Top News
Disney’s live-action “Moana” has found its new leading lady: Catherine Laga‘aia will star opposite Dwayne Johnson, who reprises his role as the demigod Maui, in the highly anticipated film.
“I’m really excited to embrace this character because Moana is one of my favorites,” said Laga‘aia, a 17-year-old from Sydney, Australia. “My grandfather comes from Fa‘aala, Palauli, in Savai‘i. And my grandmother is from Leulumoega Tuai on the main island of ‘Upolu in Samoa. I’m honored to have an opportunity to celebrate Samoa and all Pacific Island peoples, and to represent young girls who look like me.”
Also joining Laga‘aia and Johnson in the cast are Auckland, New Zealander John Tui as Moana’s father, Chief Tui; Samoan-New Zealand actor Frankie Adams as Moana’s mother, Sina; and Rena Owen, who hails from Bay of Islands, New Zealand, as the revered Gramma Tala. The...
“I’m really excited to embrace this character because Moana is one of my favorites,” said Laga‘aia, a 17-year-old from Sydney, Australia. “My grandfather comes from Fa‘aala, Palauli, in Savai‘i. And my grandmother is from Leulumoega Tuai on the main island of ‘Upolu in Samoa. I’m honored to have an opportunity to celebrate Samoa and all Pacific Island peoples, and to represent young girls who look like me.”
Also joining Laga‘aia and Johnson in the cast are Auckland, New Zealander John Tui as Moana’s father, Chief Tui; Samoan-New Zealand actor Frankie Adams as Moana’s mother, Sina; and Rena Owen, who hails from Bay of Islands, New Zealand, as the revered Gramma Tala. The...
- 6/12/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety - Film News
George R. R. Martin, creator of the “Game of Thrones” franchise, says there may be a new spinoff to look forward to.
In a blog post on Tuesday, the author and producer said that playwright Eboni Booth is “working on a new pilot” for “Ten Thousand Ships,” a series that screenwriter Bryan Helgeland recently said he’d been attached to before HBO scrapped the project. (HBO declined to comment on whether “Ten Thousand Ships” is in development.)
Congratulating Booth for her recent Pulitzer Prize win, Martin wrote, “She’s an amazingly talented young playwright, and a joy to work with...
In a blog post on Tuesday, the author and producer said that playwright Eboni Booth is “working on a new pilot” for “Ten Thousand Ships,” a series that screenwriter Bryan Helgeland recently said he’d been attached to before HBO scrapped the project. (HBO declined to comment on whether “Ten Thousand Ships” is in development.)
Congratulating Booth for her recent Pulitzer Prize win, Martin wrote, “She’s an amazingly talented young playwright, and a joy to work with...
- 6/12/2024
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety - TV News
A new series based on John Grisham’s 1995 novel “The Rainmaker” and the 1997 film adaptation has been greenlit at the USA Network. Grisham serves as executive producer on the series alongside Jason Blum, while Blumhouse Television and Lionsgate Television serve as the studios.
The official logline reads, “Fresh out of law school, Rudy Baylor goes head-to-head with courtroom lion Leo Drummond as well as his law school girlfriend. Rudy, along with his boss and her disheveled paralegal, uncover two connected conspiracies surrounding the mysterious death of their client’s son.”
Michael Seitzman will write “The Rainmaker,” having co-written the pilot with Jason Richman.
The official logline reads, “Fresh out of law school, Rudy Baylor goes head-to-head with courtroom lion Leo Drummond as well as his law school girlfriend. Rudy, along with his boss and her disheveled paralegal, uncover two connected conspiracies surrounding the mysterious death of their client’s son.”
Michael Seitzman will write “The Rainmaker,” having co-written the pilot with Jason Richman.
- 6/12/2024
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety - TV News
Françoise Hardy, a French singer, actor and model whose classical beauty and often melancholy music combined to transfix fans internationally in the 1960s and beyond, has died at age 80.
Her son, Thomas Dutronc, also a musician, reported the death on his Instagram account, posting a baby photo of himself with his mother and writing: “Maman est partie.” Or, mom is gone.
Hardy had battled cancer for at least the last two decades, and had been known to have been fighting lymphoma and laryngeal since 2004.
In a sign of her ongoing legend, in 2023, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Hardy as No. 162 on a ranking of the greatest singers of all time. She was the only French performer on the list. Will Hermes wrote that Hardy “epitomized French cool and Gallic heat simultaneously, with a breathy, deadpan alto that wafted like Gauloises smoke. Her words enhanced her tone: Writing her own material, unusual in the early mid-Sixties,...
Her son, Thomas Dutronc, also a musician, reported the death on his Instagram account, posting a baby photo of himself with his mother and writing: “Maman est partie.” Or, mom is gone.
Hardy had battled cancer for at least the last two decades, and had been known to have been fighting lymphoma and laryngeal since 2004.
In a sign of her ongoing legend, in 2023, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Hardy as No. 162 on a ranking of the greatest singers of all time. She was the only French performer on the list. Will Hermes wrote that Hardy “epitomized French cool and Gallic heat simultaneously, with a breathy, deadpan alto that wafted like Gauloises smoke. Her words enhanced her tone: Writing her own material, unusual in the early mid-Sixties,...
- 6/12/2024
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Ahead of the premiere of “The Boys” Season 4, showrunner Eric Kripke has announced the R-rated Amazon Prime Video superhero series will conclude with its fifth season.
“#TheBoys Season 4 Premiere Week is a good time to announce: Season 5 will be the Final Season!” Kripke said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) Tuesday, which was accompanied with a screenshot of a redacted copy of the script for the Season 4 finale. “Always my plan, I just had to be cagey till I got the final Ok from Vought. Thrilled to bring the story to a gory, epic, moist climax. Watch Season 4 in 2 Days, cause the end has begun!”
Debuting in 2019, “The Boys” takes place in a world run by superhero mega corp Vought and follows the battle between the supes and the titular “Boys,” a group of humans whose lives have been ruined in one way or another by supes.
The series stars Karl Urban,...
“#TheBoys Season 4 Premiere Week is a good time to announce: Season 5 will be the Final Season!” Kripke said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) Tuesday, which was accompanied with a screenshot of a redacted copy of the script for the Season 4 finale. “Always my plan, I just had to be cagey till I got the final Ok from Vought. Thrilled to bring the story to a gory, epic, moist climax. Watch Season 4 in 2 Days, cause the end has begun!”
Debuting in 2019, “The Boys” takes place in a world run by superhero mega corp Vought and follows the battle between the supes and the titular “Boys,” a group of humans whose lives have been ruined in one way or another by supes.
The series stars Karl Urban,...
- 6/11/2024
- by Jennifer Maas
- Variety Film + TV
Hits from the weekend
Streaming movies and shows made up the majority of the top five titles this past weekend, based on traffic to their IMDb pages. That’s thanks to a trio of Netflix titles and the new Star Wars series, “The Acolyte.” In theaters, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s fourth installment in the Bad Boys franchise delivered Hollywood a much-needed box office win, while ‘The Watchers’—the mystery-horror film starring Dakota Fanning—drew enough interest to land in the top 10.
By the time ‘Hit Man’ dropped on Netflix, movie fans were probably well aware of who Glen Powell was, but the popularity of the comedic action film brought more IMDb users’ attention to co-star Adria Arjona and director Richard Linklater. If Arjona looked familiar to viewers, it’s likely from several supporting roles in other streaming hits like “Good Omens,” “Andor,” and ‘6 Underground’ with Ryan Reynolds.
It’s not often that directors crack the top five (or even top 10) names on IMDb, but viewers were clearly interested to know more about Richard Linklater, the versatile and irreverent director of indie films like ‘Slacker’ and ‘Dazed and Confused,’ who also found mainstream recognition with ‘School of Rock.’
Also big on Netflix were the French killer shark movie ‘Under Paris’ and the Benedict Cumberbatch miniseries “Eric,” which released all six episodes two weeks ago. Elsewhere in streaming, “The Acolyte” has had no trouble finding its audience on Disney+. According to Disney, the show drew 4.8 million viewers on its first day, making it the streamer’s biggest hit of 2024 to date. Amandla Stenberg and Dafne Keen were in the top five names on IMDb, and both will likely remain popular through the show’s first season, which ends on July 16.
What’s in store for the coming week?
Expect next weekend to be all about “The Boys,” the raunchy comic book adaptation from showrunner Eric Kripke. The first three episodes of Season 4 arrive Thursday (6/13) on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping weekly. Returning cast members Karl Urban, Antony Starr, and Erin Moriarty will likely climb IMDb’s STARmeter, but a few new supes on the scene could put some breakouts in the spotlight, such as Valorie Curry (playing Firecracker) or Susan Heyward (as Sister Sage).
In theaters, Disney and Pixar’s animated ‘Inside Out 2’ is a shoo-in to win next weekend’s box office, though it may not have the same interest on IMDb as the streaming releases. The original voice cast of emotions are returning, but it’s more likely one of the newcomers will spike in popularity, like Maya Hawke (“Stranger Things”) as Anxiety, Ayo Edibiri (“The Bear”) as Envy, or Paul Walter Houser (‘I, Tonya,’ ‘Richard Jewell’) as Embarrassment.
Streaming movies and shows made up the majority of the top five titles this past weekend, based on traffic to their IMDb pages. That’s thanks to a trio of Netflix titles and the new Star Wars series, “The Acolyte.” In theaters, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s fourth installment in the Bad Boys franchise delivered Hollywood a much-needed box office win, while ‘The Watchers’—the mystery-horror film starring Dakota Fanning—drew enough interest to land in the top 10.
By the time ‘Hit Man’ dropped on Netflix, movie fans were probably well aware of who Glen Powell was, but the popularity of the comedic action film brought more IMDb users’ attention to co-star Adria Arjona and director Richard Linklater. If Arjona looked familiar to viewers, it’s likely from several supporting roles in other streaming hits like “Good Omens,” “Andor,” and ‘6 Underground’ with Ryan Reynolds.
It’s not often that directors crack the top five (or even top 10) names on IMDb, but viewers were clearly interested to know more about Richard Linklater, the versatile and irreverent director of indie films like ‘Slacker’ and ‘Dazed and Confused,’ who also found mainstream recognition with ‘School of Rock.’
Also big on Netflix were the French killer shark movie ‘Under Paris’ and the Benedict Cumberbatch miniseries “Eric,” which released all six episodes two weeks ago. Elsewhere in streaming, “The Acolyte” has had no trouble finding its audience on Disney+. According to Disney, the show drew 4.8 million viewers on its first day, making it the streamer’s biggest hit of 2024 to date. Amandla Stenberg and Dafne Keen were in the top five names on IMDb, and both will likely remain popular through the show’s first season, which ends on July 16.
What’s in store for the coming week?
Expect next weekend to be all about “The Boys,” the raunchy comic book adaptation from showrunner Eric Kripke. The first three episodes of Season 4 arrive Thursday (6/13) on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping weekly. Returning cast members Karl Urban, Antony Starr, and Erin Moriarty will likely climb IMDb’s STARmeter, but a few new supes on the scene could put some breakouts in the spotlight, such as Valorie Curry (playing Firecracker) or Susan Heyward (as Sister Sage).
In theaters, Disney and Pixar’s animated ‘Inside Out 2’ is a shoo-in to win next weekend’s box office, though it may not have the same interest on IMDb as the streaming releases. The original voice cast of emotions are returning, but it’s more likely one of the newcomers will spike in popularity, like Maya Hawke (“Stranger Things”) as Anxiety, Ayo Edibiri (“The Bear”) as Envy, or Paul Walter Houser (‘I, Tonya,’ ‘Richard Jewell’) as Embarrassment.
- 6/11/2024
- by IMDb Editors
- IMDb News
Update: Though it initially appeared that “The Acolyte” may have had a stronger debut than 2023’s “Ahsoka,” Disney shared that the first episode of its latest Star Wars series reached 11.1 million views in its first five days — almost 3 million short of what “Ahsoka” achieved in the same amount of time. “The Acolyte” still represents Disney+’s biggest series premiere of 2024, however.
Previously: “The Acolyte,” Disney+’s newest Star Wars series, reached 4.8 million views in its first day of availability. This marks the streamer’s biggest series premiere of 2024, according to Disney.
An exact first-day viewership total isn’t available for “Ahsoka,” the most recent Star Wars series, though Disney did report that it took five days to reach 14 million views. That comes out to an average of 2.8 million viewers per day — 2 million below the launch of “The Acolyte,” though it’s likely that most of “Ahsoka’s” was concentrated in...
Previously: “The Acolyte,” Disney+’s newest Star Wars series, reached 4.8 million views in its first day of availability. This marks the streamer’s biggest series premiere of 2024, according to Disney.
An exact first-day viewership total isn’t available for “Ahsoka,” the most recent Star Wars series, though Disney did report that it took five days to reach 14 million views. That comes out to an average of 2.8 million viewers per day — 2 million below the launch of “The Acolyte,” though it’s likely that most of “Ahsoka’s” was concentrated in...
- 6/6/2024
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will lead the cast of Netflix’s upcoming thriller series “Man on Fire.” He will also executive produce the project alongside Steven Caple Jr., who has been set as director of the first two episodes under showrunner Kyle Killen.
“Man on Fire” is based on A.J. Quinnell’s first two novels about former French Foreign Legion solider John Creasy, titled “Man on Fire” (1981) and “The Perfect Kill” (1992). This is not the first adaptation of the Quinnell novels; Creasy was played by Denzel Washington in a 2004 “Man on Fire” film and by Scott Glenn in 1987.
The logline for Netflix’s adaptation reads, “Once a high functioning and skilled Special Forces Mercenary, known for surviving even the most desolate of situations, Creasy (Mateen) is now plagued with intense Ptsd. Determined to overcome his personal demons, he sets out on a path to redemption. But, before he can adjust to this new life,...
“Man on Fire” is based on A.J. Quinnell’s first two novels about former French Foreign Legion solider John Creasy, titled “Man on Fire” (1981) and “The Perfect Kill” (1992). This is not the first adaptation of the Quinnell novels; Creasy was played by Denzel Washington in a 2004 “Man on Fire” film and by Scott Glenn in 1987.
The logline for Netflix’s adaptation reads, “Once a high functioning and skilled Special Forces Mercenary, known for surviving even the most desolate of situations, Creasy (Mateen) is now plagued with intense Ptsd. Determined to overcome his personal demons, he sets out on a path to redemption. But, before he can adjust to this new life,...
- 6/10/2024
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
Chris Brown was technically over the influence during a concert on Tuesday night, after the R&b star got caught suspended in the air mid-song after his wires malfunctioned.
The Grammy-winning star glided across the stage on wires at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, while performing his song “Under the Influence. Brown seemed to come to a halt, movement wise, mid-song although the crowd seemed unaware immediately as he kept singing.
An upset Brown then signaled to tour workers to help him down. Despite being stuck, he didn’t stop singing and continued to perform.
A ladder was brought to the stage, and Brown climbed down and finished performing his song, though he exchanged words with one of the tour workers who helped bring the ladder over.
At the end of the two-hour concert, he told the audience he was angry but also made light of the situation.
Brown,...
The Grammy-winning star glided across the stage on wires at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, while performing his song “Under the Influence. Brown seemed to come to a halt, movement wise, mid-song although the crowd seemed unaware immediately as he kept singing.
An upset Brown then signaled to tour workers to help him down. Despite being stuck, he didn’t stop singing and continued to perform.
A ladder was brought to the stage, and Brown climbed down and finished performing his song, though he exchanged words with one of the tour workers who helped bring the ladder over.
At the end of the two-hour concert, he told the audience he was angry but also made light of the situation.
Brown,...
- 6/13/2024
- by Mesfin Fekadu
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Bollywood star Kartik Aaryan has undergone a remarkable transformation for his latest film “Chandu Champion.”
Directed by Kabir Khan (“’83”), the film is a biopic of Murlikant Petkar, who became India’s first Paralympics gold medalist in 1972. Petkar served as a soldier in the 1965 India-Pakistan war and sustained injuries that left him physically impaired. He overcame these and became a champion sportsman across several disciplines.
“There were so many skill sets that were required for the character, swimming, boxing, wrestling, and he [Petkar] was very good in all of them. I had problems going into the deep end of the swimming pool, because I didn’t know how to swim professionally,” Aaryan told Variety. “And I never imagined that I would do a film where I would play a character who would be swimming like Murlikant Petkar used to.”
The actor went through a dramatic physical transformation during a bootcamp that lasted 18 months,...
Directed by Kabir Khan (“’83”), the film is a biopic of Murlikant Petkar, who became India’s first Paralympics gold medalist in 1972. Petkar served as a soldier in the 1965 India-Pakistan war and sustained injuries that left him physically impaired. He overcame these and became a champion sportsman across several disciplines.
“There were so many skill sets that were required for the character, swimming, boxing, wrestling, and he [Petkar] was very good in all of them. I had problems going into the deep end of the swimming pool, because I didn’t know how to swim professionally,” Aaryan told Variety. “And I never imagined that I would do a film where I would play a character who would be swimming like Murlikant Petkar used to.”
The actor went through a dramatic physical transformation during a bootcamp that lasted 18 months,...
- 6/13/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety - Film News
Paris-based Kinology will handle international sales for “Ogresse,” a musical directed by Grammy-winner Cecile McLorin Salvant and acclaimed animator Lia Bertels.
Spearheaded by Miyu Productions and adapted from a stage show that Salvant has toured since 2019, the animated fable mixes digital 2D and stop-motion alongside a wealth of musical styles ranging from ballads to jazz waltzes to baroque lamentos, setting to song the plight of a misunderstood outsider living alone in the woods and the heartache of young knight sent to fatally win her heart.
After claiming two prizes out of the Annecy Animation Festival’s Mifa pitch session last year, the international co-production has emerged as an industry buzz title, winning support from the likes of Claude Barras, who will co-produce and provide stop-motion assistance through his Lausanne-based Helium Films banner.
Other production partners include Belgium’s Umedia, Luxemburg’s Melusine Productions (“The Swallows of Kabul”) and American music,...
Spearheaded by Miyu Productions and adapted from a stage show that Salvant has toured since 2019, the animated fable mixes digital 2D and stop-motion alongside a wealth of musical styles ranging from ballads to jazz waltzes to baroque lamentos, setting to song the plight of a misunderstood outsider living alone in the woods and the heartache of young knight sent to fatally win her heart.
After claiming two prizes out of the Annecy Animation Festival’s Mifa pitch session last year, the international co-production has emerged as an industry buzz title, winning support from the likes of Claude Barras, who will co-produce and provide stop-motion assistance through his Lausanne-based Helium Films banner.
Other production partners include Belgium’s Umedia, Luxemburg’s Melusine Productions (“The Swallows of Kabul”) and American music,...
- 6/13/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety - Film News
In a sign of Folivari’s widening ambitions, the French animation powerhouse will handle world sales of the Sherlock Holmes spinoff “The Baker Street Four” through its newly launched distribution branch Folivari International.
Adapted from a local comic book series that pairs Arthur Conan Doyle’s great detective with four streetwise urchins, the title was developed in-house, with Folivari and Blue Spirit (“Blue Eye Samurai”) tackling creative duties and Canal+ set as commissioning broadcaster.
Headed by Melissa Vega – former acquisitions and international sales manager at Dandelooo – Folivari International has picked up three additional titles, among them Folivari originals “Nino Dino...
Adapted from a local comic book series that pairs Arthur Conan Doyle’s great detective with four streetwise urchins, the title was developed in-house, with Folivari and Blue Spirit (“Blue Eye Samurai”) tackling creative duties and Canal+ set as commissioning broadcaster.
Headed by Melissa Vega – former acquisitions and international sales manager at Dandelooo – Folivari International has picked up three additional titles, among them Folivari originals “Nino Dino...
- 6/13/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety - TV News
In a sign of Folivari’s widening ambitions, the French animation powerhouse will handle world sales of the Sherlock Holmes spinoff “The Baker Street Four” through its newly launched distribution branch Folivari International.
Adapted from a local comic book series that pairs Arthur Conan Doyle’s great detective with four streetwise urchins, the title was developed in-house, with Folivari and Blue Spirit (“Blue Eye Samurai”) tackling creative duties and Canal+ set as commissioning broadcaster.
Headed by Melissa Vega – former acquisitions and international sales manager at Dandelooo – Folivari International has picked up three additional titles, among them Folivari originals “Nino Dino” and “Kiki & Ailen” and the Chilean/Brazilian preschool series “Guitar & Drum,” co-produced by Hype Animation and Punkrobot.
That Vega and Folivari founding partner Damien Brunner both share Franco-Spanish backgrounds lends the upstart distributor a desire to look for projects from further afield.
“What works in Latin America often works just...
Adapted from a local comic book series that pairs Arthur Conan Doyle’s great detective with four streetwise urchins, the title was developed in-house, with Folivari and Blue Spirit (“Blue Eye Samurai”) tackling creative duties and Canal+ set as commissioning broadcaster.
Headed by Melissa Vega – former acquisitions and international sales manager at Dandelooo – Folivari International has picked up three additional titles, among them Folivari originals “Nino Dino” and “Kiki & Ailen” and the Chilean/Brazilian preschool series “Guitar & Drum,” co-produced by Hype Animation and Punkrobot.
That Vega and Folivari founding partner Damien Brunner both share Franco-Spanish backgrounds lends the upstart distributor a desire to look for projects from further afield.
“What works in Latin America often works just...
- 6/13/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety - Film News
Ahead of the Emmy nomination voting on Thursday, the Television Academy has revised its Emmy rules regarding submissions and nominee numbers. This update will significantly impact the scripted variety category, which includes “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” and “Saturday Night Live.”
The new Rules and Procedures document on the Emmys website, updated on May 22, details changes under the Nominations Procedures section. Previously, categories with fewer than 20 submissions required contenders to be screened by a peer group, with nominees needing at least 90% approval. If no submissions met this threshold, the highest vote-getter would be declared the winner.
The updated rules...
The new Rules and Procedures document on the Emmys website, updated on May 22, details changes under the Nominations Procedures section. Previously, categories with fewer than 20 submissions required contenders to be screened by a peer group, with nominees needing at least 90% approval. If no submissions met this threshold, the highest vote-getter would be declared the winner.
The updated rules...
- 6/13/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety - TV News
The attendees of CAA Amplify are accustomed to an annual lineup comprised of their own high-wattage, high-impact peers, but one of this year’s speakers was truly peerless.
Michelle Obama took the stage at the Ojai Valley Inn on Tuesday with Regina King for a conversation in which the former First Lady reflected on her life since the White House and what she and president Barack Obama are looking to do with their production company, Higher Ground.
“What’s the format that people come together and learn? It’s movies, it’s short films, it’s stories,” said Obama, whose banner’s releases in the past year included the Jon Batiste documentary American Symphony, biopic Rustin and mystery thriller Leave the World Behind. “This is where America is, and you’ve got to meet people where they are. If Hollywood is where they are, as Barack and I think, then...
Michelle Obama took the stage at the Ojai Valley Inn on Tuesday with Regina King for a conversation in which the former First Lady reflected on her life since the White House and what she and president Barack Obama are looking to do with their production company, Higher Ground.
“What’s the format that people come together and learn? It’s movies, it’s short films, it’s stories,” said Obama, whose banner’s releases in the past year included the Jon Batiste documentary American Symphony, biopic Rustin and mystery thriller Leave the World Behind. “This is where America is, and you’ve got to meet people where they are. If Hollywood is where they are, as Barack and I think, then...
- 6/13/2024
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Kate Winslet is looking back at filming the “I’m flying” scene in Titanic with Leonardo DiCaprio, but admitted that it “was not all it’s cracked up to be.”
While rewatching some of her most iconic scenes in a video with Vanity Fair, the Oscar-winning actress recalled the sequence where her character Rose kisses DiCaprio’s Jack being much messier than fans realize.
“My god, he’s quite the romancer, isn’t he? No wonder every young girl in the world wanted to be kissed by Leonardo DiCaprio,” Winslet quipped. “It was not all it’s cracked up to be.”
The Regime star explained, “We kept doing this kiss, and I’ve got a lot of pale makeup on and I would have to do our makeup checks — on both of us, between takes — and I would end up looking as though I’d been sucking a caramel chocolate...
While rewatching some of her most iconic scenes in a video with Vanity Fair, the Oscar-winning actress recalled the sequence where her character Rose kisses DiCaprio’s Jack being much messier than fans realize.
“My god, he’s quite the romancer, isn’t he? No wonder every young girl in the world wanted to be kissed by Leonardo DiCaprio,” Winslet quipped. “It was not all it’s cracked up to be.”
The Regime star explained, “We kept doing this kiss, and I’ve got a lot of pale makeup on and I would have to do our makeup checks — on both of us, between takes — and I would end up looking as though I’d been sucking a caramel chocolate...
- 6/13/2024
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mark James, the Grammy-winning Songwriters Hall of Fame member behind hits like “Hooked on A Feeling, “Suspicious Minds” and “Always on My Mind,” has died. He was 83.
James died on June 8 in his Nashville home. The news was first reported by the Houston Chronicle.
“Mark’s legacy and zest for life will live on in the hearts of those who loved him, and through his timeless lyrics and melodies that have been the soundtrack of lovers for generations,” his family said via statement.
James won both of his two Grammys in 1963 for “Always on My Mind,” which he co-wrote with Wayne Carson and Johnny Christopher. The Willie Nelson hit took home trophies for country song of the year and song of the year. James and his co-writers initially wrote the tune for Elvis Presley, who released the track without much fanfare in 1972. Nelson’s version a decade later popularized the song,...
James died on June 8 in his Nashville home. The news was first reported by the Houston Chronicle.
“Mark’s legacy and zest for life will live on in the hearts of those who loved him, and through his timeless lyrics and melodies that have been the soundtrack of lovers for generations,” his family said via statement.
James won both of his two Grammys in 1963 for “Always on My Mind,” which he co-wrote with Wayne Carson and Johnny Christopher. The Willie Nelson hit took home trophies for country song of the year and song of the year. James and his co-writers initially wrote the tune for Elvis Presley, who released the track without much fanfare in 1972. Nelson’s version a decade later popularized the song,...
- 6/13/2024
- by Zoe G. Phillips
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
While there was much Oscar buzz around “Killers of the Flower Moon” actor Lily Gladstone (one of the most exciting cinematic names of the past decade), there was another Gladstone-starrer out in the world last year, quietly captivating a smaller audience in limited release. That picture was Morrisa Maltz’s hypnotic road movie “The Unknown Country,” an original narrative touched by a documentarian’s perceptive sensibility that followed Gladstone’s Tana on a journey through the American Midwest and, ultimately, her grief. Those who made the time for Maltz’s modest film then met the young Native girl Jasmine “Jazzy” Shangreaux, Maltz’s real-life goddaughter. Now, the young girl gets her own vehicle with the tender and poetic “Jazzy,” debuting at Tribeca Festival.
At first glance, “Jazzy” might seem more polished and traditionally structured than its predecessor. But the two films share a proudly scrappy and loose-limbed spirit in their soulful,...
At first glance, “Jazzy” might seem more polished and traditionally structured than its predecessor. But the two films share a proudly scrappy and loose-limbed spirit in their soulful,...
- 6/13/2024
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety - Film News
The conservative cable news channel Newsmax is planning to go public, and is also seeking to raise as much as $225 million in a private placement, in a push to expand its presence in both cable TV and in streaming.
The company posted an investor presentation to its website Tuesday outlining the planned private placement, as well as revealing that it planned to raise another $75 million when going public on the new York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. The company says it has already reserved the ticker Nmax.
According to Chris Ruddy, Newsmax’s CEO, the decision to raise capital and go public is meant to capitalize on what he sees as a boom time for conservative media, sparked in part by former President Trump’s Truth Social.
Ruddy said that surprising post-Spac stock market success of Trump Media and Technology Group was a factor in Newsmax’s decisionmaking.
“They did...
The company posted an investor presentation to its website Tuesday outlining the planned private placement, as well as revealing that it planned to raise another $75 million when going public on the new York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. The company says it has already reserved the ticker Nmax.
According to Chris Ruddy, Newsmax’s CEO, the decision to raise capital and go public is meant to capitalize on what he sees as a boom time for conservative media, sparked in part by former President Trump’s Truth Social.
Ruddy said that surprising post-Spac stock market success of Trump Media and Technology Group was a factor in Newsmax’s decisionmaking.
“They did...
- 6/13/2024
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Fresh off his recent Oscar win, Wes Anderson made his first-ever visit to the Annecy Animation Festival, where he reminisced about his past while also sharing a bit about the shoot for his next feature.
Anderson took part in a conversation Wednesday aimed at giving animation students insight into his upbringing, influences and pre-Hollywood projects. The event began with a montage of animated moments from his movies, leading the filmmaker to note that he didn’t realize he had dabbled so extensively in animation and that he didn’t even have a clear memory of some of those clips from his own work.
During the session, Anderson was asked about the importance of family in his career, given that he has worked with brother Eric Anderson and is also known for collaborating multiple times with various members of his films’ cast and crew. This led him to discuss the process of making his next movie,...
Anderson took part in a conversation Wednesday aimed at giving animation students insight into his upbringing, influences and pre-Hollywood projects. The event began with a montage of animated moments from his movies, leading the filmmaker to note that he didn’t realize he had dabbled so extensively in animation and that he didn’t even have a clear memory of some of those clips from his own work.
During the session, Anderson was asked about the importance of family in his career, given that he has worked with brother Eric Anderson and is also known for collaborating multiple times with various members of his films’ cast and crew. This led him to discuss the process of making his next movie,...
- 6/13/2024
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Spoiler Warning: This story discusses plot developments from “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” now streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video.
“You really want me to ruin this shit for you?” Donald Glover asked at an FYC panel on Tuesday, just hours after he and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” co-star Maya Erskine got grilled by Jimmy Kimmel about Variety‘s previous reporting that the stars were not expected to return.
The Season 1 finale of the spy romance ended with three muzzle flashes as John (Glover) and Jane Smith (Erskine) try to shoot their way out of being “finalized” by the spy organization...
“You really want me to ruin this shit for you?” Donald Glover asked at an FYC panel on Tuesday, just hours after he and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” co-star Maya Erskine got grilled by Jimmy Kimmel about Variety‘s previous reporting that the stars were not expected to return.
The Season 1 finale of the spy romance ended with three muzzle flashes as John (Glover) and Jane Smith (Erskine) try to shoot their way out of being “finalized” by the spy organization...
- 6/13/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety - TV News
Indie musical “Heart Strings” will have its Los Angeles premiere June 30 at American Cinematheque’s Loz Feliz Theater. Director Ate de Jong (“Drop Dead Fred”) co-wrote the film with Steven Gaydos, Variety executive VP, Global Content, who is also co-producing.
“It’s a great honor to screen at the American Cinematheque. And especially to play the film at their Los Feliz location where ‘Heart Strings’ first began as a screenplay decades ago when I lived there after working on a Roger Corman film in Georgia,” Gaydos said. “Fans of 1970s American indie cinema might be surprised to find that Ate de Jong has just made an audience-engaging film with the subversive spirit and maverick attitude of that time. It only took 50 years to get the job done, which I hope makes Francis Coppola feel better about ‘Megalopolis!’”
“Heart Strings” follows phony lovebirds Lucky (Sam Varga) and Billie (Maggie Koerner) who...
“It’s a great honor to screen at the American Cinematheque. And especially to play the film at their Los Feliz location where ‘Heart Strings’ first began as a screenplay decades ago when I lived there after working on a Roger Corman film in Georgia,” Gaydos said. “Fans of 1970s American indie cinema might be surprised to find that Ate de Jong has just made an audience-engaging film with the subversive spirit and maverick attitude of that time. It only took 50 years to get the job done, which I hope makes Francis Coppola feel better about ‘Megalopolis!’”
“Heart Strings” follows phony lovebirds Lucky (Sam Varga) and Billie (Maggie Koerner) who...
- 6/13/2024
- by Jack Dunn
- Variety - Film News
When the news broke earlier this month that Japan-set crime drama “Tokyo Vice” had been canceled, it came as a blow to fans, but not exactly a surprise. For two seasons on Max, the show — adapted by showrunner J.T. Rogers from journalist Jake Adelstein’s memoir of the same name — stood out as an increasingly rare gem in a contracting, decidedly post-peak TV landscape. Starring Ansel Elgort as a fictionalized version of Adelstein, a journalist who embeds with the yakuza as a reporter at the country’s largest daily paper, “Tokyo Vice” delivered an immersive, detailed portrait of the global...
- 6/13/2024
- by Alison Herman
- Variety - TV News
Miley Cyrus is getting candid about her relationship with both of her parents, Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus.
Amid recent rumors of estrangement from her father, the Grammy-winning singer was asked on a new episode of David Letterman’s Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction if she would consider Billy Ray her hero.
“Honestly, my mom is my hero,” Miley responded before detailing why she’s also “grateful” for her dad, who rose to fame following his cover of “Achy Breaky Heart” in 1992. They later starred as a father-daughter duo on Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana from 2006 to 2011.
“He has a relationship and a foot on the ground to the real and to nature and he always did, even when he was super famous,” she said. “I’m grateful for being able to watch him ahead of me. He’s almost given me this map. And there...
Amid recent rumors of estrangement from her father, the Grammy-winning singer was asked on a new episode of David Letterman’s Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction if she would consider Billy Ray her hero.
“Honestly, my mom is my hero,” Miley responded before detailing why she’s also “grateful” for her dad, who rose to fame following his cover of “Achy Breaky Heart” in 1992. They later starred as a father-daughter duo on Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana from 2006 to 2011.
“He has a relationship and a foot on the ground to the real and to nature and he always did, even when he was super famous,” she said. “I’m grateful for being able to watch him ahead of me. He’s almost given me this map. And there...
- 6/13/2024
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A federal judge has signaled that Gina Carano’s lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm over her termination from The Mandalorian will be allowed to proceed as the court considers whether the First Amendment allows private companies to sever ties with employees who publicly clash with their values.
U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett on Wednesday pushed back on arguments from Disney lawyer Daniel Petrocelli, who argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the company has the “right not to associate with a high-profile performer on a high-profile show who’s imbuing” the Star Wars series with “views it disagrees with” that could turn fans away from the show.
Petrocelli urged the court to find in favor of Disney on its First Amendment defense on dismissal rather than at a later stage of litigation after discovery takes place in which it’s determined whether the case should be allowed to proceed to trial.
U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett on Wednesday pushed back on arguments from Disney lawyer Daniel Petrocelli, who argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the company has the “right not to associate with a high-profile performer on a high-profile show who’s imbuing” the Star Wars series with “views it disagrees with” that could turn fans away from the show.
Petrocelli urged the court to find in favor of Disney on its First Amendment defense on dismissal rather than at a later stage of litigation after discovery takes place in which it’s determined whether the case should be allowed to proceed to trial.
- 6/12/2024
- by Winston Cho
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Another one bites the dust.
Filmmaker Yann Demange (“Lovecraft Country”) is no longer set to direct “Blade,” Marvel Studios’ long-in-the-works reboot of the vampire superhero franchise set to star Mahershala Ali. This is the second director to leave the project; Bassam Tariq (“Mogul Mowgli”) exited the production in 2022.
Insiders say Demange departed the film amicably weeks ago, as development on the project has stretched over multiple years. Screenwriter Eric Pearson, who co-wrote “The Fantastic Four” for Marvel, is the latest scribe to take on the “Blade” script, after at least five other writers have taken passes on the film, including Michael Green, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Michael Starrbury, Beau DeMayo and Nic Pizzolatto.
While Marvel has not officially moved “Blade” off of its Nov. 7, 2025, release date, it is looking increasingly unlikely that the project will be able to start production in time to make that date. The next four Marvel films on...
Filmmaker Yann Demange (“Lovecraft Country”) is no longer set to direct “Blade,” Marvel Studios’ long-in-the-works reboot of the vampire superhero franchise set to star Mahershala Ali. This is the second director to leave the project; Bassam Tariq (“Mogul Mowgli”) exited the production in 2022.
Insiders say Demange departed the film amicably weeks ago, as development on the project has stretched over multiple years. Screenwriter Eric Pearson, who co-wrote “The Fantastic Four” for Marvel, is the latest scribe to take on the “Blade” script, after at least five other writers have taken passes on the film, including Michael Green, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Michael Starrbury, Beau DeMayo and Nic Pizzolatto.
While Marvel has not officially moved “Blade” off of its Nov. 7, 2025, release date, it is looking increasingly unlikely that the project will be able to start production in time to make that date. The next four Marvel films on...
- 6/12/2024
- by Adam B. Vary
- Variety - Film News
“In the next 45 minutes, we’re about to hear Gus speak more than he has in the last 40 years,” Vito Schnabel, the art world scion who is increasingly turning his head toward Hollywood, told a crowd at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival last week.
He was there to moderate a conversation with American heavyweight filmmaker Gus Van Sant, who just directed Schnabel (and a pack of actors barreling toward Emmy nominations) in “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.” That history, of a glittery New York whose underbelly was found in the bedrooms and hallways of the ruling class, took a back seat to Van Sant’s impactful career.
He has directed some of the stickiest and profound films of the past four decades, including “Drugstore Cowboy,” “My Own Private Idaho,” the Columbine shooting-inspired “Elephant,” Nicole Kidman’s “To Die For,” the Oscar winner “Milk,” and “Good Will Hunting,” which launched...
He was there to moderate a conversation with American heavyweight filmmaker Gus Van Sant, who just directed Schnabel (and a pack of actors barreling toward Emmy nominations) in “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.” That history, of a glittery New York whose underbelly was found in the bedrooms and hallways of the ruling class, took a back seat to Van Sant’s impactful career.
He has directed some of the stickiest and profound films of the past four decades, including “Drugstore Cowboy,” “My Own Private Idaho,” the Columbine shooting-inspired “Elephant,” Nicole Kidman’s “To Die For,” the Oscar winner “Milk,” and “Good Will Hunting,” which launched...
- 6/12/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety - Film News
John Oliver’s request has been granted.
On Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, the HBO show’s host asked a bakery in Kingston, New York, to put his face on a bear-shaped cake in exchange for some new cooking equipment. The establishment in question, Deising’s Bakery & Restaurant, has risen to the occasion, putting an edible photo of Oliver on a cake with the body of a bear.
“At 3 this morning, we were brainstorming and trying to figure out exactly what we were going to do,” Peter Deising told Westchester’s News 12 on Monday after Oliver made his request. According to the news outlet, the first batch of about 80 cake bears sold out in less than an hour.
See the photos below.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Sarah Eames (@sarah_saw_that)
The backstory: Last Week Tonight had purchased some cooking equipment from a closed-down Red Lobster...
On Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, the HBO show’s host asked a bakery in Kingston, New York, to put his face on a bear-shaped cake in exchange for some new cooking equipment. The establishment in question, Deising’s Bakery & Restaurant, has risen to the occasion, putting an edible photo of Oliver on a cake with the body of a bear.
“At 3 this morning, we were brainstorming and trying to figure out exactly what we were going to do,” Peter Deising told Westchester’s News 12 on Monday after Oliver made his request. According to the news outlet, the first batch of about 80 cake bears sold out in less than an hour.
See the photos below.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Sarah Eames (@sarah_saw_that)
The backstory: Last Week Tonight had purchased some cooking equipment from a closed-down Red Lobster...
- 6/12/2024
- by Kimberly Nordyke
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Blade is once again in search of new talent behind the camera. Filmmaker Yann Demange has exited the long-gestating project, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
The departure is described as amicable and happened some time ago. It’s the latest in a number of creative challenges for the project, which Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige announced to fanfare at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019 when he surprised the crowd by bringing out star Mahershala Ali, and presenting him with a Blade cap.
Blade was preparing to go into production in the fall of 2022 when director Bassam Tariq exited over creative differences. Then, sources say, Ali handpicked Lovecraft Country helmer Demange to direct, but months later it became one of the major features delayed by the writers strike in May 2023. As of yet, it never made it to production.
Ali remains attached to star in the project, and the studio is not looking to rush the film.
The departure is described as amicable and happened some time ago. It’s the latest in a number of creative challenges for the project, which Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige announced to fanfare at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019 when he surprised the crowd by bringing out star Mahershala Ali, and presenting him with a Blade cap.
Blade was preparing to go into production in the fall of 2022 when director Bassam Tariq exited over creative differences. Then, sources say, Ali handpicked Lovecraft Country helmer Demange to direct, but months later it became one of the major features delayed by the writers strike in May 2023. As of yet, it never made it to production.
Ali remains attached to star in the project, and the studio is not looking to rush the film.
- 6/12/2024
- by Aaron Couch and Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Since The Last Update
With the start of Emmy nominations voting arriving on Thursday, campaigning has been happening everywhere, at least in and around Los Angeles.
In recent days, one could find top-tier contenders on FYC panels (Jon Stewart and the other hosts of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show flew out from New York for theirs) and roundtables (check out THR’s), at the Ross House in Mt. Olympus (even campaigning-averse Donald Glover of Mr. and Mrs. Smith showed up), at the races (Sebastian Maniscalco promoted Max’s Bookie at the Santa Anita track) and even on pizza boxes (ABC is pushing Abbott Elementary to consumers of Prime Pizza).
Many chose this moment to share positive news about their contender — for instance, Apple announced the renewal of Palm Royale for a second season. Others, curiously, elected this moment to drop bad news about their contender — HBO/Max announced the cancellation of Tokyo Vice,...
With the start of Emmy nominations voting arriving on Thursday, campaigning has been happening everywhere, at least in and around Los Angeles.
In recent days, one could find top-tier contenders on FYC panels (Jon Stewart and the other hosts of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show flew out from New York for theirs) and roundtables (check out THR’s), at the Ross House in Mt. Olympus (even campaigning-averse Donald Glover of Mr. and Mrs. Smith showed up), at the races (Sebastian Maniscalco promoted Max’s Bookie at the Santa Anita track) and even on pizza boxes (ABC is pushing Abbott Elementary to consumers of Prime Pizza).
Many chose this moment to share positive news about their contender — for instance, Apple announced the renewal of Palm Royale for a second season. Others, curiously, elected this moment to drop bad news about their contender — HBO/Max announced the cancellation of Tokyo Vice,...
- 6/12/2024
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“American Psycho” co-stars Chloë Sevigny and Josh Lucas recently reunited for a discussion with Vanity Fair in which the two reflected on their leading man, Christian Bale, whose apparent Method acting to play the serial killer Patrick Bateman left Sevigny confused and intimidated on set. Sevigny starred in the film as Patrick’s secretary, Jean.
“I was trying to respect his process, which I found challenging because I’m very gregarious and silly and goofy, unbeknownst to the general public,” Sevigny said. “When people take themselves so seriously, I kind of shut down, even though I take my work very seriously and I love acting and whatnot.”
“I wanted a little more generosity to make myself feel more at ease, which is my own ego,” she added. “It was a really challenging dynamic for me, but I don’t think that I thought he was bad. I was just kind of confused,...
“I was trying to respect his process, which I found challenging because I’m very gregarious and silly and goofy, unbeknownst to the general public,” Sevigny said. “When people take themselves so seriously, I kind of shut down, even though I take my work very seriously and I love acting and whatnot.”
“I wanted a little more generosity to make myself feel more at ease, which is my own ego,” she added. “It was a really challenging dynamic for me, but I don’t think that I thought he was bad. I was just kind of confused,...
- 6/12/2024
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety - Film News
The Nova: Oct. 7 6:29 am — The Moment Music Stood Still: The Nova Music Festival Exhibition went on as planned despite protests Monday from pro-Palestinian demonstrators, who lit smoke canisters and flares outside. They also reportedly chanted “antisemitic slogans” and waved flags for the terrorist group Hamas. The protests were condemned as “ugly” and “vile” in rebukes from the likes of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Undeterred, however, is Scooter Braun, the music manager giant whose clients have included Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Black Eyed Peas. Braun brought the exhibit, along with Israeli exhibit organizers Yagil Simony, Ofir Amir and Omri Sari, to the U.S. after experiencing a version of it in Israel. He’s committed to allowing as many people as possible to experience Nova. To Braun, the project transcends politics. “It’s just about massacre at a...
Undeterred, however, is Scooter Braun, the music manager giant whose clients have included Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Black Eyed Peas. Braun brought the exhibit, along with Israeli exhibit organizers Yagil Simony, Ofir Amir and Omri Sari, to the U.S. after experiencing a version of it in Israel. He’s committed to allowing as many people as possible to experience Nova. To Braun, the project transcends politics. “It’s just about massacre at a...
- 6/12/2024
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When Colman Domingo chooses projects, he isn’t looking to be pigeonholed by his sexuality and identity.
That’s why the Oscar-nominated actor recently told GQ that he sometimes questions the scripts that come across his desk at his production company Edith, which he co-runs with his husband Raúl Domingo.
“The two things that I constantly get sent are about slavery and being queer,” he explained. “And I always think, ‘So why are you sending me this, if this isn’t even any of my interests, really?’”
Domingo, an openly gay Black-Latin filmmaker and actor, added that he’s more drawn to writing and producing stories that “have a lot of light in them.”
While he’s known for being a dramatic actor, he’s also ready to strive for something new in other genres, such as comedy. That’s also why he added this line for his character in...
That’s why the Oscar-nominated actor recently told GQ that he sometimes questions the scripts that come across his desk at his production company Edith, which he co-runs with his husband Raúl Domingo.
“The two things that I constantly get sent are about slavery and being queer,” he explained. “And I always think, ‘So why are you sending me this, if this isn’t even any of my interests, really?’”
Domingo, an openly gay Black-Latin filmmaker and actor, added that he’s more drawn to writing and producing stories that “have a lot of light in them.”
While he’s known for being a dramatic actor, he’s also ready to strive for something new in other genres, such as comedy. That’s also why he added this line for his character in...
- 6/12/2024
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ben Potter, the late YouTube personality known for the audio dramas that he created from comic books, died in a single-vehicle car crash, according to statements released this week by local and state officials in Colorado.
Potter’s death on Saturday was announced on X, formerly Twitter, by his wife, Nathalie, who asked for privacy while grieving but indicated that her husband’s work will be carried on in some capacity. The Colorado State Patrol and the Fort Collins Coroner’s Office both released statements regarding Potter’s death at 40 years old.
The content creator, who had a 3 million-plus following on YouTube, was driving southbound on I-25 near mile 267.5 at 9:19 a.m. when his Toyota 4Runner drifted off the right shoulder crossing the frontage road and rolled several times, the Colorado State Patrol said in a news release on Tuesday. He died at the scene.
Csp stated that Potter...
Potter’s death on Saturday was announced on X, formerly Twitter, by his wife, Nathalie, who asked for privacy while grieving but indicated that her husband’s work will be carried on in some capacity. The Colorado State Patrol and the Fort Collins Coroner’s Office both released statements regarding Potter’s death at 40 years old.
The content creator, who had a 3 million-plus following on YouTube, was driving southbound on I-25 near mile 267.5 at 9:19 a.m. when his Toyota 4Runner drifted off the right shoulder crossing the frontage road and rolled several times, the Colorado State Patrol said in a news release on Tuesday. He died at the scene.
Csp stated that Potter...
- 6/12/2024
- by Kevin Dolak
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jude Law turned down Superman in the early 2000s because “it just felt off,” which he knows sounds ridiculous considering he would later agree to star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and to play Dumbledore in the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise. The actor confirmed he was courted to play the Man of Steel in Brett Ratner’s failed Superman project, which was announced in 2002 and based on an iteration of J.J. Abrams’ “Superman: Flyby” script.
“So this is true. Yeah. And there was a process of flirtation going on,” Law said on The Playlist’s “Discourse” podcast. “And I always resisted because it just felt like [off]. And I know you can say, ‘Well, but you played Yonn-Rogg and Dumbledore!’ It just felt like a step too far.”
“It was when Brett Ratner was going to direct, I think. And they didn’t have a script, if I remember rightly,” Law continued.
“So this is true. Yeah. And there was a process of flirtation going on,” Law said on The Playlist’s “Discourse” podcast. “And I always resisted because it just felt like [off]. And I know you can say, ‘Well, but you played Yonn-Rogg and Dumbledore!’ It just felt like a step too far.”
“It was when Brett Ratner was going to direct, I think. And they didn’t have a script, if I remember rightly,” Law continued.
- 6/12/2024
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety - Film News
As footage from DreamWorks Animation’s fall feature The Wild Robot screened at the Annecy Animation Festival in France this week, big laughs — and later, audible sniffling — could be heard throughout the packed auditorium. With a passionate standing ovation immediately breaking out after the final scene, the audience reaction was a vote of confidence for the project that features the voice talents of Lupita Nyong’o and Pedro Pascal and hails from director Chris Sanders.
Two days from now, Pixar’s Inside Out 2 — the sequel to the $850 million-grossing 2015 film — screens at Annecy on the same day it hit theaters nationwide. Box office tracking see it poised for a solid box office bow potentially north of $80 million, with The Hollywood Reporter’s review calling the film “a home run.”
It’s all part of a week bringing some much-needed rays of hope to the world of animation, a space that has been battered by layoffs,...
Two days from now, Pixar’s Inside Out 2 — the sequel to the $850 million-grossing 2015 film — screens at Annecy on the same day it hit theaters nationwide. Box office tracking see it poised for a solid box office bow potentially north of $80 million, with The Hollywood Reporter’s review calling the film “a home run.”
It’s all part of a week bringing some much-needed rays of hope to the world of animation, a space that has been battered by layoffs,...
- 6/12/2024
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It is Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington’s last outing as Bridgerton‘s leading couple this week. Season three, part two, of the Netflix hit will premiere on Thursday after fans have patiently waited for the final four episodes.
But discussion has already begun around which Bridgerton sibling is next in line to get their own installment. Is it Luke Thompson’s Benedict, already a fan-favorite, or Claudia Jessie’s character, Eloise, who is ripe for the spotlight? Dearest gentle reader, it’ll be another long wait. Showrunner Jess Brownell gave The Hollywood Reporter all the season four info she could at Wednesday night’s U.K. premiere for part two.
“I have almost slipped up a couple of times so keep asking, and maybe I’ll slip up,” Brownell said when probed on who will lead the next season. “I’m really excited about what we’re writing. We...
But discussion has already begun around which Bridgerton sibling is next in line to get their own installment. Is it Luke Thompson’s Benedict, already a fan-favorite, or Claudia Jessie’s character, Eloise, who is ripe for the spotlight? Dearest gentle reader, it’ll be another long wait. Showrunner Jess Brownell gave The Hollywood Reporter all the season four info she could at Wednesday night’s U.K. premiere for part two.
“I have almost slipped up a couple of times so keep asking, and maybe I’ll slip up,” Brownell said when probed on who will lead the next season. “I’m really excited about what we’re writing. We...
- 6/12/2024
- by Lily Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It’s not always easy to find out which movies hit theaters each week, especially after the Hollywood strikes led to so many release date changes. With the WGA and actors strikes resolved and summer blockbusters starting to roll in, June is filled with both big budget flicks and new indie releases.
Premiering June 14 is Disney’s “Inside Out 2,” which follows a now 16-year-old Riley as she goes away to hockey camp and grapples with a new set of complicated emotions starring Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, and Paul Walter Hauser. Also hitting theaters is “Ultraman: Rising,” an animated action-adventure about superstar baseball player Ken Sato who must return to Japan to fulfill his legacy of becoming Ultraman starring Christopher Sean, Rob Fukuzaki, Hiro Nakamura and Gedde Watanabe. Two films getting limited releases this week are “Firebrand,” a historical drama about Katherine Parr, the sixth wife...
Premiering June 14 is Disney’s “Inside Out 2,” which follows a now 16-year-old Riley as she goes away to hockey camp and grapples with a new set of complicated emotions starring Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, and Paul Walter Hauser. Also hitting theaters is “Ultraman: Rising,” an animated action-adventure about superstar baseball player Ken Sato who must return to Japan to fulfill his legacy of becoming Ultraman starring Christopher Sean, Rob Fukuzaki, Hiro Nakamura and Gedde Watanabe. Two films getting limited releases this week are “Firebrand,” a historical drama about Katherine Parr, the sixth wife...
- 6/12/2024
- by Pat Saperstein and Jack Dunn
- Variety - Film News
“All That” and “Kenan & Kel” actor Kel Mitchell revealed on the “Baby, This is Keke Palmer” podcast that Dan Schneider allegedly yelled at him in a closet on set once when he was 18 or 19 years old. Mitchell’s story is the latest misconduct allegation made by a former Nickelodeon actor against Schneider. The recent Investigation Discovery documentary series “Quiet on Set” included several other actors alleging mistreatment by Schneider during his tenure at Nickelodeon.
“The vibe of the show started to change a little bit,” Mitchell said when Schneider took over “All That” from original co-creator Brian Robbins, who...
“The vibe of the show started to change a little bit,” Mitchell said when Schneider took over “All That” from original co-creator Brian Robbins, who...
- 6/12/2024
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety - TV News
Sherri Crichton was on a mission. She was poring over filing cabinets, old computers and scattered notes when she finally found it: a manuscript from her late husband, “Jurassic Park” and “Congo” writer Michael Crichton.
Each thread led her to the next: a draft called “Vulcan,” and other pieces called “The Black Zone” and “Black Agent.”
She knew about a long-gestating volcano project he’d been working on before his death – they’d been to Pompeii on their honeymoon, after all. “He would leave breadcrumbs. We’d be on a hike, and he would talk to me about the formation of lava,” Sherri says over lunch in early June. “His mind was this massive database that was just pumping out great story after great story after great story.”
There was just one problem: this story wasn’t finished. “When I started reading the book, I literally was covered in chills knowing that this is it.
Each thread led her to the next: a draft called “Vulcan,” and other pieces called “The Black Zone” and “Black Agent.”
She knew about a long-gestating volcano project he’d been working on before his death – they’d been to Pompeii on their honeymoon, after all. “He would leave breadcrumbs. We’d be on a hike, and he would talk to me about the formation of lava,” Sherri says over lunch in early June. “His mind was this massive database that was just pumping out great story after great story after great story.”
There was just one problem: this story wasn’t finished. “When I started reading the book, I literally was covered in chills knowing that this is it.
- 6/12/2024
- by Katcy Stephan
- Variety - Film News
Grab your ketchup and mustard, because the mother of all hot dog-eating contests is here.
Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi, two of the world’s most famous competitive eaters, will participate in the ultimate hot dog-eating contest live on Netflix on Labor Day. The location and specific timing for the Sept. 2 event will be announced at a later date.
Titled “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef,” the two eaters will embark in a rematch “that will determine the ultimate hot-dog-eating champion — in which the competitors will fight to eat the most all-beef hot dogs,” Netflix said in a release Wednesday.
“Through...
Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi, two of the world’s most famous competitive eaters, will participate in the ultimate hot dog-eating contest live on Netflix on Labor Day. The location and specific timing for the Sept. 2 event will be announced at a later date.
Titled “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef,” the two eaters will embark in a rematch “that will determine the ultimate hot-dog-eating champion — in which the competitors will fight to eat the most all-beef hot dogs,” Netflix said in a release Wednesday.
“Through...
- 6/12/2024
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety - TV News
London’s Leicester Square was once again transformed into the ‘Ton as Bridgerton‘s season three castmembers, including Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton, teased an even raunchier part two.
Part one of season three premiered on May 16 and followed the love story between Penelope Featherington (Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Newton). Netflix execs decided to split the installment into two parts, with the second airing on Thursday.
Episode five, shown to the audience at the Odeon Luxe theater, delivers even spicier scenes and more tense interactions between the beloved characters of the Regency-era hit. According to Netflix’s internal rankings, the first half of season three racked up 45.05 million views (total hours watched divided by running time) worldwide. That’s about 165.2 million hours of viewing time.
Coughlan commented on the fan reaction ahead of the premiere. “I’m going to take a stab in the dark and say I will never experience anything like this again,...
Part one of season three premiered on May 16 and followed the love story between Penelope Featherington (Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Newton). Netflix execs decided to split the installment into two parts, with the second airing on Thursday.
Episode five, shown to the audience at the Odeon Luxe theater, delivers even spicier scenes and more tense interactions between the beloved characters of the Regency-era hit. According to Netflix’s internal rankings, the first half of season three racked up 45.05 million views (total hours watched divided by running time) worldwide. That’s about 165.2 million hours of viewing time.
Coughlan commented on the fan reaction ahead of the premiere. “I’m going to take a stab in the dark and say I will never experience anything like this again,...
- 6/12/2024
- by Lily Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netflix is officially getting into the competitive eating business.
The streaming giant says that it will host a live streaming event on Labor Day, Sep. 2, featuring two legends of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest: Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi.
The live special will be called Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef, with the location and specific timing still Tbd. One thing that Netflix has confirmed: The hot dogs will be all-beef.
The two competitive eaters battled each other for years in the annual Nathan’s contest, but the last time they competed head to head was in 2009, when Chestnut beat Kobayashi in a five hot dog sudden death eat-off.
Chestnut is a 16-time Nathan’s winner (including the last eight years), but was not allowed to participate this year after inking a sponsorship agreement with Impossible Foods, which recently released a plant-based dog. His absence from the event...
The streaming giant says that it will host a live streaming event on Labor Day, Sep. 2, featuring two legends of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest: Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi.
The live special will be called Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef, with the location and specific timing still Tbd. One thing that Netflix has confirmed: The hot dogs will be all-beef.
The two competitive eaters battled each other for years in the annual Nathan’s contest, but the last time they competed head to head was in 2009, when Chestnut beat Kobayashi in a five hot dog sudden death eat-off.
Chestnut is a 16-time Nathan’s winner (including the last eight years), but was not allowed to participate this year after inking a sponsorship agreement with Impossible Foods, which recently released a plant-based dog. His absence from the event...
- 6/12/2024
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Smile filmmaker Parker Finn is venturing into alien territory.
Finn has quietly teamed with Robert Pattinson to remake Possession, the cult 1981 psychological supernatural horror movie written and directed by Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski.
The project has engaged the town’s attention, with a bidding war breaking out among A24, Netflix, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros. The process is in the early stages, with meetings taking place this week, according to sources, and other companies may enter the fray.
Finn is attached to write the script, direct, and produce via his Bad Feeling banner. Pattinson is producing via his production company Icki Eneo Arlo; his acting involvement will be clarified down the road as the script and schedules develop. Also producing is Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee, who helped produce Zach Cregger’s breakout Barbarian.
Set in West Berlin, Possession starred Sam Neill as a spy who returns home from the...
Finn has quietly teamed with Robert Pattinson to remake Possession, the cult 1981 psychological supernatural horror movie written and directed by Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski.
The project has engaged the town’s attention, with a bidding war breaking out among A24, Netflix, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros. The process is in the early stages, with meetings taking place this week, according to sources, and other companies may enter the fray.
Finn is attached to write the script, direct, and produce via his Bad Feeling banner. Pattinson is producing via his production company Icki Eneo Arlo; his acting involvement will be clarified down the road as the script and schedules develop. Also producing is Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee, who helped produce Zach Cregger’s breakout Barbarian.
Set in West Berlin, Possession starred Sam Neill as a spy who returns home from the...
- 6/12/2024
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Kevin Spacey is essentially broke and is having his Baltimore home foreclosed upon, the beleaguered actor admitted while sitting for a lengthy interview this week with Piers Morgan on the perennial TV host’s Fox News show.
The interview with a sympathetic Morgan on his YouTube show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, takes a wide-ranging look at Spacey’s life. Included — sometimes through the actor’s tears — are details of his tumultuous childhood family life with a Nazi-sympathizer father; a discussion of his ongoing shunning from Hollywood, despite the accused actor notching multiple not-guilty verdicts as allegations of his past sexual misconduct have fallen to pieces in U.K. and U.S. courts; and flat denials from Spacey of some of the fresh accusations lobbed at him in a new Channel 4 documentary.
The sit-down culminated with Spacey disclosing that he’s essentially in financial ruin, with his Baltimore home about to...
The interview with a sympathetic Morgan on his YouTube show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, takes a wide-ranging look at Spacey’s life. Included — sometimes through the actor’s tears — are details of his tumultuous childhood family life with a Nazi-sympathizer father; a discussion of his ongoing shunning from Hollywood, despite the accused actor notching multiple not-guilty verdicts as allegations of his past sexual misconduct have fallen to pieces in U.K. and U.S. courts; and flat denials from Spacey of some of the fresh accusations lobbed at him in a new Channel 4 documentary.
The sit-down culminated with Spacey disclosing that he’s essentially in financial ruin, with his Baltimore home about to...
- 6/12/2024
- by Kevin Dolak
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
FX’s “Shogun” had planned to shoot in Japan; due to the pandemic, the production shifted to Vancouver.
Production designer Helen Jarvis had never been to Japan, nor had she read James Clavell’s original novel that the series is based on. Nonetheless, she was determined to bring authenticity to the locations when building the world of feudal Japan in the 1600s. FX’s drama series required Jarvis to transform two exterior backlots and two soundstages, building everything from a fishing village to a harbor to royal palaces.
Speaking with Variety, Jarvis says, “At the time, Osaka was a significantly large city.
Production designer Helen Jarvis had never been to Japan, nor had she read James Clavell’s original novel that the series is based on. Nonetheless, she was determined to bring authenticity to the locations when building the world of feudal Japan in the 1600s. FX’s drama series required Jarvis to transform two exterior backlots and two soundstages, building everything from a fishing village to a harbor to royal palaces.
Speaking with Variety, Jarvis says, “At the time, Osaka was a significantly large city.
- 6/12/2024
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety - TV News
At the end of season two of The Gilded Age, a battle between two opera houses — the Metropolitan Opera and the Academy of Music — comes to a head, with Bertha (Carrie Coon) emerging victorious at last, gazing out over the star-studded premiere she facilitated. In order to re-create the opening of the Met and capture Bertha’s triumph, cinematographer Manuel Billeter used visual effects and on-location shooting at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.
“This opera house, as we see it, doesn’t really exist,” explains Billeter. The front of the house, with the columns, was captured in Philly: “Bob Shaw, our production designer, felt it had the scope and the majesty to really convey this enterprise,” he elaborates.
But the Academy of Music does not have boxes, key to this episode’s story. The photography department was able to get a sweeping pan of Bertha standing at the balcony looking down,...
“This opera house, as we see it, doesn’t really exist,” explains Billeter. The front of the house, with the columns, was captured in Philly: “Bob Shaw, our production designer, felt it had the scope and the majesty to really convey this enterprise,” he elaborates.
But the Academy of Music does not have boxes, key to this episode’s story. The photography department was able to get a sweeping pan of Bertha standing at the balcony looking down,...
- 6/12/2024
- by Hilton Dresden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Tony Lo Bianco, the Brooklyn actor who oozed criminal charm in the gritty 1970s New York City dramas The French Connection and The Seven-Ups, has died. He was 87.
Lo Bianco died Tuesday night of prostate cancer at his horse farm in Poolesville, Maryland, his wife, Alyse, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Lo Bianco was also memorable as a smooth-talking con man with a lonely nurse (Shirley Stoler) for a girlfriend/accomplice in Leonard Kastle’s documentary-style The Honeymoon Killers (1970), which Francois Truffaut once said was his favorite American film.
In another cult classic, the horror thriller God Told Me To (1976), directed by Larry Cohen, Lo Bianco starred as a New York cop who investigates a series of bizarre murders orchestrated by the leader of a religious group (Richard Lynch).
He received a best actor Tony nomination in 1983 for playing Eddie Carbone in a revival of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge,...
Lo Bianco died Tuesday night of prostate cancer at his horse farm in Poolesville, Maryland, his wife, Alyse, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Lo Bianco was also memorable as a smooth-talking con man with a lonely nurse (Shirley Stoler) for a girlfriend/accomplice in Leonard Kastle’s documentary-style The Honeymoon Killers (1970), which Francois Truffaut once said was his favorite American film.
In another cult classic, the horror thriller God Told Me To (1976), directed by Larry Cohen, Lo Bianco starred as a New York cop who investigates a series of bizarre murders orchestrated by the leader of a religious group (Richard Lynch).
He received a best actor Tony nomination in 1983 for playing Eddie Carbone in a revival of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge,...
- 6/12/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
[This story contains spoilers for season one of Shōgun season one.]
While celebrating season one of Shōgun at an Emmys For Your Consideration event on Tuesday, the team behind the hit FX series gave a few hints at what the future of the show may look like.
Last month, it was announced that second and third seasons are in development, expanding the story past its original limited series format. That expansion will see the show move beyond the James Clavell book that inspired the series and was entirely covered in season one.
Co-creator Justin Marks said he and fellow creator Rachel Kondo (who are married) have been plotting ahead on a potential season two since December and joked they are at the “arguing” stage of development.
“And shooting down each other’s ideas,” Kondo added. “No, there’s a lot of chaos but creative chaos, where we’re throwing everything that we have at the wall, seeing what sticks.
While celebrating season one of Shōgun at an Emmys For Your Consideration event on Tuesday, the team behind the hit FX series gave a few hints at what the future of the show may look like.
Last month, it was announced that second and third seasons are in development, expanding the story past its original limited series format. That expansion will see the show move beyond the James Clavell book that inspired the series and was entirely covered in season one.
Co-creator Justin Marks said he and fellow creator Rachel Kondo (who are married) have been plotting ahead on a potential season two since December and joked they are at the “arguing” stage of development.
“And shooting down each other’s ideas,” Kondo added. “No, there’s a lot of chaos but creative chaos, where we’re throwing everything that we have at the wall, seeing what sticks.
- 6/12/2024
- by Kirsten Chuba
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Armando Silvestre, a busy actor in the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema who appeared with Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine in Two Mules for Sister Sara, with Yul Brynner in Kings of the Sun and with Burt Lancaster in The Scalphunters, has died. He was 98.
Silvestre died June 2 in Coronado, California, a representative from the Aztlan Mortuary in nearby La Mesa told The Hollywood Reporter.
The powerfully built Silvestre made scores of films in Mexico, among them Here Comes Martin Corona (1952), Rossana (1953), Story of a Mink Coat (1955) with Silvia Pinal, La Sombra Vengadora (1956), The Miracle Roses (1960), Neutrón Contra el Dr. Caronte (1963), La Choca (1974) and Faith, Hope and Charity (1974).
He excelled in Westerns and action adventure movies early in his career en route to compiling more than 200 credits on IMDb.
Armando Silvestre Carrascosa was born in San Diego on Jan. 28, 1926, and raised in Tijuana. His younger brother was Eduardo Silvestre, winner of the Mr.
Silvestre died June 2 in Coronado, California, a representative from the Aztlan Mortuary in nearby La Mesa told The Hollywood Reporter.
The powerfully built Silvestre made scores of films in Mexico, among them Here Comes Martin Corona (1952), Rossana (1953), Story of a Mink Coat (1955) with Silvia Pinal, La Sombra Vengadora (1956), The Miracle Roses (1960), Neutrón Contra el Dr. Caronte (1963), La Choca (1974) and Faith, Hope and Charity (1974).
He excelled in Westerns and action adventure movies early in his career en route to compiling more than 200 credits on IMDb.
Armando Silvestre Carrascosa was born in San Diego on Jan. 28, 1926, and raised in Tijuana. His younger brother was Eduardo Silvestre, winner of the Mr.
- 6/12/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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