'SNL' Exits: Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney Leaving

►Exodus at Studio 8H. Pete Davidson is set to end his eight season run on Saturday Night Live. Fellow castmembers Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney are also expected to announce their departure alongside Davidson during SNL’s season 47 finale, to be hosted by Natasha Lyonne. The news comes despite SNL typically confirming cast departures and new additions during the summer or early fall ahead of its upcoming seasons. The story. 

—Mask up. Broadway has extended its mask mandate for audience members through June 30. The decision comes as NYC reached a high COVID-19 alert level this week due to an elevated level of community spread and increased hospitalizations. That alert level includes the recommendation that the city government reinstate a requirement to wear face masks in all public indoor areas. The story.

—East High in session for another year. Disney+ has given an early fourth-season renewal to High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The pickup comes about two months before the show’s eight-episode third season premieres on July 27. The story.

—Going home. Ryan Murphy’s musical dramedy Glee, which departed Netflix last November, will arrive June 1 on Disney+ and Hulu. The LGBTQ-themed pop culture sensation comes to both streaming platforms just in time for Pride Month. The show, produced by 20th Century Fox Television, moved to Disney as part of the $72 billion deal for Fox assets including the studio. The story. 

'Elon Musk's Crash Course' Director Talks Autopilot Safety Questions

►"There were people who felt that now was the time they wanted to talk." THR's Katie Kilkenny spoke with filmmaker Emma Schwartz about her new doc Elon Musk’s Crash Course, part of The New York Times Presents series, which explores the limits of Tesla's self-driving tech. Schwartz, who spoke with former Tesla employees and leaders, talks about surprising moments in the reporting process and the “roller coaster” of Musk’s attempt to take over Twitter. The interview.

—"Elongate." Embattled Elon Musk has denied a claim of sexual misconduct by a flight attendant contracted by SpaceX who worked on his private jet in 2016. A report by Insider said SpaceX paid the woman $250,000 in severance in 2018 in exchange for her agreeing not to file a lawsuit over her claim. The story. 

—Charged. Austin St. John, best known for playing the Red Ranger in several Power Ranger franchise installments, was among those charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a federal indictment related to the COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program. The group of defendants is alleged to have fraudulently obtained at least 16 loans and at least $3.5 million. The story.

—Still packing them in. Downton Abbey: A New Era began its North American box office run with a promising $1.1 million in Thursday evening previews from 3,300 theaters. Unsurprisingly, the sequel came in behind the first Downton Abbey movie, which earned $1.5 million in previews in September 2019 on its way to an elegant, record-breaking $31 million domestic opening for Focus Features. The box office report.

Cannes: THR's Festival Photo Diary 

►Visual story. To capture the glamour, stars and the scene at the Cannes Film Festival, THR partnered with award-winning photographer and filmmaker Julian Ungano to share exclusive images from the milestone 75th edition of the event. Julian captured the likes of Omar Sy, Lee Jung-jae, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton, Vicky Krieps, Joseph Kosinski and more are captured in candid moments at the festival. The photo diary.

—The crowd goes wild. The Cannes screening of George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing, the review for which is linked below, got the audience out of its seats. The film, starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton and screening out of competition at the festival, was rewarded with a standing ovation of six minutes. The story.

—"Stop raping us." A topless woman was removed from the red carpet ahead of the Cannes premiere of Three Thousand Years of Longing after making a pro-Ukraine protest. The woman stripped off all of her clothes and fell to her knees screaming in front of the assembled photographers. She had the words “stop raping us” written across her abdomen. The story.  

—Essential biopic. Jeremy Renner is set to play David Armstrong, the Pulitzer-winning investigative reporter who helped expose the Sackler family’s links to the opioid epidemic, in a new biopic from Hell or High Water producer Julie Yorn. Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly will write and direct the as-yet-untitled project, which Yorn is producing alongside 101 Studios, who are introducing it to buyers in Cannes. The story.

—Thought is action in rehearsal. Two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins is set to star as Sigmund Freud in a new project launching in the Cannes market. Freud’s Last Session is being directed Matthew Brown (The Man Who Knew Infinity), working from a script by Mark St. Germain and adapted from his play of the same title. The story.

—Wat Tyler drama? Paul Greengrass is set to direct Benedict Cumberbatch in upcoming period drama The Hood. Written by Greengrass, the film is set to take place during the Peasants’ Revolt, a major uprising that took part across large parts of England in 1381. Cross Creek is financing and producing the film, with CAA Media Finance and FilmNation selling it in Cannes. The story.

More from Cannes...

—Read THR's Cannes Film Festival day 5 daily

—Crunchyroll takes global rights to Makoto Shinkai anime feature

—TikTok’s short-film competition awards two grand prix after jury controversy 

—The Crow director Alex Proyas prepping $35m horror-thriller Sister Darkness

—Ali Abassi on his “persian noir” Holy Spider

— Stephen Fry, Channel 4 board Atticus Films’ LGBTQ+ doc Willem & Frieda

—Cannes diary: The content creators have conquered the Croisette

—Cannes hidden gem: Moral outrage meets thriller tragedy in Next Sohee

—International film sector rallies in support of Ukraine

Film Review: 'Three Thousand Years of Longing'     

►"Come back, Barbara Eden." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing. The Australian director returns to Cannes after Mad Max: Fury Road with this adult fairy tale starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton about an academic visiting Turkey, who uncorks a genie in a bottle. The review. 

—"A knockout sibling reverie." THR film critic Sheri Linden reviews Arnaud Desplechin’s Cannes Competition entry Brother and Sister (Frère et Sœur). This French drama, starring Marion Cotillard and Melvil Poupaud, revolves around middle-aged siblings who are forced to face their parents’ mortality and their own decades-long blood feud. The review.

—"A memory piece with a powerful afterglow." Sheri reviews Charlotte Wells' Cannes Critics’ Week selection Aftersun. Normal People star Paul Mescal toplines a debut feature as a young Scottish father on summer holiday with his tween daughter. The review. 

—"Dark but with a hopeful narrative arc." THR film critic Leslie Felperin reviews Emmanuelle Nicot's Cannes Critics' Week selection Love According to Dalva (Dalva). An adolescent girl, played by Zelda Samson, comes to terms with her trauma in the Belgian director's debut feature. The review. 

—"A familiar thriller in an intriguingly unfamiliar place." THR film critic Jordan Mintzer reviews Tarik Saleh's Cannes Competition entry Boy From Heaven (Walad Min Al Janna). The latest feature from the writer-director behind The Nile Hilton Incident is a thriller set in Cairo's historical Al-Azhar Mosque. The review.

—"A taut, realistic thriller." Jordan also reviews Dominik Moll's The Night of the 12th (La Nuit du 12). The French writer-director behind Lemming returns to Cannes with a brooding investigative drama starring Bastien Bouillon and Bouli Lanners. The review.

—"Intimate and captivating." THR critic Lovia Gyarkye reviews Gina Gammell and Riley Keough's Cannes Un Certain Regard selection War Pony. Two Oglala Lakota boys navigate life on their South Dakota reservation in this coming-of-age story co-directed by the Zola actress. The review. 

In other news...

—Sarah Wayne Callies joins Milo Ventimiglia in ABC drama

—Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s daughter Aimee escapes recording studio fire

—Harry Styles releases third album Harry’s House

—CNN Digital editor-in-chief Meredith Artley to depart

—This $142m Mercedes-Benz just became the most expensive car ever sold

—Roger Angell, revered baseball essayist, dies at 101

What else we're reading...

—Matt Brennan on how Ellen DeGeneres won, and then lost, a generation of viewers [LAT]

—"Jury finds film Academy member guilty of three counts of child molestation" [LAT]

—"Over a delectable lunch on elegant china" Maureen Dowd spoke to "romance addict" Baz Luhrmann about his Elvis movie [NYT]

—Valerie Lapinski with the absolutely correct take on Jane Campion's Bright Star being the perfect film that captures "the fleeting feeling of spring bliss" [Vox]

—The least surprising news: "Crypto trades raise questions about inside knowledge" [WSJ]

Today...  

...in 1980, George Lucas brought The Empire Strikes Back to theaters and introduced legendary characters Yoda and Boba Fett to his ever increasingly galaxy. The sequel to Star Wars: A New Hope, the 20th Century Fox release made a huge $402 million at the box office that year despite mixed reviews. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Mr. T (70), Fairuza Balk (48), Judge Reinhold (65), Sarah Ramos (31), Noel Fielding (49), Da'Vine Joy Randolph (36), Lisa Edelstein (56), Nick Cassavetes (63), David Ajala (36), Olivia Olson (30), Sunkrish Bala (38), Lexi Johnson (30), Chris Raab (42), Amy Spanger (51), Keith L. Williams (15), Al Franken (71), Janice Karman (68), Alexandre Rodrigues (39), Liz Feldman (45)