| | | | | | What's news: CBS News has named Tanya Simon the new executive producer of 60 Minutes. Apple has renewed golf comedy Stick. Hans Zimmer will help compose the score for Euphoria S3. Chris Sanders will pen Lilo & Stitch 2. Ike Barinholtz will play Elon Musk in Luca Guadagnino's OpenAI movie. — Abid Rahman
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Sean Penn and Ann Lee Are on a Mission to Rebuild the World ►"I won’t accuse myself of having learned much but I’ve seen the way mountains can be moved." Sean Penn and Ann Lee met 15 years ago in a Haitian displacement camp. Since then, the two-time Oscar-winning actor and his CORE partner have built one of the most critical crisis relief organizations on the planet. Today, the two will be honored at the second annual Social Impact Summit, co-hosted by THR and the Social Impact Fund. In a wide-ranging interview, Penn and Lee spoke to THR's nicest man Chris Gardner about their current mission: rebuilding from L.A.’s wildfires. The interview.
—"You need that hope. You need to know the work’s not in vain. And when we get those results, it makes me want to keep going." Also at THR's second annual Social Impact Summit, John Legend will be honored as Philanthropist of the Year, in recognition of the nearly 20 years he’s spent turning his celebrity into a force for good. THR's Brande Victorian spoke to Legend — one of the youngest artists to achieve EGOT status — about fame, family and fighting the system. The interview.
—"The movement is regrouping." After the epic downfall of its most prominent backer, the crypto wunderkind-turned-convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, Silicon Valley’s favorite philanthropic philosophy — Effective Altruism — is back and more relevant than ever, say its leaders. Critics, meanwhile, note the ideology still has major blind spots, writes THR's Steven Zeitchick. The story.
—"The impact of these changes, they’re devastating in scale, and it’s also just the pace at which it’s happening" The Trump administration's effective elimination of USAID has left Hollywood-favored humanitarian causes scrambling for funds. THR's Gary Baum looks into whether philanthropy can make up for America's life-threatening foreign aid pullback. The story. |
Matthew Perry Doctor Pleads Guilty to Selling 'Friends' Star Ketamine ►The latest. A doctor who was a primary target in the sweeping investigation of actor Matthew Perry's overdose death pleaded guilty Wednesday to supplying the Friends star with ketamine despite knowing he was a struggling addict. Dr. Salvador Plasencia became the fourth of the five people charged in connection with Perry’s death to plead guilty. He and a woman prosecutors say was a major ketamine dealer faced the most serious charges after Perry was found dead in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28, 2023. Plasencia stood next to his lawyer and said “guilty” four times for four different counts before Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett in federal court in Los Angeles. The story.
—La revanche! Conservative YouTuber Candace Owens has been sued for defamation by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte over a years-long campaign featuring assertions that the first lady of France is male, marking the second time in as many months that a right-wing political commentator has been sued for allegedly false reporting. Owens said last year that she “would stake [her] entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man.” Since then, she’s leveraged the statement to juice her online following despite evidence disproving the claim, according to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Delaware state court. The story.
—We live in hell. The Trump administration isn’t just taking aim at late night hosts, and has now turned its attention to daytime programming. The White House had some strong words to say about The View co-host Joy Behar after she said Trump was "so jealous" of Barack Obama. Behar’s comments were made during Wednesday’s episode of ABC’s daytime talk show, when the panel — consisting of Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines and Alyssa Farah Griffin — was discussing Donald Trump’s recent attack on his predecessor, in an attempt to distract from questions about the Jeffrey Epstein files. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers clapped back at Behar in a statement, describing her as an "irrelevant loser suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome." The story. |
Peter Rice On His New L.A. Olympics Role ►"It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and I couldn’t say no." On Tuesday, LA28 chairman and president Casey Wasserman announced that producer and former Disney executive Peter Rice will serve as the head of ceremonies and content for the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. In this role, Rice is now tasked with overseeing both the opening and closing ceremonies of both events, which will take place across four nights at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium. THR's Peter Kiefer spoke to Rice and Wasserman about the former's new gig. The interview.
—Behemoth. Alphabet remains on a roll as its world-beating streaming-video platform YouTube continues to dominate. Wall Street forecast Alphabet Q2 2025 earnings per share of $2.20 on revenue of $94.02b. The company, formerly known as Google, bested both by posting EPS of $2.31 on $96.4b in revenue. Net income was $28.2b, up 19 percent from the second quarter of 2024. YouTube’s ad revenue for the quarter ending June 30, 2025 was expected to come in at $9.6b; the UGC platform bested that with roughly $9.8b. In June, YouTube made up 12.8 percent of all TV usage, according to Nielsen, which far exceeded the second-place platform, Netflix, at 8.3 percent. No one other company reached 5 percent. The results.
—Supine. Big changes will come to CBS and CBS News, once Skydance‘s takeover of Paramount Global is closed. Skydance has told the FCC that once its acquisition of Paramount Global is complete, it will initiate a “comprehensive review” of CBS to ensure that the network is operating in the public interest, and that it will hire an ombudsman that will report directly to the president of CBS News and “who will receive and evaluate any complaints of bias or other concerns” at the news division. The ombudsman role will be guaranteed for at least two years, with CBS News leadership committing to “carefully review” any complaints. Skydance also promised to eliminate all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the company. The story.
—Poisoned chalice? CBS News has named Tanya Simon the new executive producer of its flagship newsmagazine 60 Minutes. Simon succeeds Bill Owens, who resigned as EP earlier this year, citing corporate interference that meant “I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it,” Owens told staff. Simon was named interim EP following his exit. Simon is only the fourth executive producer in the show’s 57-year history, and the first woman. She has been a producer on the program for 25 years, and was the preferred choice to lead the show from its correspondents. The story. |
'South Park' Inks $1.5B Paramount Deal; Takes on Trump In S27 Premiere ►ICYMI. South Park has been saved! Just hours before the Comedy Central show’s season 27 premiere on Wednesday (a premiere that had already been pushed back due to the uncertainty of a new deal), Paramount and Park County, the venture creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker run and which produces the show, reached a new deal. The deal runs for five years and encompasses 50 new episodes of the show to debut on Comedy Central. In addition, the companies have inked an expansive new streaming partnership (via their joint venture South Park Digital Studios) that will bring South Park ’s library to Paramount+ in both the U.S., where HBO Max has held the rights for years, and globally. New episodes will also stream on Paramount+ in the U.S. the day after they air on Comedy Central under the pact. A source pegged the value of the deal at about $1.5b. The story.
—About that premiere... hooo boy! South Park returned to television on Wednesday after a nearly two-and-a-half-year hiatus, kicking its 27th season off with a hilarious and, as expected, controversial premiere, where the show took on a modestly endowed Donald Trump and revealing the president's unholy sexual relationship with series regular, Satan. Government censorship, the death of wokeness, ChatGPT, and religion in the nation’s public schools were the main topics of the season premiere. But the episode also took aim at Paramount, and made direct references to the company caving to Trump. There was also a jaw-dropping deepfake pro-Trump PSA that is already the talk of the internet. The recap. |
Christopher Meloni to Star in Hulu's NFL Drama ►🎭 Double cheeked up. 🎭 Christopher Meloni will star in an untitled Hulu drama series set in the world of the NFL, which comes from Paradise and This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman. Disney’s 20th Television, where Fogelman is based, and Skydance Sports are producing the show. Details about the show are being kept under wraps, but sources say it’s set against the backdrop of the NFL and will feature generations of a family. Meloni is set to play the head coach of a team. Meloni also has another lead role in TV, on Law & Order: Organized Crime at Peacock. The show wrapped its fifth season (and first as a streaming-only series after four on NBC) in June; Peacock hasn’t made a renewal decision yet. Should Organized Crime continue, however, he could take part in both series. The story.
—Another 18. Apple TV+ has renewed Owen Wilson’s golf comedy Stick for a second season. Stick, created by Jason Keller, stars and is executive produced by Wilson. The series also stars Peter Dager, Marc Maron, Mariana Treviño and Lilli Kay, all of whom are returning for a second season. The renewal coincides with the Stick season one finale, which released on Wednesday. Season one of Stick received mostly good reviews. It has, however, been a bit less lauded among the (very) online golfing community who demand better simulation. The story.
—BRAAAM!!!!!!!! Oscar-winner Hans Zimmer has joined HBO's Euphoria to compose the score for season three, expected sometime in 2026. He’ll collaborate with returning composer Labrinth, who scored the first two seasons of the show. “It’s an honor to join this incredible team of storytellers led by the visionary Sam Levinson,” Zimmer said in a statement. "Together, they have crafted such a bold and moving series that has meant so much to audiences. Labrinth’s music has shaped the show’s identity and I’m looking forward to contributing to the ongoing story and helping shape this new season through music." The story.
—📅 Eagles assemble! 📅 Roku has snagged what is described as the “definitive” documentary about the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl-winning 2024 season. The documentary, Super Bowl Champions: The 2024 Philadelphia Eagles, is from NFL Films and Dan Silver’s BD4, and takes viewers behind the scenes during the team’s season, with quarterback Jalen Hurts and stars like Saquon Barkley leading the team to a dominating 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. The doc will debut on July 25. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Only Murders in the Building is coming back for season five with a new mystery to solve, and Hulu announced that the upcoming season will premiere Sept. 9. The first three episodes will air on the premiere date, while new episodes will continue to be added to the streaming service on the following Tuesdays. Season five, which was renewed in September 2024, will see original stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez and Michael Cyril Creighton reprise their roles, while Meryl Streep, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Richard Kind and Nathan Lane will also return in guest starring roles. The story. |
'Lilo & Stitch 2' Brings Back Co-Creator Chris Sanders to Pen Script ►Coming home. THR's Borys Kit has big the scoop that Chris Sanders, The Wild Robot filmmaker who co-created, co-wrote and co-directed the 2002 animated Lilo & Stitch, is in final negotiations to return to the fold and pen the sequel to Disney’s live-action megahit. The deal calls for Sanders, who voiced the character in both versions of the title, to only write the screenplay and not direct at this stage. Sanders is also focused on developing the sequel to Wild Robot for DreamWorks Animation. Dean Fleischer Camp directed the first live-action movie, written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes. The story.
—Too real. Borys also has the scoop that Chad Stahelski, the filmmaker behind the John Wick movies, is attached to produce a feature adaptation of the comic Calexit. The project is not yet set up at a studio or streamer. The Black Mask Studios comic is a seemingly ripped-from-the-headlines story set in a near future where America’s president signed an executive order to deport all immigrants, with California responding by proclaiming itself a sanctuary state. The comic debuted in 2017 and proved to be a hot seller during the first Trump administration, going through seven printings and launching spinoffs Calexit: All Systems San Diego and Calexit: Our Last Night in America. The story.
—🎭 Injection of rizz. 🎭 Superman star Skyler Gisondo is in talks to join the cast of the next film in the Meet the Parents franchise as the son of Ben Stiller and Teri Polo's characters. Series mainstays Stiller, Polo, Robert De Niro, Owen Wilson and Blythe Danner will star alongside newcomer Ariana Grande in the film that Universal releases in theaters Nov. 25, 2026. John Hamburg, who worked on the screenplay for the 2000 original and the two subsequent sequels, is directing from his own script. The story. |
Michael Jackson Biopic Moves to 2026 ►📅 Dated! 📅 Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic from director Antoine Fuqua, Lionsgate and Universal, will hit theaters and IMAX on April 24, 2026, after delaying its release several times, most recently having been dated for the fall of 2025. Marking his feature debut is Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in the lead role as the pop music icon. Lionsgate is distributing the movie domestically, while Universal handles the global launch. THR previously reported that Michael was set for 22 days of additional photography to take place in June. Sources noted at the time that the film, initially intended to span the star’s life and have a lengthy run time, was now expected to end with Jackson leaving his family’s group The Jacksons after the release of his first solo album, 1979’s Off the Wall. The story.
—🎭 Ket out of here! 🎭 Ike Barinholtz, who just earned his first Emmy nomination for his role in The Studio, is in talks to play Elon Musk in an upcoming OpenAI biopic movie from Luca Guadagnino. Amazon MGM is behind Artificial, which has Andrew Garfield and Anora breakout Yura Borisov set to star. When the project was first reported, the movie was said to be based on the artificial intelligence company OpenAI in 2023 that saw CEO Sam Altman fired and rehired in a matter of days. Musk was the co-founder of OpenAI, but after differing views of how to handle the business of the company, he publicly split from Altman and the company, entering into legal disputes. The story.
—🎭 His first rodeo. 🎭 THR's Ethan Millman has the scoop that Special Ops: Lioness star Laysla De Oliveira is slated to co-star in upcoming rodeo flick Cowboy , the directorial debut feature film from Cameron Duddy, bass player for country band Midland. De Oliveira joins a cast that had already included Ben Foster, Rudy Pankow, Gabriel Basso, Midland lead singer Mark Wystrach and retired NFL veteran Taylor Lewan. Cowboy follows the story of Foster’s Lee “Babe” Midnight, described as a “washed-up rodeo legend drifting between small-time shows and shady deals” who ends up becoming a mentor to Pankow’s young aspiring rodeo rider Clif Casey. De Oliveira will play Alejandra, Lee’s ex-girlfriend and mother to an 11-month-old son. The story. |
Why Rock Music Is Thriving in the Streaming Era ►"All it takes is one artist, one brilliant songwriter, and that can affect an entire genre." After a decade in the doldrums, THR's Ethan Millman writes that guitar-based newcomers like Sleep Token and Wet Leg are making their mark as TikTok catapults legacy acts to virality. The story.
—Mystery solved. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham had the internet ablaze last week when the pair posted a pair of corresponding social media posts containing lyrics from their 1973 song “Frozen Love,” leading fans to wonder if the two had some form of reconciliation seven years after Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac back in 2018. Less than a week later, we’ve got answers, as the duo has confirmed that their 1973 album Buckingham Nicks is finally getting reissued for the digital age. Rhino High Fidelity announced the Buckingham Nicks reissue Wednesday morning. The 1973 album, released before Buckingham and Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac in 1974, is the pair’s only studio album as a duo and has largely unavailable for decades. The story.
—Still got the juice. After a four-year-long hiatus, Justin Bieber finally returned into the fold last week with some Swag. The prince of pop surprise-released his first album in over four years July 11, a major moment bookending an eventful five-year stretch that had Bieber struggling with health issues following a diagnosis with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, canceling his North American tour, selling his publishing catalog in a massive $200m blockbuster sale, tumultuously parting ways with his manager Scooter Braun and having his first child. Swag opened at No. 2 on Billboard’s 200 Albums chart, finishing only behind Travis Scott’s JackBoys 2, which hit the top thanks mainly to 160,000 physical sales as Scott listed multiple different physical variants for sale, which boosted his chart numbers considerably. The pop star’s six-album streak of No. 1 debuts ended, but his surprise release showed a strong start after a hiatus. The story. |
THR's 25 Best Horror Movies of the 21st Century ►No arguments with No.1. The post-pandemic theatrical landscape has mostly been an anxiety disorder punctuated by the occasional high. But one genre has consistently drawn audiences back to the multiplex in the past few years: horror. From razor-edged satires to dark fairy tales, inspired haunted house riffs and nerve-shredding accounts of supernatural possession, the 2000s have been a goldmine for fright freaks. THR's chief film critic David Rooney offers his rundown of the 25 best horror features of the 21st century so far. The list.
In other news...
—Ben Stiller, Seth Rogen teaming for live taping of Happy Sad Confused podcast
—Spotify, Netflix link up for Happy Gilmore 2 campaign
—NY Film Fest sets Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother as centerpiece film
—Golshifteh Farahani to receive Locarno Excellence Award Davide Campari
—Benedict Cumberbatch to receive Zurich’s Golden Eye Award
—Warner Music Group names Alejandro Duque new president of ADA
—Former Spotify exec Jeremy Erlich unveils new company Alta Music Group
What else we're reading...
—Rawan Sheikh AhmadIsabel Kershner and Abu Bakr Bashir report that Gazans are dying of starvation [NYT]
—Emma Graham-Harrison writes that starvation in Gaza is destroying communities, and will leave generational scars [Guardian]
—Sadie Gurman, Annie Linskey, Josh Dawsey and Alex Leary report that the DOJ told Trump in May that his name was in the Epstein files [WSJ]
—Anna Nicolaou looks at how Fox News is covering the Trump vs Murdoch blockbuster [FT]
—Aliza Chasan reports that the U.S. passport continues to lose its luster, and has dropped to 10th place in an annual ranking [CBS News]
Today...
...in 1987, the Christopher Reeve era of the Man of Steel concluded with Superman IV’s release in theaters. The film didn’t hit with audiences like its predecessors and collected $30m in global box office grosses. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Jennifer Lopez (56), Rose Byrne (46), Elisabeth Moss (43), Anna Paquin (43), Summer Glau (44), Kristin Chenoweth (57), Troy Kotsur (57), Gus Van Sant (73), Doug Liman (60), Patty Jenkins (54), Lynda Carter (74), Michelle Buteau (48), Mohammed Amer (44), Emily Bett Rickards (34), Robert Hays (78), Paul Ben-Victor (60), Clare Foster (45), Cailee Spaeny (27), Laura Fraser (50), Bronwyn James (31), Daveigh Chase (35), Dan Hedaya (85), Chris Sarandon (83), Mara Wilson (38), Danny Dyer (48), Julie Graham (60), Adam Rose (38), Megan Park (39), Eliza Butterworth (32), Kadeem Hardison (60), David Leon (45), Ali Ahn (44), Emily Arlook (35), Vicki Pepperdine (64), Nicolas Vaude (63), Rick Fox (56), Penelope Mitchell (34), Lauren Miller Rogen (44), Laura Leighton (57), Eric Szmanda (50) |
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