| | | | What's news: Hollywood studios have paused their ad spend on Twitter/X. The Marvels fell a record 78 percent in its second outing. Shakira has agreed a deal with Spain's tax authorities to avoid prison time. PBS will air the sequel to Wolf Hall. Amazon Prime Video has ordered a second spinoff of Bosch. CBS/Paramount+ will air the Golden Globes. — Abid Rahman
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Who Won the Strikes? Who Lost? ►A merciless assessment. As the town flocked to picket lines during a historic 148-day writers strike and 118-day actors strike, moguls took a hit (looking at you, Bob Iger), stars made blunders (why, Drew Barrymore?) and others saw their stock rise (Lindsay Dougherty holds court next with the studios). The story.
—Settlement. Sean “Diddy” Combs has settled a lawsuit filed by the singer Cassie that accused the hip-hop mogul of repeatedly raping and physically abusing her for nearly a decade. The terms of the settlement have not been released. Cassie said in a statement, "I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control." In a statement, Combs’ lawyer said the decision to settle is in "no way an admission of wrongdoing." The story.
—Becoming Gab. Major advertisers are pausing their ad campaigns on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, including Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate and NBCUniversal. The move by Hollywood studios follows IBM pulling ads from the platform, in light of a new report from nonprofit Media Matters for America, which found that the platform was placing ads for companies next to content that touts "Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party." The story.
—Sale ahoy! Max is offering an early holiday gift for new subscribers — and making an aggressive move to bump its fourth-quarter numbers amid the streaming wars. Starting today, Max is launching a Black Friday sale slashing its rates 70 percent for its ad-supported plan to just $2.99 a month for six months. The offer is open to new and returning subscribers (but not current ones). The regular premium plan (without ads) is the usual price ($15.99). The sale is available through Nov. 27. The story.
—"That’s for Bob Iger." Iman Vellani would rather celebrate positive feedback to her film The Marvels, as opposed to focusing on its performance at the box office. In a new interview, Vellani referenced Disney CEO Bob Iger when asked about the financial return for the movie that debuted last weekend to $46.1m in North America, marking the worst opening in the history of the MCU. "I don’t want to focus on something that’s not even in my control, because what’s the point?" said Vellani, who plays Kamala Khan in the feature. The story. |
'Hunger Games' Prequel Opens to Subdued $44M ►Decent enough. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes opened to $44m at the domestic box office, easily enough to win the weekend but coming in behind expectations. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that the Lionsgate prequel has plenty of time to make up ground over Thanksgiving week, one of the most lucrative corridors of the year at the box office. Overseas, the film started off with $54.5m from 87 markets for a global opening of $98.5m.
Songbirds & Snakes opens eight years after the last Hunger Games played in theaters and 12 years after the first film hit the big screen. The new movie earned a B+ CinemaScore, the lowest of the franchise. The four Hunger Games films, based on Suzanne Collins’ dystopian YA novels, starred Jennifer Lawrence and all opened north of $100m domestically on their way to raking in $2.9b at the global box office.
The outlook remained bleak for superhero pic The Marvels, which fell 78 percent in its second outing to rank as Marvel’s worst second-weekend drop of all time, as well as the worst for any Hollywood superhero pic in modern history. Among MCU titles, threequel Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania previously sported the worst drop of 69 percent. The Marvels earned an estimated $10.2m for the weekend to tie with Thanksgiving. The box office report.
—Lucrative no more. Songbirds & Snakes opened at China’s movie box office in third place over the weekend, losing to two holdover local films and earning just $4.6m. THR's Patrick Brzeski writes that it’s just the latest disappointing performance by a U.S. franchise film in the market. The film has earned low to middling social scores from Chinese audiences, and ticketing app Maoyan projects it will total only about $7m by the end of its run. The China box office report. |
Swift and Wallen Dominate Billboard Music Awards ►🏆 "I feel like the luckiest girl to have you in my corner and caring about the music I make." 🏆 Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen were among the top winners at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night. Swift entered the evening as the finalist (as the BMAs call their nominees) in the most categories — a staggering 20 nods. She took home a total of 10 awards, including the coveted trophy for top artist and for top female artist, as well as top Billboard 200 artist. The winners.
—And that's the deal, my dear. Shakira has agreed a deal with Spanish authorities on the first day of a tax fraud trial in Barcelona on Monday, avoiding the risk of a prison sentence. The Colombian singer told the presiding magistrate that she accepted the agreement reached with prosecutors. She answered “yes” to confirm her acknowledgment of six counts of failing to pay the Spanish government around $15.8m in taxes between 2012 and 2014. Under the deal, Shakira is to receive a suspended three-year sentence and a fine of $7.6m. The story.
—"Trying to figure out what life looks like now that we are a family of 3." Dana Carvey is taking a break from work and social media, he announced on Instagram this weekend, as he thanked people for their support after the death of his son, Dex, who died Wednesday night. Carvey and his wife Paula Zwagerman said Dex, 32, died of an "accidental drug overdose." In an Instagram post Saturday, Dana Carvey said he and Zwagerman "have been overwhelmed by your love, your personal stories, your compassion." The story.
—"I just want to eat bamboo, sneeze in a cute way and not have sex." President Joe Biden faced tough competition for media attention when giant panda Tian Tian joined his press conference during Saturday Night Live's cold open for the Jason Momoa-hosted episode. The opening sketch poked fun at Biden’s recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that included discussion of China’s plan to send more pandas to the U.S. Castmember Bowen Yang played one of those pandas, and he successfully upstaged Mikey Day’s Biden. The recap. |
'Rick and Morty' New Voice Actors Speak Out ►"A literal dream come true." The duo behind Rick and Morty‘s new voice leads are breaking their public silence on what it’s been like to take over two of the most popular characters in animation. THR's James Hibberd spoke to Ian Cardoni (Rick) and Harry Belden (Morty) on how they were cast in the Adult Swim hit and what it's been like for two unknowns to land the voice roles of a lifetime. The interview.
—Finally! PBS will air the sequel to its Emmy-nominated miniseries Wolf Hall, with Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis reprising their roles as Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII. The series, based on the final book in author Hilary Mantel‘s trilogy, The Mirror and the Light, is scheduled to begin production soon. It will air under PBS’ Masterpiece banner in the U.S. and on the BBC in the U.K. Jonathan Pryce, Kate Phillips and Lilit Lesser will also reprise their roles. The story.
—BCU expands. Amazon Prime Video has placed a series order for a second spinoff of the crime drama Bosch. The untitled series will focus on Renée Ballard, an LAPD detective who’s a major character in several novels from author Michael Connelly, the creator of the Harry Bosch character and an executive producer on both Prime Video’s Bosch and its Freevee spinoff/sequel, Bosch: Legacy. The pickup comes a week after Bosch: Legacy concluded its second season. The story.
—New home. The Golden Globes organization has announced that the 2024 Golden Globe Awards ceremony will air live on CBS, stream on Paramount+ and be available on the CBS app. The telecast, which will run for three hours beginning at 5 p.m. PST, will air Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, immediately following an NFL on CBS Sunday doubleheader. The Globes and NBC ended a long-term relationship after the 2023 telecast, following years of controversy over the conduct of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The story.
—Something special. Trevor Noah has set his latest Netflix standup special. The former Daily Show host's hour, Where Was I, has Noah sharing his comical experiences from his recent travels, which range from foreign national anthems to varying cultural norms, and will hit the streamer on Dec. 19. The David Paul Meyer-directed special was filmed at the Fox Theatre in Detroit and is taken from Noah's ongoing, Off the Record global tour. The story. |
'Dune: Part Two' Moves Up 2 Weeks in March ►📅 Moving up 📅 Dune: Part Two is arriving a little sooner than expected. Warner Bros. and Legendary will now debut the film on March 1, 2024. That’s two weeks earlier than its previous date of March 15, 2024. The move comes after Universal moved Ryan Gosling’s The Fall Guy from March 1 to May 3, creating a gap that theater owners were eager for Dune to fill. WB and Legendary are hopeful that the project will be able to attract some of the spring break crowd with the new date. The story.
—🎭 Joining the jury 🎭 Chris Messina has joined the case of Juror No. 2, the legal thriller Clint Eastwood is directing for Warner Bros. Shooting on the feature began in June and was halted due to the actors strike. Production is now resuming in Atlanta. Nicholas Hoult is leading the courtroom with Toni Collette, Gabriel Basso, Zoey Deutch, Leslie Bibb and Kiefer Sutherland also on the cast list. The story.
—📅 Comeback attempt continues 📅 Six years after his career imploded amid dozens of sexual misconduct accusations, Kevin Spacey has set a return to theaters. The indie thriller Peter Five Eight is set to hit in limited release on March 22, 2024. Invincible Entertainment is backing the film, with CEO Thomas Ashley arguing the disgraced actor “deserves a second shot” after his acquittal in a sexual assault trial in the U.K. The story. |
Elizabeth Debicki Talks 'The Crown' and Diana's Death ►"It absolutely destroyed me." For THR, Brande Victorian spoke to The Crown's Elizabeth Debicki about filming the closure scene with Dominic West after Princess Diana’s death. Debicki reveals that she and West didn’t rehearse the emotional moment between Diana and Prince Charles in episode four of the final season of the Netflix hit series: "What people see is very raw." Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"I can’t quite bear to think that I’m not going to write for that group again." THR's Scott Roxborough spoke to Succession creator and showrunner Jesse Armstrong ahead of him receiving the 2023 Founders Award at the International Emmys on Monday in New York. Armstrong admits to missing the Roys, watching the real-life drama of the Murdoch family succession and the impact of his words (including Peep Show’s Project Zeus) in the wild. The interview.
—"People of my generation know when they’re being advertised to, but they’ll accept being advertised to if it’s in their language." THR's Kirsten Chuba spoke to Reece Feldman, who has come from nowhere to become the Hollywood studios' Gen Z whisperer on TikTok. Feldman discusses how he went from a PA to sharing the (very small) screen with Christopher Nolan and Jennifer Lawrence. The interview. |
Film Review: 'Leo' ►"So sweet you won't mind the clichés." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel and David Wachtenheim's Leo. Adam Sandler voices a curmudgeonly class pet in this Netflix coming-of-age musical about fifth-graders facing their last year of middle school. The review.
—"Trapped between past and present." Lovia reviews Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn's Wish. Disney's latest animated offering — a celebration of the company's centennial anniversary — introduces Asha, a headstrong 17-year-old determined to save her kingdom. The review.
—"Inspirational despite obvious access issues." THR's Daniel Fienberg reviews Marco Ricci's Lucha: A Wrestling Tale. The documentary follows four young women who turn to their high school wrestling team in a rough corner of New York City. The review. In other news...
—Stranger Things: The First Shadow reveals new image and first act title
—SNL: All the S49 hosts and musical guests
—Camerimage: The New Boy claims Golden Frog
—Suki Waterhouse announces she’s pregnant with first child
—Rosalynn Carter, outspoken former First Lady, dies at 96
—Suzanne Shepherd, Sopranos and Goodfellas mother, dies at 89
—George Brown, Kool & the Gang drummer, dies at 74
What else we're reading...
—Nilay Patel and Alex Heath report on the twists and turns that saw Emmett Shear become the CEO of OpenAI [Verge]
—Edwin Chan reports that the antisemitism furor around Elon Musk and X is deepening [Bloomberg]
—Imogen West-Knights writes that the real problem with the Diana ghost in The Crown is that it doesn't go far enough [Slate]
—Emily Palmer Heller and Nate Jones consider whether Emerald Fennell's Saltburn is stupid in a good way or a bad way [Vulture]
—Allison Quinn reports that YouTuber Colleen Ballinger is attempting a comeback months after an underage fans scandal [Daily Beast]
Today...
...in 1992, 20th Century Fox unveiled Home Alone 2: Lost in New York in theaters, where it would go on to gross $358m worldwide. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Joe Biden (81), Andrea Riseborough (42), Joel McHale (52), Bo Derek (67), Sean Young (64), Ming-Na Wen (60), Nadine Velazquez (45), Callie Thorne (54), Dan Byrd (38), Richard Masur (75), Jacob Pitts (44), Jaina Lee Ortiz (37), Jerry Hardin (94), Jeremy Jordan (39), Rajkumar Hirani (61), Amelia Rose Blaire (36), Margo Stilley (41), Marisa Ryan (49), Sabrina Lloyd (53), Veronica Hamel (80), Joshua Gomez (48), Madisyn Shipman (21), David O'Donnell (49), Mie Hama (80), Cody Linley (34), Rhys Wakefield (35), Darcy Donavan (38), Gabriella Baldacchino (22), Angelica Bridges (53), Ashley Fink (37) |
| Joss Ackland, the British actor known for Lethal Weapon 2, Mighty Ducks and White Mischief, has died. He was 95. The obituary. |
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