Daniel Kaluuya Is Cool to Keep You Guessing

►On the cover. Writing for THR, Gerrick Kennedy spoke to Daniel Kaluuya, with the enigmatic Nope star opening up on reteaming with Jordan Peele, his newfound Oscar clout, those industry rumors, and why he’s recalibrating his career: "This is the point where I rethink certain things." The cover story. 

—Extension. Hollywood’s studios and unions will extend their COVID-19 safety protocols yet again, as the latest, super-contagious subvariant of Omicron spreads nationwide. The current iteration of the deal was initially set to expire on Friday, but a source confirmed to THR on Thursday that it was being extended until Sep. 30. The story. 

—Arrested. Eric Weinberg, who has served as a co-executive producer on Scrubs and Californication, was arrested Thursday on sexual assault charges, according to the LAPD. Weinberg was booked and held on $3.225m bail stemming from multiple incidents of alleged sexual assault dating from 2012 to 2019. According to an arrest report, Weinberg was arrested at a residence in the Los Feliz neighborhood of L.A. and booked on several sexual assault charges including rape. The story.

—Not happening. Kevin Spacey will no longer be starring in 1242 – Gateway to the West. The news of his departure from the film comes on the same day as a date was set for his U.K. sexual assault trial. On Thursday, the two-time Oscar winner pleaded not guilty to five charges against him, which includes four counts of sexual assault against three men dating back to 2005. The story. 

—No need to call Justin Trudeau. Rapper Drake has not been arrested in Sweden, his team tells THR, dispelling fevered speculation that hit social media on Thursday night. Internet rumors suggested Drake had been arrested by local police at a Stockholm nightclub. His team categorically says that the Grammy winner was in his hotel in the Swedish capital and had not been arrested. The story. 

Constance Wu Reveals She Attempted Suicide After Twitter Backlash

►"It was a scary moment that made me reassess a lot in my life." Constance Wu has revealed that she attempted suicide after backlash to a series of “careless” tweets related to the renewal of Fresh Off the Boat she posted in 2019. In a tweeted statement, Wu's first appearance on Twitter in three years, the Hustlers star revealed how she was crushed after a fellow Asian actress told her she had “become a blight on the Asian American community.” The story.

—Back on track. Channing Tatum and Greg Berlanti are coming on board to respectively star and direct Project Artemis, Apple Studios’ big-budget play that already has Scarlett Johansson starring. Tatum is in negotiations while Berlanti has closed his deal in moves that shore up the high-flying project that had been hit by the departures of previous director Jason Bateman and star Chris Evans. The story. 

—Yet more names. Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) and Tony Revolori (Spider-Man: No Way Home) are the latest names joining the cast of Scream 6. They join Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding and Jenna Ortega as well as franchise OG Hayden Panettiere. The story.

—Letssaa go! Nintendo is expanding further into the entertainment business. The Japanese video game giant has agreed to acquire the visual content company Dynamo Pictures Inc. Once the deal closes, Dynamo will be renamed Nintendo Pictures Co. and become a wholly owned subsidiary of the company focused on mining Nintendo's IP. The story.  

—A taste of its own medicine. In a reversal of the usual exec moves from British networks to streamers, the BBC has hired Netflix’s scripted executive Lindsay Salt to serve as its director of drama, a position considered one of the most prestigious and influential in British TV. Salt replaces Piers Wenger, who left earlier this year to join A24 as part of its major international push. The story. 

Twitter's Case Against Musk Might Be Tougher Than Expected 

►Loveless marriage. Elon Musk has spent the past two months dragging Twitter through the mud. And yet the social media giant is suing the errant billionaire and shit poster to force him to complete his $44b takeover. THR's Winston Cho looks at whether a Delaware court will force an unwilling buyer in the Tesla mogul to follow on the deal despite his actions and acts of sabotage leading up to the litigation. The analysis. 

—"An artist whose career has had a significant global cultural impact." Julia Roberts will be honored with the inaugural Gala Icon Award at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ second annual Academy Museum Gala, the museum announced Friday. The Oscar winner will be feted at the Met Gala-like fundraiser on Oct. 15. The story. 

—Running it back. The Grammys plan to return to Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles for the first time in three years and to a February airdate for the first time in four years. The 65th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on Feb. 5, 2023. This will be the show’s 20th time at the venue formerly known as the Staples Center, the site of all but four Grammy telecasts since 2000. The story. 

—Jury duty. Julianne Moore is set to head up the 2022 Venice Film Festival jury. The full jury includes Argentine director, writer and producer Mariano Cohn, Italian filmmaker Leonardo Di Costanzo, French director Audrey Diwan, Iranian actress Leila Hatami, British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro and Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen. The story.

TV Review: 'The Rehearsal' 

►"Uncomfortable, funny and unexpectedly poignant." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews HBO's The Rehearsal. Nathan for You creator-star and How To With John Wilson executive producer Nathan Fielder returns with a reality-comedy about ordinary people who prepare for key life challenges via elaborate recreations and rehearsals. The review. 

—"Don't f*** with the Peaky Blinders!" Stranger Things remained a clear No. 1 in the streaming rankings for the fourth straight week, but Peaky Blinders ascended to the No. 2 slot following the release of its final season on Netflix. The BBC period crime drama had 904m minutes of viewing time for the week of June 13-19, up 42 percent from 635m the previous week. That’s the best showing Peaky Blinders has had in the 22 months Nielsen has been releasing weekly rankings. The streaming charts. 

—The Blackbird is not dead! THR's man in London Alex Ritman can barely hide his happiness at the news that Michael 'Lord of the Dance' Flatley's directorial debut, the slick and sexy thriller Blackbird, is finally hitting theaters, four years after its splashy world premiere. The once-presumed-lost film, co-starring Eric Roberts and Patrick Bergin, will head to theaters in Ireland on Sep. 2. Look on his works, ye mighty, and despair! The story.  

Thank Pod It's Friday

► All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.

—TV's Top 5. Lesley Goldberg and Dan Fienberg break down the latest TV news. The guys begin by running through the week's headline makers, including the Emmys with Dan breaking down the categories. They also cover the quick renewals of FX's The Bear and Apple's Loot, a departure at Sex Education, the revival of Criminal Minds and the casting announcements for Black Mirror season six. Ms. Marvel head writer Bisha K. Ali drops by for a chat. And Dan reviews Freeform’s Everything’s Trash, HBO’s The Rehearsal and ESPN’s Derek Jeter docuseries The Captain. Listen here. 

—Awards Chatter. Awards analyst Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott speaks to Selena Gomez. The singer/songwriter and Only Murders in the Building actress reflects on the pros and cons of Disney Channel child stardom, finding her voice as a solo artist and getting the chance to show what she can do as an adult on her first TV series since Wizards of Waverly Place ended a decade ago.  Listen here.

In other news...

—Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan expose Harvey Weinstein abuse as NYT reporters in She Said trailer

—Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head series gets Paramount+ premiere date and trailer

—The Handmaid’s Tale pits Elisabeth Moss against Yvonne Strahovski for S5 teaser trailer

—Will Packer Media taps Sabrina Wind to lead scripted development, production

—Former STX president Sophie Watts joins board of ad tech Firm Ryff 

—YouTube Originals chief Nadine Zylstra joins Pinterest to lead programming

—Squid Game star Anupam Tripathi signs with CAA 

—Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner welcome second child

What else we're reading...

—As Elon Musk plumbs new depths of cringe online, Delia Cai writes that erratic billionaire has become the Internet’s new main character [VF]

—Martine Powers is cock-a-hoop that Jane Austen’s Persuasion is having a moment [WaPo]

—Lucas Shaw has the data on Bad Bunny being the world's biggest music act right now, and it's not even close [Bloomberg]

—This Amanda Hess piece on Meryl Streep's on screen manipulation of eyewear is a tour de force! [NYT]

—Here's your Friday list: "The 12 best Arnold Schwarzenegger films, ranked" [Slash Film]

Today...  

...in 1994, 20th Century Fox unveiled James Cameron’s actioner True Lies in theaters stateside, where it went on to become a summer hit grossing $146m. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Forest Whitaker (61), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (36), Travis Fimmel (43), Diane Kruger (46), Ari Aster (36), Tomer Capone (37), Mason Dye (28), Brigitte Nielsen (59), Taylor Kinney (41), Iain Armitage (14), Brian Austin Green (49), Terry O'Quinn (70), Lana Parrilla (45), Scott Foley (50), Jim Rash (51), Laura Benanti (43), Lolita Davidovich (61), Jesse Ventura (71), Tristan Mack Wilds (33), Gabriel Iglesias (46), Eddie Griffin (54), Shari Headley (58), Greg Sestero (44), Jasper Pääkkönen (42), Adam Savage (55), Jeffrey Kramer (77), Vincent Lindon (63), Linda Ronstadt (76)