AMC Theaters Starts to "Play On Offense"; Can 'F9' Kick-Start the Summer Box Office?; Bourdain Doc an "Act of Therapy"

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( June 22, 2021 What's news: Marco Bellocchio is set to receive a lifetime achievement award from Cannes. Amblin signs a production deal with Netflix. Plus: Nic Cage has another project in the pipeline and the first trailer for Ted Lasso season 2 has dropped — [Abid Rahman]( AMC Starts to "Play On Offense" ►Revenge of the memestock. Despite a $5.5 billion debt load, AMC Theaters leveraged its status as a “memestock” like no other company, taking advantage of its rising share price to raise more than $800 million in June alone. In recent weeks, CEO Adam Aron has floated "merger and acquisition opportunities" for the company, but distribution insiders and analysts don’t believe the exhibitor can afford to go on a major buying spree — but that it will indeed make one-off deals. [The story.]( —410 deals and $83 billion of value. Media and telecom industry deal activity has been on the rise over the six months ended in mid-May as corporate America emerges from the coronavirus pandemic. [The story.]( —They've spared no expense. Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners has signed a film production partnership with Netflix. The deal will see Amblin produce multiple films for the streamer per year and is on top of the long-standing theatrical output pact with Universal. [The story.]( Can 'F9' Kick-Start a Summer Tentpole Season? ►Heavy lies the crown. The latest Fast & Furious installment is the first all-audience blockbuster to unfurl in U.S. theaters since pandemic-era restrictions were largely lifted. Already shouldering the high expectations of Universal, F9 is also lining up as a test case for Hollywood as to whether box office recovery is real and has legs. [The box office analysis.]( —Rage Cage. Praise be, a new Nicolas Cage film project is hitting the international market. Altitude is unveiling Butcher's Crossing that's described as "an epic frontier adventure." Gabe Polsky, who was a producer on Cage's 2009 acting masterclass Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, is set to make his directing debut. [The story.]( —Bravo Marco! The Cannes Film Festival will pay tribute to veteran Italian director Marco Bellocchio giving the filmmaker behind The Traitor, Vincere, and The Nanny a lifetime achievement Palme d’Or. [The story.]( A Film That's An "Act Of Therapy For the Public" ►Roadrunner. Morgan Neville, the director of a new documentary about the late Anthony Bourdain, spoke with THR about the delicate task of telling Bourdain's story — from his origins as a New York chef, through his emergence as a beloved TV journalist to his death in 2018 at age 61. [The interview.]( —"I was in denial about what happened." Katie Thurston opened up about being a survivor of sexual assault on Monday’s episode of The Bachelorette. [The story.]( —"It's gonna probably get me." Friends star James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther on the show, revealed that he is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer. [The story.]( 'Ted Lasso' Stars Talk Onscreen Chemistry ►Teamwork to make the dream work. Ted Lasso leads Jason Sudekis and Hannah Waddingham discuss how creator-star Sudeikis’ improv background kept the cast on their toes and enhanced the crowd-pleasing comedy. [The interview.]( —Back of the net! While we're on the topic of Ted Lasso, Apple TV+ has dropped the first trailer for season two and our impossible-to-dislike titular hero is trying to win promotion back to the Premier League but things seem to be going pear-shaped. [The trailer.]( —And that's a hat-trick. Yet more Ted Lasso news, as the show was among the first batch of winners of a 2021 Peabody Award. Stephen Colbert’s Late Show and Amazon’s Oscar-nominated Time were also honored. [The story.]( In other news... —Rick and Morty season 5 opening episode [premieres on YouTube for free](. —Cannes: Dolph Lundgren, Frank Grillo set sail in U-Boat thriller [Operation Seawolf.]( —[Mark Peel]( a trailblazer of California cuisine, dies at 66. —[SAG Awards 2022 telecast]( will return to live, two-hour format. —TV Academy to [allow acting nominees to opt for non-gendered description]( ban all Oscar-eligible docs. —[Norman S. Powell]( Emmy-nominated producer and veteran CBS exec, dies at 86. —Tinder to launch [new interactive messaging feature]( "hot takes." —Game of Thrones Hodor actor [cast as a pirate in new HBO Max series](. —Snake Eyes drops thrilling, [stylish full trailer](. —AMC Theatres offers [free unlimited popcorn refills]( to celebrate cinema week. —[Netflix taps Allure EIC Michelle Lee]( for editorial and publishing role. —Awards Chatter podcast: [Fran Lebowitz.]( —Shazam! Fury of the Gods [releases first cast photo to avoid leak](. What else we're reading... —"True Crime Is One Of TV's Top Genres. Critics Say It’s Failing Us" [[Los Angeles Times]( —"How Influencers Fit Into Twitter's Plans to Double Revenue By 2023" [[CNBC]( —"How Modern Martial Arts Films, TV Shows Are Using Storylines to Discuss Social Justice" [[NBC News]( —"I'm Scared of the Person TikTok Thinks I Am" [[The Atlantic]( —"Rachel Lindsay Has No Roses Left to Burn" [[Vulture]( Today... ... in 1966, THR appraised Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the directorial debut of Mike Nichols starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, giving high marks to every aspect of the drama. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Meryl Streep (72), Stephen Chow (59), Bruce Campbell (63), Cyndi Lauper (68), Amy Brenneman (57), [Paterson Joseph]( (57), Uwe Boll (56), Donald Faison (47) Joanne Linville, a character actress who had memorable guest-starring turns on episodes of Star Trek and The Twilight Zone in the 1960s, has died. She was 93. 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