What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover star is the always charming Jennifer Aniston. Disney and Dwayne Johnson were big winners at the People's Choice Awards. Apple has boarded Jennifer Lawrence's Elizabeth Holmes movie. Omicron begins to impact festivals in Europe. Plus: Read THR's scathing review of Adam McKay's star-studded Don't Look Up— Abid Rahman
Jennifer Aniston Has No Regrets
►On the cover. In the early days of the lockdown, Jennifer Aniston holed up in her sprawling Bel Air property and worried that she may be bored or, worse, lonely, when leaving wasn’t really an option, but instead she enjoyed her own company. Like everyone else, Aniston got into cooking and documentaries and Zooming with her vast orbit of girlfriends.
By November, she was back in production on the second season of her Apple TV+ series The Morning Show, for which she’s also a hands-on producer; five months later, she was surrounded by her Friends‘ co-stars (and real-life friends) for a reunion that hit her harder than she anticipated. Along the way, she launched a hair-care brand and quietly donated millions to charity.
Aniston, who’s being honored with THR‘s Sherry Lansing Leadership Award for her professional and philanthropic contributions, speaks to Lacey Rose about tuning out the media madness ("Am I still having twins?"), the gut punch of the Friends reunion and her journey to "own who I am, where I am and just how long I’ve fucking been here." The cover story.
—The Great Black Way. For first time in Broadway’s history the season opened with all of its plays produced by Black writers. THR's Abbey White spoke to the seven living Black playwrights who had their work showcased on whether “legacy Broadway” is changing for the better and their hopes for a more inclusive industry. The story.
—More Broadway history. Brittney Johnson has spelled her way into the role of Glinda the Good in Broadway smash hit Wicked, marking the first time a Black actress has assumed the leading part. She will begin her historic portrayal at Broadway’s Gershwin Theatre on Feb. 14. The story.
—The Rock dominates. The winners of the People’s Choice Awards were revealed on Tuesday night, with Dwayne Johnson earning two awards: Male Movie Star of the Year and Comedy Movie Star of the Year for Disney’s Jungle Cruise. Marvel’s Black Widow,Shang-Chi and Loki all earned multiple awards. The full list of winners.
—Speedy renewal. HBO Max has renewed dramedy The Sex Lives of College Girls for a second season, with the news coming ahead of Thursday’s final two episodes of its freshman run. The series, created by Mindy Kaling, who also serves as showrunner, is the biggest original comedy launch on HBO Max this year and ranks among its top titles. The story.
Adam McKay on His Enduring Love for Will Ferrell
►"I’m fully freaked out." Adam McKay, THR's Producer of the Year, has been in the news lately not only for his latest film, the star-studded Netflix satire Don't Look Up (the review is below), but also his relationship with former collaborator and business partner and friend, Will Ferrell. Speaking to THR's Pamela McClintock, McKay, with his producer hat on, weighs in on the Rust tragedy and the Dave Chappelle controversy, and also talks about his input on Succession, his next directing project and his lingering regret regarding Ferrell. The interview.
—One tiny drop changes nothing. Staying with the ever busy McKay, Apple has boarded his and Jennifer Lawrence’s high-profile Bad Blood movie about the rise and fall of disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. McKay is writing, directing and producing the feature film, which will star Lawrence as Holmes, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur who is currently on trial for fraud. Lawrence is also a producer on the project. The story.
—Who needs McKay? Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx and Will Forte will voice-star in Universal’s Strays, a live-action/CGI hybrid, adult-skewing comedy being directed by Josh Greenbaum. It’s the filmmaker’s follow-up to his feature breakout, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar.The story.
—Sold! Indian movie major Eros International has sold STX Entertainment, the indie studio built and led by Robert Simonds, to an affiliate of the Najafi Companies for $173 million. The deal, which includes STX Entertainment needing to repay $148 million in debt, follows STX Entertainment and Eros completing a stock-for-stock merger to form Eros STX Global Corp. in 2020. The story.
—Clearing things up. Taylor Swift is losing a Grammy nomination she received in connection with Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour. Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent were also removed from the list of nominees for Rodrigo's album of the year nod as the Recording Academy draws a distinction between songwriters who are actively involved in the creation of a new song and those whose old work was merely interpolated. The story.
—Bad to worse. Publisher HarperCollins is pulling a planned book by former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo. The book, which was originally titled Deep Denial, had been slated for release in fall of 2022 through the William Morrow imprint Custom House. The news comes amid Cuomo's termination by CNN and his leaving his daily SiriusXM radio program. The story.
Why 'Bond' Mogul Barbara Broccoli Has Earned a License to Chill
►"I think it will be a man because I don’t think a woman should play James Bond." For nearly three decades, Barbara Broccoli, the shockingly modest producer (and former THR intern), has steered the James Bond franchise through multiple reinventions — including handpicking Daniel Craig — and now sits atop a 007 empire worth billions. With the Craig era coming to an end with No Time to Die, Broccoli speaks to THR's Tatiana Siegel as she stands poised to recalibrate the long-running series again. The profile.
—Overall deal news.Mare of Easttown director Craig Zobel is extending his overall deal at HBO. Zobel has re-upped the deal he initially signed with WarnerMedia’s premium cable outlet in January 2020. The extension runs for three more years and will have Zobel directing and producing projects at HBO. The story.
—In talks. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on Westworld star Thandiwe Newton being in negotiations to join Channing Tatum in Magic Mike’s Last Dance, the third installment of the hit male stripper Warner Bros. movie series. Steven Soderbergh and Reid Carolin are back for the HBO Max feature. The story.
—Power up. Starz has handed out season three renewal for Power Book II: Ghost. The news comes after the season two premiere bested its series debut in September 2020. As part of the renewal, writer and exec producer Brett Mahoney will take over as showrunner. Mahoney replaces Power franchise mastermind Courtney A. Kemp, who left Lionsgate for a rich pact at Netflix. The story.
—Ominous omicron. The International Film Festival Rotterdam has moved its 2022 industry events — including the CineMart market and the Rotterdam Lab — online in response to growing concerns over rising COVID-19 infection rates in the Netherlands and the spread of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus. The story.
Review: 'Don't Look Up'
►"Just look away." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Adam McKay's Don't Look Up. An all-star cast that also includes Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Cate Blanchett and Meryl Streep faces the end of the world in Netflix's satire of climate crisis and political opportunism. The review.
—"I Love Aaron?" David also reviews Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem star as television icons Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as they navigate personal and professional crises during a tough week on their smash CBS sitcom in this behind-the-scenes drama, also featuring J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda. The review.
—"Stunning cinematography fights with Will Smith for attention." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Disney+’s Welcome to Earth. Will Smith and Darren Aronofsky follow up NatGeo's One Strange Rock with a series similarly focused on the actor experiencing Earth's beauty and oddness. The review.
—"More about the cast than the material." Dan reviews ABC's Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes. The latest Live reenactments, back after a break of two years, took on the beloved sitcoms and featured Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Hart, John Lithgow and a double dose of Ann Dowd. The review.
—"Could become the next great network sitcom."THR critic Angie Han reviews ABC's Abbott Elementary. The single-camera comedy, created by and starring Quinta Brunson, follows a small group of teachers at a chronically underfunded public school in West Philadelphia. The review.
—Hollywood Loves a Monstrous Mommy. Can It Do Her Justice? [New York Times]
—The “New HFPA” Is Ready to Relaunch the Golden Globes. Hollywood Is Skeptical [Vanity Fair]
—Inside the Extremely Unfunny War Between Comedians and Spotify [Vulture]
—Commentary: A New TV Network Wants To Make Christmas Great Again. Why Its Message Is A Harmful One [Los Angeles Times]
Today...
...in 1978, Universal released the 183-minute Vietnam war drama The Deer Hunter. The Michael Cimino film went on to win five Oscars at the 51st Academy Awards, including best picture. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Kim Basinger (68), Teri Hatcher (57), Nicki Minaj (39), Utkarsh Ambudkar (38), Tanner Buchanan (23), Ian Somerhalder (43), Wendell Pierce (58), Dominic Monaghan (45), Nancy Meyers (72), Hannah Ware (39), Matthias Schoenaerts (44), David Harewood (56), Carina Lau (56), Dharmendra (86)
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