Trevor Noah on Breaking Out of Politics With New Special; Independent Spirit Awards Noms; Reopening the Ronni Chasen Murder Investigation; 'Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( November 23, 2022 What's news: Avatar 2 secured a lucrative and increasingly rare China release. Apple is in pole position to pick up the rights to Michael Lewis' FTX book. Quentin Tarantino criticized Marvel movies. The Narcos profits lawsuit has been settled. — [Abid Rahman]( Noah on Breaking Out of Politics With His New Special ►"The last thing I wish to be doing on this planet is stand-up comedy." The evening after Trevor Noah announced he’d be leaving The Daily Show, he was back on stage, telling jokes before an arena audience of nearly 20,000. Nearly two months later, Noah is releasing that set, in the form of his third Netflix special, I Wish You Would. THR's [Lacey Rose]( spoke to Noah about the unique draw of stand-up, what he wanted to say with his third special and why he doesn’t think people should "exist constantly in politics." [The interview.]( —Hot project. Apple is nearing a deal for the upcoming Michael Lewis-penned book about the meltdown of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. The author of Moneyball, The Big Short and Flash Boys has been out pitching film and TV rights to his book based on Bankman-Fried, who Lewis had been spending time with leading up to the collapse of FTX. Sources peg the deal with Apple in the mid-seven figure range. [The story.]( —Huge boost. James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has landed a coveted release in China, opening in the country on Dec. 16, the same day it hits North American theaters. The first Avatar film made a healthy $261.8m in the country. Avatar 2 is one of the few Hollywood tentpoles to be given a China release since the pandemic began and the slot would help to recoup the whopping $350m to $400m production budget. [The story.]( —Class action. An antitrust lawsuit has been brought against Disney in a case that targets the entertainment monolith’s dual role as a content supplier and distributor in business dealings. The proposed class action accuses Disney of managing Hulu and ESPN as a single entity, claiming that the arrangement allows the company to negotiate anticompetitive agreements with competitors that have inflated the cost of live television streamed over the internet. [The story.]( Independent Spirit Awards Noms 2023 ►🏆 Dominating 🏆 A24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once leads the nominations for the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards with eight nods including best feature, directing and screenplay (for filmmaking duo Daniels). Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu were also nominated for their performances. Other leading Oscar contenders landing nods include Focus Features’ Tàr, United Artists’ Bones and All and A24’s The Inspection. [The nominations.]( —🏆 European champs 🏆 Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast, Jerzy Skolimowski’s donkey drama EO and Colm Bairéad’s Irish period drama piece The Quiet Girl are among the winners of the 2022 European Film Awards in the craft categories. Kate McCullough won best European cinematography for her lensing of The Quiet Girl — Ireland’s submission for the 2023 best international film Oscar. [The winners.]( —Mark it down. Paramount Global revealed on Tuesday that Top Gun: Maverick is set to hit streamer Paramount+ on Dec. 22 in its key markets. The Tom Cruise tentpole will launch first in U.S., Canada, U.K., Latin America, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. France and South Korea will have to wait till 2023. [The story.]( —"They’re the only things that seem to be made." Quentin Tarantino has become the latest prestige filmmaker to give a critique of superhero movies, only to find his comments getting Hulk smashed on Twitter. In a new interview, Tarantino was asked about Marvel movies and the outspoken filmmaker didn't hold back. [The story.]( Madeline Brewer on How 'Handmaid's' Inspired Her to Tell Her Abortion Story ►"Janine has changed so, so much that it does feel like it was the only place they could take her." THR's [Jackie Strause]( spoke to The Handmaid’s Tale star Madeline Brewer on how the seminal Hulu drama inspired her to tell her own abortion story. The actress also shares where she thinks her fan-favorite character Janine is headed in the final season after the cliffhanger ending to season five. Warning spoilers. [The interview.]( —"[We] were crying some really big tears." Pulling double duty, Jackie also spoke to Dead to Me star Linda Cardellini about filming the series finale to the much-loved Netflix tragi-comedy. The actress opens up about that journey of finishing the series amid Christina Applegate's MS diagnosis and the inspiring friendship at the core that kept them going — and how she wants Judy to be remembered. Warning spoilers. [The interview.]( —"We’re not really empire-builders." Writer-director Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman, his producing partner of two decades, are improbably modest for a pair who made one of the biggest film deals in recent memory — a $469m two-picture pact with Netflix for sequels to Knives Out. THR's [Mikey O'Connell]( spoke to the duo about the high stakes involved in Glass Onion's limited theatrical rollout and the lessons they learned from the Star Wars franchise. [The interview.]( —"It was a very, very sad turn." Fifteen years ago, Kevin Lima cast newcomer Amy Adams in Enchanted, the filmmaker's "love letter to Disney." Adams and all the leads are reprising their roles in Disenchanted, but Lima was not asked to be involved in the new film. THR rake [Ryan Gajewski]( spoke to Lima about his disappointment over the sequel and his memories of working on the highly regarded first film. [The story.]( It's Time to Reopen the Ronni Chasen Murder Investigation ►"Nobody asked any hard questions." Without real evidence, the Beverly Hills Police Department pinned the 2010 death of the Hollywood PR specialist Ronni Chasen on Harold Smith, a destitute Black man — who himself died under still-clouded circumstances while its officers were with him. THR's [Gary Baum]( writes that criminology experts have roundly criticized BHPD’s handling of the case and there are unanswered questions, too, about the death of Smith. [The story.]( —Settlement. Narcos director José Padilha has settled a lawsuit against his production partner Eric Newman alleging the series showrunner cheated him out of millions in profits by concealing revenue. The two sides reached an agreement to resolve the suit, according to a court document filed on Monday. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. [The story.]( —"I don’t know how Hollywood feel about me right now." Ice Cube confirmed THR’s October 2021 story about losing an opportunity to make $9m because he wouldn’t get the COVID-19 vaccine. In a new interview, the rapper and actor revealed that his refusal to get vaccinated forced him to turn down an acting gig and the hefty paycheck on Sony comedy Oh Hell No. [The story.]( —🎭 Casting news 🎭 Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire and Peter Gallagher have nabbed lead roles in Humane, Caitlin Cronenberg’s thriller scripted by Michael Sparaga. The feature is the directorial debut of the daughter of director David Cronenberg. The ensemble cast included Enrico Colantoni, Sebastian Chacon, Alanna Bale and Sirena Gulamgaus. [The story.]( TV Review: 'Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin' ►"A tiresome extension of a tired franchise." THR TV critic [Angie Han]( reviews Peacock's Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin. Adam Devine reprises his role from the hit film series as the former a cappella star, who moves to Germany to launch a solo music career under the management of a past rival (Flula Borg). [The review.]( —"Well-covered terrain elevated by a larger-than-life personality." THR's chief TV critic [Dan Fienberg]( reviews HBO's Shaq. Director Robert Alexander and producer Peter Berg offer the latest glimpse into the career of Shaquille O’Neal, the rise of the second Lakers dynasty and more. [The review.]( In other news... —Georgia’s [senate runoff brings an advertising bonanza to TV]( —Travis Scott [to headline tribute for late fashion designer Virgil Abloh at Art Basel]( —TV ratings: [Walking Dead gets finale bump, Yellowstone stays high]( —Goonies [house for sale in Oregon]( What else we're reading... —Elamin Abdelmahmoud writes that Yellowstone has struck such a chord with audiences because it focuses on one of the oldest conflicts in the U.S.: land [[BuzzFeed]( —Katey Rich recaps all the glorious things living legend James Cameron has said on the Avatar 2 press tour [[VF]( —Daniel Boffey asks whether David Beckham's alleged $178m deal to promote Qatar has killed his status as a gay icon [[Guardian]( —Francesca Carington writes that after 20 years, the much derided Bond film Die Another Day is worth another look [[Guardian]( —Dave Lee wonders if relying on tech and AI has made us all more stupid? [[FT]( Today... ...in 1988, moviegoers were greeted by a slightly darker holiday tale. Bill Murray’s Scrooged was greeted as a “scathing satire” and eventually became a holiday staple. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: [Kayvan Novak]( (44), Miley Cyrus (30), Destin Daniel Cretton (44), Vincent Cassel (56), Maxwell Caulfield (63), Franco Nero (81), Oded Fehr (52), Kelly Brook (43), Lucas Grabeel (38), Nicole Polizzi (35), Rodrigo Prieto (57), Robert Towne (88), Joe Eszterhas (77), Bruce Vilanch (74), Robin Roberts (62), Lisa Arch (51), Ludovico Einaudi (67), Dominic Savage (60), Peter Douglas (67), Jovanka Vuckovic (47) Phyllis Carlyle, the onetime casting director who managed the careers of Willem Dafoe, Geena Davis, Melanie Griffith, Andy Garcia and John Malkovich and produced films including Seven and The Accidental Tourist, has died. She was 80. [The obituary.]( Do you have THR's next big story? 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