Zaslav's Strategy Shift: Licensing Out WB's IP Treasure; 'Handmaid's Tale' Boss on Premiere Cliffhangers; PBS' 'The U.S. and the Holocaust' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( September 17, 2022 What's news: Constantine 2 is a go at WB. Magic Mike 3 will now open in theaters. Sony is rebooting the Karate Kid films. Orlando Bloom is the latest star to join Sony's Gran Turismo film. The Phantom of the Opera will end its run on Broadway — [Abid Rahman]( Zaslav's Strategy Shift: Licensing Out WB's IP Treasure ►"Open for business." Warner Bros. Discovery's decision to license out Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies to an Amazon Prime Video keen on promoting its own LOTR prequel series was a clear sign the company was shifting away from locking up its prestige titles for HBO Max. THR's [Alex Weprin]( writes that WBD chief David Zaslav’s "open for business" mantra is pushing the company to aggressively pursue more rights deals for its core brands. [The story.]( —Bring back Gavin Rossdale! Some good news from Warner Bros., the studio is developing a sequel to 2005’s Constantine. The DC project is to reunite star Keanu Reeves with director Francis Lawrence, who helmed the original. This time around, veteran scribe Akiva Goldsman will write the script. Goldsman will also produce via Weed Road Pictures, with J.J. Abrams producing via Bad Robot with Hannah Minghella. [The story.]( —Backing theatrical. More from WB, the studio has switched up the release strategy for Magic Mike’s Last Dance, abandoning an exclusive release on HBO Max and opening the film in theaters Feb. 10, 2023. WBD chief David Zaslav has made it clear he is committed to theatrical releases for high-profile films. [The story.]( —"The return to the original." The Karate Kid franchise is getting new life in theaters. Sony’s Columbia Pictures has set a date for a Karate Kid film slated to open June 7, 2024. No filmmakers or other details were revealed. The studio also dated a number of films, pushing back Columbia/Marvel projects Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web. [The story.]( U.S. News Networks Scramble to Cover Queen's Funeral ►History-making event. The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday, Sep. 19, is shaping up to be a global spectacle. World leaders, including President Biden, will be in attendance, and the world’s media will be there, too. THR's [Alex Weprin]( writes that ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC will have anchors and correspondents on the ground in London, while PBS will simulcast the BBC's coverage. [The story.]( —Doll reunion. THR's [Borys Kit]( has the scoop on Russian Doll star Charlie Barnett entering into final negotiations to join the cast of the latest Star Wars series, The Acolyte. If the deal makes, Barnett will be reunited with the co-creator of Russian Doll, Leslye Headland, who is showrunning, writing and directing the Disney+ series. Amandla Stenberg is toplining The Acolyte. [The story.]( —Orlando vroom. Borys is back with another scoop and once again he has the inside line on Sony's Gran Turismo project, this time with the news that Orlando Bloom is the latest star to join the project. The feature is an adaptation of the popular PlayStation game. David Harbour and rising actor Archie Madekwe are toplining the project that is being directed by Neill Blomkamp. [The story.]( —In demand. THR's [Alex Ritman]( has the scoop on Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor nabbing the lead role in the upcoming Miramax spy thriller Inheritance. Written by Olen Steinhauer (Berlin Station) and Neil Burger (Limitless, Divergent, The Marsh King’s Daughter) with Burger directing and producing, the film is also being produced by Bill Block and Charles Miller. [The story.]( 'Handmaid's Tale' Boss on Premiere Cliffhangers ►"She thought this was the end of a chapter, and it doesn’t turn out to be." THR's [Jackie Strause]( spoke to The Handmaid’s Tale creator and showrunner Bruce Miller about the two-episode premiere of season five. Miller explains how June brought out a “really scary Serena” and how that sets the stage for the two women going cloak-to-cloak the rest of the season, and he sums up the root of what June’s story is all about. Warning spoilers. [The interview.]( —Dismissed. The principal production company behind Rust will not have to face the central claims in a lawsuit from script supervisor Mamie Mitchell. A judge on Friday dismissed claims of assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress against Rust Movie Productions, Thomasville Pictures, Ryan Smith and Lengley Cheney, because they didn’t know Alec {NAME} would actually shoot the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. [The story.]( —The Phantom of the Opera is not there. Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, Broadway’s longest running show, is scheduled to close on Feb. 18. The musical has been playing at the Majestic Theatre since January 1988. The musical has been a staple of the Great White Way, and popular culture, ever since, but has attracted more of a tourist audience in recent years — a demographic that has been slower to return amid the pandemic. [The story.]( —Gunning for the EGOT. Common will step onto a Broadway stage for the first time this winter in Second Stage Theater’s Between Riverside and Crazy. The rapper and actor — who is a Tony Award short of becoming an EGOT winner — was announced on Friday as part of the cast of the upcoming Broadway production from writer Stephen Adly Guirgis and director Austin Pendleton. [The story.]( As Regal Owner Goes Chapter 11, Studios Gauge Fallout ►"On a scale of one to 10, this is a three." The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing Sept. 7 from Cineworld, the world’s second-largest movie theater company and owner of Regal Cinemas in the U.S., didn’t come as a surprise to close observers. THR's [Georg Szalai]( and [Pamela McClintock]( write that as the theater giant shutters some locations, industry sources appraise the financial reverberations. [The analysis.]( —Encore! The National Cinema Day over Labor Day weekend was a huge success, with the Sept. 3 promotion resulting in 8.2m moviegoers turning up at more than 3,000 theaters across the U.S. to boast the biggest day of 2022 so far in number of admissions. THR's Pamela McClintock reports that some version of National Cinema Day could become an annual event. [The story.]( —Not looking good. Hopes that art house haven ArcLight Cinemas and the adjoining Cinerama Dome — a high-profile destination for Hollywood’s most respected directors — will reopen in time for the 2022 awards season and the year-end holidays are waning. Numerous studio sources tell THR's Pamela McClintock that the Sunset Boulevard complex won’t reopen until the latter part of 2023. [The story.]( —Solid start. Gina Prince-Bythewood's historical epic The Woman King, starring Viola Davis, has started off its North American theatrical run with a promising $1.7m in Thursday previews on its way to easily winning this weekend’s box office hunt. From Sony’s Tri-Star and eOne, the film tells the story of an all-female army in the West African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 18th and 19th centuries. [The box office report.]( TV Review: 'The U.S. and the Holocaust' ►"Heartbreaking, pragmatic and all too relevant." THR's chief TV critic [Dan Fienberg]( reviews PBS' The U.S. and the Holocaust. Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein's six-hour documentary explores what the United States did and could have done in response to the Nazi atrocities of the Holocaust. [The review.]( —"Choppy if well-meaning." THR film critic [Leslie Felperin]( reviews Richard Eyre's Allelujah. Judi Dench, Jennifer Saunders, Derek Jacobi and Russell Tovey appear in the large ensemble cast of Eyre's screen adaptation of the recent Alan Bennett play about the NHS, which premiered in Toronto. [The review.]( —"A sandbox of frenzied experimentation." THR critic [Lovia Gyarkye]( reviews Benjamin Millepied's Carmen. Melissa Barrera and Paul Mescal star in dancer-choreographer Millepied's feature directing debut, collaborating with composer Nicholas Britell to recast Bizet's famous opera as an experimental fever dream on the U.S.-Mexico border. [The review.]( —"Packs a heartrending punch." THR's [Sheri Linden]( reviews Ricky D’Ambrose's The Cathedral. Brian d’Arcy James and Monica Barbaro star in the writer-director’s second feature as a couple whose story of love and estrangement is viewed through the eyes of their son. [The review.]( In other news... —Netflix's Jeffrey Dahmer [series trailer unveils chilling look at Evan Peters as serial killer]( —NBC stations draft [Matthew Berry and Peacock’s Fantasy Football Pregame]( —French TV [merger called off after antitrust probe]( —Neon’s Super [nabs Alice Diop’s Venice winner Saint Omer]( —Meet Hollywood’s [2022 real estate rising stars]( —Reservation Dogs, Abbott Elementary [among Sentinel Awards honorees]( What else we're reading... —Must-read Dave Itzkoff interview with the new, improved James Cameron who is on the charm offensive trying to get us all to care about Avatar again [[NYT]( —After all the Don't Worry Darling drama, Nicole Sperling looks into the box office prospects of the film and what it all means for Olivia Wilde [[NYT]( —Ben Lindbergh on why House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power are different enough that viewers don't have to choose sides [[Ringer]( —Ana Lucia Araujo writes that The Woman King softens the truth of the slave trade [[Slate]( —Geoffrey Bunting asks why everyone is ignoring the disturbing allegations against Squid Game star and Emmy winner Lee Jung-jae [[Daily Beast]( Today... ...in 1972, two years after its movie adaptation, the M*A*S*H team leaped to the small screen during the 8 p.m. hour on CBS. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Kyle Chandler (57), Baz Luhrmann (60), Ella Purnell (26), Danielle Brooks (33), Danny Ramirez (30), Cassandra Peterson (71), Neill Blomkamp (43), Mena Massoud (31), Paul Feig (60), Sam Esmail (45), Felix Solis (51), Sunrise Coigney (50), James Urbaniak (59), Dustin Nguyen (60), Malik Yoba (55), [Charles Martinet]( (67), Stacy Kamano (48), Ella Jay Basco (16), Rita Rudner (69), Scott Marder (43), Nate Berkus (51), Anastacia (54), Mark Osborne (52) Henry Silva, the rugged New York actor who portrayed heavies and heroes of various ethnicities in a career highlighted by turns in A Hatful of Rain, The Manchurian Candidate and Johnny Cool, has died. He was 95. [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. 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