| | | | | | What's news: Broadway musicians have voted to authorize a strike. Life of a Showgirl has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 4m unit sales. CNN plans to work with creators through new unit. And M. Night Shyamalan is directing a live-action scripted Magic 8 Ball series. — Abid Rahman
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Sell to Ellison or Split: Zaz Weighs the Options for WBD ►Game on. Ever since the media mogul John Malone helped persuade David Zaslav to leave NBC and become the CEO of Discovery Communications, the executive has defined his leadership by dealmaking. He acquired Scripps Networks to try and build a reality-driven entertainment giant, and forged the deal for WarnerMedia over golf emojis with AT&T CEO John Stankey. But the next few months will be a critical time. As Paramount's initial bid for Warner Bros. Discovery was dismissed, THR's Alex Weprin writes that Zaslav grapples with what will be his most consequential deal yet: Does he sell? Or does he split? The analysis.
—✊ Authorized! ✊ Broadway musicians have voted to authorize a strike amid negotiations with the Broadway League over a new contract. Ninety-eight percent of union members voted to authorize a strike, according to results tallied Sunday. Holding a strike authorization vote does not necessarily mean a strike would be called, and it is a show of strength amid contract discussions, but it also comes as Actors’ Equity has already voted to authorize a strike amid negotiations with the League. The musicians’ union continues to have talks with the Broadway League over a new contract this week, and the possibility of bringing in a mediator is also being discussed. The story.
—✊ Embracing the future. ✊ SAG-AFTRA has become the latest Hollywood union to acknowledge the rise of verticals. The performers’ union stated on Monday that a contract specifically tailored to the booming microdrama format would be forthcoming by the end of the month. This “Verticals Agreement” will cover projects that have budgets of under $300,000, in keeping with the typically small budgets and tight turnarounds of these made-for-mobile titles. SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin called verticals an “exciting new space” in a statement. “This fast-evolving format is catching on and we are here to support our performers as they pursue their craft and engage this new business model,” Astin said. “By offering a contract that is tailored to the unique needs of these projects, our union is meeting the moment. As the business of verticals experiences substantial growth, so too will our relationship with the producers.” The story. |
Apple TV Drops Plus Sign From Name in New Rebranding Effort ►What's in a name? Apple is rebranding its Apple TV+ streaming service, giving the platform a “vibrant new identity” as, simply, Apple TV. When Apple launched Apple TV+, the name Apple TV had already been taken by its connected TV box, which functions similar to a Roku or Apple Fire TV device, providing access to other streaming services. The new name could be a prelude to larger changes, either with the physical Apple TV device, or for Apple TV+. There has been speculation in the advertising world in recent months that Apple could follow Netflix and others in offering an ad-based tier both to improve the profitability, and to provide options for consumers. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Night, the agency that represents creators and creator-led brands (its clients include Kai Cenat, Hasan Piker, and the Kalogeras Sisters), is acquiring Experiential Supply Co., a marketing firm that specializes in creating experiential and immersive experiences. When horse-riding apes appeared in San Francisco ahead of the premiere of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, that was Experiential Supply. Same for the life-size dinosaur that took over Manhattan ahead of the release of Jurassic World Rebirth. The companies say that their plan is to leverage Night’s expertise in understanding the viral nature of the internet with Experiential Supply’s knowledge of creating immersive experiences to “accelerate marketing results for media, entertainment and sports clients.” The story.
—Testing the waters. CNN is planting its own flag in the ever-growing creators economy. The network’s international division revealed a new initiative on Thursday to create a unit, titled CNN Creators, based out of its newly launched Middle East hub in Media City Qatar, Doha as well as a 30-minute weekly show bowing on Oct. 23 with that same branding. CNN international exec Meara Erdozain stated that the show “is unlike any show we have ever launched” and “will reflect how our younger audiences are engaging with stories and will deliver compelling, entertaining content in a multitude of ways. It will focus on news-adjacent topics and stories that feel real, relevant, and relatable.” The story.
—It's official. Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 4.002m units, 3,479,500 from physical sales and 522,600 from streaming, according to Billboard. The album dethroned KPop Demon Hunters to take the top spot; the Netflix soundtrack fell to No. 2. This is the largest week of sales ever since Luminate started collecting data in 1991. All songs from the album debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, taking the top 12 spots, making it the first album to take all of the top spots on the chart uninterrupted. The charts. |
AMC Theaters Plans Diane Keaton Tribute ►Fitting tribute. THR's Pamela McClintock has the scoop that AMC Theatres is bringing back Woody Allen's Annie Hall and Nancy Meyers' Something’s Gotta Give to 100 cinemas across the U.S. as a tribute to the late Diane Keaton, who died this weekend at 79. Pamela writes that other movie theater circuits are also likely to host Keaton retrospectives, while her films have quickly climbed up iTunes’ movie rental chart since her passing. On Monday, Something’s Gotta Give sat at No. 5, followed by Annie Hall at No. 14. Because I Said So, Reds and Baby Boom were also seeing an uptick. The story.
—"I lost a friend of almost 40 years." Nancy Meyers is looking back at her decades of collaborations with Diane Keaton and noting that the “past 48 hours have not been easy” since the Oscar-winning actress died on Saturday. While praising Keaton as a performer, Meyers, who wrote Baby Boom and the Father of the Bride films and wrote and directed Something’s Gotta Give, looked back on their close working relationship. “As a woman, I lost a friend of almost 40 years – at times over those years, she felt like a sister because we shared so many truly memorable experiences,” she wrote in part on Instagram Monday. “As a filmmaker, I’ve lost a connection with an actress that one can only dream of.” The story.
—"She was a very special artist and person." Keanu Reeves is remembering Something’s Gotta Give co-star Diane Keaton. While premiering his new film Good Fortune in New York, Reeves reflected on their time together, telling THR, “I had the wonderful opportunity to work with her and she was a very special artist and person. Very unique and just what a wonderful artist.” The story. |
'F1' Heads to Streaming, Finally ►📅 One more race to run. 📅 Joseph Kosinski's Brad Pitt-starring F1: The Movie will hit streamer Apple TV on Dec. 12. The sleeper hit took the summer box office by storm on its way to becoming the the top-grossing sports film of all time. In what was the first major theatrical win for Apple's movie division, F1 has become one of the top grossing pics of the year with more than $629m in worldwide ticket sales. The pic broke numerous records — including becoming the the top-grossing live-action film of Brad Pitt’s career, not adjusted for inflation. The earned an A CinemaScore, along with a coveted 97 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The story.
—📅 Entering the ring. 📅 Orlando Bloom's boxing feature The Cut is set for its post-theatrical launch via Paramount+ on Nov. 1. Republic Pictures gave the film a limited theatrical release last month following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024. The Cut centers on an Irish boxer (Bloom) who has picked up a job at his hometown gym after his fighting career stalled. When an opportunity arises to once again prove himself in the ring, he turns to extreme measures to rapidly cut down his weight. Directed by Sean Ellis, the film also stars Caitríona Balfe, John Turturro, Gary Beadle and Clare Dunne. The story.
—🎭 Filling out. 🎭 Jamie Bell, Thomasin McKenzie, Jonny Lee Miller, Cosmo Jarvis and Woody Norman have joined the rousing forces of The Uprising, Paul Greengrass’s period drama being made by Focus Features. Andrew Garfield is leading the feature that is now in production, portraying the leader of a ferocious rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II. As the war burns across England, he forms an army of the people to face the King’s might in a fight for justice and survival. Katherine Waterston is already on the roll call. The story.
—Hear, hear! Zoe Saldaña wants audiences to truly understand the skill and talent that go into motion capture performances, like in James Cameron‘s Avatar movies. The Oscar-winning actress shared during a recent interview with Alicia Keys for Beyond Noise that the filmmaker “is considering a documentary about the making of Avatar — finally giving us a chance to explain, in a meticulous way, why performance capture is the most empowering form of acting.” The actress, who plays Neytiri in the 2009 pic and 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water, expressed the importance of giving context to the type of work as “it gives us the credit, the ability to own 100 percent of our performance on screen.” The story. |
Shyamalan Directing Live-Action Magic 8 Ball TV Series ►WOOF! M. Night Shyamalan is directing a live-action scripted Magic 8 Ball series written by Brad Falchuk. Shyamalan and Falchuk, the scribe on American Horror Stories and The Brothers Sun , will showrun the series together. The pair “aim to reimagine the classic Magic 8 Ball as the centerpiece of a high-concept, character-driven supernatural drama that blends psychological intensity with cultural intrigue,” according to Mattel, the company that manufactures Magic 8 Ball, a toy that has been around for 75 years, and still sells more than 1m units each year. It's still early, so no plot details have been revealed, but probably the only way to properly adapt that into scripted content is through the supernatural genre, so Shyamalan and Falchuk feel like a dream team in that arena. The story.
—Take that Film Twitter! Stranger Things co-creator Ross Duffer is finally setting the record straight about the season five runtimes. After rumors swirled that every episode in the fifth and final season of the hit Netflix series would run over 90 minutes long (as Duffer previously compared the new episodes to “eight blockbuster movies”), he has now revealed the actual run times for the first four episodes. In a video shared on his Instagram, he showed the season five premiere episode, titled “The Crawl,” will run for one hour and eight minutes; episode 2, titled “The Vanishing of _____,” will run 54 minutes; episode 3, titled “The Turnbow Trap,” will run one hour and six minutes; and episode 4, titled “Sorcerer,” will run one hour and 23 minutes. The story.
—🎭 Same, same but different. 🎭 Fox’s midseason series Best Medicine is based on the beloved British show Doc Martin. The show’s latest casting will make the connection even more concrete. Martin Clunes, who played the title character on Doc Martin, has signed on for a guest role in Best Medicine — though not as the British doctor he played for 10 seasons spanning almost 20 years. Instead, Clunes will play Dr. Robert Best, the father of lead character Dr. Martin Best (Josh Charles). Robert is an accomplished but headstrong gastroenterologist whose demeanor makes Martin’s prickly bedside manner seem warm by comparison. The story.
—Crossing over. Tayshia Adams and Tyler Cameron are returning to The Bachelor universe — this time on HGTV — to judge the network’s upcoming Bachelor mansion renovation series. Officially entitled Bachelor Mansion Takeover, Jesse Palmer returns to host the show that will enlist the former Bachelorette star and contestant to judge makeovers conducted by none other than fellow franchise alumni. Over six episodes, Adams and Cameron will be joined by a surprise guest judge to evaluate former Bachelor, Bachelorette, Golden Bachelor and Golden Bachelorette contestants’ renovation skills on the iconic reality TV site. The story. |
'Titanic' Producer Jon Landau Reveals How Close the Film Came to Disaster ►Exclusive excerpt. In the book The Bigger Picture (out Nov. 4), the late producer Jon Landau details his working relationship with James Cameron on the Titanic project, Fox chief Rupert Murdoch’s doubts about the film and the first test screening that turned things around. The excerpt.
—"Where we end up, I would never have guessed." For THR, Max Gao spoke to Outlander: Blood of My Blood stars Harriet Slater, Jamie Roy, Hermione Corfield and Jeremy Irvine about the season one finale. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"If I really wanted to keep Blue Bloods alive, I had to do this show." For THR, Leena Tailor spoke Donnie Wahlberg about the new Blue Bloods spinoff Boston Blue. The actor-producer talks about the genesis of his new series and working with Bridget Moynahan and Sonequa Martin-Green. The interview.
—"I feel immense dread all the time. This movie came out of that sense of dread, and I certainly see how the film is prescient." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Eddington filmmaker Ari Aster. The auteur discussed the script-to-screen changes to his much-talked about A24 film, and how at one point in an early script, a Mark Zuckerberg character appeared in the fictional New Mexico town at the center of the movie. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
Film Review: 'The Twits' ►"Standard-issue, until Trumpism shows up." For THR, Richard Lawson reviews Phil Johnston, Todd Kunjan Demong and Kate Shanahan's The Twits. Netflix’s animated feature adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic features the voices of Margo Martindale, Johnny Vegas, Natalie Portman, Alan Tudyk and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. Written by Phil Johnson and Meg Favreau. The review.
—"Thoughtful without being terribly insightful." THR's Angie Han reviews Hulu's Murdaugh: Death in the Family. The miniseries dramatizes the events around the 2021 double homicide of a mother and son from a wealthy South Carolina clan. Starring Jason Clarke, Patricia Arquette, Johnny Berchtold, Will Harrison, Brittany Snow, J. Smith-Cameron, Gerald McRaney and Noah Emmerich. Created by Michael D. Fuller and Erin Lee Carr. The review.
—"A rocky ride, but not without pleasures." Angie reviews CBS' DMV. Tim Meadows stars in this single-cam sitcom about the beleaguered employees of the agency's over-crowded, under-funded East Hollywood branch. Also starring Harriet Dyer, Tony Cavalero, Molly Kearney, Alex Tarrant and Gigi Zumbado. Created by Dana Klein. The review.
In other news...
—Child marriage drama Nawi: Dear Future Me gets release date and trailer
—K-pop stars TWS on new EP Play Hard
What else we're reading...
—As auction prices for Hollywood props and memorabilia soar, Stacy Perman reports that 3D-printed knockoffs are flooding the market [LAT]
—Sean Coughlan looks at what King Charles can do about his scandal-plagued brother Prince Andrew [BBC]
—Sam Kessler, Shane Shifflett and Caitlin Ostroff dive into the seemingly quite brazen case of insider trading that shook crypto in recent days [WSJ]
—Vanessa Friedman has a wonderful tribute to Diane Keaton, the style icon [NYT]
—Jodi Walker writes that One Battle After Another has joined the "Girl Dad" movie cannon, a rich tradition that deserves exploring [Ringer]
Today...
...in 1954, Paramount held the world premiere of White Christmas at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The Michael Curtiz-directed musical went on to earn an Oscar nomination for Irving Berlin song “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” at the 27th Academy Awards. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Usher (47), Steve Coogan (60), Ben Whishaw (45), Stephen A. Smith (58), Lori Petty (62), Udo Kier (81), Jay Pharoah (38), Chang Chen (49), Zoya Akhtar (53), Benh Zeitlin (43), Max Thieriot (37), Rowan Blanchard (24), Jack Farthing (40), Jon Seda (55), Ruaridh Mollica (26), Greg Evigan (72), David Oakes (42), Owen Kline (34), Trevor Newlin (29), Cliff Richard (85), Stacy Keibler (46), Paul Fitzgerald (55), Françoise Pascal (76), Mackenzie Mauzy (37), Ariela Barer (27), Skyler Shaye (39), Jason Manuel Olazábal (52), David Kaye (61), Melanie Wilson (64), Cansu Dere (45), Ida Darvish (51), Nicholas Anscombe (37), Lourdes Leon (29), Carroll Ballard (88), Friederike Becht (39) |
| Jackie Burch, a former teacher of the deaf who went on to serve as a casting director on such noteworthy films as Sixteen Candles, Predator, Die Hard, Mask and Dick Tracy, has died. She was 74. The obituary. |
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