Natasha Lyonne on Her Ride to 'Russian Doll' and Telling Her Own Stories 

►"The resentments I had against this business, I’m over them." THR's Jackie Strause spoke to Russian Doll creator/writer/director/producer/showrunner/star Natasha Lyonne about the return of her excellent Netflix series as well as a whole of host of other topics including splitting up with Fred Armisen over a swimming pool, the pitfalls of child stardom and more (I'm really not doing this piece justice, it's a great read, honest guv!). The interview.

—No Elons Club. Twitter is taking its first steps to fight back against Elon Musk’s takeover attempt of the company. The social media giant is adopting a so-called “Poison Pill” plan, which could help protect the company from Musk acquiring more shares, and give it time to look for alternative options. Twitter’s board approved the plan Friday. The story.  

—Smaller yacht, then. Paramount Global president and CEO Bob Bakish saw his 2021 pay dip to $20 million, after earning $38.9 million in 2020. His compensation declined as he did not receive a cash bonus, nor did he receive any new stock awards. Instead, his compensation consisted of a $3.1 million salary, and $16.8 million in a non-equity incentive plan. The story. 

—Solid start. Warner Bros.’ Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore started off its domestic box office with a solid $6 million in Thursday previews. The movie — which marks the third installment in the Harry Potter spinoff franchise — is hoping to open to $40 million-$50 million over Easter weekend. In 2016, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them debuted to $74.4 million domestically. The second installment, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, came in below that, or $62.2 million. The box office report. 

Davis, Anderson and Pfeiffer on Challenge of Playing Political Icons in 'The First Lady' 

►First ladies night. Showtime unveiled a first look at its star-studded, Susanne Bier-directed series The First Lady on Thursday night at a glitzy premiere in L.A., and THR's nicest man Chris Gardner was there with his notepad and pencil ready to get the goods. Chris spoke to series stars Viola Davis, Gillian Anderson and Michelle Pfeiffer who play Michelle Obama, Eleanor Roosevelt and Betty Ford respectively in Aaron Cooley's interweaving drama. The story. 

—Tie-in alert. Focus Features has revealed a partnership with gaming firm Loaded to release a custom, playable role-playing game in Fortnite inspired by Robert Eggers’ action-adventure film The Northman. Vengeance: Inspired by The Northman includes over twenty hours of content and launches a week before the film's release in cinemas. The story. 

—Zan and Janya found. DC has secured the leads for the live-action Wonder Twins film, tapping KJ Apa and Isabel May.  Adam Sztykiel, who worked on the script to Dwayne Johnson’s upcoming Black Adam, is writing and directing the HBO Max film. In DC lore, The Wonder Twins are a pair of alien siblings named Zan and Jayna who are young companions to older heroes such as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. The story. 

—All sorted. Jackass star Brandon “Bam” Margera has settled a lawsuit over being ousted from the newest installment to the franchise, Jackass Forever. According to a motion filed in L.A. Superior Court, Margera and the producers moved to dismiss the case. Terms of the deal weren’t revealed. Margera sued Paramount, MTV Networks, Jeff Tremaine, Johnny Knoxville and Spike Jonze, among others, accusing them of violating his civil rights by forcing him to sign a “Wellness Agreement” that imposed conditions regarding his sobriety. The story.

Jon Batiste to Make Feature Acting Debut in 'The Color Purple'  

►Ready to conquer film. Fresh from cleaning up at the Grammys (and getting married) Jon Batiste is now branching out into movies, landing his first part in Warner Bros.' feature adaptation of the Broadway musical The Color Purple. Batiste is set to portray Grady, Shug Avery’s (played by Taraji P. Henson) husband, a sweet-talking piano man. He joins a cast that includes H.E.R., Corey Hawkins, Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks and Colman Doming. The story. 

—Together again, at last. Long-time Cleveland baseball fan Tom Hanks inaugurated the Guardians era by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch, but he needed a bit of help from an old friend to do so. Enter Wilson, Hanks' co-star, nay rock, from the movie Cast Away who popped up to provide moral support and more. If you're now thinking, 'did Tom Hanks pitch Wilson like a baseball?' well, you'll have to click to find out. The story.

—Cooperating with regulators. Activision Blizzard is cooperating with a federal lawsuit and investigation into suspected insider trading that allegedly may have been facilitated by chief executive Bobby Kotick just days before the video game publisher was acquired by Microsoft, according to a filing to the SEC. The Call of Duty maker said in the filing it “intends to be fully cooperative with these investigations.” The story. 

'Roar' Creators On Their Intimacy Coordinator for Ducks and the "Phantom Limb" of 'GLOW'  

►"Why aren’t there more stories like this?" THR's Mikey O'Connell spoke to Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, co-creators of Apple TV+'s new eight-episode anthology Roar, that stars the likes of Nicole Kidman, Alison Brie, Issa Rae in a bizarre exploration of the female experience through metaphor and magical realism (and Merritt Wever in a toxic relationship with a verbally abusive duck). The pair spoke about their new project as well as giving their take, two years later, on GLOW ’s COVID-era cancellation. The interview.

—"I was so convinced that my bags were packed for Greece." Kaley Cuoco is opening up about a role that got away. In a recent interview, The Flight Attendant star revealed that she was “devastated” after learning she didn’t land a role in Rian Johnson’s upcoming ensemble mystery Knives Out 2, which ultimately went to Kate Hudson, despite being convinced she'd won the part. The story. 

—"Would have been a fun deal." Josh Brolin has made quite an impact in superhero films as it is, but he’s reflecting on one that got away. The actor — known for playing Thanos in the MCU, along with Cable in Deadpool 2 — revealed in a recent interview that he wan in contention to play Batman for director Zack Snyder before the filmmaker settled on Ben Affleck. The story.

—"I just didn’t initially see how they were going to do it." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Aaron Paul about the surprise news of him and Breaking Bad co-star Brian Cranston guest-starring in the final season of AMC's Better Call Saul. Paul also talks his new sci-fi film Dual, looks back at the El Camino scene he fought to keep, while also teasing what to expect from Westworld season four. The interview. 

In other news...

—New Amsterdam and Good Sam stars unite for Stop the Bleed PSA for Ukraine

—CNN sets premiere date for Russian dissident Doc Navalny

—Paul Pope, film and television producer, dies at 63

—Jay Binder, top-notch casting director for Broadway, dies at 71

What else we're reading...

—Story on the Florida Republicans looking to strip Disney of its special tax status for Walt Disney World [WSJ]

—Interview with Alexander Skarsgård on the brutal production of The Northman and how much he loved it [VF]

—Ben Lindbergh with a fascinating story on the politics of music festival posters, where size really does matter [Ringer]

—Martin Belam suggests 7 ways incoming showrunner Russell T. Davies can revive Doctor Who [Guardian]

—Nicole Kidman's wigs, ranked (I read the whole thing, so should you) [Vulture]

Today...  

Today's birthdays: Anya Taylor-Joy (26), Claire Foy (38), Ellen Barkin (68), Sadie Sink (20), Jon Cryer (57), Martin Lawrence (57), Lukas Haas (46), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (75), Shu Qi (46), Billy West (70),  Peter Billingsley (51), Midori Francis (28), Hayes MacArthur (45), Tom Segura (43), Hayley Squires (34), Sean Maher (47), Jay O. Sanders (63), Chance the Rapper (29)