Disney Hiring Freeze; 'Black Panther 2' Roars at Box Office; Batman Voice Kevin Conroy Dies; THR's Top Unscripted Producers; Hannah Waddingham Joins Gosling's 'Fall Guy'

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( November 12, 2022 What's news: Alec {NAME} is suing some Rust crewmembers for negligence. Censors in Kuwait have cut a LGBTQ scene from Black Panther 2. Playbill will no longer use Twitter. Taylor Swift has added extra dates to her Eras tour. Disney+ is celebrating its third birthday with a special The Mandalorian short produced by Studio Ghibli. — [Abid Rahman]( Disney Plans Targeted Hiring Freeze ►"We are going to have to make tough and uncomfortable decisions." In a memo to senior executives sent Friday afternoon, Disney CEO Bob Chapek outlined new efforts to save on expenses, including a targeted hiring freeze, likely staff reductions, a “cost structure taskforce” and a “rigorous review of the company’s content and marketing spending.” [The story.]( —"More than anyone else on that set, {NAME} has been wrongfully viewed as the perpetrator of this tragedy." Alec {NAME} on Friday sued people involved in handling and supplying the loaded gun that he was using when it fired, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust. {NAME} filed a cross-complaint in Superior Court in Los Angeles alleging negligence against some of the people sued by a script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell. [The story.]( —Award-winning addition. THR's [Borys Kit]( has the scoop on Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham joining the starry cast of Ryan Gosling’s adventure feature, The Fall Guy. The actress joins Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Stephanie Hsu and Winston Duke on the call sheet for the Universal movie, which is inspired by the 1980s television series. Bullet Train director David Leitch is helming the action film, which is now shooting in Australia. [The story.]( LGBTQ Scene From 'Black Panther 2' for Kuwait Release ►Cuts. The LGBTQ+ representation in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever might not be extensive, but it’s enough for the moment to have been cut for the film’s release in Kuwait. THR's [Alex Ritman]( reports that while only a very small number of edits have been made to the sequel for it to be released in Kuwait, amounting to just over 1 minute of cuts in total, it includes a 10-second scene in which Michaela Coel’s character Aneka kisses Florence Kasumba’s Ayo on the forehead. [The story.]( —Roaring start. Wakanda Forever hunted down a stellar $28m in Thursday previews, among the top 15 preview grosses of all time, according to Comscore. THR's [Pamela McClintock]( writes Wakanda Forever paced ahead of the $25.2m earned in previews by the first Black Panther, and came in just behind this summer’s fellow Marvel pic Thor: Love and Thunder ($29m). [The box office report](. —What it all means. The final moments of Wakanda Forever delivers on Marvel’s promise to honor the past and look to the future following the loss of actor Chadwick Boseman. THR's Sydney Odman dives deep into the mid-credits scene and how it sets up a new potential future for Wakanda in the MCU. Warning spoilers. [The story.]( THR's 30-ish Most Powerful Producers in Unscripted TV ►They're not here to make friends. For the first time in seven years, THR has produced a rundown of the most powerful players in unscripted television. Because conflict, competition and clashes are the lifeblood of the genre, our poll of reality’s biggest players reveals budget battles, reboot wishes and time sucks. [The list.]( —Blurred lines. Theater publication Playbill said it will no longer post content on Twitter after the platform "has greatly expanded its tolerance for hate, negativity, and misinformation." Playbill is one of the first publishing brands to make concrete plans to leave the platform, after the social media company was bought by Elon Musk. [The story.]( —🎭 Casting news 🎭 Rising Brit star Alexis Rodney has joined The Gentlemen, Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series inspired by his own 2019 Miramax action comedy. Rodney joins an ensemble cast led by Theo James, that also includes Giancarlo Esposito, Kaya Scodelario, Daniel Ings, Joely Richardson, Peter Serafinowicz and Vinnie Jones. [The story.]( Kevin Conroy 1955 - 2022 ►"He truly cared for the people around him — his decency shone through everything he did." Kevin Conroy, the prolific voice actor who defined Batman for generations of audiences, has died. He was 66. Conroy voice-starred in the acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series from 1992-96 and continued with the role through nearly 60 different productions, spanning 15 films and 400 episodes of television as well as video games. [The obituary.]( —Farewell. Fans celebrated the musical legacy of slain rapper Takeoff on Friday at a memorial service in Atlanta, near where the artist grew up, that drew Justin Bieber, Drake and other big names in the music industry. Takeoff, part of the Grammy Award-nominated trio Migos with uncle Quavo and cousin Offset, was shot and killed earlier this month outside a Houston bowling alley. [The story.]( —Swifties rejoice! Taylor Swift has added even more dates to her Eras tour. The 17 additional shows see the superstar singer-songwriter beginning her cross-country tour a day earlier than originally announced, on March 17 in Arizona, and ending the run four days later than planned, on Aug. 9, creating a five-night stand at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium. [The story.]( 'Skyfall' at 10 ►"You have this sort of fantasy in your head about shooting a Bond movie that you’re going to spend days on some beach somewhere, but that was obviously not the case." As Skyfall, the twenty-third film in the James Bond series, turns 10, director Sam Mendes reveals how he and his collaborators pulled off one of the biggest Bond movies ever — the first, and only, 007 adventure to gross $1b at the box office. [The story.]( —"We all knew that the script wasn’t quite right." On the occasion of Skyfall's 10-year anniversary, longtime 007 scribes Robert Wade and Neal Purvis reflect on the big swings and tragic avenues considered for the film. Among plenty of fascinating tidbits, the screenwriting duo, who have penned seven Bond films in total, reveal how they came up with the movie’s last-minute title and the explosive finale. [The story.]( Ghibli, Disney+ Celebrate 'Mandalorian' With Grogu Short ►Surprise! Disney+ announced Friday that it will celebrate its third anniversary and that of the Emmy-winning Star Wars series The Mandalorian with the release of a new original short focused on Grogu, aka Baby Yoda, the show’s breakout character. Zen – Grogu and Dust Bunnies, premiering Saturday on Disney+, is a hand-drawn animated short hailing from iconic Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli. [The story.]( In other news... —IDA Documentary Awards: [Fire of Love leads 2022 nominees]( —Lizzo [set to receive People’s Champion Award at People’s Choice Awards]( What else we're reading... —Jaron Lanier's writes that social media, and in particular Twitter, poisoned the brains of Donald Trump, Kanye "Ye" West and Elon Musk [[NYT]( —Yohana Desta writes about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's delicate dance of grief and legacy [[VF]( —Hollie Richardson reflects on 50 years of abortion on TV [[Guardian]( —Lucas Shaw reports that media companies are having their worst year in three decades [[Bloomberg]( —Jodi Walker has a thorough breakdown of Lindsay Lohan’s Christmas-aided comeback [[Ringer]( Today... Today's birthdays: Anne Hathaway (40), [Ryan Gosling]( (42), Megan Mullally (64), Céline Sciamma (44), Neil Young (77), Rebecca Wisocky (51), Ashley Williams (44), Gustaf Skarsgård (42), Radha Mitchell (49), Wallace Shawn (79), Cote de Pablo (43), Ben Aldridge (37), Raffey Cassidy (21), Craig Parker (52), Alexandra Maria Lara (44), Leah O'Rourke (34), Tamala Jones (48), Daisy McCrackin (43), Guy Branum (47), Lourdes Benedicto (48), Nima Nourizadeh (45), Rob Schrab (53) Leo Gallagher, the watermelon-smashing prop comic known as Gallagher, has died. He was 76. [The obituary.]( 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. Visit the [Preferences Center]( to update your profile and customize what email alerts and newsletters you receive. 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