What Really Happened With Fred Savage on 'Wonder Years' Reboot; Hollywood Remembers Olivia Newton-John; Ezra Miller Charged With Felony Burglary; Anne Heche In Coma

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( August 09, 2022 What's news: Anne Heche remains in critical condition. Ezra Miller finds himself in more legal trouble. Lars von Trier has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Cox buys Axios Media. ABC orders drama Will Trent. A Pac-Man live-action film is in the works — [Abid Rahman]( What Really Happened With Fred Savage on 'Wonder Years' Reboot ►"His eyes would go dead." THR's editor-at-large [Kim Masters]( reports on why Fred Savage was let go after "allegations of misconduct" on the set of ABC's The Wonder Years, the reboot of the series that made him famous. Kim spoke to several of the women who reported Savage to Disney HR who describe the behavior they say led to his ouster. [The story.]( —More legal woes. Ezra Miller has been charged with felony burglary for allegedly stealing bottles of alcohol from a Vermont home. Despite the arrests and swirl surrounding Miller’s alleged behavior, Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav said last week that the studio is committed to theatrical releases for a number of DC films including the Miller-fronted The Flash. [The story.]( —The latest. Anne Heche is reportedly in a coma and in critical condition Monday following a car accident in which her car crashed into a Los Angeles residence on Friday. "She has a significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention," a rep for the actress said in a statement sent to media outlets Monday. Heche slipped into a coma shortly after the accident. [The story.]( —"In good spirits and is being treated for his symptoms." Lars von Trier, the acclaimed and controversial Danish director has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 66. Von Trier’s production company Zentropa confirmed news reports on Monday that the director had been diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disorder. [The story.]( —Comeback creeps closer. Elton John and Britney Spears’ rumored remake of John’s “Tiny Dancer” officially has a title, “Hold Me Closer,” borrowing from the first three words to the chorus to the 1972 single. “Hold Me Closer” was officially confirmed Monday by a rep for Universal Music’s Interscope Records, home to John, though little else is known about the new track including release date. [The story.]( Olivia Newton-John 1948-2022 ►"Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years." Olivia Newton-John, the angelic Australian singer who forged a hopelessly devoted following with her chart-topping hits “Physical,” “Have You Never Been Mellow” and “You’re the One That I Want,” her Grease duet with John Travolta, has died. She was 73. Newton-John died Monday morning at her ranch in Southern California, her husband, John Easterling, announced on Facebook. [The obituary.]( —"We are forever hopelessly devoted to you." Grease stars John Travolta and Stockard Channing, Grease director Randal Kleiser, Kylie Minogue, Viola Davis, Julianne Hough, Edgar Wright, Gabrielle Union, Daniel Dae Kim, George Takei and more took to social media to pay tribute to the late Olivia Newton-John. [The reaction.]( —"We’re still all basically Sandy Olsson at heart." THR's chief film critic [David Rooney]( offers his personal tribute to fellow Australian Olivia Newton-John. David recalls growing up listening to ONJ's music, ruling the airwaves and the hearts of everyone back home. He also remembers how a nation tracked her career and felt collective pride at her achieving American stardom. [The critic's notebook.]( Why AMC Theatres Went "APE" in Bid to Reclaim Memestock Status ►🚀 To the moon, still? 🚀 THR's [Alex Weprin]( reflects on AMC Entertainment issuing a stock split, the AMC Preferred Equity or APE for short, to thank retail investors. Alex writes that the APE is CEO Adam Aron's latest gambit to maintain the company's memestock status. [The analysis.]( —🤝 Deal done 🤝 Cox Enterprises has unveiled a $525m deal to acquire Axios Media. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Cox said it will look to grow and expand Axios for political and business news into more cities, covering more national topics and more premium news niches. [The story.]( —Almost there. The SAG-AFTRA National Board voted “overwhelmingly” to approve a new agreement with Netflix, the guild announced following a special meeting on Monday. The tentative contract, which covers scripted, dramatic episode and feature productions made by the streaming service, will now be sent to union members for a ratification vote. [The story.]( Despite 'Yellowstone' Snub, Popularity Is a Priority at the Emmys ►The Emmys are not the Oscars. THR's chief TV critic [Dan Fienberg]( writes that contrary to its prestige-only perception, the TV Academy favored many of the season’s biggest hits, from Squid Game to Strangers Things to Abbott Elementary. [The analysis.]( —From Hawkins to Fargo. Stranger Things regular Joe Keery is one of three actors to join Fargo's fifth season. Lamorne Morris and Richa Moorjani have also been cast in the series, which is set to begin production in the fall. Juno Temple, Jon Hamm and Jennifer Jason Leigh were previously revealed to be in the cast. [The story.]( —Midseason pickup. ABC has handed out a series order to Will Trent, the Ramon Rodriguez-led drama based on Karin Slaughter’s book series. The series revolves around special agent Will Trent (Rodriguez) of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, who was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system. [The story.]( —Throwing money at it. MBC Studios, the production arm of the Saudi-owned free-to-air satellite network giant MBC, has unveiled what it claims to be the “biggest TV series” ever to be shot in the country. Rise of the Witches, a 10-part fantasy-adventure series based on the bestselling books by Saudi author Osamah Al Muslim, is now in production at Neom, the much-hyped $500b megacity. [The story.]( —Eating it up. THR's [Mia Galuppo]( has the scoop on a live-action Pac-Man film being in development. The project hails from Bandai Namco Entertainment — the company behind classic arcade games Pac-Man, as well as games like Galaga and Tekken — and Wayfarer Studios, the production company founded by Justin Baldoni and Steve Sarowitz. [The story.]( Vince Gilligan on Writing and Directing His Final 'Saul' Episode ►"Plotting these episodes out was tiny little baby steps" THR's chief TV critic [Dan Fienberg]( spoke to Better Call Saul co-creator Vince Gilligan who stepped behind the camera one last time to helm this week’s penultimate episode "Waterworks." Gilligan discusses the joys of directing Carol Burnett, the challenges of black-and-white and Gene/Jimmy/Saul's big decision heading into the series finale. Warning spoilers. [The interview.]( —"He’s been under the thumb of 'the man.'" THR's [Abbey White]( spoke with Westworld star Jeffrey Wright about season four episode "Metanoia." Wright discussed Bernard’s plan and why his character is a “Laurie Anderson fan” and is similar to Evan Rachel Wood's Dolores. Warning spoilers. [The interview.]( In other news... —Sonic the Hedgehog 3 [sets Christmas 2024 release date]( —NY Film Festival [sets The Inspection as closing night screening]( —Cinema Guild takes [North American rights to Hong Sang-soo’s Walk Up]( —Amazon names [Brianna Oh head of doc features]( —BuzzFeed Studios taps former MTV exec [Paul Ricci to lead unscripted programming]( —Robert Gibbs [named UTA partner, co-head of agency’s Atlanta office]( —L.A. nightlife: [The rise of the House of Avalon collective]( —[Tom Urich]( actor and older brother of Robert Urich, dies at 87 —[Rob Mitchell]( leading finance executive in Hollywood, dies at 55 —[Lou Barlia]( camera operator on Love Story, Jaws and Steel Magnolias, dies at 92 —[David McCullough]( Pulitzer-winning historian, dies at 89 What else we're reading... —That time when librarians saved the republic: "If Trump broke a law on the removal of official records, would he be barred from future office?" [[NYT]( —John Jurgensen explores how Better Call Saul refined the art of television [[WSJ]( —Ben Zimmer looks at the surprising history of the slur Beyoncé and Lizzo both cut from their new albums [[Slade]( —Max Chafkin writes that it's not a time to feel sorry for Facebook as it's still making billions even though Zuckerberg has hit the panic button [[Bloomberg]( —Kate Kellaway interviews the always interesting Werner Herzog and yes it is almost impossible to read this without having Werner's voice in your head [[Guardian]( Today... Today's birthdays: Gillian Anderson (54), Kenya Barris (48), Bill Skarsgård (32), Audrey Tautou (46), Ashley Johnson (39), Dan Levy (39), Justice Smith (27), Rhona Mitra (46), Sam Elliott (78), Kate Siegel (40), Anna Kendrick (37), Thomas Lennon (52), [Eric Bana]( (54), Melanie Griffith (65), Joe LoCicero (36), Adelaide Kane (32), Kevin McKidd (49), Jessica Capshaw (46), McG (54), Paige Spara (33), Jes Macallan (40), Emily Tennant (32), Daniel Henshall (40), Nikki Ziering (51), Adam Nimoy (66) Bert Fields, the renowned entertainment litigator whose clients included Edward G. Robinson, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Tom Cruise, Warren Beatty, The Beatles and a host of other luminaries, studios and talent agencies, has died. He was 93. [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. 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