| | | | What's news: Brit actor Ray Stevenson has died at 58. Netflix has acquired Todd Haynes' May December. Neon takes U.S. rights to Cannes fave Anatomy of a Fall. Renate Reinsve will star in Zach Cregger's Weapons. Paramount+ with Showtime has a launch date and a new pricing structure. — Abid Rahman |
'The Idol' Gets Lukewarm Reception in Cannes ►Idol worship. Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and Sam Levinson's controversial pop star drama The Idol premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday night. THR's Scott Roxborough reports that the screening of the HBO series was met with polite applause from the usually enthusiastic festival audience, who gave it a standard-measure 5-minute standing ovation. Series director and co-creator Levinson was, however, overcome by the reaction and began to choke up in his speech after the screening. The story.
—"We know we are making a show that is provocative." At Tuesday's Cannes press conference for The Idol, Tesfaye, Levinson and star Lily-Rose Depp spoke at greater length about the show they say explores the darker side of celebrity and the "pornification" of American pop culture. All three also addressed the reports that the production was plagued by last-minute revisions and a chaotic working environment. The story.
—Snaffled. Netflix has acquired Todd Haynes’ Cannes competition entry May December, which made an impression on the Croisette after its Saturday evening premiere. The film stars Natalie Portman as a Hollywood actress who researches the life of Gracie (Julianne Moore), who became tabloid fodder after a May-December relationship with Joe (Charles Melton), a man 23 years her junior. The story.
—Snapped up. Neon has acquired the North American rights to Anatomy of a Fall, which premiered in the Cannes competition lineup on Sunday. The movie, written and directed by French filmmaker Justine Triet and co-written by Arthur Harari, marks Neon’s second acquisition at the festival following Pablo Berger’s animated film Robot Dreams. The story. |
'Succession' Director on Filming Immersive Funeral Episode ►"Honestly, I still don’t feel like I’ve left the show." For THR, Josh Wigler spoke to Succession's longtime director and executive producer Mark Mylod about the HBO show's penultimate episode, "Church and State." Mylod reveals the secrets behind building the episode, and a bit (but just a bit) of what lies ahead in the highly anticipated series finale. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"A big thing for me was dealing with my father’s death." THR's Lacey Rose spoke to Tom Segura about his new Netflix special Sledgehammer. The veteran comedian discusses his 4- and 7-year-old sons’ take on their father’s fame, his own Hollywood ambitions and how his Ted Cruz bit landed around the world. The interview.
—🎭 Classy addition 🎭 The Worst Person in the World star Renate Reinsve has signed on to star opposite Pedro Pascal in New Line’s Weapons, the newest movie project from Barbarian filmmaker Zach Cregger. Weapons is described as an interrelated, multistory horror epic that tonally is in the vein of Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia. Cregger wrote the script and is directing the feature. The story. —JC play. Lionsgate has picked up the worldwide distribution rights to all seasons of The Chosen, the streaming series starring Jonathan Roumie that follows the life of Jesus as seen through the eyes of his followers. The religious drama from creator, director and producer Dallas Jenkins grew from a crowdsourcing project to amassing over 110m viewers in 175 countries via streaming platforms. Lionsgate and Jenkins plan to make The Chosen available worldwide in 600 languages. The story.
—"We’re thinking pretty aggressively about where we can take things in Florida." As Disney enacts $5.5b in cost-saving measures, Disney Parks chief Josh D’Amaro said his department will also be making cuts, but will not eliminate frontline positions. Speaking at an investor conference Monday, D’Amaro also touched on the news that Disney will not be building a new campus in Florida, reiterating that this was due to new leadership and changing business conditions. He added that the “political situation” in Florida has not yet impacted the parks business. The story.
—Price increase. Paramount says that it will launch its new Paramount+ with Showtime service on June 27. The new tier will become the cornerstone plan for Paramount+, and will cost $11.99 per month, up from $9.99 currently for the top tier of the service, but on par with the price for the current Paramount+ with Showtime offering. However, Paramount will also be raising the price for its “Essential” plan, which will not include Showtime content. That plan will cost $5.99 per month up from $4.99. The story. |
Ray Stevenson 1964 - 2023 ►Gentle giant. Ray Stevenson, the burly British actor who starred as Volstagg in the Thor movies and as the brutally evil governor in the recent Indian hit RRR, has died. He was 58. Stevenson died Sunday, four days shy of his birthday, his publicist Nicki Fioravante told THR. The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported he had been hospitalized on the island of Ischia while in production on the film Cassino on Ischia, directed by Frank Ciota. The obituary.
—"We’re the first to stare down our rising AI Overlords, but we won’t be the last." THR's series of frank accounts of the writers strike continues. The Eastside Warrior is back, and in his latest picket-line dispatch, the seasoned EP doubles down on the battle to protect human writers from getting "Napsterfied" by AI, and warns studio heads that the bots will betray them, too. The diary.
—🤝 Deal struck 🤝 SAG-AFTRA and Cameo have inked a deal to offer union coverage to performers making agreements with brands through the celebrity video marketplace’s marketing arm. The new “C4B x SAG-AFTRA Agreement” allows union members to count their compensation from Cameo for Business brand deals toward their pension and health benefits, as performers must meet certain earnings thresholds to qualify. The story.
—Suit filed. TikTok is suing Montana to overturn a law aimed at stopping the app from being downloaded within the state. THR's Winston Cho reports that the complaint filed on May 22 in federal court claims that a ban of TikTok violates the First Amendment by “unconstitutionally shutting down the forum for speech for all speakers on the app.” The Chinese-owned video app, used by more than 150m users in the U.S., argues it’s a vital platform for communication and expression. The story.
—"After much thoughtful feedback." The L.A. Dodgers has issued an apology and reinstated an invitation to LGBTQIA+ group the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence for the team's annual Pride Night. Last week, the Dodgers whipped up a firestorm of controversy after rescinding an invitation to the Sisters — a charitable drag group that dresses like nuns — to accept a “community hero award” after lobbying from right wing groups and Sen. Marco Rubio. The story.
—"There were people weeping, visibly so upset by this one person." Melissa McCarthy said she worked for someone in Hollywood who created a set so “volatile” and “hostile” it made her physically ill. In a new interview, The Little Mermaid star said the horrible experience taught her how to advocate for herself and was instructive in how she wanted to operate in the industry. The story. |
TV Review: 'The Idol' ►"Tries too hard." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews HBO's The Idol. Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd star in this series about a pop star tries to restore her reputation and popularity with the help of a nightclub manager in the highly-anticipated show co-created by Euphoria's Sam Levinson. The review.
—"An uncommon look at a brutal war." Lovia reviews Sahra Mani's Bread and Roses. The Jennifer Lawrence-produced documentary, which premiered at Cannes, offers unusually up-close access to life for Afghan women in Taliban-controlled Kabul. The review.
—"Modest perfection." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Aki Kaurismäki's Cannes competition entry Fallen Leaves. The Finnish master’s first film in six years is an extension of his early Proletariat Trilogy, following two lonely blue-collar people stumbling toward what could be love. The review.
—"Stylish, but subtle as a hammer to the head." THR's Leslie Felperin reviews Jessica Hausner's Cannes competition entry Club Zero. Mia Wasikowska plays a cultist nutrition teacher and Sidse Babett Knudsen is also on hand as a school principal not paying sufficient attention to potential disasters coming her way in this satire. The review. |
TV Review: 'Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai' ►"Gets the adorable, zany appeal of the original movies." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Max's Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai. Tze Chun leads the animation team giving Joe Dante's classic '80s creature feature an origin story with the mogwai and gremlins in 1920s China. The review.
—"Delightfully goofy." THR's Angie Han reviews Max's Clone High. The cult-fave series from Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Bill Lawrence, about a school for teenagers who are genetic copies of famous historical figures, is resurrected after 20 years. The review.
In other news...
—The Color Purple trailer: Fantasia Barrino stars in first look of movie musical
—Beyoncé, Jay-Z spend $200m on California’s most expensive house
—Shelly Johnson elected president of American Society of Cinematographers
—Fatima Djoumer named CEO of Europa Cinemas
—Biden nominates veteran government attorney Anna Gomez as FCC commissioner
—MrBallen podcast studio launches management arm
—The Turning podcast studio Rococo Punch acquired by Audily
—Rolf Harris, disgraced Aussie entertainer and children’s TV host, dies at 93
What else we're reading...
—Gene Park talks to Eiji Aonuma, the genius behind the Zelda franchise who has just produced another banger with Tears of the Kingdom [WaPo]
—Fiona Sturges nails it with this piece on how watching prestige TV has become a lonely pursuit in the streaming age, and how podcasts are trying to plug those watercooler moments [Guardian]
—Benjamin Mullin profiles "Hollywood outsider" Mike Cavanagh who is stepping in to lead NBCUniversal following Jeff Shell's ouster [NYT]
—Pete Thamel reports that an unfinished TV deal led to an unexpectedly hectic first month for the new Big Ten commissioner [ESPN]
—Max Berlinger writes that 2023 is shaping up to be "barefoot-boy summer" [The Cut]
Today...
Today's birthdays: Ryan Coogler (37), Joan Collins (90), Melissa McBride (58), H. Jon Benjamin (57), Jewel (49), Tom Tykwer (58), Ken Jennings (49), Richard Ayoade (46), John Ortiz (55), Ramona Young (25), Drew Carey (65), Matt Lintz (22), LaMonica Garrett (48), Lea DeLaria (65), Adam Wylie (39), D.J. Cotrona (43), Karen Duffy (61), O-Lan Jones (73), Lane Garrison (43), John Pollono (51), Kelly Monaco (47), Chris Gethard (43), Linda Thompson (73), Guinevere Turner (55) |
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