| "YOU, MY FRIENDS, HAVE AN URGENT PART TO PLAY" |
Tom Rothman, chairman and CEO, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, and the first Hollywood studio chief to take the stage at CinemaCom, came down hard on theaters Monday, ticking off three key changes he thinks exhibition needs to make for the health of the industry.
Things are better, he acknowledged, “But admissions are clearly down from pre-Covid and we all have urgent work to do. For our part, that means delivering a variety of great films to all kinds of audiences.
“But you, my friends, have an urgent part to play,” he told exhibitors assembled at the Colosseum at Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas. >>>"It's Hard"
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CinemaCon 2026 Photos |
Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
How 'The Rookie' Became A Veteran - The teens have spoken: ABC cop drama The Rookie, which has emerged as a surprise hit with the under 18 crowd, thanks in major part to the show’s viral popularity on TikTok, has been renewed for a ninth season. With that, the Nathan Fillion starrer, from creator Alexi Hawley, Lionsgate TV and 20th TV, has become the third longest-running ABC drama series after Grey’s Anatomy. >>> Nowhere Near Done
An Ominous BBC Town Hall - BBC employees are expected to be updated on the British broadcaster’s plans to save an additional £500M ($675M) over the coming years. In an internal email, the BBC told members of staff to join a town hall meeting on Wednesday, when they will be updated on “savings plans.” Employees were informed that “everyone should attend.” >>> Staff Bracing Themselves
Angel Studios Expands Slate - Angel Studios is adding five films to its 2026 slate with thriller Runner by Scott Waugh starring Owen Wilson and Alan Ritchson set for September 11. It unveiled a reimagining of John Wayne’s 1947 Angel and the Badman starring Tommy Lee Jones, a Cold War-era Reagan-Gorbachev film with Jeff Daniels and Jared Harris, a biopic of chocolate baron Milton Hershey starring Finn Wittrock and a holiday musical, Drummer Boy. >>> 10 Films In 2026
Alan Ritchson Goes Wild - Alan Ritchson is heading into the wilderness for a new unscripted series at Netflix. The star of Netflix’s War Machine and Amazon’s Reacher is leading a survival competition series for the streamer. It marks his first time fronting an unscripted series and comes over twenty years after he appeared on season three of American Idol. >>> Bunim/Murray Producing
Lip Sync Named And Shamed - Lip Sync Productions, the British film and TV investor behind titles including The Brutalist and Viggo Mortensen’s Falling, has been named at the top of HM Revenue & Customs' most recently published list of “deliberate tax defaulters.” It was revealed the sister to the collapsed Lipsync post-house failed to pay a £14.1M ($19M) tax bill between 2019 and 2023. >>> Fined $9.5M |
The Rookie, starring Nathan Fillion, was just renewed by ABC for a ninth season. Creator, executive producer and showrunner Alexi Hawley may have had an inkling, ending the season on another cliffhanger.
Along with finishing Season 8 of The Rookie, Hawley has been working on spinoff The Rookie: North, starring Jay Ellis. Shot in late February, the pilot has been completed and delivered to ABC.
“The pilot came out great,” Hawley said. “The network seems super happy with it. You never know until you know but we have a really amazing cast, led by Jay Ellis who’s a star; it was a joy to make that with him and the rest of them. >>>Read The Interview |
QUOTABLE
"They're all about to get f*cked" - Damon Lindelof on the impact of the Warner Bros.-Paramount deal on below the line workers
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ExclusiveLinda Cardellini has closed a deal to join Bill Hader in They Know, the horror film for MRC that marks Hader's feature directorial debut.
ExclusiveNick Jonas has inked a deal to star in an untitled Netflix rom-com from director Ari Sandel.
ExclusiveDan Stevens is the second new star joining the cast of Showtime's Dexter: Resurrection Season 2 as a series regular.
ExclusiveJosh Charles is the latest to join The 99’ers, Netflix's drama telling the inspirational true story of the 1999 U.S. Women’s Soccer team.
Oliver Savell, who has been twice BAFTA nominated for his role as a young Alan Carr in Changing Ends, is leading the BBC’s adaptation of Sue Townsend’s The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole. |
BY THE NUMBERS
8.1M - Viewership for 'Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair' in its first three days on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+
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MORE NEWS
🫂 Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro has confirmed layoffs affecting up to 1,000 employees in the company’s streamlined marketing and brand organization. The top exec, who was officially named Bob Iger’s successor in February, conveyed the news to employees Tuesday in a memo, following reports of the cuts last week. 🎸 The 2026 class for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame includes several long-overlooked acts including Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Iron Maiden and Joy Division/New Order, along with Oasis, hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan and R&B stalwarts Sade and the late Luther Vandross.
⛰️ After more than 1,000 Hollywood content creators and other figures signed on to a letter opposing the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, Paramount has responded by making the case that the transaction will ensure that there will be “more avenues for their work, not fewer.”
🕹️ 20th Century Studios announced that it has acquired theatrical film rights to 99 Nights in the Forest, the popular action-survival game hosted on Roblox that was developed by Grandma’s Favourite Games.
🦋 Kantemir Balagov’s New Jersey-set drama Butterfly Jam, starring Barry Keoghan and Riley Keough, will open the 58th edition of Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. It is among 19 features and nine short and medium-length works announced for the 2026 edition, which runs from May 13-23 alongside the Cannes Film Festival.
🎞️ Hisamatsu Takeo has been appointed as Festival Director at the Tokyo Film Festival, replacing Ando Hiroyasu, who is due to step down on May 31. Takeo previously served as the Festival Director from 2017 to 2021. |
| OBITUARIES
🕯️ Sid Krofft , who along with brother Marty Krofft created and co-produced a slew of trippy, beloved kids’ TV classic of the 1970s such as H.R. Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost and others, died Friday, April 10, of natural causes at the home of his friend and business partner Kelly Killian. He was 96. 🕯️ 2026 Deaths Photo Gallery
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| ON THE RADAR
Wed - CBS unveils 2026-27 schedule
Thu - CinemaCon wraps; Netflix earnings; Beef S2 debut
Sat - Deadline Contenders TV: Docs; Eddie Murphy receives the AFI Life Achievement Award; NAB Show begins
Mon - Devil Wears Prada 2 world premiere
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Kings Of Comedy - Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy and Adam Sandler at the premiere of Netflix's Roommates in support of castmembers Sadie Sandler and Bella Murphy. |
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