{NAME} Pleads Not Guilty; 7 Takeaways From Netflix's Press Day; Is Byron Allen's Paramount Bid for Real?; Creators Unhappy With Streaming Ads; 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( February 01, 2024 What's news: Sony won a bidding war for Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's 28 Years Later. Media start-up The Messenger has shut down. Netflix has picked up Sundance doc Daughters. Paramount+ is removing some international original content and has renewed Colin From Accounts. Donnie Yen will star in Universal's Kung Fu adaptation. Hulu is cracking down on password and account sharing. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. {NAME} Pleads Not Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter ►Revived criminal case. Alec {NAME} pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to involuntary manslaughter charges lodged against him by New Mexico prosecutors, who revived the criminal case against him earlier this month over his role in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust. The actor and producer entered the not guilty plea in a court filing, waiving his virtual court appearance scheduled for Thursday morning. He was not arrested. {NAME} faces a sentence of 18 months in prison if convicted. [The story.]( —No dice. A federal judge dismissed Disney's lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that may decide the company's authority to control development around Walt Disney World Resort. In an order issued Wednesday, a judge said Disney cannot sue DeSantis and his handpicked board that now controls the district in which the theme park operates because the statute reshaping the leadership structure and granting the governor the authority to appoint every member of the tax district’s governing body is "facially constitutional" and cannot be challenged with a free speech claim. [The story.]( —Omnishambles. Embattled media start-up The Messenger has shuttered just eight months after launching. Approximately 300 staffers are being let go from the media outlet. On Wednesday, employees had their Slack accounts deactivated shortly after 1 p.m. PST. The national digital news site has struggled to stay afloat financially since its launch last year. [The story.]( —Wunderbar! The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled its international competition jury for the 74th edition of the event. The international jury includes U.S. director Brady Corbet, Hong Kong filmmaker Ann Hui, Berlinale regular Christian Petzold, Spanish director Albert Serra, Italian actress Jasmine Trinca and the Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko, with Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o serving as president. [The story.]( 7 Takeaways From Netflix's Press Event ►"A lot of other companies and businesses do theatrical, and it’s a great business for them. It’s just not our business." Netflix staged a press event Wednesday — dubbed Next on Netflix — at its Tudum Theater in Hollywood. THR's [Lesley Goldberg]( reports that the streamer's content chief Bela Bajaria previewed a slate of new and returning shows as well as a number of high-profile films. Bajaria and her top lieutenants also fielded questions ranging from its freshly inked deal with WWE and the recently removed Vince McMahon ("he's gone," Bajaria said) to what the Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are prepping for Netflix. [The story.]( —About those streaming only films. At Next on Netflix, the streamer unveiled the first footage for Jerry Seinfeld's comedy movie Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story, in addition to release dates and first-look images for a number of titles in its 2024 film slate. Other news included the announcement that director Julian Farino’s spy film The Union, which stars Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry, will launch Aug. 16. [The story.]( —Another pickup. Sundance doc Daughters has landed at Netflix. Angela Patton and Natalie Rae's feature follows four young girls as they prepare for a daddy daughter dance, which is a chance to reunite with their incarcerated fathers as part of a fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C. prison. Daughters took home the audience award in the documentary competition and earned the festival favorite award. The streamer has shelled out for multiple Sundance projects, including doc Skywalkers: A Love Story and a $15m acquisition for horror feature It’s What’s Inside. [The story.]( Is Byron Allen's Paramount Bid the Real Deal? ►"We think he wants the linear assets." Byron Allen has been in the mix for many deals over the years: BET, ABC, TEGNA’s TV stations, Scripps TV stations, the Denver Broncos, the Washington Commanders. None of those deals, however, came to fruition, but he has also got big deals over the line, among them the $300m deal for The Weather Channel in 2018. THR's [Alex Weprin]( writes that while Wall Street is skeptical of Allen’s $30b offer for Paramount Global, the media mogul with Murdochian ambitions has made no secret of his desire to grow through M&A. [The analysis.]( —"Managing costs." Paramount+ is removing some international original content across its markets and will not debut some planned programming sourced outside the U.S. as Paramount Global looks to cut costs and maximize "content with the biggest impact," that is, focus more on big U.S. studio franchises. On Wednesday, the streamer started removing international originals such as the Mexican film At Midnight, Brazilian series Marcelo, Marmelo, Martelo and U.K. drama No Escape. [The story.]( —No-brainer. Despite the international cull, Paramount+ has handed out a second-season renewal for Colin From Accounts, the Australian romantic-comedy starring and created by Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer. The show currently has an impressive 100 percent rating among critics and an equally pleasing 93 percent score with viewers on Rotten Tomatoes. [The story.]( THR Launches THR Charts ►New product klaxon! THR is introducing THR Charts, our new hub that collates every bit of viewership information available to mankind — box office returns, linear broadcast ratings and streaming figures, all from trusted sources like Nielsen, Parrot Analytics and Comscore — and puts them at your fingertips. Alongside THR Charts, we’re also launching a new flagship video series that will break down chart findings, contextualize them and offer insight to viewers. And we’ll be introducing an always-updating calendar listing upcoming theatrical releases (paired with a Fandango hub to purchase tickets). [The story.]( —Heading north. THR revealed Wednesday that its renowned Women in Entertainment brand is expanding into Canada with the launch of a new event. Women in Entertainment Canada will be a first-of-its-kind summit that will bring together the Canadian industry across television, film and music to celebrate and recognize the achievements of women who are driving the industry forward in their respective fields. THR will be releasing its first Canadian Women of Power List in conjunction with the summit. [The story.]( The Creators Unhappy With Streaming Ads ►"It's almost worse than broadcast." As Amazon Prime Video becomes the latest streaming platform to push an ad-supported tier, THR's Lesley Goldberg and [Mikey O'Connell]( write that TV scribes are greeting this retro model with frustration and, in some cases, disdain: "I thought Nine Perfect Strangers with commercials was horrible," says David E. Kelley of his Hulu show with breaks. [The story.]( —Sharing is not caring. Hulu is set to begin cracking down on password and account sharing, following a similar move by Disney+. On Wednesday, the streamer emailed subscribers notifying them of an updated subscriber agreement, one that explicitly bars sharing accounts outside the user’s household. The new agreement was dated Jan. 25, and says the terms will become effective on March 14. [The story.]( —🤝 First-look deal 🤝 U.K. TV production house Fremantle has signed a first-look and development deal with Me+You Productions, the team behind Channel 4 drama Alice & Jack and BAFTA-award-winning series I Am…. The three-year deal, announced Wednesday, will see Fremantle become the first home for all of Me+You's television projects, with the producer working closely with Fremantle’s global drama division and its international distribution team. [The story.]( '28 Years Later' Lands at Sony ►Let's goooooooo! THR's [Borys Kit]( has the big scoop on zombie sequel 28 Years Later landing at Sony after a protracted bidding war. Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland have reunited for the sequel to their 2002 classic 28 Days Later, with the full package also coming with a followup film to 28 Years Later, to be written by Garland. Boyle would only direct the first project, with the sequel's director to be determined at a later stage. Cillian Murphy, whose career was launched thanks to the original movie, is also returning as an executive producer. [The story.]( —🎭 "It is a privilege to have a true martial arts master leading this global film" 🎭 Kung Fu, Universal's long-gestating feature adaptation of the 1970s TV show, is getting a jolt with Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen boarding the project to star. Fall Guy filmmaker David Leitch has been on the project since 2020 and is eyeing the director's chair for Kung Fu. The film has a script from Stephen Chin and counts Kung Fu TV creator Ed Spielman as an executive producer. [The story.]( —Sundance gem. Focus Features had landed the worldwide rights to Sean Wang’s feature directorial debut Dídi, which won the U.S. dramatic audience award at Sundance. The film is set in 2008 in the San Francisco Bay Area and, according to the film’s logline, follows an "impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom." [The story.]( —Exclusive deal. AMC Theatres is continuing its foray into the distribution business following Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé. The company revealed Wednesday it has pacted with Fifth Season to release the Matt Damon and Ben Affleck-produced doc Kiss the Future in the U.S. The acclaimed film chronicles the vibrant underground music scene during the Siege of Sarajevo and U2’s involvement. Unlike the Beyoncé and Swift concert films, Kiss the Future will play exclusively beginning Feb. 23 in select AMC locations. [The story.]( Who Were Truman Capote's "Swans"? ►"As tragic as they are and as vulnerable as they are, they also were determined." For THR, Brande Victorian spoke to the main cast of Ryan Murphy’s anthology series, Feud: Capote vs. the Swans. Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny, Demi Moore, Calista Flockhart and Molly Ringwald unpack the real-life American socialites they portray whose soiled relationship with the ostentatious novelist is at the center of the drama. [The story.]( —"Fine acting, but lacks momentum." THR's chief TV critic [Dan Fienberg]( reviews FX/Hulu's Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Demi Moore, Chloë Sevigny, Calista Flockhart and Molly Ringwald star with Tom Hollander in the new season of the anthology series, scripted by Jon Robin Baitz, with Gus Van Sant as lead director. [The review.]( TV Review: 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' ►"Clever concept, so-so chemistry." THR's [Angie Han]( reviews Amazon Prime Video's Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Two espionage agents (Donald Glover and Maya Erskine) are assigned to work together posing as a married couple in a reboot of the 2005 big-screen action comedy that paired Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. [The review.]( —"Arghhhhh!" THR's Leslie Felperin reviews Matthew Vaughn's Argylle. Vaughn and screenwriter Jason Fuchs offer up a spoof of espionage antics, with a side order of romance, starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill and pop superstar Dua Lipa. [The review.]( —"Intimate, assured and dynamic." THR's [Sheri Linden]( reviews David Schickele's Bushman. This rarely seen feature, fully restored, stars Paul Eyam Nzie Okpokam as a version of himself, a Nigerian graduate student navigating the countercultural flowering and political fervor of 1968 San Francisco. [The review.]( In other news... —Netflix's [new releases coming in February]( —Lionel Messi [meets Ted Lasso’s Jason Sudeikis in Michelob Ultra Super Bowl ad]( —Ayo Edebiri [realizes the level of J.Lo's popularity in SNL promo]( —Madu [trailer from Disney+ teases story of viral Nigerian ballet student]( —Tom Tykwer’s The Light: [First-look image revealed]( —Travis Kelce [will not join Taylor Swift at the Grammy Awards]( —Adam Sandler [to receive Icon honor at People’s Choice Awards]( —Audacy [to cut 25 percent of staff in Pineapple podcast division]( —Elisabeth Moss [reveals first pregnancy]( —L.A.’s [Conga Room to permanently close in March]( ​​​What else we're reading... —James Fallows tries to explain why the media establishment has become so unpopular with Americans [[Atlantic]( —David Marchese talks to John Malkovich about his new Apple TV+ series The New Look as well as his signature "Malkovich style" [[NYT]( —Rolfe Winkler reflects on the dramatic fall of once-hot DNA-testing company 23andMe, which has seen its value plummet from $6b in 2021 to nearly $0 today [[WSJ]( —Zhuang Pinghui reports on the rise of the "Little Pinks," the young, angry and mainly female keyboard warriors taking the fight to China's enemies online [[SCMP]( —Nikki McCann Ramirez and Andrew Perez report that Ron DeSantis and his allies spent over $7,000 per vote on his failed presidential bid [[Rolling Stone]( Today... ...in 2013, Lionsgate released Fisher Stevens' Stand Up Guys in theaters. Despite boasting a cast of Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin, the black comedy crime film was a critical and commercial dud. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Harry Styles (30), Julia Garner (30), Abbi Jacobson (40), Garrett Morris (87), Leigh Janiak (44), [Big Boi]( (49), Michael C. Hall (53), Sherilyn Fenn (59), Pauly Shore (56), Rachelle Lefevre (45), Linus Roache (60), Tasya Teles (39), Ronda Rousey (37), Jason Isbell (45), Brian Krause (55), Bill Mumy (70), Rebecca Creskoff (53), Ana Alexander (45), Kelli Goss (32), Heather Morris (37), Daisy Betts (42), Lauren Conrad (38), Sharone Meir (59), Jackie Shroff (67), Marco Pigossi (35), Tony Ka Fai Leung (66), William Lustig (69) Hinton Battle, the three time Tony-winning performer who originated the role of The Scarecrow in Broadway's The Wiz, has died. He was 67. [The obituary.]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} by The Hollywood Reporter. 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