You are reading an exclusive WrapPRO article for free. Want to level up your entertainment career? Go here for more information.

“Yellowstone” hit a season-high viewership for the penultimate episode of the Paramount Network show’s fifth season.

Sunday’s episode, which marked the fourth installment since “Yellowstone” returned to finish airing its fifth season, brought in 12.1 million viewers, according to viewing figures from VideoAmp.

The episode, which featured an appearance from Bella Hadid, scored the biggest audience “Yellowstone” has seen all season, with its viewership seeing a 6% increase compared to its current average viewership of 11.4 million.

“Yellowstone” debuted Season 5B to its biggest premiere night audience ever as it brought in 16.4 million viewers across Paramount Network, CBS and eight other cable networks. The premiere was simulcast on Paramount-owned networks CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, MTV2, Logo, Pop and TV Land.

The second half of “Yellowstone” Season 5 is on track...

Star power was strong at the Critics Choice Association’s 7th annual Celebration of Black Cinema and Television, where some 14 awards were presented to actors, producers, directors and composers, including Tyler Perry, Cynthia Erivo, Regina King and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.

The ceremony, held at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles on Monday, was hosted by comedian Jay Pharoah, who brought levity to the room as the night’s honorees spoke about the impact of their awards and the work for which they were garnered.

Perry addressed the death of Steve Mensch, the president of Tyler Perry Studios who died in a plane crash Friday night, while acknowledging the 15th anniversary of his mother’s death just the day before while accepting the Icon Award presented to him by Kelly Rowland.

“This life is but a moment, it’s so precious, and we need to lean into spreading love one to another; I’m 55 years old,...

One of the glaring omissions from Monday’s Golden Globe nominations was that Denis Villeneuve’s epic sequel “Dune: Part Two” was not among the eight films in the best cinematic and box office achievement category.

Introduced for 2023’s ceremony where “Barbie” took home the statuette, eligible films must gross more than $150 million with a minimum of $100 million in the U.S. According to Box Office Mojo, 20 movies released in 2024 have grossed more than $100 million domestically, including Warner Bros’ “Dune 2,” which brought in more than $700 million globally.

According to Dick Clark Productions, the award recognizes “the year’s most acclaimed, highest-earning and/or most viewed films that have garnered extensive global audience support and attained cinematic excellence.”

Needless to say, “Dune 2’s” exclusion was pronounced, even with the film still scoring two noms for best picture (drama) and Hans Zimmer’s original score (which is not Oscar eligible...

Universal Pictures is in early talks with the main cast of “Meet the Parents” — Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo and Blythe Danner — to return for a fourth installment in the 2000s romantic comedy film series, TheWrap has learned.

John Hamburg, who wrote the screenplays for the three previous films, will also return in the same role. Jane Rosenthal and De Niro will produce through Tribeca Productions, while Stiller and John Lesher will produce through Red Hour Films and “Meet the Parents” director Jay Roach will produce through Delirious Media.

EVP of Production Development Matt Reilly and director of Production Development Jacqueline Garrell will oversee the project for Universal.

Released in 2000, “Meet the Parents” starred Stiller as Greg Focker, a nurse looking to propose to his longtime girlfriend Pam (Polo). But first, he hopes to gain the approval of Pam’s parents, played by De Niro and Danner, with...

Emilia Pérez had a record-breaking morning, with the Netflix film landing ten Golden Globe nominations, making it the most nominated comedy or musical film in the awards show’s history. It topped last year’s Barbie and 1972’s Cabaret, which each landed nine nominations. (The all-time record holder is 1975’s Nashville, which was a player in the drama category).

Emilia Pérez was a crowd pleaser out of Cannes, with Netflix swooping up the feature soon after its debut at the May festival. It centers on cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) who hires attorney Rita (Zoe Saldaña) in a plan to fake her death so that she can transition into a woman and live as her true self.

The feature landed Golden Globe nominations for best picture, musical or comedy, as well as best picture, non-English language.

It also landed acting nominations for Gascón (best performance by a female actor...

“Red One,” Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans’ new holiday-themed action comedy, is coming to Prime Video just in time for Christmas.

Though it’s still playing in theaters, “Red One” will be available on the streaming platform starting on Dec. 12. Directed by Jake Kasdan (“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”), the film stars Johnson as the head of North Pole security and Evans as a notorious hacker and bounty hunter. When Santa Claus (played by J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped, the two must team up “in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas,” according to the film’s synopsis.

“Red One” also stars Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll and Wesley Kimmel. The Amazon MGM film has grossed $164 million at the worldwide box office so far after originally being set as a streaming-only release.

The film has garnered mainly negative reviews, with Variety‘s Owen Gleiberman writing that...

David Tennant is set to make a BAFTA double and return as host of the British Academy’s next film awards.

After hosting the 77th BAFTAs earlier this year, the “Doctor Who” and “Good Omens” star — recently seen in the hit Disney+ show “Rivals” — will be back on stage at the 78th awards, to be held on Feb. 16 2025 at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

“We couldn’t be happier that David Tennant is returning to host the Ee BAFTA film awards in 2025,” said BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip. “He is an absolute pleasure to work with, and his performance this year was simply outstanding – warm, witty, whip-smart, and with a delightful touch of mischief. It is a privilege to share Britain’s biggest celebration of film with TV audiences worldwide, and to recognise the extraordinary creativity of those who power the British and global film industry.”

The BAFTA ceremony — which was...

Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser might have to take the podium for more than her emcee duties—as she is among the list of nominees for the 2025 Golden Globes.

The comedian is up for best performance in stand up-comedy on television for her HBO special Someday You’ll Die. She will be competing against other comedy heavyweights such as Jamie Foxx, Seth Meyers, Adam Sandler, Ali Wong and Ramy Youssef.

Glaser celebrated the news by sharing the list of nominees in her category on her Instagram Story and writing, “Hell yeah.”

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter last week, Glaser expressed how confident she is to tackle hosting the awards show. “I know what to do to make it great,” she said. “I know the amount of work that goes into it. I take it very seriously, the job at hand. I think I can strike the right tone of making...

Sarah Michelle Gellar is revealing that she actually “got in a bit of trouble” for posting a photo from the set of the I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot.

The actress, who starred in the original 1997 film, alongside now-husband Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ryan Phillippe, shared an on-set photo on Nov. 27 of a chair with the film’s title on it, causing quite a stir on social media surrounding the remake.

“You would think that being in my position, I know what rules are on sets when they say closed sets, you know,” she said during a Tuesday appearance on Live With Kelly and Mark. “So my husband’s starring in the movie and it was Thanksgiving so I took our kids to Australia to go out there and visit him. And I was sitting on set and I was like, ‘Oh what a great picture,...

Cj 4Dplex is ramping up its presence in the Asia-Pacific region through strategic partnerships with major exhibitors Event Cinemas in Australia and Showtime Cinemas in Taiwan.

The cinema technology company, headquartered in Seoul with international offices in Los Angeles and Beijing, is part of the Cj Group conglomerate that includes Cj Cgv, the world’s fifth-largest theater chain, and Cj Enm, producer of the Oscar-winning film “Parasite.”

The premium format company inked a deal with Event Cinemas to add three new 4Dx locations in Australia, with Castle Hill and Innaloo venues scheduled to open before Christmas 2024. Each location will house over 120 seats equipped with motion synchronization and environmental effects. A third location at Event Cinemas Marion is set to launch in 2025, bringing Event’s total 4Dx footprint in Australia to six theaters.

Daniel McCabe, general manager of cinema operations Australia for Event Cinemas, said: “With the addition of these new 4Dx theaters,...

The rise of sports-based TV series has greased the wheels for streaming heavyweights like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video to push further into live sports, according to a new study from entertainment analytics firm Luminate Data.

The Tuesday report shows the aforementioned streaming services have been “dominant” when it comes to providing sports “shoulder” content — which Luminate defined as “programming that is about specific sports, teams, well-known athletes and sports-adjacent programming.” Examples include “Receiver” and “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” on Netflix, “F.C. Barcelona: A New Era” on Prime Video and “WWE Evil” on Peacock, among others.

This genre has become remarkably popular over the past five years, Luminate said, with 263 shoulder shows hitting streaming since 2020. Netflix leads the pack with 26% of all shoulder shows produced, while Prime Video grabs the silver medal with 19% of all shoulder programming.

“One of the major themes we’ve seen in 2024 has been...

Jim Carrey is getting candid about his reason for returning for Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

The veteran actor, who has stepped back from acting and the spotlight over the past decade, revealed to the Associated Press the film’s U.K. premiere on Tuesday why he chose to reprise his role as villain Dr. Robotnik in the upcoming sequel, zooming into theaters on Dec. 20.

“I came back to this universe because, first of all, I get to play a genius, which is a bit of a stretch. And, you know, it’s just… I bought a lot of stuff and I need the money, frankly. Yeah,” Carrey admitted with a smile.

Following a robust acting career in the ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s, the Ace Ventura star has been quite selective in recent years regarding which projects he takes. He even told Access Hollywood in 2022, while promoting Sonic the Hedgehog 2,...

Lisa Kudrow, who played the free-spirited Pheobe Buffay in the hit NBC sitcom “Friends,” revealed that the entire cast of the ’90s mainstay only met up once in the 17 years between the series finale in 2004 and “Friends: the Reunion,” which premiered in 2021.

“We’d only had dinner, the six of us, once before since the show ended,” said Kudrow on a Tuesday episode of Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s “Dinner’s on Me” podcast.

Despite the hiatus, Kudrow added that once the “Friends” cast — comprised of Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc — finally reunited “10 years” after the show ended,...

Andrew Ferguson, a Republican on the Federal Trade Commission, has been named as the agency’s chair.

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday appointed Ferguson as he vowed to continue contesting “Big Tech censorship” and “protecting Freedom of Speech.”

Ferguson will be the “most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History,” Trump wrote in a statement issued posted on Truth Social.

The nomination comes after Trump’s selection of Gail Slater, a veteran tech and media policy adviser who’s had stints at Fox Corp. and Roku, to the top antitrust post at the Justice Department. That move was also motivated to curb the reach of “Big Tech,” which has “run wild for years” and is “stifling competition in our most innovative sector,” Trump said.

On the FTC, which he was appointed to in April, Ferguson has dissented from an agency initiative to ban non-compete clauses in...

Drake Bell wants to revisit his most popular role.

The actor recently stopped by the Beyond the Velvet Rope podcast, where he discussed a desire to reboot Drake & Josh with Nickelodeon co-star Josh Peck.

“I have a really special place in my heart for Drake & Josh, and I would love to revisit the character,” Bell said. “I’d love to revisit something with Josh, whether it’s a reboot or… my dream is to do something kind of like Curb Your Enthusiasm, where we’re playing ourselves but trying to navigate life today.”

The singer also noted he already has an idea of why Bell and Peck would be reuniting for the potential reboot.

“Maybe I’m trying to get him back together with me and he’s like, ‘Dude, you’re annoying, get away,'” he explained. “I don’t know what it is, but I would love to...

Martha Luttrell, a talent agent who represented a notable array of directors, actors, writers and musicians, died on Dec. 9 in Calabasas, Calif. She was 80.

Luttrell’s death was confirmed to Variety by her friend Holly Goldberg Sloan, with the cause being pancreatic cancer.

As a one-time representative for directors Martin Campbell, Paul Weiland, Mick Jackson, Tony Bill and Jon Amiel, Luttrell also helped guide the careers of Stephen Rea, Julie Taymor, Dereck Joubert, Beverly Joubert, Susan Sarandon, Judy Davis, Sam Shepard, Waylon Jennings and Don Was.

Luttrell got one of her first jobs answering phones at Capitol Records. In the 1970s, she relocated to New York City and assisted Mike Nichols. After working with him on location for the film “The Day of the Dolphin,” she relocated to Los Angeles and got a job assisting Bill Robinson at The Robinson Agency, where she learned how to be an agent.

Robinson...

Ariana Grande really wants to get to know Selena Gomez more.

So much so that she asked to sit with the “Emilia Pérez” star at the Academy Women’s Luncheon on Tuesday at the Academy Museum.

“I respect her so much, and I’ve always adored her,” the “Wicked” star told me. “I was really happy for her to see us on that list together. It was very special.”

That list is the Golden Globe list of nominees for best performance by a female actor in a supporting role in any motion picture. Grande and Gomez were nominated alongside Felicity Jones (“The Brutalist”), Margaret Qualley (“The Substance”), Isabella Rossellini (“Conclave”) and Zoe Saldaña (“Emilia Pérez”).

Grande was one of the first people Gomez heard from after the nominations were announced on Monday. “Ariana texted me and it was the sweetest note and it was about six in the morning,” Gomez told me,...

Everybody knew it had to be big. More than two decades after having a huge hit and winning Best Picture with “Gladiator,” Ridley Scott was not going to be low-key in the opening sequences of his long-awaited sequel “Gladiator II.”

“I crept in the back of Ridley’s media room, and he was deep in conversation with Neil Corbould,” cinematographer John Mathieson said. “They were discussing doing a sea battle in the Sahara.”

He paused for a second. “Which is not known for its coastal regions. There were some bottles of Ridley’s rosé there, which I have to recommend as a very drinkable rosé. And I thought, well, I’d best be quiet and sit here.”

And yes, that’s exactly what the opening stretch of “Gladiator II” is: a siege by the Roman army in the North African province of Numidia, home to Lucius Aurelius (Paul Mescal), who...

“Have you ever wondered what makes a Christmas story a Christmas story?”

This is the underlying question to the Disney+ short film An Almost Christmas Story, and producer Alfonso Cuarón heartily laughs at the notion that he and director David Lowery were trying to settle the age-old debate about whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not. The 24-minute animated short — Cuarón’s third-and-final installment in his holiday collection that dates back to 2022 — is based on the true story of an owl that was rescued from the Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree in 2020. Cuarón’s story, in tandem with Lowery and Jack Thorne’s script, teaches their young owl named Moon (Cary Christopher) what Christmas is as he seeks to reunite with his family.

Ultimately, the Oscar-winning Cuarón believes that the definition of a Christmas story doesn’t have to be broken down into an exact science. Die Hard may...

Martha Luttrell, the onetime ICM talent agent whose clients included Susan Sarandon, Sam Shepard, Waylon Jennings, Don Was and Martin Campbell, has died. She was 80.

Luttrell died Monday of pancreatic cancer in Calabasas, California, a family spokesperson announced.

Luttrell, who spent 25 years at ICM, also repped directors Paul Weiland, Mick Jackson, Julie Taymor, Tony Bill and Jon Amiel; actors Stephen Rea and Judy Davis; and filmmakers/conservationists Dereck and Beverly Joubert.

Luttrell was born in Vancouver on Halloween in 1944. Her father, James, was a salesman and her mother, Frances, a realtor. She knew at an early age that she wanted to be in show business and moved with her cousin to Los Angeles right out of high school. One of her first jobs was working at Capitol Records answering the phones.

In the early 1970s, Luttrell relocated to New York and became the assistant to Mike Nichols, whom she called...

Tensions over The Animation Guild’s controversial new tentative contract spilled into public view on Tuesday as the ratification vote for the deal began.

Three members of the union’s negotiating committee posted on social media that they personally will be voting “no” on the tentative contract that they helped to bargain, primarily due to concerns about provisions covering generative AI.

The Animation Guild’s 56-person negotiating committee consisted of a “table team” of 29 members that met across the table with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and a support team of 27 members. Both teams weighed in on proposals and changes to proposals, but only the table team voted on the tentative agreement — and largely voted favor of the deal. Two of the negotiating committee members that posted on Tuesday were part of the support team, while one served on the table team.

“I believe the AI and...

An activist investor has snapped up Lionsgate stock and is pushing leadership on a several paths, including a sale of the Jon Feltheimer-led studio after it has officially separated from Starz.

Anson Funds Management — an alternative asset manager led by chief investment officer Moez Kassam with activism strategy run by Sagar Gupta — has nabbed a stake in the studio and is now one of the top shareholders of Lionsgate stock, a source confirms to The Hollywood Reporter.

When asked for comment, a Lionsgate rep replied, “We always welcome the ideas and input of our shareholders.” The company declined to comment on how Anson had approached Lionsgate brass or what proposals that leadership may have fielded from the activist investor. Bloomberg first reported Anson’s move.

Lionsgate’s vast 20,000-title film and television library — home to franchises like John Wick, Saw, The Hunger Games, Twilight, Now You See Me and...

Eugenio Derbez has issued an apology to Selena Gomez after the singer-actress clapped back at him for criticizing her performance in Emilia Pérez.

Over the weekend, a clip from an upcoming episode of the Hablando de Cine podcast was shared on TikTok, where Derbez expressed his disapproval of Gomez’s Spanish in the film, given that she’s not fluent in the language. The actress plays Jessi del Monte in director Jacques Audiard’s musical crime thriller.

“Selena is indefensible,” the Coda star said of her performance at the time. “I was there [watching the movie] with people, and every time a scene came [with her in it], we looked at each other to say, ‘Wow, what is this?’”

Podcast host Gaby Meza agreed with Derbez, calling Gomez a “very talented actress” and “very good singer” but said “Spanish is neither her primary nor secondary language nor fifth. And that’s why I feel she doesn’t know what she is saying,...

Jesse Tyler Ferguson recalled Matthew Perry helped calm his nerves while shooting his first show with a “Friends” anecdote.

While talking with Lisa Kudrow on his “Dinner’s on Me” podcast, Ferguson looked back to days on the set of “The Class” – a one-season show and among the “Modern Family” alum’s first – and remembered a shoot that was saved for him by Perry showing up and sharing a behind-the-scenes joke from his days on “Friends.”

“I remember we were shooting ‘The Class’ on the same stage that you shot ‘Friends’ on at Warner Brothers,” Ferguson said. “David [Krane] was very comfortable there, Jimmy Burrows was very comfortable there. And Matthew Perry was next door shooting the behind-the-scenes drama ‘Studio 60’ and he was dating a cast member of mine on ‘The Class’ but Matthew was the first one of you I met and became friends with.”

He continued, “I think...

Mark Withers, who had recurring roles on such shows as Kaz, Dynasty and Days of Our Lives, has died. He was 77.

Withers died Nov. 22 after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, his daughter, Jessie Withers, told The Hollywood Reporter.

“He confronted his illness with the same strength and dignity he brought to his craft, creating a legacy of warmth, humor and dedication, along with his remarkable ability to make every role unforgettable,” she wrote in a tribute. His “enduring talent and commitment to the industry will be fondly remembered by colleagues, friends and fans alike.”

Withers portrayed Peter Colcourt on the Ron Leibman-starring CBS crime drama Kaz from 1978-79, Ted Dinard on ABC’s Dynasty in 1981 — he’s murdered by Blake Carrington (John Forsythe), leading to Joan Collins joining the series as Alexis Carrington — and Coach Locke on NBC’s Days of Our Lives from 1986-87.

He also appeared on dozens of other shows,...

Former Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer Marian Price has taken initial steps to sue Disney over her portrayal in FX’s acclaimed limited series Say Nothing.

Price’s lawyer Peter Corrigan announced on Wednesday that his client was “forced to initiate legal proceedings” in Ireland against Disney over the show, an adaptation of New Yorker staff writer Patrick Radden Keefe’s eponymous 2019 book, after it portrayed his previous reporting on her role in the 1972 death of Belfast mother Jean McConville. Radden Keefe argued in his book that Price, who now goes by her married name Marian McGlinchey, fired the shot that killed McConville, one of Northern Ireland’s “Disappeared.” The series depicted this reporting in its finale, with Price played by Hazel Doupe and McConville by Judith Roddy.

“Given the context, it is difficult to envisage a more egregious allegation than the one to which has been levelled against our client,...

“Zurawski v Texas,” a reproductive rights documentary which unfolds like a legal thriller, has found a streaming home in indie service Jolt.

The nonfiction work is currently available to stream on the platform following an acclaimed festival run and awards-qualifying release. It boasts star power courtesy of Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence, Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, who all serve as executive producers.

“Jolt is extremely excited to be launching ‘Zurawski v Texas’ this December,” said Geralyn Dreyfous, Jolt co-founder and chief film officer, adding it “has the potential to save lives once audiences have the opportunity to see it. We are honored to aggregate and amplify the call for legal accountability and the access needed for medical emergencies.”

Directed by Emmy-winner Maisie Crow (“Jackson”) and Abbie Perrault (“At the Ready”), the film offers an unflinching look at the human toll of Texas’s restrictive abortion laws. Centered on the stories...

Lisa Kudrow said this week her offscreen friendship with her onscreen Friends sometimes took some work, but the result will always be worth it.

“It was great, we really did get along,” Kudrow told Dax Shepherd on his Armchair Expert podcast. From 1994 to 2004 Kudrow played Phoebe Buffay on NBC’s Friends, which also starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and the late Matthew Perry as a group of six friends in New York City.

“That six-way relationship took some work and we did it,” Kudrow continued, saying the group “worked hard at being friends.”

What was the work that made it work? “Really talking things through,” Kudrow continued. “If someone said something or did something, it didn’t get too big, because it was, ‘Can I talk to you?’”

The actress went on to say that the communication style was new to her at the time, and...

On the day that “Happy Gilmore 2” wrapped principal photography, Adam Sandler called in to “The Dan Patrick Show” to discuss the comedy sequel, dishing on some cameos for the film and teasing a potential release date for the Netflix production.

“They’re going to yell at me no matter what, because they asked me to not do any press,” Sandler starts at the beginning of the interview. “But what do you want to say and I’ll tell you if it’s good or bad to talk about.”

“Can I talk about Eminem having a cameo?” asked Patrick. The sports media personality also appears as a small role in the film.

“I’ve known Eminem for a long time and he’s a great guy,” Sandler said, confirming the rapper is involved in the film. Eminem was spotted on the New Jersey set back in November. “He came in and was funny as hell.

Michael Cole, who most famously starred in “The Mod Squad,” died Tuesday at age 84, TheWrap has learned.

In a statement to media, representatives for Cole said the actor died “peacefully this morning, surrounded by loved ones, after living a full and vibrant life.”

Cole played Pete Cochran, one of the three young cops on “The Mod Squad.” Cole starred alongside Clarence Williams III and Peggy Lipton as one of the three delinquents-turned-undercover cops. The show ran from 1968 to 1973 and was heralded for tackling the contemporary issues of the time like illegal drugs, racism, police brutality and the Vietnam War.

He also appeared on 64 episodes of “General Hospital” and in shows like “Murder, She Wrote,” “Fantasy Island,” “The Love Boat” and as Henry Bowers in the 1990 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s “It.”

Roles later in his career included episodes of “7th Heaven” and “ER,” as well as movies like “Nickel Mountain” and “Mr. Brooks.

Jim Carrey said in April 2022 that he was likely retiring from acting after reprising the evil Dr. Robotnik in “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” which opened in theaters the same month. It was Carrey’s second time playing the video game villain. He first starred as Robotnik in 2020’s “Sonic the Hedgehog,” which marked Carrey first major role in a studio movie since the 2014 sequel “Dumb and Dumber To.”

“Well, I’m retiring. Yeah, probably. I’m being fairly serious,” Carrey told Access Hollywood on the “Sonic 2” press tour. “It depends. If the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road, but I’m taking a break.”

Carrey added, “I really like my quiet life and I really like putting paint on canvas and...

“Secret Level” is stuffed of references and characters from popular video games — but some new additions might be harder to place.

The animated anthology series from Amazon’s Prime Video adapts a number of video game worlds from familiar faces like Pac-Man and Mega Man to the less familiar like “Exodus,” “Crossfire” and “Conclave.” They’re also taking a crack at a few lore-dense tabletop games “Dungeons & Dragons” and “Warhammer 40,000.”

These are all the franchises represented in the first season of “Secret Level.”

“Secret Level” (Credit: Prime Video) “Armored Core”

Keanu Reeves stars in the “Armored Core” short. The game features a number of mechs battling one another for various corporations to take control of the world. The latest game was released in 2023 by the people known for “Elden Ring” and the “Dark Souls” series.

“Secret Level” (Credit: Prime Video) “Concord”

“Concord” is a bit of an odd...

Michael Cole, who played Pete Cochran, one of the three hip young cops on “The Mod Squad,” died Tuesday. He was 84.

Cole’s reps said he died “peacefully this morning, surrounded by loved ones, after living a full and vibrant life.”

Born on July 3, 1940, in Madison, Wisc., Cole guested on shows like “Gunsmoke” before breaking through on “The Mod Squad.” The ABC series aired from 1968 to 1973, co-starring Peggy Lipton and Clarence Williams III. Cole’s character Pete Cochran had been a troubled son of wealthy Beverly Hills parents, who found redemption through his work as an undercover officer on the squad.

Michael Cole, who portrayed Pete Cochran, one of the three young undercover cops that made up The Mod Squad on the 1968-73 ABC series, died Tuesday. He was 84.

Cole died at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center, publicist Rachel Harris announced. No cause of death was revealed.

Produced by Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas, The Mod Squad also starred Peggy Lipton as flower girl Julie Barnes (a vagrant who had fled her prostitute mother) and Clarence Williams III as Lincoln Hayes (arrested during the Watts riots). Pete, meanwhile, was a rich kid who had been booted from his parents’ home after being caught stealing and racing a car.

To avoid jail time, the three agreed to become cops under the guidance of Captain Adam Greer (Tige Andrews). The tagline for the hit series was “One white, one black, one blonde.” (Cole titled his 2018 memoir I Played the White Guy.)

The Mod Squad...

Netflix co-ceo Ted Sarandos said demand for its live boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson on Nov. 15 was “off the charts,” despite some of its subscribers facing technical difficulties during the stream.

“We hate to disappoint a member for one second. So yes, there was some of that,” Sarandos admitted at Ubs’ Media & Communications Conference on Tuesday. “But the real thing is, we had an enormous live audience: 108 million people watching live. You’d have to go back to the ’80s to get a live audience that big. It’s a Super Bowl-like audience that we were able to draw for this fight.”

He touted the match as the “largest streaming event in history” and “one of the largest live audiences in almost 40 years.”

“We were stressing the limits of the Internet itself that night,” Sarandos added. “We had a control room up in Silicon Valley that was...

“Kraven the Hunter” could get declawed in its big screen debut.

The comic book spinoff, set in Sony’s universe of Marvel characters, is targeting a paltry $13 million to $15 million from 3,200 theaters its opening weekend. Based on projections, “Kraven the Hunter” could contend with February’s misfire “Madame Web” ($15.3 million debut) for the ignominious distinction of the lowest start among Sony-produced Marvel adventures. Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as the eponymous antihero in the R-rated film, which faced a litany of pandemic and strike-related release date delays on its long and winding journey to theaters. “Kraven” cost an upward of $110 million to produce (it was greenlit for $90 but ballooned after last year’s writers and actors strikes), which ended up being considerably more than the $80 million price tag for “Madame Web” but far less than rival studios like Disney or Warner Bros. typically pump into superhero tentpoles. “Kraven,” the first in Sony...

Two members of the Animation Guild negotiating committee said Tuesday that they will vote against ratifying a new contract because it lacks enough protections against artificial intelligence.

Mike Rianda, the director of “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” said on Instagram that the AI terms in the deal are “far from what we were going for,” and that he had opposed recommending the deal to the membership.

“Studios can replace workers with AI. Studios can force you to use AI. Studios can give you AI work to finish on any timeline,” he wrote. “We didn’t get staffing minimums to protect...

Two members of the Animation Guild negotiating committee said Tuesday that they will vote against ratifying a new contract because it lacks enough protections against artificial intelligence.

Mike Rianda, the director of “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” said on Instagram that the AI terms in the deal are “far from what we were going for,” and that he had opposed recommending the deal to the membership.

“Studios can replace workers with AI. Studios can force you to use AI. Studios can give you AI work to finish on any timeline,” he wrote. “We didn’t get staffing minimums to protect crew sizes from AI job losses… This was gutting.”

The union, which represents 6,000 artists, technicians and writers, reached a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Nov. 23. The ratification vote began Tuesday and will conclude on Dec. 22.

The union released the full terms of the contract last week,...

Ever since King Kong swatted biplanes from the top of the Empire State Building in 1933, hairy creatures have occupied a place of honor in the cinematic pantheon. And in many cases, the Academy has recognized that fact: The original “King Kong” was shamefully overlooked at the Oscars, but the second-ever special award for makeup was given out in 1968 to “Planet of the Apes” — and the first time the award existed as a regular competitive category, the winner was Rick Baker for “An American Werewolf in London,” with subsequent winners including “Quest for Fire” (hairy cavemen!), “Harry and the Hendersons” (Bigfoot!), “The Wolfman” (another werewolf!) and, um, “Frida” (unibrow!).

On the visual effects side, meanwhile, the “Kong” successor “Mighty Joe Young” won in 1949, Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” remake won in 2005 and the rebooted “Planet of the Apes” series won in… Oh, wait, it shockingly never won, though its astonishing motion-capture...

Netflix co-ceo Ted Sarandos said the mammoth turnout of viewers to watch Jake Paul fight Mike Tyson was a success — notwithstanding the video glitches that disrupted the livestream.

“We hate to disappoint members for one second,” said Sarandos, speaking Tuesday at the Ubs Global Media & Communications Conference in New York. “On that night, we were stressing our own technology” as well as that of every internet service provider across the globe, he added: “We were stressing the limits of the internet itself that night.”

On the evening of the heavily hyped Paul-Tyson fight, Nov. 15, Netflix customers took to social media...

“Eno” was already a groundbreaking documentary, as the first non-fiction feature film to screen in a different randomly-generated version each showing. But since its January premiere at Sundance, the documentary about the music and creative process of Brian Eno has only been available to screen at special roadshow theatrical engagements — from which it has grossed nearly a million dollars so far.

Now Gary Hustwit’s technologically innovative doc will be available to viewers at home for the first time in a special 24-hour livestream with multiple versions of the film about the British musician and producer who played with Roxy Music and worked with David Bowie, the Talking Heads and U2. Special surprise guests will drop by the livestream to perform and give talks, and the stream will also incorporate the generative art prequel piece “Nothing Can Ever Be the Same” that showed at the Venice Biennale.

“You see unique...

Adam Sandler is driving toward the release of Happy Gilmore 2, with the Netflix sequel having recently wrapped principal photography.

The star was a guest on the Dan Patrick Show episode that aired Friday, where he revealed that the movie completed filming that day. With Kyle Newacheck directing, the follow-up to the 1996 comedy stars Sandler as the unlikely titular golfer and has not yet announced a release date.

During the conversation, Patrick discussed having been on the set a day prior to film an appearance. When Patrick asked Sandler when the film might be available to stream, the guest replied, “I don’t know 100 percent, but I think around July. Not July 4th, but we’re trying to get it done in time for July. You never know what’s going to happen. We’re just finishing today — it’s the last day.”

Regarding how much pressure he feels to...

Producer Scott Glassgold has launched 12:01 Films, a production company which aims to identify, grow and produce creator-driven IP, primarily through short stories as the foundational launching point.

Verve, which represents Glassgold, helped establish the new production company. Over the last two years, Verve and Glassgold have closed 19 short story sales, ushering in a short story IP boom that 12:01 intends to remain at the forefront of.

That boom, Glassgold says, began with “My Wife and I Bought a Ranch” by Matt and Harrison Query. “It felt like this amazingly fresh, unique genre piece. And I knew immediately that there was a place in it for film and hopefully beyond.” He showed the Reddit short story to Verve’s David Boxerbaum and Adam Levine, who shared his enthusiasm. Things moved fast from there.

“This was on a Tuesday — I’m being literal. By Friday, the short story went into a...

Despite the technical glitches, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos called the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight “off the charts.”

The fight, which streamed live on Netflix Nov. 15, was plagued by screen buffering and freezing issues for some users. Speaking during the Ubs conference in New York Tuesday, Sarandos pointed to the tech challenge of streaming to an “enormous live audience” of 108 million globally people watching live for a five-and-a-half hour streaming event.

“We were pushing the [internet service provider], every ISP in the world, right to the limits of their own capacity. We were stressing the limits of the internet itself that night,” Sarandos said. “So we had a control room up in Silicon Valley that was re-engineering the entire internet to keep it during this fight because of the unprecedented demand that was happening.”

“It’s really phenomenal. It’s a Super Bowl-like audience that we were able to draw for this fight.

Abramorama Acquires Oscar Qualifying Documentary ‘Nurse Unseen’

Abramorama has acquired the global theatrical distribution and Direct-To-Audience rights to ‘Nurse Unseen’, Michele Josue’s Oscar-qualified documentary feature.

The documentary is produced by Josue, Carlo Velayo, and Joe Arciaga, with Jhett Tolentino and Jo Koy serving as executive producers. ‘Nurse Unseen’ explores the stories of Filipino nurses who worked on the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic in the midst of a resurgence of anti-Asian hate.

‘Nurse Unseen’ has been a huge labor of love for our community and specifically our heroic nurses,” said Josue. “We are thrilled to now partner with Abramorama to bring this vital and important film to more audiences around the world.”

Abramorama’s president and head of international distribution Evan Saxon stated, “We are incredibly excited to partner with Michele Josue, Carlo Velayo, Jhett Tolentino, and Jo Koy to bring ‘Nurse Unseen’ to both Filipino and non-Filipino audiences worldwide.

Broadway grosses came back down to earth last week from their Thanksgiving highs, as a number of shows took their final bows.

Tammy Faye, the new musical with music by Elton John, grossed $371,511 at the Palace Theatre last week, before closing Dec. 8, and played to a capacity of 47 percent. These numbers were up more than $100,000 from the prior week, but still not the highest of the run, nor enough to match the running costs of a musical of that size.

Water for Elephants also played its final performance at the Imperial Theatre Sunday after opening in March 2024. The musical grossed $957,672, up close to $163,000 from the prior week, and played to 66 percent capacity.

And, in the lead up to its final performance at the Longacre Theatre on Dec. 15, Swept Away also saw its grosses jump close to $130,000 to reach $540,306 and saw its capacity jump to 81 percent from 61 percent the prior week.

Stephen Colbert refused to say the name of the now-charged murder suspect in the slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, bleeping out “Luigi Mangione” during Monday’s “Late Show” monologue.

The reason?

“[It’s] a name that we will bleep before broadcasting this because if he didn’t do it, I don’t want to say it. And if he did do it — I don’t want to say it,” Colbert said before a fit of laughter from the audience.

Watch the moment at the top of Colbert’s monologue, below:

The decision to protect Mangione’s identity on “The Late Show” (Monday’s program also blurred his face while showing a shirtless image from his X account) came after a full day of social media users and news pundits deep-diving into the personal details of the 26-year-old Ivy League grad, who was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, early Monday as a person...

Mike Myers recently told Vulture that rumors claiming Dr. Evil from the “Austin Powers” film franchise is based on “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels are simply not true. Myers was a cast member on “SNL” from 1989 to 1995. Considering “Austin Powers” originated as a James Bond spoof, the inspiration for Dr. Evil was always Blofeld actor Donald Pleasance from “You Only Live Twice” and not Myers’ “SNL” boss.

“The Lorne of it is just a little tiny overlay,” Myers explained. “I’m Canadian. He’s Canadian. He had an educated Canadian accent, and I have a Scarborough accent. One time he goes, ‘Mike, do you want to come up to the Hamptons?’ I was like, ‘Am I fired?’ I went, and it was like, ‘That’s Mick’s room, or do you want Keith’s room?’ And I was like, ‘Either’s fine. Couch works! The car works!'”

“So anyway,...

One of the buzziest screenings of this year’s Red Sea Film Festival, John Crowley’s “We Live in Time” attracted droves of young, eager audience members to Jeddah’s Culture Square on Monday night. True to the festival’s promise, the film, which features extended sex scenes and female frontal nudity, was not censored. Some audience members shied their eyes away during such scenes but mostly reacted positively to Garfield’s latest outing.

The British actor is immensely popular in the region. This is, in fact, the second time Garfield attends Red Sea, having done so last year for an in-conversation event and to visit the sprawling region of AlUla where films like “Cherry” and “Kandahar” were shot. This time around, Garfield is in town not only to present his film with Florence Pugh but also as a mentor at the Souk — the festival’s industry arm. Earlier on the day of the premiere,...

The first reviews for A Complete Unknown are in, and critics are mostly raving about the Bob Dylan biopic.

Directed by James Mangold, the film follows Timothée Chalamet’s Dylan from January 1961 to his 1965 concert at the Newport Folk Festival. The singer-songwriter has just arrived in New York City from Minnesota and is ready to explore the city’s folk music scene and find chart-topping success. Along the way, Dylan stirs up controversy over his use of electronic instruments.

Based on Elijah Wald’s Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties, A Complete Unknown is already receiving awards buzz. The biopic was nominated for three Golden Globes, including best motion picture – drama and best performance by a male actor in a motion picture – drama.

As of Tuesday afternoon, A Complete Unknown had a Rotten Tomatoes score of 74 percent from 58 reviews, and a 70 percent rating on Metacritic from 27 reviews.