WGA Signals Contract Priorities; 'Lilo & Stitch' Remake Lands Zach Galifianakis; Stella Stevens Mourned; Bert Kreischer Talks Netflix Special; 'BlackBerry' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( February 18, 2023 What's news: Disney delays The Marvels. Don Lemon apologizes after his Nikki Haley comments. Sean Penn's Ukraine doc debuts in Berlin. Kyle Jacobs, songwriter and husband to Kellie Pickler, is found dead at 49. Disney+ cancels its Mighty Ducks series and Big Shot. — [Ryan Gajewski]( WGA Eyes Priorities Ahead of Negotiations ►The current contract expires May 1. The Writers Guild's key priorities for its upcoming contract talks are beginning to come into focus. THR's [Katie Kilkenny]( reports that, as speculation about a potential strike runs rampant across the industry, Guild leaders recently began informing members of their initial ideas for a bargaining agenda. The apparent focal points include setting a minimum for television writing staff sizes and strategizing about increased compensation. [The story.]( —Apologizing to his team. CNN anchor Don Lemon called into a staff meeting to apologize for saying that former South Carolina governor and 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley wasn't "in her prime." As THR's [Rick Porter]( reports, sources say Lemon owned up to his badly chosen words and said he stands against sexism and racism. [The story.]( —The summer gets less marvel-ous. Disney is making moves to its release calendar and has pushed Marvel Studios' The Marvels out of summer and into the fall. With the Brie Larson-starring film vacating its former July 28 date, the theme park-based Haunted Mansion will now jump up to take that slot. [The story.]( —Court is adjourned. Judge Mathis and The People's Court will both end their runs at the end of their current seasons. The two syndicated shows have each aired for longer than two decades. [The story.]( 'Lilo & Stitch' Remake Casts Zach Galifianakis ►🎭 Lilo & Stitch & Zach 🎭 THR's [Beatrice Verhoeven]( and [Borys Kit]( have the scoop on Zach Galifianakis closing a deal to star in Lilo & Stitch, Disney's live-action remake of its cult 2002 animated movie. Dean Fleischer Camp, the filmmaker behind indie darling and best animated feature Oscar nominee Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, is directing the movie that is intended to be a major release on Disney+. [The story.]( —"I look forward to advancing the cause together." Months before negotiations begin for its latest TV/theatrical pact, Hollywood's largest union has approved a new four-year contract for national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. SAG-AFTRA's National Board voted in a recent videoconference meeting to extend Crabtree-Ireland's agreement and ink a new contract that will expire June 20, 2028, the performers' union announced. [The story.]( —Iced out. The teams at the center of Disney+'s Mighty Ducks: Game Changers and Big Shot have played their last games. The streamer has canceled both shows after two seasons each. [The story.]( Bert Kreischer Talks New Netflix Special and Woke Hollywood ►"Taking my shirt off is so my comfort zone." THR's [Lacey Rose]( spoke to Bert Kreischer ahead of his new Netflix hour, Razzle Dazzle, dropping March 14. The shirt-despising comedian discusses getting his daughter's OK for a joke, the time he refused to let a politician join him onstage and why Hollywood hasn't known what to do with his talent. [The interview.]( —"There's going to be a whole cocaine-menagerie cinematic universe." THR's [Brian Davids]( interviews Cocaine Bear star Alden Ehrenreich ahead of the film's Feb. 24 release and (presumable) 2024 Oscars campaign. The Solo lead chats about his role in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, the massive Sundance sale for Fair Play and what it was like to have someone lying on top of him while pretending to be a coked-out bear. [The interview.]( —Prepare to have the stuffing scared out of you. The first guest for Eli Roth's Thanksgiving is at the door. Patrick Dempsey, the Grey's Anatomy alum who recently appeared in Disney's Disenchanted, is in talks to star in the slasher horror movie that is based on Roth's fake trailer from 16 years ago. [The story.]( Film Review: 'BlackBerry' ►"Uneven but reasonably entertaining." THR's chief film critic [David Rooney]( reviews Matt Johnson's BlackBerry. Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton star in the movie, screening in Berlin, that chronicles the dizzying tech-geek glory preceding a humbling crash and burn for the smartphone. [The review.]( —"Serves as a decent primer." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews the documentary Superpower, co-directed by Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman. The film, screening in Berlin, chronicles Russia's invasion of Ukraine from the ground, including three exclusive interviews with President Volodymyr Zelensky. [The review.]( —"I live in a bubble." THR's man in London [Alex Ritman]( interviews Jesse Eisenberg about John Trengove's Berlin competition entry Manodrome, which also stars Adrien Brody. Eisenberg talks about becoming a gym rat, toxic masculinity and getting stopped on the street about Hulu's Fleishman Is in Trouble. [The interview.]( Stella Stevens, Starlet of the '60s and 'Nutty Professor' Actress, Dies at 84 ►"I am basically a comedienne, I always have been." Stella Stevens, the screen siren of the 1960s who brought sweet sexiness to such films as The Nutty Professor, Too Late Blues and The Ballad of Cable Hogue, has died. She was 84. [The obituary.]( In other news... —Universal picks up [Marc Guggenheim graphic novel Too Dead to Die]( —Tina Fey says [she and Tim Meadows will appear in Mean Girls musical movie]( —Michelle Yeoh on "hearing angels sing" on the set of Wicked —My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 to [walk down theater aisle in September]( —Starz unveils bundling [with MGM+ on Prime Video in U.S. market]( —The scene that [terrified the editor of Everything Everywhere All at Once]( What else we're reading... —Timothy Bella looks at Bruce Willis' unlikely path to movie stardom [[WaPo]( —Ben Child examines what the live-action How to Train Your Dragon could mean for Hollywood's remake trend [[Guardian]( —Victoria Bekiempis explores what Real Housewives star Jen Shah's life will be like as she enters prison [[Vulture]( —Todd Martens and Sarah Parvini talk to the gaming community about calls to boycott the newly released Hogwarts Legacy [[LAT]( —Brandon Yu reevaluates Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as a restored version hits theaters [[NYT]( Today... …in 2011, Disney released director D.J. Caruso's I Am Number Four. The Michael Bay-produced action flick starred Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant and Teresa Palmer in the story about a teenage alien on the run. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: John Travolta (69), Dr. Dre (58), Cybill Shepherd (73), Ike Barinholtz (46), Molly Ringwald (55), Matt Dillon (59), Jeremy Allen White (32), Vanna White (66), Kristoffer Polaha (46), Yoko Ono (90), Rose Williams (29), Park Shin-hye (33), Kylie Rogers (19), J-Hope (29), Logan Miller (31), Alessandra Mastronardi (37), Jillian Michaels (49), Maiara Walsh (35) Kyle Jacobs, a songwriter and husband to singer Kellie Pickler, was found dead. He was 49. [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. 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