May 17, 2023

What's news: ABC has greenlit The Golden Bachelor, featuring participants 60 and over. Hulu has renewed The Kardashians. Liberty Media says F1 is not for sale. The Daytime Emmys have been postponed due to the strike. The Indiana Jones films are finally heading to Disney+. — Abid Rahman

Depp Tears Up During Cannes Standing Ovation

►Read THR's day 2 Cannes digital daily here.

—Divisive start. The 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival kicked off on Tuesday evening by hosting Johnny Depp and his opening-night film, Jeanne du Barry. The film, Depp and #Cannes2023 all were trending topics on Twitter as debates continued to rage — online and off — over the film’s inclusion in the festival lineup. THR's Chris Gardner, Mia Galuppo and Rebecca Keegan go inside the rather eventful opening ceremony. The story.

—"I don’t feel much further need for Hollywood." The morning after the night before, Depp was scheduled to appear at a press conference for Jeanne du Barry. After a 45-minute delay, Depp did finally show up to the presser on Wednesday where he was in a rather combative mood. Asked whether he felt he had been boycotted by Hollywood, Depp said he didn't but also that he had no desire to please people anymore. The actor also took umbrage with the media suggesting he was making a comeback, saying, "I didn’t go anywhere." The story.

—Brieached. After fielding some deliberately awkward questions at a Tuesday presser, Chris Gardner reports that Brie Larson smiled, posed and danced at the top of the Palais steps during her debut as a member of this year's competition jury alongside president Ruben Östlund, Paul Dano and others. The story.

—Magnifique! Cannes' film market seems to have emerged from the pandemic stronger than ever. With registration still ongoing, the Marché du Film is expected to welcome 13,500 accredited participants, exceeding the previous record of 12,500 set in 2019 before the pandemic. The story.

—"We’re trying to keep realistic expectations." Amid ongoing lawsuits and a criminal investigation, troubled Alec Baldwin-led Western Rust is back in the Cannes Marché. Rebecca Keegan spoke to producer Ryan Donnell Smith about the film's sale prospects as he attempts to shepherd the project's future. The interview.

Blanchett on Tackling the Big Questions in 'The New Boy'

►"As an actor, whether it’s onstage or onscreen, I’m very director driven." THR's Patrick Brzeski spoke to Cate Blanchett and filmmaker Warwick Thornton about their Cannes Un Certain Regard title The New Boy. The Aussie dream team discuss the spiritual subtext of the film, why it was made in part "out of anger" and the "glamour and brutality" of Cannes. The interview.

—"Rarely do you get scripts that feature such compelling female characters at their center." Todd Haynes returns to Cannes with his new film May December. Ahead of the festival, Haynes talked to Mia Galuppo about the origins of the feature that stars Oscar winners Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. The interview.

—"I get to kind of do everything at this point in my life." THR's Alex Ritman spoke to Fisher Stevens who is in Cannes for Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City. The actor-director-producer opens up about life after Succession (including the spinoff he penned), his upcoming David Beckham doc-series, his new environmental doc feature, and his very famous — and very creative — circle of friends and collaborators. The interview.

—Back to Hundred Acre Wood. Alex has the scoop on the sequel to creature slasher Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey selling out in multiple territories at the Cannes market. The first film became a viral sensation for its childhood-bludgeoning premise and amassed more than $6m at the box office from a modest $100,000 budget. The story.

—🎭 Rising star 🎭 Haley Bennett is set to lead Night and Day, Justine Waddell’s adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel. The feature is set to be directed by I Am Nasrine filmmaker Tina Gharavi and co-stars Timothy Spall and Jack Farthing. WestEnd Films has boarded the German-Irish-U.K. co-production and is introducing the project to buyers in Cannes. The story.

ABC Unveils Strike-Proof Fall 2023 Schedule

►It's a bold strategy, Cotton. ABC is leaning all the way into its unscripted roster with a fall schedule that, amid uncertainty about production during the writers strike, features no new scripted shows. The schedule is the most supposedly 'strike-proof' of the three announced by broadcast networks during the upfronts. CBS presented a mostly business-as-usual lineup, and NBC showed a slate with a mix of unscripted shows and already filmed scripted series, but also some shows that can’t move ahead until the strike ends. The story.

—Golden oldies. After 28 seasons of featuring young people looking for love, ABC is expanding its Bachelor franchise to the golden years. The network has greenlit The Golden Bachelor, which will feature a man and a group of women on the other side of 60 years old looking for love. The show will be part of ABC’s all-unscripted schedule in the fall, airing after Dancing With the Stars on Monday nights. The story.

—No-brainer. Hulu is extending The Kardashians, handing out an order for another 20 episodes of the unscripted series. The streamer, which does not release traditional viewership data, says the series premiere of The Kardashians ranks as the most watched debut in the history of the platform and the show remains its most watched unscripted series. The story.

—🤝 Shared rights 🤝 All films in the Indiana Jones franchise are coming to Disney+ later this month as part of a shared rights deal between Disney and Paramount. Though Disney acquired the future franchise rights to Indiana Jones in 2013, the first four films remained under the control of Paramount and, as a result, have not been available to stream on Disney+. The story.

—"The most complete, intimate, and compelling account." Also announced at Disney's upfronts, ESPN has started production on a Serena Williams series. Titled In The Arena: Serena Williams, the docuseries is directed by Gotham Chopra, and co-produced by ESPN, Religion of Sports, Tom Brady’s 199 Productions, and Williams and Caroline Currier’s Nine Two Six Productions. Details on the number of episodes and release date will be announced at a later date. The story.

Priscilla Presley Settles Battle Over Lisa Marie's Estate

►"Pleased that we resolved this together." An estate battle challenging the will of Lisa Marie Presley has settled, a rep for her mother Priscilla Presley confirmed to THR's Winston Cho. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The agreement resolves a petition from Priscilla Presley filed in January questioning the “authenticity and validity” of a 2016 amendment that replaced her and former business manager Barry Siegel as co-trustees of the estate with Lisa Marie Presley’s daughter Riley Keough and deceased son Benjamin Keough. The story.

—Suit filed. Martin Scorsese and his production company, Sikelia Productions, are being taken to court for allegedly reneging on a $1m deal to executive produce a World War II movie. U.K.-based production company Op-Fortitude alleges that Scorsese accepted a $500,000 initial payment to personally assemble an all-star cast for Operation: Fortitude and refused to return the money after doing no work for over a year. The film was written and is set to be produced by Simon Afram. The story.

—Stalled. Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei has poured water on speculation Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is looking to mount a formal takeover bid for Formula One. Liberty paid $4.4b to buy the motorsport series in 2017 and has since invested to boost the consumer appeal of F1. In January, media reports pointed to Saudi Arabia offering a $20b bid for the marquee race car series, which Liberty rebuffed. The story.

WGA Posts Forecast of How Much a Deal Would Cost

►"The cost of these proposed improvements is modest compared to industry revenues and profits." The Writers Guild of America is estimating that the cost of its current contract proposals for top studios and streamers would be $343m, while the overall cost to the industry would be $429m. The union broke down these projected costs by employer in a chart sent to members on Tuesday. The breakdown.

—Change of plan. THR's Caitlin Huston reports that the 2023 Tony Awards will move forward with an unscripted, televised broadcast on CBS. The WGA said late Monday that the union would not grant the June 11 ceremony a waiver or exception, but would not picket the event. Lin-Manuel Miranda had been tapped to write an opener for the Broadway awards show but stopped in solidarity with the writers strike. Ariana DeBose is still expected to helm the ceremony in some capacity, according to sources. The story.

—Postponed. The 50th Daytime Emmys and the Creative Arts and Lifestyle ceremonies have been postponed amid the stoppage. Both events, scheduled for June, will be rescheduled for a later date in the hopes of a resolution between the WGA and AMPTP. The story.

Film Review: 'Jeanne du Barry'

►"Beautiful and bland." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Maïwenn's Jeanne du Barry. Starring the filmmaker and Johnny Depp, the Cannes Film Festival’s opening night selection explores the legendary courtesan’s affair with Louis XV and the scandal it caused at the Palace of Versailles. The review.

—"Riveting and politically relevant." Jordan reviews Cédric Kahn's The Goldman Case. The filmmaker revisits the 1975 trial of French leftist radical Pierre Goldman, who was subject to police prejudice and antisemitism, in the Cannes Directors' Fortnight opener. The review.

—"A striking encounter between then and now." THR's Sheri Linden reviews Steve McQueen's Occupied City. Working from a book by his wife, Dutch filmmaker Bianca Stigter, the 12 Years a Slave helmer explores his adopted city of Amsterdam during the Second World War and today. The review.

—"Authentically raucous and rollicking." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Freevee's Primo. Inspired by journalist Shea Serrano's youth, the series focuses on a high schooler navigating life with the help of his mother and five uncles. The review.

In other news...

—Josh Hutcherson doesn’t know what he signed up for in Five Nights at Freddy’s teaser

—Sky, Sony renew content deal for U.K., Ireland

—A24 and German mini-major Leonine set up joint label

—Peyton Manning, Luke Bryan to return as hosts of 2023 CMA Awards

—Screen Actors Guild Awards set 2024 date

—Four new independent L.A. bookstores to shop and support now

What else we're reading...

—John Wilmes reflects on the absurd success of the Fast & Furious franchise, describing it as a genuine Hollywood unicorn [Ringer]

—Noah Goldberg has an in-depth exposé on producer David Brown, who has faced repeated accusations of fraud including forging Kevin Spacey’s signature, skimming money and failing to pay crew and actors [LAT]

—Ashlie D. Stevens writes that the brand image of freshly minted Sports Illustrated cover star Martha Stewart has always been subversive [Salon]

—With the election nightmare depicted in Succession's latest episode giving everyone PTSD, Sam Adams and Brian Stelter discuss how plausible such a scenario could be [Slate]

—Following Elon Musk's unhinged and antisemitic rant against George Soros, Yair Rosenberg writes that the billionaire tweeting such things was inevitable [Atlantic]

Today...

...in 1991, Buena Vista took the Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss gonzo comedy What About Bob? to theaters nationwide. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Lena Waithe (39), Kandi Burruss (47), Nikki Reed (35), Ginger Gonzaga (40), Sasha Alexander (50), Trent Reznor (58), Olivia Luccardi (34), Tahj Mowry (37), Paige Turco (58), Natalie Brown (50), Ross Butler (33), Erin Richards (37🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿), Kat Foster (45), David Eigenberg (59), Gabriel Hogan (50), Hill Harper (57), Karrueche Tran (35), Peter Gerety (83), Craig Ferguson (61), Hisham Tawfiq (53), John Paul Tremblay (55), Corey Johnson (62), Daniel Curtis Lee (32), Ayda Field (44), Derek Hough (38), Paul Whitehouse (65🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿)

John Refoua, the Oscar-nominated editor who worked with James Cameron on Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water and the upcoming Avatar 3, has died. He was 58. The obituary.

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