| | | | | | What's news: CalPERS said it will vote for Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo to join the board of Disney. F1 owner Liberty Media is acquiring a majority stake in MotoGP. Dune 2 has crossed the $600m mark at the global box office. Courteney Cox is in talks to return to the Scream franchise. Ariana Madix will host Love Island USA. — Abid Rahman
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Chance Perdomo 1996 - 2024 ►"His passion for the arts and insatiable appetite for life was felt by all who knew him." Chance Perdomo, the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Gen V star, has died. He was 27. The actor died as a result of a motorcycle accident, his reps told THR in a statement. Nobody else was involved in the incident. In Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys spinoff Gen V, Perdomo played Andre Anderson, a popular student at Godolkin University who is capable of magnetically manipulating things. The obituary.
—"So goddamn tragic." The cast of Gen V and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina took to social media this weekend to remember Chance Perdomo. Patrick Schwarzenegger, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Jack Quaid, Karen Fukuhara, Skye Marshall were among Perdomo's co-stars who paid tribute to the actor. The reaction. |
CalPERS Votes for Peltz in Disney Boardroom Battle ►"CalPERS believes Walt Disney Co. will benefit from fresh eyes." U.S. pension fund the California Public Employees Retirement System said it voted to elect activist investor Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo to the board of Disney. CalPERS joins advisory firm Egan-Jones, which has already noted it is backing Peltz and Rasulo, and Institutional Shareholder Services, which ultimately recommended a vote for Peltz. The vote comes just days ahead of Disney’s annual shareholders meeting on April 3. The story.
—🤝 Majority stake 🤝 Formula 1 owner Liberty Media has struck a deal to acquire a big majority stake in the company behind the motorcycle racing circuit MotoGP in a deal that puts an enterprise value of $4.5b on the firm. The deal for Madrid, Spain-based Dorna Sports, which is the commercial rights holder for MotoGP, comes after the likes of UFC and WWE owner TKO Group, run by Ari Emanuel, and Qatar Sports Investments had also looked at a possible takeover. The story.
—🤝 Double deal 🤝 Two more Locals of Hollywood’s major crew union have reached tentative agreements on their craft-specific issues with the studios and streamers. IATSE Local 80 struck a provisional deal with the AMPTP on Thursday night. Local 80 represents grips, craft services, first aid employees, warehouse workers and others in the industry. On Wednesday, IATSE Local 706 reached a tentative deal with the AMPTP covering issues related to its make-up artists and hair stylists members. The story. |
'Godzilla x Kong' Roars to $194M Global Opening ►Much ado about kaiju. Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opened to a monstrous $80m at the domestic box office, well ahead of an expected $45m to $55m. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that the tentpole scored the second-best opening in the MonsterVerse Universe, no small feat for a fifth film in a franchise. It also delivered the fifth-biggest Easter opening of all time, according to Sunday estimates.
Globally, The New Empire stomped to a $194m launch after taking in $114m overseas from 64 markets — including an impressive $44m in China, where Legendary East is handling the movie. These days, many Hollywood event pics don’t come close to doing that level of business in China. On Monday, The New Empire will pass up the $46.5m earned by Dune 2 to rank as the top-grossing Hollywood title of 2024 in China.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire placed No. 2 with $15.7m for a domestic total of $73.5m and a lackluster $108.5m globally.
Dune 2 stayed squarely at No. 3 in its fifth outing despite losing most Imax and other premium screens to The New Empire. Domestically, Dune 2 grossed $11.1m for a cume of $252.4m, while overseas it took in another $18.4m from 73 markets for a foreign tally of $373.7m and $626.1m globally. The box office report. |
'Freaky Friday 2' Is a Go ►Getting freaky, finally. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on Disney tapping Nisha Ganatra, who most recently helmed episodes of Hulu miniseries Welcome to Chippendales, to direct a sequel to its 2003 family comedy Freaky Friday, giving the long-promised project momentum and putting it on track for a summer shoot in Los Angeles. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, who starred in the original, are in negotiations to reprise their roles as the mother and daughter combo who find themselves switching bodies and lives. The story.
—Familiar face. Courteney Cox may be answering the Scream call once again, with sources saying the actor is in talks for the upcoming Scream VII. Cox originated the role of reporter Gale Weathers in 1996’s Scream, and has appeared in its five sequels. The return of Cox adds another jolt to the project, which has been revamped following the departure of star Jenna Ortega, the firing of actor Melissa Barrera and the exit of director Christopher Landon last year. The story.
—📅 Dated 📅 Universal is adjusting its plans for two upcoming horror titles from Blumhouse. The studio announced that Wolf Man, the werewolf thriller from Invisible Man filmmaker Leigh Whannell, has delayed its release by three months and will now open wide in theaters Jan. 17, 2025. Additionally, Universal announced that Jaume Collet-Serra's The Woman in the Yard, which was previously set for theatrical release Jan. 10, 2025, has been removed from the calendar. The studio plans to announce a new release date for the film at a later time. The story. |
'Death and Other Details' Canceled at Hulu ►One and done. Hulu has canceled the Mandy Patinkin-led drama series Death and Other Details after a single season. The series, however, is expected to remain on the platform. Death launched its 10-episode season in January to lackluster reviews. The series formerly known as Career Opportunities in Murder and Mayhem has a 55 percent score among critics and 66 percent rating with viewers on Rotten Tomatoes. The story.
—Replaced. Ezra Miller's role in Amazon Prime Video's Invincible has been recast amid The Flash actor’s various controversies. In season one of the animated series, Miller voiced District Attorney Sinclair, a genius who attended Upstate University. After being defeated by the Invincible team, the character returns in this week’s episode, "I’m Not Going Anywhere." This time around, however, it appears the mad scientist is by Eric Bauza. The story.
—Back to the villa. Ariana Madix has entered the Love Island USA villa again — this time, permanently. The Vanderpump Rules star’s projects since Scandoval keep tallying up, as Peacock has officially announced her as the new host of the U.S. version of the hit reality show. Madix’s stint will begin with the upcoming season six, which airs this summer. The announcement came after Sarah Hyland shared in an Instagram story that she won't be returning to host the show. The story. |
'Quiet on Set': The Actors Who Have Spoken Out ►"I think it’s a good thing that the doc is out, and it’s putting things on display that need to be." Drake Bell, Josh Peck, Alexa Nikolas and Kenan Thompson are among the former Nickelodeon stars who have shared their stories or shown their support after the harrowing revelations in the ID docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. The reaction.
—"I quit." Lizzo is done with online haters. The Emmy- and Grammy-winning singer unloaded in an emotional social media post, saying that she's found herself up against "lies being told about me for clout and views" and being the butt of the joke "every single time because of how I look." Friday’s post comes hours after Lizzo faced criticism for performing at a star-studded fundraiser for President Joe Biden. The story.
—"Please stop the suffering. Stop the violence." Ramy Youssef riffed on politics and religious holidays during his Saturday Night Live monologue, saying a trans woman should be the next president and later calling for the people of Palestine and the hostages to be freed. Youssef, the creator and star of Hulu’s Ramy who recently appeared in the Oscar-winning film Poor Things, hit studio 8H on Saturday for his first stint hosting NBC’s sketch show. The recap.
—"Sounds like a joke. And in many ways it is, but it’s also very real." SNL mocked Donald Trump's most recent venture — promoting the “God Bless the USA Bible” — on Saturday's episode. In the cold open, Trump (played by James Austin Johnson) noted that it’s Easter — "the time of year when I compare myself to Jesus Christ. That’s just the thing I do now and people seem to be OK with it. I’m gonna keep doing it. And if you think that this is a bad look, imagine how weird it would be if I started selling Bibles. Well, I’m selling Bibles." The recap.
—"Begging strangers for money in a hostage video." On Sunday’s edition of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver also took shots at Trump for his Bible side hustle — as well as the former president's other “cash grabs,” including branded cologne, mini speakers, gold-colored earpods and sneakers. Oliver also focused on Truth Social's share price, which beat expectations, saying it was part of a "movement about funneling the little guy's money directly to the sh**iest rich arsehole there is." The recap. |
'Walking Dead' Stars Explain Spinoff's "Emotional" Ending ►"That was always where they needed to land." For THR, Josh Wigler spoke to The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live stars and executive producers Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira and franchise mastermind Scott Gimple about the finale of the limited series. As well as breaking down the episode, the actors ponder another team-up. "It could be an absolutely tremendous, traumatic reunion of sorts." Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"I’ve done most of the things that they’ve wanted me to do." THR's Christy Piña spoke to Eugene Levy about season two of his Apple TV+'s The Reluctant Traveler. The Emmy-winning actor returns as himself in travel docuseries, where he explores off-the-beaten-path locations in Europe and pushes himself further out of his comfort zone. The interview. |
Film Review: 'The Beautiful Game' ►"Scores, but not highly." THR's Leslie Felperin reviews Thea Sharrock's The Beautiful Game. Bill Nighy and Micheal Ward star in this Netflix film about a half dozen unhoused men competing for England in the Homeless World Cup. The review.
—"Nothing without its lead." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews AMC's Parish. Giancarlo Esposito plays a grieving New Orleans man pulled back into a criminal underworld in this six-episode drama. The review. In other news...
—Netflix’s new releases coming in April 2024
—Amazon Prime Video’s new releases coming in April 2024
—Marilyn Monroe pink Pucci dress, Hugh Hefner smoking jacket sell at auction
—Alessandro Michele announced as new creative director of Valentino
—Tim McGovern, VFX veteran and Oscar winner for Total Recall, dies at 68
What else we're reading...
—The Matrix celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and Keith Phipps has a timeline of how the seminal movie got made [Vulture]
—With drag under threat around the world, Max Wallis writes that RuPaul’s Drag Race shows why we need it more than ever [Guardian]
—In his review of Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, Edward Ongweso Jr. excoriates veteran tech journo Kara Swisher for what he perceives as her brand of dumbed-down access journalism [The Baffler]
—Shannon Pettypiece reports on the long-time Florida residents and recent transplants considering leaving the state due to rising costs and Ron DeSantis' divisive culture war politics [NBC News]
—Te-Ping Chen reports that Gen Z is becoming the "toolbelt generation" as young people flock to trades instead of college, attracted by well-paid plumbing and electrical jobs [WSJ]
Today...
...in 1983, 20th Century Fox unveiled the racing biopic Heart Like a Wheel in theaters. The film went on to earn an Oscar nomination for costume design at the 56th Academy Awards. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Boots Riley (53), David Oyelowo (48), Lee Chang-dong (70), Ali MacGraw (85), Barry Sonnenfeld (71), Mackenzie Davis (37), Tomas Alfredson (59), Asa Butterfield (27), JJ Feild (46), José Zúñiga (59), Logan Paul (29), Anamaria Marinca (46), Taran Killam (42), Lachy Hulme (53), Jennifer Runyon (64), Annette O'Toole (72), Sam Huntington (42), Troy Baker (48), Jane Adams (59), Ellen Hollman (41), Josh Zuckerman (39), Matt Lanter (41), Hannah Spearritt (43), Evan Jones (48), Traci Lind (56), Royce Pierreson (35), Nancy Morgan (75), Colby Donaldson (50) |
| | Barbara Rush, the classy yet largely unheralded leading lady who sparkled in the 1950s melodramas Magnificent Obsession, Bigger Than Life and The Young Philadelphians, has died. She was 97. The obituary. |
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