Hollywood Stars and Excessive Water Use

►Drought crisis. Between excessive water use during California's drought and using private jets to fly short distances, some of Hollywood's biggest names are coming under fire for ignoring the ongoing climate crisis. The story.

—A first. NBC’s Law & Order franchise will open the 2022-23 by doing something it has never done in its long history. All three shows in the brand — the original L&O, SVU and Organized Crime — will come together for a single story spanning their season premieres on Sept. 22. The story. 

—Pretty, pretty, pretty good news. HBO has picked up a 12th season of comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm, eight months after season 11 aired its last episode. The premium cable outlet has more or less an open-door policy with creator and star Larry David and fellow executive producer Jeff Schaffer; if and when they have ideas for a new season, HBO says yes. There’s no word yet on when Curb will begin filming its 12th season, or when it will premiere. The story.

—🤝 Overall deal 🤝 Matt Reeves and his 6th & Idaho banner have signed a first-look deal film deal with Warner Bros. and re-upped with Warner Bros. TV. The filmmaker is attached to direct and co-write a sequel to The Batman. On the TV side, Warners is moving forward with a spinoff series starring Colin Farrell as the Penguin. The story. 

—The dream team. Staying with Reeves, it's been confirmed that he's reteaming with Mattson Tomlin to write The Batman 2. Plot details are being kept under wraps and it is not clear whether the sequel will feature the Joker, who was teased in the closing moments of Reeves’ movie and portrayed by Barry Keoghan. The story. 

—Laid to rest. Anne Heche's final resting place is a storied Los Angeles cemetery alongside many Hollywood luminaries, her family said Tuesday. Heche was cremated and her ashes were placed in a mausoleum at Hollywood Forever Cemetery nearly two weeks after she was declared dead at a hospital from injuries suffered in a fiery car crash. The story.

Capitol Records Severs Ties With A.I. Rapper FN Meka

►A "direct insult to the Black community and our culture." Capitol Music Group has “severed ties” with the A.I. rapper FN Meka after facing pushback from activist groups and observers that the virtual rapper was a stereotypical caricature of Black artists. Earlier this month, Capitol had signed FN Meka and said it was releasing a single, “Florida Water,” with the artist Gunna and the gaming streamer Cody “Clix” Conrad. The story.

—"Moses Ingram being protected makes me feel protected." John Boyega says that the internal studio response to the fan harassment of Obi-Wan Kenobi star Moses Ingram is a step forward from his time in the Star Wars franchise. In a new interview, Boyega said he’s not bitter about how the response to the racism he faced while staring in the sequel series was different from studios Disney and Lucasfilm. The story. 

—The future. Film Independent’s 2022 Spirit Awards is doing away with “best actor,” “best actress,” “best supporting actor” and “best supporting actress” awards — for both film and TV performances — for gender-neutral categories. The categories will have the same combined number of nominees, namely, best lead performance and best supporting performance. The story. 

—Coming for the king. Disney+ is in the early stages of development on a live-action King Kong series. The project from Disney Branded Television will be based on the 1933 film conceived by producer and director Merian C. Cooper and more recent novelizations by artist Joe DeVito, made in conjunction with Cooper’s estate. The series would explore the origins of the great ape and Skull Island. The story.

—"It’s very bizarre." Jason Momoa is speeding toward a new stage in his career as he joins Universal’s Fast and Furious franchise. Momoa teased the villain role that he’ll play in Fast X, saying that the "sadistic" character he's playing is "evil and quirky and androgynous." The story.

—Surprise! Universal is sending Halloween Ends day-and-date to theaters and to Peacock. The previous film in the series, 2021’s Halloween Kills, also debuted the same day on the streamer. The film launches Oct. 14, and it will be available to stream to those who have a paid subscription to Peacock Premium or Premium Plus. The free, ad-supported version will not carry the film. The story.  

'Only Murders' Boss On the S2 Finale Reveal

►"We want to hide, until the end, as much as we can." THR's Christy Piña spoke to Only Murders in the Building showrunner John Hoffman, who rather helpfully breaks down the big reveal in the season two finale. Hoffman also teases season three of the multiple Emmy nominated show and shares how it feels to be a part of the final stretch of Steve Martin's career. Warning spoilers. The interview. 

—Sounds bang up to the elephant! THR's man in London Alex Ritman has the scoop on Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and star Stephen Graham reuniting for a Disney+ U.K. original series set in the perilous world of illegal boxing in Victorian London. Knight has written the show, A Thousand Blows, based on a true story set within the criminal underbelly of the 1880s. Graham will star and produce. The story. 

—Sure-fire winner. Netflix has commissioned Parasyte: The Grey, a new Korean original horror series from Train to Busan director and Hellbound creator Yeon Sang-ho. The series is based on Japanese manga legend Hitoshi Iwaaki's comic book series of Parasyte. The story.

—Running it back. Michael B. Jordan’s Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic, a college basketball showcase featuring historically Black colleges and universities, is returning to TNT for a second installment. The college basketball tournament is set for Feb. 3, 2023 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The story.

—Will "pay damages for our actions." The McAllen, Texas, church that produced multiple unauthorized and altered performances of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton has apologized. In a statement posted to Instagram, seemingly by The Door Christian Fellowship church’s pastor Roman Gutierrez, the ministry has issued a formal apology to Miranda, Hamilton’s producers and the “numerous others who have contributed their intellectual property to Hamilton.” The story.

Why Matt Smith Was Reluctant to Take 'HOTD' Role

►"Oddly, Prince Philip shares some crossover traits with Daemon." THR's James Hibberd spoke to Matt Smith about his reasons for joining HBO's Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon. Smith reacts to skeptics who fretted he wasn't right for the part, and explains just how deeply he vanished into playing Daemon Targaryen. Warning spoilers. The interview.

—Elected. The Producers Guild of America has a new pair of presidents: Stephanie Allain and Donald De Line. After running unopposed, veteran producers Allain and De Line were elected to the top role at the trade organization, the PGA announced at their annual membership meeting on Tuesday. The story.

—🇺🇦 солідарність 🇺🇦 The Venice Film Festival is showing its solidarity with the people of Ukraine and the country’s film industry, by hosting a “Ukrainian Day” at the 79th Venice Festival. Planned for Thursday, Sept. 8, Ukrainian Day will feature a number of initiatives that focus attention on the plight of Ukrainian artists and filmmakers within the context of Russia’s invasion of the country. The story. 

—Guilty. Rapper Fetty Wap pleaded guilty Monday to a conspiracy drug charge that carries a mandatory five-year prison sentence, admitting that he participated in a massive drug trafficking racket that moved drugs from the West Coast to Long Island. The plea in Central Islip came before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Locke, who had revoked his bond and sent him to jail two weeks ago. The story. 

—This Week in TV. THR's Rick Porter runs down the TV premieres, returns and specials over the next seven days. Among the things to look out for over the coming week include the debut of FX/Hulu's The Patient starring Steve Carrell, the third of final season of Apple TV+'s See, Netflix's Palestinian-American comedy Mo and Hulu's Mike, a dramatization of the life of Mike Tyson. Archer begins its 13th season on FXX, and FX launches its Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney doc Welcome to Wrexham. The full guide.

TV Review: 'Mike'

►"Overly beholden to the oft-repeated, much-recounted Tyson narrative." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Hulu's Mike. Created by Steven Rogers, the show tackles the turbulent life of boxing great and convicted rapist Mike Tyson in an eight-part limited series that isn't authorized but might as well be. The review.

—"An emotionally charged reminder of an ongoing nightmare." THR critic Lovia Gyarkye reviews Edward Buckles, Jr.'s Katrina Babies. In his feature-length HBO doc, Buckles Jr. collects the stories of the youngest people affected by the catastrophic New Orleans storm. The review.

—"Smart, self-assured and often very funny." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Netflix's Mo. Co-created by Mo Amer (who also stars) and Ramy's Ramy Youssef, the comedy centers on a 30-something Palestinian refugee trying to get by in Houston. The review. 

In other news...

—Naomi Watts has a change of face in trailer for psychological thriller Goodnight Mommy

—iHeartMedia plans to host metaverse concerts in Fortnite virtual world

—Sam Mendes ties a love story to the magic of cinema in Empire of Light trailer

—James Acaster on the continued popularity of “edgy comedians” clip

—Gary Gaines, coach of Friday Night Lights fame, dies at 73

What else we're reading...

—Joseph Menn, Elizabeth Dwoskin and Cat Zakrzewski report on the whistleblower complaint against Twitter that can't be good news for the social media giant [WaPo]

—More bad news: "Plex breach exposes usernames, emails, and encrypted passwords" [Verge]

—Elaine Low, Eugene Kim, and Alison Brower report on Amazon Prime Video's $1b swing on The Rings of Power, the series that could define the streamer's future [Insider]

—Nick Bourne reports on the Welsh city of Wrexham that is now in the spotlight because of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney [BBC]

—Not great: "U.S. warns of China's efforts to "manipulate" narrative on Xinjiang" [Axios]

Today...  

...in 1966, Paramount brought Michael Caine’s Alfie to theaters. The film went on to be nominated for five Oscars at the 39th Academy Awards ceremony, including best picture and actor. The original review. 

Today's birthdays: Dave Chappelle (49), Ava DuVernay (50), Elizabeth Debicki (32), Stephen Fry (65), Chad Michael Murray (41), Jared Harris (61), Griffin Gluck (24), Kevin Dunn (66), James D'Arcy (47), Anne Archer (75), Rupert Grint (34), Alex O'Loughlin (46), Steve Guttenberg (64), Marlee Matlin (57), David Koechner (60), Sonja Bennett (42), Takashi Miike (62), Harriett D. Foy (60), Rachael Carpani (42), Craig Kilborn (60), Pierfrancesco Favino (53), Rodrigo García (63)