WBD, Paramount Discuss Possible Merger; Will Matthew Perry's Death Villainize Ketamine Treatment?; Making of 'Poor Things'; 'Anyone But You' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( December 21, 2023 What's news: Aquaman 2 is tracking towards a $37m to $43m opening weekend. Starz has canceled Shining Vale. DC parody film The People’s Joker is getting a theatrical release. Bobby Kotick is stepping down as Activision Blizzard CEO. Sam Esmail has explained why the ending of Leave the World Behind was so divisive. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. WBD and Paramount Discuss Possible Merger ►Mega deal ahoy? Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish held a meeting this week in New York, a source confirms to THR's [Alex Weprin](. The moguls discussed the possibility of a merger between the companies, though the source added that it was “very, very early” in talks. Such a deal would likely attract less regulatory scrutiny than other potential mergers, with WBD lacking any domestic broadcast network, and with mostly synergistic businesses. [The story.]( —Some grounds for appeal. While Jonathan Majors has been convicted of assault and harassment, THR's [Caitlin Huston]( and [Ashley Cullins]( write that members of the legal community believe the actor will get little to any jail time and may have grounds for an appeal — though the career consequences of doing so may outweigh the benefits. The introduction of texts in which Majors appears to be dissuading his girlfriend from going to the hospital is one appealable issue in an already unusual case. [The analysis.]( —"The math ain’t mathing." Taraji P. Henson broke down in tears during an appearance on Gayle King's Sirius XM radio show when asked whether she has plans to quit acting. “Are you thinking about it?” King asked The Color Purple star, the question caused Henson to pause, cover her eyes with one of her hands and tear up. "I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious about what I do, getting paid a fraction of the cost. I’m tried of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired." [The story.]( Box Office: 'Aquaman 2' to Lead Soft Xmas Weekend ►Yikes. If tracking is correct, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom may only make $37m to $43m in its domestic box office debut over the four-day Christmas weekend. That sum would pale in comparison to the first installment, released five years ago, and would also trail the recent $46.1m opening of box office debacle The Marvels, from rival Marvel Studios. At the same time, Aquaman 2 is almost assured of winning what is shaping up to be a sluggish Christmas weekend. The sequel caps a year in which the superhero genre has largely struggled at the box office. [The box office report.]( —🎭 New additions 🎭 The HBO drama from Mare of Easttown creator Brad Ingelsby continues to build out its cast. House of the Dragon regular Fabien Frankel and Conversations With Friends star Alison Oliver are the latest to join the limited series, which revolves around members of a law enforcement task force and the people they’re trying to apprehend. The untitled series stars Mark Ruffalo as Tom, an FBI agent leading the task force to stop a string of drug-house robberies, led by an unsuspecting family man, in the Philadelphia suburbs. [The story.]( —Canceled and removed. Starz has canceled its horror-comedy Shining Vale after two seasons. The series, starring Courteney Cox as a woman who begins seeing and communicating with ghosts, finished its second (and now final season) on Dec. 1. In addition to canceling the show, Starz will also remove the show from its streaming library at the end of the month. Shining Vale earned generally positive reviews for its first season, which premiered in March 2022. It earned a renewal in May of that year, with season two premiering in October 2023. [The story.]( Will Matthew Perry's Death Villainize Ketamine Treatment? ►"My immediate reaction was, 'This is going to be devastating.'" For THR, Jason McGahan writes that the death of the former Friends star Matthew Perry has triggered a panic at L.A.'s ketamine IV centers, with patients cancelling appointments. But proponents of the promising drug therapy say it remains a safe and potentially groundbreaking hope for treating depression. [The story.]( —My ketamine clinic visit was absolutely terrifying. In a brutally honest account, THR's [James Hibberd]( shares his experience of using ketamine therapy. "I experienced a level of existential terror I never knew was possible," writes James. "When asked later how long this lasted, I reply that I was in the room for about 90 minutes. But saying that feels like lying. Because I know I was in that void for days." [The story.]( The Making of 'Poor Things' ►"Every day, I was like, 'what am I doing?'" THR's [Rebecca Keegan]( spoke to Poor Things director Yorgos Langthimos and stars Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo about the making of the awards contender. The trio reveal the secrets behind their feminist spin on Frankenstein, in which the woman wears the shorts, the man wears the corset and the director's best note was, "Seems crazy." [The story.]( —"We wanted to go in this provocative way, and we assumed the risk that it would divide people." THR's [Lacey Rose]( spoke to Leave the World Behind director Sam Esmail about the divisive ending to the Netflix film. Esmail discusses the intense reactions to the ending and hopes that it "provokes conversation." Warning: Spoilers! [The story.]( —The people will get to see it. The parody film The People’s Joker is heading to the big screen, with indie distributor Altered Innocence picking up the feature’s North American rights. The film will screen in New York’s IFC Center April 5, with more markets to come at a later date. Its initial engagement at IFC is one week, with the possibility of extending. Vera Drew directed, co-wrote and stars in the DC sendup, which made headlines when Warner Bros. Discovery asked the filmmaker to remove it from the Toronto Film Festival lineup. [The story.]( —"I don’t want to keep lying about something that meant the absolute world to me." Shannen Doherty has revealed that she didn't leave Charmed on her terms, but rather claims that she was fired after Alyssa Milano threatened production with a lawsuit if the actor wasn’t kicked off the series. On the latest episode of the podcast Let’s Be Clear, Doherty sat down with former Charmed costar Holly Marie Combs and said that her representatives encouraged the narrative that she decided to leave the show instead of being forced to leave. [The story.]( What the 'Doctor Who' Specials Mean for the Future ►What is Bigeneration? The BBC’s Doctor Who recently celebrated its 60th anniversary with three one-hour specials which, for the first time, streamed globally on Disney+. For THR, Cameron K McEwan takes a closer look at the "Doctorverse" as the series heads into season 14 in 2024 and the debut of Ncuti Gatwa's 15th Doctor. [The story.]( —"I feel humble and grateful." Peso Pluma, the breakthrough singer who has helped push the regional Mexican sound to the top of the pop charts, is YouTube’s most-viewed artist of the year. Pluma beat out Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift, who ranked fourth and fifth on the U.S. list; rappers YoungBoy Never Broke and Drake came in second and third. [The story.]( —Deal reached. Nearly a year after an L.A. judge dismissed Jeff Franklin’s lawsuit over his Fuller House firing, he has voluntarily dismissed his appeal and reached a deal with Bryan Behar to also resolve their dispute over attorney’s fees. Franklin in April 2019 sued Behar alleging the showrunner orchestrated his ouster. He had been removed from Fuller House in February 2018 amid complaints about his behavior, but he claimed Behar fabricated and twisted information and gave it to the media and Warner Bros. to get him thrown off the show. [The story.]( —"I cannot adequately express the pride I have in the people who continue to contribute to our success." Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is stepping down from his role on Dec. 29, as the company further integrates into Microsoft following the tech giant's $68.7b acquisition of the video game publisher in October, after overcoming several regulatory hurdles. In a note sent to employees Wednesday, Kotick, who has been head of the company for more than 30 years, expressed gratitude for his employees and also praised the skills of Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming. [The story.]( Film Review: 'Anyone But You' ►"Truly much ado about nothing." THR's chief film critic [David Rooney]( reviews Will Gluck's Anyone But You. Having drawn from The Scarlet Letter in Easy A, Will Gluck now tries a contemporary Shakespearian revamp, dispatching an antagonistic couple (Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell) to an Australian playground. [The review.]( —"Lacks the stakes to make it memorable." THR's [Lovia Gyarkye]( reviews James Wan's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Jason Momoa, Nicole Kidman, Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II reprise their roles in this follow-up to the 2018 blockbuster, which finds Aquaman balancing royal duties, fatherhood and unlikely reunions. [The review.]( —"Follow this flock." Lovia reviews Benjamin Renner's Migration. The Ernest & Celestine director helms an Illumination Studio movie, written by White Lotus creator Mike White, about a family of mallards who leave their pond to explore the world, starring Elizabeth Banks and Kumail Nanjiani. [The review.]( —"Equal parts revelatory and devastating." Lovia reviews Hasan Oswald's Mediha. The film, which won DOC NYC's Grand Jury Prize and counts Emma Thompson as an executive producer, composes a revelatory portrait of a young woman who escaped from ISIS. [The review.]( —"Consistently uneven, but occasionally gripping." THR's [Angie Han]( reviews season two of Peacock's Dr. Death. Edgar Ramirez and Mandy Moore star in the second season of the true-crime anthology that centers on a surgeon whose "miraculous" advancements in biosynthetic organ transplants are not what they appear. [The review.]( In other news... —Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts [are a leader and her loyal soldier in The Regime trailer]( —Amazon [sets release date for Dwayne Johnson’s Red One]( —Shaquille O’Neal [launching podcast network, reboots his Big show]( —Martin Scorsese [to receive lifetime achievement Berlin Golden Bear]( —Rustin star [Colman Domingo to receive inaugural Derek Malcolm Award from London Critics’ Circle]( —Palm Springs Film Fest: [The Holdovers star Paul Giamatti set for Icon Award]( —Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig [married in New York]( —Dick Wolf [to donate 200 works of art to The Met]( ​​​What else we're reading... —With films like Barbie, The Royal Hotel, Fair Play, Cat Person and How to Have Sex, Nicholas Barber writes that 2023 was the year of the bad movie boyfriend [[BBC]( —In the wake of a damaging AI scandal, Tom Kludt goes inside the chaos engulfing Sports Illustrated [[VF]( —Jen Yamato interviewed Iron Claw filmmaker Sean Durkin on why the film entirely omits the tragic story of Chris, the youngest of the Von Erich brothers [[LAT]( —Lila Shapiro spoke to more than 50 people in relationships with age gaps from ten to 40 years. They say they're happy. It's kinda hard to believe them [[The Cut]( —Emily Stewart attempts to explain what the devil is going on with Starbucks, after the company recently lost $11b in market value [[Vox]( Today... ...in 1967, Mike Nichols unveiled The Graduate in theaters, launching the career of Dustin Hoffman. The film was nominated for seven Oscars at the 40th Academy Awards, and won one in the directing category. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Jane Fonda (86), Quinta Brunson (34), Samuel L. Jackson (75), Steven Yeun (40), [Kiefer Sutherland]( (57), Phil Donahue (88), Kaitlyn Dever (27), Madelyn Cline (26), Ray Romano (66), Rachel Shenton (36), Fabiana Udenio (59), Julie Delpy (54), Michelle Hurd (57), Jane Kaczmarek (68), Rutina Wesley (45), Dennis Boutsikaris (71), Tom Payne (41), Teresa Ruiz (35), Colombe Jacobsen-Derstine (46), Jack Noseworthy (59), Tuva Novotny (44), Barry Gordon (75), Govinda (60), Michael Horse (74), Shelley Regner (35), Karishma Tanna (40) Herman Rush, who produced several television shows and was the former president of Columbia Pictures Television, has died. He was 94. [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. 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