Layoffs, Cuts Hit WBD; Hollywood Remembers Angela Lansbury; 'Amsterdam' to Lose $80M-$100M; Marvel's 'Blade' Paused Amid Director Search; 'Rosaline' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( October 12, 2022 What's news: Hollywood screenwriters are lamenting the closure of the Warner Bros. Television Workshop. Sydney Sweeney will star in and produce Sony's Barbarella remake. Apple has snapped up the Skydance feature The Gorge. Blake Shelton will leave The Voice after S23. Ryan Murphy's Jeffrey Dahmer drama is now Netflix's second most watched English language title ever. — [Abid Rahman]( Layoffs, Cuts Hit WBD ►Bearing the brunt. Channing Dungey’s Warner Bros. Television Group was the hardest hit unit during Tuesday’s expected round of layoffs as part of Warner Bros. Discovery's efforts to find $3b in post-merger cost savings. Sources tell THR's [Lesley Goldberg]( that Dungey’s division has reduced its workforce by 26 percent. Included in the tally are 82 employees (19 percent) who were laid off Tuesday as well as 43 vacant positions (7 percent). All told, 125 positions have been eliminated at the studio. [The story.]( —Closing after 40 years. WBD will be shutting down its long-running writers’ and directors’ television workshops at the end of the current 2022-23 season. While they were not specifically diversity programs exclusively for participants from historically excluded backgrounds, the Warner Bros. Television Workshop was regarded as an important pipeline of opportunity for such artists looking to break into the business. The company is also shuttering Stage 13, its short-form digital content studio that was dedicated to amplifying up-and-coming storytellers. [The story.]( —"To see it scrapped in the name of capitalism is infuriating and heartbreaking." Screenwriters across the industry are mourning the closure of the long-running Warner Bros. Television Workshop. The likes of Akela Cooper, LaToya Morgan, Justin Doble, Michelle Paradise, Alexandra McNally and more have been reacting to the news with a mixture of shock and sadness. [The reaction.]( —"We are absolutely in the scripted business." In an interview that took place before Tuesday's cuts and layoffs, THR's [Mikey O'Connell]( spoke to Warner Bros. Discovery US Networks Group chair and chief content officer Kathleen Finch and CMO Karen Bronzo about merger growing pains, re-upping Charles Barkley and why the new TBS/TNT sports-led scripted strategy will take time. [The interview.]( Angela Lansbury 1925 - 2022 ►Icon. Dame Angela Lansbury, the irrepressible three-time Oscar nominee and five-time Tony Award winner who solved 12 seasons’ worth of crimes as the novelist/amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher on CBS’ Murder, She Wrote, has died. She was 96. [The obituary.]( —"She touched four generations." Robby Benson, Viola Davis, Josh Gad, Jason Alexander and Harvey Fierstein were among the list of Hollywood stars and entertainment industry members who shared tributes and expressed their condolences following the news of the passing of Angela Lansbury. [The reaction.]( —"A class act, the rare public figure whose elegant sophistication was matched by her approachability." THR critic [David Rooney]( reflects on the long career of Angela Lansbury, writing that the beloved star of stage and screen made a graceful exit in her sleep at 96 — the only kind of exit this lifelong trouper could make. [The critic's appreciation.]( Kanye Controversy Continues ►"We have zero tolerance for hate speech of any kind." Kanye “Ye” West is doubling down on his recent controversial comments, using “more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes” in a taping of a new episode of the YouTube talk show Uninterrupted The Shop. The exec producers behind The Shop, LeBron James and Maverick Carter, have decided against airing the episode or revealing what West said. [The story.]( —Edited out. Motherboard, a vertical of Vice, says it has obtained leaked footage from Fox News’s recent interview with Kanye West that did not make it to air. The tech publication alleges that the footage features West making bizarre, antisemitic and conspiratorial claims and statements which Fox News edited out of the final broadcast on Tucker Carlson's show. [The story.]( —How many chances does West get? Kanye West's antisemitic social media posts from the weekend are not the first time the scandal-plagued rapper-turned-mogul has run afoul of Twitter and Instagram's rules. THR's [J. Clara Chan]( looks back at the long litany of violations West has committed on social media as he marches inexorably towards a permanent ban. [The story.]( 'Amsterdam' to Lose $80M-$100M ►Yikes. David O. Russell’s star-studded Amsterdam opened to a dismal $6.4m in North America over the Oct. 7-9 weekend despite a wide release by New Regency and Disney in more than 3,000 theaters. THR's [Pamela McClintock]( writes that box office analysts and financing sources believe Amsterdam ultimately stands to lose anywhere from $80m to $100m. The film’s target audience — older adults — are unfortunately a no-show in terms of the numbers needed following poor reviews. [The story.]( —Sony's Sydney. Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney is set to lead a new take on Barbarella for Sony. Sweeney will also exec produce the project, which is in development and does not yet have a writer or director on board. The actress also has Madame Web at Sony, with the film that is based on the Spider-Man character due out in October 2023. Jane Fonda played the character of Barbarella in a 1968 film. [The story.]( —Snapped up. Apple Original Films has picked up the Skydance feature The Gorge, a high-action, genre-bending love story starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller. The film is directed by Scott Derrickson from a spec script by Zach Dean. The Gorge is yet another project from the first-look partnership between Apple and Skydance. [The story.]( —🎭 Casting news 🎭 Michelle Yeoh and Pete Davidson have boarded Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the seventh installment of the Paramount franchise. As previously announced Steven Caple Jr. will direct. Dominque Fishback and In The Heights actor Anthony Ramos will also star. [The story.]( —The end is nigh. NBC has picked up a 23rd edition of The Voice — which will be the last one for Blake Shelton. The country singer is the only coach who has appeared in every season to date. Chance the Rapper and former One Direction member Niall Horan will join the show for the spring cycle, and Kelly Clarkson will return for her ninth season. Carson Daly returns as host. [The story.]( 'Blade' Paused Amid Director Search ►Hitting pause. THR's [Borys Kit]( has the scoop on Marvel Studios pausing production on the Mahershala Ali-starring Blade movie. The move comes two weeks after director Bassam Tariq left the project. The studio is temporarily shutting down production-related activities in Atlanta, where the movie was to have shot starting in November, while it conducts a search for a filmmaker. [The story.]( —All change. In light of the Blade news, Disney is shaking up its release date calendar, pushing back multiple titles. Blade has moved to Sept. 6, 2024, back from its Nov. 3, 2023, date. The untitled Deadpool 3 is moving to Nov. 8, 2024, back from Sept. 6, 2024. Fantastic Four has been pushed back several months to Feb. 14, 2025, back from Nov. 8, 2024. And Avengers: Secret Wars, the culmination of Marvel’s Multiverse Saga, has moved to May 1, 2026, back from Nov. 7, 2025. [The story.]( —Pouncing. Following Disney's calendar shuffle, Warner Bros. revealed it will now open Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two on Blade's old date of Nov. 3, 2023, instead of Nov. 17, 2023. [The story.]( —All hail Ryan Murphy. Netflix’s Jeffrey Dahmer limited series is now the second most-watched English language title in the platform’s history. The streamer’s rankings for the week of Oct. 3-9 show Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story racking up 205.33m hours of viewing time worldwide, ranking first for the third week in a row. The series now trails only season four of Stranger Things in Netflix's internal rankings. [The story.]( —Transparency ahoy! The U.K. should soon have a much clearer picture of just how much Netflix is — or isn’t — dominating TV viewership. The streamer has officially signed up to U.K. audience measurement company BARB, making it “the first industry-owned audience currency in the world that Netflix has joined,” according to the organization. [The story.]( —Fresh faces. Netflix has recruited HBO Max’s Billy Wee and Disney’s Maggie Malone while also promoting exec Jermaine Turner as the streaming giant expands its animation ranks in the wake of Mike Moon’s exit. Wee will serve as director of adult animation comedy series; Turner has been promoted to director of adult animation action series; and Malone has joined Netflix as vp animation film. [The story.]( —Sticking around. Joe Drake has inked a new long term deal to remain chair of Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group. The exec is overseeing John Wick: Chapter Four and The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes in his upcoming release slate. Drake returned to Lionsgate in October 2017 when the studio acquired his production company Good Universe. [The story.]( 'Tilda': HBO's Nikki Finke Drama That Never Aired ►"There was a mystery all around Nikki and her past." The news that Nikki Finke died Sunday at 68 dislodged a tidal wave of not-so-fond memories in Hollywood. During her time leading Deadline, Finke had grown so legendary that she even served as inspiration for an HBO dramedy. Only Murders in the Building showrunner John Hoffman and THR's [Seth Abramovitch]( discuss working on the 2011 show Tilda that starred Diane Keaton as a cutthroat Hollywood journalist with questionable ethics. [The conversation.]( —Free at last. Prosecutors dropped charges against Adnan Syed on Tuesday in the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee after additional DNA testing excluded him as a suspect in a case chronicled by the hit podcast Serial. The state’s attorney for the city of Baltimore said it would continue to pursue justice for Lee but that it had closed its case against Syed, who spent 23 years in prison for the killing. [The story.]( —Record breaker. Byron Allen, the billionaire chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group, has reportedly paid $100m for a home in Malibu’s Paradise Cove neighborhood — the most ever paid for a home by an African-American buyer in the U.S. The 10,698 square foot home sits on 3.6 acres above the beach and boasts eight bedrooms and 12 bathrooms. [The story.]( —Request made. On the second day of jury selection for a sexual assault trial, a lawyer for Harvey Weinstein claimed the disgraced mogul may not live to see a verdict if the conditions of his holding cell don’t change. Weinstein's lawyer said that his client may suffer a heart attack or stroke because he’s held in an “unsanitary, fetid” cell alone in his wheelchair for up to four hours before being taken back to L.A.’s Twin Towers Correctional Facility, where he’s continuing to serve his existing 23-year sentence. [The story.]( —The trial continues. A lawyer for Kevin Spacey sought Tuesday to poke holes in the story of another actor who claims Spacey made a sexual advance on him when he was a teenager. During an aggressive cross-examination, defense attorney Jennifer Keller zeroed in on inconsistencies between Anthony Rapp’s account of how he first met Spacey in 1986 and that of an older friend who was there. [The story.]( Film Review: 'Rosaline' ►"Brisk and playful." THR critic [Lovia Gyarkye]( reviews Karen Maine's Rosaline. Kaitlyn Dever stars alongside Isabel Merced and Minnie Driver in a portrayal of Romeo's jilted ex-girlfriend. [The review.]( In other news... —Good Night Oppy [trailer teases Mars Rover robots surviving against all odds]( —TV ratings: [East New York is fall’s top series premiere after seven days]( —Kaley Cuoco [is pregnant, expecting first child with Tom Pelphrey]( —Webtoon [hires Warner Bros. veteran Jessica Turner as senior vp marketing]( —Idina Menzel [doc headed to Disney+]( —Documentary filmmaker [Paula Eiselt signs with CAA]( —Thom Browne [named chairman of the CFDA]( —Art Deco gem [The Georgian Hotel set to relaunch in Santa Monica]( —Netflix [to open “immersive” shopping experience at The Grove]( What else we're reading... —Max Chafkin believes the Twitter takeover deal has pierced Elon Musk’s reality distortion field [[Bloomberg]( —Alison Herman writes that with Catherine Called Birdy and Sharp Stick, Lena Dunham is back in her comfort zone as a director [[Ringer]( —Stephen Bush weighs in on the color-blind casting in films and TV that is provoking strong feelings, writing that the debate about ethnicity is missing a key issue [[FT]( —Incredible journalism from Sebastian Rotella and Kirsten Berg with definite movie or TV adaptation potential: "How a Chinese American gangster transformed money laundering for drug cartels" [[ProPublica]( —Anime is having a moment, and given the growing popularity of the genre, Rafael Motamayor has helpfully written a guide to the various anime streaming services [[Vulture]( Today... ...in 1960, John Sturges‘ star-studded 128-minute western The Magnificent Seven hit U.S. theaters, eventually becoming one of the iconic films of the genre. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: [Hugh Jackman]( (54), Hiroyuki Sanada (62), Josh Hutcherson (30), Lin Shaye (79), Deborah Foreman (60), Tom Guiry (41), Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (23), Kate Beahan (48), Susan Anton (72), David Threlfall (69), Adam Rich (54), Jimmy Chin (49), Manon Azem (32), Sarah Smyth (40), Grace Johnston (42), Aurore Clément (77), Richard Price (73), Joseph Kahn (50), Chris Wallace (75), Jeff Nathanson (57) Michael Callan, the actor and dancer who portrayed Riff in the original Broadway production of West Side Story before starring in such films as Gidget Goes Hawaiian, The Interns and Cat Ballou, has died. He was 86. [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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