James Caan 1940-2022

►"An incredible, towering actor." James Caan, the self-assured star who played Sonny Corleone in The Godfather and a rough-and-tumble athlete in Rollerball but had the self-assurance to showcase a sensitive side during his long career, has died. He was 82. The obituary. 

—"James was a good man, a kind man, a family man, and a wildly gifted man." Francis Ford Coppola, Al Pacino, Barbra Streisand, Michael Mann, Adam Sandler, James Gunn and Edgar Wright were among those in Hollywood who shared their remembrances, tributes and condolences on social media Thursday following the news of James Caan’s death. The reaction. 

Charlie Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio Returning for Marvel Series 'Echo'

►It's happening. Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio, who portrayed Daredevil and The Kingpin in Netflix's Daredevil series, have joined the Disney+ show Echo, which stars Hawkeye breakout Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez. The move is the latest effort by Marvel Studios to weave in popular characters from Netflix’s now-defunct shows into the fold. The story. 

—Shocking. Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzō Abe has died after he was shot while giving a campaign speech in the city of Nara. Police have arrested Tetsuya Yamagami, a 41-year-old man from Nara, for murder. The incident has shocked Japan, a country with some of the strictest gun laws in the world and where shootings are rare. The story. 

—Together again. Steven Yeun and Bong Joon Ho are reuniting for the director’s upcoming untitled sci-fi thriller at Warner Bros. The pair last worked together on the 2017 Netflix feature Okja. Yeun will join the cast that includes Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette. The project will be based on Mickey7, a novel from author Edward Ashton that was published in February. The story. 

—Soft landing spot. After a tumultuous tenure as head of Time’s Up, Tina Tchen has reunited with the Obamas. The former Obama administration staffer has joined the Obama Foundation as executive vice president as well as chief strategy and impact officer. The story. 

—Not so funny. Comedian Lewis Black is the latest person to sue Pandora, accusing the streamer of shortchanging artists by neglecting to obtain the proper copyrights to stream their works. The $10m lawsuit is the latest in an escalating feud between streamers and comedians pushing to change the landscape of compensation amid a boom in popularity for spoken-word content. The story.

Seth MacFarlane on 'Orville's' Trans Allegory 

►"With this kind of material, you’re always threading a needle." THR scallywag Ryan Gajewski spoke to The Orville's creator and star Seth MacFarlane about revisiting the alien culture of the Moclans in season three. MacFarlane discusses learning from the Hulu show's past missteps, how he'd tackle a Roe v. Wade episode and how previous projects like Family Guy might have benefited from more nuance. Warning spoilers. The interview. 

—What if, the musical. A pop-song infused musical take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is coming to Broadway this fall. Featuring a book by Schitt’s Creek writer David West Read, the musical, called & Juliet, envisions what would happen if Juliet did not die at the end of the story. The story. 

—Dragging on. Twitter laid off a third of its talent acquisition team as the company continues to manage costs ahead of the social media platform’s potential acquisition by Elon Musk. The decision comes as the company has paused most of its hiring, as well as its backfilling of positions, except in critical roles. The story.

—🤝 Overall deal news.🤝 John Legend’s Get Lifted Film Co. has signed an overall deal with Universal Studio Group’s UCP that covers scripted programming, as well as a first-look deal for unscripted content. Get Lifted moves to UCP from Disney’s ABC Signature. The story. 

—Big numbers for Amazon. The Boys rose to second place in Nielsen’s streaming series rankings by barely moving at all in terms of its viewing time. Stranger Things dominated the rankings for the week of June 6-12 despite a sizable drop from its record-breaking tally, while Ms. Marvel had a relatively quiet debut on Disney+ (at least compared to other Marvel series). The streaming rankings.

—It's been awhile. CineAsia, the exhibition and distribution industry conference usually hosted every fall somewhere in Asia Pacific, is set to return for an in-person edition for the first time in four years. Organizers said Friday that CineAsia will take place in Bangkok from Dec. 5 to 8. The story. 

Film Review: 'Persuasion' 

►"Bridget Jones meets Bridgerton." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Carrie Cracknell's Persuasion. Dakota Johnson, Cosmo Jarvis, Henry Golding and Richard E. Grant star in this reworking of Jane Austen’s last completed novel, the feature debut of London stage director Cracknell. The review. 

—"A familiar conceit elevated by great performances." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Apple TV+'s Black Bird. Novelist and TV veteran Dennis Lehane runs this six-part drama about a cocky drug dealer (Taron Egerton) playing a game of cat-and-mouse with a serial killer (Paul Walter Hauser). The review.

—"Delightfully subversive." THR film critic Sheri Linden reviews Chris Williams' The Sea Beast. In the latest animated feature from Williams (Moana, Big Hero 6), a young orphan joins forces with a legendary hunter of ocean monsters. The review.

—"Not as sharp as the title." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Netflix’s Boo, Bitch. Lana Condor and Zoe Colletti lead the comedy as a pair of high school besties who resolve to live their best lives in senior year, only for one of them to die and become a ghost. The review. 

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 Kate Winslet's new HBO show, a Who’s the Boss sequel series, a live version of Beauty and the Beast and Baz Luhrmann's Australia series. The talk through the cancelation spree just before the holiday weekend and the future of Stranger Things . Alan Sepinwall drops by for a chat. And Dan reviews AMC+ series Moonhaven, Hulu's Maggie, Apple’s Black Bird and Netflix’s Boo, Bitch. Listen here. 

—Awards Chatter. Awards analyst Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott speaks to Liev Schreiber. The Ray Donovan star reflects on the immense impact of his maternal grandfather, how his physical appearance has shaped his job opportunities and why he was reluctant to sign up for the TV series for which he is now best known. Listen here.

In other news...

— Shonda Rhimes, Julia Quinn team for Bridgerton prequel book

—President Biden awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Simone Biles, Denzel Washington

—Where to stay, eat and visit in the celebrity playground of Ibiza

—Animation Museum project secures $2.5m from California

—APA hires Andrew Rogers as partner and global head of talent

—Russo Bros.’ AGBO ups film exec, adds TV hire

—Lionsgate promotes Randall Jackson to exec vp, associate general counsel

—Snap hires Secret Service director James Murray as chief security officer

What else we're reading...

—Elisha Fieldstadt finds that abortion assistance from the companies that have pledged to provide is complicated [NBC News]

—Kathryn VanArendonk and Josef Adalian have a eye-opening story on showrunners and creators being left in the dark when their streaming shows are canceled [Vulture]

—David Betancourt has a great interview with Christian Bale on working for DC and Marvel, playing a superhero and a supervillain [WaPo]

—Interesting Stephen McDonell piece on China's continuing to pursue a zero COVID policy [BBC]

—Here's your Friday list: "Sandra Bullock’s top 20 films – ranked!" [Guardian]

Today...  

...in 1992, Fox unveiled Darren Star’s Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff Melrose Place, a show that would become a pop culture staple throughout the decade. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Anjelica Huston (71), Maya Hawke (24), Jaden Smith (24), Isabella Sermon (16), Kevin Bacon (64), Sophia Bush (40), Milo Ventimiglia (45), Jake McDorman (36), Alexis Dziena (38), Billy Crudup (54), Robert Knepper (63), David Corenswet (29), Kim Darby (75), Lee Tergesen (57), Sky Ferreira (30), Wally Pfister (61), Alicia Vela-Bailey (40), Pendleton Ward (39)