Innholdsfortegnelse for September 6, 2022 i The Hollywood Reporter

↑ TV Dragon Drama HBO shuffles talent for season two p. 30 Streaming Battle of the Bundles Paramount+ and Walmart kick off a new era p. 28 Cate Blanchett The actress’ star turn in Todd Field’s music drama Tár gets a six-minute standing ovation in Venice as the film receives glowing early reviews. Ryan Kavanaugh Even as the former Relativity exec’s TikTok rival Triller raises fresh cash, a lawsuit by Sony Music over alleged unpaid fees spurs questions about its finances. Jeff Stotland As Sunset Studios owner Hudson Pacific unveils a $360 million deal to buy soundstage operator Quixote, the Hudson global studios exec notably grows his Hollywood portfolio. Martin Moszkowicz Constantin and its CEO take a hit in a bid to revive the once-lucrative Resident Evil franchise, as Netflix…

On Sept. 10, thousands of fans will flock to Anaheim for D23, the Disney convention where Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige will unveil new footage and casting surprises from its upcoming films and TV series. The months leading up to the convention are among the most sensitive for Marvel security as it attempts to keep its secrets safe. But preserving those secrets has only gotten harder during the COVID-19 era, as filmmakers’ migration to work-from-home and social distancing protocols on set had the unintended consequence of giving more people the ability to see sensitive information, multiple sources tell THR. Over the past year, Marvel — which managed to get through the rollout of Avengers: Endgame largely unscathed by plot leaks just a year before the pandemic hit — has seen…

How She-Hulk Snagged That Megan Thee Stallion Cameo Cameos are commonplace in the Marvel universe, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law falls in line with a surprise appearance by Megan Thee Stallion as herself. In the Disney+ series’ third episode, Dennis Bukowski (Drew Matthews), a professional rival of lawyer Jennifer Walters (aka She-Hulk, played by Tatiana Maslany) sues an Asgardian shape-shifter for damages after she took the form of the superstar rapper and hustled him for nearly $200,000. Megan naturally hires She-Hulk as a defense attorney, and the two end up busting a move together. Credit for the cameo goes to Jameela Jamil, who had a relationship with Megan from the HBO Max competition series Legendary. “I just asked her and she turned out to be a huge Marvel fan,” the…

April Shih and Jen Goyne Blake first met in 2017 at the Sundance Institute’s Episodic Story Lab, a program where up-and-coming TV writers workshop their pilot scripts in the idyllic environment of the Utah mountain resort. Blake, who had been a script analyst at William Morris, was there as the founding director of the lab, and Shih, who would go on to be a staff writer on shows like You’re the Worst, Mrs. America and Fargo, was there to work on a dramedy called Tilted. “We saw the benefit of being able to go to a space somewhere in nature, away from your normal routine, and how that immediately drops you into your creative process,” says Shih of the Sundance Lab experience. Over the years, the duo stayed in touch…

$250M The listing price of Michael Eisner’s compound in Malibu, designed by Robert A.M. Stern and set on 5 acres. $177M Cost of billionaire Marc Andreessen’s new 13-structure Malibu property, which he bought in fall 2021. $141M The final auction price of the 21-bedroom The One house in Bel Air, the largest on-market deal of the past 12 months. $21.5M Closing price of a 6,301-square-foot unit at West Hollywood’s Pendry Residences, the costliest condo sold so far in 2022.…

The first time Gina Prince-Bythewood and Viola Davis met about The Woman King, in the offices of Davis’ production company in the spring of 2020, the filmmaker broke one of the rules of her trade. “As I started talking about my connection to the material, I lost it,” Prince-Bythewood says. “There’s no crying in directing. But I cried there. And I left going, ‘Fuck, did I just blow it? Is V going to think I’m weak?’” It’s hard to imagine Prince-Bythewood giving anyone an impression of weakness. The director, a former basketball and track star whose filmography ranges from the 2000 romantic drama Love & Basketball to the 2020 Netflix superhero movie The Old Guard, is tall and lean, and projects a quiet confidence. As she tells this story during…

On the Hulu hit show The Bear, set in the anarchic disarray of a malfunctioning Italian sandwich shop in Chicago, Matty Matheson plays Neil Fak, a handyman who never handles food. In real life, Matheson is the only trained chef among the cast. The Bear centers on “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), an uncompromising culinary prodigy struggling with the recent suicide of his brother and the psychological pressure cooker of his own psyche while having to take care of the family restaurant. Matheson is also a producer on the show, which was created by his close friend, Chicago native Christopher Storer. Matheson — who says the cast has a group chat that is “popping at all times” — knows firsthand the pressures of restaurant life. The well-known Toronto chef and…

FROM LEFT: CLAIRE WILSON, KAYRA RAECKE AND AVIAN ANDERSON ARE AMONG DOZENS OF WOMEN ACCUSING WEINBERG OF SEXUAL ASSAULT: “PEOPLE COME UP WITH A LOT OF REASONS IN THEIR HEAD ABOUT WHY SOMETHING THAT HORRIBLE MIGHT NOT BE TRUE.” THE WOMEN WERE PHOTOGRAPHED AUG. 25 IN LOS ANGELES. IN FEBRUARY 2019, GIL RAMIREZ put out a query on Twitter on behalf of his friend, Avian Anderson. “Hey folks in the LA region: I have a friend that has been asked by a Eric Weinberg to take photos of her,” he tweeted. “Can you help me do a little research on him? Has anyone heard of him?” Weinberg initially approached Anderson, then a 29-year-old storyboard artist, in the parking lot of a Ralphs in North Hollywood. The then-58-year-old introduced himself as…

Creative talent behind programs such as NBC’s musical Annie Live!, Netflix’s video game-inspired animated series Arcane, and Tim Miller and David Fincher’s Love, Death + Robots anthology series are among this year’s juried Emmy winners. These honors were handed out during the Creative Arts Emmys on Sept. 3 and 4. An edited version of the presentations will air Sept. 10 on FXX, followed by a Hulu release. Recipients of Emmys in the juried categories include writer-director Alberto Mielgo, who is honored for the character design of his animated “Jibaro” episode of Love, Death + Robots, which follows a siren who attempts to lure a knight with her dancing. “This is some sort of toxic relationship between two predators, the golden woman and hero. It’s very open to interpretation, which is…

Pocket change won’t buy much these days, but over Labor Day weekend consumers were able to see a movie for $3 at thousands of theaters throughout the U.S. The one-day promotion, part of National Cinema Day on Sept. 3, was unprecedented and designed both to celebrate a summer full of promise in regard to the box office recovery and to drum up interest in moviegoing amid an unusually slow August and September in terms of high-profile releases. The marquee will heat up again in mid-October with the launch of the DC superhero pic Black Adam, starring Dwayne Johnson, among other event pics, although Halloween Ends will now open day-and-date in theaters and on Peacock on Oct. 14 (while not exactly jazzed, exhibitors still expect the film to perform well). Rolando…

The rise of subscription streaming services was supposed to mark the end of the bundle — the pay TV bundle at least. But now that every major entertainment company has a couple of years in the streaming game under their belts, it has increasingly become a battle of the bundles, with each service seeking out its own unique value proposition or partner to make the most compelling pitch to consumers with a limited streaming budget. “There have been some comparisons made that say the streaming video industry is copying the cable industry, and this is an example of that,” says media consultant Brad Adgate. The latest salvo was launched by Walmart, run by CEO Doug McMillon, which revealed a new perk on Aug. 15 for its Walmart+ members: a complimentary…

We’re entering a beautiful renaissance” of L.A. nightlife, says Tom Topit of West Hollywood hotspot Employees Only. He’s a regular at the Sunset Strip’s Edition hotel, which relaunched its Sunset club space this year (it had opened briefly before the pandemic). It’s been joined this summer by two other notable libation lounges, The Fleur Room (also on the Strip) and Capri Club in Eagle Rock. THE FLEUR ROOM From Tao Group Hospitality, The Fleur Room (9201 Sunset Blvd.) is a sophisticated experience with velvet seating and marble cocktail tables. “It’s about smaller, more intimate conversations,” says Tao CMO Pavan Pardasani of the reservations-only space. The spot already has hosted a birthday bash for Kevin Hart and an album listening party for Giveon. Try the La Pina, featuring Aaron Paul and…

It was surreal to see the gang from 1994’s Clerks posing at the premiere for a third installment some 28 years after the original hit theaters. They certainly thought it was. “I don’t think anybody except this group of us can really appreciate just how strange this is,” says Jeff Anderson, who plays Randal. “Walking back into the Quick Stop and shooting Clerks III immediately brought me back to being a skinny little 21-year-old, wearing acid-washed jeans.” But some things never change: “Kevin [Smith] is very much the same director who creates a fun, laid-back set. What’s strange is getting paid for having this much fun.” Clerks III is out Sept. 13. Got tips? Email rambling@thr.com…

The sixth and final season of Paramount+’s The Good Fight makes a strong case that the world might be ending. Riots fill the streets, grenades are hurled into crowded elevators and suicidal birds bloody office windows during its Sept. 8 premiere. If the series’ creators, Michelle and Robert King, are feeling the same low-boil panic as the characters who populate their legal drama, they don’t show it. The couple, who’ve been delivering their darkly comic social commentary since predecessor series The Good Wife made them two of the most sought-after TV writer-producers in 2009, remained droll during a late-August Zoom from the Manhattan home they share blocks from Central Park — even when the conversation leaned into concerning shifts in the TV industry and their own inherent differences. (The secular…

After the banner year of 2021, L.A.’s high-end real estate market is seeing challenges, including some softening of prices, continued low inventory and rising interest rates (an average 30-year fixed mortgage rate today is about 5.8 percent compared with about 2.9 percent a year ago). “It will take some time for buyers to acclimate to the interest rate increases; it’s all cyclical,” says Hilton & Hyland’s Justin Paul Huchel. But for L.A.’s top agents, these setbacks are an opportunity to refocus on a core value: finding clients their perfect home. Despite the market softening, agents profess that they aren’t worried. According to Redfin, the median sale in Beverly Hills still clocks in at $3.8 million, up 15.4 percent from last year. And agents aren’t hurting financially, either. Although marketing, staff…

DRAMA SERIES I thought that This Is Us went out with a bang and should’ve been in here. I would have preferred it to Squid Game, which was just too violent for me. Stranger Things has fallen off, and I bailed on Severance after episode two. (I know there are people who say it’s the greatest thing ever, but I didn’t get it at all!) Euphoria is well done, but as a parent I felt pretty squeamish about it. Ozark is great, but it’s not the best by any stretch. Better Call Saul was super fun. That leaves the two best dramas of the year by far, Yellowjackets and Succession. This was one of the toughest calls I’ve ever had to make. In the end, I asked myself: “Can you…

Tyler Perry is the type of filmmaker whose name can appear as a possessive in front of a movie’s title. There’s Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?, Tyler Perry’s Temptation and, of course, the wildly successful Madea franchise. Across two dozen features, Perry has built a directing career that leaves both studio executives and his audience knowing exactly what they’re getting into. Tyler Perry — the name and the brand — is synonymous with a certain type of movie: unabashedly commercial fare with moral messaging. As Tyler Perry the filmmaker points out during a phone conversation from his office at his eponymous Atlanta studio, A Jazzman’s Blues, his latest effort, is not that movie: “People are not expecting this kind of movie from me in any sense, but I…

I’m somewhere in or near Grand Rapids, Michigan,” estimates “Weird Al” Yankovic from the back of his tour bus, his signature curls trying to escape from behind headphones. Soon the singer-songwriter will definitely be heading to Toronto, where his movie Weird will open the film festival’s Midnight Madness section Sept. 8. Weird, which Yankovic co-wrote with director Eric Appel (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Silicon Valley) and produced, stars Daniel Radcliffe as a subversive version of Yankovic, seen in the trailer shirtless, swilling whiskey onstage and entertaining Madonna (played by Evan Rachel Wood) in between accordion riffs. The film offers Yankovic, long considered the undisputed king of the parody song with hits like “Amish Paradise” and “Like a Surgeon” — sendups of Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” and Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” respectively — the…

As COVID-19 shuttered businesses across America, countless companies asked their insurers to cover losses under traditional property insurance policies and were denied in droves. But Hollywood had another safety net: production insurance. These specialized policies cover a wide range of risks, including pandemics — at least for policies issued before this world-altering event. Unlike other types of insurance, production policies have not been the subject of extensive litigation, until recently. While the historical willingness and ability of entertainment companies, insurers and their intermediaries to amicably resolve claims is positive, it could also mean that the policy language has not been tested and clarified as a result of litigated disputes. As we move through COVID-19 and focus on other risks like geopolitical instability and extreme weather, policyholders should consider the issues…

Canada’s biggest city is prepared for its spotlight. Toronto is reemerging from the pandemic with new places to eat, drink, stay and explore, alongside beloved classics that have roared back to life, whether in the sophisticated historic enclave of Yorkville or eclectic communities farther west. EAT AND DRINK Restaurateur Janet Zuccarini knows how to please discerning diners at Gusto 54 group’s restaurants. Since 1996, its Trattoria Nervosa has been a Yorkville glitterati staple, where hometown hero Drake is a regular. For her latest project, Zuccarini tapped L.A. interior designer Wendy Haworth (Felix, Gracias Madre) and Toronto architecture studio Partisans to transform a former parking garage into Gusto 501 (501 King St. East), a buzzy destination in down-to-earth Corktown for stellar wood-fired pizzas and pastas. At Gusto 54’s Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen…

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe DIRECTOR Aitch Alberto THE BUZZ This LGBTQ coming-of-age drama, based on Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s 2012 YA best-seller, follows two Mexican American teens in 1980s Texas and looks like a sleeper hit. With Lin-Manuel Miranda producing, buyers should be lining up. SALES UTA/WME Ash DIRECTOR Flying Lotus THE BUZZ In what seems likely to be a solid piece of high-concept sci-fi from genre specialists XYZ, this thriller, which is preselling at TIFF, sees Tessa Thompson play a woman who wakes up on a distant planet to find that the other residents of her space station have been murdered. She must decide whether to trust the man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) sent to rescue her. SALES XYZ Films Moving On DIRECTOR Paul Weitz THE BUZZ…

Olivia Wilde’s second feature behind the camera, Don’t Worry Darling, will more likely be remembered for offscreen intrigue — tabloid romance, lead actor replacement, a public serving of custody papers, a rumored clash between director and star — than much else in this umpteenth Stepford Wives knockoff. That’s not to say it’s without pluses, among them a meaty lead role for the always compelling Florence Pugh. It also scores points for allowing Chris Pine to show what a charismatic villain he can be. The high-concept, low-satisfaction thriller, premiering out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, marks an upgrade in scope for Wilde from coming-ofage comedy Booksmart, and she handles the physical aspects of the project with assurance. It’s a shame all the effort has gone into a script with…

The world of classical music viewed through a famed conductor’s preparations to record Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 might seem like a rarefied subject. But Tár is a mesmerizing character study with an astonishing lead turn from Cate Blanchett — flinty, commandingly self-possessed and slowly splintering under pressure. No less notable is the return of writer-director Todd Field with a major work, 16 years after his last feature, Little Children. (His first feature was 2001’s devastating chamber piece In the Bedroom.) Premiering in competition in Venice, the film is an intimate portrait of an artist possessed by her work, an exploration of the transportive vitality of great music and a clear-eyed consideration of cancel culture. While there’s likely to be heated commentary questioning the right of a straight man to tell…

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