Hollywood Bidding War for Brad Pitt, Joseph Kosinski and Lewis Hamilton Racing Project

►The whole town wants it. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on an untitled motor racing project starring Brad Pitt sparking a Hollywood bidding war. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the filmmaker behind the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick, veteran mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer and screenwriter Ehren Kruger are also part of the blockbuster pitch package. 

The story or take isn’t clear but sources say that Lewis Hamilton, the British modern racing legend, is also involved with the project that has seen offers coming in from Paramount, MGM, Disney, Sony and Universal as well as streamers Netflix, Apple and Amazon. The story. 

—The old switcheroo. No Time to Die star Ana de Armas is replacing Scarlett Johansson in Apple Original Films’ adventure pic Ghosted. De Armas will now star opposite her Knives Out co-star Chris Evans in the romantic action-adventure directed by Dexter Fletcher and produced by Skydance Media. The story. 

—New York’s finest. From staging Broadway shows to helping stars launch beauty lines, THR lists 20 New York attorneys with specialties in theater, fashion, media and music who are at the forefront of deals and disputes. The list. 

—Sentenced. Sung Mo Jun, a former Netflix engineer was sentenced to two years in prison and given a $15,000 fine for his role in leading an insider trading ring based on private information about the streaming giant’s subscriber growth. The story.

—"Fair and equitable." Ziwe, Desus Nice, The Kid Mero, Lilly Wachowski and other WGA East members that work on Showtime titles are calling on Vice Media CEO Nancy Dubuc to reach a “fair and equitable” contract with the union. The new Vice contract, which is currently in its last days of scheduled negotiation, will consolidate four previously separate WGA East contracts, and will cover members working on Vice’s series on Showtime. The story. 

Acting Contenders Share Tales From the Sets of Their TV Series

►"I wanted it to be honest and real." Elle Fanning, Nick Mohammed, Thuso Mbedu, Harvey Guillen, Andie McDowell, Lee Pace, Michael Stuhlbarg, Karen Pittman and Evan Peters reflect on their most challenging moments while filming their respective TV shows — from nailing the perfect level of drunkenness to defending a character's honor. The story. 

—Hamaguchi FTW. The New York Film Critics Circle has selected Drive My Car as its best picture of 2021. The Japanese film, which premiered at Cannes, is based on the short story of the same name by Haruki Murakami. The road movie from writer-director Ryusuke Hamaguchi explores love, loss, grief and healing. The full list of winners. 

—Renewal. Fox has renewed the family-friendly competition series Lego Masters for a third season, set to air in 2022. Will Arnett is set to return as host and executive producer of the show from Endemol Shine North America, Tuesday’s Child and Plan B Entertainment. The story. 

—Moving to DC. Disney animation legends Ron Clements and John Musker have teamed up with writer Celeste Ballard for Warner Animation Group's The Metal Men. The project is based on the DC property and Clements and Musker are producing and have written the treatment for the film, which they are eyeing to direct. The story.

Tony Kushner on Tackling 'West Side Story'

►"We knew we were going into a complicated situation." THR's Seth Abramovitch spoke to screenwriter Tony Kushner on tackling West Side Story with frequent collaborator Steven Spielberg. The Pulitzer-winning writer also talks about working side-by-side with the late Stephen Sondheim and how the "anti-racist" musical hopes to sidestep In the Heights-style casting controversies. The interview. 

—"I’ve led a normal life." THR's nicest man Chris Gardner had a nice chat with the equally nice Jon Heder about his new, and presumably nice, holiday film Funny Thing About Love, and also about fame, hosting a foreign exchange student and making a pandemic move that saw his family leave L.A. for a cozier lifestyle in the Pacific Northwest. The interview. 

—"A movie lives or dies by casting." Speaking to Katie Kilkenny, Francine Maisler, THR’s inaugural Casting Director of the Year, reveals how she helped assemble the marquee names in Dune, Don't Look Up and Being the Ricardos, whether she’s looking for the next big thing on TikTok, and how studio casting mandates have changed over the past two decades. The interview. 

—"I'm only interested in doing it right." THR's Brian Davids spoke to King Richard star Jon Bernthal who reveals he trained three hours a day to play tennis coach Rick Macci. In a wide-ranging conversation, Bernthal also discusses his collaborations with Taylor Sheridan, the improvisation on the Sicario set and whether his version of Frank Castle would make sense in the MCU. The interview.

Making of 'Belfast': How Branagh's Film Was Made in Between Lockdowns

►"It was our only opportunity." THR's man in London Alex Ritman goes inside the making of Kenneth Branagh's Belfast. After spending much of the first wave of the pandemic writing the script for his "small, intimate, personal project," the filmmaker and his creative team seized upon a very short window to prep and shoot their awards-season frontrunner. The story.   

—"Words have melodies." Alex also spoke to Londoner Jeymes Samuel, the director of the excellent Netflix western The Harder They Fall. Samuel discusses how the music was part of the development process from the very beginning (and why it should always be this way in films), how his first inspiration for the score has been with him since he was a child and collaborating with Jay-Z. The interview. 

—"Maybe I should have been a painter." Sylvester Stallone opened the largest-ever retrospective of his paintings Friday in Germany. The exhibition, Sylvester Stallone: The Magic of Being, opened at the Osthaus Museum Hagen and is by far the most comprehensive look at Stallone's work, tracing his entire oeuvre, from the late ’60s until today. The story. 

In other news... 

—Mahershala Ali says he was “losing sleep” over Blade voice cameo in Eternals

—Joseph Gordon-Levitt reveals inspirations for the look and feel of Mr. Corman

—Freddie Prinze Jr. talks starring role in Netflix holiday film, how his daughter inspired thirst for acting 

—Nas on making directorial debut with Video Music Box: “This is a story I’ve always wanted to tell”

—Bradley Whitford led “wordless” musical tribute to Stephen Sondheim on Christmas Carol opening night

—Bootsy Bellows aims to open first nightclub in the metaverse

—Inside L Word star Jamie Clayton’s “colorful and joyful” Los Angeles apartment

—TikTok star Anna Sitar signs with UTA

What else we're reading...

—Denzel Washington, Man on Fire [New York Times]

—PlayStation Plans New Service to Take On Xbox Game Pass [Bloomberg]

—Mel Brooks On Losing The Loves Of His Life: "People Know How Good Carl Reiner Was, But Not How Great’ [The Guardian]

—Jane Campion Explains Her Enigmatic Career Choices [Los Angeles Times]

—Loving Lies [Air Mail] *this is an incredible read

Today... 

...in 2009, Paramount released Jason Reitman's Up in the Air in cinemas. The dramedy, based on Walter Kim's book of the same name, starred George Clooney as an airmiles obsessed corporate downsizer questioning his life choices. The film also starred Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, and Danny McBride and was nominated for six Academy Awards. The original review. 

Today's birthdays: Jin (29), Marisa Tomei (57), Jeff Bridges (72), Tony Todd (67), Fred Armisen (55), Jay-Z (52), Ryan Kavanaugh (47), Tyra Banks (48), Kevin Sussman (51), Yōjirō Takita (66), Skip Bayless (70), Patricia Wettig (70)