[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( August 05, 2024 What's news: Some HOTD fans weren't too happy with the S2 finale. Members of the Crooked Media Workers Union are conducting a one-day walkout. The DOJ and FTC is suing TikTok. WBD is shuttering streamer Boomerang. Aerosmith is retiring from touring. Molly Kearney is leaving SNL. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. Oscars: Inside the Search for a Host âº"The Academy and ABC, being risk-averse, will often re-approach people who have hosted before." In the wake of Jimmy Kimmel and John Mulaney turning down the Oscars gig, the Academy has limited options and could veer away from the comedian model, writes THR's executive editor of awards Scott Feinberg. [The analysis.]( —Under fire again. YouTuber MrBeast is facing accusations of unsafe conditions and a lack of food and medical care for participants while filming for his upcoming Amazon MGM Studios show Beast Games. In a new report in the NYT, more than a dozen people who participated in the first installment of the reality competition show in July spoke about their experiences. Beast Games was announced in March and is based on MrBeast’s, real name Jimmy Donaldson, popular YouTube videos, which see him giving out extravagant prizes for high-stakes games and competitions. [The story.]( —Not great. Members of the Crooked Media Workers Union are conducting a one-day walkout Monday. The progressive media company, which is home to the podcast Pod Save America, has been in negotiations with the union for more than a year. The primary asks for the contract include competitive salary minimums, annual cost-of-living adjustments and safeguards against layoffs. More than 95 percent of the 61-member bargaining unit signed the walkout pledge, and the union members say they will not accept a contract without these provisions. [The story.]( —Escalation of scrutiny. TikTok has been sued by the government for violating a federal law intended to protect children’s privacy online. The DOJ and FTC, in a lawsuit filed in the Central District of California on Friday, sued TikTok and Chinese parent company ByteDance over illegally collecting personal information on children. It alleges breaches of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, the central law protecting youngsters on the internet that restricts tracking by online services. [The story.]( —Let them fight. Elon Musk is reigniting a legal battle against OpenAI over its for-profit pivot, this time looking to void the company’s partnership with Microsoft. The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California on Thursday, alleges fraud and breach of contract over claims that the Tesla founder was swindled when he invested roughly $45m into the AI venture, which he says betrayed its original mission to safely develop the technology “for the benefit of humanity.” [The story.]( —Wait, what? Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has confessed that he once placed a dead bear cub in Central Park as a prank. In a video shared on his social media on Sunday, RFK is shown telling a story to Roseanne Barr about an incident that occurred in 2014. He had noted he was sharing the story because he was contacted by the New Yorker’s fact-checkers who informed him that they were doing a story on the event. [The story.]( 'Rust' Judge Calls Out "Deliberate Misconduct" By Prosecutors âº"Egregious discovery violations." The New Mexico judge who dismissed the involuntary manslaughter case against Alec {NAME} has denounced the prosecution for misconduct, finding that it “intentionally and deliberately withheld” key evidence from the defense. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer faulted prosecutors for “willful and deliberate misconduct” warranting dismissal of charges against the actor. Lead special prosecutor Kari Morrissey, she found, not only repeatedly failed to fulfill discovery obligations but also gave “inconsistent” testimony related to the evidence she suppressed. [The story.]( —Lack of product. The nation’s biggest exhibitor, AMC Theatres, posted total revenue of $1.03b and a loss of $32.8m in Q2 of 2024. Attendance fell from 66m-plus patrons at its theaters a year ago to about 50m in its latest quarter, about a 25 percent decline. The U.S. market saw a slightly higher decline in quarterly attendance compared to attendance at its theater locations in international markets. Rivals Cinemark and Marcus Theatres also saw revenue declines as Q2 of this year saw fewer blockbusters than in 2023. [The results.]( —The end is nigh. Warner Bros. Discovery is shuttering its Boomerang streaming service, a home for classic animated series and movies. Boomerang will cease operations on Sept. 30, and its subscribers and some of its content will be folded into Max, WBD’s flagship streaming platform. Boomerang’s linear channel will continue to operate on cable and satellite providers, where it’s in about 26m homes. [The story.]( —"We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision." Aerosmith is retiring from touring. The band shared a statement on social media on Friday announcing the news, citing lead singer Steven Tyler's vocal cord injury as the reason. Last year, Aerosmith postponed their entire 2023 Peace Out: The Farewell Tour after learning that Tyler’s vocal injury was "more serious than initially thought." [The story.]( —Update. Justin Timberlake appeared virtually for a court appearance in the Hamptons on Friday following his arrest for driving while intoxicating in June. He pleaded not guilty for a second time in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court in New York, multiple outlets reported on Friday, after his attorney had previously filed a motion to dismiss the charges due to a superior officer not signing the initial charging papers. Timberlake’s license was suspended as part of the arrest. [The story.]( —"Happy and healthy." Zac Efron is thanking everyone for their well-wishes after being hospitalized following a reported swimming incident. Sharing a photograph on his Instagram stories, Efron could be seen lifting weights while lying on top of an exercise ball. A rep for Efron confirmed to People Magazine that while he was staying at a villa in Ibiza, he had a “minor swimming incident” while using the pool on Friday. [The story.]( 'HOTD' Finale Sets Up New Power Dynamics âºNow we wait. For THR, Josh Wigler breaks down the season two finale of House of the Dragon. The HBO drama ends its sophomore run on the edge of a very big change in the war between the Blacks and the Greens, though fans will now have to wait to see how it plays out. Warning: Spoilers! [The story.]( —"Wait, that’s it?!" Some HOTD fans weren't too happy with the season two finale, and made their feelings known on social media on Sunday night. THR's [James Hibberd]( writes that HBO cutting to black hasn’t annoyed this many TV fans since The Sopranos ended: "Great episode, but it had no business being a HOTD finale." Warning: Spoilers! [The story.]( —It's not TV. HBO released preview footage of several eagerly anticipated new and returning series — including the second season of The Last of Us and first season of Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The trailer ran before the second season finale of HOTD, and also included footages from The White Lotus season 3 and It spin-off series It: Welcome to Derry, plus new superhero parody The Franchise and upcoming seasons of The Gilded Age and And Just Like That... [The trailer.]( 'Curb' Stuck the Landing — But Larry David Isn't Done âº"We’re still in an office together, next to each other. Things are still happening." THR's queen of chat [Jackie Strause]( spoke to Curb Your Enthusiasm showrunner Jeff Schaffer spills on keeping the series finale's Seinfeld-Curb crossover a secret — and hints at something in the future, adding that he and Larry David are now "talking about talking about stuff." [The interview.]( —"That's a wrap." Saturday Night Live is saying goodbye to another castmember. Molly Kearney, who joined the NBC sketch series in 2022 for season 48, is leaving the show. The stand-up comedian, the first nonbinary castmember on SNL, made the announcement on social media Friday. SNL regular Punkie Johnson is also departing heading into the show’s landmark 50th season. [The story.]( —Removed. A Doctor Who episode co-starring Huw Edwards has been removed from the BBC's streaming service in the U.K. after the news anchor pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children. Fans are also calling for the 62-year-old’s scene in James Bond film Skyfall to be cut as Edwards, once the BBC’s highest-paid news presenter, was arrested in November — a development only shared with the public this week — and charged last month. [The story.]( 'Deadpool 3' Zooms to $97M Record-Making Second Weekend âºMarvel Jesus ascends. Deadpool & Wolverine continued to make box office history and obliterate more records in its sophomore outing, zooming to a better-than-expected $97m domestically — the eighth-biggest second weekend of all time and the fifth biggest for an MCU title — for a 10-day North American total of $395.6m. It fell a scant 53 percent, a notable feat. Overseas was just as marvelous. The Marvel/Disney tentpole earned another $110.5m for a foreign tally of $428.5m and $824.1m. Elsewhere, M. Night Shyamalan's Trap opened in third place with an estimated $15.6m, in line with expectations. [The box office report.]( —📅 Big year incoming 📅 Disney announced a long list of official changes to its film release calendar on Friday, including the addition of 11 untitled projects for 2027. The only two features previously on the company’s calendar for that year were Avengers: Secret Wars on May 27, 2027, and an untitled Star Wars movie for Dec. 17, 2027. Among the projects with newly added release dates are an untitled Marvel film on July 23, 2027, and one on Nov. 5, 2027. Additionally, Disney has added an untitled Pixar feature for June 18, 2027, and an untitled Disney Animation film for Nov. 24, 2027. [The story.]( —🤝 First-look deal 🤝 Warner Bros. Discovery has signed a first-look film deal in Asia with company veteran Jack Nguyen. The agreement, revealed Monday, was set up through Nguyen’s startup production banner Joat Films and will focus on Asia-focussed remakes of Warner Bros’ English-language library titles. The two partners said their first project under the pact will be a Korean remake of the 2015 Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway comedy-drama The Intern. [The story.]( —🎭 First names 🎭 Tom Blyth and Emily Bader are set to star in the feature adaptation of Emily Henry’s bestselling book People We Meet on Vacation. The My Lady Jane and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes actors will take on the roles of Poppy and Alex, two best friends who spend every summer vacation together. Brett Haley is set to direct the 3000 Pictures project, with Yulin Kuang adapting the screenplay. [The story.]( 'The NeverEnding Story' Turns 40 âº"I feel so honored to have been part of something that has had this sticking power." In the summer of 1984, Warner Bros. released Wolfgang Petersen's epic fantasy film The NeverEnding Story, based Michael Ende’s German-language novel of the same name. THR's very own "Moon Child" [Ryan Gajewski]( spoke to the film's star Tami Stronach and casting director Penny Perry about the making of the cult classic, the casting of "real kids" and the planned feature reboot of the franchise. [The interview.]( —"It’s incredibly important, and it really changes the tone of the movie in general." THR's [Brian Davids]( spoke to filmmaker Zack Snyder about the recently released director's cuts of his two Rebel Moon features. Snyder gets into the nitty-gritty on how he brought these R-rated cuts to life, reveals their sly connection to Army of the Dead, and talks developing a project with Warner Bros. again, years after leaving the studio. [The interview.]( In other news... —Meg Ryan [to be honored at Sarajevo Film Festival]( —Busan International Film Festival [adds audience doc award]( —Azione [acquires boutique publicity firm IHPR]( —The h.wood Group [ushers in new era of entertainment on Sunset Strip with debut of Keys]( —Kanye “Ye” West [finds buyer for gutted Tadao Ando-designed Malibu house]( —[Leonard Engelman]( makeup artist on Rocky IV, Moonstruck and much more, dies at 83 âââWhat else we're reading... —Here is Clare Malone's story on RFK that caused the third-party presidential candidate to release that bizarre video with Roseanne Barr over the weekend [[New Yorker]( —Jay Peters reports on the mourning in the video game industry with the shock news that GameStop is shuttering Game Informer magazine after 33 years [[Verge]( —Barry Svrluga on how, after the closest 100m men's sprint final ever, Noah Lyles became an Olympic legend [[WaPo]( —Heather Schwedel writes that former Olympic gymnast MyKayla Skinner gets a gold medal for being salty [[Slate]( —Alan Rusbridger on how Elon Musk’s X has turbocharged misinformation and has been a big factor behind the shocking race riots in the U.K. [[Prospect]( —Shawn McCreesh writes that Kamala Harris' raucous rally in Atlanta has really gotten under the skin of Donald Trump [[NYT]( Today... ...in 2011, 20th Century Fox released Rise of the Planet of the Apes in theaters. Rupert Wyatt's film, which made nearly $500m worldwide, rebooted the Apes franchise and led to three sequels. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: James Gunn (58), Jesse Williams (43), Janet McTeer (63), Mark Strong (61), Josie Totah (23), Maureen McCormick (68), Stephanie Szostak (49), Olivia Holt (27), Sophie Winkleman (44), Loni Anderson (79), Jonathan Silverman (58), Mimi Keene (26), [Scott William Winters]( (59), Wanda Ventham (89), Barbara Flynn (76), Kajol (50), Clayton Rohner (67), John Reynolds (33), Elle McKinnon (18), Lorri Bagley (51), Ray Fearon (51), Kola Bokinni (32), Mahima Makwana (25), Joanne Samuel (67), Kô Shibasaki (43), Chip Fields (73), Zach Appelman (39) June Walker Rogers, a singer, dancer and comedian who performed on Broadway and television and wrote several musicals and a book about how to survive in show business, has died. She was 97. [The obituary.](
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