Jonathan Majors Found Guilty of Assault, Harassment; THR's Cinematographer Roundtable; Peter Morgan Explains 'The Crown' Finale; Best TV Episodes of 2023

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( December 19, 2023 What's news: Marvel Studios has fired Jonathan Majors. Madonna revealed she was put into a 48-hour induced coma while hospitalized back in June. Max has canceled Warrior. Netflix is developing a spinoff of Wednesday. Apple has renewed The Buccaneers. Global box office revenue is predicted to dip 5 percent in 2024. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. Majors Found Guilty of Assault, Harassment ►Guilty. A New York jury on Monday found actor Jonathan Majors guilty of reckless assault in the third degree and guilty of harassment. The verdict was reached by a six-person jury after roughly over four hours of deliberation spread across three days. Majors, wearing a gray suit and black dress shirt and tie, stood with his attorneys, as the verdict was read, with family members and his girlfriend, Meagan Good, behind him. Sentencing is set for Feb. 6. The charges, a misdemeanor and a violation, carry a sentence of up to one year in prison. [The story.]( —Dropped. Following the guilty verdict in his assault trial, Jonathan Majors is out at Marvel Studios in a stunning career blow for the once-rising actor. Before his March arrest, Majors was positioned as the key figure in the MCU, with Marvel building its entire current story arc around Majors’ Kang the Conqueror. The time-traveling villain featured in this year’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania as well as both seasons of Loki, and he was set to lead Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, slated for May 1, 2026. [The story.]( THR's Cinematographer Roundtable ►"We wanted to paint with the light and write with the camera." THR's award-winning Roundtable Series continues, next up are the cinematographers. DPs Hoyte van Hoytema (Oppenheimer), Rodrigo Prieto (Barbie and Killers of the Flower Moon), Cristina Dunlap (American Fiction), Shabier Kirchner (Past Lives), Dan Laustsen (The Color Purple and John Wick: Chapter 4) and Łukasz Å»al (The Zone of Interest) talk with THR's [Carolyn Giardina]( and discuss their “happy accidents,” cinematic shorthand and the Barbenheimer phenomenon. [The roundtable.]( —"I had to almost die to get all my kids in one room." Madonna was in a 48-hour induced coma while hospitalized for multiple days back in June for a bacterial infection. She revealed new details about her medical emergency to a packed house at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn as part of her Celebration World Tour. This summer, the Grammy winner had to postpone the tour after she was admitted to an intensive care unit for treatment of the infection. [The story.]( —Volte-face. Three and a half years after The New York Times parted ways with Apple News, the news organization is back in business with the tech giant’s publishing app and platform. Apple on Tuesday announced that The Athletic is joining the roster of news organizations on Apple News+, the premium subscription version of Apple News. In addition, Wirecutter will be joining Apple News early next year, and will be available for free to all users of the app. [The story.]( The 2023 Hollywood Yearbook ►Who was most popular, class clown, biggest mean girl? It’s been another tumultuous school year at Tinseltown High, marked by a nearly two-semester-long class walkout. Thankfully, the gossip, snark and scandal have gone uninterrupted, as chronicled in THR’s annual overview of the year’s highs and lows. [The yearbook.]( —Dismissed. Endeavor won’t have to face a lawsuit from a consultant, who accused the company of stealing marketing materials from him that allegedly salvaged its $10.3b initial public offering. In a ruling, unsealed on Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gregory Keosian found that David Carde didn’t have an implied contract with Endeavor when he sent an analysis of the firm’s business model that he said illustrated how its hodgepodge of unrelated acquisitions is actually good for business. [The story.]( —Settlement. Activision Blizzard has reached an approximately $55m settlement with California’s Civil Rights Department to resolve pay disparity and discrimination claims. The gaming giant behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft had been accused of discriminating against women, denying them promotion opportunities and paying them less than men for doing substantially similar work. [The story.]( 'Warrior' Canceled (Again) at Max ►Can't catch a break. The revival of Warrior at Max turned out to be short-lived: The streamer has canceled the show after its first season as a Max original and third overall. The series — based on writings by Bruce Lee and set in 19th century San Francisco — will potentially get in front of more viewers beginning in February 2024, as all three seasons will stream on Netflix. Warrior will continue to be available on Max as well, similar to other non-exclusive streaming licensing deals WBD has made with Netflix. [The story.]( —Addams Family Cinematic Universe. Netflix is in the early stages of development on a spinoff of Wednesday. The potential Amazon MGM Studios produced series would focus on Uncle Fester, Wednesday’s (Jenna Ortega) paternal uncle, played by Fred Armisen. That a spinoff would be in the offing is no surprise, given the runaway success of Wednesday, which premiered in November 2022 and became Netflix’s biggest series to date in terms of streaming views. It was renewed for a second season in January. [The story.]( —Quick as you like. Apple TV+ has ordered a second season of The Buccaneers, its period drama based on an unfinished novel by Edith Wharton. The renewal comes less than a week after the show’s Dec. 13 season finale. The Buccaneers follows a group of young American women who, after seeing one of their friends marry a British lord, travel to 1870s London in search of their own titled husbands — only to find that the realities of the situation are less romantic than they seem. [The story.]( The Hit Italian Movie Sparking Discussion About Domestic Violence ►"This is a contemporary movie. It’s set in the past, but it’s about the female condition." Paola Cortellesi's There’s Still Tomorrow has just passed Greta Gerwig’s Barbie to become the most-watched movie in Italy this year, and the film is on track to become one of the most successful Italian features of all time. THR's [Scott Roxborough]( writes that the film, a dramedy about an abused woman in post-WW2 Rome, has rekindled discussions about domestic violence, femicide and women’s rights in Italy. [The story.]( —Down year incoming. Next year could mark the first time in the post-pandemic era that global box office revenue suffers a year-over-year downturn. According to leading analytics firm Gower Street, worldwide movie ticket sales are projected to hit an estimated $31.5b, a five percent dip from an estimated $33.4b in 2023. The London-based analyst attributes the downturn to Hollywood's historic dual labor strikes and the resulting slowdown in production. [The story.]( —Back of the big screen. Controversial French filmmaker Luc Besson's Dogman will arrive in U.S. cinemas this spring, indie distributor Briarcliff Entertainment announced Tuesday. The dark thriller, starring Caleb Landry Jones, will open in select cinemas on March 15 and then expand on March 25. Dogman marks Besson's first movie to hit theaters in the U.S. since he was cleared of rape charges by a French court earlier this year. [The story.]( —Star Wars for all. The Dakota Ojibwe Tribal Council and Lucasfilm are partnering to translate Star Wars: A New Hope into Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe). The dubbing of the Star Wars movie also has backing from the Canadian government, the country’s APTN network and the University of Manitoba. Voice actors for the Ojibwe version will audition in early 2024 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. [The story.]( Peter Morgan Explains 'The Crown' Finale ►"It was always my feeling that I didn’t want to come right up to the present." For THR, Brande Victorian spoke to The Crown creator, writer and producer Peter Morgan about the final season of the hit Netflix royal drama. Morgan discusses why the series ends in 2005, writing the show to understand his own mother's generation and his own relief at the series' conclusion. Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( —"That relationship and the complexities of it were always rumbling away underneath every scene, even small scenes." Brande also spoke to The Crown stars Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville on the gravity of playing Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in the final season. The pair breakdown the eighth episode of the Netflix series’ final season, titled "Ritz", where they deliver a particularly intimate portrayal of the sisters' relationship in its final years. Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( —"Peggy gets to explore so many different textures of the Black world this season." Switching shows, Brande also spoke to actress Denée Benton about the season two finale of HBO's The Gilded Age. Benton, who plays Peggy Scott in the Julian Fellowes-created show, reveals that she got "an opportunity to be messy" in the second season. Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( —"This felt like a way to Trojan Horse, a bit of a social justice story in the guise of a true-crime story." THR's [Mikey O'Connell]( spoke to director Jason Hehir about the HBO true-crime documentary series Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage, and Reckoning. Hehir discusses the "brazen and proud ignorance" surrounding Carol Stuart's 1989 murder investigation, audiences' waning attention spans and his 18-minute interview with Elon Musk for a 2021 SpaceX doc. [The interview.]( 10 Best TV Episodes of 2023 ►Seek them out. THR's end-of-year Best Of lists continue, and this time TV critics [Dan Fienberg]( and [Angie Han]( run through the ten best episodes from 2023. A stylish Hitchcock homage, a tender exploration of autism and a hilariously horny holiday special all made the cut. [The list.]( —"A heartfelt reflection on a fitful artistic journey." THR's [Lovia Gyarkye]( reviews Lea Glob's Apolonia, Apolonia. Glob's documentary about the uneven career of a French painter doubles as a reflective project on what it means to be a contemporary woman artist. [The review.]( In other news... —The Kitchen [trailer follows class clash in dystopian London for Daniel Kaluuya’s directorial debut]( —Thanksgiving [week fuels November boost in TV use]( —David Oyelowo [to receive THR's Trailblazer Award at NATPE Global]( —Santa Barbara Film Fest: [American Fiction star Jeffrey Wright set for Montecito Award]( —Critics Choice Awards: [America Ferrera will receive SeeHer Award]( —Eva Longoria [receives 2023 Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion]( —Bradley Cooper and Greta Gerwig [to be honored at Capri, Hollywood Film Fest]( —Eugenia Miranda Richman [named editor-in-chief of WWD]( —[Jim Ladd]( rock radio DJ and SiriusXM host, dies at 75 —Comedian [Kenny DeForest dies in bicycle accident at 37]( ​​​What else we're reading... —Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan, Alex Mierjeski and Brett Murphy have yet another jaw-dropping report on Clarence Thomas, this time it's all about the Supreme Court justice's money problems [[ProPublica]( —Ten years after the release of Spike Jonez's Her, Chris DeVille considers how prophetic the film was with its depiction of AI and its uses [[Ringer]( —This Angelica Jade Bastién piece on the banal depiction of female sexuality in Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things has caused a few meltdowns on Film Twitter [[Vulture]( —After Goodreads suffered a year of controversies, David Smith wonders whether the book world is turning against the influential user review site [[Guardian]( —Kyle Buchanan reflects on the fast rise and staggering fall of actor Jonathan Majors [[NYT]( Today... ...in 1997, James Cameron’s Titanic set sail in theaters nationwide. The 193-minute blockbuster epic went on to dominate the 70th Academy Awards, nabbing 11 wins including best picture. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Jake Gyllenhaal (43), Alyssa Milano (51), Jennifer Beals (60), [Ken Marino]( (55), Ronan Farrow (36), Keiynan Lonsdale (32), Graham King (62), Annie Murphy (37), Amy Locane (52), Jessica Steen (58), Hermione Corfield (30), Marla Sokoloff (43), Paul Rhys (🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿60), Til Schweiger (60), Scott Cohen (62), Tara Summers (44), Tim Reid (79), Béatrice Dalle (59), Lauren Sanchez (54), Robert MacNaughton (57), Rosa Blasi (51), Libe Barer (32), David Reale (39), Luke Cook (37), Joshua Bitton (50), Jill Talley (61), Jasmila Zbanic (49), Nico Hiraga (26), Gary Fleder (58), Charlie Picerni (88), Criss Angel (56), Andrzej Sekula (69) James McCaffrey, who portrayed the firefighter and 9/11 victim Jimmy Keefe on Rescue Me and provided the voice of the title character in Max Payne video games, has died. He was 65. 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