'Stereophonic,' 'Hell's Kitchen' Lead Tony Noms; Is There Still Hope for #MeToo Justice?; How 'Sympathizer' Cast Represents Vietnamese Diaspora

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( May 01, 2024 What's news: Rob Marciano is out at ABC News. Slamdance Film Festival is moving to L.A. for its 2025 event. New Line has landed the Chris Farley biopic. Francis Ford Coppola has revealed a first look at Megalopolis. Amazon has ordered a second season of forthcoming drama Cross. Beavis and Butt-Head made a surprise appearance at The Fall Guy premiere. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. 'Stereophonic,' 'Hell's Kitchen' Lead Tony Noms ►🏆 Record broken 🏆 The Alicia Keys musical Hell’s Kitchen and new play Stereophonic, about a fictional band in the 1970s, led the Tony nominations with 13 nominations each. With its 13 noms, Stereophonic set a record for the most Tony nominations for a play, surpassing previous record holder Slave Play’s 12 in 2020. The Outsiders, a musical based on the 1967 S.E. Hinton book, followed with 12 nominations and the revival of Cabaret, starring Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin, had nine nods. [The nominees.]( —Snubs, shutouts and surprises. Tuesday morning’s Tony noms saw an unexpected snub for Amber Ruffin’s The Wiz, which failed to land a single nomination. Ingrid Michaelson was also a surprise snub in the best score category, failing to land a nomination for her music for The Notebook. A number of high-profile productions only landed one nomination each, including The Great Gatsby; Gutenberg! The Musical!, starring Book of Mormon alums Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad; Monty Python’s Spamalot; and The Who’s Tommy. [The story.]( Survey: Film Academy Members Endorse Mission and Telecast ►Feeling good. The present incarnation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has received a ringing endorsement from its members, according to the results of an annual member survey. Eighty-seven percent of members have a positive feeling about the Academy and 84 percent of members gave the most recent Oscars telecast a positive rating, levels of approval never before attained in the history of the survey (which was previously conducted in 2020, 2022 and 2023, and which was conducted this year in the immediate aftermath of the Oscars). [The story.]( —Fired. ABC News meteorologist, and Good Morning America regular, Rob Marciano is out at the network. The exact circumstances of his departure aren’t clear, though Page Six reported in March 2023 that he had been “banned” from GMA’s Times Square studio after making a colleague feel uncomfortable. Marciano had been with ABC News and GMA for nearly a decade, joining in 2014 after a brief stint as the co-anchor of the syndicated program Entertainment Tonight. [The story.]( —Beginnings of an exodus? Weeks after the Sundance Film Festival announced that it was opening up exploratory conversations about leaving its longtime home of Park City, the Slamdance Film Festival has announced that its 2025 fest will not be taking place in the Utah resort town. Next year’s Slamdance — the more indie cousin of Sundance — will take place in Los Angeles, from Feb. 20 to 26. "The festival aims to be financially accessible," Slamdance said in a statement, addressing oft cited cost concerns about Park City. [The story.]( —It's working. Amazon's ad business surged in Q1, growing by 24 percent year-over-year, benefitting from the decision to turn on ads for Prime Video users back in January (or letting users pay $3 per month to avoid them). Ad revenue was $11.8b in Q1, compared to $9.5b a year earlier. The bulk of Amazon’s ad business is still in its retail segment, but it has made a big bet on Prime Video, which has scale unmatched by any other streamer except for YouTube. The decision to add ads to Prime Video is also one of the reasons behind Amazon’s decision to join TV’s upfront week this year. [The story.]( Jenkins Responds to 'Mufasa' "Soulless" Criticism ►Never look at the comments Bazza! Mufasa: The Lion King released its first trailer this week, and some of the responses on social media have gotten under the skin of director Barry Jenkins. The filmmaker took to X on Monday to share the trailer, and he replied to someone who called the project "soulless." "There is nothing soulless about The Lion King," Jenkins wrote. "For decades children have sat in theaters all over the world experiencing collective grief for the first time, engaging Shakespeare for the first time, across aisles in myriad languages. A most potent vessel for communal empathy." [The story.]( —Snaffled. Amid a highly competitive process, New Line Cinema has landed director Josh Gad's forthcoming Chris Farley biopic. Paul Walter Hauser, a recent Emmy winner for his work in Apple TV+’s Black Bird, will star as Farley, the Saturday Night Live standout who died of a drug overdose in 1997 at age 33. The project has the blessing of the Farley family, with SNL creator Lorne Michaels and Erin David serving as producers for Broadway Video. [The story.]( —Promising. Avengelyne may be flying to Warner Bros., with the studio in early talks to acquire the comic book package that hit earlier this month. Olivia Wilde is attached to direct the feature, with LuckyChap's Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara producing. The banner has a first-look deal with Warners, which made the studio the first stop for the package, which has added screenwriter Tony McNamara to the mix. Longtime X-Men producer Simon Kinberg is also producing. Avengelyne launched in 1995 and centered on a fallen angel cast to Earth. [The story.]( —First look! Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded $120m feature Megalopolis has revealed a first look image after landing a Cannes competition berth. The first official image reveals Adam Driver eyeing a rebuilding of the City of New Rome, while Nathalie Emmanuel, as Julia Cicero, the socialite daughter of Mayor Cicero, looks on. Megalopolis is structured as a Roman epic fable set in an imagined modern America. The film will screen in competition in Cannes on May 17 in a gala premiere. [The first look.]( —"I became a parody of myself." Chris Hemsworth is still wincing at the reception to Thor: Love and Thunder. The Aussie actor looked back on the goofily disappointing 2022 Marvel movie in a new profile in Vanity Fair. "I got caught up in the improv and the wackiness, and I became a parody of myself," Hemsworth said. "I didn’t stick the landing." The profile noted that Hemsworth feels like he owes fans another Thor movie due to the fourth film’s reception. [The story.]( How 'Sympathizer' Cast Represents Modern Vietnamese Diaspora ►"I had no place to go, so the [film] company and all the actors in my movie raised funds to buy a very expensive ticket for me to fly around the world buying time, waiting for Saigon to fall so I could land wherever and become a refugee." THR's [Rebecca Sun]( spoke to eight castmembers of The Sympathizer, and several of the Vietnamese cast say they personally experienced the fall of Saigon. For others, the HBO and A24 limited series, an adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning novel, was a learning opportunity, and chance to help their families and communities heal from trauma. [The interview.]( —Doubling down. Amazon Prime Video has ordered a second season of Cross, a drama starring Aldis Hodge and based on James Patterson’s best-selling Alex Cross novel series about a detective and forensic psychologist who delves into the minds of killers in order to catch them. The renewal comes ahead of the show’s debut — a date for which hasn’t been set. Additionally, Wes Chatham, Matthew Lillard and Jeanine Mason are set to join the cast for the second season. [The story.]( —🎭 Filling out 🎭 Oscar winner Troy Kotsur, Abbey Lee, Odessa Young and Robin De Jesús are joining Jason Bateman and Jude Law in Netflix's forthcoming drama Black Rabbit. The four new actors will have regular roles in the limited series, which comes from creators Zach Baylin and Kate Susman. Seven actors — Amir Malaklou, Don Harvey, Forrest Weber, Francis Benhamou, Gus Birney, John Ales and Steve Witting — will have recurring parts. They join the two leads and the previously cast Cleopatra Coleman, Amaka Okafor, Sopé Dìrísù, Dagmara Dominczyk and birthday boy Chris Coy. [The story.]( —🎭 Emmy-winning team up 🎭 Ty Burrell and Bryan Cranston are producing a comedic reworking of Tightrope!, a short-lived detective drama from the late 1950s, for the Roku Channel. Burrell will star in and executive produce the six-episode series, while Cranston is an executive producer. Roku made the announcement Tuesday at its newfronts presentation to advertisers, where it also showcased upcoming programming including a travel series from Tracee Ellis Ross, a culinary competition series hosted by Josh Peck and a talk show from John Cena. [The story.]( —🤝 Rights deal 🤝 British novelist Jeffrey Archer is set to have his work adapted for film and television across foreign-language territories, with an initial focus on viewers in India, the rest of Asia, and the Middle East. On Wednesday, the Jeffery Archer Co. and the London-based Dream Bay Entertainment, co-founded in 2023 by ex-Amazon executive Thomas Drachkovitch, said they have partnered to bring Archer’s stories to the screen. Archer's books include Kane and Abel and the Clifton Chronicles. [The story.]( Is There Still Hope for #MeToo Justice? ►"We all know he's guilty." THR's editor-at-large [Kim Masters]( writes that the overturning of Harvey Weinstein's New York rape verdict last week proves that while institutions may fail, diligent journalism can still hold sexual predators to account. [The analysis.]( —More legal trouble. A coalition of eight daily newspapers owned by Alden Global Capital have sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, expanding a growing front in the legal battle over the unauthorized use of articles to power AI technology. The lawsuit is at least the fourth complaint brought against the Sam Altman-led firm over copyright issues associated with training the automated chatbots that have vaulted the company to a multibillion-dollar valuation and sparked rivals to pour troves of cash into competing technology. [The story.]( —"I will be engaging my AI twigs later this year to extend my reach and handle my online social media interactions, whilst I continue to focus on my art from the comfort and solace of my studio." FKA Twigs will develop a deepfake AI version of herself to facilitate fan interactions, the musician said on Tuesday. The British singer-songwriter appeared on Capitol Hill this week to testify in support of regulations controlling AI deepfakes, but added that when well-controlled, the technology can be quite helpful to artists. [The story.]( —"It makes me really sad." Daniel Radcliffe responded this week to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans stances, adding that he hasn’t had any direct contact with the writer since the beginning of her first speaking out against the trans community. In a new interview, Radcliffe addressed Rowling recently saying she would not forgive those who have supported trans healthcare, including the actor and his Harry Potter co-stars Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. [The story.]( —"I forgot the world was reading!" Barbra Streisand is seemingly taken aback by the backlash she has received regarding an Ozempic comment she left on Melissa McCarthy's latest Instagram post. Streisand took to her social media Tuesday to offer an explanation for her remark, writing, "OMG — I went on Instagram to see the photos we’d posted of the beautiful flowers I’d received for my birthday! Below them was a photo of my friend Melissa McCarthy who I sang with on my Encore album. She looked fantastic! I just wanted to pay her a compliment." [The story.]( Beavis and Butt-Head Make Surprise Appearance at 'Fall Guy' Premiere ►"This movie is just a giant campaign to get stunts an Oscar." The Fall Guy, which tells the story of Ryan Gosling's down-and-out stuntman, fully embraced the action at its Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday, with stuntmen fighting, falling and riding motorcycles all over the red carpet. Held at the Dolby Theatre, the premiere transformed Hollywood Boulevard into its own movie set, as two stuntmen did wheelies down the press line on their motorbikes, followed by another jumping off a multi-story platform onto the carpet entrance. [The story.]( —We want more! Gosling initially walked The Fall Guy red carpet in a mint-green Gucci suit with his co-star Emily Blunt. The actor later returned — only this time looking a bit different. Gosling and Mikey Day surprised everyone, and reprised their iconic Beavis and Butt-Head characters from Saturday Night Live. [The story.]( Patel, Momoa, Rodrigo Top Gold House's A100 List ►"This year was special." Dev Patel, Jason Momoa, Olivia Rodrigo and James Wan are the entertainers topping Gold House’s A100 list of the most influential Asian Pacifics across culture for 2024. Annually released on the first day of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month since 2018, this year’s A100 also includes Keanu Reeves, Hayao Miyazaki, BTS member Jung Kook, Academy president Janet Yang and — in a sign of the relative plenitude of API-fronted content today — key creatives and cast members from Avatar: The Last Airbender, 3 Body Problem, Past Lives, One Piece, Expats, Elemental, Shōgun and The Sympathizer. [The story.]( In other news... —Netflix’s [new releases coming in May 2024]( —Bella Hadid [opens up about stepping back from modeling]( —Denzel Washington [set for retrospective at American Black Film Festival]( —Denis Villeneuve [to receive honorary Canadian Screen Award]( —Tribeca Festival [sets Mean Streets, Footloose anniversary screenings]( —Netflix’s [Ted Sarandos, BBC's Tim Davie set for Royal Television Society London convention]( ​​​What else we're reading... —Zoe Guy highlights some lyrics from Kendrick Lamar's "Euphoria" that really, really, really illustrate how much he dislikes Drake [[Vulture]( —Alex Sherman spoke to composer John Tesh about the mechanics of how NBC could buy the rights to “Roundball Rock” if the network were to air NBA games again [[CNBC]( —Lorraine Ali writes that the university protests are dominating media coverage, obscuring the true horror of Gaza war [[LAT]( —With online dating becoming a hellscape, Valeriya Safronova reports on Bumble shifting course and now letting men make the first move on the app [[NYT]( —Kevin O'Connor wonders whether it makes much sense for the Lakers and LeBron to stick together [[Ringer]( Today... ...in 1998, Touchstone Pictures unveiled director Spike Lee’s drama He Got Game — featuring Denzel Washington, NBA star Ray Allen and Milla Jovovich — in theaters. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: [Wes Anderson]( (55), Joanna Lumley (78), Lorene Scafaria (46), Jamie Dornan (42), Nicholas Braun (36), Tim McGraw (57), Madeline Brewer (32), Dann Florek (74), Julie Benz (52), James Badge Dale (46), Kerry Bishé (40), Bailey Chase (52), Caitlin Stasey (34), Douglas Barr (75), Violante Placido (48), Stephen Macht (82), Lizzy Greene (21), Chris Coy (38), Josh Andrés Rivera (29), Paloma Baeza (49), Charlie Schlatter (58), Sacha Dhawan (40), Darius McCrary (48), Andrea Lowe (49), Grayson Russell (26), Jake Cannavale (29), Amira Casar (53), Geneva Maccarone (26), Scott Coffey (60), Ben Marshall (29), Dave Willis (54), Maia Morgenstern (62), Charli D'Amelio (20) *warning this may make you feel nauseous. Brian McCardie, the Scottish actor who portrayed the younger brother of Liam Neeson’s titular hero in Michael Caton-Jones’ historical drama Rob Roy, has died. He was 59. [The obituary.]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} by The Hollywood Reporter. 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