THR's Actress Roundtable; 'Avatar 2' Opens Strong Overseas; Zaslav's Big TV Licensing Pivot; 10 Best Films of 2022; 'Babylon' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( December 16, 2022 What's news: HBO Max/CBC renew Sort Of. Jane Fonda's cancer is in remission. Avatar 2 projected to make $360m in China. Hulu orders Dan Levy's Standing By. Daisy Edgar-Jones is set to play Carole King. Trevor Noah will host the 2023 Grammys. CNN cancels Searching for Italy. Good luck Leo! 🇦🇷 — [Abid Rahman]( THR's Actress Roundtable ►"We’re a little scary and powerful." In November, Emma Corrin (Lady Chatterley’s Lover), Danielle Deadwyler (Till), Claire Foy (Women Talking), Jennifer Lawrence (Causeway), Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans) and Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) gathered in Los Angeles for the annual THR Actress Roundtable. The six stars spoke to THR's [Rebecca Keegan]( about depicting trauma without fetishizing it, why female directors are better than male ones and the power of saying no. [The roundtable.]( —What happened to free speech? A number of high-profile journalists and commentators were suspended by Twitter on Thursday night with no warning, and without any obvious sign of what caused the suspensions. Among those suspended were Keith Olbermann and CNN correspondent Donie O’Sullivan. Other journalists suspended included NYT reporter Ryan Mac, Washington Post's Drew Harwell, Matt Binder of Mashable, and freelance journalist Aaron Rupar. All the journalists have been reporting on Twitter owner Elon Musk. [The story.]( —Black Hollywood steps up. After starting a campaign to save the show from closing, Broadway play Ain’t No Mo‘ has extended its run for another week through Dec. 23. The new play, written by Jordan E. Cooper and produced by Lee Daniels, was originally scheduled to close on Dec. 18 but following support from Hollywood heavyweights Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tyler Perry, Shonda Rhimes, Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade, Queen Latifah and Sara Ramirez the show has earned a temporary reprieve. [The story.]( —"I am feeling so blessed, so fortunate." Jane Fonda took to Instagram on Thursday to reveal her cancer is in remission. In September, the actress announced that she had begun chemotherapy treatment for a “very treatable” form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. [The story.]( 'Water' World: 'Avatar 2' Opens Strong Overseas ►Splashdown. James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water opened Wednesday in its first handful of international markets, grossing $15.8m to date from 15 reported territories, including France, Korea and Germany. Korea led international territories, with $3.3m in ticket sales, followed by France, with $2.9m. Across Europe, including Italy and Sweden, the movie opened at the No. 1 spot in all markets, with 71 percent of box office coming from 3D and other premium formats. [The box office report.]( —Pandora express. Avatar 2 is off to a solid start in China despite significant uncertainty surrounding the public health situation in the country. Early Friday, local time, the film had earned $15.2m, including Thursday night previews. Box office analysts forecast Avatar 2 to finish the weekend with an opening haul of $119m to $128m in China. China’s largest ticketing app, Maoyan, meanwhile, is projecting The Way of Water to conclude its local run with a whopping $360m. [The China box office report.]( —Na’vi blues. The Weeknd dropped his latest single on Thursday night, and it’s a stunning musical tribute to the Avatar sequel. Titled “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength),” the more than four-minute track is featured during The Way of Water's end credits. Written and performed by The Weeknd, the track is produced by Swedish House Mafia and Simon Franglen. [The song.]( Zaslav's Next Big TV Licensing Pivot Begins ►Acting FAST. After the shock news that HBO Max was pulling Westworld from its service amid plans for $800m to $1b in extra content write-offs, THR's [Lesley Goldberg]( and [Alex Weprin]( write that parent company Warner Bros. Discovery is leaning on third-party deals and a free ad-supported streaming channel to deliver cash. [The analysis.]( —No brainer. HBO Max and Canada’s CBC have renewed the Peabody Award-winning series Sort Of for a third season. The critically acclaimed comedy concluded its second season on the CBC on Dec. 6 and is midway through the season on HBO Max in the U.S. Sort Of follows the life of Sabi (Bilal Baig), a gender-fluid millennial who is in transition in every aspect of their life. [The story.]( —"We wanted to maximize the momentum by fast tracking season three now." Showtime has renewed breakout drama Yellowjackets for a third season. The pickup comes three months ahead of the show's second season premiere in March 2023. Created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson and produced by Entertainment One, Yellowjackets was a word-of-mouth hit for Showtime a year ago, drawing better than 5m cross-platform viewers per episode. [The story.]( —Creek reunion. Hulu has given a series order to Standing By, an animated comedy about guardian angels co-created by Dan Levy and Ally Pankiw, who worked together on Schitt’s Creek. Levy also heads the voice cast that includes David Tennant, Natalie Palamides, Glenn Close, Poppy Liu and Samira Wiley. Danielle Uhlarik (Solar Opposites) will serve as showrunner on the series, which comes from Disney’s 20th Television Animation. Bento Box Entertainment is the animation studio. [The story.]( Henry Cavill Attached to Star in Amazon's 'Warhammer' Series ►After Supes. Henry Cavill is attached to star and executive produce a series adaptation of Warhammer 40,000, the popular science-fiction fantasy miniature wargame that is set up at Amazon Studios. THR's [Borys Kit]( reports that Amazon is in final talks for the rights to the game, produced by Games Workshop, after months of negotiations and fending off rival companies that also sought the rights. [The story.]( —🎭 Where the Carole King sings 🎭 Daisy Edgar-Jones has been cast as Carole King in Sony's movie adaptation of the beloved Broadway show centering on the singer’s life and career, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. The adaptation will be directed by Lisa Cholodenko, from a script written by Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg based Douglas McGrath’s book of the Tony-winning musical. [The story.]( —🎭 Stellar names 🎭 James Marsden, Marcia Gay Harden, Suzy Nakamura and Al Pacino have joined Michael Keaton in Knox Goes Away, an indie noir thriller that also serves as Keaton’s directorial debut. The feature is coming off the end of principal photography and hails from Brookstreet and Sugar23. Keaton also produces the film about a contract killer who is diagnosed with a fast-moving form of dementia. [The story.]( —Hat trick. Trevor Noah will emcee the Grammys for a third time in February. The news comes as Noah and his team of representatives have been busy plotting his post-Daily Show chapter, which began with his Dec. 8 sign-off after seven years at Comedy Central. [The story.]( —Sacrilege! Stanley Tucci's Searching for Italy has been canceled as part of a larger strategic change at CNN. In October, CNN said that it would cut back on original programming produced by outside production companies and Tucci’s show is among the casualties. A source notes that Tucci was an exec producer on the show, so he could work with the production partners to shop it elsewhere. In addition, Tucci is EP on Searching for Mexico, led by Eva Longoria, which will debut on CNN in 2023. [The story.]( THR Critics Pick Best Films of 2022 ►Park Chan-wook robbed! It's the turn of THR's film critics — [David Rooney]( [Jon Frosch]( [Lovia Gyarkye]( and [Sheri Linden]( — to come together and produce a list of the 10 best films of 2022. A tragicomic Irish fable about male solitude, a twisty South Korean neo-noir, a tempestuous study in abuse of power, a dreamy cannibal romance and a quietly searing remembrance of father-daughter time are among the year’s standouts. [The list.]( —An ill wind blows...again. Minari filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung is negotiating to direct Universal and Amblin’s Twisters, a sequel to 1996 storm-chasing blockbuster Twister. Plot details are thin at the moment and no talent is attached yet. Twisters will be co-financed by Warner Bros. Pictures which released the original. [The story.]( —Heavy lies the crown. Netflix's The Crown rose to the top of Nielsen's streaming charts for Nov. 14-20 — despite falling off in total viewing time from the previous week. The final season of Netflix's Dead to Me brought that series into the rankings, and Peacock had two titles (Yellowstone and Nope) on the board for the first time. The debut of The Crown's fifth season hasn’t brought the royal drama to the heights it hit in season four. [The streaming rankings.]( —Survival of the fittest. CBS has placed a series order for The Never Game, a survivalist drama starring and executive produced by This Is Us alum Justin Hartley. The series hails from Disney’s 20th Television, where Hartley and pilot director and executive producer Ken Olin both have overall deals, and is based on a novel by Jeffery Deaver. It’s slated to debut in the 2023-24 season. [The story.]( Film Review: 'Babylon' ►"Altogether too much." THR's chief film critic [David Rooney]( reviews Damien Chazelle's Babylon. Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Li Jun Li and Jovan Adepo star in this feverish look at Hollywood’s transition from silents to talkies, as depravity was edged out by moralism. [The review.]( —"Less than memorable." THR film critic [Sheri Linden]( reviews Celyn Jones and Tom Stern's The Almond and the Seahorse. Starring Rebel Wilson and Charlotte Gainsbourg, the big-screen adaptation of a stage play centers on two women struggling to maintain their relationships with partners who suffered traumatic brain injuries. [The review.]( —"Admirably accurate, disappointingly dry." THR's chief TV critic [Dan Fienberg]( reviews AMC+'s Litvinenko. David Tennant plays Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian intelligence officer infamously poisoned in London in 2006 in this four-part limited series. [The review.]( —"Better to leave this case file unopened." THR's [Angie Han]( reviews Netflix's The Recruit. Noah Centineo stars as a newbie CIA lawyer who gets sucked into a global web of criminal intrigue when a former asset (Laura Haddock) reaches out to the agency with a threat. [The review.]( Thank Pod It's Friday ► All the latest content from THR's podcast studio. —TV's Top 5. THR's [Lesley Goldberg]( and [Dan Fienberg]( break down the latest TV news. The duo begin by running through the week's headlines, including Amazon's God of War series, The Sex Lives of College Girls renewal, the Golden Globe nominations and Reese Witherspoon's new cheerleading comedy series. There is a section on what is happening at HBO Max in light of Westworld, Minx and other shows that were pulled. THR 's [Jackie Strause]( drops by to talk about season two of The White Lotus. Dan and [Angie Han]( discuss the best television of 2022. And finally, there are reviews of AMC+'s Litvinenko, HBO’s Pelosi in the House and Netflix's The Recruit and Last Chance U: Basketball. [Listen here.]( —It Happened in Hollywood. THR senior writer [Seth Abramovitch]( goes behind the scenes of the pop culture moments that shaped Hollywood history. In this episode Seth spoke to Julian Fellowes. The creator of Downton Abbey and HBO's The Gilded Age talks about writing 2001’s Gosford Park, which won him an Oscar and jumpstarted his career. [Listen here.]( —Awards Chatter. THR's executive awards editor [Scott Feinberg]( talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott spoke to David Byrne. The legendary singer/songwriter reflects on the formation and breakup of Talking Heads, the international influences that have shaped his solo career and how he came to write, with Ryan Lott and Mitski, the original song "This Is a Life" for Everything Everywhere All at Once. [Listen here.]( In other news... —Live-action [Barbie]( starring Margot Robbie revealed]( —Justice League x RWBY [animated movie unveils voice cast]( —Amazon [to publish new Tomb Raider video game]( —Sundance Institute [to honor Luca Guadagnino with International Icon award]( —Obamas’ [Higher Ground nabs podcast execs from Spotify and Pushkin Industries]( —Full Scope PR [expands by hiring publicist Jennifer Curran, aligning with Chelsea Durgin]( —Golden Globes: [Historic, record-breaking and otherwise notable 2023 nominees]( —Golden Globes: [Ryan Murphy to receive Carol Burnett Award for TV career achievements]( What else we're reading... —With the incest twist in Gossip Girl, Coleman Spilde wonders what's with HBO's played out obsession with the ultimate taboo [[Daily Beast]( —Paris Marx is of the opinion that the golden age of streaming TV is over [[Insider]( —Kathryn VanArendonk writes that TV has always disappeared, but the Westworld news feels different [[Vulture]( —Gia Kourlas writes an appreciation on what set Stephen "tWitch" Boss apart as a dancer [[NYT]( —Here's your Friday list: "100 best songs of 2022" [[NPR]( Today... ...in 1994, Harry and Lloyd greeted U.S. theatergoers in Peter Farrelly's Dumb and Dumber. The $17m budgeted movie starred Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels as two good-hearted but ferociously stupid men who set out on a road trip to Aspen. The film became a huge hit, grossing $247m and spawned a prequel, a sequel and an animated series. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Krysten Ritter (41), J.B. Smoove (57), Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (44), [Theo James]( (38), James Mangold (59), Shane Black (61), Benjamin Bratt (59), Xander Berkeley (67), Anna Popplewell (34), Miranda Otto (55), Hallee Hirsh (35), Alison La Placa (63), Jon Tenney (61), Jonathan Scarfe (47), Peter Dante (54), Olive Gray (28), Sebastian Croft (21), Billy Gibbons (73), Catharine Daddario (30), Sam Robards (61), Julito McCullum (32), LaChanze (61) 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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