McConaughey Addresses Hometown School Shooting; THR's Drama Actress Roundtable; How 'This Is Us' Pulled Off That Finale Flashback; 'Top Gun 2' Targets Career-Best Opening for Cruise

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( May 25, 2022 What's news: Hollywood is reacting to the truly horrific events in Uvalde, Texas. CBS pulled the season finale of FBI and Apple canceled the red carpet premiere of Physical in the wake of the Uvalde shooting. Rita Moreno has joined the cast of Fast X. Samuel L. Jackson joins the Garfield movie. Top Gun 2 is tracking to be Tom Cruise's biggest opening at the box office — [Abid Rahman]( "We Must Do Better" ►"We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo." Matthew McConaughey took to Twitter late on Tuesday evening to address the mass shooting that occurred earlier in the day at Robb Elementary School in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas. The tragedy has left at least 19 children and two adults dead and is the deadliest school shooting since the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre. [The story.]( —"We saw something that wasn’t right and we acted on it." On Tuesday's episode of The Late Show, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke about the Uvalde mass shooting, offering insight on how her country responded with stricter gun control in the wake of the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre. [The story.]( —Pulled. In the wake of the Uvalde tragedy, CBS pulled the season four finale of FBI. The episode was scheduled to air Tuesday, and was set to include a storyline involving a student’s possible involvement in a deadly robbery. It is unclear whether the episode will be seen in the future. [The story.]( —Canceled. The Tuesday night red carpet premiere for season two of Apple TV+’s Physical was canceled following news of the Uvalde school shooting earlier in the day. The event, which was set to take place at Hollywood’s Linwood Dunn Theater, became the first industry event canceled in the wake of the tragedy. [The story.]( THR's Drama Actress Roundtable ►"This is like therapy." The Emmy roundtables are back, and we begin the 2022 series with the drama actresses. THR's [Lacey Rose]( spoke with Squid Game breakout Jung Ho-yeon, Angelyne star Emmy Rossum, Pam & Tommy‘s Lily James, Yellowjackets‘ Christina Ricci, Killing Eve's Sandra Oh and DMZ and Dopesick's Rosario Dawson ­about career strategies, sanity techniques, physical transformations and battling anxiety. [The roundtable.]( —"They didn’t have a lot of chemistry together." Amber Heard was almost booted from Aquaman 2. But according to DC Films chief Walter Hamada, who testified at the Depp defamation trial on Tuesday, her job wasn’t imperiled for the reason the actress has claimed, and the studio did not reduce her role along the way. Instead, Hamada said the studio’s concern was about the lack of chemistry between Heard and Jason Momoa, who stars as Aquaman. [The story.]( —Stellar casting. Rita Moreno is set to add to her incredible resume by making an appearance in the Fast & Furious franchise. The EGOT-winner is joining Fast X, and will play Dominic Toretto’s grandmother. The casting news comes weeks after Louis Leterrier was named the new director of the film, replacing Justin Lin. [The story.]( —So edgy. Ricky Gervais’ new Netflix special SuperNature has stirred up a swift backlash over jokes targeting trans women. The Brit comedian once again railed against today’s “woke, progressive times” and "cancel culture" in a pretty by the numbers comedy special that was praised by right wing personalities and enraged people on Twitter. [The story.]( How 'This Is Us' Pulled Off That Finale Flashback ►No more tears left to cry. After six seasons, 106 episodes and buckets of tears, NBC's This Is Us came to end on Tuesday. THR's [Jackie Strause]( whilst still drying her eyes, spoke to Dan Fogelman about the series finale "Us," with the creator revealing that given the show's signature time jumping, one Pearson family timeline in the final episode was filmed years ago. Warning spoilers. [The interview.]( —"The show is a big old butterfly, just batting its wings." Jackie also spoke to This Is Us star Sterling K. Brown on how the show stuck the landing with the series finale and shares his thoughts on a presidential Randall spinoff. Warning spoilers. [The interview.]( —No lies here. Guillermo del Toro will present an exclusive look at footage from his Netflix stop-motion film Pinocchio at the Annecy International Animation Festival. The streamer is also setting a world premiere for Chris William's The Sea Beast at the French festival which runs June 13-18. [The story.]( —His most challenging role yet. Samuel L. Jackson is set to join Chris Pratt in Alcon Entertainment’s upcoming animated film Garfield. Jackson will play a brand-new character of Vic, Garfield’s father. The movie based on a script written by David Reynolds and directed by Mark Dindal. [The story.]( —Staggs and Mayer strike again! Candle Media has acquired Spanish-language production firm Exile Content Studio. Exile produces feature films, scripted and unscripted television, as well as music and audio features. The studio, which is based in Los Angeles, but has offices in Mexico City, Madrid, and Miami, creates content for more than 550 million Spanish speakers around the world. [The story.]( —Sticking around. DeVon Franklin, Rodrigo Garcia and Janet Yang, who three years ago were appointed to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ board of governors as governors-at-large, have each been reappointed and confirmed for three more years. The roles were originally created in the aftermath of the Oscars So White uproar, with a mandate to advocate for inclusion. [The story.]( 'Top Gun 2' Targets Career-Best Opening for Tom Cruise ►Real star power. After two years of being grounded by the coronavirus pandemic, Top Gun: Maverick is finally flying into theaters over Memorial Day weekend. THR's [Pamela McClintock]( writes that the release of the long-awaited sequel to the iconic 1986 movie is poised to be a defining moment for the box office recovery, which so far has been largely fueled by superhero fare. Top Gun 2 is easily headed for the biggest opening of Tom Cruise’s career at the domestic box office, with a four-day gross of at least $92 million, according to official tracking. And that’s a conservative estimate. [The box office report.]( —Uneasy echoes of Hollywood past. Ahead of the opening of Top Gun: Maverick, THR's editor-at-large [Kim Masters]( reflects on the flag-draped 1986 original film that ushered in the testosterone-fueled glory years of producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer — and cemented the star status of Tom Cruise, the industry’s most enigmatic (and complicated) star. [The story.]( —"I’m heartbroken." Director Rob Reiner released a joke statement after being “permanently banned” from Russia along with 962 other notable Americans. Russia announced the travel bans in reaction to sanctions imposed on the country in wake of its invasion of Ukraine. Two other notable Hollywood figures on the list are Jeffrey Katzenberg and Morgan Freeman. [The story.]( —This Week in TV. THR's [Rick Porter]( runs down the TV premieres, returns and specials over the next seven days. Among the things to look out for over the coming week include the debut of season four of Netflix's Stranger Things, the premiere of the Disney+ Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi and finales for ABC's Grey's Anatomy and NBC's Chicago shows. [The full guide.]( Film Review: 'Tori and Lokita' ►"Masterfully crafted and unspeakably heartbreaking." THR film critic [Leslie Felperin]( reviews Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne's Cannes Competition entry Tori and Lokita. A pair of kids from West Africa watch each other's backs as they try to navigate the Belgian immigration system and a criminal underworld in the Palme d'Or winners' latest. [The review.]( —"A sober, satisfyingly straightforward drama." THR critic [Lovia Gyarkye]( reviews Mario Martone’s Cannes Competition entry Nostalgia. The Italian filmmaker's adaptation of Ermanno Rea’s novel brings him to present-day Naples, where he explores the complexity of homecoming. [The review.]( In other news... —Netflix reveals explosive [The Gray Man trailer starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans]( —A24 acquires [Paul Mescal-starring Cannes hit Aftersun]( —WTF With Marc Maron [podcast inks 3-year deal with Acast]( —Leonine acquires [Berlin production company Hyperbole Medien]( —Al Michaels to cover [NFL Playoffs and Olympics for NBC Sports in “emeritus” deal]( —Jen Psaki [joining MSNBC this fall, developing streaming show]( —Nathaniel Brown named [chief corporate communications officer of Warner Bros. Discovery]( —Jason Blum, Blumhouse to be [honored with American Cinematheque’s Power of Cinema Award]( —Aerosmith’s [Steven Tyler enters treatment program after recent relapse]( —Amy Schumer, Maria Bamford, Jimmy Carr, Katherine Ryan [join Just for Laughs Comedy Festival lineup]( —Iggy Pop and Diane Warren [awarded Sweden’s Polar Music Prize]( —Inside the construction of the [$1.8b MSG Sphere in Las Vegas]( What else we're reading... —Steve Lopez's powerful column on why we should remain horrified and angry about mass shootings until something changes [[LAT]( —R.O. Kwon's great cover story on Squid Game, with input from cast and crew, including some season 2 news [[VF]( —Sara Fischer has a scoop on Fox expanding into lifestyle verticals [[Axios]( — Maggie Fremont's magnum opus, genuinely this is pretty amazing: "Everything that happened on This Is Us in chronological order" [[Vulture]( —Naomi Pike interviews Alison Oliver, the star of Hulu's Sally Rooney adaptation Conversations With Friends, a show that will dominate the discourse in the coming weeks [[The Cut]( Today... ...in 1983, the original Star Wars trilogy concluded when 20th Century Fox released Return of the Jedi into theaters. Directed by Welsh filmmaker Richard Marquand, the film made $374 million during its initial theatrical run, significantly down on the previous two installments. THR's review takes stock of how the franchise began to start fraying. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: [Ian McKellen]( (83), Octavia Spencer (52), Cillian Murphy (46), Mike Myers (59), Ethan Suplee (46), Ray Stevenson (58), Erinn Hayes (46), Anne Heche (53), Esmé Bianco (40), Jacki Weaver (75), Frank Oz (78), Leslie Uggams (79), Lisseth Chavez (33), Susan Diol (60), Neil Marshall (52), Vincent Piazza (46), Demetri Martin (49), Karan Johar (50), Bob Gale (71) 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 © 2022 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](