega deal. The Candle Media CEO says that the bidding war between Paramount and Netflix for Warner Bros. fight reminds him of the Disney-Fox process. The interview. |
Tony Dokoupil Named New Anchor of 'CBS Evening News' ►Overhaul continues. CBS News, which is set to be overhauled under newly-minted editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski, has named Tony Dokoupil anchor of CBS Evening News. Dokoupil announced the move on CBS Mornings Wednesday. Dokoupil, currently co-anchor of CBS Mornings, succeeds Maurice Dubois and John Dickerson, who are set to exit CBS News this month after taking over the evening news program earlier this year. The story.
—🤝 First-look deals. 🤝 Journalism and archival stories from The Atlantic will become fair game for scripted and unscripted film and TV adaptations, thanks to a first-look deal that the venerable publication has inked with Prologue Entertainment, the studio behind Zero Day and A House of Dynamite and founded by Noah Oppenheim, Lloyd Braun and Sarah Bremner. Prologue, which is backed by RedBird Capital, will develop films and series based on The Atlantic’s journalism, with Jeff Zucker’s RedBird IMI securing a first-look deal for unscripted projects. The story.
—"She died peacefully, with her final days filled with her true loves: family and music and warmth and Christmas and joy." Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling British author best known for her series of breezy Shopaholic novels, the first two of which were adapted for a Disney movie that starred Isla Fisher, died Wednesday. She was 55. Kinsella’s family announced her death in an Instagram post. She revealed in April 2024 that said she had been diagnosed at the end of 2022 with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. The obituary.
—Shock death. Jubilant Sykes, a Grammy-nominated opera singer, was allegedly stabbed to death by his son in his Santa Monica home on Monday. He was 71. Police responded to a 911 call at about 9:20 p.m. on Monday from someone inside the home who reported an “assault in progress,” the Santa Monica PD shared in a statement. Sykes was pronounced dead at the scene and his son was booked for homicide. Sykes began his career as a soprano and performed in venues including the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Apollo Theater and the Hollywood Bowl. The story. |
Craig Kallman to Leave Atlantic for Warner Music Role ►Upped. THR's Ethan Millman has the scoop that Atlantic Records' Craig Kallman is moving to a new role as chief music officer at parent company Warner Music Group. The respected exec officially ends a three-decade run at the historic label for a broader A&R posting at the corporate level. With his new role, Kallman will focus on signing artists through Big Beat Records, the record label he’d founded in the ’80s before it was acquired by WMG in 1991, when Kallman first joined the company. Kallman will report to WMG CEO Robert Kyncl, and his signees at Big Beat will be worked through WMG’s US labels, which include both Atlantic and Warner Records. The story.
—"A highly accomplished executive." The board of directors of Disney is getting a veteran tech executive. Jeff Williams, the former COO of Apple, was nominated to join the company’s board Tuesday. He will stand for election at Disney’s 2026 annual meeting, with the board expanding from 10 directors to 11 directors, assuming shareholders approve him. Williams retired from Apple earlier this year, after overseeing the tech giant’s design team, its supply chain, and launching products like the Apple Watch. The story.
—Newly created position. With streaming now a primary source of revenue at AMC Networks, the company is adding to its executive roster to help run that part of the business. Annie Luo is joining AMC Networks in the newly created position of president of streaming growth. She joins AMC from Peacock, where she was executive vp and head of global partnerships and strategic development. In the new job, Luo will be charged with driving the growth of AMC Networks’ streaming services: AMC+, Shudder, Sundance Now, Acorn TV, ALLBLK, HIDIVE and All Reality. The story.
—Congrats, innit. U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 has named Priya Dogra its new CEO, succeeding Alex Mahon who stepped down this summer after eight years. Dogra joined Comcast-owned Sky last summer as its chief advertising, group data, and new revenue officer. She previously worked at Warner Bros. Discovery and its predecessors for 14 years, ending up as the company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa president and managing director. The story. |
Oscar-Contending Docs on the Front Lines in the Middle East ►Tight race. Three documentaries – Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, Holding Liat and Coexistence, My Ass! — that chronicle the events around Oct. 7, 2023 are in the running to land on the best documentary shortlist for the 2026 Oscars, which is revealed on Dec.16. THR's executive editor of awards coverage Scott Feinberg considers the prospects on each film. The analysis.
—🏆 Usual suspects dominate. 🏆 On Tuesday, the Producers Guild of America announced its nominees for its annual documentary award, which includes The Alabama Solution, My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay and The Perfect Neighbor. The list is dominated by two HBO (The Alabama Solution and My Mom Jayne), two Netflix (The Perfect Neighbor and Cover-Up) and two National Geographic (The Tale of Silyan and Ocean With David Attenborough) documentaries. The nominees.
—Get bidding. The 2025 Black List has been revealed, with scripts tackling Yoko Ono, Kobe Bryant’s NBA Draft, and an AI David Bowie among the honorees. The annual list of the town’s best-unproduced feature screenplays features 74 scripts from writers, known and unknown, repped and unrepped. At the top of this year’s list is the erotic thriller Best Seller from writer Matisse Haddad about a struggling writer, married to a famous novelist husband, who writes a viral tell-all that ignites a battle between the two. The story.
—"Exactly how you do a middle chapter of a trilogy." The hotly anticipated sequel to Danny Boyle‘s 28 Years Later held its first screenings, and the initial reactions on social media to Nia DaCosta's 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple suggest that the film is a worthy (and weirder) follow-up. While official critics reviews for Bone Temple are embargoed till closer to the film’s Jan. 16 release date, Columbia Pictures allowed press in the U.S. and U.K. to release social media reactions to press screenings on Tuesday night. The reaction. |
Starz Lands Ohtani Translator's Betting Scandal Drama ►Ippei's fall. A Lionsgate TV project about the gambling scandal surrounding Ippei Mizuhara, the former translator for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, has found a home. Starz is developing the drama, which will center on Mizuhara, who in March 2024 was fired by the Dodgers after Ohtani’s reps accused him of stealing millions of dollars from the four-time MVP to pay off gambling debts. Alex Convery is set to serve as showrunner and writer. Justin Lin is attached to direct and will co-write the story. Convery and Lin will executive produce with Scott Delman; sportswriter Albert Chen is a co-exec producer. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Apple TV has unveiled a first look at next year’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles. The drama, which is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Rufi Thorpe, stars Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer as mother and daughter. Nick Offerman will play Margo’s dad. Nicole Kidman, Greg Kinnear, Michael Angarano, Thaddea Graham, Lindsey Normington, Marcia Gay Harden and Rico Nasty round out the cast. The show debuts with three episodes April 15, with new episodes dropping every Wednesday through May 20. The story.
—🎭 Filled out. 🎭 Rafe Spall will play the British prime minister in a new political comedy-drama Number 10. In August, THR reported that Sherlock creator Steven Moffat was penning his first series project for the U.K.'s Channel 4. Produced by Hartswood Films, part of ITV Studios, Number 10 will be led by Spall, next to Jenna Coleman as his deputy chief of staff and Katherine Kelly as chief of staff. Joining them in 10 Downing Street are Akshay Khanna, Abigail Lawrie, Laura Haddock, Jing Lusi, Pierro Niel-Mee, Rick Warden, Joe Wilkinson, Robyn Cara, Richard Rankin, Rhiannon Clements, Patrick Baladi, Shaun Prendergast, Harry Baxendale, Alex Macqueen, Sid Sagar, Sam Alexander and Emer Kenny. The story. |
Broadway Box Office: 'Harry Potter' Back On Top ►Leslie is more. Broadway grosses fell back down to earth last week after the highs of Thanksgiving week. Overall industry gross dropped 12 percent from the prior week with average ticket price down $16 and attendance down just 2 percent, pointing to the higher ticket prices that week. Hamilton, which was the highest earner the prior week with a gross approaching $5m, saw its grosses tumble $2m to land at $2.8mn. This came as the show performed its first week since Sept. 9 without Leslie Odom Jr. With the drop in Hamilton’s gross, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child returned to its position as the highest grossing show of the week, bringing in $2.9m at the Lyric Theatre. The Broadway box office report.
—🎭 Debut. 🎭 Alia Shawkat will make her theater debut in the Off-Broadway production of the Obie Award-winning play You Got Older. The play, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Clare Barron, is the second theater production to join the lineup of the Cherry Lane Theatre, which reopened in September after being purchased by film studio A24. Produced by Cherry Lane Theatre and Matt Ross, the production is scheduled to begin previews Feb. 12, 2026, with an opening night Feb. 23. The limited run is scheduled through March 29. The play first ran Off-Broadway in 2014. The story.
—"I try to bring an honesty to it, a reality, then lift it to the point of camp or high comedy." THR's Caitlin Huston spoke to Jane Krakowski about taking on the role of Mary Todd Lincoln in Cole Escola’s bonkers Broadway show, Oh, Mary! The 30 Rock alum, the 16th person to play the first lady, discussses how she got the gig, getting into the right headspace to play the part and finding her own Mary. The interview. |
THR's Animation Roundtable ►"You have to be slightly masochistic. It’s a painful and long process and you have to love it." THR's award-winning Roundtable Series continues, next up is the Animation Roundtable. The helmers of this awards season’s frontrunners — Arco director Ugo Bienvenu, Zootopia 2 co-director Jared Bush, Little Amélie co-director Liane-Cho Han, KPop Demon Hunters co-director Maggie Kang, Elio co-director Domee Shi, and In Your Dreams co-director Alex Woo — talk to THR's Scott Roxborough about originality, shifting audience expectation and why, for animation, “nerd love” is not only tolerated but required. The roundtable.
In other news...
—Zendaya, Robert Pattinson face pre-wedding disaster in A24’s The Drama trailer
—Diana Ross to headline Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2026
—Toronto: Sirat director Óliver Laxe to get retrospective
—Domhnall Gleeson to be honored at the Oscar Wilde Awards
—Emily Nussbaum named theatre critic at The New Yorker
—Ego Nwodim to host Film Independent Spirit Awards
What else we're reading...
—Josh Taylor reports that millions of children and teens have lost access to accounts as Australia’s world-first social media ban begins [Guardian]
—Rachel Handler has noticed that Netflix's Christmas movies are eerily normal this year [Vulture]
—Brian Stelter reports on the increasingly fractious battle between David Ellison and David Zaslav over the future of WBD [CNN]
—Geoff Edgers talks to Rosie O'Donnell about her life in exile in a Trump-free Ireland [WaPo]
—Yasmin Tayag wonders if fast-growing Filipino chain Jollibee can beat American fast food at its own game [Atlantic]
Today...
...in 1978, Warner Bros. unveiled Richard Donner’s Superman at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. for its premiere. The Christopher Reeve-starring film launched a big screen franchise and went on to be nominated for three Oscars (for film editing, original score and sound) at the 51st Academy Awards. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Teyana Taylor (35), Kenneth Branagh (65), Raven-Symoné (40), KiKi Layne (34), Robert King (66), Bobby Flay (61), Emmanuelle Chriqui (50), Melissa Roxburgh (33), Xavier Samuel (42), Arden Myrin (52), Fionnula Flanagan (84), Amanda Anka (57), Michael Schoeffling (65), Susan Dey (73), Nia Peeples (64), Patrick John Flueger (42), Alicia von Rittberg (32), Summer Phoenix (47), Michael Angelo Covino (41), Kyliegh Curran (20), Daniel Betts (54), Alano Miller (45), Kurt Yue (44), Andrea Canning (53) |
| Raul Malo, the lead singer and songwriter of the innovative Latin-country band The Mavericks, has died. He was 60. The obituary. |
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