'Emancipation' Review; Why 'Strange World' Bombed; 5 Disney Megadeal Scenarios; Ang Lee Taps Son to Play Bruce Lee; Nia Long Talks Personal, Professional Renewal

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( December 01, 2022 What's news: Apple's Emancipation had its world premiere in L.A. on Wednesday. The jury fails to reach a verdict in the rape case against Danny Masterson. Robert De Niro has secured his first TV role. CNN has begun layoffs. Paramount+ renewed Tulsa King. — [Abid Rahman]( Film Review: 'Emancipation' ►"Interesting story, disappointing execution." THR critic [Lovia Gyarkye]( reviews Antoine Fuqua's Emancipation. Will Smith stars alongside Ben Foster and Charmaine Bingwa in a narrative based on the true story of "Whipped Peter," an enslaved man who escaped a Confederate army labor camp. [The review.]( —"Poetic perfection." The Emancipation press tour rolled through Los Angeles on Wednesday, marking Smith's first major red carpet appearance since the slap incident at the 94th Academy Awards. The Oscar-winning actor was joined at the world premiere by wife Jada Pinkett Smith and children Trey, Jaden and Willow. [The story.]( —What the critics are saying. The reviews for Emancipation started dropping on Wednesday evening and the early reaction to the film has been decidedly mixed. Critics praised the cast, but took issue with the sparse script, the unrelenting brutality as well as the look of the film, with many questioning Robert Richardson’s stylized cinematography. [The review roundup.]( Why 'Strange World' Bombed ►Blame game. After a five-day domestic opening of $18.9m, Disney's latest animated film Strange World faces a whopping $100m-plus loss. THR's [Pamela McClintock]( writes that terrible audience scores, poor word of mouth and Bob Chapek-era streaming priorities meant that Strange World was in trouble long before it hit theaters. [The analysis.]( —"It will be a difficult time for everyone." CNN began layoffs Wednesday, as part of continued cost-cutting by parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. In a memo Wednesday morning, CEO Chris Licht wrote that the cable news giant would inform paid contributors first as part of a new reporting strategy, with full-time employees being informed of their status on Thursday. [The story.]( —Sly's going back to Oklahoma. Paramount+ has renewed Tulsa King for a second season. The latest series from prolific producer Taylor Sheridan, which stars Sylvester Stallone in his first television role, scored big ratings after it was given a special Paramount Network preview after an episode of Yellowstone. According to Nielsen numbers provided by Paramount, the show bested HBO's House of the Dragon as cable’s highest-rated series debut this year, scoring 3.7m viewers. [The story.]( —"We are not trying to build a theatrical business." Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has acknowledged that he got advertising “wrong” and that streaming competition has intensified. Speaking at the New York Times Dealbook Summit, Hastings admitted the streamer left “lots” of money on the table with its Glass Onion release strategy, while also heaping praise on Bob Iger, Elon Musk and Dave Chappelle. [The story.]( 5 Far-Fetched (or Are They?) Disney Megadeal Scenarios ►Bob's big bets. While Bob Iger may be waving away any deal talk, the incoming Disney CEO built the company with a slew of splashy buys — Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 21st Century Fox — and could have another big bet up his sleeve. As Hollywood is ushered into an era where seemingly unthinkable deals are now discussed as possibilities, here’s a survey on the reasoning for and against those bets. [The scenarios.]( —A surprising first. Robert De Niro is eyeing the first TV lead role of his storied career. The Oscar winner is attached to star in a Netflix limited series called Zero Day from Narcos showrunner Eric Newman and Noah Oppenheim, the president of NBC News. Details are being kept close to the vest, but the project is said to be a political thriller in which De Niro will play a former president. [The story.]( —"I find the jury is hopelessly deadlocked." A Los Angeles judge declared a mistrial on Wednesday in Danny Masterson’s rape trial after the jury said they are at an impasse on a trio of charges in one of the most high-profile criminal cases of the #MeToo movement. The jury favored acquittal on each of the charges: 10 to two, eight to four and seven to five. It held four votes on Wednesday and three on Tuesday. [The story.]( —"We’ve had conversations with all the usual suspects." ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro has confirmed the sports network is exploring a further push into the sports betting space. Speaking at a conference Wednesday, Pitaro was asked about reports that ESPN had been having conversations with DraftKings. The company already has some partnerships with the sports betting company, as well as a branded studio in Las Vegas with Caesers Entertainment, but Pitaro said there may be room to do more. [The story.]( Ang Lee Taps Son Mason to Star as Bruce Lee in Biopic ►Family affair. Oscar-winning filmmaker Ang Lee has tapped his son, Mason Lee, to play martial arts and acting icon Bruce Lee in his upcoming biopic for Sony’s 3000 Pictures. Mason Lee appeared in The Hangover Part 2 as Teddy and also appeared in his father’s 2016 drama, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. Dan Futterman is penning the script for Bruce Lee. [The story.]( —"Why are you calling it a documentary?" THR's [Seth Abramovitch]( spoke to Nancy Grace about her feelings on Peacock's new Casey Anthony series, Where the Truth Lies. The legal pundit reveals she turned down an interview request from the producers. Grace also offers insights into the shocking University of Idaho murders currently under investigation and weighs in on the rise of true crime as Hollywood’s most consistently bankable genre. [The interview.]( —"I feel that for the last 10 years of my life, I’ve been just stuck." Zoe Saldaña has revealed that being a key part of major movie franchises for the last decade has left her feeling "artistically stuck." In a new interview, Saldaña said she is grateful for being part of the Star Trek, Marvel and Avatar film series but working on those projects has meant she has not been "able to expand or grow or challenge myself by playing different sorts of genres and different roles." [The story.]( —"What he was talking about, of course, was she wasn’t playing ‘sexy.’" Alfred Molina says he saw Harvey Weinstein berate Salma Hayek on the set of Frida. In a new interview, Molina said he did not witness any assaults, but spoke about Weinstein’s behavior on the set of the film — specifically one “preposterous” instance in which the disgraced producer and convicted rapist became enraged over Hayek’s spot-on performance. [The story.]( Nia Long's Personal and Professional Renewal ►"The days of being on the battlefield unnecessarily are over." For THR, [Brande Victorian]( spoke to Black cinema’s longtime “It” girl Nia Long. The iconic actress opens up about the return of the Best Man franchise, being dragged into an NBA scandal, her view on the slap controversy between her longtime friends Will Smith and Chris Rock, and at last pursuing a career on her terms. [The interview.]( —"My reaction was inherently blended with Portia’s reaction." THR's [Brian Davids]( spoke to The White Lotus star Haley Lu Richardson about episode five's shocking ending. Richardson also discusses how after five months of working with Jennifer Coolidge, she still can’t tell where Tanya ends and Jennifer begins. Warning spoilers. [The interview.]( In other news... —Cocaine Bear [trailer promises drug-fueled mayhem and carnage in Elizabeth Banks' comedy]( —Taye Diggs [finds unfinished business in trailer for Best Man: The Final Chapters]( —Netflix [drops first trailer for Harry & Meghan doc series]( —2022 World Cup TV [ratings surge with U.S. again in competition]( —Kim Kardashian [and Kanye “Ye” West settle divorce]( —Simu Liu [returns to host 2023 Juno Awards]( What else we're reading... —Greg Braxton writes that Will Smith is on probation with Black Hollywood, but it may not last much longer [[LAT]( —Thomas Buckley and Felix Gillette write that Avatar 2 is a make-or-break moment for Disney’s $71b Fox deal [[Bloomberg]( —Austin Ramzy and Wenxin Fan have an in-depth report on the trigger event that sparked the recent China protests [[WSJ]( —Kyle Buchanan wonders whether theatrical movies will shut out streamers for the top Oscars [[NYT]( —Well worth a read: "The FT’s 25 most influential women of 2022" [[FT]( Today... ...in 1983, Universal premiered Brian De Palma’s 170-minute, R-rated gangster remake Scarface in New York. Written by Oliver Stone, the film was loosely based on the 1929 novel of the same name and the 1932 film by Howard Hawks. [The review.]( Today's birthdays: Bette Midler (77), Riz Ahmed (40), Zoë Kravitz (34), Janelle Monáe (37), Sarah Snook (35), Andrew Adamson (56), Katherine LaNasa (56), Sarah Silverman (52), Treat Williams (71), Natasha O'Keeffe (36), David Hornsby (47), Camille Cottin (44), Jeremy Northam (61), Karissa Lee Staples (35), Nestor Carbonell (55), Reign Edwards (26), Nate Torrence (45), Charles Michael Davis (38), Akiva Schaffer (45), Chanel Iman (32), Golden Brooks (52), Olivia Grace Applegate (31), Larry Charles (66) Christine McVie, beloved Fleetwood Mac musician and prolific lyricist, has died. She was 79. [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. 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