Innholdsfortegnelse for December 7, 2022 i The Hollywood Reporter

Vox Media has promoted Ray Chao to senior vp and GM of audio and digital video and Nishat Kurwa to senior vp and executive producer of audio to build the company’s network of new and acquired podcasts. Rebecca Sananes, the Archewell head of audio who was behind Meghan Markle’s Archetypes podcast, has exited the royals’ company as the Spotify podcast concludes its first season. The economic downturn is hitting staffing at SiriusXM and NPR. The public radio giant is implementing a hiring freeze as it seeks to cut $10 million in costs, while SiriusXM is mulling job cuts.…

Deal Watch As Hollywood waits to see what Bob Iger’s first big swings will be in his second tour of duty running Disney, the exec’s rivals at Comcast appear to be making clear their expectations for him: Write a “big check” in a year to buy Hulu. The Brian Roberts-led firm has a 33 percent stake in the U.S. streaming service, while Disney owns the rest and has the option to buy out Comcast starting in January 2024. “We think it’s worth a lot of money because it’s sold on a full-control basis, as if you were auctioning it off,” Jeff Shell, CEO of Comcast division NBCUniversal, said during a Dec. 5 investor conference. “And I think there’s no indication that anything else is going to happen than Disney writing…

Rep Sheet Lily James found new reps at CAA. Connie Britton left WME for CAA. Michael Chiklis inked with Gersh. The Fabelmans actress Chloe East signed withWME. The Sex Lives of College Girls actress Reneé Rapp is now at WME. TikTok’s “Pasta Queen,” Nadia Caterina Munno, inked at CAA. THR, Esq. CASE Taylor Swift fans vs. Live Nation WHY IT MATTERS More than two dozen people on Dec. 2 sued Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation. The suit claims the live entertainment giant knew venues didn’t have enough seats to meet the demand for Swift and has put a spotlight on lack of competition in the market as calls grow for regulators to reexamine the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger.…

Emmy-winning producer Lindsay Shookus and longtime friend Kristin O’Keeffe Merrick, a financial adviser, started Women Work Fucking Hard in 2018 to connect women across different industries. “You don’t have to be the richest person in the room or the most connected to help the woman next to you,” says Shookus, explaining that the purpose of the networking group is to provide female entrepreneurs with a variety of resources. What began as an informal mixer of 50 friends (and a few cold-email invitees) has grown into a bicoastal adult sorority of sorts with 120 perennial attendees at their annual flagship soiree in New York and virtual salons throughout the year. They threw their first Los Angeles event in September at the West Hollywood offices of creative studio The Outset, sponsored by…

Penske Media’s inaugural culture and creativity festival LA3C will make its debut Dec. 10-11 at Los Angeles State Historic Park, with two days of music, art and food. Lil Baby will headline the first-day lineup that includes Snoop Dogg and K-Pop band Seventeen; the second day will feature headliner Maluma and performances by Piso 21 and Tokimonsta. LA3C also will showcase installations from such renowned artists as Jacolby Satterwhite, Amanda Ross-Ho and artist collective For Freedoms and food from some of the city’s favorite eateries, including Love Hour, Prince Street Pizza and Ramen Hood. The event expands beyond the fest grounds to media events throughout L.A., including THR’s exclusive Dec. 11 screening of the Netflix documentary Sr., followed by a Q&A with Robert Downey Jr. and his wife, Susan. To…

AVA DUVERNAY Filmmaker; Founder, Array DuVernay’s abundant output has never stopped her from being hands-on. December saw her write and direct the series finale of her landmark OWN drama Queen Sugar, the same year she delivered limited series DMZ and One Perfect Shot to HBO Max. Next year, she’s expected to start production on an adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents for Netflix. JESSICA ELBAUM Producer The president of Gloria Sanchez Productions (Hustlers, Booksmart) saw her comedy-forward shingle, which has deals with Netflix and 20th Century Studios, release a celebrated final season of Dead to Me and Apple’s big holiday swing Spirited in the tail end of 2022, the latter starring her producing partner Will Ferrell. Up next: Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore two-hander May December.…

“The second-guessing and organized opposition we’re starting to see toward the vitally important progress the industry is making toward greater diversity.”CHANNING DUNGEY “I don’t know if there are any true metrics for what success looks like and how to measure it.”SARAH SCHECHTER “The predictable backslide and normalized reframing of gains made over the last five years.”KATIE MCGRATH “Plastic surgery, fish lips and Botox on very young women.”KRISTA VERNOFF…

Amy Animo Watts Charter HS BARRIE GRUNER Hulu Anita Lawndale High School ERICA SEWELL Netflix Ariana Lawndale High School ANGELA SHAW Disney Elena Lawndale High School PAMELA ABDY Warner Bros. Elizabeth City Honors High School MARIE SHEEHY WME Emily Kennedy High School MELISSA NOGALES-CHAPMAN Funny Or Die Gabriella City Honors High School SHONE JEMMOTT CAA Giselle Belmont High School EMMY CHANG The Lede Co. Heidi Kennedy High School LINDSAY SAMAKOW CAA Itzel Lawndale High School KARA BAKER Avalon Ivana Compton Early College High School SHAUNA SPENLEY Riot Games Jasmine City Honors High School ANN MURPHY CAA Jazmine Kennedy High School AUDREY ROWE CAA Karen Animo Watts Charter HS GABRIELA ZAPATA Netflix Melany Kennedy High School RACHELINE BENVENISTE Netflix Mika City Honors High School KANNIE YU LAPACK Lifetime Seun City Honors…

During his promo tour for Avatar: The Way of Water, James Cameron has mentioned repeatedly that his sequel will need to be the third- or fourth-highest-grossing movie in box office history — the $2 billion club — to succeed. On Nov. 22, the director scored a key win in that quest when Disney and 20th Century revealed that Avatar 2 had secured a coveted release in China on Dec. 16, day-and-date with North America. With China clamping down hard on Hollywood imports over the past year — the seven most recent Marvel superhero movies have been denied permission to screen there — the green light for Avatar 2 was seen as a considerable coup. Disney and its business and diplomatic allies in China are said to have spent months backchanneling with…

Aesthetica (SOHO PRESS, NOV. 22) BY Allie RowbottomAGENCY Anonymous Content The author’s debut novel follows a former Instagram celebrity as she prepares to undergo a new surgery (called Aesthetica) that reverses earlier cosmetic procedures. The book examines social media consumption, vanity, feminism, Los Angeles and beyond. A History of Fear (ATRIA, DEC. 6) BY Luke Dumas AGENCY WME The unreliable-narrator tactic goes to the extreme in this spooky novel about a convicted murder retelling his story from the beginning — it’s a campus mystery, with a little bit of The Talented Mr. Ripley, infused with the supernatural and the satanic.…

“When the stakes are this high, doesn’t it make more sense to hear our story from us?”MEGHAN MARKLE The Duchess of Sussex, in a teaser for the Netflix doc Harry & Meghan, alluding to more revelations about events leading up to her and Prince Harry’s 2020 exit from royal family duties and their move to California. “You don’t look so good.”SACHA BARON COHEN The actor, in character as Borat during the Kennedy Center Honors, receiving a mixed reaction from the crowd when he pretended to mistake President Biden for Donald Trump. “I learned not to fuck with established IP, that’s for sure.”DAVID HARBOUR The actor, on Yahoo, revealing the biggest lesson from signing on to the failed 2019 franchise reboot Hellboy. (The panned film grossed a dismal $50 million on…

A group including veteran filmmaker, executive and producer James Schamus, producer Effie T. Brown, UTA’s Keya Khayatian, MoMA’s Rajendra Roy, makeup artist Lois Burwell, Amazon Studios’ Lorenza Munoz, Strand Releasing’s Marcus Hu, cinematographer John Toll, Disney’s Meredith Shea and the Academy’s Tom Oyer broke bread at Musso & Frank. … Sofía Vergara and Joe Manganiello had a date night at Giorgio Baldi. … In New York, Jennifer Lawrence had a night out with friends at Benjamin Prime. … Gwyneth Paltrow visited Elio’s. … Sylvester Stallone grabbed a table at Monkey Bar. Crossroads Kitchen The Quick Pitch Crossroads Kitchen has expanded to the star-frequented Calabasas Commons, the second L.A. location for chef Tal Ronnen’s plant-based restaurant. The vegan Mediterranean menu features items like chilled leek and celery root soup, squash tortelli,…

For nearly two years, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has been in the midst of an existential crisis, ever since a February 2021 Los Angeles Times story revealed a lack of Black members and a pattern of financial improprieties. The revelations sparked studios and talent to boycott the HFPA and prompted NBC, its longtime broadcasting partner, to decline to air a Golden Globes ceremony in 2022. On Jan. 10, after a major overhaul of the organization and a year off the air, the HFPA will return to holding its signature event, the Globes, on NBC. The group’s reforms have included inviting 21 new members — U.S.-based journalists working for outlets abroad — and 103 new, internationally based voters in order to create a voting pool that is 52 percent female…

It’s very difficult as a stylist to be entirely sustainable,” says London-based Karen Clarkson. “You can’t save the world by fashion styling. It’s about trying to incorporate little things we can be doing into our work.” The stylist and creative director recently dressed client Joely Richardson in a vintage Catherine Walker power-shoulder gown, rather than in a new piece of clothing, for the premiere of Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Behind the scenes, Clarkson recycles, employs reusable garment bags, reuses foundation garments when possible and avoids disposable supplies like sticky lint rollers. Clarkson also pulls from her own vintage shop and archive, Found and Vision, plus scours luxury resale site Vestiaire Collective — which as of Nov. 25 became the first global designer marketplace to ban fast fashion. For over a decade,…

Tucked into a booth in the back of a Beverly Hills piano bar sits Oscar winner Charlize Theron, barely recognizable with a tight tussle of jet-black hair. She’d chopped it the day earlier, to the horror of her daughters, now 7 and 10, but then Theron has never been wedded to one image — nor has she made a career of trying to fit in. In fact, if you’re expecting another guarded, on-message actress, you have Theron mistaken. Over the course of three hours on a Friday evening in November, the face of Dior dropped a grand total of 154 F-bombs, and that’s just when the recorder was on. She assures me that her mother, with whom she co-raises her children in Los Angeles, would have released more. The sailor’s…

JENNIFER ANISTON Actor, Producer Recently filming season three of The Morning Show, Aniston — who says she’s “knee deep in scripts right now” at her Echo Films shingle — is likely to be ubiquitous in 2023. Besides her Apple drama, she has the sequel to Netflix’s Murder Mystery with pal Adam Sandler. I’d trade places for a day with … “Ryan Reynolds — he’s multitalented and dipped in fairy dust.” ANGELA BASSETT Actor, Producer For her reprisal performance as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Bassett is garnering serious Oscar buzz — a feat that would be a first for a Marvel film actor. No stranger to firsts, the star and EP of Fox’s 9-1-1 (who rakes in $450,000 per episode) is among the highest-paid performers in TV history.…

James Cameron Avatar: The Way of Water PREVIOUS WIN Titanic 1998 Brian Grazer Thirteen Lives PREVIOUS WIN A Beautiful Mind 2002 Jon Landau Avatar: The Way of Water PREVIOUS WIN Titanic 1998 Adele Romanski Aftersun PREVIOUS WIN Moonlight 2017 Guillermo del Toro Pinocchio PREVIOUS WIN The Shape of Water 2018 Anthony Katagas Armageddon Time PREVIOUS WIN 12 Years a Slave 2014 Frances McDormand Women Talking PREVIOUS WIN Nomadland 2021 Steven Spielberg The Fabelmans PREVIOUS WIN Schindler’s List 1994…

Tim Burton The director’s Wednesday dethrones Stranger Things on Netflix’s internal chart, then tops itself with 411.3 million hours of global view time for its second week. Dwayne Johnson As Black Adam sheds theaters, the film sits at $165 million domestically and $384 million globally, not exactly a ringing endorsement for a DC film with franchise hopes. Mariah Carey The star’s perennial holiday hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” tops the Billboard Global 200 chart with 64.5 million streams in the week ending Dec. 1. Rick Pérez The chief of the nonprofit International Documentary Association is stepping down after a year-and-a-half tenure during which he presided over mounting labor tension. Showbiz Stocks $2.77 (+19%) GANNETT (GCI) The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, making its way through Congress, would…

FILM RJ Cyler (CAA), Benedict Cumberbatch (UTA), James McAvoy (UTA), Anna Diop (CAA) and David Oyelowo (CAA) have joined director Jeymes Samuel’s The Book of Clarence, from Legendary. Gil Kenan (WME) will helm Sony Pictures’ untitled sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife, with Carrie Coon (UTA), Paul Rudd (UTA), Finn Wolfhard (CAA) and Mckenna Grace (CAA) expected to return. MGM’s Orion Pictures has acquired the feature directorial debut of Watchmen writer Cord Jefferson (CAA). Jeffrey Wright stars in the project, based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett, from T-Street and MRC. Director Ang Lee (CAA) has tapped his son, Mason Lee, to portray Bruce Lee in his action pic for Sony’s 3000 Pictures. DIGITAL/TV Jennifer Garner (CAA) and Ed Helms (UTA) will star in Netflix’s body-switch comedy Family Leave. McG is set…

In Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Rian Johnson’s sequel that follows self-titled “disrupters” as they convene on the private island of their tech billionaire leader, internet drama is the name of the game (well, in addition to murder). Jessica Henwick’s character, Peg, is the long-suffering assistant to Kate Hudson’s Birdie Jay, a fashion-industry stalwart who can’t stop tweeting herself into cultural crosshairs. The franchise is tailor-made for memefication, and Henwick joined the ensemble after a steady run of roles in such other discourse-forward titles as Game of Thrones and Marvel’s Iron Fist. But her first time trending was actually before she’d ever booked a Hollywood role. “I’ve never told anybody this, but I trended on Twitter in 2010 as #asianzombie,” Henwick says over lunch at the Four Seasons outside…

Livia Firth’s Green Carpet Challenge is an ongoing commitment to championing the beauty of wearing sustainable brands on red carpets. Now, the initiative — which has worked over the years with such stars as Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Lupita Nyong’o and Viola Davis — is releasing a guidebook in an effort to make sustainable dressing and styling as seamless as possible. Geared toward Hollywood stylists and stars, the guide promotes four distinct avenues toward achieving environmentally conscious outfits: artisanal (looks from small businesses and local makers); bespoke (custom apparel that uses eco-friendly materials); vintage choices; and the re-wearing of dresses. The guide can be found at eco-age.com/gcc-handbook. “What the handbook does is explains how you can create a bespoke look from scratch, how you can walk the red carpet and…

BELA BAJARIA Head of Global TV, Netflix Overseeing an annual content spend of $17 billion alongside film counterpart Scott Stuber, the TV titan manages hundreds of executives in more than 20 territories. In 2022, she delivered some of the streaming giant’s biggest hits including Inventing Anna, season four of Stranger Things and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story — which Ryan Murphy is turning into an anthological franchise. Under Bajaria, Netflix was recognized with 105 Emmy nominations, including 14 for Squid Game. Netflix’s most watched original of all time (1.65 billion hours and counting, per the streamer) became the first non-English-language series nominated in the drama category. The character I identify with “Devi Vishwakumar in Never Have I Ever. She really captures the hilarious and heartwarming intersection of cultures.” CHANNING DUNGEY…

“… Freeze-framing sitcom end credits and writing down writers’ names to create a database for NBC comedy, as none existed.” KAREY BURKE “… Feeding my boss’ late husband’s fish.” SHONDA RHIMES “… Casting the first season of The Apprentice.”ERIN WESTERMAN “… Setting people up on blind dates for a game show called Studs.”NICOLE CLEMENS “… Running a paper teleprompter.”AMY WINTER “… Carrying a 30-pound stamp machine into the post office to fill with stamps.”MEREDITH WECHTER “… Doing a Crest commercial in Spanish. I speak Italian, not Spanish, but faked it well enough.”FRANCESCA ORSI “I had the distinct honor of brushing ALF as a PA on the pilot of that winning TV series of the late ’80s.”BLAIR KOHAN…

MAHA DAKHIL, TONI HOWARD, IDA ZINITI Agents, CAA Dakhil and Ziniti continue to ink marquee deals for their all-star film rosters, with the former’s clients topping the box office (Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling and Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King) and the latter setting Margot Robbie at another franchise with an Ocean’s Eleven prequel. Howard, who formally joined with June’s completion of the ICM acquisition, brought over A-listers Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton and Laura Linney. I’d trade places for a day with … Dakhil: “An entire greenlight committee.” Last great read Ziniti: “Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died.” Industry slang I’m totally over Howard: “Bandwidth.” THERESA KANG Founder and CEO, Blue Marble The agent turned manager touts an A-list roster (Alfonso Cuarón, Lena Waithe, Prentice Penny) and a…

DANAI GURIRA ON ANGELA BASSETT Actress and playwright Gurira recalls a moment on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever set — spoiler alert! — when her co-star reiterated to her the true meaning of acting royalty. I knew her as Tina, as Stella, a powerhouse who always delivered memorable, resonant, unforgettable, iconic performances. I looked to her as the North Star for all a Black girl could aspire to be in this field. The first time I met Angela Bassett was in 2009 when I was reprising the role of Martha Pentecost, a role she originated, in the Broadway revival of Joe Turner Has Come and Gone. Naturally, I was intimidated to meet this astounding artist in this particular circumstance. I could never have imagined how approachable and kind she turned…