| | | | | | What's news: Fox News' Jeanine Pirro is now the acting U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. NBC has renewed Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order. Eugene Jarecki's Julian Assange doc The Six Billion Dollar Man will screen in Cannes. WBD has climbed to 122.3m streaming subs. UMG is looking to dismiss Drake's lawsuit. — Abid Rahman
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What Happens to Hollywood When the U.S. Is No Longer the Good Guy? ►"Allies are stunned, confused and much more wary of us today." For decades, Hollywood studios have churned out movies that celebrated truth, justice and the American way. Now, as Donald Trump attacks allies, tears down democratic institutions and cozies up to dictators, U.S. exceptionalism is a hard sell onscreen, writes THR's Asia bureau chief Patrick Brzeski. The analysis.
—One witness down. The jury is nearly in place for Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal criminal trial after a colorful selection process but the prosecution’s case against the rap mogul may have been dealt a blow as the feds admitted that one of the four key witnesses set to testify in the New York federal trial may not turn up to take the witness stand. On Friday, the prosecution and defense teams will have an opportunity to question potential jurors in a second round of probing of their background, any experiences with violence and their ability to weigh evidence around sexual assault and abuse while remaining unbiased and impartial. Combs was charged in a five-count indictment of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty and denied that any accusations against him are true. The story.
—The latest. Kaja Sokola, the newest accuser in Harvey Weinstein’s criminal trial, teared up on the stand Thursday saying her “soul was removed” when the former studio mogul allegedly forced oral sex on her during a hotel room encounter in 2006. Sokola is one of three complaining witnesses in the retrial against Weinstein. Unlike the other two witnesses, Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann, Sokola did not testify at Weinstein’s last trial. His 2020 conviction was overturned in April 2024 when the court of appeals ruled that the trial judge improperly allowed testimony from other women about uncharged allegations against Weinstein. The story. |
Trump Names Fox News' Jeanine Pirro to Top Law Job ►Wait, what? Donald Trump has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro acting U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., one of the most important prosecutorial positions in the country. Pirro is currently a co-host of Fox News’ most-watched show, the afternoon program The Five, after previously hosting a weekend show Justice with Judge Jeanine. Pirro was previously a judge and later a district attorney in Westchester County, New York, just north of New York City. Earlier this year, fellow former Fox News host and military veteran Pete Hegseth was named the nation’s defense secretary. Like Hegseth, Pirro is exiting Fox effective immediately to assume her new role. The story.
—"Without merit and should be dismissed with prejudice." Universal Music Group has motioned to dismiss Drake's updated defamation lawsuit over the release of Kendrick Lamar's “Not Like Us”, writing that the rapper’s allegations against the music giant “are no more than Drake’s attempt to save face for his unsuccessful rap battle with Lamar.” The motion comes weeks after Drake filed an amended complaint in the case against his own record company, alleging that Lamar’s Super Bowl performance — and Lamar omitting the word “pedophile” during “Not Like Us” — affirmed his claim that the song’s lyrics were defamatory. In UMG’s dismissal motion, the company called Drake’s claims “astonishing,” further stating that the fact that Lamar didn’t use the word “pedophile” “betrays this case for what it is: Drake’s attack on the commercial and creative success of the rap artist who defeated him, rather than the content of Lamar’s lyrics.” The story. |
WBD Adds 5.3M Streaming Subs as Losses Narrow ►"We’re not going to flood the zone." Warner Bros. Discovery framed its streaming business as its growth engine in its first-quarter 2025 earnings report Thursday, noting that it had added 5.3m subscribers to a total of 122.3m, and grew streaming revenue by 8 percent to $2.7b. During a pre-market analyst call, WBD CEO David Zaslav underscored that Max’s focus appears to be distinguishing itself from the big, broad offering the company had initially pitched. “The idea is it’s not how much, it’s how good is something we’ve identified. We’re not going to flood the zone. We want to be telling the best stories, and we want to also be taking advantage of all the great quality content over the years,” he said. The story.
—Another spinco? WBD may follow NBCUniversal in spinning off part of its business. CNBC’s David Faber reported Thursday that WBD is “moving towards…a split,” , in a news update that broke right after the company’s quarterly earnings results and call with Wall Street analysts. Faber added, “and it’s become relatively clear to me from the many conversations that I’ve had that we could get some sort of an announcement in the not-too-distant future that they are planning to try to split the company.” Faber said that we “almost definitely” will see the Warner Bros. studios paired with Max, leaving WBD’s cable networks as the odd assets out. The story.
—Streaming losses narrow. Paramount Global unveiled its Q1 results Thursday as controlling shareholder National Amusements, led by Shari Redstone, looks to close the sale of the Hollywood studio to David Ellison’s Skydance. During the latest quarter to March 31, the company hit 79m Paramount+ streaming subscribers worldwide, up 11 percent year-on-year and from 77.5m Paramount+ customers at the end of its fourth quarter of 2024. The company added 1.5m Paramount+ subscribers during the past three months, against 5.6m brought on board during the fourth quarter of 2024. And the studio posted a streaming loss of $109m for Q1, an improvement over a $286m loss in the fourth quarter of 2024. Direct-to-consumer revenue rose 9 percent to $2.04b, as ad revenue fell 9 percent to $473m, while subscription revenue rose 16 percent to $1.57b, driven by growth from Pluto TV and Paramount+. The results.
—Boffo! TKO Group Holdings beat Wall Street expectations in its Q1 earnings report, with the WWE's new media rights deal with Netflix, strong live event performance at UFC and WWE, and significant growth in partnerships at both brands helping the company set itself up for what it hopes will be a strong 2025. The company reported revenues of $1.3b, with net income of $166m, all substantial improvements from a year ago. The company also raised its full year 2025 guidance to revenue of between $3b to $3.08b, from $2.93b to $3b, and adjusted EBITDA to $1.39b to $1.43b, from $1.35b to $1.39b, excluding the IMG businesses. The results.
—All change. AMC Networks reported net revenue of $555m, down from $596m in the prior year. Operating income fell to $63m from $110m. Subscription revenues decreased 3 percent to $313m due to declines in the linear subscriber universe. Streaming revenues increased 8 percent to $157m, which was largely due to the impact of price increases. Starting this quarter, the company is changing the way it reports streaming subscribers. The number now only include subscribers who pay a fee for one of their services, which include AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder and more, rather than those who receive access to one of the streaming services through a video package that also includes linear programming. The story. This also caused the company to “recast” its prior subscriber numbers. Given that, the company reported 10.2m streaming subscribers in the first quarter, flat with the number from a year earlier. This is down slightly from the recast 10.4m in Q4 2024. The results. |
How London Became the New Hollywood ►"Hollywood producers are gravitating to London to shoot, write and even permanently live." As Los Angeles sound stages sit empty, fat tax incentives and saner politics are turning Britain’s capital into a mecca for streamers, studios and stars. THR's woman in London, Lily Ford, looks into whether Trump’s tariffs can halt the exodus. The analysis.
—The E.U.'s secret weapon. As the White House ratchets up the pressure amid Trump's trade war, THR's Scott Roxborough writes that Europe has leverage to push back in ways that could hit Silicon Valley (and Hollywood) hard. The analysis.
—Class war wedge issue. THR's Peter Kiefer writes that the entertainment industry isn't taking that first "100% tariff" post from Trump at face value. And yet, says one IATSE member: “A few years ago, a proposal like this would’ve been 70 percent opposed by the rank and file. Now? It’s split down the middle.” The story. |
'X-Men' Movie Eyes 'Thunderbolts*' Filmmaker ►In the running. THR's Borys Kit reports that Jake Schreier, hot off of directing Marvel’s Thunderbolts*, is in talks to return to the company with the big-screen reboots of the X-Men. Sources confirm that Schreier, whose movie garnered some of the best reviews for Marvel in quite a few years, is engaged in early talks in for the gig. Michael Lesslie, a writer on Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is penning the script with Marvel’s Kevin Feige, as usual, producing the feature, which is currently untitled. Marvel has been quietly moving ahead on finding the X-Men director for a few weeks now. Talk of a director heated up this week. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema revealed Thursday that Andy Serkis’ The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will open in theaters on Dec. 17, 2027. So far, it has the lucrative year-end corridor to itself, but that’s sure to change as other studios fill in their calendars. Serkis will both direct Gollum and star in the titular role. New Line also announced that the next Evil Dead installment is officially a go, with Souheila Yacoub set to star and it will open in theaters in North America on July 24, 2026. M. Night Shyamalan’s next movie Remain will open on Oct. 23, 2026. The story.
—🎭 All set 🎭 The Apprentice star Sebastian Stan and The White Lotus' Leo Woodall will star in Burning Rainbow Farm, the latest true-life thriller from Aussie filmmaker Justin Kurzel. The film tells the true story of Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm, a gay couple in rural Michigan who build a peaceful, pot-friendly utopia called Rainbow Farm. When the two run afoul of local authorities and their young son is taken from them, a standoff ensues, leading to one of the largest and most dramatic sieges involving police and the FBI America has ever seen. Stan is playing Crosslin, Woodall will play Rohm. Kurzel is coming off a creative hot streak after critical acclaim for his films Nitram, The Order and his first TV project The Narrow Road to the Deep North. The story.
—Late additions. The Cannes Film Festival has added a handful of films to its official selection just days ahead of the 78th festival, which kicks off on Tuesday. Among the last-minute entries is Eugene Jarecki‘s Julian Assange documentary feature, The Six Billion Dollar Man, which will receive a special screening. The Six Billion Dollar Man had been set to screen at Sundance this year, but was pulled weeks before the festival with Jarecki saying he needed to incorporate “significant recent and unexpected developments” into the film before releasing it. The story. |
'Law & Order' and 'SVU' Renewed at NBC ►No-brainer. The longest-running drama in American primetime history will continue to add to its record. The show that spawned it — and the second-longest-running drama ever — is also set to return. NBC has renewed Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order for the 2025-26 season. SVU will go into its 27th season in the fall, and the L&O mothership will enter its 25th season. Between them, the two shows will have 1,096 episodes to their credit at the end of this season. The Law & Order renewals follow on the heels of NBC renewing all three of its Chicago series. The pickups assure that the two franchises — which come from mega-producer Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment and Universal TV — will remain intact on NBC next season as the broadcaster likely reduces its scripted footprint to make room for primetime NBA telecasts. The story.
—🎭 He's back 🎭 Tom Ellis is set to return for the third season of Hulu's Tell Me Lies. The Welsh actor, who plays the flirtatious college professor who gets in a romantic situationship with Catherine Missal’s Bree in season two, revealed the news in a recent interview. Ellis, who is married to Tell Me Lies showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer, also revealed that he’s read “the first four episodes” already and teased that viewers “will not be disappointed” by the new season. The story.
—Max power. Word-of-mouth breakout The Pitt has grown steadily on the streaming charts recently, and it took another leap in the week of its season finale. The Max series racked up 852m minutes of viewing time for the week of April 7-13; its season one finale premiered April 10. That’s a 44 percent spike on the 590m minutes of watch time the show amassed a week earlier and among the best showings in Nielsen’s streaming rankings ever for a Max original series. Max also had the No. 1 overall series for the week with The White Lotus, which drew 1.25b minutes the week after its season three finale (Nielsen considers it an acquired series as it also airs on HBO). That’s the second-highest mark to date for The White Lotus , behind only the prior weeks 1.31b minutes. Paramount+’s 1923 (949m minutes) and Prime Video’s Reacher (579m) also continued to hang around after their season finales — two weeks after the fact, in Reacher’s case. The streaming rankings. |
Film Review: 'Nonnas' ►"A light yet hearty concoction." THR's Sheri Linden reviews Stephen Chbosky's Nonnas. Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Brenda Vaccaro, Talia Shire and Linda Cardellini star in the story of an unusual New York restaurant, inspired by a real eatery on Staten Island. The review.
—"Breezy and competent." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Jillian Bell's Summer of 69. In the filmmaker's feature directorial debut, SNL star Chloe Fineman plays a stripper tasked with helping a high schooler get laid. Also starring Sam Morelos, Matt Cornett, Nicole Byer, Liza Koshy and Natalie Morales. The review. |
Thank Pod It's Friday ►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.
—Awards Chatter. THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this live episode, Scott spoke to Jason Segel. The Emmy-nominated actor reflects on early projects like Freaks and Geeks and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the existential crisis he experienced during his years on How I Met Your Mother, how The End of the Tour rebooted his career and what led him to co-create and star in Apple's Shrinking. Listen here.
—It Happened in Hollywood. THR senior writer Seth Abramovitch goes behind the scenes of the pop culture moments that shaped Hollywood history. In this episode, Seth spoke to David Chase and Alex Gibney. The duo — the creator of The Sopranos and the famed documentarian behind Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos — discuss the making of one of the greatest TV shows of all time. Listen here.
In other news...
—Kristen Wiig plays oddball cat lady in Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie trailer
—Charlize Theron's team of immortals face new threat in The Old Guard 2 trailer
—Roku head of content David Eilenberg exits to become creative director at ITV America
—Gus Wenner named executive chairman of Rolling Stone; Julian Holguin tapped as CEO
—Katie Pandolfo named general manager of L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena
—Tribeca adds Slick Rick visual album, Twinless New York premiere
—Range Music establishes composer division, hires Jeff Jernigan
—Fargo creator Noah Hawley signs with WME
—Jirí Bartoska, Czech actor and longtime Karlovy Vary Film Festival president, dies at 78
What else we're reading...
—Lionel Laurent writes that French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's new leader Friedrich Merz are keen to bolster Europe's soft power by establishing the continent's own streaming giant to rival Netflix [Bloomberg]
—Nate Jones looks at how Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood discovered a new generation of stars [Vulture]
—Critic David Sims explains how he was won over by the cult British comedy game show Taskmaster, despite thinking he would hate it [Atlantic]
—Philip Elliott believes that with Pope Leo XIV, Donald Trump has found himself a new foil [Time]
—Here's your Friday list: "Eight of the worst popes in church history" [CNN]
Today...
...in 1997, Luc Besson unveiled sci-fi actioner The Fifth Element in U.S. theaters, days after the film premiered as the opening-night title at the 50th Cannes Film Festival. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Candice Bergen (79), James L. Brooks (85), Billy Joel (76), Rosario Dawson (46), Noah Centineo (29), Sonja Sohn (61), John Corbett (64), Joe Carnahan (56), J.A. Bayona (50), Mary Mouser (29), Chris Diamantopoulos (50), Wendy Crewson (69), Tessa Peake-Jones (68), Grace Gummer (39), Amy Hill (72), Anna-Louise Plowman (53), Rachel Boston (43), Chris Zylka (40), Julia Chan (42), Kim Ji-hoon (44), Daniel Franzese (47), Alley Mills (74), Chuck Russell (47), Lisa Marie Kurbikoff (54), Melanie Nicholls-King (58), Jonny Green (29), Oliver Trevena (44), Ulrich Matthes (66), Lionel Boyce (34), Sean McNamara (63) |
| James Foley, the Brooklyn-born filmmaker who collaborated with A-list stars like Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Madonna and Mark Wahlberg across a 30-plus-year career in film, TV and music videos, has died. He was 71. The obituary. |
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