Skydance Moves First-Look Deal to Apple; ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ and ‘8’ Delayed Again; Making of 'Nightmare Alley; Latest From Sundance

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( January 22, 2022 What's news: Tragically, Regina King's son Ian has died at 26. Arnold Schwarzenegger was involved in a multi-car collision, but was unhurt. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is joining the Disney+ Star Wars series Ahsoka. The Fugees cancel their reunion tour. Plus: Johnny Depp is set to play the French king Louis the Beloved and Universal has annoyed some die-hard Ana de Armas fans — [Abid Rahman]( Skydance Moves First-Look Deal From Paramount to Apple ►Apple flexin'. Skydance and Apple Original Films have struck a first-look deal for a slate of live-action movies in another sign that the tech giant is getting serious about the event movie business. In turn, Skydance is ending its long-running first-look deal with Paramount, although David Ellison’s company will still have the right to co-finance and co-produce such franchises as Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, Transformers and Star Trek beyond those installments already in the offing. [The story.]( —"Our family is devastated." In a statement released Friday evening, Regina King revealed her son Ian Alexander Jr. has died at 26. The actress-director shared Ian, an artist and DJ, with her ex-husband, record producer Ian Alexander Sr. [The story.]( —Multiple vehicles involved. Arnold Schwarzenegger was involved in a multi-car crash on Friday afternoon that left at least one person injured. The incident occurred shortly after 4 p.m. near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Allenford Avenue in Los Angeles, police said. [The story.]( —Private event. The family of Sidney Poitier said the late actor-director’s planned memorial service will be a private event due to the pandemic, although they did not rule out a more public event if and when virus case numbers came down. [The story.]( 'Mission: Impossible 7' and '8' Delayed Again ►Fifth time lucky. Paramount and Skydance are moving Mission: Impossible 7 from Sept. 30, 2022 to July 14, 2023, and Mission: Impossible 8 from July 7, 2023 to June 28, 2024. This is the latest of several moves for M:I 7 over the past 20 months (five dates in total) as concerns about COVID-19 continue to shape the theatrical landscape. [The story.]( —Death Proof reunion. THR's [Borys Kit]( has the scoop on Mary Elizabeth Winstead joining Star Wars series Ahsoka. Rosario Dawson stars as Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano, with Hayden Christensen reprising the role of Anakin Skywalker for the Disney+ series which is set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi. [The story.]( —Omicron strikes. The Fugees, the iconic hip-hop band consisting of Lauryn Hill, Pras and Wyclef Jean, have canceled their anticipated reunion tour due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. [The story.]( —Going to trial. Vanessa Bryant's lawyers are accusing L.A. County of destroying evidence in a “cover up” over sheriff’s deputies and firefighters sharing photos of the Kobe Bryant crash site. The county insists it's not at fault because photos of the crash were never "publicly disseminated." A jury will consider the defense in a trial set to begin in February. [The story.]( —"Our union is how our collective voices can be heard by leadership." Just days after the news broke that Microsoft will buy Activision Blizzard, workers at a developer owned by the video game company, Raven Software, announced that they were forming a union. [The story.]( Making of 'Nightmare Alley': How GDT Finally Achieved His Dream Project ►"It all seemed like the universe unfolding in a lovely way." THR wild card Patrick Brzeski spoke to Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro about how he first pitched a remake of Nightmare Alley, Edmund Goulding's noir classic, in the early '90s, but it took the huge success of The Shape of Water for him to get the green light — and assemble his A-list cast. [The story.]( —If there's any justice... Two staunch Ana de Armas fans are suing Universal in a proposed class action alleging they were baited into watching Danny Boyle's Yesterday. de Armas was initially cast to appear as a love interest, but her scenes were cut in the final version of the film. [The story.]( —"Why my son hates my TV shows." In a guest column for THR, As We See It creator Jason Katims opens up about the deeply personal nature of his new Amazon dramedy, which revolves around young adults on the autistic spectrum. [The column.]( —Johnny the Beloved (in France). Johnny Depp will play French King Louis XV in the new, as-yet-untitled film from acclaimed French director Maiwenn. The film will shoot on location at the Versailles Palace and around Paris this summer. The plot of the period drama is being kept under wraps. [The story.]( —Casting news. Kirsten Dunst attached to star in Ex Machina filmmaker Alex Garland's Civil War. From A24, the film is an action epic set in a near-future America and co-stars Wagner Moura, Stephen Henderson and Cailee Spaeny. [The story.]( Sundance review: '892' ►"Sustained by riveting performances." THR critic [Lovia Gyarkye]( reviews Abi Damaris Corbin's 892. Starring John Boyega and the late Michael K. Williams, the thriller is based on the true story of a desperate former Marine who tried to rob an Atlanta bank in 2017. [The review.]( —"Compellingly bold, if not always satisfying." Lovia also reviews Mariama Diallo’s Master. Regina Hall stars in Diallo's debut feature about a trio of Black women surviving their fall semester at a prestigious, historically white college. [The review.]( —"A touching but not exactly essential remake of a classic." THR critic [Angie Han]( reviews Oliver Hermanus' Living. The Kazuo Ishiguro-scripted remake of Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru stars Bill Nighy as a British civil servant who searches for meaning after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. [The review.]( —"A beautifully wrought portrait of ladies on fire." THR's [Sheri Linden]( reviews Phyllis Nagy's Call Jane. Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver and Kate Mara star in the story of a suburban woman’s involvement in the Jane Collective, an underground service that provided safe abortions in the years before Roe v. Wade. [The review.]( The latest from Sundance... —Sundance review: Julie Ha and Eugene Yi’s [Free Chol Soo Lee]( —Sundance review: Rory Kennedy's [Downfall: The Case Against Boeing]( —Sundance review: Ben Klein and Violet Columbus' [The Exiles]( —Sundance review: Mimi Cave's [Fresh]( Louie Anderson 1953-2022 ►Comedy legend. Louie Anderson, the big-hearted everyman who rose to fame as a stand-up comic, then channeled the spirit of his late mother for his Emmy-winning turn as Christine Baskets on the FX series Baskets, has died. He was 68. [The obituary.]( —"Heaven has a hell of an open-mic night goin’ right about now." The likes of Adam Sandler, Wesley Snipes, Michael McKean, Henry Winkler and George Wallace have been paying tribute to the much-loved Louie Anderson. [The reaction.]( —"I burst into tears when I walked in on the first day." THR's [Brian Davids]( spoke to OG Scream star Neve Campbell on returning to play Sidney Prescott 25 years after the original, her specific hope for the franchise and its potential future. Warning spoilers. [The interview.]( —Oscar's accent. THR's [Richard Newby]( goes deep into his bag to explain, contextualize and theorize what may happen with Marvel's upcoming Disney+ show Moon Knight based off the first trailer that dropped recently, including the reason behind star Oscar Isaac's Dick Van Dyke-esque British accent. [The analysis.]( In other news... —[Feinberg Forecast]( Last snapshot of Oscar race before nomination voting —Star Trek: Picard [season 2 trailer shows return of Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan]( —[Mace Neufeld]( producer of Jack Ryan blockbusters, dies at 93 —Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas [welcome first baby via surrogate]( —Longtime Warner Bros. comms exec [Scott Rowe launches PR firm]( —John Cameron Mitchell on [how culture has shifted since release of Shortbus]( —John Stamos shares his [touching eulogy from Bob Saget’s memorial]( —Lucasfilm [rethinks its non-Star Wars slate]( —Jane Campion to [receive honor at Art Directors Guild Awards]( —Jennifer Coolidge says [Ariana Grande’s impression of her pulled career out of “dead zone”]( —[Paramount lands animated Blazing Samurai]( starring Mel Brooks, Michael Cera What else we're reading... —Simon Hattenstone interviews Pedro Almodóvar on Parallel Mothers, Franco, fascism and Spain’s tragic past [[Guardian]( —Drake's influence on Toronto has been enormous and now includes a Ryerson University course deconstructing him [[NYT]( —Ryan Broderick on TikTok, doxxing and West Elm Caleb [[Substack]( —Guest column: Martin Scorsese wants you to watch Nightmare Alley. Let him tell you why [[LAT]( —Karen Attiah on how the brilliant André Leon Talley got sidelined [[Washington Post]( Today... ...in 2003, Comedy Central premiered Chappelle’s Show at 10:30 pm. Fronted by comedian Dave Chappelle, the critically-acclaimed variety series became a cultural phenomenon and ran two seasons, as well as an abbreviated third season which ended during production when Chappelle famously left the show. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Guy Fieri (54), Diane Lane (57), Gabriel Macht (50), Linda Blair (63), [Jim Jarmusch]( (69), O-T Fagbenle (41), Balthazar Getty (47), Olivia d'Abo (53), Sami Gayle (26), John Wesley Shipp (67), Tamra Davis (60), Justin Hurwitz (37) Robert Breck Denny Jr., the writer, actor and Groundlings performer best known as just Breck Denny, died Monday. He was 34. [The obituary.]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} by Penske Media Corporation. 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