Ice Cube Exits Sony Comedy After Declining COVID-19 Vaccine; Fired Netflix Staffer Files Labor Complaint; 'Rust' Armorer Had "No Idea" About Live Rounds

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( October 30, 2021 What's news: It's Halloween weekend and, yes, I did spend far too long thinking of nightmarish nicknames. Speaking of which, Ice Cube is having a (professional) nightmare, after saying Oh Hell No to taking the COVID-19 vaccine on Sony comedy project. Josh O'Connor and Paul Mescal are set to star in a gay war drama. Supergirl star Jenna Dewan is moving over to Superman & Lois. Plus: The Rock and Jake Kasdan are tag-teaming for a Xmas-themed feature for Amazon — [Abid 'Card Denied' Rahman]( Ice Cube Exits Sony Comedy After Declining COVID-19 Vaccine ►No vaccine. THR's [Borys 'No Needle In the Sewing' Kit]( and [Kim 'Graduate Degree, No' Masters]( have the scoop on Ice Cube departing Sony’s upcoming comedy, Oh Hell No after declining a request from producers to get vaccinated. Sources tell THR the studio is looking to find a replacement for the actor, who walked from a $9 million payday. Producers on Oh Hell No made the request that cast on the project would need to be vaccinated. The film, co-starring Jack Black, was looking to shoot this winter in Hawaii with Bad Trip filmmaker Kitao Sakurai in the director’s seat. [The story.]( —"Agreed to not contest claims." Zayn Malik pleaded no contest to multiple counts of harassment against Gigi Hadid and her mother, Yolanda, following a Sept. 29 dispute, according to court documents obtained by THR on Friday. [The story.]( —Brimming with talent. The Crown's Josh O’Connor and Normal People's Paul Mescal are set to star in the gay romance The History of Sound, a buzzy package up for grabs at next week’s American Film Market. Directed by Moffie filmmaker Oliver Hermanus, the film will be adapted by Ben Shattuck from his own Pushcart Prize-winning short story of the same name. [The story.]( —Lawyered up. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the tragedy-stricken production Rust, released a statement through her lawyers saying she had "no idea where the live rounds came from" that were recovered by the Santa Fe County sheriff in their investigation into the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and that the whole production was "unsafe." [The story.]( Anya Taylor-Joy on 'Last Night in Soho' ►"I love that he knows what the music is going to be before he does the scene." Last Night in Soho star Anya Taylor-Joy talks to [Brian 'I Left the Gas On' Davids]( about Edgar Wright's superpower when it comes to music and film and how "wonderful" it was to collaborate with a director on her wavelength. Taylor-Joy also breaks down one of the film's signature scenes and reflects on early conversations with her upcoming Furiosa director George Miller. [The interview.]( "I couldn’t spend time in Soho without thinking of the ghosts of these buildings." THR also spoke to Last Night in Soho director Edgar Wright about he pulled off recreating 1960s London in the film, why he couldn't use Apple earphones again after Baby Driver and bringing on Oldboy cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung. [The interview.]( —Switching shows. THR's [Lesley 'Please Make It Stop' Goldberg]( has the scoop on Jenna Dewan will reprise her role as Lucy Lane on the upcoming second season of Superman & Lois. The actress, who will be credited as a recurring player, first appeared as the sister to Lois Lane on Supergirl during a 13-episode season one run of the CBS turned The CW drama. [The story.]( —Cord-cutting continues. Cable operator Charter Communications lost 133,000 residential pay TV subscribers in Q3, compared with a loss of 77,000 in the same period a year ago. The company's broadband Internet business was once again a key growth area, recording 243,000 net residential subscribers. [The results.]( Fired Netflix Staffer Files Labor Complaint, Says Streamer Stopping Employees From "Speaking Up" ►Retaliation allegation. A fired Netflix employee and current software engineer at the streamer have filed a labor charge with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that Netflix retaliated against them for “speaking up” against Netflix’s handling of the Dave Chappelle comedy special, The Closer. THR's [J. Clara 'Running Out of Ideas' Chan]( writes that the charge was submitted on behalf of B. Pagels-Minor, a former Netflix program manager who was fired for allegedly leaking company information, and Terra Field, a software engineer who had spoken out against the special on social media and was temporarily suspended after she attended an executive meeting. [The story.]( —Together again. Jake Kasdan is reuniting with his Jumanji star Dwayne Johnson for Red One, the unique Christmas-themed feature project set up at Amazon. Kasdan will direct the feature project and also joins the ranks of its producers as well. Johnson is attached to star, possibly even as Santa himself, with Hobbs & Shaw scribe Chris Morgan writing the script. [The story.]( —New friend. Fox News said that Carley Shimkus would be the new co-host for the 4-6 a.m. program Fox & Friends First, alongside Todd Piro. She replaces Jillian Mele, who is leaving the company after four years to pursue an MBA at La Salle University in Philadelphia. [The story.]( —Ranger down. The CW’s Walker will be down a member of the Rangers later this season with the news Lindsey Morgan is exiting. In a statement, Morgan said she’s leaving the show “for personal reasons” and had the support of producer CBS Studios and The CW. [The story.]( Cinematography Legend Roger Deakins Publishes First-Ever Book ►Visual master. Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins is publishing his first photo book Byways, which features some five decades’ worth of black-and-white images from the DP’s personal collection. Deakins talked to THR's [Mia 'Flogging A Dead Horse' Galuppo]( about publishing his personal photographs and how they influenced his film work. [The interview.]( —"Well, clearly they took the note." THR's [James 'The End Is Nigh' Hibberd]( spoke to Sanaa Lathan on her first feature directorial gig, an adaptation of Angie Thomas’ novel On the Come Up. The actress also talks about joining season three of the hit HBO show Succession and addresses criticisms of the show's lack of diversity. [The interview.]( In other news... —Thai cave divers on how The Rescue tells [“deeper story” of incredible operation]( —Trevor Noah talks making Daily Show with no audience and [taking summer off to “just live”]( —Meghan Markle and Prince Harry write [open letter to G20 summit leaders calling out vaccine inequity]( —NFL, baseball [dominate 3-day ratings]( —Skydance New Media [partners with Marvel for narrative video game]( —The Independent Gamer: Puzzle game Where Cards Fall [launching on PC and Nintendo Switch]( What else we're reading... —"Tom Skerritt Has a Story to Tell" [[Vulture]( —"Their Family Movie Nights Can Get a Little Bloody" [[New York Times]( —"The Souvenir Part II Is This Era’s Great Fashion Film" [[GQ]( —"Trump’s New Streaming Venture to Be Run by Deal or No Deal Producer" [[Bloomberg]( —"The Real Reason Facebook Changed Its Name" [[The Atlantic]( Today... ...in 1963, Paramount held the premiere of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s A New Kind of Love in New York. The film went on to be nominated for two Oscars — costume design and music — at the 36th Academy Awards. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Clémence Poésy (39), Henry Winkler (76), Nia Long (51), Kevin Pollak (64), Harry Hamlin (70), Matthew Morrison (43), Jessica Hynes (49), [Gavin Rossdale]( (56), Mark and Michael Polish (51), Fiona Dourif (40), Kennedy McMann (25) 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](