Chappelle Refuses to Let Attack "Overshadow" Hollywood Bowl Sets

►Violent distraction. Dave Chappelle does not want the audience member who assaulted him onstage Tuesday night to distract from his history-making run at the Hollywood Bowl. In a statement to THR, the comedian's rep Carla Sims said, "The performances by Chappelle at the Hollywood Bowl were epic and record-breaking and he refuses to allow last night’s incident to overshadow the magic of this historic moment." The story. 

—"Nobody's safe." The horrifying attack on Dave Chappelle at the Hollywood Bowl follows the equally shocking assault on Chris Rock at the Oscars, and both incidents are raising serious questions about the safety of live performers. THR's James Hibberd spoke to comedy club owners who worry that stand-up is increasingly becoming unsafe. The story.

—"This is horrible for me to sit here for weeks and relive everything." Amber Heard took the stand for the first time Wednesday in Johnny Depp’s libel lawsuit against her. Heard said she knew she should leave the actor the first time Depp hit her, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The story.

—No thanks, Ron. Taxpayers of a county adjacent to Disney World have joined the battle of Reedy Creek, claiming that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis violated their rights when he signed a law dissolving the special tax district. The lawsuit from residents claims they'll be saddled with paying off the $1 billion-plus in bond debt. The story.

—Up for grabs. TNT and TBS will no longer air the SAG Awards. The annual film and TV acting awards show has aired on TNT since 1998, and TBS has simulcast the event in recent years. This year’s show scored 1.8 million viewers across TNT and TBS, an increase from the previous year which saw 957,000 total viewers. The story.

Inside the 'Top Gun 2' Premiere

►Last action hero. The world premiere of Top Gun: Maverick took place in San Diego on Wednesday and THR's Kirsten Chuba was in attendance to witness Tom Cruise make the most Tom Cruise entrance by landing the helicopter he was piloting on the aircraft carrier USS Midway. The OTT move kicked off a premiere spectacle, with jet flyovers, uniformed servicemen as well as the star-studded cast. The story.

—The bell tolls for thee. Peacock has canceled the reimagined Saved by the Bell after two seasons. The reboot of the 1990s teen series debuted its second season in November with all 10 episodes dropping the week of Thanksgiving. The show, which won a GLAAD Media Award for best comedy series in April, tackled gender, race and class issues and earned mostly positive reviews upon its premiere in 2020. The story.

—Half of what I say is meaningless. HBO Max has renewed Julia, the comedy series inspired by the life and TV career of Julia Child, for a second season. The pickup comes a day before the Lionsgate TV-produced show, which stars Sarah Lancashire and David Hyde Pierce, ends its first season. The story. 

—Rising Tides. Apple TV+ is in the early development stages for a TV reboot of the 1991 Nick Nolte-Barbra Streisand feature film, The Prince of Tides. Tate Taylor is attached to pen the script for the Sony Pictures Television drama and offers are already being made to A-list talent ahead of a potential production start this summer. The film, which was written by Becky Johnson and Pat Conroy and directed by Streisand, was nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture. The story.

—"This is a dream come true." Newly-minted Oscar winner Ariana DeBose has been tapped to host the 75th annual Tony Awards. The West Side Story star is a former Tony nominee, having been nominated in 2018 for her role in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. The ceremony is set to take place June 12 at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. The story. 

'Boons and Curses' Team On "Devastating" Netflix Cancellation

► "There was not necessarily a reason that was given to us that I think we could genuinely find acceptable." Last Friday, the producers behind the Netflix animated series Boons and Curses were in celebratory mood as they were set to ship their first episode to the studio that day. Then the news came that the streamer, reeling from stalled subscriber growth and a plummeting stock price, was cutting the show. The series' co-executive producers Jaydeep Hasrajani and Jake Goldman tell THR newsman Ryan Gajewski about the sudden cancellation and their efforts to seek a new home for the show. The story. 

—Misleading. Netflix downplayed the impact of account sharing, increased competition from other streaming services and difficulties retaining users, according to a shareholder lawsuit. In a complaint filed Tuesday in California federal court, investors sued the streamer for being overly optimistic about its business prospects by misleading them about losing subscribers. The story. 

—To the moon? Shares of RedBox Entertainment have skyrocketed 120 percent in the past five days and analysts are calling on the formerly struggling company to seize the momentum. The stock surge comes after the DVD-kiosk rental company announced in April that it had secured an additional $50 million in financing, which could help support the company as it looks to move past its recent weak performance. The story.

—Nearly came to blows. Family Matters actress JoMarie Payton alleges she and co-star Jaleel White, who played Steve Urkel, nearly got into an on-set altercation during the filming of the show’s ninth season. In a new interview, Payton, who played Harriette Winslow, said that “there was one time [White] actually wanted to physically fight me." The story.

—Casting news. Game of Thrones grad Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has been cast as the male lead in the Apple TV+'s limited series The Last Thing He Told Me, starring opposite Jennifer Garner in the drama from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine. Based on the novel of the same name, author Laura Dave adapts her book and serves as co-creator on the series alongside her Oscar-winning husband, Josh Singer. The story. 

TV Review: 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'  

►"An appealing, if inconsistent, throwback." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Paramount+'s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet's new Star Trek series focuses on the USS Enterprise under Captain Pike, Captain Kirk's predecessor. The review.

—"So much more than a one-hit wonder." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews season two of Peacock's Girls5eva. Reunited girl group members Dawn (Sara Bareilles), Summer (Busy Philipps), Gloria (Paula Pell) and Wickie (Renée Elise Goldsberry) race to put out a new album in the second season of the comedy created by Meredith Scardino. The review. 

—"A fine distillation, intoxicating and sobering." THR film critic Sheri Linden reviews Juan Pablo González's Dos Estaciones. Natural disasters and multinational corporations threaten the survival of an independent tequila company in the Mexico-set drama, a selection of New Directors/New Films and an award winner at Sundance and True/False. The review. 

In other news...

—Amid Elon Musk takeover effort, Twitter pitches new content partnerships

—TikTok to launch ads on top videos, offer revenue share for creators

—BTS reveals new album is an anthology, with three new tracks 

—Lucy Maud Montgomery’s The Blue Castle film adaptation in the works 

—Camerimage: Stephen Burum to receive lifetime achievement award

—Cannes: Sally Phillips comedy How to Please a Woman sells to U.S., U.K.

—Geena Davis’ Bentonville Film Festival sets jury

—Julia Louis-Dreyfus to be honored at Natural Resources Defense Council’s L.A. comedy benefit

—Abraham Popoola signs with APA

What else we're reading...

—Charles Bethea reports on the spate of Atlanta movie-set robberies in the last 18 months that has seen $3m worth of equipment stolen, and asks whether they are an inside job [New Yorker]

—Scott Rosenberg on Facebook/Meta's "fail fast" culture after it shut down its podcast efforts, and looks back at the various "pivot to..." moments that have gone wrong for the company (there are a lot of them) [Axios]

—Lisa Wong Macabasco on how movies with abortion scenes, like Audrey Diwan’s Happening, are becoming more graphic, and more vital [VF]

—With the success of CODA, Everything Everywhere All at Once and Abbott Elementary, Charles Bramesco writes about rise of 'nicecore' films and TV [Guardian]

—Nardine Saad and Deborah Vankin write that textile conservators and fashion curators are appalled that Kim Kardashian donned Marilyn Monroe’s iconic Jean Louis gown for the Met Gala [LAT]

Today...  

...in  2000, Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe unveiled their R-rated Roman epic Gladiator in theaters nationwide. The film claimed five Oscars at the 73rd Academy Awards, including best picture. The original review. 

Today's birthdays: Adele (34), Henry Cavill (39), Richard E. Grant (65), Danielle Fishel (41), Brian Williams (63), Kurt Sutter (62), Virginie Efira (45), Lance Henriksen (82), John Rhys-Davies (78), Vincent Kartheiser (43), Zach McGowan (42), Michael Lindsay-Hogg (82), Santiago Cabrera (44), Clark Duke (37), Peter Howitt (65), Chelsea Clark (24), Tina Yothers (49), Ian Michael Smith (35)