Chappelle Will Meet Trans Community Under Certain Conditions; Forecast for 2021 Global Box Office Revenue Improves; Nolan Heaps Praise on Villeneuve's 'Dune'

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( October 26, 2021 What's news: The ongoing Dave Chappelle controversy is back in the news. Hilaria {NAME} addresses Rust shooting incident. Britney Spears calls out her family and demands "justice" in conservatorship fight. BBC's Happy Valley is returning for a third and final season. Plus: Brendan Fraser signs up for Batgirl movie and Steph Curry is producing a Xmas film — [Abid Rahman]( Chappelle Will Meet With Trans Community... Under Certain Conditions ►The saga continues. Dave Chappelle is denying claims that he declined to speak with Netflix’s transgender employees regarding controversial comments he made in The Closer, but said he’s aware of the outcry and he’s now ready for a meeting — under certain conditions. In a new video posted Monday on Instagram, the comedian addresses the situation. "I am not bending to anyone’s demands. And if you want to meet with me, I am more than willing to, but I have some conditions. First of all, you cannot come if you have not watched my special from beginning to end. You must come to a place of my choosing at a time of my choosing, and thirdly, you must admit that Hannah Gadsby is not funny." [The story.]( —"My heart is with Halyna." Hilaria {NAME}, the wife of actor Alec {NAME}, has publicly addressed the fatal shooting incident involving her husband on the set of Rust for the first time. [The story.]( —"Removed from set." Dave Halls, the assistant director who is cited in a search warrant as having unknowingly given actor Alec {NAME} a loaded prop gun before a fatal shooting on the set of Rust was previously fired from another film following an accident involving a weapon, a producer confirmed to THR. [The story.]( —"I’ve played the bigger person my entire life." Britney Spears is sending another message to her family. In a post shared to the pop star’s Instagram account Monday, Spears called out her family for “hurting me deeper than you’ll ever know” and demanded for “justice” after the conservatorship ends. [The story.]( —Yet another show. David E. Kelley is getting into business with Peacock, with the streamer ordering a drama titled The Missing from the prolific writer and producer. The eight-episode mystery is based on The Missing File by Israeli author Dror A. Mishani. [The story.]( Forecast for 2021 Global Box Office Revenue Improves to $21.6B ►October surprise. A slew of box office hits this month, including Dune, Venom 2, No Time to Die and The Battle for Lake Changjin, has prompted leading analytics firm Gower Street to up its forecast for 2021 worldwide box office revenue from $20.2 billion to $21.6 billion. That would be 80 percent ahead of COVID-hit 2020 but still 49 percent behind 2019. [The story.]( —Express development. Primo, a single-camera comedy inspired by the life of Shea Serrano and from executive producer Mike Schur, is moving quickly through the development stages at IMDb TV. The Amazon-backed ad-supported streamer has handed out a series order for the show a mere five months after it announced it was developing the comedy. [The story.]( —Next-gen showrunners. THR's [Lesley Goldberg]( has the scoop on Sony Pictures Television launching its inaugural Showrunner Training Program, to help groom a new generation of showrunners. The eight-week initiative sees 19 participants receive practical knowledge and experience to potentially run their own shows in the future. [The story.]( —Gotham bound. Brendan Fraser will play the villain in Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah's Batgirl. The actor is set to play pyro-themed baddie Firefly. The DC film, starring Leslie Grace as Batgirl, will debut on HBO Max and centers on Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Gotham police commissioner Jim Gordon, played by J.K. Simmons. [The story.]( Nolan Heaps Praise on Villeneuve's 'Dune' ►"A gift to film fans everywhere." On a podcast posted this weekend, Christopher Nolan gushed over Denis Villeneuve, a fellow traveller when it comes to making high concept, visually spectacular blockbusters, and his new film Dune. "It’s one of the most seamless marriages of live-action photography and computer-generated visual effects that I’ve seen," Nolan said of Dune. "It’s very, very compelling at every turn." [The story.]( —Golden Frog contenders. Camerimage cinematography film festival has unwrapped its main competition lineup, which includes Belfast, Dune and The Tragedy of Macbeth, which will be the opening night film, with director Joel Coen and DP Bruno Delbonnel scheduled to attend. Denis Villeneuve will receive a special award for outstanding directing at this year’s event. [The competition lineup.]( —El Pibe de Oro. Italy has picked Paolo Sorrentino’s autobiographical drama The Hand of God to represent the country at the 2022 Oscars in the best international film category. Sorrentino won the best international feature Oscar in 2014 for his epic drama The Great Beauty. [The story.]( —"Cracks the combination, even with some false clicks." THR's chief film critic [David Rooney]( reviews Netflix's feature Army of Thieves. Matthias Schweighöfer returns as the star and director of this prequel to Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, a European heist caper chronicling master safecracker Ludwig Dieter’s entrée into crime. [The review.]( —Holiday splash brother. Amazon and NBA star Steph Curry’s Unanimous Media are partnering with Ranger7 and Soluble Fish Productions for the Christmas movie 12 Days of Christmas. Uncle Drew filmmaker Charles Stone III will direct the family comedy. [The story.]( 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Boss on 11th Season ►Larry's still fraught with problems. With pandemic-related delays behind it, HBO's iconic comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm returned for its 11th season. THR's [Jackie Strause]( spoke to executive producer Jeff Schaffer about what viewers can expect: "We wanted to figure out how many eight balls we can get Larry behind to start a season." Warning spoilers. The interview. —'Ey up, that's chuffin' great news. Sally Wainwright’s BBC drama Happy Valley is set to return. The gritty drama is set to film its third and final season in 2022 with Sarah Lancashire playing Sergeant Catherine Cawood one last time for six new hour-long episodes. James Norton will also reprise his role of Cawood’s nemesis, the murderer and sex-offender Tommy Lee Royce. [The story.]( —"Mama thank u for having me." Snoop Dogg has revealed that his mother, Beverly Tate, has died. The rapper paid tribute to Tate through a series of photos and videos posted on his Instagram account Sunday. [The story.]( —More than a cameo. Cameo has acquired Represent, the celebrity merchandising platform, as the celebrity video company looks to expand its offerings for talent and fans. Launched in 2014, Represent has been the merchandising partner for the recent Friends reunion and has worked with talent like Jennifer Lopez and Leonardo DiCaprio. [The story.]( In other news... —Oscars: [Russia picks Unclenching the Fists]( for international feature category —Oscars: [Denmark selects animated doc Flee]( in best international feature category —Film Fest 919: C’mon C’mon and King Richard [tie for audience award]( —IDA Awards: Feature shortlist includes Flee and Summer of Soul, [leaves off other high-profile titles]( —Anya Taylor-Joy named [global ambassador for Dior]( fashion, makeup —Crime Junkie network Audiochuck inks [3-year ad sales deal with SiriusXM]( —Rupert Everett casts Kit Clarke, John Malkovich, Kristin Scott Thomas in [autobiographical feature Lost and Found in Paris]( —British Independent Film Awards international feature, documentary [longlists unveiled]( What else we're reading... —"Matt Berry Has a Type" [[Vulture]( —"Carol’s Journey: What Facebook Knew About How It Radicalized Users" [[NBC News]( —""It Evokes Ghostliness”: How Spencer and Kristen Stewart Reimagined Princess Diana" [[Vanity Fair]( —"Kim Kardashian West on What Comes Next" [[Wall Street Journal]( —"South Korea’s Moment Owes More to Samsung Than Squid Game" [[Bloomberg]( Today... ...in 1984, a new sci-fi franchise was launched with the U.S. theatrical debut of The Terminator. That same day, THR saw the merits in the film, and even hoped for a sequel. The film went on to make $78.3 million and launched a franchise encompassing five movie sequels and a television series. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: [Cary Elwes]( (59), Seth MacFarlane (48), Dylan McDermott (60), Jon Heder (44), Rita Wilson (65), Rosemarie DeWitt (50), Anthony Rapp (50), Jaclyn Smith (76), Tom Cavanagh (58), James Pickens Jr. (67), Roger Allam (68), Florence Kasumba (45), Rupert Wyatt (49), Pat Sajak (75), Keith Urban (54), Julian Schnabel (70) 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. 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