| | | | | | What's news: Former MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe has pled guilty to a securities fraud charge. Charlie Hunnam is set to play Ed Gein in S3 of Netflix's Monsters. Apple TV+ has canceled Time Bandits. Emmy winner Richard Gadd has signed a multi-year, first-look scripted deal with Netflix. Jane’s Addiction has canceled all remaining dates on its North American tour. — Abid Rahman
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Diddy Arrested in NYC Following Grand Jury Indictment ►Mounting legal problems. Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested in New York City on Monday. The scandal-plagued music mogul was taken into custody following a grand jury’s indictment, though the specific charges were not clear. "We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office," Combs’ attorney told THR. The arrest comes as Combs continues to face serious legal trouble, most recently with a new sexual assault lawsuit filed by his former bandmate Dawn Richard last week. Richard’s complaint was at least the eighth brought against Combs since his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura filed a lawsuit detailing years of physical and sexual abuse last year. The story.
—Guilty plea. Former MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe has pled guilty to a securities fraud charge related to his role in swindling investors about the company’s monthly movie subscription service. Lowe on Monday entered a plea agreement in which he admitted fault for conspiring to inflate the price of MoviePass’ stock by lying about the profitability and sustainability of the $9.95-per-month unlimited plan in exchange for the dismissal of securities and wire fraud charges. He faces a maximum of five years in prison, with the expectation that he’ll be sentenced to less for assisting with ongoing investigation and cases, plus a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the amount he made off of the alleged scheme. The story.
—London calling. Netflix is betting big on original content with local authenticity and a focus on audiences rather than critics or media executives, co-CEO Ted Sarandos told a TV industry gathering in London on Tuesday. Sarandos told the event that when Netflix publishes its latest audience engagement report on Thursday, the top four shows will all be U.K.-produced, namely Fool Me Once, Baby Reindeer, Bridgerton, and The Gentlemen, with a combined reach of 360m households. The U.K. is the streaming giant’s largest production hub outside the U.S. The story. |
Rupert's Succession Battle for Control of FNC Begins In Nevada ►Protecting the No. 1 boy. On Monday, a two-week saga started in an obscure probate court in Nevada over a petition by Rupert Murdoch to change the terms of the irrevocable family trust — the instrument through which he controls News Corp. and Fox — to ensure that his son Lachlan, the chosen heir, remains in charge of his media empire after his death. THR's Winston Cho looks at what is at stake from the case, that has the whiff of a real-life episode of Succession. The analysis.
—Sad end. Jane’s Addiction has canceled all remaining dates on its North American tour after an onstage confrontation last week between frontman Perry Farrell and guitarist Dave Navarro led to a fight involving all four band members and brought their performance in Boston to an abrupt end. In the aftermath of Friday’s onstage tussle, the band, which reunited for a tour together for the first time in 14 years, canceled a planned Sunday night show in Connecticut. The story.
—Heading to Broadway. The Buena Vista Social Club musical is transferring to Broadway this winter. The show follows a group of musicians from Cuba’s golden age and is inspired by the true story of the artists who came together in 1996 to record the Grammy-Award winning album. Buena Vista Social Club comes to Broadway after a well-reviewed world premiere at the Off-Broadway Atlantic Theater Company in December 2023. The show features direction by Saheem Ali, choreography by Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, a book by Marco Ramirez and a music team led by David Yazbek. It is slated to open at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre Feb. 21, before opening March 19. The story. |
Garcelle Beauvais Condemns Trump-Vance Haitian Conspiracy Theories ► "Staying silent in the face of racism and hate is something that I refuse to do." Garcelle Beauvais says she has been holding her thoughts for a week. But, now, she says: “This madness has got to stop.” In a video posted to her social media on Sunday, the Haitian actress, producer and star of Bravo's Real Housewives of Beverly Hills says she has decided to speak out against the dangerous conspiracy theories, signal boosted by Donald Trump and JD Vance, that have been targeting her community in recent weeks. The story.
—Faceplant. The White House has responded to an inflammatory post on X by errant owner Elon Musk, who in the wake of an apparent second assassination attempt on Donald Trump this weekend, suggested that it doesn’t make sense that there haven’t also been publicly known attempts made on the lives of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. “Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about. This rhetoric is irresponsible,” the White House said in a statement referencing Musk's tweet. The story.
—Some progress. GLAAD released the 12th installment of its Studio Responsibility Index, a study that tracks the “quantity, quality and diversity” of LGBTQ characters in films released in a calendar year by 10 Hollywood distributors. The report found that most of the companies received low grades and overall representation ticked down just slightly. To compile the data, GLAAD investigated 256 films released in 2023 by A24, Amazon, Apple TV+, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery. GLAAD cited progress thanks to films like Rustin, The Blackening, The Color Purple, Shortcomings, Joy Ride and Cassandro. The story. |
Charlie Hunnam to Star as Ed Gein in S3 of 'Monster' ►🎭 Jax the axe 🎭 Charlie Hunnam is set to play the serial murderer and body snatcher Ed Gein, often referred to as “the Butcher of Plainfield,” in a third cycle of the Netflix anthology series Monsters. Producer Ryan Murphy announced the casting, as well as plans to start production next month, before a Monday screening of the series’ latest effort — Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. The streamer's Monsters series began with a season focused on Jeffrey Dahmer, that still ranks as the third-most-watched English-language Netflix original of all time. The story.
—🤝 First-look deal 🤝 Newly-minted Emmy winner Richard Gadd has signed a multi-year, first-look deal for scripted series with Netflix, the streamer’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos confirmed on Tuesday. Gadd's Baby Reindeer debuted in April and was an instant phenomenon for the streamer, earning critical acclaim and landing 11 Emmy nominations. Gadd took home two Emmys Sunday night for his acting and writing in the series. The story.
—One and done. Apple TV+ has canceled Time Bandits, the series adaptation of a 1981 feature film by Terry Gilliam, after a single season. The news comes less than four weeks after the show completed its 10-episode first season on Aug. 21. As is the case with most streaming series, viewing figures for Time Bandits aren’t publicly available. The show didn’t break into Nielsen’s top 10 original streaming series in the first four weeks of its run (Apple released two episodes per week). Critics were largely positive on the show, but that wasn't enough to save it. The story.
—We are so back! Returning to their usual September berth helped give a big boost to the TV ratings for the Emmy Awards. Sunday’s show, hosted by Eugene and Dan Levy on ABC, averaged 6.87m viewers in fast national ratings from Nielsen, including out of home viewing. That’s a 54 percent jump over the delayed 2023 awards, which pulled in 4.46m viewers — an all-time low for the awards (at least in the 35 to 40 years of total viewer records). The 2023 Emmys aired on Fox in January, four months later than usual after last year’s writers and actors strikes. The ratings.
—Olympian effort. Peacock had its best month to date in August, scoring the largest share of TV use in the U.S. in the streamer’s four-year history, thanks to the Summer Olympics. With a huge menu of Olympics coverage, Peacock climbed to 1.5 percent of TV usage in July to 2.1 percent for the August period (which spanned from July 29 to Aug. 25), according to Nielsen’s monthly Gauge report of TV viewing by platform. That’s an all-time high for the service, which averaged about 1.3 percent of all TV use over the prior 12 months. August’s figure includes all but three days of the Olympics and about 19b of the games’ 23.5b total minutes of viewing time on Peacock. The ratings.
—Swish. NBA star Stephen Curry has set another project at Peacock, and this one is personal. Curry and his wife Ayesha Curry are producing a new documentary called Sentenced for the streamer, “an immersive and vulnerable exploration of the epidemic of childhood illiteracy through a series of braided character driven stories.” Each story is filmed from the point of view of a different person who never learned how to read. Literacy is an issue that the Currys have tackled through their Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation. The documentary will bring more awareness to the issue, and the impact it can have on children and families. The story.
—"What exactly do we stand for?" Vivek Ramaswamy is getting into business with Fox News. The former Republican presidential hopeful has signed on to host a new series for the Fox Nation streaming service. The series, called Truths With Vivek Ramaswamy, will debut Sunday, Sept. 22, and will also run on Fox News that evening at 10 p.m. The series, which will have a panel that includes Matt Taibbi and Ramaswamy's wife, Apoorva, will present "a positive alternative to the left's vision for the future." The story. |
Cameron to Direct 'Ghosts Of Hiroshima' ►Life after Avatar. James Cameron has purchased the rights to the forthcoming book Ghosts Of Hiroshima, and intends to direct a feature adaptation of the atomic bomb story. Author Charles Pellegrino’s book arrives from Blackstone Publishing in August 2025 and follows his 2015 book Last Train From Hiroshima, which will also serve as the basis of the film. Cameron’s film would in part follow the true story of then-29 year old engineer Tsutomu Yamaguchi, recognized as the only person who survived both atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II. The story.
—🎭 Debut set 🎭 Rapper Tyler, the Creator is set to make his feature acting debut in Marty Supreme, the Timothée Chalamet movie from A24. Josh Safdie will direct the feature from an original screenplay he co-wrote with Ronald Bronstein. Plot details remain under wraps, but while it was previously rumored to be loosely inspired by a pro ping-pong player, the movie is said to be a fictionalized original film. Gwyneth Paltrow is set for the feature, her first onscreen feature role since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. The story.
—🎭 In demand 🎭 Hit Man star Adria Arjona is in final negotiations to star in and executive produce Onslaught, the latest feature project from Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire filmmaker Adam Wingard. A24 is behind the action thriller after winning an auction in the spring. It reteams Wingard with his frequent collaborator Simon Barrett — the two made the cult hits You’re Next and The Guest. The story.
—Heading behind the camera. Taiwanese actress Shu Qi has wrapped production on her directorial debut — a project previously kept under wraps. Production company Mandarin Vision released a teaser image for the new film, titled Girl, along with a shot of Shu behind the camera during a recent location shoot. Described as an original story written and directed by Shu, the film is scheduled for release in Asia sometime in 2025, according to the producers. It’s unclear whether Shu will also perform in Girl. Mandarin Vision declined to share additional information about the project. The story.
—"A love letter to Halloween and our fans." BlumFest, an "annual October celebration of all things Blumhouse," has found its lineup for this year’s Halloween season. The event will kick off with the 2009 found footage feature Paranormal Activity, that will get a one-night only re-release. Lights Out, Insidious: Chapter 2, Happy Death Day, The Black Phone and Five Nights at Freddy's will also return to theaters. The story. |
TV Review: 'High Potential' ►"A great star vehicle with a half-baked premise." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews ABC's High Potential. A cleaning lady (Kaitlin Olson) with a brilliant mind helps the LAPD solve crimes in a Drew Goddard-created dramedy that also features Daniel Sunjata and Judy Reyes. The review.
—"A dramatic tale in search of a larger purpose." THR's Angie Han reviews FX's American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez. The first season of the Ryan Murphy-produced anthology series focuses on the New England Patriots star, who was convicted of murder in 2015 and subsequently died by suicide in 2017. The review.
—"Nothing worth holding on to." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Alexandre Aja's Never Let Go. A protective mother (Halle Berry) lives with her two sons in an isolated woodlands house to which they must remain tethered by ropes, in order to protect against an omnipresent evil that only she can see. The review.
In other news...
—Anna Kendrick picks the wrong guy in trailer for Netflix’s Woman of the Hour
—Bridgerton begins filming as Netflix shares first-look of S4
—SiriusXM hires Nikki Haley to host politics show
—Pamela Anderson to receive honor at Zurich Film Festival
—Hollywood stars from marginalized communities urge Americans to vote in PSA
—Amazon Prime Video unveils new Heads for Australia, NZ and Canada
—AMC Theatres adds Bally’s CFO Marcus Glover to board
—MrBeast and Logan Paul team up to launch competitor to Lunchables
—First look at Yellowstone boss Taylor Sheridan’s Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse in Vegas
—Gia Coppola debuts A New York Minute series for fine jewelry brand Mejuri
What else we're reading...
—Jack Hamilton praises Jeremy Saulnier’s action movie Rebel Ridge and writes that it deserved more than debuting on Netflix [Slate]
—Mike Hixenbaugh, Jon Schuppe and Susan Carroll have an incredible story out of Texas where the unclaimed corpses of the poor were leased out to medtech companies, the Army and universities [NBC News]
—Kieran Press-Reynolds profiles Nettspend, the 17-year-old Virginia rapper who is touted as the next big thing [I-D]
—Claire Fu and Daisuke Wakabayashi report that China's "silver economy" is thriving as the birth rate plunges [NYT]
—Kim Bhasin and Lily Meier look at how Nike CEO John Donahoe managed to do the impossible and made the company uncool [Bloomberg]
Today...
...in 1964, ABC debuted a new half-hour comedy Bewitched. The show ran for 8 seasons and is regularly ranked among the greatest U.S. TV shows of all time. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Baz Luhrmann (62), Mena Massoud (33), Kyle Chandler (59), Danielle Brooks (35), Doug E. Fresh (58), Sam Esmail (47), Paul Feig (62), Neill Blomkamp (45), Augustus Prew (37), India Amarteifio (23), Pat Crowley (91), Ella Purnell (28), Ritu Arya (36), Cassandra Peterson (73), Bobby Lee (53), Ian Whyte (53), Matthew Settle (55), Annabelle Apsion (64), Bruce Spence (79), Susan Ursitti (67), Malik Yoba (57), Mia Talerico (16), Harriet Cains (31), James Urbaniak (61), Danny Ramirez (32), Dustin Nguyen (62), Felix Solis (53), Sunrise Coigney (52), Nam Ji-hyun (29), Daniel Maslany (36), Bo Brinkman (68), Lily Frazer (36), Michelle Joyner (63), Denyse Tontz (30), Daniel Huttlestone (25), Stacy Kamano (50), William Brent Bell (54) |
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