'House of the Dragon' Director Explains Horrifying Premiere Scene; How Wendy Williams' Successor Was Chosen; 'Dragon Ball Super 2' Enjoys $20M-Plus Debut

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( August 22, 2022 What's news: Knives Out 2 has a release date. Cineworld has confirmed that filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a possible option. Gary Busey has been charged with sexual offenses. Brian Stelter signed off from Reliable Sources for the last time. Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car is named film of the year by international critics — [Abid Rahman]( 'House of the Dragon' Director Explains Horrifying Premiere Scene ►Viserys' choice. House of the Dragon viewers witnessed a rather disturbing sequence in the Game of Thrones prequel’s premiere Sunday night. THR's [James Hibberd]( spoke to director Miguel Sapochnik and star Paddy Considine about King Viserys' big decisions. Warning spoilers. [The interview.]( —Blame game. The premiere of House of the Dragon crashed an app to view the show. HBO subscribers took to Twitter to complain about not being able to watch the highly anticipated fantasy drama’s premiere due to technical issues presumably caused by a flood of viewers. But an HBO spokesperson says the problem seems to be among viewers connecting via Amazon’s devices. [The story.]( —"HBO Max. It’s not TV. It’s a series of tax write-offs to appease Wall Street." John Oliver took a couple of jabs at HBO Max on Sunday’s Last Week Tonight — which, of course, airs on HBO. Oliver's comments come two weeks after he criticized parent Warner Bros. Discovery for its decision to shelve Batgirl. [The story.]( —"Include a possible voluntary Chapter 11 filing." Cineworld Group, the owner of Regal Cinemas in the U.S., has confirmed that filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection is among the “strategic options” it is considering as the company grapples with lower admissions and a limited film slate. The London-based company, the world’s second-biggest theatrical chain, was reacting to speculation following a WSJ report on Friday. [The story.]( —Mark it down. Netflix has set a date to return to Rian Johnson’s Knives Out world. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will debut on the streamer on Dec. 23, after hitting select theaters on a date to be announced. Along with the release date, Netflix shared first-look photos from the film, which stars Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc. [The story.]( How Wendy Williams' Successor Was Chosen ►"She blew us away." In fall 2021 Sherri Shepherd was tapped to fill-in as one of a number of guest hosts on The Wendy Williams Show. She was only supposed to fill in for a few days, but came back for more, and now will launch her show, Sherri, in September. THR's [Lacey Rose]( goes inside the process that saw Shepherd win over producers and the stations to secure the gig. [The story.]( —Who will play Emily Maitlis? Prince Andrew will be the subject of a satirical TV musical from U.K. broadcaster Channel 4. The prince's disastrous Newsnight interview from November 2019, in which he tried and spectacularly failed to downplay his ties with the late child sex offender Jeffry Epstein, will be “reimagined” as part of the musical. [The story.]( —Charged. Gary Busey has been charged with sexual offenses at a New Jersey fan convention this month. The 78-year-old was charged Friday with two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, one count of attempted criminal sexual contact and one count of harassment, Cherry Hill police said Saturday. The charges stem from offenses at the annual Monster Mania Convention at the Doubletree Hotel on Aug. 12-14 in Cherry Hill, a Philadelphia suburb. [The story.]( —"They called them up so they could say their last goodbyes because they thought I was outta here." Dr. Dre says doctors thought he was going to die after he had a brain aneurysm in 2021. In a new interview, the rapper and music producer shared a few details about his two-week experience in the intensive care unit of an L.A. hospital. [The story.]( —"I sincerely believe they're going to say that this was an accident." Alec {NAME} says a private investigator he hired to probe what happened on the Rust set has led him to believe that neither he nor anyone else will be charged in the fatal shooting on the set. {NAME} believes authorities will determine that the death of Halyna Hutchins was an accident, he said in a new interview with CNN. [The story.]( —"The matter has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties." Bill Paxton’s family has settled the wrongful death suit with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the doctor who operated on the actor. The late actor’s family notified the Los Angeles County Superior Court of the settlement on Friday, close to a month before the trial was set to start. [The story.]( 'Dragon Ball Super 2' Slays 'Beast' With $20M-Plus Debut ►Goku hive assemble. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero opened to an impressive $20.1m-plus at the North American box office, easily enough to win the weekend. Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which is distributing the Japanese movie in North America, says the sequel is scoring the best global opening ever for an anime film. Overseas, the film opened to $12m from 32 markets, including $11.2m from markets handled by Sony Pictures International. Dragon Ball Super 2 bested the weekend’s other new offering, Universal's Beast. The Idris Elba film opened in second place with a modest $11.6m from 3,743 theaters. THR's [Pamela McClintock]( writes that even though Beast's performance was in line with tracking, it’s still a disappointing start. Beast, which received a lukewarm B Cinemascore, likewise skewed male (56 percent). [The box office report.]( —So much winning. Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s drama Drive My Car has won the FIPRESCI Grand Prix for best film of 2022, awarded by the members of the International Federation of Film Critics. Drive My Car premiered in Cannes last year, where it won best screenplay honors as well as the Cannes FIPRESCI prize, the start of an awards season run that peaked with it taking this year’s Oscar for best international feature. [The story.]( —"We need to have room for media criticism and debate and discussion." Brian Stelter signed off from Reliable Sources for the last time on Aug. 21. After welcoming several guests, like Carl Bernstein, Jodie Ginsberg, Jeffrey Goldberg and Eric Deggans, among others, to discuss the state of media one more time, Stelter made it a purpose to thank his family and the team behind the CNN show for his nearly decade-long run as its host. [The story.]( —Approved. The SAG-AFTRA National Board has approved a new agreement on exclusivity terms with the major studios. Over 95 percent of votes supported the deal, while a little over 4 percent opposed it, the union said. The overall “yes” vote means the terms will go into effect on contracts struck starting in 2023; union members do not have to vote to ratify the language. [The story.]( Alison Brie Laments Surprise Cancellation of 'GLOW' ►"The great heartbreak of my career." Netflix's unexpected decision to cancel GLOW is still haunting star Alison Brie. In a new interview, Brie spoke about the streamer's decision to pick up a fourth and final season of the 18-time Emmy nominated, but then reversing the decision in October 2020 amid the pandemic. [The story.]( —"It’s in the lineage of man-on-the-street stuff." THR's [Mikey O'Connell]( spoke to satirical comedy duo Chad Kroeger and JT Parr about their new Netflix show, the wonderfully named Chad and JT Go Deep. The pair speak about their unique brand of activism and comedy and how they are trying to get Machine Gun Kelly to rebrand as Background Check Kelly. [The interview.]( —"You can't just try to make somebody look like a villain because it's good for the story." THR's [Hilary Lewis]( spoke to Surface showrunner Veronica West, who breaks down the flashback-filled sixth episode of the Apple TV+ series. West discusses how the episode breaks open what viewers think they knew about the characters and motivations at the center of the drama. Warning spoilers. [The interview.]( In other news... —HBO's The Idol [teaser reveals ensemble cast, new footage]( —Sarah Hyland [marries Wells Adams]( —Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck [celebrate marriage with friends and family]( —The most beautiful, [Hollywood-loved safari camps in Africa]( —[Joanne Koch]( influential Film Society of Lincoln Center executive, dies at 92 —[Leon Vitali]( Barry Lyndon actor and Stanley Kubrick’s personal assistant, dies at 74 —[Ioane “John” King]( actor on Starz’s Spartacus, dies at 49 What else we're reading... —Things are hotting up down under as plucky Aussie media company Crikey published legal demands made by Fox Corp. boss Lachlan Murdoch's lawyers [[Crikey]( —Missed this Anthony Breznican piece from last week introducing Tim Burton’s Wednesday, with some exclusive pics [[VF]( —Scam update: "Crypto ads Starring Matt Damon, Tom Brady vanish from television" [[Bloomberg]( —This Lindsay Ellis and Angela Yang piece on "quiet quitting" and the decline of hustle culture is getting traction on social media [[WSJ]( —Alejandra Gularte talks to the person behind @CelebJets that has become the scourge of stars who have little regard for their carbon footprint [[Vulture]( Today... Today's birthdays: David Chase (77), [Kristen Wiig]( (49), Richard Armitage (51), Colm Feore (64), Rodrigo Santoro (47), Ty Burrell (55), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (55), Courtney Gains (57), Andrew Wilson (58), Dua Lipa (27), Cindy Williams (75), James Corden (44), Kay Cannon (48), Rick Yune (51), Jenna Leigh Green (48), Brandon Quintin Adams (43), Aparna Nancherla (40), Shelly Cole (47), Regina Taylor (62), Stephen Stanton (61), Giada De Laurentiis (52), Laura Dreyfuss (34) Virginia Patton, who portrayed Ruth Dakin Bailey, the sister-in-law of Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey, in the Frank Capra holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life, has died. She was 97. [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. 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](