Hollywood CEOs Make Big Money Amid Strike; Bill Hader on That 'Barry' Time Jump; 'Guardians 3' Opens to $282M Globally; 'Book Club: The Next Chapter' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( May 08, 2023 What's news: Production on the final season of Stranger Things is on pause due to the writers strike. King Charles and Queen Camilla made an appearance on American Idol. Evil Dead Rise crossed the $100m mark globally. Scream VI and The Last of Us won big at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. — [Abid Rahman]( Hollywood CEO Pay: Big Checks, Ugly Optics Amid Strike ►Not a great look. As the writers strike continues, THR's [Georg Szalai]( runs through his annual review of the pay packages awarded to Hollywood's CEOs. No, there weren’t any nine-figure payouts in 2022, but the industry's top executives who steered into layoffs and cost-cutting didn’t see big pay declines in most cases. [The story.]( —"We can’t be at war one day and be their partners the next." Showrunners packed the WGA Theater on Saturday in Beverly Hills during an hours-long guild meeting designed to update the TV industry’s senior writer-producers on the state of the strike. THR's [Lesley Goldberg]( and [Katie Kilkenny]( report that attendees discussed "scary letters" they had been receiving from employers, divergent rep advice and cross-union solidarity. [The story.]( —"We understand that this may be frustrating." THR's Scott Feinberg has the scoop on the WGA turning away money for Emmy FYC advertising on its website and email communications aimed at its members from the companies it is currently striking against. A communications coordinator for WGA West notified companies of this decision in an email on Saturday. Scott reports that multiple companies are already reallocating the money for FYC promotion elsewhere. [The story.]( —"We are supporting the writers because what they are asking for is fair and ultimately it's the right thing to do." The sentiment among Hollywood’s behind-the-camera talent — whether they are members of IATSE or work independently — widely favors the writers strike. THR's [Carolyn Giardina]( reports that tacit support was evident on Sunday as more than 500 members of IATSE Local 700, the Motion Picture Editors Guild, participated in a town hall meeting. According to sources, the mood was upbeat, but also nervous at the prospect of a prolonged stoppage. [The story.]( —"Writing does not stop when filming begins." Production on the fifth and final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things has been delayed by the strike. Creators Matt and Ross Duffer shared the news in a tweet Saturday from the official writers room Twitter account for the show. Sources at Netflix confirmed to Lesley that production on the supersized final season of the series will be pushed to a time to be determined. [The story.]( —Momentum builds. Since Friday, Stranger Things, Marvel Studios' Blade feature and Apple TV+'s comedy series Loot became the latest productions to be affected by the labor unrest between the WGA and studios and streamers. To keep track of things, THR has put together a handy list of all the TV shows and films impacted by the stoppage. [The list.]( Bill Hader on That 'Barry' Time Jump ►"It’s been eight years, and this is where they’re at. That was just more interesting to me." THR's [Brian Davids]( spoke to Barry creator, writer, director and star Bill Hader about "Tricky Legacies," the fifth episode of the final season of the HBO show. Hader discusses why he had reservations about a biopic being the story point to lure Barry back out of hiding. He also looks ahead to his post-Barry filmmaking career that includes three different potential films, one of which is a horror movie. Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( —"If they’d wanted me to come on as an extra, I would have done it." For THR, Josh Wigler spoke to Succession star Alexander Skarsgård about the latest gripping episode, "Tailgate Party." Skarsgård opens up about his character Lukas Matsson, and how he went about embodying the tech giant, his strengths and weaknesses, and all the blood in the water beyond the liters he’s sending to his colleagues. Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( —"For sort of strange looking guy, I’ve had a remarkably good career." THR's [Mikey O'Connell]( spoke to Diedrich Bader about his new AMC comedy series Lucky Hank. Bader opens up about how the show came at a particularly opportune time, the obstacles he has encountered when considering a pivot to screenwriting and the two bit parts that are almost always the reason he’s approached in public. [The interview.]( —"I've never seen it before in a period drama." Netflix's Bridgerton prequel Queen Charlotte features a young Charlotte, played by India Ria Amarteifiom, who begins her journey to power with natural hair in contrast to the wigs of the period. For THR, Brande Victorian spoke to the show's hair and makeup designer Nic Collins and co-costume designers Laura Frecon and Lyn Paolo about Charlotte's look. [The interview.]( 'Guardians 3' Opens to Promising $282M Globally ►Going out with a bang. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 topped the weekend box office with a domestic opening of $114m, well behind the last film in the standalone Marvel Studios franchise but promising enough to fan hope that the movie is already benefiting from strong audience sentiment. THR's [Pamela McClintock]( writes that the news was even better overseas, where the superhero pic started off with a better-than-expected $168.1m from 52 markets for a global start of $282.1m (it placed No. 1 everywhere). Guardians 3 opened on par with recent Marvel pic Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which posted a series-best domestic opening of $106m and $120m for the four-day Presidents' Day weekend. That movie, however, was ultimately considered a disappointment after topping out at less than $500m, a franchise low. Elsewhere, Warner Bros.’ Evil Dead Rise crossed the $100m mark globally in its third weekend. In North America, it came in placed No. 3 with $5.7m for a domestic tally of $54.1m. Overseas, it earned another $9.1m from 63 markets for a foreign cume of $60.7m and a global running total of $114.8m. The pic’s performance at the international box office is impressive considering that horror doesn’t always travel well. [The box office report.]( —Green shoots of recovery? Guardians 3 debuted to $28m in China over the weekend, a starting haul that would have been considered a disappointing number for a Hollywood tentpole prior to the pandemic, but which many box office analysts would find promising in the current climate. [The China box office report.]( Charles and Camilla Appear on 'American Idol' ►Good Lord. The coronation of King Charles III on Saturday had all manner of bizarre rituals and moments, but perhaps one of the weirdest was revealed on Sunday night when the newly minted British monarch and his wife Queen Camilla made an appearance on American Idol. In a pre-taped segment, regular Idol judges Lionel Richie and Katy Perry called into the show from Windsor Castle to explain their absence, before Charles and Camilla wandered into the shot for some rather awkward banter. [The story.]( —"Your Majesty, you can be my wingman any time." A star-studded lineup for King Charles' Coronation Concert took to an enormous stage on Windsor Castle grounds, the historic building a shimmering backdrop for a crowd of 20,000 on Sunday night. As well Perry and Richie, the musical guests included Paloma Faith, Olly Murs, Take That, Andrea Bocelli, Bryn Terfel, Steve Winwood, Lang Lang and Nicole Scherzinger. Hollywood stars Hugh Jackman, Tom Cruise and Pierce Brosnan also made virtual appearances. [The recap.]( MTV Movie & TV Awards 2023 ►🏆"What is your favorite scary movie?" 🏆 Scream VI was named best movie on Sunday night at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards, which pivoted at the last minute from live to pretaped due to the writers strike. HBO's The Last of Us also was a big winner, taking three awards, including best show. Star Pedro Pascal was named best hero, while he and Bella Ramsey also were named best duo. Stranger Things won two awards. [The winners.]( —"At this time it’s so important to hear queer and trans stories from queer and trans people." Castmembers from RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars spoke out against legislation aimed at the LGBTQ community and responded to “threats against drag performers” in their acceptance speech for best competition series at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. Season 7 winner Jinkx Monsoon was joined by fellow All-Star Jaida Essence Hall, who both highlighted the ACLU’s Drag Defense Fund. [The story.]( —"It’s just ironic that this award would be made of my favorite food, popcorn." Jennifer Coolidge accepted the Comedic Genius Award during the MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday. After showing a montage of clips from some of the actress’ most iconic roles, Coolidge took to the screen in a pretaped video to show her appreciation. [The story.]( Dreyfuss Says Oscars Inclusion Requirements "Make Me Vomit" ►"Am I being told that I will never have a chance to play a Black man?" Oscar-winner Richard Dreyfuss has slammed The Academy's new diversity and inclusion requirements. In a new interview, the Jaws actor said that the minimum requirements films will have to meet related to representation and inclusion in order to be eligible for the best picture Oscar make him want to "vomit." Dreyfuss argued that the rules were artistically constrictive and actors should be allowed to play roles without worrying about issues of representation. [The story.]( —"It makes no sense." On Saturday, a day after CBS announced the cancellation of SWAT, series lead Shemar Moore took to social media to share an impassioned video of himself expressing his disappointment in how the decision was handled. Moore said that there was “a lot of politics involved” and referenced licensing fees for the project that is a co-production of Sony Pictures TV and CBS Studios. [The story.]( —"I am so shy about anything sexy." Jameela Jamil has revealed that she pulled her audition for the fourth season of Netflix's You because she didn’t want to film intimate scenes. In a new interview, the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law actress opened up about why she doesn’t "do sex scenes." [The story.]( Film Review: 'Book Club: The Next Chapter' ►"No page-turner." THR's [Sheri Linden]( reviews Bill Holderman's Book Club: The Next Chapter. Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen return for the sequel to the 2018 hit comedy, with the action this time taking place on a bachelorette trip to Italy. [The review.]( In other news... —Oppenheimer: [New 3-minute trailer reveals scope of Christopher Nolan nuke epic]( —Dish [loses 552k pay TV subscribers in Q1]( —Hot Docs Awards: [Christian Einshoj’s The Mountains takes top jury prize]( —Bad Sisters, Banshees of Inisherin, [Paul Mescal win big at Irish Film and TV Awards]( —Sandra Oh, Ke Huy Quan, Eva Longoria [welcome AAPI heritage month at Gold House Gala]( —Chanel, Tiffany and Gucci [wow with new ultra-luxury stores in New York and Los Angeles]( —[Bill Saluga]( "You Can Call Me Ray" comedian, dies at 85 What else we're reading... —James Schamus, former CEO of Focus Features, writes that Hollywood will try to use divide and conquer tactics with the writers strike, but it won't work [[Guardian]( —Fascinating Amy Kaufman profile on Nick Cannon who frankly discusses having 11 children with six different women and reveals he needs to make $100m a year to maintain his singular lifestyle [[LAT]( —Lili Loofbourow writes that the most harrowing Yellowjackets episode isn’t the cannibalism one [[WaPo]( —I'm not linking to that terrible NYT profile of Elizabeth Holmes, not even as a hate-read, but here's a good story from the paper of record: Jin Yu Young and Matt Stevens report on Netflix's $2.5b bet on Korean content in the hopes of finding more global hits like Squid Game and The Glory [[NYT]( —Ryan Britt makes a valiant effort to convince us to reconsider M. Night Shyamalan's After Earth, but even he concedes it's still bad [[Inverse]( Today... ...in 1998, Paramount unveiled disaster film Deep Impact, featuring a cast that included Téa Leoni, Robert Duvall and Morgan Freeman. The film went on to gross $140m stateside, not adjusted for inflation. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: David Attenborough (97), Michel Gondry (60), Brian Tyler (51), Enrique Iglesias (48), Stephen Amell (42), Melissa Gilbert (59), Jodhi May (48), Christina Cole (41), Laura Spencer (37), [Vicky McClure]( (40), [Martin Compston]( (39), Aneurin Barnard (36🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿), Kim Seon-Ho (37), Marissa Neitling (39), Nikki Roumel (23), Trisha Paytas (35), Bobbi Salvör Menuez (30), Louise Stratten (55), Sebastian Schipper (55), Anurag Basu (53), Rick Jaffa (67) Newton N. Minow, who as Federal Communications Commission chief in the early 1960s famously proclaimed that network television was a “vast wasteland,” died Saturday. He was 97. 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