Sarandon Dumped by UTA, Barrera Fired From 'Scream' Over Israel Comments; 'Superman' Casting News; Amazon Cancels 3 Shows; 'Faraway Downs' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( November 22, 2023 What's news: Dave Filoni is Lucasfilm's new chief creative officer. Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio will lead Sony's new Karate Kid movie. Nicole Kidman, Antonio Banderas and Harris Dickinson topline A24's erotic thriller Babygirl. Disney+ has canceled The Muppets Mayhem. The BBC is putting Top Gear on an indefinite hiatus. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. Barrera Fired From 'Scream 7,' Sarandon Dumped by UTA Over Israel Comments ►Dropped. Melissa Barrera is no longer starring in Scream VII. The actress, who has starred in the last two Scream films, was dropped from the franchise after a series of social media posts in the wake of the Israel-Hamas War. “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp,” Barrera wrote in one post on her Instagram stories. The actress has also described Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide and ethnic cleansing. In a statement, Spyglass, the company behind the Scream franchise, said that "we have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form." [The story.]( —Parting of the ways. Susan Sarandon has been dropped by UTA. The split follows remarks Sarandon made at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York City’s Union Square on Nov. 17. "There are a lot of people afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence," Sarandon told the rally. The actress has been a client of UTA since 2014. [The story.]( 'Superman: Legacy' Casts Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio ►🎭 There is a God! 🎭 THR's [Borys Kit]( has the scoop on Skyler Gisondo, known for his incredible work on HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones and his general ability to scene steal, landing the role of Jimmy Olsen in James Gunn's Superman: Legacy. Also, Portuguese model Sara Sampaio has been cast as Eve Teschmacher, the assistant and sometimes mistress to the scheming villain Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). [The story.]( —🎭 The Karate Kid Cinematic Universe 🎭 Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio, both of whom starred in Karate Kid movies decades apart, are set to reprise their characters in Sony Pictures' latest installment of the iconic martial arts franchise. Jonathan Entwistle (I’m Not Okay with This and The End of the F***ing World) is directing the untitled feature. A global search for an actor to play the title character has been launched, with Sony eyeing a December 2024 release. [The story.]( —🎭 Get excited 🎭 Nicole Kidman, Antonio Banderas and Harris Dickinson have signed on for Babygirl, an erotic thriller that reunites A24 with Bodies Bodies Bodies filmmaker Halina Reijn. Sophie Wilde (Talk to Me) and veteran actor Jean Reno are also on the call sheet for the feature that Reijn also wrote. Babygirl tells the story of a powerful and in-control CEO (Kidman), who begins an affair with a charismatic intern (Dickinson). [The story.]( —🎭 Oscar-winning lead 🎭 Brendan Fraser has signed on to star in Rental Family, a comedy-drama that Beef director Hikari is directing for Searchlight Pictures. Co-penned by Stephen Blahut, the film follows a down-and-out actor living in Tokyo, who is hired as a token American guy for a Japanese rental family company, leading him on an unexpected journey of self-discovery through the roles he plays in other people’s lives. Hikari is doing triple-duty on the project, with co-writer and producer on her list of tasks. [The story.]( —🎭 Doubling up 🎭 Idris Elba is set to star in the survival thriller Above the Below for Lionsgate after earlier boarding the U.K. indie as director. The studio picked up the worldwide rights to the project, which started filming last week at Pinewood Studios. Elba will helm Above the Below with Martin Owen (The Loneliest Boy in The World), and will star alongside actress and filmmaker Caitlin FitzGerald and Hero Fiennes Tiffin. [The story.]( Amazon Cancels Three Shows ►The cuts continue. Amazon Prime Video is cutting three original series from its roster. The streamer has canceled two first-year dramas, Harlan Coben’s Shelter and The Horror of Dolores Roach, and the comedy series With Love, which ran for two seasons. All three were produced at least in part by the tech giant’s in-house Amazon Studios (now Amazon MGM Studios). The cancellations make Prime Video less diverse, as all three featured people of color in lead roles. [The story.]( —"I miss everything." David Letterman and Stephen Colbert shared how they both faced nerves while hosting The Late Show, the importance of music to the show and what Letterman most misses about hosting when he returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater as a guest on Monday night. The appearance marked Letterman’s first on The Late Show since he retired in 2015 after his 22-year hosting run. Walking out to a loud ovation, Letterman took his bows while joking with Colbert. “Wow, OK. Thank you,” he said. “Oh my God, Stephen, control your people.” [The recap.]( —Gone-zo. Disney+ has canceled the music-infused comedy The Muppets Mayhem, which centered on members of The Muppets house band, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. The show lasted just one season; all 10 episodes debuted in May. As is usually the case with streaming series, Disney did not disclose any viewing information for the show but the series has not charted on Nielsen’s top 10 streaming rankings. [The story.]( —On the move. For the first time in more than two decades, Family Guy is set to air on a night other than Sunday. As part of Fox's midseason schedule, the long-running animated series will move to Wednesday nights beginning March 6. The change will pair it with the network’s sole live-action comedy, Animal Control, while also making space on Sundays for The Great North and new animated series Grimsburg, which will occupy Family Guy’s 9:30 p.m. spot beginning in January. [The story.]( —"It is the right thing to do." Top Gear, which was once among the most profitable crown jewels in the BBC’s programming portfolio and a show that has run for some 46 years, is being put on an extended hiatus. The British public broadcaster revealed Tuesday that the flagship motoring show would not be returning for the “foreseeable future” and that it had “decided to rest” the series. The news comes following a high-speed car crash involving host Freddie Flintoff during filming that led to production of the latest season being halted. [The story.]( Why There's a Wave of High-Profile Sexual Assault Suits ►"It wouldn’t surprise me to see more claims filed in this regard." If it seems like the music industry is facing a moment of reckoning — this month, lawsuits were filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs, music mogul L.A. Reid and ex-Grammys CEO Neil Portnow — it might be, but it’s likely that these cases are making headlines all at once because a New York law that suspends time constraints on claims involving alleged sex offenses is about to expire. THR's [Ashley Cullins]( writes that about 2,700 complaints have been filed under the Adult Survivors Act during the one-year lookback window that opened last Thanksgiving. [The analysis.]( —"I need to be a help across the galaxy here, like a part of a Jedi Council almost." Dave Filoni has been named chief creative officer at Lucasfilm. Filoni, who has worked in the Star Wars universe for two decades and worked on shows such as The Clone Wars, Rebels, The Mandalorian and Ahsoka, will now be involved in the early development on all franchise projects, working with Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy and head of development Carrie Beck. [The story.]( —"It’s all about balance." Bradley Cooper addressed the controversy surrounding his portrayal of legendary conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. When the first photos were released from his upcoming biopic Maestro, some critics zeroed in on the actor’s prosthetic nose and accused the film of being antisemitic. Some used the arguably derogatory term “jewface” to describe the characterization. Talking to CBS Mornings on Tuesday, Cooper was asked about the debate and said he initially considered not using a prosthetic. [The story.]( —"There is something special and magical about how he went about his work." Chris Columbus says he has 972 boxes of footage ready to be used for a documentary about filming Mrs. Doubtfire with Robin Williams. In a new interview linked to Mrs. Doubtfire's 30th anniversary, the film’s director opened up about his doc dreams, along with those scrapped sequel plans and the two million feet of film he amassed while shooting Williams. [The story.]( —"Univision is not a tool of any party or organization." TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis sent a memo to staff Tuesday addressing backlash the network has faced after a controversial interview with Donald Trump that some viewed as too friendly. In the memo, Davis said despite the criticism, the company continues to maintain a nonpartisan approach to news. He notes that the Nov. 9 interview of Trump was the first interview of a Republican president, either former or current, on the network in 22 years and was conducted because Trump is the "current Republican frontrunner." [The story.]( —"This is nonsensical." A federal judge has dismissed most of Sarah Silverman's lawsuit against Meta over the unauthorized use of authors’ copyrighted books to train its generative AI model, marking the second ruling from a court siding with AI firms on novel intellectual property questions presented in the legal battle. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria on Monday offered a full-throated denial of one of the authors’ core theories that Meta’s AI system is itself an infringing derivative work made possible only by information extracted from copyrighted material. [The story.]( TV Review: 'Faraway Downs' ►"A flawed movie becomes a flawed miniseries." THR's [Angie Han]( reviews Hulu's Faraway Downs. Baz Luhrmann’s 2008 epic Australia, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, becomes a six-part miniseries that incorporates previously cut footage and an alternate ending. [The review.]( —"Way to miss the point." Angie reviews Netflix's Squid Game: The Challenge. The anti-capitalist South Korean hit drama gets a reality-competition spinoff in which 496 contestants participate in children's games for the chance to win $4.96m. [The review.]( —"Charmingly offbeat." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Amy Glazer's 7000 Miles. Wendie Malick plays an elderly woman suffering from memory loss who may actually be a legendary aviatrix. [The review.]( In other news... —Monday Night Football [hits 27-year ratings high]( —TV ratings: [NCIS: Sydney launches to big U.S. audience]( —Beverly Hills Cop 4: [First photo released of Eddie Murphy back as Axel Foley]( —Berlin [boosts budget for film festival]( —European Film Academy [to honor producer Uljana Kim]( —OpenAI bringing back [Sam Altman as CEO days after firing]( —Blink49 [acquires majority stake in TV movie producer Front Street Pictures]( —Penske Media promotes [Brooke Jaffe to senior vp, public affairs and strategy]( —The most inspirational [new interiors books by Hollywood-loved designers]( ​​​What else we're reading... —Andrew Kaczynski and Curt Devine profile Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and report that in prior comments he supported revisiting Supreme Court decisions on contraception, gay sex bans and same-sex marriages [[CNN]( —Max Zahn writes that the ouster of Sam Altman at OpenAI spotlights rifts over the human extinction threat posed by AI [[ABC News]( —On the controversy over Matt Rife's new Netflix special, Colette Fountain writes that the comedian is so keen for men to like him that he's punching down on women [[Daily Beast]( —With the problems at the Las Vegas Grand Prix and talk of waning interest, Izzie Ramirez writes that Formula 1 grew too fast and is suffering as new fans are tuning out [[Vox]( —Savannah Salazar talks to four notable cinematographers who all agree that many current prestige TV shows are too dark [[Vulture]( ​​ Today... ...in 1991, Disney unveiled Beauty and the Beast in theaters. The film, a critical and commercial smash, was nominated for six Oscars at the 64th Academy Awards, including best picture. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Jamie Lee Curtis (65), Scarlett Johansson (39), [Mark Ruffalo]( (56), Mads Mikkelsen (58), Terry Gilliam (83), Brian Robbins (60), Hailey Bieber (27), Alden Ehrenreich (34), Adèle Exarchopoulos (30), Katherine McNamara (28), Auli'i Cravalho (23), Kristin Minter (58), Dacre Montgomery (29), Jamie Campbell Bower (35), Fiona Glascott (41), Tom Conti (82), Richard Kind (67), Steven Van Zandt (73), Madison Davenport (27), Kathrine Narducci (58), James Madio (48), Mariel Hemingway (62), Archie Renaux (26), Sidse Babett Knudsen (55), Song Hye-kyo (42), Gary Valentine (62), Mackenzie Lintz (27), Jon Rudnitsky (34), Andrew Knott (44), Andrew J. West (40), Ingvar Sigurdsson (60), Josh Cooke (44), Nicholas Rowe (57), Tyler Hilton (40), Bruce Payne (65), Stephen Geoffreys (59), Olivia Rose Keegan (24), Leo Gregory (45), Michael D. 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