Will Smith Resigns From Academy After "Inexcusable" Actions at Oscars

►"My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable." In the wake of slapping Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars, Will Smith said Friday that he is resigning from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Smith’s resignation means he can no longer vote for the Oscars — but he can still be nominated for Academy Awards, attend future ceremonies and keep the statue he won. Despite the resignation, the Academy’s formal review will continue. The story.  

—Crushing blow. THR's Winston Cho has the latest from The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman's battle with AMC over profits from the series. And it's not good news for Kirkman, as the L.A. judge overseeing the case indicated on Friday that he’s leaning toward ruling that AMC did not reverse engineer its contracts to shortchange the writer. The story. 

—"I am so sorry for hurting you." Lee Daniels and Mo’Nique are officially burying the hatchet after years of tension played out in the media between the pair, who collaborated on the 2009 film Precious. In footage shared to social media, the Oscar-winning actress was onstage during her “Mo’Nique and Friends: April Fools Day with The Queen of Comedy” event when Daniels joins her on stage and offers a public apology. The story.

—Striking out on his own. After his brother Joel Coen went out on his own to direct The Tragedy of Macbeth, Ethan Coen is also planning a helm his first solo feature. Ethan has teamed up with Focus Features and Working Title for the film, which is currently untitled. He also wrote the script with his wife, Tricia Cooke. Plot details are being kept under wraps but sources tell THR that it may be about a lesbian road trip. The story.

—"The festival thrives when everyone’s here." THR's Etan Vlessing spoke to Toronto Film Festival CEO Cameron Bailey about the festival's plan to reclaim the awards season spotlight with its upcoming 2022 edition in September. TIFF is looking to return to its pre-COVID 19 crisis roots for its 47th edition — in-person, with Hollywood stars on red carpets and fans cheering outdoors and in theaters. The interview. 

Bill Skarsgard to Star in 'The Crow' Reboot, Rupert Sanders Directing

►Finally, ready to fly. THR's Borys Kit has the big scoop on the long-mooted reboot of The Crow finally securing a director and a lead. After years stuck in development hell, Brit filmmaker Rupert Sanders is directing with It star Bill Skarsgaard playing the vengeful Eric Draven. The film will be a reboot of Alex Proyas' 1994 film which was tragically star Brandon Lee's final movie. The story.

—Killer casting. Borys also has the scoop on Keke Palmer joining Being Mortal, the Searchlight Pictures project that is serving as the feature directorial debut of Aziz Ansari. Palmer joins Bill Murray and Seth Rogen in the project based on the Atul Gawande nonfiction book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. The story. 

—Second helpings. Five years after it last aired, FX has ordered a second season of its anthology series Feud. The second season will star Naomi Watts, be directed by Gus Van Sant, with Jon Robin Baitz writing and serving as showrunner. The season will be subtitled Capote’s Women and is based on Laurence Leamer’s book Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era. The story.

—Back for Morton. Samantha Morton will reprise her role as Alpha, one of the primary antagonists from seasons nine and 10 of The Walking Dead, in AMC’s Tales of the Walking Dead anthology. Morton is the first actor from any of the previous TWD shows to sign on; the cast also features Terry Crews, Parker Posey, Jillian Bell, Anthony Edwards, Poppy Liu, Olivia Munn, Danny Ramirez, Loan Chabanol, Embeth Davidtz and Jessie T. Usher. The story.

—Together again. THR's man in London Alex Ritman has the scoop Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson reuniting for dark comedy thriller The Kill Room. The Pulp Fiction stars are the big draws for the Yale Productions feature from writer Jonathan Jacobson and director Nicol Paone. The story is about a hitman who accidentally becomes an art-world sensation. The story. 

Kimmel and Fallon Swap Late Night Shows 

►A tale of two Jimmys. In honor of April Fools’ Day, late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon switched places, taking over each other’s shows on Friday night. To the shock of in-studio audience members and at-home viewers alike, Kimmel took over The Tonight Show, interviewing Hugh Jackman and Bridget Everett, while Fallon appeared in Los Angeles to host Jimmy Kimmel Live! with special guest Justin Timberlake and Kimmel’s Aunt Chippy. The Red Hot Chili Peppers appeared as musical guest on both shows. The story. 

—"I rebelled against it my whole life." Comedian Jerrod Carmichael publicly shares that he is gay in his new HBO special Rothaniel, that premiered Friday night. In the special, Carmichael details coming out while sharing stories about his family history. The story.

—New format added to the mix. Drew Barrymore’s daytime talk show will return for a third season in syndication — with a somewhat new format. CBS Media Ventures, which produces and distributes The Drew Barrymore Show, has picked it up for season three which will feature two half-hour episodes that can run back-to-back or be split up to air in separate time periods. The story. 

—Exit stage left of center. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is in advanced talks to leave the Biden administration later this spring, perhaps as early as next month, and join MSNBC. While her deal with the network is not finalized, it is expected that Psaki will host a program for MSNBC’s streaming hub on Peacock, and will appear across MSNBC programming as an analyst. The story. 

—More pandemic woes. Digital movie rental player Redbox Entertainment has cut 150 jobs to reduce operating costs amid the pandemic. The company said the cost-cutting measure would reduce annual operating costs by around $13.1 million. The story.

'Morbius' and When the Critical Consensus Bites  

►What do we want out of comic book films? THR's Richard Newby is out with another excellent piece, this time on the release of Morbius and the exhausting discourse surrounding it, including the bad-faith arguments, preemptive ratings and tribalism. Richard posits that perhaps we need to take a step back and re-evaluate why we even like these movies to begin with and what our expectations are. The analysis.

—Solid start. On the subject of Morbius, the Sony pic flew to a promising $5.7 million in Thursday previews at the domestic box office. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that the Jared Leto film could open anywhere from $33 million to $40 million-plus for the weekend, though the studio is being uber-cautious and stressing the $33 million estimate. The box office report. 

—"Not peak Burns, but consistently interesting." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg review PBS' Benjamin Franklin. Ken Burns' latest offering is a four-hour look at the wide-ranging life of the Founding Father, inventor, diplomat and writer. The review. 

In other news...

—Lady Gaga to perform at Grammys, Megan Thee Stallion, Anthony Mackie and more to present 

—Paramount+ greenlights Australian original Paper Dolls

—Inside the transformed Giorgio Armani L.A. flagship store on Rodeo

—Andy Jassy sees $212m pay package tied to promotion to Amazon CEO

—Twitter’s new CEO Parag Agrawal received $30m pay package in 2021

What else we're reading...

—Excellent story on HBO's upcoming crime thriller Tokyo Vice, including an interview with author Jake Adelstein [NYT]

—Ben Child looks at whether Dune: Part Two can follow Lord of the Rings to win a best picture Oscar [Guardian]

—Sean Penn calls for a billionaire to step up and buy aircraft for Ukraine [Guardian]

—How Microsoft became Washington’s favorite tech giant [WSJ]

—Craig Jenkins remembers the Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins [Vulture]

Today...  

...in 1968, MGM and Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey premiered in Washington D.C. Co-written with sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke, the film's groundbreaking special effects and exploration of themes such as A.I., evolution and existentialism made it a critical hit and enduring and highly influential classic. The original review. 

Today's birthdays: Jesse Plemons (34), Pedro Pascal (47), Ajay Devgn (53), Christopher Meloni (61), Michael Fassbender (45), Bethany Joy Lenz (41), Roselyn Sanchez (49), Adam Shulman (41), Lindy Booth (43), Linda Hunt (77), Amber Gray (41), Clark Gregg (60), Simon Farnaby (49), Pamela Reed (73), Adam F. Goldberg (46), Deon Richmond (44), Roshan Seth (80), David Frankel (63)