Queen Elizabeth II 1926 - 2022

►"She defined an era." Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch in history and one of the world’s most recognizable — and most portrayed — figures in modern times, died Thursday. She was 96. The obituary.

—"I’m proud to call myself of the Elizabethan age." Outpourings of respect and statements paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth II came flooding in on Thursday from world leaders and prominent people from the worlds of music, film, sport and commerce. The reaction. 

—"A guiding light." Late-night hosts took moments out of their Thursday night shows to remember Queen Elizabeth II. James Corden, Trevor Noah and Jimmy Kimmel reflected on the end of the second Elizabethan age, with Corden expressing that despite feeling sad over the news of her death, he was “also so thankful and grateful to the queen for the most incredible service and leadership that she has shown during all of our lifetimes." The story. 

—"I expect we will stop filming out of respect." Netflix’s drama The Crown, which chronicles the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, is reportedly expected to halt production on its fifth season in the wake of the queen’s death. The story.

THR's coverage... 

—Emmys BAFTA TV Tea Party canceled following queen's death

—Toronto Film Festival pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

—Writer recalls queen’s James Bond sketch and her telling Danny Boyle: “I think I should have a line”

—English Premier League soccer matches postponed due to death of queen

—Queen Elizabeth II in Hollywood: 15 stars who’ve played the British monarch

'Handmaid's Tale' Sets Final Season, Hulu Plans On 'The Testaments'

►"I’ve been thinking about the end since the beginning." Hulu has renewed The Handmaid's Tale for a sixth and final season, and revealed that showrunner Bruce Miller will be leading the second Margaret Atwood adaptation, The Testaments. THR's Jackie Strause spoke to Miller about Handmaid's endgame and about exploring another outpost in the world of Gilead. The interview.

—"It is what it is." THR's Seth Abramovitch interviewed Shia LaBeouf about his new movie Padre Pio, and how he found Catholicism, with an assist from Mel Gibson, while researching to portray a famous monk. LaBeouf also addressed Olivia Wilde's latest claim that he was fired from Don't Worry Darling. The interview.

—Fourteen minutes! Andrew Dominik’s long-gestating Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde received a reception Thursday night at its Venice world premiere that somehow managed to be both rapturous and stunned. The contradictory nature of that response reflects the divisiveness that will most likely follow the harrowing NC-17 movie into awards season. The story.

—Dismissed. The production company behind The Morning Show has lost its bid to recover over $125m in insurance coverage for losses stemming from shooting delays caused by COVID-19. A federal judge dismissed the suit filed by Always Smiling Productions against Chubb National Insurance Company, according to a judgment filed on Tuesday. The story. 

—Breathing space. A U.S. bankruptcy court has granted movie theater giant Cineworld Group access to up to $785m in financing, with the company saying that is “expected to provide sufficient liquidity” for it “to meet its ongoing obligations.” Cineworld, which operates Regal cinemas, and certain of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. earlier in the week. The story. 

Emmys: Who Will Win, Who Should Win

►Not long now. With the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards fast approaching, THR’s chief TV critic Dan Fienberg and executive editor of awards Scott Feinberg parse through this year’s stacked categories. The picks. 

—Party down. Emmy's weekend is upon us, and THR's nicest man Chris Gardner is here once again with his guide to the best parties over the next few days. The party swirl surrounding the television industry's biggest night is nearly back to pre-pandemic times with a host of celebrations happening all over Hollywood. The complete party guide.

—Expansion. The number of Golden Globes voters — but not Hollywood Foreign Press Association members — is more than doubling. For the first time, the L.A.-based organization of journalists from non-U.S. outlets is allowing nonmembers to help decide Golden Globe nominees and winners. A total of 103 nonmember voters are being added. The story. 

—🎭 Casting news 🎭 Squid Game star Lee Jung-Jae has joined the cast of the latest Star Wars series, The Acolyte. Amandla Stenberg is toplining the series, being made by Lucasfilm for Disney+, with Jodie Turner-Smith also on the call sheet. Leslye Headland is showrunning, writing and directing. The story. 

—🎭 Casting news 🎭 Steven Soderbergh and Ed Solomon’s HBO Max limited series Full Circle has cast Claire Danes in a lead role. Danes will star opposite Zazie Beetz in the six-episode drama about a kidnapping gone sideways. Details on their roles are being kept quiet for the time being. The story.

—Bonza Bluey! The Sandman became the top overall title on Nielsen’s streaming charts in its second week, and the acquired series rankings featured a rare occurrence of a show not on Netflix finishing first. The acquired series honors for Aug. 8-14 went to Bluey, whose third season debuted on Disney+ the week of Aug. 8-14 and drove a big bump in viewing. The streaming rankings.

Film Review: 'Blonde'  

►"A dreamy snuff movie." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Andrew Dominik's Venice competition entry Blonde. Ana de Armas is Marilyn Monroe, Adrien Brody plays Arthur Miller and Bobby Cannavale is Joe DiMaggio in this Netflix adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ novel fusing fact and fiction. The review.

—"Vivid memories of a young man bruised but not broken." David reviews Elegance Bratton's The Inspection. Jeremy Pope, Gabrielle Union, Bokeem Woodbine and Raúl Castillo star in this drama of a resilient spirit rising above entrenched homophobia, premiering in Toronto. The review. 

—"A potent if uneven refugee drama." THR critic Michael Rechtshaffen reviews Sally El Hosaini's TIFF opener The Swimmers. The film tells the true story of two sisters whose competitive swimming ambitions took them from war-torn Syria to Europe. The review.

—"Lifeless." THR film critic John DeFore reviews Robert Zemeckis' Pinocchio. Arriving before Guillermo del Toro's version, this reinterpretation of the classic kids' tale stars Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The review.

—"More enjoyable than enlightening." John reviews Simon Wallon's Bonnie. The documentary pays tribute to Bonnie Timmermann, the casting legend who discovered Sean Penn, Brian Cox and many others. The review.

TV Review: 'Gutsy'

►"Well-intentioned, palatable edification." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Apple TV+'s Gutsy. The eight-part show features Hillary and Chelsea Clinton meeting with women from all walks of life, including Gloria Steinem, Megan Thee Stallion, Kim Kardashian and Jane Goodall. The review.

—"An assured directorial debut." THR critic Lovia Gyarkye reviews Sanaa Lathan's On the Come Up. Premiering in Toronto, the actress' directorial bow is an adaptation of Angie Thomas' bestselling novel about a young woman trying to become a rapper. The review.

—"More like middle-of-the-road." THR critic Jordan Mintzer reviews Millicent Shelton's End of the Road. This film, starring Queen Latifah and Ludacris, follows a family fighting bigotry, violence and more on their road trip. The review.

—"Not as attention-grabbing as 'Blackfish,' but just as urgent." THR's Dan Fienberg reviews Gabriela Cowperthwaite's The Grab. The Blackfish filmmaker examines food and water insecurity, as well as the world of high-stakes investigative journalism, in her new documentary premiering at TIFF. 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 renewals for Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin and The Handmaid's Tale, new shows from Vince Staples and Norman Lear, and the cancelation of Rutherford Falls. There's an Emmys preview and Abbott Elementary EPs Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker drop by for a chat. And Dan reviews season five of The Handmaid’s Tale, the final season of The Good Fight, Showtime’s American Gigolo as well as Fox’s Monarch and Peacock’s Last Light. Listen here.

—Awards Chatter. Executive editor for awards Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott spoke to Sarah Snook. The Aussie actress who has shot to stardom as Shiv Roy on HBO's Succession reflects on almost landing the lead in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo right out of drama school, what makes Shiv tick and what it's been like becoming a celebrity during a pandemic. Listen here.

In other news...

—Kaley Cuoco repeatedly re-creates her perfect night with Pete Davidson in Meet Cute trailer

—Dwayne Johnson brings Black Adam trailer to Rams-Bills game

—Amazon orders NFL comedy recap series

—AMC Networks ups Kim Kelleher to chief commercial officer

What else we're reading...

—Historian Simon Schama has an excellent piece explaining Queen Elizabeth's place in history [FT]

—Sarah Lyall reflects on the ways Queen Elizabeth II was endlessly scrutinized onstage and onscreen [NYT]

—Christopher Palmeri reports on Ari Emanuel's bullish view on the movie industry [Bloomberg]

—Robbie Whelan looks at how the summer movie season fizzled out [WSJ]

—Here's your Friday list: "Julia Roberts’s 20 best films – ranked!" [Guardian]

Today...  

...in 2001, HBO premiered Band of Brothers, exec produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. The World War II ensemble series went on to nab 20 Emmy Awards nominations and 7 wins, including outstanding miniseries. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Adam Sandler (56), Michelle Williams (42), Hugh Grant (62), Goran Visnjic (50), Kelsey Asbille (31), Zoe Kazan (39), Henry Thomas (51), Julie Gonzalo (41), Akshay Kumar (55), Bonnie Aarons (62), Eric Stonestreet (51), Nikki Deloach (43), Constance Marie (57), Tom Wopat (71), Charles Vandervaart (22), Emma de Caunes (46), Yang Yang (31), Kevin Grevioux (60), Michael Bublé (47)