Chip and Joanna Gaines On Launching a Network; Tom Brady and Michael Strahan Want to Create the "Pixar of Sports"; Cannes Critic's Picks

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( June 30, 2021 What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover stars Chip and Joanna Gaines talk about their exit from Fixer Upper and how they came to launch their own network. Casey Bloys says HBO and HBO Max have the content budgets to compete in the streaming wars. Plus: Jamie Lee Curtis will get a lifetime achievement award from Venice and Young Thug is set to make his acting debut — [Abid Rahman]( The Gaines on Walking Away From 'Fixer Upper' and Launching Magnolia ►On the cover. Chip and Joanna Gaines harnessed their easy approachability to build a thriving empire encompassing TV, books, hospitality and retail. In 2017, they decided to end Fixer Upper, the HGTV show that had made them household names, at the height of its popularity. "The show ended up where we had to constantly be feeding it," Joanna tells THR's [Mikey O'Connell](. Courted by a parade of deep-pocketed media suitors, the couple went with Discovery Inc. CEO David Zaslav the following year as he was the only one to offer not just a show or a slate but an entire network that they’re also building from scratch in Central Texas. Magnolia Network, their new TV channel, launches in July and the Gaines will need to become something quite different: hard-nosed media executives. [The cover story](. —Inside Magnolia. When the pandemic pushed Magnolia Network's big launch to 2021, it allowed the Gaines to court more talent for a surprisingly robust inaugural slate. Mikey takes a look at some of the 26 original series. [The story](. Quote of the Day "He doesn’t necessarily have to be as good as Gene." Paris Themmen, the actor who played Mike Teavee in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, says Timothée Chalamet doesn’t "have to be as good" as Gene Wilder for the prequel Wonka. [The story](. "The Pixar of Sports" ►Playing offense. Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and filmmaker Gotham Chopra's media company Religion of Sports has bucked the industry trend and used the pandemic to staff up after raising more than $10 million, writes THR's [Alex Weprin](. The company behind the doc Kobe Bryant’s Muse is aggressively expanding into new formats, having launched a scripted division and an audio storytelling unit in the past year and has aspirations on becoming a household name. [The story](. —"We have enough money." HBO and HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys isn’t sweating his programming budget. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the executive says the company is more than able to compete in the streaming wars. [The story](. —Legends aren’t born, they’re made. The first new Sopranos content in 14 years has been released with the first trailer for the long-awaited prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark. [The trailer](. —Who killed Dickie? THR's [Ryan Parker]( analyzes the first trailer for The Many Saints of Newark and thinks that at least one much-debated moment in The Sopranos will likely be answered in the upcoming film: Was Tony lying to Christopher about who killed his father? [The story](. Crunching the Numbers $1 Million Fox News will pay a $1 million fine to the NYC Human Rights Commission as part of a settlement related to its previous handling of sexual harassment and retaliation claims. [The story](. Marvel's 'Black Widow' ►Sisters are doing it for themselves. Situated between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Scarlett Johansen's long-awaited solo outing as Natasha Romanoff is finally here. And it's a thumbs up from THR's chief film critic David Rooney, who writes that Australian director Cate Shortland adds "unexpectedly rich dimensions to a genre that often shows too little interest in character." [The review.]( —"Patience was a virtue." As F9 and A Quiet Place Part II enjoy strong runs at the box office, the success is vindication for the studios that held films back just as the release-calendar shuffle may be winding down. [The analysis](. —What's the move. Rapper Young Thug will be making his acting debut in the musical drama Throw It Back from producers Paul Feig and Tiffany Haddish. [The story](. —"It’s pretty disappointing." Josh Duhamel has had a whirlwind first half of 2021. Speaking to THR, Duhamel talks about his new film Bandit, ’80s sweaters and the Jupiter’s Legacy cancellation. [The interview](. Cannes Critic's Picks ►The contenders. THR's David Rooney chooses 10 potential highlights in a main lineup stacked with art house A-listers, including Wes Anderson, Apitchatpong Weerasethakul, Timothée Chalamet, Adam Driver, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton and Paul Verhoeven. [The selection](. —Life's a beach. Tony Gatlif's Tom Medina and Patrick Imbert's The Summit of the Gods, both of which had been picked for last year's Cannes festival, will have their Croisette debut on the beach this year. [The story](. —Going back to Cali. The American Film Market, following Cannes’ lead, says they are planning a return to an in-person market in Santa Monica this year. [The story](. —Congratulazioni! Jamie Lee Curtis will receive the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at this year’s Venice Film Festival. [The story.]( In other news... —Film review: Channing Tatum in Netflix’s [America: The Motion Picture](. —[IMDb TV circling season 3]( of canceled ABC drama For Life. —[Stuart Damon]( a longtime actor on General Hospital, dies at 84. —Amazon nabs [exclusive rights]( to Smartless podcast. —Garrett Hedlund joins Daisy Ridley in [The Marsh King’s Daughter](. —Gal Gadot celebrates the birth of a [third child](. —[Facebook launches Substack newsletter rival]( won’t take a cut of pay. —13 Reasons Why creator inks [Netflix overall deal]( sets up thriller Echoes. —Another Gilmore Girls favorite [joins Marvelous Mrs. Maisel](. —Harrison Ford-worn Indiana Jones fedora [sells at auction]( for more than $250K estimate. —[Disney drops 'Slave 1' name]( on Lego's Boba Fett Star Wars ship. What else we're reading... —"With Summer of Soul, Questlove Wants to Fill a Cultural Void" [[New York Times]( —"A Prison Interview With Scott Thorson, Wonderland Murders Witness and Liberace’s Pet" [[Daily Beast]( —"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at 50: A Clunky Film That Roald Dahl Rightfully Hated" [[The Guardian]( —"Danny Trejo Opens Up About Being Typecast — And A Close Call With The Mexican Mafia" [[Los Angeles Times]( —"Supernova: Colin Firth And Stanley Tucci On Shepherd's Pie, Friendship, And Shooting In The Lake District" [[Empire]( Today... ... in 1951, Alfred Hitchcock unveiled the suspense thriller Strangers on a Train in theaters. The film, based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith, starred Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, and Robert Walker. [The original review](. Today's birthdays: [Vincent D'Onofrio]( (62), Lizzy Caplan (39), David Alan Grier (65), Marton Csokas (55), Molly Parker (49), Deirdre Lovejoy (59), Rupert Graves (58), Katherine Ryan (38), Ashley Walters (39) Alison Greenspan, the executive producer behind The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its sequel and the ABC show For Life, died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. She was 48. [The obituary.]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} by Penske Media Corporation. Please add email@email.hollywoodreporter.com to your address book to ensure delivery to your inbox. Visit the [Preferences Center]( to update your profile and customize what email alerts and newsletters you receive. Copyright © 2021 The Hollywood Reporter, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. All rights reserved. 11175 Santa Monica Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90025 [View in Browser]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Your Privacy Rights]( | [Ad Choices]( | [Terms of Use]( | [Unsubscribe](