Welcome to Deadline's daily newsletter, Morning Rush
Amazon has been in the streaming game for 15 years and has made its own original films and series for a decade. But after a year of milestones, including the acquisition of MGM, the kickoff of NFL Thursday Night Football and the successful launch of The Lord of the Rings, the company is navigating a significant change with the retirement of 25-year veteran executive Jeff Blackburn. In addition to divvying up the turf of the original architect of the company's video strategy, the tech giant faces questions about leadership and strategy at Amazon Studios. >>>Evolving In Challenging Times |
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Keke Has 'Moxie' - Picking up its second high-profile property of the week, Amazon has landed Moxie starring 2022 it-girl Keke Palmer. Hawkeye director Bert is on board to direct with Heather Quinn penning the script. >>>Stripper-Turned FBI Prospect
A Ho-Ho-Hum BO - Wakanda Forever easily won what was generally a sleepy frame at the domestic box office, with the Santa revenge pic Violent Night a bright spot, over-indexing at No. 2. >>>Full Results
Unsafe 'Haven' - Four months after Moonhaven was renewed for Season 2, a now more frugal AMC has reversed course and canceled the series. >>>"Strategic Programming Assessments"
"A Juicy, Juicy Story" - At the premiere of 1923, Harrison Ford told Deadline, "This is the story of what it has taken to survive, for that person to survive its complicated moral context and it’s a juicy, juicy story and I love it.” >>>Video Interview
Oscar Overdrive - After two years of shutdowns, reopenings and socially-distanced events, we're back to near-daily awards happenings with starry Q&As and endless screenings propelling the current awards-season circuit into overdrive. >>>Notes On A Season
A Bollywood Mea Cupla - Bollywood star Akshay Kumar told Deadline that, after two years of pandemic-induced disruption, the Indian film industry and Hollywood alike should step up and make better movies if they want audiences back. "We need to know what they want and stop blaming [the audience] for everything," he said. >>>"It's Our Fault" |
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QUOTABLE: “This is kind of strange because she is dead. The movie doesn’t make any difference to her in one way or another” - Director Andrew Dominik on the idea he exploited Marilyn Monroe in Blonde |
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In an interview with Deadline, Scrubs alumna Sarah Chalke unpacks the emotional final scene in the midseason finale of Firefly Lane, discusses Kate and Tully’s falling out, her love for 1980s style (which may or may not include Johnny’s hair), Kate’s decision to take the blame for Tully setting the station on fire and get fired as a result, as well as the show’s depiction of the misogyny in the TV industry. >>> Read The Full Interview |
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BY THE NUMBERS: $2,500 per violation - The amount Taylor Swift fans, who filed a lawsuit in the matter, want Ticketmaster fined for “fraud, price-fixing, and antitrust violations,” which could add up to big money given the 2 million tickets sold. |
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New To The MCU - Game of Thrones alumna Kate Dickie has quietly joined the Season 2 cast of Disney+ series Loki, sources tell Deadline. While details on her role are not public, we hear she's playing a villain. >>>Production Completed
'More' For Gore - Gore Abrams has been cast as a series regular opposite Christian Serratos and Ana Ortiz in the HBO Max drama pilot More, from Amy Chozick, Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television. >>>Nice Guy Role
Recruited - The Deuce and Revenge actress Margarita Levieva has booked a guest-starring role on Disney+’s upcoming The Acolyte, which is led by Amandla Stenberg and Lee Jung-jae. >>>Currently Shooting
‘Domina’ Addenda - The second season of MGM+ and Sky’s ancient Rome drama Domina has added David Avery (The Night Manager), Benjamin Isaac (Holmes & Watson) and Joelle (Dune) to the cast. >>> Volatile Period in Roman History |
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More News
🌶 Sacha Baron Cohen added some spice to the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony this year by appearing as Borat and proceeding to "mistake" President Biden -- who was in the audience -- for Donald Trump. He also lampooned Kanye West, saying that Borat's faux homeland was "number one Jew-crushing nation," but West was "too anti-Semitic even for us."
🦚Peacock has reached 18 million subscribers, according to NBCUniversal chief Jeff Shell.
💖Good Morning America has benched Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes after the on-air pair disclosed their romantic relationship.
👀 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are assuming full leadership of their Archewell Foundation, as the organization’s president, Mandana Dayani, is stepping down after 18 months.
🚨 Amber Heard has formally filed an appeal of the $10M verdict against her in the defamation case filed by former beau Johnny Depp. She cites the "chilling effect" on other women.
🎥 Prime Video has supplanted Netflix as the top U.S. streaming service according to the annual ranking put out by Parks Associates.
✍ Emancipation producer Joey McFarland has penned an apology to those offended after he displayed a photo on the red carpet of the horribly-scarred back of the film's subject at the movie's premiere.
🦊 Fox and DirecTV reached a multi-year carriage deal after Fox preemptively warned subscribers in late November that FS1, the Big Ten Network and Fox News could go dark on the satellite service.
🇬🇧 The British Independent Film Awards were swept by Scottish filmmaker Charlotte Wells’ and her acclaimed debut feature Aftersun, which had seven wins.
▶️ The YouTube Streamy Awards 2022 Winners announced Sunday included Charli D’Amelio, MissDarcei and MrBeast.
✂️ Fox News has parted ways with Lara Trump, a paid contributor, following the launch of her father-in-law Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. |
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On the Radar Tue - Chris Licht to address CNN employees; Avatar world premiere
Wed - Pearl Harbor Day
Thu - National Board of Review winners announced; Trevor Noah’s final Daily Show
Sat - LA3C festival; Steve Martin & Martin Short host SNL
Sun - Deadline Contenders Film at LA3C festival; “Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinnochio” opens at MoMA |
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Obituaries
🕯 Bob McGrath, a longtime cast member of beloved children’s show Sesame Street, died Sunday at age 90. McGrath made his first Sesame Street appearance in the 1969 pilot, the start of 47 seasons on the show.🕯 Al Strobel, best known for his role as Phillip Gerard in the Twin Peaks drama series, passed away December 2 at the age of 83. 🕯 New York stage and opera performer Quentin Oliver Lee, who appeared earlier this year in the award-winning Off Broadway production of Oratorio for Living Things, lost his life to colon cancer on Thursday at age 34.🕯 Oscar-winning American Factory documentary filmmaker Julia Reichert succumbed to bladder cancer on Thursday; her work focused on class issues, gender inequality, race and the global economy’s impact on middle-class – and often Midwestern – America. She was 76. 🕯Silver Saunders Friedman, co-founder of famed NY comedy club The Improv, has died. Her passing comes less than a month after that of her ex-husband, Budd Friedman, who co-founded the New York club and later ran the L.A. Improv. |
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Rainbow Coalition - Receiving multicolored ribbons at the Kennedy Center Honors this year were (L-R top row): U2 members Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr., The Edge, and Bono and (L-R bottom row) Amy Grant, Gladys Knight, George Clooney, and Tania León. |
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