| | | | What's news: Lionsgate has completed the deal to acquire certain assets of eOne from Hasbro. Wall Street has major doubts about a merger between WBD and Paramount. Comedian Tom Smothers has died. — Abid Rahman
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Broadcast Ratings Tumble Without Scripted Programming ►Strike outs. THR's Rick Porter writes that were some genuine bright spots during a very weird fall on broadcast TV: The Golden Bachelor was a true breakout for ABC, NCIS: Sydney extended the CBS franchise and is the most-watched entertainment program of the fall, and NBC's first-year dramas Found and The Irrational found some traction. But that’s about it. For the second time in the past four years, broadcasters faced major disruptions to their fall lineups and had to make patchwork schedules that scarcely resembled what they usually air. The analysis.
—Scott’s first post-Christmas read. With the Oscar race heating up as we hurtle towards 2024, THR's executive editor of awards Scott Feinberg updates his assessment of all 23 categories, and it's good news for Alexander Payne's The Holdovers. The Feinberg forecast.
—Major doubts. THR's business editor Georg Szalai talked to Wall Street analysts about a potential merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global. Some analysts say they have "a hard time seeing" a transaction happen, compare it to catching "a falling knife" or even a "financial death sentence." The story.
—Closed. Lionsgate has completed a $500m deal to acquire certain assets of Entertainment One from Hasbro. The studio met a year-end deadline to pick up a content library of nearly 6,500 titles and active productions for non-Hasbro owned IP like the Yellowjackets, The Rookie and Naked and Afraid franchises, as well as the eOne unscripted business. The story.
—Bringing the receipts. THR's Winston Cho breaks down The New York Times' lawsuit against OpenAI. The Times on Wednesday became the first major media company to sue over novel copyright issues raised by AI tech in a lawsuit that could have far-reaching implications on the news publishing industry. The suit points to near word-for-word excerpts of articles generated by the chatbots. The story.
—Cause of death. Heat exhaustion caused the of death of a Brazilian fan who attended a concert of singer Taylor Swift in November, according to a forensics report seen by media on Wednesday. Ana Clara Benevides, 23, passed out during Swift’s second song in the Nov. 17 concert in Rio de Janeiro, "Cruel Summer," and died hours later at a local hospital. Temperatures in the city that day were at about 40 degrees Celsius (105 Fahrenheit). The story. |
You Never Saw My… ►A year of what might have beens. With the double Hollywood strikes and their knock on effects on the entertainment industry, 2023 was a huge disappointment for some, as the town shut down for months and all promo became verboten. THR talks to those whose passion projects were derailed, through no fault of their own, including a globe-trotting rom-com, an intimate family dramedy, a bloody Comic-Con panel, and even a scrapped THR cover. The story.
—You never saw my… brilliant star-studded marketing blitz. In the midst of the actors' strike, Paramount had no access to talent and no footage to promote its PAW Patrol movie, so the studio's marketing head Marc Weinstock let the dogs out — and set a world record in the process. The story.
—You never saw our… The Boys: Gen V Comic-Con panel. The strikes reshaped Comic-Con 2023, with talent unable to promote buzzy new genre projects, like Amazon's The Boys spinoff. The cast and showrunner reveal what would have gone down in San Diego: "We had a lot of body parts exploding." The story. |
'Gilded Age' Stars on Their On- and Off-Screen Relationship ►"With Cynthia, because of our affection and our long history, it was way easier to just say, ‘OK, this is an actor I love,’ so we were off and running." THR's Tyler Coates spoke to Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon about their work on HBO's The Gilded Age. The pair discuss their relationships with their characters — and with each other — and why The Gilded Age feels like being part of a theater troupe. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"I don’t think Elspeth has ever read a book in her life." THR's Caitlin Huston spoke to Saltburn star Rosamund Pike on how she prepared to play Lady Elspeth Catton, mother to Jacob Elordi’s character Felix, in Emerald Fennell’s twisted thriller. The Brit actress reveals she went on vacation, "ordered some Vogues from 2007 off eBay and basically tried to do as little as possible apart from thinking what I was going to wear and how I’m going to do my hair." The interview.
—"It was a baptism by fire, but that’s all right. That’s what we do." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Ed Skrein about his new film, Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire. The Brit actor discusses what viewers can expect from the “hard-core” extended cuts of Rebel Moon Part One and Part Two, as well as space hookahs, tentacle-related pleasure and astral planes. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
THR's Best of 2023 Film ►Films! A romantic collision of past and present, a subversive feminist fairy tale, a metaphysical ghost story, an epic retelling of a horrific footnote in American history and a sublime anti-rom-com are among this year’s THR movie highlights. THR's team of film critics — David Rooney, Jon Frosch, Lovia Gyarkye and Sheri Linden — run through their top 10 films of the year, as well as their 10 honorable mentions. The list.
—Performances! THR film reviewers delight in an assortment of deliciously unlikable lead turns, single out stars delivering career bests (a wild Emma Stone, a wily Natalie Portman) and celebrate new and rising talents from various corners of the globe. The critics' conversation.
—Horror! For THR, Richard Newby selects the best horror movies of 2023. From studio features like Scream VI and M3GAN to indie and streaming gems such as No One Will Save You and Infinity Pool, Richard looks back at another stellar year for the horror genre. The list. —Bonus content! It took a few months, but after much debate, six THR film critics finally managed to agree on what they consider the fifty greatest films since 2000. Get angry all over again about what they left out. The list. |
THR's Best of 2023 TV ►Shows! THR's TV critics unveil their best of the small screen. An emotional zombie drama, a superior true-crime docuseries, a sidesplitting anti-capitalist satire and two fantastic series finales were among picks from critics Dan Fienberg and Angie Han. The list.
—Performances! Dan and Angie run through their standout television performances, but from shows that didn't make their Best of 2023 TV shows selections. That means performances outside the obvious excellence found in shows like Succession, Reservation Dogs and Beef. Included are dazzling star turns from Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, a Brit playing two messy moms and an Abbott Elementary standout. The list.
—Episodes! Dan and Angie also pick out their ten best episodes of TV from 2023. A stylish Hitchcock homage, a tender exploration of autism and a hilariously horny holiday special all made the cut. The list.
—Bonus content! Over the course of a few months, several Zoom meetings, lots of emails and countless Excel spreadsheets, three THR TV critics — Dan, Angie and Robyn Bahr — joined forces to hash out, and rank, what they consider the greatest television shows since 2000. The list. |
THR's Best of the Rest of 2023 ►Albums! THR's senior music editor Mesfin Fekadu picks his favorite albums of 2023. From behind-the-scenes hitmakers stepping into the spotlight to a glitter bomb of a soundtrack and a double dose of rap genius, here are the music projects that lived rent-free in Mesfin's home and in his headphones. The list.
—Songs! R&B girlies sampling hip-hop classics, Latin divas tag-teaming for a knockout hit and Billie channeling Barbie were among Mesfin's 2023 favorites. The list.
—Arts! A charming South London rom-com, a retrospective of an African cinema giant and a handful of plays about death and illness are among picks by THR’s arts and culture critic Lovia Gyarkye. The list.
—Comics! In a near-impossible task to sift through the countless waves of comics that come in weekly from the traditional publishers, not to mention all the graphic novels, THR's Borys Kit manfully created his short list of what he loved in 2023. The list.
—Illustrations! THR's art department chooses their favorite illustrated artwork from 2023, including a look at the new NFL fanbase, clay-sculpted reality stars and many artistic interpretations of the rise of AI. The selection. In other news...
—Barack Obama reveals favorite movies, books of 2023
—The best Las Vegas NYE 2023 parties and events
—Mbongeni Ngema, renowned South African playwright and creator of Sarafina!, dies at 68
—Bobby Rivers, celebrity interviewer, TV host and film critic, dies at 70
—David Leland, Wish You Were Here director, dies at 82
What else we're reading...
—Kyle Buchanan profiles Colman Domingo as the Rustin and The Color Purple enjoys a banner year [NYT]
—Alan Siegel talks to visionary filmmaker Michael Mann on the making of his new film, Ferrari [Ringer]
—Kriston Capps writes that the Sphere in Las Vegas is both 2023’s greatest architectural spectacle and a giant artifact of our screen-obsessed age [Bloomberg]
—With a succession of box office flops and misfires on the TV side, Nicholas Barber reflects on Disney's annus horribilis [BBC]
—After the Detroit Pistons extended their losing streak to 27 straight games, Jason Owens wonders if the beleaguered team could break the record for all pro leagues [Yahoo]
Today...
...in 2016, Amazon Studios released Jim Jarmusch's Paterson in theaters. The drama, starring Adam Driver and Golshifteh Farahani, had earlier in the year competed for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palm Dog Award. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Denzel Washington (69), Maggie Smith (89), Gayle King (69), Jessie Buckley (34), Noomi Rapace (44), Sienna Miller (42), Joe Manganiello (47), Seth Meyers (50), John Legend (45), André Holland (44), James Foley (70), Miles Brown (19), Shawn Harrison (50), Jared Gilman (25), Roger M. Bobb (56), Terri Garber (63), Beau Garrett (41), Elaine Hendrix (53), Brendan Hines (47), Thomas Dekker (36), Madison De La Garza (22), Katarina Ewerlöf (64), Pilar Fogliati (31), Mackenzie Rosman (34), Duncan Lacroix (54), Michael Spears (46), Sarah-Sofie Boussnina (33), Fisayo Akinade (36), AzMarie Livingston (37) |
| Tom Smothers, the countercultural comedy icon admired for the 1960s variety program he created and hosted with his younger brother, Dick, and for the tenacity he displayed in frequent clashes with CBS censors, has died. He was 86. The obituary. |
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