Kidman and Bardem on the Pressures of Being a Ricardo

►On the cover. THR's Rebecca Keegan spoke to Oscar winners Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem who reveal that they didn't initially understand the enormity of signing on to play American comedy icons Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in Aaron Sorkin's Being the Ricardos. Having grown up outside the U.S. — she in Australia and he in Spain — neither actor had been aware of I Love Lucy’s fervid fan base and once they cottoned on they tried to get out of the gig a month before they were scheduled to start shooting. 

Despite their fears, Kidman and Bardem have delivered performances that defied expectations, added nuance and color to the popular black-and-white image of Ball and Arnaz as sitcom sweethearts, and placed the movie squarely in this year’s Oscar conversation. While Sorkin felt no need to be dutiful to the couple’s television image, Bardem and Kidman wanted to nail it. The cover story. 

—The wait just got longer. Universal is pushing back the theatrical release of Fast & Furious 10 by six weeks from April 7, 2023, the beginning of Easter weekend, to May 19, 2023. Universal already had the May 19 date reserved for an “untitled event” film. The studio did not provide a reason for the shifts. F10 will now open closer to the lucrative Memorial Day corridor. The story.

—First films. The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the first films for its 2022 edition, set to run Feb. 10-22. Titles include Berlinale Specials premiere The Forger from director Maggie Peren starring Louis Hofmann, Klondike from director Maryna Er Gorbach, a Panorama screening, and Generations film The Quiet Girl from director Colm Bairead. The story.

—Hefty award. Canadian cinema giant Cineplex says a court has ruled in its favor in a breach of contract lawsuit brought against Regal owner Cineworld. Cineplex said it had been awarded damages of $1.24 billion in lost synergies from the abandoned takeover deal and $5.5 million in transaction costs. The story.

—No plans to merge. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which is behind the Daytime Emmys, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which is behind the Primetime Emmys, have announced a major realignment, shifting to genre-based awards rather than time-based awards as part of an effort to ensure the competitions’ continued relevance. There is no plan for the two academies to merge, and the two ceremonies will remain separate and retain their current names. The story. 

Affleck on Why 'The Last Duel' Bombed

►"That was my filibuster." THR's nicest man Chris Gardner is a beguiling red carpet interviewer at all times, but even he couldn't have imagined the exchange he had with Ben Affleck at The Tender Bar premiere on Sunday. Chris asked Affleck about the box office travails of Ridley Scott's The Last Duel, a film he starred in and co-wrote, and what followed was an incredibly nuanced, deeply considered answer on the future of Hollywood, streaming and the theatrical experience, all on the fly. Chapeau Ben. The interview.  

—Gentle Ben. Staying with Affleck, the actor was on Howard Stern's show as part of the Tender Bar promo tour and he was dropping more candid truth bombs, this time talking about his struggles with alcoholism, the collapse of his marriage to Jennifer Garner and the brief hesitation he had about rekindling a relationship with Jennifer Lopez. The story. 

—Incredible story. Rachel Brosnahan is set to topline and exec produce an Audible Original based on Vanity Fair’s famed 1999 article “The Miranda Obsession,” an investigatin on the mysterious woman who cold-called famous and powerful men in the early 1980s, including Quincy Jones, Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro, and enraptured them with her sweet talk. Josh Groban, John Benjamin Hickey, Harry Lloyd, Morgan Spector and Milo Ventimiglia will play the real-life bold-faced names. The story.

—Zorro rides again. Wilmer Valderrama is set to star in a new live-action Zorro TV series that is in development for Disney Branded Television. A network/platform for the Western has not yet been determined but the show will be done in a "telenovela style." The story. 

—A24 FTW. The 2022 Independent Spirit Awards nominations have been revealed and A24’s Zola leads the way with seven nods, the most of any project. A24, which often scores multiple Spirit Awards nominations, leads the distributor tally this year with 13 nods. Other top nominees are IFC Films’ The Novice, with five nods, and four-time nominees The Lost Daughter and Wild Indian. The nominations.

Making of 'King Richard'

►"We had to have a real family consensus." THR's Pamela McClintock reveals how Will Smith and the producers behind Warner Bros.' Venus and Serena Williams biopic King Richard had to navigate some tricky familial terrain in order to get the feature made, with Smith, in particular, adamant that he would only star in the $50 million-plus movie only if the real-life family gave its blessing. The story.

—"Mr. Richard was the architect of that dream, but Ms. Oracene was the builder of that dream." THR's Mia Galuppo spoke to Aunjanue Ellis, who stars as Oracene “Brandy” Price, mother of Venus and Serena, in King Richard, who talked about the work that went into avoiding the onscreen tropes of "long-suffering woman." The interview. 

—"A remarkable gift." The Martin Scorsese Institute of Global Cinematic Arts — an academic and production institute that will encompass a new Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center, the Martin Scorsese Department of Cinema Studies and support for student scholarships — will be established at the director’s alma mater, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, through a gift from George Lucas and Mellody Hobson’s foundation. The story. 

—An offer he couldn't refuse. Terence Winter, the writer and exec producer behind The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire, is launching an ad-supported streaming network next year under Infamous Media, a newly formed indie media company Winter co-founded with Joe Poletto, a former HBO exec. One of the first channels will be focused on mafia and other mob-related TV shows, movies and docs. The story. 

—Overall deal news. Ted Lasso writer-producer and A Black Lady Sketch Show star and writer Ashley Nicole Black has signed an overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group. Under the multiyear deal, Black will create and produce programming for HBO Max, other streaming services and cable and broadcast outlets. The story.

Review: 'Station Eleven'

►"Haunting, hopeful and mostly well-adapted." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews HBO Max's Station Eleven. Emily St. John Mandel's 2014 novel about a theatrical troupe traveling a post-pandemic dystopia has been adapted into a 10-episode limited series with added COVID-era echoes. The review. 

—"A cheeky revisionist-history/action-movie blast." THR film critic Frank Scheck reviews 20th Century Studios' The King's Man. Ralph Fiennes stars in Matthew Vaughn's prequel to his hit Kingsman movies, set during the outbreak of World War I and depicting the origins of the mysterious intelligence agency. The review.   

—Workers of the world unite. Global unions and guilds have called for the film and TV production industry worldwide to end a “long hours culture” that has only worsened during the current post-COVID-vaccine surge in filming. The UNI Global Union, which represents 20 million entertainment workers worldwide, called for production wages and working hours to respect collective agreements, “or in their absence national legal standards.” The story. 

—Casting news. Anansi Boys, Amazon Studio’s upcoming six-part adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s best-selling fantasy novel, has found its two female leads. Brit actresses Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn (Lovers Rock) and Grace Saif (13 Reasons Why) will star in the mini-series, joining Delroy Lindo and Malachi Kirby. The story. 

—Reunited. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on Netflix getting back into business with Legendary for God Country, a feature adaptation of the comic written by Donny Cates. Jim Mickle, co-creator and showrunner of Netflix’s instant hit Sweet Tooth, is set to direct the fantasy and is co-writing the script with Cates. The story. 

In other news... 

—HBO, Warner Bros. among top winners at 2021 Clio Entertainment Awards

—TV ratings: The Voice improves, All American reaches season highs

—Rotterdam Festival confirms 2022 opening film, in-person event despite Omicron concerns

—Hollywood flashback: No Country for Old Men nabbed SAG Awards on the way to Oscars

—Feinberg Forecast: Updated Oscar standings as shortlist voting comes to a close

—N.Y. ethics board tells former Gov. Cuomo to return book money

—Brooke Bowman to lead drama at Fox after Charlie Andrews exits

—NBCUniversal taps Blackstone’s Jen Friedman to lead global communications

—Denis Villeneuve to receive Art Directors Guild Honor

—Hollywood dog owners rushing for vaccines amid leptospirosis disease outbreak

What else we're reading...

—Licorice Pizza Faces Criticism For Scenes Involving Fake Asian Accent [NBC News]

—West Side Story, Spider-Man and Hollywood’s Older Moviegoer Problem [Los Angeles Times]

—From Dopesick to Mare of Easttown, the Opioid Crisis Was Everywhere on TV in 2021 [Vanity Fair]

—The Ankler, A Hit Hollywood Newsletter, Charts An Expansion [New York Times]

—U.S. to Blacklist Eight More Chinese Companies Including Dronemaker DJI [Financial Times]

Today... 

...in 1974, Young Frankenstein, now recognized as an essential part of the Mel Brooks canon, first hit theaters. The comedy starred Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr and Gene Wilder, who co-wrote the screenplay with Brooks. The original review. 

Today's birthdays: Alana Haim (30), Michelle Dockery (40), Charlie Cox (39), Helen Slater (58), Stuart Townsend (49), Adam Brody (42), Don Johnson (72), Ralph Ineson (52), John Lee Hancock (65),  Garrett Wang (53), Alex Cox (67), Julie Taymor (49), Sara Driver (66)