Bruce Willis "Stepping Away" From Acting After Aphasia Diagnosis 

►"This is a really challenging time for our family." Bruce Willis is "stepping away" from his acting career after being diagnosed with aphasia, which leads to the loss of ability to understand or express speech, his family said in a statement posted to social media. The 67-year-old Willis' acting career spanned five decades, saw him win two Emmys and his movies gross north of $5 billion worldwide. The story. 

Hollywood Execs on Will Smith's Career Damage Post-Slap

►"He's not kryptonite yet." THR's editor-at-large Kim Masters spoke to studio executives about Will Smith's career prospects following the shocking slap incident. Even as the Academy weighs discipline, the prevailing view in Hollywood is that the actor's onstage assault of Chris Rock will not have a major impact on his movie-star career, though his future awards prospects may dim. The story.  

—Even more questions raised. The Academy on Wednesday began “disciplinary proceedings” against Will Smith for his behavior at the Oscars, and revealed that the actor was asked to leave the show but refused to do so after slapping Chris Rock onstage during the ceremony. Smith could face suspension, expulsion or other sanctions under the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, according to a statement issued after a Board of Governors meeting. The story. 

—"I'm still kind of processing what happened." Chris Rock returned to the stand-up stage Wednesday in his first public appearance since the Will Smith incident. Kicking off his comedy tour at the Wilbur in Boston, Rock walked out to two boisterous standing ovations that lasted for several minutes. He then asked the crowd, “How was your weekend?” The story.

—"At some point I’ll talk about that shit. And it’ll be serious, and it’ll be funny." THR critic Robyn Bahr was at Chris Rock's Boston show and writes that the veteran comedian, resplendent in white shirt, pants and sneakers, kicked off his first tour in five years with an uncharacteristic vulnerability. The comedian bared his soul — but not about the topic on everyone's mind. The critic's notebook.

—"Chris - You absolute f------ dick." One of the producers behind Summer of Soul, awarded the best documentary feature Oscar immediately in the aftermath of Will Smith’s onstage attack on Chris Rock, took to social media on Wednesday not only to criticize "selfish" Smith for his actions, but also Rock for a joke he says erased his achievement. The story. 

—"I just felt so awful for my friend Chris. And it was sickening, absolutely sickening." Oscars co-host Wanda Sykes says she’s “still traumatized” by Will Smith slapping Chris Rock onstage and is disappointed by how the show handled the incident, as well as the industry’s reaction in the audience. The story. 

—"I’m surprised that’s not happening more often." THR's Seth Abramovitch reports that comedy clubs are reassessing security measures after the Will Smith incident. As the stand-up world condemns the attack on Chris Rock, venues already on edge during the post-pandemic return consider adding security guards, preshow warnings and even metal detectors. The story.

'Bridgerton' Spinoff Finds Its Young Queen Charlotte 

►Origin story. Netflix’s Bridgerton spinoff focused on the younger Queen Charlotte has filled out its cast — including the role of the young monarch. India Amarteifio will play the younger version of Charlotte in the eight-episode prequel series, which Bridgerton executive producer Shonda Rhimes is writing. Golda Rosheuvel, who plays Queen Charlotte, will reprise her role in the prequel, as will Adjoa Andoh (Lady Agatha Danbury) and Ruth Gemmell (Lady Violet Bridgerton). The story.

—The kids are alright. The Spy Kids franchise is headed to Netflix. The streaming giant is partnering with franchise creator Robert Rodriguez to relaunch and reimagine the property for a new generation. Rodriguez will write, direct and produce the new feature project for Netflix, with news coming 21 years to the day after the first Spy Kids hit theaters back in 2001. The story.

—Open house. HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon will drop on Aug. 21. The release date means HOTD will debut 12 days before Amazon's Lord of the Rings series, The Rings of Power. The two shows will have new episodes running concurrently into the fall. The story. 

—Timely release. With Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Warner Bros. and Fathom are giving doc Navalny a special release in more than 800 theaters on April 11-12. Daniel Roher's film about jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny won the audience award in the U.S. Documentary competition and the Festival Favorite Award at Sundance. The story. 

—The Good Rookie. ABC has set a couple more pieces of its 2022-23 slate, renewing veteran dramas The Rookie (fifth season) and The Good Doctor (sixth season) for next season. Both series rank among the network's most watched shows this season. The story. 

—Angels and rodents. MGM and Akiva Goldsman are developing an animated feature film based on Dan Brown’s kids picture book Wild Symphony. Brown will adapt the book while Goldsman produces alongside Greg Lessans. The feature, to include music written by Brown, will follow the adventures of Maestro Mouse as he traverses the globe and recruits an orchestra. The story. 

—The future look of London. Daniel Kaluuya has his first co-writing credit, with the Brit star helping to pen futuristic dystopian drama The Kitchen for Netflix. Set in London in 2044, the film shows a world where the gap between rich and poor has been stretched to its limits. The story. 

—Wan stamp of approval. Peacock and filmmaker James Wan are adapting author Robert McCammon’s horror thriller Stinger as a half-hour series. The project, titled Teacup and currently in the development stages, is being penned by Yellowstone writer Ian McCulloch. Stinger takes place during a 24-hour period in Inferno, Texas, a town that’s been driven to the brink by racial tension, gang violence and a collapsing economy. The story. 

Power Lawyers 2022: Hollywood's Top 100 Attorneys 

►Best of the best. As Hollywood looks to rebound amid the new normal and reinvent its business practices, it's the entertainment industry’s top 100 attorneys who are settling strife between studios and stars, navigating big-ticket mergers and exploring issues involving NFTs and the metaverse. The top 100 attorneys.

—Five of Hollywood's Legal Legends. From negotiating groundbreaking, glass ceiling-shattering deals for top female talent to handling landmark litigation, the work of these five newly inducted industry icons has earned them legend status. The 5 Legal Legends. 

—The lawyer who helped turn Amazon into a content powerhouse. Ajay Patel, Amazon Studios' global head of legal, is this year's THR’s Raising the Bar honoree. Patel remembers when the fledgling video service didn’t have an L.A. office. He now leads a global team of nearly 100 lawyers and plays a key role in how Jeff Bezos' mega-corp spends billions on content. The story.

Film review: 'Morbius'  

►"Not batty enough to be memorable." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Daniel Espinosa's Morbius. Jared Leto, Matt Smith and Adria Arjona star in Marvel’s origin story of the conflicted antihero, a doctor who gets cozy with vampire bats to treat his rare blood disorder. The review. 

—"Relentlessly nice." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews CBS How We Roll. Inspired by a true story, the multi-cam sitcom stars Pete Holmes as Tom Smallwood, a Midwestern dad who pursues a career in professional bowling after being laid off from his factory job. The review. 

In other news...

—Georgia pulls bill proposing to cap and prohibit sale of film tax credits

—Netflix sets interactive romantic comedy Choose Love, Laura Marano to lead

—Apple’s City on Fire adds Jemima Kirke, Nico Tortorella, Ashley Zukerman

—Oscar nominee Flee to be adapted as YA graphic novel from Scholastic 

—Dolph Lundgren, Luke Wilson, Scout Taylor-Compton to star in Best Man action flick

—Chrissy Metz’s Stay Awake to open San Francisco Film Festival

—Reginald Hudlin renews Universal Content Productions deal

—Netflix signs five-year lease extension at Vancouver production hub

—Disney streaming hires Google’s Jeremy Doig as chief technology officer

—Tom Parker, The Wanted singer, dies at 33 after battling brain cancer

—The San Fernando Valley and its distinctive architecture becomes hot real estate draw

What else we're reading...

—Bonkers story about Facebook/Meta paying a GOP consulting firm to create a nationwide campaign of negative stories about TikTok [Wapo]

—Profile on Kevin Lee, the Brit who plays the Western bad guy in China's patriotic movies [BBC]

—Helpful explainer on aphasia, the common cognitive disorder that has affected Bruce Willis [LAT]

—Lucas Shaw on Netflix's continued struggles in India, one of the fastest growing and largest streaming markets in the world [Bloomberg]

—Necessary light reading, every Ben Affleck performance, ranked (I do think Last Duel should be even higher) [Ringer]

Today...  

...in 1999, The Matrix made its U.S. theatrical debut. Directed by the Wachowskis, the sci-fi film would go on to become highly influential in filmmaking circles and a pop culture phenomenon as well as make $467 million at the global box office. The Matrix spawned three film sequels, anime adaptations, books, comics and video games. The original review. 

Today's birthdays: Christopher Walken (79), Ewan McGregor (51), Chloé Zhao (40), Brian Tyree Henry (40), Damon Herriman (52), Richard Chamberlain (88), Rhea Perlman (74), William Daniels (95), Daniel Mays (44), Paul Mercurio (59), Tony Cox (64), Gabe Kaplan (77), Alejandro Amenábar (50), Valerie Curtin (77), Jack Antonoff (38), Edward Lachman (74), Howard Gordon (61)