Marvel's 'Blade' Loses Director; 'Star Trek 4' Taken Off the Calendar; Jeremy Strong On His Process; Kevin Mayer Defends Candle's Acquisition Approach; 'Amsterdam' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( September 28, 2022 What's news: It's magazine day! On the cover this week is the always interesting Jeremy Strong. Hugh Jackman will play Wolverine in Deadpool 3. Blade is looking for a new director. Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando close as Hurricane Ian hits. Jesse Collins will produce the Golden Globes. Lynette Romero has joined KNBC — [Abid Rahman]( Jeremy Strong Knows What You Think ►On the cover. Jeremy Strong is aware of his reputation for artistic zealotry — and the scoffing that zealotry may elicit, even from his peers. THR's [Seth Abramovitch]( spoke to the Succession and Armageddon Time star about that one very loud profile: "There’s a lot of mythologizing about my process." [The cover story.]( —"Had the pandemic given me a skewed sense of time?" Katie Couric has revealed she underwent treatment for breast cancer after receiving the diagnosis in June. In a detailed post to her website, Couric writes about the experience of being diagnosed with the disease after unintentionally missing a mammogram, saying she last had one in 2020, and the treatment that followed. [The story.]( —Not happening. Paramount has officially removed Star Trek 4 from its slate, scrubbing the film's Dec. 22, 2023 release date. THR's [Pamela McClintock]( writes that the news isn't a surprise after the film lost director Adam Shakman, who exited to helm Marvel's Fantastic Four. [The story.]( —Live TV veteran. Jesse Collins, the Emmy-winning producer who has previously produced the Grammys, the Oscars and the Super Bowl Halftime Show, will serve as the exec producer and showrunner of NBC and Peacock’s telecast of the 80th Golden Globe Awards. Dionne Harmon of Jesse Collins Entertainment will also serve as an exec producer. [The story.]( —Fit of pique. In a further sign of Russia’s withdrawal from contact with the Western world, the country’s film academy has said that it will not be submitting a film for the upcoming 2023 international Oscar race. The boycott comes amid growing tensions between Washington and Moscow in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ongoing war of aggression there. [The story.]( —Batten down the hatches. In a rare move, Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando will shut down this week, in preparation for Hurricane Ian, which is expected to make landfall on the west coast of Florida. Both Disney World and Universal Orlando say that they will close today and Thursday, Sept. 29, due to Ian, with tentative plans to reopen Sept. 30. [The story.]( Marvel's 'Blade' Movie Loses Director ►Shifts in the production schedule. THR's [Borys Kit]( and [Aaron Couch]( have the huge scoop on Marvel Studios’ Blade losing director Bassam Tariq two months before production begins. Blade, which has a release date of Nov. 3, 2023, was gearing up to begin shooting in November in Atlanta. It is unclear how Tariq’s departure will impact the production start of the vampire action-thriller, which has Oscar winner Mahershala Ali in the title role. [The story.]( —You little ripper! Hugh Jackman is coming out of superhero retirement to play Wolverine again. The Aussie actor will return to his signature X-Men role in the upcoming Deadpool 3, star Ryan Reynolds announced Tuesday on Twitter. Reynolds also announced that the film will open Sept. 6, 2024. Jackman first played Wolverine in 2000’s X-Men and has reprised the character nine times in films, the last time coming in 2017’s Logan. [The story.]( —Lengthy. Ryan Coogler’s upcoming sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has a marathon running time of two hours and 41 minutes. The film joins the pantheon of Hollywood superhero pics with hefty running times and will be the second-longest of any title in the MCU behind Avengers: Endgame. [The story.]( Mayer Defends Candle's Acquisition Approach ►"We did not overpay for Hello Sunshine." Kevin Mayer shrugged off the “valuation haters” and offered insights into the big-ticket investment strategy behind his fast-growing entertainment startup Candle Media Wednesday during an appearance at the APOS media summit in Singapore. Mayer flatly knocked back criticism that Candle overpaid when they acquired Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine for about $900m last year. [The story.]( —Telling it like it is. Tom Hanks will release his second work of fiction in May 2023 — and this one is partially set in the entertainment world. The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece will follow “the making of a star-studded, multimillion-dollar superhero action film … and the humble comic books that inspired it,” according to publisher Penguin Random House. [The story.]( —"It definitely took a toll on me as a younger kid." Stranger Things star Caleb McLaughlin opened up about the racism he faced when the hit sci-fi series first hit Netflix. The actor reflected on how his younger self would wonder why he was the least favorite on the show, with fewer followers on social media than his co-stars. [The story.]( —"The last season was 2016. And that’s not a coincidence. I was incredibly depressed since then." Amy Schumer offered the first look at what she has in store when Inside Amy Schumer returns. During a visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the comedian brought along a brief clip that will be featured when her comedy sketch series returns — after six years off the air — for its fifth season on Paramount+. [The story.]( —Going to trial. A Spanish judge on Tuesday approved a trial for singer Shakira on charges of tax fraud. Spanish prosecutors accused the entertainer in 2018 of failing to pay $13.9m in taxes on income earned between 2012 and 2014. Prosecutors are seeking an eight-year prison sentence and a hefty fine if she is found guilty of tax evasion. Shakira has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and rejected a deal with authorities to avoid going to trial. [The story.]( Hulu Nabs True-Crime Drama 'Under the Bridge' ►Hidden world of teenagers. Hulu has given a series order to Under the Bridge, a limited series about the 1997 murder of Canadian teenager Reena Virk. The eight-episode drama is based on Rebecca Godfrey’s 2005 book about the case. Quinn Shephard is adapting Godfrey’s book and will executive produce. Liz Tigelaar (Little Fires Everywhere) and Samir Mehta (Tell Me Lies) will serve as showrunners, and Geeta Vasant Patel is set to direct. ABC Signature is producing. [The story.]( —It’s official. Former KTLA anchor Lynette Romero is heading to KNBC. The NBC owned-and-operated station announced that Romero would be co-anchor of its morning newscast Today in LA, alongside Adrian Arambulo, meteorologist Belen De Leon and traffic anchor Robin Winston. Romero’s departure from KTLA was abrupt, and she did not get a chance to say goodbye to regular viewers. [The story.]( —"I wish that the movie had not been presented as just for girls." Elizabeth Banks is weighing in on why she feels the marketing for her 2019 film Charlie’s Angels didn’t quite work. In a new interview, Banks — who wrote, directed and co-starred in the movie — said she felt her project was misrepresented as "some feminist manifesto" when she was "just making an action movie." [The story.]( —A "shock to my womanhood." Marlyne Barrett, who stars on NBC’s Chicago Med as Nurse Maggie Lockwood, is opening up about her real-life cancer battle. In a new interview, the 44-year-old actress revealed that she was diagnosed with ovarian and uterine cancer in July and has been taking it “one day at a time” as she prepares to undergo her third round of chemotherapy. [The story.]( Roku's New Top Salesman Has a Big Task Ahead ►Fierce negotiator. Charlie Collier’s jump to Roku comes after decades in the entertainment space, most recently as CEO of Fox Entertainment and previously as president of AMC. THR's [Caitlin Huston]( and [Alex Weprin]( write that by enlisting Collier, an exec who specializes in thrifty programming, Roku is signaling its broader content ambitions. [The analysis.]( —Rocco's modern life. Netflix has greenlit a new Italian series, Supersex, based on the life and career of notorious Italian pornstar Rocco Siffredi, aka “Buttman.” Alessandro Borghi (Suburra, The Eight Mountains) will play the lead character. Jasmine Trinca, Adriano Giannini co-star with Saul Nanni playing the protagonist as a young man. Netflix said the seven-episode series would be “freely inspired” by Siffredi’s life and career. [The story.]( —Star power. Patti LaBelle will guest-star in the second season of ABC comedy The Wonder Years. The music icon is currently signed on for two episodes and will play Bill Williams’ (Dulé Hill) mother Shirley Williams, a choir director at her church. [The story.]( —🎭 Casting news 🎭 Horror anthology Them has lined up the cast for its second season on Amazon. Deborah Ayorinde — who also starred in the show’s first season — Pam Grier and Luke James will head the cast for the season, formally titled Them: The Scare. Joshua J. Williams and Jeremy Bobb will also be regulars in season two, and Wayne Knight, Carlito Olivero, Charles Brice and Iman Shumpert will recur. [The story.]( —See it before it's gone! In the week after announcing its Broadway closure, The Phantom of the Opera saw its grosses jump close to $250,000 and saw its capacity reach just over 100 percent, the highest capacity at the production in more than a year. The average ticket price also crept up $10 from the previous week. This brought the box office total for the week ended Sept. 25 to $1.2m. [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 second season of CBS' breakout comedy Ghosts, the season 48 debut of Saturday Night Live, the third season of Ramy and AMC debuting its adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire. [The full guide.]( Film Review: 'Amsterdam' ►"More fizz than focus." THR's chief film critic [David Rooney]( reviews David O. Russell’s Amsterdam. The 1930s-set comedy thriller’s stacked cast including Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Robert De Niro, Rami Malek, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Zoe Saldaña and Taylor Swift. [The review.]( —"An insightful portrait of teenage self-discovery." THR TV critic [Angie Han]( reviews Amazon Freevee's High School. Based on the memoir by Canadian indie pop musicians Tegan and Sara Quin, the series stars TikTok creators Railey Gilliland and Seazynn Gilliland as twins coming of age in suburban Calgary in the 1990s. [The review.]( In other news... —Halloween Ends trailer: [Jamie Lee Curtis seeks bloody revenge in final battle]( —Santa Barbara Film Fest: The Whale [star Brendan Fraser tapped for American Riviera Award]( —Oscars: [Denmark picks Holy Spider as international feature submission]( —Oscars: [Argentina selects Argentina, 1985 for international feature race]( —Oscars: [Uganda submits Tembele as first-ever best international feature contender]( —Amazon Music inks [star YouTube podcaster MrBallen to exclusive content deal]( —Former [MoviePass execs sued by SEC]( —WWE expands [exclusive pay TV deal with Foxtel in Australia]( —Late Show elevates [Matt Lappin to co-exec producer]( —[Robert Cormier]( actor on Heartland and Slasher, dies at 33 What else we're reading... —Ashley Carman has the goods on podcast companies buying millions of listeners through mobile-game ads [[Bloomberg]( —Jazz Monroe reports that Spotify has been rather slow to remove white supremacist content [[Pitchfork]( —Robert Ito talks to Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith about their long and enduring friendship [[NYT]( —The schadenfreude leaps off the page of this Scaachi Koul piece on the downfall of "Wife Guys" Ned Fulmer and Adam Levine [[BuzzFeed]( —Author and poet Ocean Vuong reflects of the lasting cultural legacy of Lee Isaac Chung's Minari [[VF]( Today... ...in 2001, Paramount unveiled Ben Stiller’s Zoolander hit theaters. The comedy was a modest hit at the box office, making $60.8m, but became a cult classic. A sequel was released in 2016. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Naomi Watts (54), Mira Sorvino (55), Hilary Duff (35), Janeane Garofalo (58), Dita Von Teese (50), Susan Walters (59), Ranbir Kapoor (40), Antonia Desplat (28), Sarah Wright (39), Pauletta Washington (72), Momona Tamada (16), Hana Mae Lee (34), Sabina Gadecki (39), Moon Unit Zappa (55), Jarin Blaschke (44), Peter Cambor (44), John Sayles (72), Bam Margera (43), Lucas Bryant (44), [Leilani Sarelle]( (56) Venetia Stevenson, a model, actress and daughter of Hollywood luminaries who appeared in films including Darby’s Rangers, Island of Lost Women and Horror Hotel after being labeled “the most photogenic girl in the world,” has died. She was 84. [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](