| | | | | | What's news: WME has denied Ryan Reynolds pressured the agency into dropping Justin Baldoni. Squid Game S2 drew in a record number of viewers on Netflix. The Wicked musical brought in a massive $5m in ticket sales last week. Jason Momoa will play Lobo in the DCU. — Abid Rahman
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Baldoni Sues NYT; Lively Sues Baldoni ►Suit filed. Fallout from an alleged campaign to smear Blake Lively over the filming of It Ends With Us has sparked another lawsuit, this time against The New York Times for libel. Justin Baldoni, in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, accuses the Times of conspiring with Lively’s public relations team to advance an “unverified and self-serving narrative” using “cherry-picked and altered communications stripped of necessary context” while ignoring evidence that contradicted her claims. He seeks at least $250m and brings claims related to fraud and breach of contract, as well as libel. The story.
—Another lawsuit. Also on Tuesday, Blake Lively sued Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment and orchestrating a campaign to smear her. Lively, in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in New York federal court, accuses Baldoni and his public relations team of marshaling a sophisticated, multi-tiered plan to undermine her reputation in retaliation for speaking up about sexual misconduct on the set of the film. The complaint names Baldoni; his film studio, Wayfarer and the public relations representatives, Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, both of whom are alleged to have helped lead the effort to undermine the actress. The story.
—"This is not true." A little over 10 days after dropping Baldoni, his former agency WME, which also represents Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, released a statement insisting the married stars didn’t pressure the company to drop the It Ends With Us director. Baldoni's lawsuit alleges that he learned that Reynolds approached his WME agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere and demanded that the rep drop Baldoni. Now WME says what Baldoni claims didn’t happen. The story. |
Golden Globes Presenters Revealed ►🏆 All the big names 🏆 The Golden Globes organizers announced Tuesday the star-studded lineup of presenters for the 2025 ceremony, airing live on Sunday. Presenters for this year’s Golden Globes include: Andrew Garfield, Anthony Mackie, Anthony Ramos, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ariana DeBose, Aubrey Plaza, Auliʻi Cravalho, Awkwafina, Brandi Carlile, Catherine O’Hara, Colin Farrell, Colman Domingo, Demi Moore, Dwayne Johnson, Édgar Ramírez, Elton John, Gal Gadot, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, Jennifer Coolidge, Kaley Cuoco, Kate Hudson, Kathy Bates, Ke Huy Quan, Kerry Washington, Margaret Qualley, Melissa McCarthy, Michael Keaton, Michelle Yeoh, Miles Teller, Mindy Kaling, Morris Chestnut, Nate Bargatze, Nicolas Cage, Rachel Brosnahan, Rob McElhenney, Salma Hayek Pinault, Sarah Paulson, Seth Rogen, Sharon Stone, Vin Diesel, Viola Davis, and Zoë Kravitz. The story.
—The carrot or the stick? In legal circles, it wasn’t the monetary figure in Disney’s $15m deal to resolve defamation claims from President-elect Donald Trump that was surprising, or even the fact that the network settled at all. It was the timing. THR's Winston Cho writes that a new roadmap for Trump and his advisors to chill free speech has surfaced as he targets networks critical of him. The analysis.
—"There is much more room to improve." Little progress has been made for women and people of color as directors in Hollywood, according to a new study by USC‘s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. In a year that was hoping to signal recovery following the 2023 writers and actors strikes, 2024 saw no major changes for women directors of top-grossing movies, according to the study. Of 112 directors, 13.4 percent were women, nearly equivalent to 2023’s 12.1 percent. However, there has been some progress since 2007, when 2.7 percent of directors were women. The report.
—🤝 "Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over" 🤝 Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a divorce settlement, her lawyer said Monday, ending an eight-year-long contentious legal battle. In a statement, Jolie’s attorney James Simon said the agreement is “just one part of a long ongoing process.” Jolie and Pitt signed off on a default declaration in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, saying they entered into a written agreement on their marital and property rights. The settlement, which a judge approved on Tuesday, says the two give up the right to any future spousal support. The story.
—Winning everywhere. Wicked brought in a staggering $5m last week, marking the highest weekly gross in history for any Broadway show. That total, which was accumulated across nine shows last week, rather than the typical eight, is also a record for the show, which has been running on Broadway since 2003. The musical brought in $2m more than the prior week and had an average ticket price of $290.61. Wicked is typically one of the top box office contenders, but it has seen a particular resurgence in recent weeks amid the popularity of the feature film. The story. |
TV Premiere Dates 2025: The Complete Guide ►📅 It's all here 📅 Hundreds, if not thousands, of TV shows and specials — whether new or familiar, unscripted or scripted — will premiere on streaming, broadcast and cable outlets in the next 12 months. Even if the greatest heights of Peak TV are (for now) in the past, there will still be a dizzying number of options available to viewers. THR is here to help keep track of it all. Check out our comprehensive guide to premiere dates across all platforms for the coming year. The guide.
—Back with a bang. The first season of Squid Game is the biggest show in Netflix‘s history. Season two is shaping up to be just as huge. The Korean hit drew a record-high number of views over its opening weekend, the streamer says. Internal figures from Netflix show Squid Game season two racking up 68m views worldwide (as measured by the total viewing hours, 487.6m, divided by its run time of 7 hours, 10 minutes) in the four days after its Dec. 26 premiere. That smashes the previous week-one record set by Wednesday (50.1m views) in November 2022. The story.
—"MSG Networks is demanding exorbitant programming fees." It may not be a happy New Year for New York Knicks and New York Rangers fans, as a carriage dispute between MSG Networks and the cable operator Optimum could see games go dark come 2025. Optimum, the pay-TV brand of Altice, operates in most of the New York City suburbs and in parts of the city itself. MSG Networks, which is part of Sphere Entertainment, televises the games of the NBA’s Knicks, as well as the Rangers, Islanders, and Devils in the NHL. The blackout risk comes in the middle of the NHL and NBA seasons, and with the Knicks on a winning streak. The story. |
Most Anticipated Movies of 2025 ►📅 Lots to look forward to 📅 The movies of 2025 are filled with dinosaurs, ghosts, vampires and more Wicked. Among the standouts, heading to theaters this year are films featuring Brad Pitt as a Formula One racer, Jesse Buckley as the Bride of Frankenstein and Timothée Chalamet as a 1950s ping-pong champ. Paddington, Bridget Jones and Happy Gilmore are going to be back in front of audiences, while animations How to Train Your Dragon, Lilo & Stitch and Snow White are getting the live-action treatment. The list.
—🎭 Staying in the fold 🎭 Aquaman star Jason Momoa will appear in DC Studios' Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow as Lobo, the alien bounty hunter who first appeared in the comics in 1983. Momoa was the face of the Aquaman franchise for the previous DC regime, appearing as the superhero in a cameo in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) before starring in Justice League (2017) and then toplining 2018’s Aquaman and 2023's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The actor has long wanted to play Lobo and has talked about it for years, including during the press rounds for The Lost Kingdom. Supergirl arrives in theaters June 26, 2026, and stars Milly Alcock as the lead. The story.
—"These Palestinian filmmakers have accomplished a cinematic miracle." Michael Moore has boarded Palestine’s Oscar entry From Ground Zero as an executive producer ahead of a theatrical release on Jan. 3 by Watermelon Pictures. The project, shortlisted for the upcoming Academy Awards in the best international feature film category, is a collection of 22 films by Palestinian filmmakers completed while impacted by the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. The anthology of documentary, fiction and animated films was spearheaded by Gaza-born Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi and his Masharawi Fund for local films and filmmakers. The story. |
TV Review: 'Going Dutch' ►"Great cast, solid premise, but could have used some cable edge." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews Fox's Going Dutch. Brockmire mastermind Joel Church-Cooper created this new half-hour sitcom about a military base of misfits in the Netherlands, starring Denis Leary, Taylor Misiak, Danny Pudi, Laci Mosley, Hal Cumpston and Joe Morton. The review.
—"Potent story loses focus in the middle." Daniel reviews Peacock's Lockerbie: A Search for Truth. The first of this year's two miniseries about the 1988 Lockerbie bombing focuses on a father's grief-fueled investigation, starring Colin Firth and Catherine McCormack. The review.
—"Not quite as bland as its title, but close." THR's Angie Han reviews Fox's Doc. Molly Parker plays a brilliant physician trying to get back on track after suffering a brain injury that wipes out the last eight years of her memory. The review.
In other news...
—Netflix’s new releases coming in January
—Gypsy Rose Blanchard welcomes first child
—Jocelyn Wildenstein, “Catwoman” New York tabloid fixture, dies at 79
—Josh Welsh, Film Independent president, dies after cancer battle
—John Capodice, character actor known for General Hospital and Ace Ventura, dies at 83
—George Folsey Jr., film editor and producer on John Landis movies, dies at 85
—Angus MacInnes, Star Wars actor, dies at 77
What else we're reading...
—Despite the threat of a TikTok ban, Meghan Bobrowsky, Sarah E. Needleman and Suzanne Vranica talk to creators who seem unfazed by the prospect [WSJ]
—Meredith Blake interviews the queen of deadpan comedy Diane Morgan who discusses playing Philomena Cunk and her new Netflix show Cunk on Life [LAT]
—Jason Zinoman talks to stand up comedians who lament that they are spending more time promoting themselves rather than honing their craft [NYT]
—Max Tani asked 50 prominent media people about what they got wrong in 2024 [Semafor]
—Christopher Luu looks into how screen icon Audrey Hepburn became a secret spy during World War Two [BBC]
Today's birthdays: Dax Shepard (50), Todd Haynes (64), Adam Elliot (53), Kate Bosworth (42), Tia Carrere (58), Taye Diggs (54), Gabrielle Carteris (64), Shelley Hennig (38), Anthony Carrigan (42), David Gyasi (45), Ben Hardy (34), Cyrus Arnold (22), Paz Vega (49), Renée Elise Goldsberry (54), Kristen Hager (41), James Marshall (58), Peter Gadiot (40), John Bedford Lloyd (69), Dustin Clare (43), Christy Turlington (56), John Considine (90), Kate Hodge (59), Catherine Bailey (45), Gijs Blom (28), Kate Chastain (42), Max Ryan (58), Lauren Storm (38), Thomas Chaanhing (49) |
| Aaron Brown, the former ABC News and CNN anchor, has died. He was 76. The obituary. |
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