DiCaprio, Scorsese Tackling 'The Wager' for Apple

►Seventh heaven. THR's Borys Kit has the big scoop on Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese teaming up for a seventh feature collaboration, this time to tackle an adaptation of the upcoming David Grann nonfiction book, The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder. Apple Original Films has landed the rights to the book, due out in April 2023. Scorsese is attached to direct, with DiCaprio attached to star. The project reteams the key players and companies behind the recently wrapped adaptation of Grann’s true-crime tome Killers of the Flower Moon. The story. 

—"There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave." Will Smith took to Instagram to talk more about the slap incident with Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars. In a video, Smith answers a series of questions about that fateful night, offering up yet another apology to Rock while also discussing the impact it had on Rock’s family; whether he was responding to his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s eye roll when he took the stage; the effects his actions had on the night’s other nominees and winners; and more. The story.

—Doing the right thing. After facing public and internal turmoil earlier this year over its response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Disney is among a handful of Hollywood studios signing an open letter in support of codifying some LGBTQ+ marriage rights into federal law. The open letter, spearheaded by the Human Rights Campaign, was also signed by Sony, Comcast NBCUniversal and Apple. The story. 

—Not returning? Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird will reportedly not return to Broadway, despite a January announcement that it would reopen in June following a winter “hiatus.” According to the report, the Broadway show’s failure to relaunch after a difficult COVID-impacted winter run is the result of a decision made by former producer Scott Rudin, who still maintains the rights to the show. The story.

—Looking good. DC League of Super-Pets started off its North American box office run with $2.2m in Thursday previews from approximately 3,200 locations. The animated superhero pic, which has a voice cast that includes Dwayne Johnson, is tracking to open to $25m or more, which should easily be enough to top the chart. The story.

The Meaning Behind 'Nope's Most Terrifying Scene

►"What’s the deal with the chimp?" THR's Richard Newby is back with another excellent piece, this time he reflects on Jordan Peele's Nope, particularly the ending, where the  filmmaker tackles tokenism and the Hollywood system in a sequence that will likely be talked about for some time. Warning spoilers. The story. 

—"No one’s ever going to happy if you start going out with your best mate’s girlfriend." THR's Kirsten Chuba spoke to House of the Dragon showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik on taking over the mantle of guiding HBO's Game of Thrones universe from good friends David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The pair also discussed the inevitable comparisons with Amazon's big budget Lord of the Rings series The Rings of Power. The interview.

—"Live-action kids and family programming will not be part of our programming focus in the immediate future." HBO Max has canceled its comedy Gordita Chronicles, a move the streamer says is motivated by a change in strategy at its parent company. The show, which centers on a 12-year-old Dominican girl (Oliva Goncalves) in 1980s Miami, debuted its full first — and now only — season on June 23. The story. 

—"I'm coming for what's mine and I want reparations." Kelis has much more to say about being interpolated on Beyoncé‘s Renaissance album. After venting her anger about what she claimed was Bey and The Neptunes alleged failure to secure her permission to lift elements of her 2003 hit “Milkshake” on the Renaissance track “Energy,” the singer dove deeper into why she feels slighted in a series of videos posted on Thursday night. The story. 

—Unexpected inspiration. Reese Witherspoon says the phenomenal success of Top Gun: Maverick has provided “a lot of inspiration” for the long-awaited Legally Blonde 3. In a recent interview, Witherspoon said the nostalgia incorporated into Maverick gave the producers ideas "about what we would want to do with Elle Woods and make sure that we had all those same touchstones that mattered to people [back] then." The story.

—"I don’t like how it ended." Chris Cuomo visited HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher on Friday and reflected on his acrimonious exit from CNN. Cuomo, who was fired after it emerged that he advised his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, regarding allegations of sexual harassment, revealed that he "lost a sense of purpose for a while because of how things ended" at CNN. The story.  

'Crawdads' Team on Changes From Book to Screen and Final Twist

►"We wanted to keep it a little more ambiguous." THR's Hilary Lewis spoke to Where the Crawdads Sing writer Lucy Alibar and director Olivia Newman about how they tweaked elements of Delia Owens' best-selling novel, as stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Taylor John Smith break down the motivations behind their characters' behavior. Warning spoilers. The story. 

—"It was incredibly nerve racking." THR's nicest man Chris Gardner was able to get Colin Farrell in the right, relaxed frame of mind to talk about the harrowing underwater moments during the production of Ron Howard's Thirteen Lives, the dramatic retelling of Thai cave rescue that gripped the world in 2018. Farrell reveals he had panic attacks while filming the grueling underwater scenes. The interview. 

—Advantage insurers. Two years after sweeping lockdowns went into effect to prevent the spread of COVID-19, case law is mounting in favor of insurers that were sued for denying claims. A California federal judge this week definitively rejected CAA’s suit against Affiliated FM Insurance for refusing to cover losses tied to business closures forced by the virus. The story.

—C’est génial! The French Film Board has unveiled the first seven-member board that will pick France’s official contender for the 2023 best international feature Oscar. French directors Michel Gondry and Jacques Audiard will sit on the committee, together with CODA producer Philippe Rousselet, Godland producer Didar Domehri, film sales execs Hengameh Panahi (Celluloid Dreams), Grégoire Melin (Kinology) and Ariane Toscan du Plantier (Gaumont). The story.

—Slips don't lie. Prosecutors in Spain said Friday they would ask a court to sentence Colombian pop star Shakira to eight years and two months in prison, if she is convicted in her expected trial for alleged tax fraud. Shakira is charged with failing to pay the Spanish government $15m in taxes between 2012 and 2014. The prosecutors said they would also seek a fine of $24m. The story. 

—Casting news. AMC’s upcoming remake of British drama The Driver has bulked out its cast with three new additions. Actor and filmmaker Ivan Mbakop (Hawkeye), has joined the six-part series, alongside Arica Himmel (Mixed-ish) and youngster Dax Rey (Netflix's True Story). The story. 

TV Review: 'Paper Girls' 

►"A slight sci-fi dud, but a coming-of-age triumph." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Amazon Prime Video's Paper Girls. Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang's Image Comics series is adapted for the streamer with a blend of time travel, youthful adventure and nostalgia that's sure to spark comparisons to Stranger Things. The review.

In other news...

—Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chelsea Clinton set to speak at Toronto Film Festival

—'80s sci-fi doc In Search of Tomorrow explores how theater lobbies were the original hype machines

—Paramount promotes Pam Kaufman to international chief as Raffaele Annecchino exits

—Corie Henson officially joins NBCUniversal in top reality job

—Finding overlooked midcentury beauty in South L.A.

—11 new Los Angeles restaurants to try

—The Doors drummer John Densmore’s former Hollywood Hills home lists for $2.19m

What else we're reading...

—Lucas Shaw writes that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav keeps hiring white men for top jobs [Bloomberg]

—David Crow looks at Disney after the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ fiasco and reflects on its links with LGBT+ community [FT]

—Another banger from the Times' digital team, in this piece Jason Zinoman analyzes the use of water bottles by standup comedians [NYT]

—Joy Press writes that after 15 years Mad Men has aged superbly and is more relevant than ever [VF]

—John Boorman's Deliverance is 50 this year, Adam Scovell looks at the film's legacy on the rural horror genre [BBC]

Today...  

Today's birthdays: Kate Bush (64), Christopher Nolan (52), Finneas (25), Arnold Schwarzenegger (75), Hilary Swank (48), Lisa Kudrow (59), Richard Linklater (62), Laurence Fishburne (61), Gina Rodriguez (38), Joey King (23), Yvonne Strahovski (40), Christine Taylor (51), Jaime Pressly (45), Simon Baker (52),  Vivica A. Fox (58), Jean Reno (74), Terry Crews (54), Martin Starr (40), Delta Burke (66), Alexander Vlahos (34), Frances de la Tour (78), John Reardon (47), Tom Green (51), Frank Stallone (72), Austin North (26)