Oscars Post-Mortem; Reflecting on Lily Gladstone's Historic Awards Run; 'Curb' Boss on the Late Richard Lewis; Latest SXSW Reviews

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( March 12, 2024 What's news: The Oscars ratings are in, and it's good news. Questlove and Trisha Yearwood have joined the cast of Spinal Tap 2. Netflix has signed its first deal with the Writers' Guild of Great Britain. Disney is escalating its proxy battle with Trian Partners with the release of an attack ad. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. Oscars Post-mortem ►We are so back! The 2024 Oscars were the most watched in four years. The Jimmy Kimmel-hosted telecast on ABC averaged 19.5m viewers, according to time zone-adjusted fast national ratings from Nielsen. That’s a 4 percent increase from a year ago. The 96th Academy Awards scored the biggest audience for any awards show since 2020, when that year’s Oscars — held a month before the U.S. went into lockdown in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic — drew 23.64m viewers. [The ratings.]( —"A choice by the producers." Al Pacino's unconventional delivery of the best picture winner Sunday night had some people in the audience wondering if the actor was winging it with Oscar tradition, but Pacino says he was largely following the Academy’s own script. "I just want to be clear it was not my intention to omit them, rather a choice by the producers not to have them said again since they were highlighted individually throughout the ceremony," Pacino said in a statement. [The story.]( —"Always there for each other!!" Michelle Yeoh also took a moment on Monday to clarify why she handed Emma Stone's best actress Oscar to Jennifer Lawrence just before Stone accepted the trophy onstage. "I confused you, but I wanted to share that glorious moment of handing over [your] Oscar to you together with your best friend Jennifer!!" Yeoh wrote on Instagram. [The story.]( Reflecting on Lily Gladstone's Historic Awards Run ►"There was not a single misstep taken at all." THR's [Rebecca Sun]( writes that Native creatives are expressing their appreciation for Killers of the Flower Moon star Lily Gladstone, who maintained her "grace and class and humor and dignity" even as she came just short of taking home the Oscar. [The story.]( —What's up next? The 2024 Oscars are over, and the talent is now looking ahead. THR takes a look at the next projects the Oscar nominees in the acting categories (supporting and lead) are planning to tackle. [The story.]( —"Eight pinch-me moments." Universal's film boss Donna Langley sent a congratulatory note on Monday, thanking all of those on her team who helped the studio achieve Oscar success on Sunday. Oppenheimer picked up seven wins, while Focus Features’ The Holdovers won best supporting actress for Da’Vine Joy Randolph’ performance. The evening was a big win for Langley, who lured Nolan to the studio after he split ways with Warner Bros., and made a bet on his R-rated biopic. [The story.]( How Oscars Choreographer Harnessed the Kenergy of 62 Kens ►"Letting the Kens be like rock stars was also a big thing." THR's [Caitlin Huston]( spoke to choreographer Mandy Moore, a day after the Oscars, on how the incredible "I'm Just Ken" number, which brought the Academy to its feet, came together. The La La Land and Eras Tour choreographer worked with Ryan Gosling, director Greta Gerwig and more on the all-out musical number, which included an homage to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and shoutouts to Barbie castmembers. [The interview.]( —"If I could have been there..." In one of the biggest ironies of Sunday's ceremony, Wes Anderson — whose fans have long waited for him to triumph at the Academy Awards — won his first-ever Oscar but was unable to accept it in person. While the auteur didn’t get a chance to give his acceptance speech onstage, Netflix shared his statement on his win for The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. Anderson revealed he was in Germany and about to start shooting his next movie. [The story.]( —"Respect to the winners." Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse star Shameik Moore has apologized for his reaction to the film’s loss at the Oscars. On Sunday night, the Into the Spider-Verse sequel lost to Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron in the best animated feature film category. Moore, who voices Miles Morales (aka Spider-Man) in the franchise, immediately took to X, where he posted that the film was “robbed.” [The story.]( —The beef continues. The war of words between Jimmy Kimmel and Donald Trump began onstage from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday. And in a post-ceremony backstage interview, the 2024 Oscars host shed light on the moment being quickly incorporated into the broadcast. Kimmel said he went against advice from some people to not read Trump’s rant aloud during the ceremony. [The story.]( Of Course Keke Palmer Isn't Retiring Anytime Soon ►"People read into that one so deep." THR's [Mikey O'Connell]( spoke to Keke Palmer about her whirlwind few years. The Password host and overbooked multihyphenate discusses scoring an invite to Howie Mandel's yacht via her NBC game show, embracing astrology in Jennifer Lopez's This Is Me… Now and the response to her comment about quitting Hollywood. [The interview.]( —🏆 First night champs 🏆 H.E.R., Megan Thee Stallion and Usher were among the winners during Night 1 of the NAACP Image Awards, which were unveiled Monday during a virtual ceremony. Usher was named outstanding male artist, H.E.R. won the award for outstanding female artist, and Megan Thee Stallion won for outstanding hip-hop/rap song for “Cobra.” [The winners.]( —🤝 New deal 🤝 Lionsgate Television is keeping one of the key players in its Power franchise under its roof. The studio has signed Power Book IV: Force showrunner Gary Lennon to a new deal that will see him continue at the helm of the Starz series while also developing further extensions of the Power-verse. Lennon’s deal comes on the heels of Force starting production on its third season. [The story.]( —Well, I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I weren't under such heavy sedation. Questlove and Trisha Yearwood have signed on to play themselves in cameo roles in Rob Reiner's sequel to his 1984 cult classic This is Spinal Tap, which the director has begun shooting in New Orleans. Reiner is reprising his onscreen role as documentarian Martin “Marty” DiBergi in Spinal Tap 2, with the film’s original cast of Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer also returning to play frontman David St. Hubbins, guitarist Nigel Tufnel and bassist Derek Smalls. [The story.]( 'Curb' Boss on the Late Richard Lewis ►"He was funny every minute he was on set." THR's queen of chat [Jackie Strause]( spoke to Curb Your Enthusiasm executive producer Jeff Schaffer about the show's late star Richard Lewis. Schaffer highlights the comedian and actor's kindness along with his sense of humor, and shares that Lewis will appear in two more episodes of the final season. [The interview.]( —🤝 "For the first time in the U.K., writers working for a global streamer will have their rights enshrined in a collective trade union agreement" 🤝 Netflix U.K., the Writers' Guild of Great Britain and the Personal Managers’ Association, which represents agents in the U.K., have signed their first deal. The pact, announced on Tuesday, covers "remuneration which will apply to U.K. writers on Netflix scripted live-action commissioned series." [The story.]( —Change is afoot. The Berlin Film Festival could face major changes aimed at preventing a repeat of this year’s award ceremony, where several winners criticized Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza and expressed support for an immediate ceasefire. On Monday, the advisory council for Federal Cultural Events in Berlin, the group that oversees Berlinale, criticized the festival and, by association, outgoing directors Mariëtte Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian for not doing more to distance the festival from such Israel-critical commentary. [The story.]( —The dark arts. Disney is escalating its proxy battle with activist investor Trian Partners. The company on Monday released a slickly produced video, similar in format to a political ad, taking aim at Trian’s two Disney board nominees, Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo, and highlighting the achievements of the company and CEO Bob Iger since he returned to the company. The video opens with ominous music, as the narrator (speaking in a voice familiar to any viewer of political attack ads) wonders “What’s the harm?” in letting Peltz and Rasulo on the board. [The story.]( Film Review: 'MoviePass, MovieCrash' ►"A sad, sometimes funny reflection on what could have been." THR's [Dan Fienberg]( reviews Muta'Ali's MoviePass, MovieCrash. This HBO documentary looks back at what went right and then very wrong with the innovative, doomed service MoviePass. [The review.]( —"Ferreira shines in a deceptively sunny tearjerker." THR's [Angie Han]( reviews Tracie Laymon's Bob Trevino Likes It. Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo star in this film about a lonely young woman who befriends a childless older man while searching on Facebook for her estranged father. [The review.]( —"Handsome, cold and shallow." Angie reviews Sam Yates' Magpie. The thriller centers on a stay-at-home mother (Daisy Ridley) who is pushed to the brink after her husband falls in love with a famous actress. [The review.]( —"More psychological trauma than jump scares, but effective." For THR, Caryn James reviews Benjamin Finkel's Family. Ruth Wilson and Ben Chaplin star in this artful horror feature about a young girl whose father is dying. [The review.]( —"Unnerving and effective." For THR, Justin Lowe reviews Damian McCarthy's Oddity. Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Tadhg Murphy and Caroline Menton star in McCarthy’s supernatural suspense thriller that had a SXSW world premiere. [The review.]( Film Review: 'Road House' ►"Boisterous and lethal." THR's [Lovia Gyarkye]( reviews Doug Liman's Road House. Jake Gyllenhaal stars alongside Jessica Williams, Billy Magnussen, Lukas Gage and Conor McGregor in this new take on the 1989 Patrick Swayze flick. [The review.]( —"A compassionate but uneven tribute to American veterans." Lovia reviews Kyle Hausmann-Stokes' My Dead Friend Zoe. A U.S. Afghanistan vet navigates life after war and caring for her grandfather in Hausmann-Stokes' directorial debut that is produced by Travis Kelce and stars Sonequa Martin-Green and Ed Harris. [The review.]( —"A clarifying investigation." Lovia reviews Sabrine Keane and Kate Dumke's Preconceived. The doc uses the stories of two teen pregnancies to chronicle the proliferation and impact of anti-abortion businesses. [The review.]( —"Comedic strengths compensate for dramatic shortcomings." Lovia reviews Pamela Adlon's Babes. Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau play best friends navigating pregnancy in the Better Things creator's feature directorial debut. [The review.]( —"Speak no evil." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews E.L. Katz's Azrael. In this high concept wordless horror, Samara Weaving plays a girl on the run from flesh-eating monsters, also starring Vic Carmen Sonne, Katariina Unt, Nathan Stewart-Jarret, Sebastian Bull Sarning. [The story.]( In other news... —The Valley trailer [zeroes in on Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright tension]( —Banijay [takes stake in German TV producer Dynamic Ally Pictures]( —Dolly Parton [says she thinks Beyoncé covered “Jolene” for her upcoming album]( ​​​What else we're reading... —Kathryn VanArendonk marvels at how incredibly bad the Royal Family are at PR spin and crisis management, quite apart from any actual conspiracy [[Vulture]( —With Dune and the upcoming Wicked coming in two parts, Hanna Flint wonders whether two-parters are double the fun or ripping off the audience [[BBC]( —With Maestro going home empty-handed at the Oscars, Jason Bailey writes that no matter how much Netflix spends on big name talent, it will never earn Hollywood's respect [[Bloomberg]( —Despite the increasing enthusiasm in Congress to ban TikTok, Jacky Wong writes that actually following through might be a lot harder than people in D.C. realize [[WSJ]( —After the disaster of Madame Web, Ben Child wonders where Sony can go with its Spider-verse films [[Guardian]( Today... ...in 1954, 20th Century Fox opened the Gregory Peck thriller Night People at the Roxy Theatre in New York. The film went on to be nominated for an Oscar for its story at the 27th Academy Awards. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Aaron Eckhart (56), Titus Welliver (62), Jaimie Alexander (40), Lesley Manville (68), Liza Minnelli (78), Courtney B. Vance (64), Ron Funches (41), Jason Beghe (64), Malina Pauli Weissman (21), Caren Kaye (73), Jake Weber (61), Julia Campbell (62), Chris Sanders (62), Frank Welker (78), Barbara Feldon (91), Jo Hartley (52), Richard Harrington (🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿49), Jerry Levine (67), Jama Williamson (50), Samm Levine (42), Rhys Coiro (45), Rick Worthy (57), Luis Gerardo Méndez (42), Zhao Wei (48), Nicholas Crovetti (16), Aleks Le (36), [James Taylor]( (76), Julian Firth (64), Sarunas J. Jackson (34) Eric Carmen, the frontman of pop rock band the Raspberries who would later go on to have a successful solo career with hits such as “All By Myself,” “Hungry Eyes” and “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again,” has died. He was 74. 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