Ronna McDaniel Hire Causes Division at NBC News; 'Ghostbusters' Scares Up Okay $45M; David Dastmalchian Talks 'Late Night with the Devil'

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( March 25, 2024 What's news: Rebel Wilson claims that Sacha Baron Cohen is trying to censor her memoir. Michael Eisner has backed Bob Iger in Disney's battle against activist investors. Joana Vicente is departing the Sundance Institute. Sydney Sweeney's indie horror flick Immaculate opened to $5m. Netflix's 3 Body Problem is riling up Chinese nationalists. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. Ronna McDaniel Hire Causes Division at NBC News ►ICYMI. In one of the most high-profile hires of the 2024 election cycle, NBC News hired former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as an on-air contributor. McDaniel made her NBC debut on Sunday’s Meet the Press, and will appear on NBC, MSNBC and NBC News Now programming. McDaniel, the former head of the Michigan Republican Party, took over the leadership role at the RNC in 2017. [The story.]( —"It's unfortunate for this program." The McDaniel news has created discontent within the ranks at NBC News. On Sunday, after McDaniel had appeared on Meet the Press, the program's former moderator Chuck Todd openly criticized NBC News for the hire. "There’s a reason why there’s a lot of journalists at NBC News are uncomfortable with this, because many of our professional dealings with the RNC over the last six years have been met with gaslighting, had been met with character assassination," Todd said. —"It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on Morning Joe in her capacity as a paid contributor." The fallout from the McDaniel hiring continued on Monday morning, with MSNBC Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski weighed in on her hiring as a political analyst, saying that they had been “inundated with calls” about the controversial move. Scarborough and Brzezinski didn't hold back and described McDaniel as "a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier." [The story.]( Wilson Claims "A**hole" Baron Cohen Tried to Censor Memoir ►"I will not be bullied or silenced by high-priced lawyers or PR crisis managers." Rebel Wilson has revealed that her The Brothers Grimsby co-star Sacha Baron Cohen is the previously unnamed Hollywood “asshole” that is allegedly attempting to censor her upcoming memoir, Rebel Rising. Last week, the Aussie actress had claimed that an unnamed star had hired "a crisis PR manager and lawyers" to "threaten" her over a chapter in her book. On Sunday, Wilson revealed it was Baron Cohen who "is trying to stop press coming out about my book." [The story.]( —🤝 Ratified 🤝 SAG-AFTRA members have ratified new three-year television animation contracts covering voice actors, the first to tackle the threat of artificial intelligence. In a ratification vote that ended on Friday, 95.52 percent of members voted to support the Television Animation Agreement and the Basic Cable Animation Agreement deal reached by union negotiators. The performers’ union first announced that a tentative agreement with the AMPTP on the contracts had been reached on Feb. 21. [The story.]( —Eisner backs Iger. Another prominent voice is weighing in with support for Disney CEO Bob Iger and the company’s board of directors in its proxy fight with Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners. Michael Eisner, Iger’s predecessor as CEO of the company, released a statement Friday that calls back to the 1984 activist campaign by corporate raider Saul Steinberg, and warned that "bringing in someone who doesn’t have experience in the company or the industry to disrupt Bob and his eventual successor is playing not only with fire but earthquakes and hurricanes as well." [The story.]( —🤝 Settlement 🤝 Martin Scorsese and his production company, Sikelia Productions, have settled a lawsuit accusing them of reneging on a $1m deal to executive produce a World War II movie. U.K.-based production company Op-Fortitude informed the court on Thursday of a deal to resolve the case. Details of the deal weren’t disclosed. Op-Fortitude alleged in a lawsuit filed last year that Scorsese accepted a $500,000 initial payment to personally assemble an all-star cast for Operation: Fortitude and refused to return the money after doing no work for over a year. [The story.]( —"I have made the decision to begin a new chapter." Joana Vicente is departing the Sundance Institute, where she has overseen the nonprofit and its storied film festival since late 2021. Sundance board member Amanda Kelso will step in as acting CEO through April, while Vicente will remain as an adviser to Kelso and the board through June. Vincente's tenure is relatively short by recent Sundance standards. Previous CEO Keri Putnam spent a decade there, while fest director John Cooper stepped down in 2019 after a decade. [The story.]( 'Ghostbusters' Scares Up Decent $45M Opening ►Nostalgia reigns. Sony's Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire had no trouble winning a relatively quiet weekend at the box office, with a stronger-than-expected Saturday turnout rescuing the movie from opening behind the franchise’s last installment. Sunday estimates show Frozen Empire launching with $45.2m in North America thanks to multi-generational turnout and families. In 2021, the pandemic-challenged Ghostbusters: Afterlife debuted to $44m. Overseas, the Sony tentpole started off with $16.4m from 25 markets — it has a staggered rollout for competitive reasons — for a global start of $61.6m. THR's [Pamela McClintock]( writes that Frozen Empire will need to have decent legs, considering it cost more to make — $100m, versus $75m for Afterlife. And there’s still concern that the film hasn’t broadened out to any notable degree in terms of new fans. The weekend’s other new nationwide opener is Neon’s specialty horror pic Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney, who is fresh off her hit rom-com Anyone But You. Immaculate, fueled by younger women, placed No. 4 with an estimated $5m, in line with expectations for the indie film. [The box office report.]( —Po money, Po problems. Dreamworks Animation's Kung Fu Panda 4, the latest installment in one of China’s favorite long-running U.S. franchises, opened to a solid $25.9m this weekend including previews. Despite the robust showing, KFP4 was miles behind KFP3, which opened the weekend before Chinese New Year in 2016 to $57.8m. Dune: Part Two, meanwhile, added $4.6m over its third weekend for a running total of $44.6m and the film should cross the $50m in China during its run. [The China box office report.]( Coogler to Produce Prince Jukebox Musical ►Let's go crazy! Ryan Coogler is working on a Prince-focused feature musical. The Black Panther filmmaker is attached to produce an untitled jukebox musical of Prince songs for Universal Pictures. The project, which has been in development since 2018, hails from Proximity Media and has a script by Bryan Edward Hill. THR reported last week that Coogler's forthcoming untitled Warner Bros. feature that stars Michael B. Jordan is set for release on March 7, 2025. [The story.]( —Get Statham! David Ayer is set to direct a thriller from producer Damien Chazelle. The Beekeeper filmmaker will helm Paramount Pictures’ Heart of the Beast from a script by Cameron Alexander. The feature, which has been in development since 2017, follows a former Navy SEAL and his combat dog amid their attempt to find civilization after getting stranded deep in the Alaskan terrain. As well as Chazelle, producers include Olivia Hamilton of Wild Chickens Productions, in addition to Ayer and Chris Long of Cedar Park Entertainment. [The story.]( —Shooter's in. Happy Gilmore star Christopher McDonald hopes that the Adam Sandler-led sports comedy is driving toward a follow-up. McDonald, who played the villainous Shooter McGavin in director Dennis Dugan’s 1996 Universal movie, said during an appearance Friday on Audacy radio show 92.3 The Fan that Sandler recently showed him a draft of the script for a Happy Gilmore sequel. [The story.]( —Heading to the big screen. Chinese filmmaker DaMing Chen and veteran producer Chris Lee have partnered to develop a feature adaptation of James Zimmerman’s nonfiction book, The Peking Express: The Bandits Who Stole a Train, Stunned the West, and Broke the Republic of China. The film will recount the improbable 1923 train heist, known as the “Lincheng Outrage,” when Chinese bandits raided a luxury express train bound for Beijing and took over 300 international hostages. The incident provided the inspiration for the 1932 Marlene Dietrich film Shanghai Express. [The story.]( —Rare gem. The Black Guelph, a dark Irish crime thriller centered on Ireland’s Travellers community, has secured a U.S. release via Entertainment Squad. John Connors’ directorial debut premiered at the Oldenburg Film Festival in 2022, where it won both best film honor and the best actor for star Graham Earley. It is billed as the first film from an Irish Travellers’ director to depict the indigenous ethnocultural group, also known as Minceir, which is among the most disadvantaged and discriminated against in Western Europe. [The story.]( Will Netflix's '3 Body Problem' Get a S2? ►"The story takes a huge leap in book two." With Netflix's big-budget 3 Body Problem garnering an inconsistent reaction, THR's [James Hibberd]( looks at whether the streamer will back showrunners David Benioff, Dan Weiss and Alexander Woo to expand the story in a sure-to-be pricey second season, which they say will be stronger than the first. [The story.]( —About that inconsistent reaction... James reports that 3 Body Problem is getting some heated reactions from viewers in China, while its opening scene is drawing praise among some conservatives in the U.S. Showrunner David Benioff says the show's brutal Cultural Revolution scenes were not intended to be a critique of cancel culture but notes that some parallels are "hard to ignore." [The story.]( —Scheduling nightmare. Karen Pittman, who played Nya Wallace on And Just Like That, will not be returning for the upcoming third season of the hit Max series. The streamer noted that due to Pittman’s commitments to other shows, "it has become apparent that filming three shows at once isn’t possible." The actress also stars on the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show and Netflix’s upcoming show Forever. [The story.]( —It's happening. Wizards of Waverly Place is officially getting the sequel series treatment. Two months after handing out a pilot order for Wizards, Ayo Davis’ Disney Branded Television banner has handed out a formal series order for the sequel series. The show will premiere this year on both Disney Channel and Disney+. Wizards production will begin next month in L.A. and feature Selena Gomez and David Henrie reprising their roles as Alex and Justin Russo. Both will exec produce the series. [The story.]( HBO's 'The Regime' Is a Warning About Reelecting Trump ►"The intent of the show is that it’s dangerously funny." THR's queen of chat [Jackie Strause]( spoke to Stephen Frears and Jessica Hobbs who co-directed HBO's new Kate Winslet-starring political satire, The Regime. The filmmakers discuss the parallels and not subtle so references to current politics in the show and say that the drama, despite its themes, is supposed to make you laugh. Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( —That surprising cameo and violent twist. For THR, Josh Wigler spoke to the key actors in episode five of AMC's The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. The zombie drama brings an old favorite back into the mix, and promptly sends another off into the great beyond: "They didn't disappoint with how they brought me down," says the ousted actor. Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( —"I kind of knew the story, but I hadn't lived those events yet." For THR, Demetrius Patterson spoke to Ansel Elgort about season two of Max's Tokyo Vice. Elgort discusses the Michael Mann-directed eighth episode of the season, gaining fluency in Japanese, his approach to portraying an American journalist working in Japan and his various observations of Japanese culture from a foreigner’s point of view. Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( Dastmalchian Talks 'Late Night with the Devil' ►"There’s a lot of roles that I can imagine myself slipping into: Bond villain, Sith Lord, cult leader, creepy suspect number 17, but charming, witty, funny talk show host!?" THR's [Brian Davids]( spoke to David Dastmalchian about his new film, Late Night with the Devil. The versatile character actor discusses how to in order to play a '70s talk show host undergoing a transformative moment in his life, he studied a real-life Australian talk show that is believed to have inspired Heath Ledger's Dark Knight performance. [The interview.]( —"Jason and I are primed and ready to continue the Phoebe Spengler saga." Brian also spoke to Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire filmmaker Gil Kenan on taking over the directing reins from Jason Reitman. Kenan also addresses whether Rick Moranis was ever approached about returning as Louis Tully, before explaining how his and Reitman’s next film, SNL 1975, has been in the works since before Ghostbusters: Afterlife got going. [The interview.]( In other news... —Colin Farrell’s [Penguin returns in The Batman spinoff trailer]( —Doctor Who [trailer sees Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson join forces to save the world]( —Kevin Hart [roasted by Chris Rock, Regina Hall at Mark Twain Prize ceremony]( —Fremantle [completes Ascha Media Group acquisition]( —Alamo Drafthouse [to host 9-film Star Wars marathon]( —Cameron Diaz [and Benji Madden welcome second child]( —Valentino designer [Pierpaolo Piccioli is leaving after 25 years with the fashion house]( —Vespertine, one of L.A.’s best — and most notorious— restaurants is reopening: [Here’s a look inside]( ​​​What else we're reading... —Imogen West-Knights writes that what is happening to Kate Middleton is awful, but pushes back against the scolds and says the public is not to blame for how the news cycle unfolded [[Slate]( —In a harrowing piece, Thomas Harding interviewed Brigitte Höss, daughter of Rudolf Höss, the Auschwitz camp commandant featured in Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest, before she died in December 2021. In the interview, Brigitte Höss discusses life at the camp and confesses that her mother knew everything that was going on [[Guardian]( —Julie Miller interviews Anne Hathaway for Vanity Fair's cover feature, and the Oscar-winning actress discusses her new film The Idea of You, how she goes all in on her characters and addressing her haters [[Vanity Fair]( —As sales for the iPhone begin to dip in China, Meaghan Tobin, Alexandra Stevenson and Tripp Mickle report on whether Chinese consumers have lost their taste for Apple's flagship product [[NYT]( —In an exposé, Kerry Howley reports that Andrew Huberman, neuroscientist and one of the world's most popular podcasters, has been accused of manipulative behavior, deceit, and numerous affairs [[Intelligencer]( Today... ...in 1983, Francis Ford Coppola and Warner Bros. brought The Outsiders adaptation to theaters, featuring a cast that included many rising stars. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Elton John (77), Lee Pace (45), Jenny Slate (42), Sarah Jessica Parker (59), Edgar Ramírez (47), Richard O'Brien (82), Lark Voorhies (50), Paul Michael Glaser (81), Alex Moffat (42), [Domenick Lombardozzi]( (48), Marcia Cross (62), Jeff Beacher (51), Kiowa Gordon (34), Elizabeth Lail (32), Kari Matchett (54), Katharine McPhee (40), Seychelle Gabriel (33), Bonnie Bedelia (76), Brenda Strong (64), Aly Michalka (35), Sean Faris (42), Mikey Madison (25), Maribeth Monroe (46), Matthew Beard (35), John Stockwell (63), LisaGay Hamilton (60), Pamela Ludwig (64), Laz Alonso (50), Erik Knudsen (36), Justin Prentice (30), Ryan O'Nan (42), Rhianne Barreto (26), Robert O'Reilly (74), Lorenzo Richelmy (34) This email was sent to {EMAIL} by The Hollywood Reporter. Please add email@email.hollywoodreporter.com to your address book to ensure delivery to your inbox. 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