| | | | What's news: Drew Barrymore has been dropped as the host of the National Book Foundation awards. The full S32 cast of Dancing With the Stars has been revealed. Fox News anchor Bret Baier has signed a multi-year contract extension with the network. A Polish TV singing contest is at the center of a blackface controversy. — Abid Rahman
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Taylor Swift Dominates 2023 VMAs ►Nine out of eleven. MTV handed out its 2023 Video Music Awards on Tuesday, with Taylor Swift winning nine awards, including artist of the year and video of the year for “Anti-Hero.” She also won Moon Person trophies for best direction, best cinematography, best visual effects, best pop video, show of the summer, song of the year and album of the year for Midnights. Swift was at the show to accept in person, though only four of her awards were presented during the live telecast. The complete winners list.
—All-star tribute. MTV continued the music world’s yearlong tribute to hip-hop at the VMAs. Nicki Minaj, who also served as the night’s emcee, joined Lil Wayne, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Doug E. Fresh, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and LL Cool J for a performance celebrating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary that closed out the awards show. The story.
—Shocker. *NSYNC reunited at the VMAs to announce the winner of the best pop category. Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass and Joey Fatone all made an appearance for the kinda/sorta reunion. As they took the stage, they left the audience and the likes of Taylor Swift in utter shock. The story.
—Nuffink happened, honest guv. Social media was abuzz on Tuesday night over what seemed like a very lively discussion between Megan Thee Stallion and Justin Timberlake backstage at the VMAs. Thankfully, the incident was much ado about nothing and a source close to the situation told THR that “Meg loves Justin. She was saying 'No, no, no, we’ve never met before.' It was their first time meeting, and she was excited.” The story.
—A first. Shakira has become the first South American artist to receive MTV’s Video Vanguard Award. Wyclef Jean presented the four-time VMAs winner with the honor Tuesday night, calling her a “musical genius.” As she took the stage, she first thanked MTV “for being such a big part of my career.” The story.
—Blast from the past. Sean “Diddy” Combs took the audience at the VMAs back in time when he performed a medley of hits like “I’ll Be Missing You” and “Bad Boy for Life” before accepting the Global Icon Award. He also performed “I Need a Girl (Part Two),” and “Last Night,” with special guest Keyshia Cole. It was Diddy's first performance at the VMAs since 2005. The story.
More from the 2023 MTV VMAs...
—Doja Cat performs new singles: “Attention,” “Paint the Town Red” and “Demons”
—Fall Out Boy rocks updated version of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire”
—Nicki Minaj teases new song, strips down during “Last Time I Saw You” performance
—Anitta puts on dance-filled performance of hit songs “Used to Be,” “Funk Rave” and “Grip”
—Demi Lovato hits the MTV stage for the first time in 6 years with rock medley of hit songs |
WGA to Meet With Showrunners on Friday ►"I don’t think anybody is really second guessing." THR's Lesley Goldberg reports that some of the television industry’s top creators are set to meet with the WGA’s leadership on Friday for a high-level status update on where negotiations stand. Sources tell Lesley that Kenya Barris, Noah Hawley and Sam Esmail are among a small contingent who had sought out a meeting with the WGA negotiating committee co-chair Chris Keyser and other union officials. The story.
—Backlash continues. The National Book Foundation has said they’re dropping Drew Barrymore as host of their upcoming awards ceremony. She was previously announced in July as the host of the ceremony, which takes place in New York on Nov. 15. The move follows The Drew Barrymore Show being picketed outside CBS Studios on Monday as the daytime show resumed filming amid the dual strikes. The story.
—In case you're wondering. The fourth episode of the Strike Force Five podcast is up, and Jimmy Fallon’s new controversy isn’t mentioned. But there’s a logical reason for that: The episode (and at least one more) was recorded before allegations broke last week that he’s fostered a toxic workplace on NBC’s The Tonight Show. The latest Spotify podcast episode is hosted by Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Seth Meyers, and was released five days after a Rolling Stone report was published. The story.
—"We’re pretty confident in our position." On Tuesday, Endeavor’s UFC business merged with the WWE to create a new sports firm, TKO Group Holdings. The spinoff created a new, slimmed down Endeavor, a company with its WME agency business front and center. THR's Alex Weprin spoke to Mark Shapiro, the president and COO of both Endeavor and TKO, about the business going forward and how the recent moves opens the door to more M&A. The interview. |
Vivek Ramaswamy Talks Racism and Hollywood ►"Part of what we need is to create enough honesty in storytelling that allows people of diverse backgrounds in every sense." For THR, political journalist, producer and screenwriter Keli Goff spoke to Vivek Ramaswamy. In a wide-ranging interview, the controversial GOP presidential candidate talks about his dislike of Legally Blonde, why he almost financed a remake of American History X and offers his view that racism is "not a top 50 problem in the United States." The interview.
—Wait, what? Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo, the Polish iteration of the international reality competition Your Face Sounds Familiar, will undergo an internal investigation following the use of blackface in a recent episode. Producer Endemol Shine Poland condemned the blackface incident, alongside the use of the N-word in one contestant’s performance. The story.
—The gang's all here. The full cast for season 32 of Dancing With the Stars is set. Joining the already announced Ariana Madix, Charity Lawson and Jamie Lynn Spears are Xochitl Gomez, Alyson Hannigan, Tyson Beckford, Harry Jowsey, Jason Mraz, Adrian Peterson, Lele Pons, Mira Sorvino, Mauricio Umansky, Matt Walsh and Barry Williams. The lineup. |
Authors Sue Meta, OpenAI Over Training of AI Models ►Gloves are off. THR's Winston Cho reports that authors are escalating efforts to block AI companies from using their copyrighted works to train AI systems. Michael Chabon and other decorated writers of books and screenplays sued Meta on Tuesday in a lawsuit accusing the company of copyright infringement for harvesting mass quantities of books across the web, which were then used to produce infringing works that allegedly violate their copyrights. OpenAI was sued on Sept. 8 in an identical class action. The story.
—"We’re hoping this makes us stronger." Mexican auteur Michel Franco welcomed being able to have Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard at his side for the North American premiere of Memory at the Toronto Film Festival on Tuesday night. During the post-screening Q&A, which followed a standing ovation for the director and lead actors, Franco discussed the fate of indie film amid the dual strikes. The story.
—Secret's out. THR's Borys Kit reports that Chastain and Franco are reteaming for Dreams, a feature they have kept largely secret despite a press tour in Venice for Memory. Borys writes that Franco completed shooting the feature this summer in San Francisco. Dreams stars Chastain along with Mexican ballet dancer and actor Isaac Hernandez and Rupert Friend. The story.
—Aunjanue enters the awards chat. THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg writes that Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor's turn in Ava DuVernay’s Origin could see the actress become an Oscar contender. Ellis-Taylor, who plays author Isabel Wilkerson in a film about the making and contents of Wilkerson's book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent, was an Oscar nominee for King Richard. The analysis.
—Another pickup. Netflix has nabbed the worldwide rights to Lucy Walker’s documentary Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa after it premiered at TIFF. A 2024 streaming release is planned for the film about Lhakpa Sherpa, the first Nepali woman to completely summit and survive Mount Everest. The doc is the second deal for the streamer at TIFF after acquiring Anna Kendrick's Woman of the Hour for $11m. The story. |
'Only Murders in the Building' S3 Suspect Watch ►Who killed Paul Rudd? For THR, Josh Wigler runs through the potential suspects from the third season of Hulu's Only Murders in the Building. Jeremy Shamos leads the list of killer candidates (which includes Meryl Streep, Tina Fey and Matthew Broderick) for the new season of Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez's murder-podcast comedy. Warning: Spoilers! The story.
—Optioned. Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment has optioned Mother-Daughter Murder Night, the debut novel by Nina Simon that was selected last week by Reese Witherspoon as her September book club pick. The murder mystery, which hit shelves last week from William Morrow, has been described as Gilmore Girls meets Only Murders in the Building as it follows a grandmother-mother-daughter trio of amateur sleuths. The story.
—Full circle. Tarell Alvin McCraney is the new artistic director of the Geffen Playhouse. The Oscar-winner appointment is effective immediately and his first order of business is joining Geffen staff to build a slate for the 2024-2025 season. The appointment brings McCraney full circle with the Geffen in Westwood where he presented his critically acclaimed work Choir Boy starring Jeremy Pope in 2014. The story.
—Reupped. Fox News anchor Bret Baier has signed a contract extension with the cable news channel. Baier, who hosts the afternoon program Special Report and serves as FNC’s chief political anchor, last signed a contract extension in 2021, in a deal that was set to run into 2026. It was not immediately clear how long Baier’s new contract runs, though Fox says it is a “multi-year” extension. The story. |
TV Review: 'The Morning Show' S3 ►"More perfectly lit, frequently infuriating hijinks." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews the third season of Apple TV+'s The Morning Show. Jon Hamm and Nicole Beharie appear alongside Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Billy Crudup and the rest of the company in the new season of the drama. The review.
—"A delicious mix of horror, satire and office politics." THR's Angie Han reviews Hulu's The Other Black Girl. The adaptation of Zakiya Dalila Harris' novel follows an aspiring editor who's thrilled to no longer be the only Black woman at work after a new co-worker arrives — until odd things begin to occur. The review.
—"Dredges up scant laughs." For THR, Michael Rechtshaffen reviews Chris Pine’s Poolman. Pine directs and stars in this misguided Chinatown spoof with Annette Bening, Danny DeVito and Jennifer Jason Leigh in thankless supporting roles. The review. |
Film Review: 'The Burial' ►"A lively '90s throwback." For THR, Jourdain Searles reviews Maggie Betts' The Burial. Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones headline this Amazon Studios film about a man who goes up against a corporate titan in order to hold on to his family's funeral home. The review.
—"Effectively unnerving." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Anna Kendrick's Woman of the Hour. The actress helms and stars in a dramatization of a serial killer's appearance on a dating game show in the middle of his murder spree. The review.
—"An achingly tender pas de deux." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Stéphane Brizé's Venice competition entry Out of Season. Alba Rohrwacher and Guillaume Canet star in this film about a famous screen actor in a moment of career crisis retreats to a coastal spa town, where an encounter with an old flame stirs up unresolved feelings from the past. The review. In other news...
—Totally Killer trailer: Kiernan Shipka time-travels to the 1980s to save her mom in horror-comedy
—Pet Sematary: Bloodlines trailer brings Stephen King’s prequel story to life
—Netflix reveals Fall of the House of Usher trailer from Mike Flanagan
—Sex Education trailer teases tissue-filled final season journey
—Hair Love spinoff Young Love tackles Black millennial parenthood in first trailer
—TikTok comic Jake Shane signs with UTA
—Anti-Defamation League launches media and entertainment institute
What else we're reading...
—ICYMI, Stephanie Zacharek's cover feature on Martin Scorsese is a must-read, with plenty of fascinating bits on Killers of the Flower Moon, and the legendary filmmaker's plans for another Jesus movie [Time]
—Keaton Bell has produced his magnum opus, an oral history on Mamma Mia! including input from Meryl Streep as well as Benny and Bjorn from ABBA [Vogue]
—Joanna Stern explains why the USB-C port on the new iPhones is a huge deal [WSJ]
—Jon Caramanica profiles Sean Combs, with discussion about the mogul's new album and a new psychedelics-fueled self-image [NYT]
—With Lois & Clark hitting 30 this year, Whitney Friedlander reflects on how the Superman series led to a new era of superhero TV [LAT]
Today...
...in 2002, MGM unveiled the comedy Barbershop in theaters, where it would go on to gross $77m and launch a franchise of two theatrical sequels and one spinoff. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Jean Smart (72), Lili Reinhart (27), Don Bluth (86), Colin Trevorrow (47), Frank Marshall (77), Travis Knight (50), Jacqueline Bisset (79), Isiah Whitlock Jr. (69), Louise Lombard (53), Chiara Aurelia (21), Ann Dusenberry (70), Marlyne Barrett (45), Robbie Kay (28), Ben Savage (43), Dominic Fumusa (54), Aisha Dee (30), Geri Jewell (67), Vella Lovell (38), Clyde Kusatsu (75), Ace Bhatti (54) |
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