| | | | What's news: Rihanna will headline the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show. Lost in Space showruner Zack Estrin has died. Lorne Michaels has addressed the recent exodus of talent on SNL. Big Brother has been renewed for a 25th season. Netflix revealed first looks and teasers for a slew of new projects at its annual fan event Tudum — Abid Rahman |
Oprah, Apple TV+ Ending Multiyear Content Deal ►The Oprah conversation... Oprah Winfrey and Apple TV+ are ending their multiyear content deal. Sources tell THR's Kimberly Nordyke that Winfrey and the streamer will continue to work together but on a project-by-project basis. When the non-exclusive deal was signed in 2018, the pact encompassed film, TV, applications, books and other content that could easily be distributed on Apple’s all-encompassing platform.
However, two of Winfrey’s most recent high-profile programs — her exclusive interviews with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and with Adele — aired on CBS. The news comes days after the debut of the documentary Sidney, a collaboration between Winfrey and Apple TV+, focusing on the life of Sidney Poitier. The story.
—Unknown cause. Zack Estrin, the TV writer-producer whose credits include Prison Break and Lost in Space, died Friday in Hermosa Beach, Calif., of an unknown cause. He was 51. Estrin had a long and successful career in television, starting with credits on Charmed, Dawson’s Creek and Tru Calling, before rising through the ranks to serve as co-executive producer of Fox’s Prison Break. The obituary.
—"There have to be new people, for both our sake and also for the audience." Lorne Michaels sees the recent mass departure of Saturday Night Live cast members as a byproduct of the pandemic. In a new interview, Michaels also promised the "Weekend Update" segment will remain the same through the midterms with head writer Colin Jost and Michael Che at the helm. The story.
—Scandal-plagued. Brett Favre’s NFL SiriusXM show, The SiriusXM Blitz With Brett Favre and Bruce Murray, has been put on hold following his involvement in a Mississippi welfare fraud scandal. The news follows the decision by ESPN Milwaukee to suspend his weekly Packers recap program The Brett Favre Show. The story.
—Arise Sir Bob. Former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Star Wars composer John Williams are the latest Hollywood industry members to receive an honorary knighthood. The honor grants both the title of KBE aka Knight Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Sept. 7, Iger and Williams are just two among a larger 2022 class of approved honorary British awards. The story. |
'HOTD' Showrunners Explain Big Time Jump, Cast Changes ►"This is how you tell this story correctly. We’re telling a story of a generational war." THR's James Hibberd spoke to House of the Dragon's showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik on episode 6's game-changing shakeup. The duo explain why it happened, and why the Game of Thrones prequel has embraced a “slow burn” first season. Warning spoilers. The interview.
—Never ending. Big Brother is coming back for a 25th season on CBS. The announcement was made Sunday night during the live finale of the show. During the finale, Taylor Hale made history as the first Black woman to win the reality competition. CBS said that, for a second consecutive summer, Big Brother’s three nightly editions ranked among the top 10 programs in both total viewers and adults 25-54. The story.
—Zorionak! Laura Mora’s Columbian drama The Kings of the World won the Golden Shell for best film at the 2022 San Sebastián film festival, Spain’s premier film fest. Best director went to Japanese filmmaker Genki Kawamura (Your Name, Weathering With You) for dementia-focused drama Hyakka, his feature debut. The story.
—Intriguing Euro thriller. The Oscar-nominated screenwriter Alessandro Camon (The Messenger) has signed on to adapt the Italian psychological thriller You Will Find the Words for the screen. Marco Franzoso’s novel centers around a man with a terminal illness who has a chance encounter with a woman on a park bench, an encounter that leads to an extreme act of violence. Girl With a Pearl Earring filmmaker Peter Webber is attached to direct the film. The story.
—"I saw outrage and hope in their faces and in the way they marched in the streets." Two-time Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi released a video in which he invited artists around the world to declare solidarity with the people of Iran in the wake of countrywide protests since the death of Mahsa Amini. Farhadi also sent out a written statement where he praised the “progressive and courageous” women leading protests for their human rights. The story. |
Rihanna Tapped as Super Bowl Halftime Show Performer ►"A generational talent." Rihanna has signed on to perform at the 2023 Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show. DPS with Roc Nation and Jesse Collins will produce the telecast, with both serving as executive producers while Hamish Hamilton serves as director. Roc Nation is also doubling as the strategic entertainment advisor for the live performance which is set to take place during Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 just outside of Phoenix, Arizona. The story.
—"I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do." 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner Dr. Dre reacted to the Rihanna news on Apple Music 1 on Sunday, and he had some words of wisdom for her. "You’re talking about at least 3,000 people that you have to depend on to get this show right for 13 minutes," said Dre. The story.
—What could have been. Batgirl star Leslie Grace shared a video on her TikTok that featured behind-the-scenes clips from the shelved DC film. The 15-second video opens on a shot of the actress with her smeared Batgirl makeup on, includes clips of her practicing her fight scenes and stunts and goofing around on the set of the project, alongside her cast and crew. The story.
—"I did not know that she was at the place she was at." Wynonna Judd shared her emotional journey following the death of her mother, Naomi Judd, the other half of the Grammy-winning duo The Judds. In an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, the country singer opened up about her relationship with her mother before her death in April, her experiencing saying goodbye to Naomi and the various emotions she’s grappled with since. The story.
—"I feel terrible." Post Malone went to the hospital again Saturday after experiencing what he described on social media as difficulty breathing and stabbing pain, forcing him to postpone a scheduled show in Boston. It was the second time in about a week that the rapper went to the hospital. He was treated for bruised ribs after falling into a hole on stage in St. Louis last weekend. The story. |
'Don't Worry Darling' Opens to Solid $19.2M ►Not to worry, darling. Olivia Wilde's Don’t Worry Darling opened to a decent $19.2m domestically from 4,114 theaters to win the weekend. However, the pic fell more than expected on Saturday in a worrisome turn for its long term playability. Overseas, Darling took in $10.8m from more than 60 markets for a global start of $30m. The film cost a relatively modest $35m to make.
THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Darling received a mediocre B- CinemaScore from audiences (Wilde’s last film, Booksmart, earned a B+) and that, and the tepid reviews, could hurt word-of-mouth. The film presently has a 35 percent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, dimming its awards chances and making it more difficult to attract older adults who are known for relying on reviews when deciding whether to make a trip to the cinema.
Sony's The Woman King placed second with a pleasing $11.1m from 3,765 theaters, a decline of just 42 percent. The period epic adventure’s 10-day domestic total is $36.3m after earning an A+ from audiences and glowing reviews.
In North America, the rerelease of Avatar — which first opened nearly 13 years ago — grossed an impressive $10m from 1,860 theaters. Overseas, the rerelease started off with $20.5m. To this day, the movie is the top-earning film of all time with more than $2.87b in ticket sales. The box office report.
—"They cut us from most of the movie, but we thriving in real life." KiKi Layne says she’s still celebrating work on and offscreen with Don’t Worry Darling co-star Ari’el Stachel despite their scenes being cut from the film. In an Instagram post on Sunday, the actress posted a video and photos of her on-set with Stachel. The story. |
Netflix Tudum 2022 ►"Particularly beautiful." Netflix held its global fan event Tudum on Saturday and one of the highlights was a new look at Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, the Oscar-winning filmmaker's stop-motion spin on the classic tale. In a nearly two-minute behind-the-scenes video, GDT celebrates the art of stop-motion while promising that his incarnation is a tribute to a fable close to his heart. The teaser. — Jen and Judy ride again. At Tudum, Netflix confirmed that the third and final season of Liz Feldman’s dramedy Dead to Me will debut on Nov. 17. The streamer also released a first look at season three with a teaser trailer. The teaser. — Wednesday on Saturday. Tudum gave us a new look at Tim Burton's Addams Family series, Wednesday. The new clip teases how the series, debuting Nov. 23, will combine its young adult and goth(ic) elements to tell a new tale about the Addams Family's daughter. The teaser. — "It’s a super grounded, raw, action thriller." Netflix offered a first look and behind-the-scenes peak at its upcoming spy thriller Heart of Stone, starring Gal Gadot, Jamie Dornan and Bollywood star Alia Bhatt. Tom Harper’s film will hit the streamer sometime in 2023. The teaser. — More Aussie beef. Filmmaker Sam Hargrave brought a first look and some behind the scenes clips of the sequel to his hit action film Extraction at Tudum. Extraction 2 stars Chris Hemsworth once more as troubled merc Tyler Rake, but the action has moved from hot and humid Bangladesh to somewhere decidedly colder. The teaser. More from Tudum 2022... —John Boyega, Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris face a funky conspiracy in They Cloned Tyrone trailer —Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale regret their dream home purchase in unsettling The Watcher trailer —Jennifer Lopez is an assassin protecting her daughter in first The Mother teaser — Enola Holmes 2 trailer reunites Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill In other news... —AMC to sell up to 425m “APE” preferred shares —Australian TV veterans launch production banner Sam Content — Pharoah Sanders, legendary jazz saxophonist, dies at 81 — John Hartman, Doobie Brothers drummer, dies at 72 What else we're reading... —Elaine Low reports on the "contentious" debates inside Netflix over how data drives creative decisions, and why certain beloved series don't always get renewed [ Insider] —Cordilia James on why 20-somethings love closed captions on Netflix and TikTok and how that's improving accessibility [ WSJ] —Gerry Smith and Lucas Shaw write that fat TV contracts have made buying a pro sports team a recession-proof investment [ Bloomberg] —Bobby Allyn has a wonderful piece on the origins of Berlin's excellent techno scene and the city's world-class nightlife in general [ NPR] —There's high drama in the world of chess following world champ and FPL legend Magnus Carlsen's cheating allegations against an opponent. Joshua Robinson and Andrew Beaton look into how a player would cheat at chess—and get away with it [ WSJ] Today... ...in 1964, Gilligan’s Island debuted at 8:30 pm on CBS. The show only ran for 3 seasons, a total of 98 episodes, but became an enduring favorite in syndication. The original review. Today's birthdays: Serena Williams (41), Joey Soloway (57), Linda Hamilton (66), Christina Milian (41), Jeanie Buss (61), Jim Caviezel (54), Zoe Perry (39), Talulah Riley (37), Manny Montana (39), Sheri Moon Zombie (52), Leo Suter (29), Charlotte Spencer (31), Ben Shenkman (54), Melissa Hunter (38), Lilly Singh (34), Patrick Bristow (60), Margherita Mazzucco (20), David Slade (53), Dan Buran (48), Alaa Safi (38), Nev Schulman (38), Alma Jodorowsky (31), James Blake (34), Frederick E.O. Toye (55), Jake Paltrow (47), Helen McCready (61) |
| Dale McRaven, the Emmy-nominated comedy writer and producer who created Mork & Mindy with Garry Marshall and then the long-running Perfect Strangers on his own, has died. He was 83. The obituary. |
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