Spotify Pulls Neil Young's Music After He Objects to Joe Rogan's Vax Views

►Fighty Joe-Young. Spotify is in the process of removing Neil Young’s catalog of music from its service after the artist published — then took down — an open letter with an ultimatum: Deal with the COVID-19 vaccine misinformation coming from Joe Rogan’s podcast, or lose Young’s music. Due to the principled stand, Young is expected to lose 60 percent of his streaming revenue by pulling his music off Spotify. The story. 

—Deep pockets. For the second year in a row, Apple has landed one of Sundance’s buzziest titles. The tech giant has acquired the worldwide rights to Cooper Raiff’s Cha Cha Real Smooth, also starring and produced by Dakota Johnson, in a deal pegged around $15 million. Last year, Apple paid a record $25 million for CODA which is firmly in the race for awards recognition this cycle. The story. 

—Snapped up. Searchlight Pictures has acquired the U.S. rights to the Emma Thompson-led Sundance feature Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. The film, which is directed by Sophie Hyde from a script by Katy Brand, will stream exclusively on Hulu in the U.S. The story.

—The Gerard Butler sweepstakes. Lionsgate is exploring a potential acquisition of some or all of STX Entertainment, the independent studio behind Bad Moms, Hustlers and lots of Gerard Butler films. The deal, if it comes together, would effectively unwind a sale announced last month to the private equity firm Najafi Companies, for $173 million. The story.

—China got it right? Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk has waded into the internet discourse over the China release of David Fincher's film adaptation having a dramatically altered ending to conform with local censorship rules. And the writer thinks the neutered China version is actually truer to his vision. The story. 

Pain, Porn and a Wannabe Clown: A 'Jackass' Oral History

►"I want to mace myself with red pepper spray. I want to get stunned by a 50,000-volt Taser gun." THR's Seth Abramovitch spoke to Jackass founders Chris Pontius, Jason “Wee Man” Acuña, Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine and Steve-O who recall how a skate punk magazine bought by Larry Flynt, a really cheap bulletproof vest and a whole lot of hustle led to one of the rowdiest, unlikeliest, most enduring franchises of our time. The oral history. 

—Trio of leads is complete. Claire Danes has joined FX’s limited series Fleishman Is in Trouble, based on Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s novel. The Emmy winner will star opposite Jesse Eisenberg and Lizzy Caplan in the show about a marriage gone wrong, playing Rachel, the ex-wife of surgeon Toby Fleishman (Eisenberg). The story.

—Another crack at it. Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley opened nationwide over the Dec. 17-19 weekend to a forgettable $2.8 million from 2,145 theaters. But the Oscar-winning filmmaker is not to be denied and he's re-releasing a black-and-white version of the film on Jan. 28, which will be showing in roughly 1,020 locations. The story.  

—The wait goes on. Downton Abbey: A New Era is shifting its release date in theaters from March 18 to April 29 in the U.K. and May 20 in the U.S. The sequel had already been delayed from Christmas 2021 amid the ongoing pandemic. The story. 

—Cosmic news. THR's Rebecca Sun has the scoop on Stanley Nelson, whose Attica is currently shortlisted for best documentary feature at the Academy Awards, developing a doc on the life, work and legacy of American jazz legend Sun Ra. Nelson’s Firelight Films will produce Sun Ra and the Roots of Afrofuturism. The story. 

Inside the Long Journey to Get 'Gilded Age' to the Screen

►Far from smooth sailing. THR's Katie Kilkenny goes inside the incredibly lengthy and convoluted route HBO's shiny new period drama The Gilded Age took to make it to television. First announced nearly a decade ago, the show from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes survived a network change and COVID production delays before its premiere this month. The story. 

—More Kombat. New Line has hired screenwriter Jeremy Slater to pen a sequel to 2021's Mortal Kombat. The most recent adaptation of the video game debuted simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max and earned $83.7 million globally. According to HBO Max, it has been among the streamer's top films. The story. 

—Pushed back. Apple and Skydance's upcoming animated feature Luck is moving from a Feb. 18 release date to Aug 5. The studios also revealed new names in the voice cast including Eva Noblezada, Simon Pegg, Flula Borg, Lil Rel Howery, Colin O’Donoghue, John Ratzenberger and Adelynn Spoon, starring alongside previously announced Jane Fonda and Whoopi Goldberg. The story. 

—Huge deal. Stock in Mattel shot up after the toymaker said it had regained the global license for toys based on Walt Disney’s Princess lineup. Mattel had lost the license, which includes Frozen, Aladdin and more of Disney's most popular characters, to rivals Hasbro in 2016. The story. 

—Casting news. Nick Stahl has been cast in Showtime’s adaptation of vampire thriller Let the Right One In. Inspired by the Swedish novel and film, the series centers on Mark (Demián Bichir) and his daughter Eleanor (Madison Taylor Baez) who is a vampire. The story.

—Why not, eh? To celebrate the upcoming 25th season of South Park, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone assembled a group of Broadway stars, along with a 30-piece orchestra, to perform the series’ classic tune “Kyle’s Mom’s a Bitch.” The clip.

Review: 'Pam & Tommy'

►"Lily James anchors this uneven tale of two shows." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Hulu's Pam & Tommy. Lily James, Sebastian Stan, Seth Rogen and a talking penis star in an eight-episode limited series that traces the origins and aftermath of the Pamela Anderson/Tommy Lee sex tape. The review. 

—"Struggles to balance two genres, failing at each." Dan also reviews Netflix's The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window. Kristen Bell plays a lonely woman who thinks she witnessed a murder in this eight-episode comic take on the genre of mysteries about lonely women who think they witnessed murders. The review.

—"Revelatory." THR critic Lovia Gyarkye reviews Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee’s Aftershock. The gripping and distressing documentary delves into the crisis of Black maternal mortality in the United States. The review.

In other news...

—Sundance review: Nikyatu Jusu's Nanny 

—Sundance review: Bradley Rust Gray’s blood

—Sundance: Keke Palmer on how Alice explores Black freedom through its time twist

—Stephanie Ruhle to take Brian Williams' 11 p.m. slot at MSNBC

—Tom Holland gushes over Benedict Cumberbatch’s convincing turn as villain in Power of the Dog

—ViacomCBS returning to Carnegie Hall for “unified” Upfront

—Rita Moreno to receive Producers Guild honor

—Eviction lawsuits hit pricey L.A. apartment building once named “hottest” in city

—Madea returns: First trailer for Tyler Perry’s A Madea Homecoming on Netflix

—Disney names Chad Matthews president of ABC owned television stations

—Kathryn Kates, actress in Many Saints of Newark and Seinfeld, dies at 73

What else we're reading...

—With Bradley Cooper and Benedict Cumberbatch recently dropping trou, are we now living in the golden age of nude dudes? [WSJ]

—Interview with Cate Blanchett on how she chooses her parts [LAT]

—Alex Abad-Santos explains the history and rise of the movie post-credits scene [Vox]

—Profile on newly-minted Jeopoardy! legend Amy Schneider [NYT]

—Is Jimmy Fallon hyping his NFTs on TV a conflict of interest? [LAT]

Today... 

Today's birthdays: Patton Oswalt (53), James Cromwell (82), Bridget Fonda (58), Alan Cumming (57), Mimi Rogers (66), Susanna Thompson (64), Phil Rosenthal (62), Frank Miller (65), Tricky (54), Cindy Cheung (52), Tamlyn Tomita (56), Mike Patton (54)