Hollywood Battle Lines Emerge in Simmering Vaccine War

►"If you don’t want to vaccinate, go to a small island and sequester yourself." Though Hollywood might appear unified when it comes to embracing COVID-19 vaccines, the reality is more divided, mirroring the broader American population, where 44 percent are not fully vaccinated. In the film and TV industry, there are no universal vaccine mandates in place and this has thrown sets into chaos as A-list holdouts have caused work stoppages costing millions of dollars. The story. 

—Get vaccinated folks. On the topic of vaccinations, the L.A. City Council on Wednesday passed an ordinance that will require residents from Nov. 4 to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination in order to enter indoor spaces including movie theaters, restaurants, gyms, shopping centers, coffee shops, hair and nail salons, and numerous other venues. The story. 

—Bond's next mission. After all the delays, No Time to Die will open in more than 4,400 cinemas across North America on Friday. Tracking suggests that the 25th Bond film will debut to at least $60 million. More bullish estimates put the opening at $70 million, if not higher, considering that Venom 2 came in $25 million to $30 million ahead of expectations when opening to a pandemic-era best of $90 million. The box office analysis.

—Up for sale. Indie film distributor Magnolia Pictures is exploring a potential sale. Magnolia, which is owned by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner’s 2929 Entertainment, is looking to capitalize on the demand for library content by streaming services. The company has approximately 500 films in its library, including the recent Sundance pic Mayday and the doc Blackfish. The story.

—This is why we can't have nice things. Scenes from Squid Game, Netflix’s breakout South Korean series from Hwang Dong-hyuk, are getting the axe thanks to an unexpected wave of pranks callers dialing up a very real phone number featured in the show. The story.  

—"Something magical." Comcast-owned European pay TV giant Sky has unveiled a broadband-powered TV set, dubbed “Sky Glass,” that doesn’t require a satellite dish to access its full suite of services. The story.

Bob Iger's Long Goodbye  

Suzanne Scott on Running Fox News

►"I sleep well at night." Launched on Oct. 7, 1996, as a corrective to what Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch viewed as the liberal slant of the mainstream media, Fox News cultivated what it saw as an underserved right-of-center audience with news during the day and opinion in primetime.

Twenty-five years after its founding, THR sits down with Suzanne Scott, the CEO of America’s most watched and most polarizing network, whose employees laud her for cleaning up a toxic workplace even as critics assail the channel for spreading misinformation and undermining democracy. The story.  

—New mentors. Hollywood talent incubator 1497 Writers Lab has tapped Little America director Deepa Mehta, Late Night helmer Nisha Ganatra and Minhal Baig of Hala to mentor a class of underrepresented South Asian screenwriters for its second edition. The story. 

—The end is nigh. The forthcoming fifth season of FX’s Better Things will be its last. Pamela Adlon, who co-created, writes, directs, executive produces and stars in the critical favorite, confirmed she will bring the show to a close. The final season is currently in production and is slated to premiere in 2022. The story. 

—Big move. Amazon has recruited former Warner Bros. TV exec vp current programs Odetta Watkins for the newly created role of head of drama series. Watkins, who had an impressive 19-year run at Warners, will oversee ongoing current series including Jack Ryan, The Wilds and Hunters. The story.

—Lifetime honor. Pioneering Hungarian filmmaker Marta Meszaros will receive this year’s lifetime achievement award from the European Film Academy. Meszaros’ debut, The Girl (1968) was the first feature film from Hungary directed by a woman. The story. 

How Will Paramount's New Film Chief Remake the Studio? 

►Convincing Cruise et al. With Brian Robbins taking over the reigns at Paramount, THR's Pam McClintock writes that he has been handed a well-stocked cupboard of potentially huge 2022 and 2023 movies that largely were put together by Emma Watts and Jim Gianopulos. The true test for Robbins is whether he can persuade A-list talent, filmmakers, agents and producers to work with the studio beyond that is to be determined; the big reveal will come when his regime begins announcing projects. The story. 

—Back to normal. The Berlin Film Festival said Thursday that it will hold an in-person event next year. For the 72nd Berlinale, set to run Feb. 10-22, organizers said they will focus on on-site offerings and in-person screenings. The story.

—London calling. Regina King, Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, Regé-Jean Page, Ted Sarandos, Jay-Z and, according to reports Beyonce, were among the major names in attendance for the world premiere of Netflix’s all-star, all-Black Western The Harder They Fall, which kicked off the BFI London Film Festival in style. The story. 

—Spirit of recovery. The Busan Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday night with the world premiere of Heaven: To the Land of Happiness from veteran director Im Sang-soo. Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho and his Parasite favorite Park So-dam were on hand for the festival's opening ceremony, which featured Korea's first full-scale red carpet since the start of the pandemic. The story.

—This Week in TV. THR's Rick Porter runs down the TV premieres, returns and specials over the next seven days. The things to look out for over the coming week include the second season of CBS' The Equalizer and the premiere of NCIS: Los Angeles. Thursday Night Football makes its Fox debut for the season. On streaming, Peacock's One of Us Is Lying might become the next binge sensation. On cable Chucky, the TV series, debuts on Syfy and USA.  The full guide.

In other news...  

—London Film Festival film review: Idris Elba and Jonathan Majors in The Harder They Fall. 

—Fantastic Fest film review: Chris Atkins' Who Killed The KLF?

—TV review: Apple TV+'s Acapulco.

—TV review: Michael Keaton in Hulu's Dopesick.

—TV ratings: The Voice, MLB wild card game lead Tuesday.

—Oscars: Hungary selects Post Mortem for international feature category.

—Michael Keaton says his Batman suit still fits after 30 years.

—Mike Berkowitz, Allysa Mahler to lead reworked WME Comedy Group. 

—Cynthia Harris, Paul Reiser’s mom on Mad About You, dies at 87.

—Molly Ringwald on why she hasn’t been able to watch her John Hughes films with her younger daughter.

—Juli Reding, actress in the ghostly horror film Tormented, dies at 85.

—ViacomCBS inks multi-year distribution deal with WOW – Women of Wrestling.

—Netflix jumps into holiday season with teaser for A Boy Called Christmas.

What else we're reading...

—"Is Moviegoing Undemocratic?" [New York Times]

—"Twitch Hack Reveals How Much Revenue the Platform’s Biggest Streamers Make" [Wall Street Journal]

—"The Uncanny Valley of I’m Your Man" [New Yorker]

—"Netflix’s Diana: The Musical Is The Year’s Most Hysterically Awful Hate-Watch" [The Guardian]

—"How the Succession Star Nicholas Braun Elevates Cousin Greg" [New York Times]

Today... 

Today's birthdays: Nicole Ari Parker (51), Shawn Ashmore (42), Holland Roden (35), Jamie Hector (46), Dylan Baker (62), Andrew Dominik (54), Tang Wei (42), Toni Braxton (54), Tim Minchin (46), Thom Yorke (53), Joy Behar (79), Simon Cowell (62), John Mellencamp (70), Amber Stevens West (35)