'Rust' Takes the Stand; What Disney's Epic Deal Means for Hollywood; Theaters Bet on Elaborate Popcorn Merch; 'The New Look' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( February 14, 2024 What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover story is about the upcoming criminal trials related to the fatal Rust shooting. Marianne Jean-Baptiste will star in Mike Leigh's Hard Truths. Elizabeth Olsen and Charles Melton will lead Todd Solondz's new feature Love Child. The first trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine has become the most watched trailer in history. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. 'Rust' Takes the Stand ►On the cover. As the first criminal trial over the tragic 2021 shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins gets underway, Santa Fe prosecutors look to paint the film's armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed as a druggie whose mistakes led to calamity. Gutierrez-Reed's defenders say she’s a scapegoat for penny-pinching producers and a blundering investigation. THR's [Rebecca Keegan]( writes that new details reveal both may be true. [The cover story.]( Disney's Epic Deal Reignites Hollywood Interest in Video Games ►"Research has shown that Gen Z and Gen Alpha prefer gaming to any other form of entertainment." As Disney chief Bob Iger bets that a $1.5b investment in Fortnite maker Epic Games can reenergize his flagship franchises, THR's [Alex Weprin]( writes that other major studios are giving a new look at gaming divisions that have become IP-centric gold mines. [The analysis.]( —Mixed bag. Sony Pictures Entertainment saw its third-quarter profits hit $281m, up from $204m in the previous quarter, despite revenues for the film and television unit dipping to $2.47b from $2.77b in Q2. SPE comprises motion pictures, television productions and media networks, and of those three segments only media networks saw revenues grow in Q3 2023 as the dual Hollywood strikes impacted film and television productions. [The results.]( —Layoffs. Paramount Global unveiled plans on Monday for job cuts in the U.S., an estimated 800 according to sources, and cuts abroad over time. CEO Bob Bakish recently asked his staff to prioritize “managing costs” and earnings growth amid expectations of looming layoffs and deal chatter surrounding the entertainment giant. [The story.]( —🤝 First-look deal 🤝 Nico Hofmann, the long-time CEO and current chair of German production giant UFA, maker of Generation War, Deutschland 83 and Charité, is leaving the Fremantle-owned company to go solo, setting up his own production house and joining forces with long-time collaborator Jan Mojto of Beta Film. Hofmann has signed an exclusive first-look deal with Mojto’s Beta Film, producer of Babylon Berlin, that will see Hofmann, Mojto, and Beta producer Jan Wünschmann co-produce German and European series and films for the international market. [The story.]( —🤝 New podcast deal 🤝 Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has formed a creative partnership with Lemonada Media to develop a new podcast series. As part of the partnership, Lemonada, which is behind shows such as Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, will also distribute the first season of Markle’s podcast Archetypes across all audio platforms and oversee ad sales. The new podcast series, which is currently untitled, will be hosted by Markle. [The story.]( —🏆 Sounds good 🏆 Billie Eilish and Finneas took home best original song for a comedy at the 2024 Society of Composers and Lyricists Awards on Tuesday. Other notable winners included Olivia Rodrigo, Ludwig Göransson, Nicholas Britell and John Powell. [The winners.]( Theaters Bet on Elaborate Popcorn Merch ►"It’s a fun moment that brought some attention to the movie." Social media was ablaze when pics of a new Dune: Part Two in-theater sandworm popcorn container (that disturbingly looked like a sex toy) dropped earlier this month. THR's [Pamela McClintock]( and [Ryan Gajewski]( write that cinemas, working with Hollywood studios and vendors, are increasingly keen on buttering up their bottom line by selling these elaborate popcorn containers that can range in price from $25 to $50. [The story.]( —Moving forward. LAIKA CEO and part-time filmmaker Travis Knight is in early talks to direct the long-in-the-works live-action adaptation of Mattel's Masters of the Universe for Amazon MGM Studios. Chris Butler, a longtime Knight collaborator who wrote and co-directed ParaNorman and wrote Kubo and the Two Strings, has been brought on to rewrite the script for Masters that had drafts from David Callaham and Aaron and Adam Nee. [The story.]( —🎭 Reunited 🎭 Mike Leigh’s hotly-anticipated, but super-secretive, new film will see the iconoclastic British director reunite with his Secrets & Lies star Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Hard Truths is Leigh’s first film since 2018’s Peterloo and will co-star frequent Leigh collaborator Michele Austin. Jean-Baptiste was Oscar-nominated for her performance in Secrets & Lies. [The story.]( —🎭 Berlin bound 🎭 Elizabeth Olsen and May December star Charles Melton have nabbed lead roles in Todd Solondz's new feature Love Child. The darkly comic film follows Misty as she is stuck in a loveless marriage with a brutish husband and her precocious 11-year-old as her only consolation. Rocket Science will introduce the feature at the European Film Market this week in Berlin. [The story.]( —🎭 Dino fun 🎭 Ewan McGregor will star opposite Anne Hathaway in the untitled adventure feature that David Robert Mitchell is directing for Warner Bros. Details on the feature are scant, but sources describe it as a family adventure set in the 1980s that involves dinosaurs. Hathaway and McGregor play the parents, the kids roles are yet to be cast. The It Follows filmmaker also wrote the script and is producing alongside J.J. Abrams and Hannah Minghella of Bad Robot. [The story.]( —Record breaker! The first trailer for Marvel Studio's Deadpool & Wolverine, which dropped during the Super Bowl, racked up 365m views in the first 24 hours, making it the most watched movie trailer in history, according to Disney. The previous record holder was Spider-Man: No Way Home, which launched to 355m views in August 2021. The record-shattering response to the trailer is good news for Kevin Feige's Marvel, which has seen its fame and fortune diminish in recent times. [The story.]( —"I think it would be kind of a weird movie, but I’m there." Michael Cera would be up for a Barbie spinoff focusing on his character, Allan. The actor stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday, where he discussed Greta Gerwig’s eight-time Oscar-nominated film and his now-beloved take on Ken’s best friend. Cera revealed his Allan was inspired largely by Hans Moleman from The Simpsons. [The story.]( Stephen Amell to Star in 'Suits: LA' ►🎭 Chief suit 🎭 Stephen Amell will star in NBC's Suits: LA, a companion series to the former USA Network legal drama turned streaming phenomenon. Should it go to series, the project would mark Amell’s return to the broadcast world, where he played the title character in The CW’s Arrow for eight seasons. Universal Studio Group’s UCP began developing a Suits spinoff with creator Aaron Korsh in October. [The story.]( —Doubling down. Netflix has handed out a second-season renewal for its comedy series Survival of the Thickest, starring Michelle Buteau, and ordered a second comedy special featuring the actress and exec producer. The renewal for Thickest comes more than six months after the comedy, based on Buteau’s book of essays, launched on the service. The eight-episode series currently has an impressive 85 percent score among critics and 89 percent rating among viewers on Rotten Tomatoes. [The story.]( —Back for more. Apple TV+ has ordered a third season of the sci-fi drama Invasion from creators Simon Kinberg and David Weil. The renewal comes three-plus months after season two of the show concluded; production on season three is set to begin later this month. Invasion is told from the perspective of people in various parts of the world who are living through an alien invasion. The series is part of a sizable genre lineup at Apple that also includes For All Mankind, Foundation, Silo, Severance, Hello Tomorrow! and the upcoming Sugar and Dark Matter. [The story.]( —Big numbers. True Detective's current season has become the most watched in the anthology’s history at HBO. The fourth season, subtitled Night Country, is averaging 12.7m viewers across all platforms since its Jan. 14 premiere. The show has supplanted True Detective’s first season, which aired a decade ago, as the biggest to date; season one averaged 11.9m viewers across platforms. The vast majority of viewing for Night Country has come via streaming. [The ratings.]( Media Moguls Split on AI Deals ►Take the cash or fight? As digital media craters, THR's [Lachlan Cartwright]( writes that executives can hardly afford to overlook substantial content licensing pay days from generative AI companies — but The New York Times lawsuit against OpenAI gives them pause. [The analysis.]( —Dismissed. A federal judge has dismissed most of a lawsuit brought by Sarah Silverman, Ta-Nehisi Coates and other authors against OpenAI over the use of copyrighted books to train its generative AI chatbot. The order builds upon findings from other courts, which have mostly dismissed claims from creators suing AI companies. [The story.]( —New allegations. Russell Simmons has been sued for sexual harassment and battery by a former Def Jam Recordings executive, who accuses the music mogul of raping her at his apartment more than 25 years ago. The plaintiff, who sued as a Jane Doe, is described in the complaint filed in New York federal court on Tuesday as a former senior music executive and video producer at the label who currently works as a writer and producer. She says her career was stalled by Simmons’ systematic harassment of her in the 1990s. [The story.]( —✊ Plan to unionize ✊ A group of 1,700 performers at Disneyland in California announced their intent Tuesday to unionize with Actors’ Equity. The group, calling themselves "Magic United," includes performers who conduct meet and greets in the park and appear in character dining experiences, as well as the hosts and trainers that support them. They are asking for increased wages, greater transparency on scheduling and rehiring decisions and addressing concerns about safe and sanitary workplace conditions. [The story.]( —✊ "We deserve the opportunity to be represented" ✊ The Animation Guild is organizing production workers at DreamWorks Animation and at Flying Bark Productions. The guild (IATSE Local 839) sent a letter to DreamWorks Animation on Feb. 7 and filed for recognition with the National Labor Relations Board on Feb. 9 to represent 162 production workers at the studio. [The story.]( Jon Stewart Returns. Is That a Good Thing? ►"It’s possible that Stewart may have made a mistake in opting for Monday as his once-a-week telecast." THR's chief TV critic [Dan Fienberg]( reviews Jon Stewart's return to The Daily Show. Kicking off nine months of pre-election Mondays in satisfactory but safe fashion, Dan writes the Emmy-winning icon made familiar jokes about Joe Biden and Donald Trump's age, as well as his own. [The review.]( —He's still got the sauce. Stewart’s first show back as (part-time) host of The Daily Show drew 930,000 viewers Monday — the most for an epsiode in almost six years (since March 28, 2018, midway through Trevor Noah’s time as host). Simulcasts on other Paramount-owned channels (MTV, Paramount Network, TV Land, CMT, Pop, MTV2 and Logo) and a later replay on Comedy Central brought the total for the night to 1.85m viewers. [The ratings.]( 'Curb' Boss on Larry David the Unlikely Hero ►"He is human adjacent." THR's queen of chat [Jackie Strause]( spoke to Curb Your Enthusiasm executive producer Jeff Schaffer about the second episode of season 12 of the HBO comedy. Schaffer discusses the episode cameos and the Seinfeld echoes in the final season. Warning: Spoilers! [The review.]( —"Every experience I’ve had to date has led me to this moment." THR's [Brian Davids]( spoke to S.J. Clarkson about her feature directorial debut, Madame Web. The Brit filmmaker, a veteran of television dramas, discusses why there's no post-credits scene and throws cold water on a report that the film was initially set in the 1990s: "I was sent the script with 2003 in it." [The interview.]( —"I do have a hard time watching myself." Brian also spoke to Madame Web star Isabela Merced. The busy actor, who has an impressive lineup of credits coming up including Alien: Romulus, Superman: Legacy and The Last of Us, teases a "disgusting" scene from an upcoming movie that prompted everyone but her to look away in horror. [The interview.]( TV Review: 'The New Look' ►"Handsome and heartbreaking." THR's [Angie Han]( reviews Apple TV+'s The New Look. Juliette Binoche and Ben Mendelsohn play Coco Chanel and Christian Dior, the French fashion heavyweights who cut contrasting journeys through Nazi-occupied Paris and postwar Europe in the drama from Todd A. Kessler. [The review.]( In other news... —Santa Barbara Film Fest: [Martin Scorsese and Justine Triet feted at directors tribute]( —BAFTAs: [David Beckham, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba join as award presenters]( —Why the [new Intuit Dome's VIP clubhouse will have San Vicente Bungalows vibes]( ​​​What else we're reading... —Jessica Toonkel and Isabella Simonetti report that former Apple exec Pete Distad is among the CEO candidates for Disney/WBD/Fox's new sports-streaming venture [[WSJ]( —Kathryn VanArendonk breaks down the uncanny way Disney+ series Bluey can reduce grown-ups to tears [[Vulture]( —Precious Adesina talks Nicole Taylor about her new (and much longer) screen adaptation of David Nicholls' book One Day and how more time let the screenwriter get deeper into the characters of Emma and Dexter [[NYT]( —Wendy Syfret looks back at Hi Octane, the short-lived, star-studded Comedy Central series created by Sofia Coppola and Zoe Cassavetes that is something of a Gen X fever dream [[Guardian]( —Scott Nover asks whether Joe "Dark Brandon" Biden's attempt to reach young voters via TikTok will help his re-election campaign [[Slate]( Today... ...in 1991, Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter hit the big screen in The Silence of the Lambs. The film went on to claim five Oscars at the 64th Academy Awards, including in top categories for actor, actress and director. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: [Simon Pegg]( (54), Freddie Highmore (32), Danai Gurira (46), Karol G (33), Jake Lacy (39), Madison Iseman (27), Enrico Colantoni (61), Teller (76), Najwa Nimri (52), Stephanie Leonidas (40), Meg Tilly (64), Anton Lesser (72), Brett Dier (34), Jake Weary (34), Alberto Rosende (31), Matt Barr (40), Allie Grant (30), John Orloff (57), Kristen Dalton (51), Malcolm M. Mays (34), Shane Harper (31), Zach Galligan (60), Julia Ling (41), Patrick Heusinger (43), Erica Leerhsen (48), Frank Collison (74) Robert M. Young, the adventurous director who called the shots for Edward James Olmos in The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez, Farrah Fawcett in Extremities and Tom Hulce and Ray Liotta in Dominick and Eugene, died Feb. 6. He was 99. [The obituary.]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} by The Hollywood Reporter. 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