The all-new Hollywood Reporter offers unprecedented access to the people, studios, networks and agencies that create the magic in Hollywood. Published weekly, the oversized format includes exceptional photography and rich features.
Alex Newell & J. Harrison Ghee The Shucked and Some Like It Hot actors become the first openly nonbinary performers to claim Tony Awards, for featured role and leading role in a musical, respectively. David Zaslav The WBD chief ousted CNN leader Chris Licht, but cracks are showing: Ad spend at the channel fell 40 percent year-over-year to $312.6 million at the top of ’23, per MediaRadar. Harry Styles The artist’s Love on Tour live shows have grossed $138.6 million from Nov. 1 to April 30, per Billboard, topping all other acts for revenue and paid attendance in that period. Bobby Kotick The odds for Microsoft’s $69 billion deal for Activision Blizzard, led by the CEO, get longer as the FTC filed a request to block the merger. Does the…
Black moviegoers represented 35 percent of ticket-buyers flocking to see Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther on the film’s opening weekend in February 2018, more than triple the norm. The Marvel Studios movie was widely credited as a groundbreaker: a blockbuster superhero film featuring a virtually all-Black cast. The bold move paid off, as the Oscar-nominated film ultimately topped out at just north of $700 million at the domestic box office to rank as the top-grossing pic of the year. Yet when it comes to diversity in front of the camera, progress has been sluggish for big-budget event pics despite such hits as Black Panther or the long-running Fast & Furious franchise. The 2023 summer box office could represent a notable step forward. For three weekends in a row, pricey studio tentpoles…
Following years of rumors, Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the tech giant’s anticipated mixed reality headset June 5 — and Hollywood was abuzz. Slated for an early 2024 release, the Apple Vision Pro was presented as a portable spacial computer “starting at” $3,499. The device is operated with an interface controlled by face, hands and voice. And with such features as 4K, HDR, spacial audio and stereoscopic 3D, Apple made it clear that entertainment was a central part of its mission. Apple TV+ shows Ted Lasso and Foundation were included in the presentation, while the company described the device’s utility to consumers as a “personal movie theater.” And Disney CEO Bob Iger even appeared during the unveiling to announce that Disney+ would be available on the device at launch, deeming…
Guest Column Joan Didion wrote in The White Album, “We tell ourselves stories to live.” Part of what she meant, I think, is that we come to rely on our stories as a kind of infrastructure; we build lives, friendships and marriages on top of them. They become foundational, tectonic in ways that are deeper than we understand. And like anything tectonic, it was alarming for me when the stories I’d always told myself about being a gay man started to move. When I first heard the word “nonbinary,” I didn’t know what it meant aside from the fact that I was no longer in my 20s. At first I watched the beautiful rethinking of gender that Gen Z queer culture hath wrought as if it were happening on the…
Ayear ago, it looked like TV was on the verge of a fantasy boom. HBO/Max’s House of the Dragon and Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power were set to premiere within weeks of each other in August and September — two big, expensive productions featuring mythical creatures that sought ratings, prestige and, one would assume, Emmys. But, now, heading into nominations, both are fighting for spots that do not appear to be guaranteed. Is the hope for fantasy glory at the Emmys, well, a fantasy? House of the Dragon and Rings of Power were clearly trying to capitalize on the success of Game of Thrones, which netted 161 nominations over its eight seasons. Of course, in Dragon, the legacy is explicit: It’s a direct prequel…
FILM Ryan Reynolds (WME) and Kenneth Branagh (WME) are set to star in the action-adventure feature Mayday, from Apple Original Films and Skydance. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley penned the script and will produce and direct as well. The Fabelmans breakout Chloe East (WME) and Hugh Grant (CAA) are in talks for A24’s thriller Heretic from A Quiet Place creatives Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. Hocus Pocus 2 helmer Anne Fletcher (UTA) and writer Jen D’Angelo (UTA) are returning to direct and write a third installment at Disney. Elliot Page (UTA) and Hillary Baack (KMR Talent) are set to star in the feature drama Close to You from writer-director Dominic Savage. Felipe Vargas (CAA) will direct Lionsgate’s feature reboot of Leprechaun from a script by Mike Van Waes. Yellowjackets breakout…
