What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover stars are Impeachment: American Crime Story lead actress Beanie Feldstein and season producer and subject Monica Lewinsky. Warners dropped the first trailer for Matrix 4, but only for CinemaCon attendees including our man in Las Vegas. OnlyFans has decided that porn is fine now. Plus: Rejoice! Showtime has renewed Desus & Mero for a fourth season — Abid Rahman
The Making of 'Impeachment: American Crime Story'
►On the cover. Impeachment: American Crime Story, the latest installment of Ryan Murphy's FX anthology, reframes the Clinton scandal from the perspective of the women it engulfed — including producer Monica Lewinsky.
THR's Lacey Rose speaks to Lewinsky and Murphy about how the 10-episode season, that debuts on Sept. 7, came to be including how the mega-producer vowed not to move forward unless Lewinsky was on board, made her a producer and let her weigh in on sets and scripts and whatever else she had strong feelings about. The cover story.
—"We're a 'we' now."Impeachment producer Lewinsky and star Beanie Feldstein, open up to Lacey about the challenges of collaboration and the weirdness of giving notes about yourself — to yourself. The conversation.
CinemaCon: Warners Unveils 'Matrix 4' Trailer, Look at 'The Batman'
►"I had dreams that weren't just dreams." Eight months after Warner Bros. shook Hollywood with the announcement that its 2021 slate would debut day-and-date in theaters and on HBO Max, the studio used CinemaCon to reassure theater owners it was still very much in the theatrical movie business.
Warners showed off clips from its upcoming slate, including the first trailer from the newly titled The Matrix: Resurrections and closer looks at The Batman and Dune, as well as footage from James Wan’s Malignant, Clint Eastwood’s Cry Macho, The Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark and the Will Smith starrer King Richard.The story.
—U-turn. OnlyFans on Wednesday announced it was making a hard turn and would not ban pornography on the site. Previously, the content subscription service said that starting in October, it will no longer allow “sexually explicit conduct” on the platform, a move made at the behest of banking partners and payment providers. The story.
—Making progress. Melissa Joan Hart is one step closer to feeling herself again following a breakthrough COVID-19 infection. But despite quarantining from her family, her youngest child has since tested positive. The story.
—"We didn’t do it justice." Showtime admits it didn’t treat its onetime dramatic flagship Dexter properly, particular the widely panned finale in 2013. Speaking at TCA, Showtime boss Gary Levine said that the finale "has always been a burr under my saddle," and one of the motivations behind bringing Dexter back for a limited series. The story.
—The brand is strong. Staying with Showtime at TCA, the network has renewed its popular late night series Desus & Mero for a fourth season in 2022, renewed comedy Flatbush Misdemeanors for a second season and ordered a pilot for a comedy based on the 1999 movie The Wood. The story.
—"I look 50 years old!" Jessica Chastain says the major transformation into televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker for the upcoming biographical drama The Eyes of Tammy Faye has done permanent damage to her skin. The story.
Facing Recall, Newsom Calls On Hollywood Dems
►"We are going to need their help." As the California Governor Gavin Newsom aims to fend off an ouster in the Sept. 14 election, Peter Kiefer writes that his advisers have quietly called on Reed Hastings, Steven Spielberg and Hollywood's other left leaning moguls to contribute big money and to mobilize Democrats. The story.
—"It sells itself, bro." Loveable big men Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa are developing a buddy cop film. Momoa revealed the news on the Late Late Show and his explanation is worth putting here, verbatim: "Dave loves wearing Speedos. I love wearing board shorts. And both of us with our shirts off. He’ll be grumpy and I’ll be charming. Boom. It sells itself, bro. I have the hair. He doesn’t have hair. We cover all the demographics." Hard to argue with that. The story.
—We got Annie. NBC has found its Annie in 12-year-old Atlanta native Celina Smith. Following a nationwide search, the young performer has landed the title role in NBC's upcoming holiday musical Annie Live!The story.
—Magic, the casting. Netflix's animated Magic: The Gathering animated series is running full-steam ahead. Set to bow in late 2022, Brandon Routh will lead the voice cast of the series from exec producer Jeff Klein. The story.
—Jake's song. Jake Gyllenhaal will star in and produce an adaptation of Robert Kirkman's comic book, Oblivion Song. Brian Oliver and Bradley Fischer's New Republic Pictures optioned the title, developing it as a feature film. The story.
Charlie Watts 1941-2021
►Gentleman rock star. Charlie Watts, the self-effacing and unshakeable Rolling Stones drummer who helped anchor one of rock’s greatest rhythm sections and used his “day job” to support his enduring love of jazz, has died. He was 80. The obituary.
—"Always had a deep groove." The death of Charlie Watts led to an outpouring of love and praise from fellow rock and roll greats, who remembered the musician for his unmatched talent. The likes of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Joan Jett, Elton John, Lenny Kravitz, John Oates and more paid tributes on social media. The reaction.
—Let him be Ye. Kanye West filed court documents to legally change his name. The Los Angeles Superior Court filing says the 44-year-old wants to get rid of his full name, Kanye Omari West, in favor of just his longtime two-letter nickname, Ye, with no middle name or last name. The story.
—It’s official. The MSNBC newsroom has voted to unionize with the Writers Guild of America, East. According to a National Labor Relations Board tally, 141 editorial staffers voted to have the union represent their unit in collective bargaining and 58 voted against it. The story.
—Canceled. HBO has canceled skateboarding comedy Betty, based on Crystal Moselle’s 2018 indie darling Skate Kitchen, after two seasons. The story.
Today's birthdays: Alexander Skarsgård (45), Joanne Whalley (60), Blake Lively (34), Tim Burton (63), Rachel Bilson (40), Tom Hollander (54), Stacey Farber (34), Tom Skerritt (88), Ben Falcone (48), Joe Wright (49), Blair Underwood (57), Simon McBurney (64), Kel Mitchell (43), Rachel Shelley (52), Julia Davis (55), Fatih Akin (48), Claudia Schiffer (51)
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