Inside Daytime TV's Week of Restarts and Reversals; U.K. Police Investigate Russell Brand Assault Claims; Disney Plans $60B Expansion of Theme Parks Biz; 'The Movie Teller' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( September 19, 2023 What's news: The WGA and AMPTP are set to meet on Wednesday. HBO's Real Time will not return this week. Netflix has acquired the doc American Symphony and the buzzy feature Hit Man. Pixar's Elemental scored the best debut for a movie on Disney+. The BBC has pulled content featuring Russell Brand. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. Inside Daytime TV's Frantic Week of Restarts and Reversals ►Chaos reigns. After a tumultuous week, daytime television is under the biggest spotlight it’s had in some time. Trouble is, the shows making headlines are largely the ones not airing. THR's [Lacey Rose]( and [Rick Porter]( write that harsh criticism from striking writers, guests bailing and 11th-hour decisions brought disarray and anxiety to productions as plans to disregard the work stoppage went up in smoke. [The story.]( —"Know that our focus is getting a fair deal for writers as soon as possible." The negotiations over the next three-year film and TV contract for the WGA are set to resume Wednesday, the union told members. The AMPTP, which represents studios and streamers in these negotiations, confirmed the date. [The story.]( —"Hope they can finally get this done." Bill Maher will not return to his HBO show Real Time this week. The comedian says he’ll hold off on resuming production on his weekly late night show “for now” after news late last week that the WGA and AMPTP were working to set a time for a new round of contract negotiations. [The story.]( —"Us coming back to work isn’t crossing the picket line." Sherri Shepherd addressed the strike and crossing picket lines during the return of her daytime talk show Sherri on Monday. After sharing photos of herself with fellow SAG-AFTRA members like Viola Davis and Niecy Nash on the picket lines, Shepherd went on to clarify how her show was able to return, offering a nuanced explanation that Sherri was not a WGA show and doesn't employ WGA writers. [The story.]( 'The Creator' First Reactions Revealed ►"Astonishingly good." Gareth Edwards’ hotly anticipated sci-fi epic The Creator has finally been unveiled for its first audience, with a press screening taking place Monday evening in Hollywood. With full reviews of the film still to come, the first, albeit brief, reactions on social media have been pouring in following the screening. The consensus appears to be that The Creator could be a classic. [The reaction.]( —🤝 Sold! 🤝 THR's Scott Feinberg has the scoop on Netflix acquiring Matthew Heineman's American Symphony. The doc is a moving portrait of the musician Jon Batiste as he experiences his greatest professional success (he dominated the 2022 Grammys) at the same time his wife faces her greatest personal challenge (Suleika Jaouad is battling leukemia). The film will be released this year and will be promoted with a major Oscar campaign in the works. Moreover, Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground is on board for the project. [The story.]( —🤝 Sold! 🤝 THR's [Mia Galuppo]( reports that Netflix has snapped up Hit Man, one of the buzziest titles to emerge out of the fall festivals. The streamer has paid $20m to acquire the Richard Linklater-directed action comedy starring Glen Powell and Adria Arjona. Powell and Linklater co-wrote the film about a psychology professor who moonlights as a fake hitman. [The story.]( —From zero to hero. Pixar's Elemental landed the top debut for a movie on Disney+ so far this year, the streamer announced Monday. According to Disney, Elemental had 26.4m views worldwide in its first five days of streaming. The impressive Disney+ bow follows the film's epic box office journey, which began inauspiciously with a record-worst opening for a Pixar movie, only for the film to have strong legs and ultimately earn $484m globally. [The story.]( Russell Brand: London Police Investigate Assault Claims ►Latest. London’s Met Police has said it has received a report of an alleged sexual assault relating to the recently reported allegations made against comedian and actor Russell Brand. In a statement, the Met said it had "received a report of a sexual assault which was alleged to have taken place in Soho in central London in 2003. Officers are in contact with the woman and will be providing her with support." [The story.]( —"If a creator’s off-platform behavior harms our users, employees or ecosystem, we take action." In light of the allegations against Brand, YouTube on Tuesday suspended monetization on his channel. The video platform said that the Get Him to the Greek star had violated its "Creator Responsibility policy." In recent years, Brand has focused his efforts on becoming a social media personality and wellness guru, using his YouTube channel to dabble in everything from conspiracy theories, anti-vax propaganda, veganism and politics. [The story.]( —Suspended. Brand’s live stand-up shows in the U.K. have also been postponed. Promoters of the comedian's Bipolarisation tour posted a message Monday that his gig on Sep. 19 and future dates were no longer going ahead. [The story.]( —Pulled. The BBC said on Tuesday that it has removed programming featuring Brand from its streaming services iPlayer and BBC Sounds, saying it has "assessed that it now falls below public expectations." The BBC press office did not immediately detail which shows have been removed but local reports mentioned that an episode of comedy quiz show QI and a Joe Wicks podcast, both of which featured Brand as a guest, had been removed. [The story.]( —"Serious questions about the culture of the screen industries." In her first letter to members sent on Tuesday, incoming BAFTA chair Sara Putt addressed the allegations against Brand. Putt said that the British Academy is backing the establishment of the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority, the proposed body that would be the first independent organization where creative sector workers could confidentially raise concerns about behavior. [The story.]( Disney Plans $60B Expansion of Theme Parks Biz ►Massive investment. In a dramatic expansion of its theme parks, products and cruise line business, Disney says that it will spend $60b over the next 10 years to turbocharge growth in the lucrative division. That is nearly double its investment compared to the prior 10 years period, the company says. In a presentation to investors on Tuesday, the company says it plans to "explore even more characters and franchises, including some that haven’t been leveraged extensively to date," at its parks around the world. [The story.]( —"I know my husband." Julie Chen Moonves said she questioned her husband, Leslie Moonves, over the 2018 sexual abuse allegations that resulted in his resignation as CBS CEO and disputed a previous statement that she made the decision to leave The Talk after a decade as co-host. In an interview about her new memoir, But First, God, Chen Moonves claimed her decision to leave the CBS daytime show was not her own but declined to address her feelings on the "believe her" movement. [The story.]( —Sound of silence. The team behind Sound of Freedom has remained silent so far on new allegations involving Tim Ballard, who is portrayed in the movie by Jim Caviezel. Ballard, founder of the anti-child-trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad, rose to new levels of prominence this summer when the film grossed more than $182m domestically. On Monday, Vice News reported details of an anonymous sexual harrassment claim against Ballard. [The story.]( —"I don’t think that I’ll be acting that much longer at the pace I am now." Mark Wahlberg is questioning his future as an actor as his business interests increasingly take up more of his time. In a wide-ranging new interview, the veteran actor and entrepreneur opened up about his career and family life, and how creating his own opportunities as a producer helped him diversify his Hollywood résumé. [The story.]( —"We tell stories, and we embellish them." Whoopi Goldberg came to Hasan Minhaj’s defense following claims that some of the jokes in his stand-ups are embellished. During a segment on The View Monday, Goldberg and her fellow co-hosts took a moment to discuss Minhaj exaggerating things that have happened to him at times for the sake of the joke. Referring to her own experiences, Goldberg explained that comics often exaggerate stories because that makes them more interesting. [The story.]( THR Critics' 15 Best Films of the Fall Fests ►Best of the best. With Venice, Telluride and Toronto all done for another year, THR's team of critics — [David Rooney]( [Sheri Linden]( [Jon Frosch]( Leslie Felperin, Jordan Mintzer and Michael Rechstshaffen — pick the best films that debuted this fall. Among the 15 films that make the cut are career highs for Emma Stone and Nicolas Cage, a delicious Frederick Wiseman doc, a poignant gay ghost story and two knockout dramas about the refugee crisis in Europe. [The list.]( —Raising underrepresented voices. THR's [Borys Kit]( has the scoop on James Cameron executive producing Taonga, a Maori-centric drama from actor and first-time director Shane Rangi. Rangi, who worked with Cameron on the Avatar movies, which were shot in New Zealand, wrote the script and will direct the feature that has the backing of Fandomodo Films, a boutique development, production and financing company that seeks to raise underrepresented voices. [The story.]( —Full-season run. For the first time in 17 years, ABC will have a full season of Monday Night Football on its airwaves. The broadcast network, which had several NFL matchups on its slate already for the fall, will simulcast the remaining portion of the MNF schedule (10 games’ worth) with ESPN. The move will likely increase MNF’s overall audience over games that are only on ESPN. [The story.]( —🤝 Multi-year deal 🤝 DirecTV and Nexstar Media Group have reached a multi-year retransmission consent and licensing agreement that keeps Nexstar broadcast stations within the DirecTV, DirecTV stream and U-verse lineups. The agreement, announced Monday, ends a dispute that had started in July and had impacted customer access to more than 170 local stations across 120 metropolitan areas such as L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Denver. As part of the agreement, NewsNation has also been renewed. [The story.]( —🤝 Deal closes 🤝 Sports marketing and talent management company Wasserman has finalized the acquisition of Brillstein Entertainment Partners, the companies said Monday. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed, but Brillstein will keep operating offices in Beverly Hills and New York and its 80 employees (including 30-plus managers) are expected to all stay on amid the ownership change. [The story.]( Film Review: 'The Movie Teller' ►"A sweet but minor addition to the movies-about-movies genre." For THR, Caryn James reviews Lone Scherfig's The Movie Teller. Berenice Bejo and Daniel Bruhl star in the An Education director's 1960s coming-of-age story set in a Chilean mining town. [The review.]( —"A shaky but endearing debut." For THR, Jourdain Searles reviews Billy Bryk and Finn Wolfhard's Hell of a Summer. Wolfhard and Bryk are co-helmers, writers and stars of this slasher film about summer camp counselors being stalked by a killer. [The review.]( —"A sumptuous visual experience." THR's Frank Scheck reviews DK and Hugh Welchman's The Peasants. The new film from the Loving Vincent directors is an animated adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning Polish author Władysław Reymont's four-part novel. [The review.]( In other news... —Netflix [unveils Italian slate with new series and films]( —Amazon Studios’ [Tyler Perry doc Maxine’s Baby to world premiere at AFI Fest]( —SkyShowtime [names Mark Neil CFO, Francesca Pierce chief administration officer]( —Sascha Schwingel [replaces Nico Hofmann as CEO of German production giant UFA]( —Ryan Murphy’s [longtime lawyer leaves firm to work for mega-producer]( —ChaudhryLaw [taps top music lawyer as head of litigation]( —London Film Festival: [Amat Escalante to lead main competition jury]( —Bachelor in Paradise [stars Michael Allio, Danielle Maltby end relationship]( What else we're reading... —James Poniewozik ruminates on the strikes and the recent issues at The Tonight Show, writing that it has never been more fraught to be a talk show host [[NYT]( —The abrupt end of Winning Time had critics Jen Chaney and Nicholas Quah indulging in some post-series analysis, and they hash out what the show achieved, and what it didn't [[Vulture]( —With the likes of Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson and Andrew Tate coming out in support of Russell Brand amid assault allegations, Jessica Murray writes that the conspiracy theories around the claims and the victims have depressingly begun in earnest [[Guardian]( —First time Entourage watcher Gabriella Paiella writes that the show has predicted movie versions of Aquaman, Narcos, The Great Gatsby and now a biopic of Enzo Ferrari [[GQ]( —Sharing her own Airbnb horror story, Kate Lindsay writes that the company has veered so far away from what it was that it hardly seems part of the gig economy at all [[Atlantic]( Today... ...in 1963, MGM unveiled The V.I.P.s, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿), in theaters. The film went on to win an Oscar at the 36th Academy Awards ceremony for Margaret Rutherford in the best supporting actress category. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Rachel Sennott (28), [Jarvis Cocker]( (60), Jeremy Irons (75), Sanaa Lathan (52), Jimmy Fallon (49), Rosemary Harris (96), Twiggy (74), Danielle Panabaker (36), Connor Swindells (27), Edi Patterson (49), Kim Richards (59), Katrina Bowden (35), Richard Ridings (65), Zoe Chao (38), Kevin Zegers (39), Lorenza Izzo (34), Cheri Oteri (61), Alison Sweeney (47), Victor Williams (53), Daniel Eric Gold (48), Stephanie Allynne (38), Spencer Garrett (60), Carolyn McCormick (64), Columbus Short (41), Nic Bishop (50), Jayme Lawson (26), Carter Oosterhouse (47), Erica Ash (46), Peter Vack (37), Rex Smith (68), Victoria Silvstedt (49) Pete Kozachik, the Oscar-nominated visual effects artist who contributed his stop-motion expertise to such films as The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, Corpse Bride and Coraline, has died. He was 72. [The obituary.]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} by The Hollywood Reporter. Please add email@email.hollywoodreporter.com to your address book to ensure delivery to your inbox. Visit the [Preferences Center]( to update your profile and customize what email alerts and newsletters you receive. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 11175 Santa Monica Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90025 [View in Browser]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Your Privacy Rights]( | [Ad Choices]( | [Terms of Use]( | [Unsubscribe](