Spotify CEO Doubles Down on Keeping Joe Rogan, Despite N-Word Video

►"I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer." Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says he “strongly” condemns Joe Rogan’s use of the n-word and other derogatory comments toward Black people but remains firm in his decision to keep the podcaster on the platform in order to "[elevate] all types of creators." 

In a letter sent to staff, obtained by THR, Ek acknowledged that Rogan’s comments were “incredibly hurtful” and confirmed that Rogan decided to remove multiple past episodes from Spotify but added he did not believe in removing the podcast from the platform. The story.  

—"The most regretful and shameful thing." Regarding that n-word video, Rogan responded in a lengthy video posted to his Instagram account on Saturday, apologizing and saying he hopes that this can be a “teachable moment.” In the nearly six-minute clip, Rogan said his use of the racial slur was taken out of context and that he "never used it to be racist," while his Planet of the Apes comment was a "fucking idiotic thing to say." The story. 

—"Simply. Not. My. Nature." Awkwafina returned to Twitter after a two-year absence on Saturday to address longstanding criticism over her appropriation of Black culture. In a statement, the Shang-Chi star denies that her use of AAVE, or African American Vernacular English, as well as her “blaccent” were meant to mock Black people. The story. 

—London calling. The Power of the Dog has been named film of the year at the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards. Jane Campion’s awards front-running won four awards, including director of the year, actor of the year (for Benedict Cumberbatch) and supporting actor of the year (for Kodi Smit-McPhee). The winners list. 

—A rare u-turn. David Fincher’s Fight Club has been restored to its original state in China. After online backlash to clumsy censorship of the film’s ending, Chinese streaming service Tencent Video backtracked in recent days and restored most of the cuts it had made. Crucially, Fight Club’s complete ending is now viewable in full. The story. 

Box Office: 'Jackass Forever' Opens to $23.5M

►Critics loved it, people went to see it. Jackass Forever took in a better-than-expected $23.5 million from 3,604 theaters to mark a triumphant return to the big screen for prankster king Johnny Knoxville and his crew. The R-rated movie cost a mere $10 million to make and is a second success for Paramount after Scream. 

THR's Pamela McClintock writes that critics loved Jackass Forever, as did younger moviegoers and especially younger males. Three-quarters of all ticket buyers were under the age of 35, including 67 percent between ages 18 and 34, while 68 percent of the audience were males. The movie currently sports an 85 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Elsewhere, Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi disaster pic Moonfall crashed to earth, opening to an estimated $10 million in North America from 3,446 theaters after supposedly costing at least $138 million to make. The box office report.

—Another milestone. Sony's Spider-Man: No Way Home earned another $9.6 million over the weekend to finish Sunday with $749  million in ticket sales, less than a $1 million shy of the $749.8 million grossed by James Cameron’s Avatar in its original domestic run, not adjusted for inflation. The pic should pass Avatar and claim third place in the all-time domestic list by Tuesday. The story. 

—Massive but not massive enough. China’s latest nationalistic war epic The Battle at Lake Changjin 2 surged past the $400 million mark on Monday, after earning $395 million over the first seven days of China’s Lunar New Year holiday. The film will soar past $500 million this week, but it's unlikely to break as many local box office records as many initially expected. The China box office report.

—Some signs of recovery. European film fans have begun, slowly, to return to cinemas according to figures released Monday by European exhibitors’ UNIC association. Euro box office revenue in 2021 hit $4.24 billion, up 42 percent over 2020, with more than 590 million tickets sold across the region. The result, however, still lags well behind pre-pandemic levels. The story. 

How 'Peaky Blinders' Inspired Adrien Brody to Co-Write and Score 'Clean'

►"I was very inspired and in a zone." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Adrien Brody about crime drama Clean, a film he co-wrote, produced and scored and how his time on cult Brit series Peaky Blinders gave him the confidence to pitch the project. The actor also reflects on playing legendary coach Pat Riley in Adam McKay's upcoming Lakers drama, Winning Time. The interview. 
 
—Trip cut short. NBC primetime Olympics host Mike Tirico will have a shorter stay in Beijing than originally planned. Tirico’s final show from Beijing will be Monday night, with the host flying home to anchor NBC's Olympic and Super Bowl coverage through Sunday. The story.

—Return to normalcy. The Edinburgh Television Festival is planning to return to an in-person event this August after two years of virtual editions due to the pandemic. This year’s festival is scheduled to take place in the Scottish capital Aug. 24-26. The story. 

—"A seminal moment in Netflix history." Ted Sarandos on Sunday published a blog post celebrating 10 years of Netflix and reminding viewers of the first original series to debut on the streamer: the Norway-set crime dramedy Lilyhammer. Sarandos reminisced about taking a call from the show’s star and executive producer Steven Van Zandt and how the actor's pitch was "almost like he was trying to talk me out of it.” The story.

—"I was fired." Andrea Bordeaux has denied reports that she willingly exited her role as Ella McFair on Run the World over a vaccine mandate ahead of season two, asserting that she was fired. In an Instagram post, Bordeaux responded to a report that she had opted to leave the show after discussions with Lionsgate TV around accommodations to the production's vaccine mandate were unsuccessful. The story.

Review: 'Death on the Nile'

►"More stately than spry." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile. The director returns as Hercule Poirot, following Murder on the Orient Express in his second lavish remake of an Agatha Christie mystery, this time co-starring Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer and newcomer Emma Mackey. The review.

—Sterling debut. As in Heaven, Tea Lindeburg’s Swedish period coming-of-age tale has won the Dragon Award for best Nordic film at the 2022 Goteborg International Film Festival. Lindeburg’s debut feature, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Marie Bregendahl, premiered at the Toronto last year and won the best director honors at San Sebastian. The story.

—In math we trust. As with every Oscar season, Ben Zauzmer predicts the year’s Academy Awards nominations using just math. This year, Ben reckons The Power of the Dog, Belfast, Dune, Licorice Pizza and West Side Story are a mathematical lock for the top category. The predictions.

In other news...

—Super Bowl: Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost imagine Amazon’s Alexa as a mind reader in ad

—Bill Murray goes viral with no-look putt at Pebble Beach Pro-Am

—Donny Gerrard, “Wildflower” singer, dies at 75

—Julian Fowles, film and television producer, dies at 76

—Syl Johnson, Chicago soul and blues artist, dies at 85

What else we're reading...

—Wendy Ide on Sundance revealing a growing challenge to the traditional casting of middle-aged men with much younger women [Guardian]

—Ina Fried on NBC offering VR services to see events from the Beijing Olympics [Axios]

—How Las Vegas became America’s live music capital [Daily Beast]

—A piece on Tom Brady's fame in soccer-mad Brazil built entirely on being Gisele's husband [WSJ]

—Why the Cherokee Nation is offering rebates to film in Oklahoma [LAT]

Today... 

...1974, Warner Bros. unleashed a 125-minute, R-rated Western from Mel Brooks, Blazing Saddles. The film went on to be nominated for three Oscars at the 47th Academy Awards. The original review. 

Today's birthdays: James Spader (62), Eddie Izzard (60), Tina Majorino (37), Ashton Kutcher (44), Deborah Ann Woll (37), Alexander Dreymon (39), Ruby O. Fee (26), Robyn Lively (50), Chris Rock (57), Essence Atkins (50), Tom Glynn-Carney (27), Robert Smigel (62), Emo Philips (66)