Disney's D23 Delivers 

►Double dip. Pixar is returning to the world of Inside Out in the summer of 2024. The Disney-owned studio announced a sequel to the 2015 film Friday at D23 — and revealed an alien film titled Elio will arrive in 2024. The studio, which has sent several recent projects straight to Disney+, did not specify if these would be theatrical or streaming plays. The story. 

—Live action look. A trio of anticipated live-action Disney films took center stage at D23, with looks at the new Lion King prequel, Snow White and The Little Mermaid. Barry Jenkins showed off his Mufasa: Lion King bowing in 2024. Snow White then took the stage, with Rachel Zegler (Snow White) and Gal Gadot (The Evil Queen) appearing together. The audience next got a glimpse at The Little Mermaid, with a full look at “Part of Your World” for the crowd, and a trailer that was released online afterwards. The story. 

—Star story. Disney Animation revealed Frozen's Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck are teaming to write the feature Wish, which will tell how the wishing star that so many Disney characters have wished upon came to be. Ariana DeBose will voice the star in the feature. The story.

More from D23... 

—First Haunted Mansion footage hits D23

—Hocus Pocus 2, Disenchanted trailers cast a spell at D23 

Emmys Host Kenan Thompson on Monologue Fodder

►"I don’t know how I’ll even go to sleep afterward." THR's Seija Rankin spoke to Saturday Night Live star and 74th Primetime Emmy Awards host Kenan Thompson about his pre-show rituals. Thompson also discusses why he’s unlikely to reference the pandemic or The Slap, and more importantly, his afterparty plans. The interview. 

—Brutal. Amazon has canceled Paper Girls, the series based on a comic by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang, after a single season. The decision comes six weeks after the eight-episode season debuted in its entirety. The show received positive reviews from critics and solid audience scores on review aggregators, but it did not break out with viewers, based on what little data is available. The story.

—Sentenced. Aviron Pictures founder William Sadleir, an executive producer on projects including Kidnap, A Private War and Serenity, was sentenced Friday to six years in prison for swindling a BlackRock investment fund out of over $30m. He was also ordered to pay $31.6m in restitution. The story.

—Still a chunk of change. Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch saw their compensation packages at Fox Corp. trimmed in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022. Rupert Murdoch, Fox’s chairman, received a pay package totaling $18.4m last year. That was down from $31.1m a year earlier. Similarly, Lachlan Murdoch, Fox’s executive chairman and CEO, received a $21.7m pay package, down from $27.7m a year earlier. The story. 

—Through the gates. 20th Century Studios and New Regency's horror movie Barbarian topped the domestic box office, earning $3.8m on Friday from 2,340 theaters. That puts the well-reviewed film on course to earn $9m or $10m, ahead of an expected $5m to $6m opening. The final number will depend upon on how front-loaded Barbarian is. Either way, it will win an otherwise quiet weekend. The box office report.

Marsha Hunt 1917 - 2022 

►"One of the first major actresses in Hollywood to dedicate her life to causes." Marsha Hunt, the bright-eyed starlet who stood out in such films as These Glamour Girls, Pride and Prejudice and Raw Deal before her career came unraveled by the communist witch hunt that hit Hollywood, has died. She was 104. Hunt was a star at Paramount and MGM before making a trip to Washington to protest the House Un-American Activities Committee. The obituary.
 
—"They’ve done a fantastic job." Kit Harington is offering his assessment of the new Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon. In a new interview, Harington, who played Jon Snow in GOT, praised the showrunners for making the series "its own thing." The story. 

—"I’m quite interested in people not getting it right." THR's Caitlin Huston spoke to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power star Morfydd Clark about Galadriel’s evolution in the big budget Amazon series. The Welsh actress also talks about what it took to become Galadriel, from swim and fight training to balancing the character’s naivety with her immortality. The interview.

—"It wouldn’t be easy for me to do an Arthurian drama, but to me it was easy to fit right into a western." THR's Alex Ritman was lucky enough to speak to Nicolas Cage about starring in his first western, the TIFF title Butcher’s Crossing. Cage being Cage, there's plenty more gems in here including his advice for young actors and what he really thought of Paddington 2. The interview. 

Film Review: 'The Woman King' 

►"Narratively muddled, but entertaining and technically brilliant." THR critic Lovia Gyarkye reviews Gina Prince-Bythewood's The Woman King. Viola Davis stars alongside Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim and John Boyega in a feature inspired by an all-women warrior unit in pre-colonial Benin. The review. 

—"An ethereal portrait of an elusive figure." Lovia reviews Frances O'Connor's Emily. Sex Education star Emma Mackey leads this biopic of Wuthering Heights author Emily Brontë. The review. 

—"An ambitious portrait of a complex conflict." Lovia reviews Tamana Ayazi and Marcel Mettelsiefen's In Her Hands. In this doc, produced by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, the filmmakers chronicle the 19 months before the Taliban recaptured Afghanistan from the perspective of Zarifa Ghafari, the nation's youngest woman mayor. The review. 

—"A stealth powerhouse." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Jafar Panahi's Venice competition entry No Bears. The Iranian former Golden Lion winner, imprisoned and subject to a filmmaking ban in his country, returns to Venice with his fourth and perhaps most chilling clandestine production. The review. 

—"Our kingdom for a point to this." THR's Leslie Felperin reviews Stephen Frears' The Lost King. The fact-based film, starring Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan and premiering in Toronto, details the quest of an amateur historian to find the remains of Richard III. The review. 

—"Powerfully smashes the walls of realism." Leslie reviews Vahid Jalilvand's Venice competition entry Beyond the Wall. The Iranian film revolves around a suicidal blind man and a runaway mother. The review.

—"A fitfully engrossing mix of earnest and playful." THR's Sheri Linden reviews Susanna Nicchiarelli's Venice competition entry Chiara. The feature is a portrait of Clare of Assisi, complete with musical numbers, and stars Margherita Mazzucco, of My Brilliant Friend. The review. 

TV Review: 'American Gigolo' 

►"Gigol-no." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Showtime's American Gigolo. For no evident reason, Showtime offers a series continuation of Paul Schrader's 1980 film, with Jon Bernthal slipping into Richard Gere's perfectly tailored suits. The review. 

—"An earnest love story that can't help getting in its own way." THR's Angie Han reviews Aitch Alberto's Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. Based on the acclaimed YA novel by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, the film centers on two Mexican American teen boys (Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales) who forge a life-changing bond in late-'80s Texas. The review. 

—"Entertaining, but less original than it initially seems." THR critic John DeFore reviews Nicholas Stoller's Bros. Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane play reluctant lovers in the latest comedy from the Neighbors filmmaker, premiering in Toronto. The review. 

—"A fittingly fake (and funny) biopic." John reviews Eric Appel's Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. Daniel Radcliffe stars and Mr. Yankovic himself co-writes the very untrue story of his life, which premiered at Toronto and is set to air on Roku. The review. 

—"Delightful, provocative and far too short." John reviews Sacha Jenkins' Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues. The doc asks us to think a little harder about what Louis Armstrong meant in the context of both music and U.S. history. The review. 

—"A solid, if limited, family drama with a memorable lead turn." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Roschdy Zem's Venice competition entry Our Ties. Sami Bouajila (A Son) stars as a 50-something man overcoming physical and mental trauma with the help of his family. The review.

In other news...

—Don’t Look Up, Black-ish, Pachinko among Humanitas Prize winners

—Star Wars: Eman Esfandi joins Ahsoka as fan favorite Ezra Bridger

—Criminal Minds revival at Paramount+ adds Zach Gilford

—Condé Nast voluntarily recognizes union

What else we're reading...

—Jennifer Zhan very helpfully lays out the chronology of the Don't Worry Darling car crash [Vulture]

—With the death of the queen, Eliot Brown and Caitlin Ostroff run through all the things that have to change in the U.K. [WSJ]

—Erich Schwartzel looks at how Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are about to return to the spotlight just as the royal family is in flux [WSJ]

—Adam Manno analyses the racist Rings of Power backlash and sees it as more of the same replacement theory fear-mongering [Daily Beast]

—Despite some online skepticism, Ben Child is totally fine with Joker 2 being a musical [Guardian]

Today...  

...in 1993, the first episode of The X-Files aired on Fox. THR’s critic drew comparisons to Twin Peaks and The Twilight Zone but concluded "at the moment ‘X’ doesn’t mark the spot." The original review. 

Today's birthdays: Guy Ritchie (54), Colin Firth (62),  Ryan Phillippe (48), Sarah Levy (36), Harry and Luke Treadaway (38), Amy Irving (69), Johnathon Schaech (53), Elyse Levesque (37), Stephanie Erb (59), Chris Columbus (64), Erin Darke (38), Giannina Facio (67), Dylan Llewellyn (30), Anurag Kashyap (50), Jim Meskimen (63), Justin Mikita (37)