Meat Loaf 1947-2022

►"Don’t ever stop rocking!" Meat Loaf, the rock star with the booming voice and theatrical stage presence behind the monster-selling Bat Out of Hell trilogy of albums who also made memorable appearances in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Fight Club, has died. He was 74. The obituary. 

—Missed. Netflix added 8.3 million subscribers in its latest financial quarter, falling below the streaming giant’s expectations of a net subscriber add of 8.5 million. The streamer ended 2021 with a total of 222 million paid subscribers, adding just 18 million new paying subscribers during the year compared to the 37 million gained in 2020. The story. 

—The long Dark Knight. Matt Reeves’ The Batman movie runs two hours and 55 minutes (including the eight minutes of credits). The film will have the longest running time of any solo Batman pic and one of the longest for a theatrical superhero movie, but still behind Avengers: Endgame, which ran three hours and one minute. The story. 

—"The time has come to shine a light on Mary’s trailblazing career as a producer." Mary Parent, the Oscar-nominated film producer who is behind Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong, has been tapped for the Producers Guild of America’s highest honor, the David O. Selznick Achievement Award. The story. 

—Ralphie's return. Legendary and Warner Bros. are making a sequel to the holiday classic A Christmas Story, closing a deal for Peter Billingsley, the child star of the original 1983 movie, to topline and produce. Titled A Christmas Story Christmas, the feature intended for HBO Max will be directed by Clay Kaytis with a script by Nick Schenk. The story. 

Godzilla Series in the Works at Apple

►Let them fight. Apple TV+ is partnering with Legendary for an original live-action show based on the Monsterverse franchise. The show will follow the events of 2014's Godzilla and is co-created and exec produced by Chris Black, the sci-fi veteran behind Star Trek Enterprise, and Matt Fraction, best known for his work on Marvel Comics’ Hawkeye. Black will be showrunner. The story.

—Addressing the issue. Cynthia Nixon is speaking out following Chris Noth’s removal from the finale of HBO Max’s And Just Like That in the wake of sexual assault allegations against the actor first published in THR in December. The story. 

—"We’ve been up against so much." Adele is rescheduling her Las Vegas residency that was set to kick off Jan. 21. In a video posted to her social media, the singer tearfully announced the news and explained that due to delivery delays and crew testing positive for COVID-19, plans for the show have been disrupted. The story. 

—We love Lucy. Amazon Studios’ Being the Ricardos secured strong viewership numbers in its debut on the streamer over Christmas week. Aaron Sorkin's movie, which began streaming Dec. 21, was viewed a total of 604m minutes to place No. 3 on Nielsen’s movie streaming chart for the week of Dec. 20-26 behind Christmas classics Elf (782m minutes) and Home Alone (700m minutes). The movie streaming rankings. 

—Barton's bow. The finale of Hawkeye on Disney+ helped drive the show’s biggest viewing tally in the week of Dec. 20-26. Netflix’s The Witcher, meanwhile, grew in the week after its second season premiered and remained far and away the most watched title in Nielsen’s streaming rankings. The television streaming rankings. 

The Magic Maker: Jennifer Lee's Plan for Walt Disney Animation

►Jennifer's body of work. THR's Rebecca Keegan profiles Walt Disney Animation Studios chief creative officer Jennifer Lee about her plans for the division, the theatrical v. streaming conundrum for animated films amid the ongoing pandemic and the failure of families to return to cinemas as well as the pressure to find the next Frozen. The profile.  

—"Everyone is really bummed out." With Disney deciding to forgo a theatrical release for Turning Red due to a COVID-19 surge, the decision means that three Pixar films in a row have headed straight to streaming. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that although Pixar insiders understand the reasons, morale at the unit is taking a hit. The story.

—Omicron strikes. The 49th annual Annie Awards for animation has been moved to a virtual format and will stream live March 12. Previously, a live ceremony was scheduled for Feb. 26 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. The story.

—Making the cut. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday that 276 films are in contention for the best picture race at the 94th Academy Awards. Last year, the Academy extended the eligibility window until Feb. 28, 2021 amid the pandemic with 366 films eligible. This year, the eligibility period was shortened to 10 months. The story. 

—No research needed. LeBron James has joined a Disney+ basketball drama The Crossover as an executive producer. The NBA star’s SpringHill Company partners, Maverick Carter and Jamal Henderson, will also serve as executive producers of the show, which has scored a series order from the streaming outlet. The story.

—Reboot. The iconic cooking competition Iron Chef is the latest franchise being rebooted by Netflix. The streamer has ordered Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, which is billed as a supersized take on the basic cable classic and will premiere later in 2022. The story.
 

Sundance Review: 'When You Finish Saving the World'

►"A funny, uncomfortable feature debut." THR film critic John DeFore reviews Jesse Eisenberg’s When You Finish Saving the World which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Julianne Moore stars alongside Stranger Things' Finn Wolfhard as a mother and son with a complicated relationship in Eisenberg’s feature directing debut. The review.  

—"Intriguing identity issues notwithstanding, it’s for boxing fans only." John also reviews Eva Longoria Bastón’s La Guerra Civil. The sports doc recounts the culturally charged 1996 match between boxers Oscar De La Hoya and Julio César Chávez. The review. 

—"Fascinating history, so-so thriller." THR film critic Frank Scheck reviews Christian Schwochow's Munich — The Edge of War. George MacKay and Jeremy Irons star in this Netflix historical drama about British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's desperate attempts to negotiate with Adolf Hitler to avoid war. The review.  

—"We all have to look at what we’re doing and think about it a lot more." THR's Katie Kilkenny takes a closer look at the doc Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power, which premieres at Sundance on Saturday. Featuring interviews with filmmakers like Joey Soloway, Julie Dash, Catherine Hardwicke and others, director Nina Menkes argues that the “visual language” of filmmaking — even from women helmers — can have real-world consequences, especially in the entertainment industry. The story. 

The latest from Sundance... 

—Sundance: Abigail Disney doc takes an unflinching look at unfair labor practices at Disney

—Sundance: Am I OK? takes a probing look at coming out as an adult

—Sundance: Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne to talk love life, creative pact on Am I OK? at Outfest House

—Sundance review: Sara Dosa's Fire of Love

—Sundance review: Ed Perkins' The Princess

—Sundance review: Alon Schwarz’s Tantura

—Sundance review: Max Walker-Silverman's A Love Song

—Sundance review: Carey Williams' Emergency

Thank Pod It's Friday

►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.

—TV's Top 5. Lesley Goldberg and Dan Fienberg break down the latest TV news. This week the guys discuss Amazon's Lord of the Rings series, Apple diving into the Monsterverse and YouTube (finally) calling it quits on originals with Susanne Daniels' exit. Julian Fellowes joins for an interview about HBO’s The Gilded Age. Dan offers his reviews Ozark’s final season, Amazon’s As We See It and of course The Gilded Age.  Listen here.

—Awards Chatter. Awards analyst Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott speaks to Bono and The Edge from U2. The duo reflect on the origins of their sound and social conscience, how they’ve managed to stay together longer than almost any other major band and why their first new tune in three years was "Your Song Saved My Life" from Sing 2 which is shortlisted for the best original song Oscar. Listen here. 

In other news...

—Bill Paxton’s family can seek punitive damages against Cedars-Sinai in wrongful death suit

—Kathy Griffin says she was fired from co-hosting CNN’s NYE show after demanding raise

—HBO’s Perry Mason adds quartet of actors to season 2

—Jodie Foster joins Annette Benning in biopic Nyad for Black Bear, Netflix

—Fox News taps Brian Kilmeade, Lawrence Jones for new weekend shows

—CBS News hires Robert Costa as chief election correspondent

—Shonda Rhimes names a chief content officer and CMO at Shondaland

—Gilles Meunier, former TF1 and Canal Plus exec, dies at 70

—Casting Society of America moves Artios Awards to virtual event 

What else we're reading...

—The Flak Against And Just Like That "Shocked" Sarita Choudhury. But She Welcomes It [Los Angeles Times]

—What If Netflix Raised Its Prices and Nobody Cared? [Vulture]

—The Future of Agenting Isn’t in Hollywood [Vulture]

—Was the Viral Metaverse Rave Fun? An Investigation [Vice]

—The Morgan Wallen Conundrum [New York Times]

Today... 

...in 1953, 20th Century Fox opened the Marilyn Monroe-Joseph Cotten film-noir Niagara in New York. Directed by Henry Hathaway, Monroe played the femme fatale Rose, and the film was a moderate success. A publicity still of Monroe from the film was the basis of Andy Warhol's Marilyn Diptych. The story. The original review. 

Today's birthdays: Geena Davis (66), Craig Roberts (21), David F. Sandberg (41), Emma Bunton (46), Kelly Rohrbach (32), Michael Wincott (64), John Early (34), Booboo Stewart (28), Ken Leung (52), Zach Helm (47), Cat Power (50), Michael G. Wilson (80), Mike Medavoy (81)