Marvel, DC Among Last Bastion for Supersized Paydays; 'HOTD' Finale Leaks Online; Angelina Jolie to Play Maria Callas; Hulu/OWN's 'The Hair Tales' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( October 22, 2022 What's news: Black Adam made a solid $7.6m in Thursday previews. Balenciaga has cut ties with Kanye 'Ye' West. The Conjuring 4 has found its writers. ABC has picked up a full season of The Rookie: Feds. Netflix and Mattel have signed a Barbie programming deal. — [Abid Rahman]( Marvel, DC Among Last Bastion for Supersized Paydays ►"If you want to get paid, you have to put on a cape." A decade after Robert Downey Jr. earned $50m for the first Avengers, stepping into a superhero costume remains one of the last ways for an actor to earn a major payday. In an era in which even A-list stars no longer command fees like they used to, actors Florence Pugh and Michael Keaton can still make seven figures per film. [The story.]( —On the right track. Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam started off with $7.6m in Thursday previews from 3,500 theaters, which is a solid start for the actor’s first live-action superhero movie. The New Line/Warner Bros. release is hoping for an opening weekend in the $60m range at the domestic box office. By comparison, Johnson's Hobbs & Shaw earned $5.8m in previews on its way to a $60m launch domestically. [The box office report.]( —List of witnesses grows. Evidence corroborating the accounts of Harvey Weinstein’s accusers is stacking up against the disgraced mogul. Prosecutors will be allowed to introduce to the jury witnesses who will back up testimony from women Weinstein is accused of sexually assaulting. There will be nine accusers in total. Of the nine, Weinstein is on trial for raping four of them. The remainder are victims of uncharged sexual assaults by Weinstein. [The story.]( —"No longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects." Balenciaga has severed its ties with Kanye 'Ye' West. Following the publication of its Q3 results on Thursday, parent company Kering said the French fashion house would no longer be working on projects with the rapper, who has repeatedly made antisemitic comments in recent weeks. [The story.]( —Focus on emails. Paul Haggis’ defense sought Friday to undermine the credibility of a publicist who accused him of rape, with his attorneys suggesting a whiff of romantic interest in communications that his accuser says were just professionally friendly gestures. Cross-examining Haleigh Breest, defense attorney Priya Chaudhry also challenged the accuser’s account of feeling trapped during the 2013 encounter in Haggis’ apartment. [The story.]( 'HOTD' Finale Leaks Online ►Not great. The season one finale for HBO’s House of the Dragon has leaked online, which the company is attributing to a distribution partner in Europe, the Middle East or Africa. HOTD’s final episode of its first season was illegally made available Friday ahead of its scheduled Sunday launch. An HBO spokesperson said in a statement shared with THR that it is “aggressively monitoring” the situation and has been taking down copies that have surfaced on torrent sites. [The story.]( —Scribe in place. THR's [Borys Kit]( has the scoop on action writer Kurt Johnstad being tapped to work on Prophet, Studio 8’s adaption of a comic book series by Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld. Jake Gyllenhaal is attached to star and Sam Hargrave, the director of action hit Extraction, is on board to helm the adaptation. [The story.]( —Old hands. Borys also has the scoop on New Line hiring David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick to write The Conjuring 4, the next installment in the juggernaut $2b The Conjuring Universe. Johnson-McGoldrick is a franchise veteran, having penned The Conjuring 2 and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. [The story.]( Angelina Jolie to Play Maria Callas ►Hat trick of icons. Jackie and Spencer director Pablo Larraín is set to direct a biopic of Maria Callas with Angelina Jolie playing the iconic Greek soprano. Maria, based on true accounts and written by Steven Knight, will reportedly relive and reimagine the “tumultuous, beautiful and tragic story” of the life of one of the world’s greatest opera singers during her final days in 70s Paris. [The story.]( —"Like what even just happened??!?!” Taylor Swift‘s Midnights has already broken a major record less than 24 hours after its release. Spotify announced Friday that Swift’s 10th studio LP is officially the most-streamed album in a single day in the platform’s history. [The story.]( —Staying on the case. ABC has picked up a full season of its first-year show The Rookie: Feds. The network has given an old-school, back nine order to the drama, bringing its total for the season to 22 episodes. A spinoff of The Rookie, Feds was introduced in an episode of the former show last season before earning a spot on ABC’s fall slate. [The story.]( Reynolds, McElhenney Set for Wales Honor ►🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Diolch yn fawr bois! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Hollywood stars, and budding soccer club owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are set to receive a special award from the people of Wales. The duo, the owners of Wrexham AFC, will receive the Diolch y Ddraig (Dragon Award) for promoting Wales and Welsh culture on a global stage through social media as well as the hit FX series Welcome to Wrexham. [The story.]( —Not happening. The scandal-plagued Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization behind the Golden Globes, will not have any press conferences this awards season. The news comes a month after the HFPA announced it was bringing the Golden Globes back to NBC after not broadcasting the awards in 2022 due to a Los Angeles Times exposé that revealed diversity issues, unethical conduct and suspect financial practices. [The story.]( —🤝 Long term deal 🤝 Netflix and toymaker Mattel have signed a long-term deal to bring more Barbie programming to the streamer. The first project under the multi-year content partnership is an interactive special called Barbie: Epic Road Trip, which debuts Oct. 25. The deal will have Mattel Television produce series and specials based on the iconic doll line exclusively for Netflix, in addition to non-exclusive titles that will run on a variety of outlets worldwide. [The story.]( 'Handmaid's' Star on Episode 7's "Juicy" Twist of Fate ►"Becoming a handmaid without her actually becoming a handmaid." THR's [Jackie Strause]( spoke to The Handmaid’s Tale star Yvonne Strahovski about episode seven, the biggest Serena-June episode to date. Strahovski discusses why the episode felt so personal to her, and whether she believes Serena can change. Warning spoilers. [The interview.]( —🎭 Casting news 🎭 Michael Shannon is set to appear in drag comedy drama The Young King alongside Dope's Kiersey Clemons and Euphoria breakout Barbie Ferreira. The film, set in the drag king scene of 90s Las Vegas, will mark the feature directorial debut of Larin Sullivan, who also wrote the script. [The story.]( —Twice as nice. Damian Lewis is set to play not one but two vampires in upcoming supernatural black comedy The Radleys. Based on the novel by Matt Haig, the film sees the actor re-team with his Dream Horse director Euros Lyn. The script was developed by Jo Brand and written by Talitha Stevenson. [The story.]( TV Review: 'The Hair Tales' ►"Sincere and uplifting, if a bit too tidy." THR TV critic [Angie Han]( reviews Hulu/OWN's The Hair Tales. Tracee Ellis Ross interviews Oprah Winfrey, Issa Rae, Ayanna Pressley and more about their personal "hair journeys" and the politics and meaning of Black women's hair in a new show from Onyx Collective. [The review.]( —"Hawkins shines, but his performance depends on Abdul-Mateen’s own stage magic." THR critic [Lovia Gyarkye]( reviews Suzan-Lori Parks' Topdog/Underdog. Corey Hawkins and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II play brothers caught in the purgatory of the American Dream in Kenny Leon's production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play. [The review.]( In other news... —Camerimage: [Competition lineup unveiled, includes Elvis, White Noise, Top Gun: Maverick]( —Big Mouth star [Brandon Kyle Goodman on embracing authentic self in new book You Gotta Be You]( —Mandy Moore [welcomes second child with husband Taylor Goldsmith]( —Rodolphe Belmer [to leave Netflix's board to join TF1 Group as CEO]( What else we're reading... —Charlie Warzel writes that with Ye, Musk and Trump all purchasing social media companies, the Big Tech whiplash is here [[Atlantic]( —Rebecca Jennings, Shira Tarlo, and Gabriela Fernandez explain every song on Taylor Swift’s Midnights [[Vox]( —With Pluto TV now featuring in The Gauge, Nielsen’s monthly scouting report, Josef Adalian looks at the significance of the move for the streamer [[Vulture]( —Lauren Cochrane looks at how an explosion in merch sales has saved the music industry [[Guardian]( —Jason Bailey on how George Clooney and Julia Roberts quietly became the Tracy-Hepburn of our time [[NYT]( Today... ...in 2004, Fox Searchlight unveiled Sideways in theaters, where it would go on to gross $109m globally. The film earned five nominations at the 77th Academy Awards, winning in the adapted screenplay category. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Catherine Deneuve (79), Jennifer Lee (51), Kyle Gallner (36), Corey Hawkins (34), Christopher Lloyd (84), Bob Odenkirk (60), [Jeff Goldblum]( (70), Valeria Golino (57), Spike Jonze (53), Saffron Burrows (50), Suzanne Snyder (60), Jonathan Lipnicki (32), Derek Jacobi (84), Carmen Ejogo (49), Sofia Vassilieva (30), Stevie Lynn Jones (27), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (47), Bill Camp (61), Jan de Bont (79), Bill Condon (67), Luca Marinelli (38), Amy Redford (52), Scott Beck (38) Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](mailto:tips@thr.com?subject=). 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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