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'Black Panther 2' Premieres In Hollywood; Bob Chapek Reflects on His Likability; Why Streamers Are Getting on Board With In-Flight Entertainment; Disney+'s 'Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi' Review

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October 27, 2022

What's news: Ashley Judd revealed she fractured her leg while she was mourning her mother's death. Henry Cavill has spoken of his joy at playing Superman again. CNN will lay off staff in the coming weeks. Matthew Perry has apologized for references to Keanu Reeves in his memoir. Sony's Sausage Party is set to become an Amazon series. The CW's Nancy Drew will end with season four. — Abid Rahman

'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever': First Reactions From Premiere

►"A beautifully cathartic tribute to the legacy of Chadwick Boseman." Disney and Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was unveiled at its world premiere in Hollywood on Wednesday night. The official review embargo for the hotly anticipated film lifts on Nov. 8, but the social media embargo for early reactions lifted after the premiere. The reaction.

—"I hadn’t seen that throne since we had lost him, so the last time I had seen that throne he had been sitting in it." THR's Kirsten Chuba and Evan Nicole Brown worked the carpet at the Wakanda Forever premiere and spoke to the cast and director Ryan Coogler about the Boseman's legacy and how they honored him in the film. Stars Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira and Tenoch Huerta discuss visiting Boseman's resting place before shooting and overcoming questions of "how are we going to do this, go on without him?" The story.

—"How he’ll have any time to work on DC until May I don’t know." At the Wakanda Forever premiere, Marvel chief Kevin Feige addressed the game-changing news that James Gunn and producer Peter Safran will be taking the top jobs at DC Studios, overseeing superhero franchise productions in film, TV and animation. Feige joked that he wasn't sure how Gunn would have time to juggle DC while releasing two upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy projects, but added that "once he does have the time I'll be very excited." The story.

—RiRi's back! Kinda. Rihanna is making a return to music with a new single, "Lift Me Up" on the Wakanda Forever soundtrack. The song, written by Tems, Oscar winner Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna and Coogler, was recorded in five countries and produced by Göransson. The song was written as a tribute to Boseman, and would be Rihanna's first solo single since 2016’s "Love on the Brain." The story.

Ashley Judd Fractured Leg While Mourning Mother's Death

►"Clumsiness is associated with grief." While grieving the tragic passing of her mother Naomi Judd, Ashley Judd suffered yet another leg fracture in what she describes as "just this freak accident." Judd made the revelation on Wednesday while appearing at a lecture and conversation series. The actress also opened up about spirituality, recovery and comments about her change in appearance. The story.

—"Enormously joyful." Henry Cavill says he never gave up hope that he would play Superman again someday, but even he was surprised at how emotional the experience was when he finally put the cape back on. In a new interview, Cavill revealed he was working six days a week on Netflix’s The Witcher when a deal came together for him to appear in one scene in Black Adam. The story.

—"Start 2023 feeling settled and prepared for the future." CNN will see layoffs and other cuts in the coming weeks, as the global news division responds to a worsening economic climate and as Warner Bros. Discovery continues to look for post-merger cost savings. CNN CEO Chris Licht explained the rationale in a memo to staff Wednesday. The story.

—"I just chose a random name, my mistake." Matthew Perry has apologized for passages in his forthcoming memoir that reference Keanu Reeves. Among the excerpts that have been posted online from Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, are ones in which the Friends alum opens up about his own struggles with substance abuse and laments that his former co-stars River Phoenix and Chris Farley were lost to addiction while Reeves "still walks among us." The story.

—🏆 "We have to keep making this show with the care and love that we make it with." 🏆 The Sentinel Awards returned on Tuesday night at the Television Academy’s Wolf Theater for its first in-person ceremony in three years, honoring 12 shows whose storytelling tackled powerful and timely topics. The event, hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown, recognized the likes of Reservation Dogs, Abbott Elementary, Dopesick and more for their handling of topics including racism, mental health and abortion. The full list of winners.

Bob Chapek Reflects on His Likability as Disney CEO

►"Everybody sort of wants to be loved and everybody wants everyone to like them, but in this world, that's not always necessary." Bob Chapek is not exactly concerned with being well-liked as the top executive of Disney. Speaking at the Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live conference Wednesday, Chapek — who has weathered a number of controversies since assuming the CEO role in early 2020 — said he didn’t prioritize his “personal feelings” in making decisions about Disney’s business. The story.

—"They’re trying to embarrass Britney Spears and bully Britney Spears." Britney Spears’ father and his lawyers should be sanctioned and found in contempt of court for disclosing confidential medical information on his daughter that was under seal, the pop star’s lawyer argued Wednesday at a hearing that ended with no decision on the issue. The pop star's lawyer urged the court to sanction Jamie Spears and his lawyers for including sealed exhibits in an effort to depose Britney. The story.

—Stealth edit. Following the release of Taylor Swift‘s highly personal “Anti-Hero” music video on Friday, the star received some backlash, with critics accusing the pop star of being fatphobic due to a scene in which Swift steps on a scale that reads “fat.” On Wednesday, the scene was removed from the music video on Apple Music, as spotted by some eagle-eyed Swifties on Twitter. The story.

—"Retired." Madame Tussauds is the latest brand to sever its ties with Kanye "Ye" West amid his recent antisemitic comments. On Wednesday, the famous wax museum known for its celebrity figures, issued a statement announcing its plans to pull Ye’s figure from the main display floor and put it into an archive. The story.

—🤝 Deal extended with tweaks 🤝 After a protracted round of negotiations between unions and studios, minor modifications have been made to Hollywood’s COVID-19 protocols as the industry continues to evolve in its approach to the pandemic. Nearly a month after the latest agreement was temporarily extended, both sides agreed to tweak the deal on testing and case threshold numbers. The details.

Melissa Villaseñor Reveals Why She Left 'SNL'

►"I always felt like I was on the edge of a cliff every week." Melissa Villaseñor says her mental health was behind her decision to be one of eight castmembers to depart Saturday Night Live ahead of the 2022-2023 season. In a new interview, Villaseñor, who debuted during the 2016-2017 season, revealed that she had been suffering panic attacks during the last season and that it was her decision to leave before SNL’s 48th season kicked off. The story.

—"I think I’m about three-quarters of the way done." George R.R. Martin has given a specific progress update on his long-gestating book, The Winds of Winter. The House of the Dragon author was on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, where he was asked the mandatory question about where he is with the sixth novel in the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. The story.

—Still looking for the Great Beyond. A Sausage Party TV series is coming to Amazon's Prime Video. The streamer has ordered a series titled Sausage Party: Foodtopia that’s based on the 2016 Sony animated comedy. Original voice cast members Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, David Krumholtz and Edward Norton will return. In addition, Will Forte, Sam Richardson, Natasha Rothwell and Yassir Lester have been added to the cast. The first season will be eight episodes. The story.

—Saved! Nasim Pedrad’s comedy Chad will move to the Roku Channel for its second season. The series, in which Pedrad plays an awkward high schooler, was originally aired on TBS, but the cable network in July scrapped the finished second season as its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, moved away from scripted original series at TBS and sister channels TNT and TruTV. The story.

—"The next few years may be a true test of whether Hollywood is truly committed to the changes they promised." UCLA's latest Hollywood Diversity Report found that diversity in television casts has continued to improve, and women now make up a major portion of lead roles in broadcast, cable and streaming series — but that progress may not remain the case in the near future. The findings.

Why Streamers Are Getting on Board With In-Flight Entertainment

►"You’re not going to get a better marketing point than an airline." Taking to the skies gives streamers a unique marketing opportunity: a captive — and likely affluent — audience of consumers who probably can afford streaming subscriptions, too. THR's Kirsten Chuba writes that in the past few years, streamers, starting with Netflix and followed by HBO Max, Hulu, Disney+ and Peacock, have continued to evolve the space, offering original content on seatback screens. The story.

—One last case. The CW's Nancy Drew, the drama starring Kennedy McMann as the teen sleuth, will end with its upcoming fourth season. Sources say cast and crew were informed of the decision Wednesday afternoon. Season four is currently in production, with the fourth and final season set to be part of The CW’s midseason schedule next year. The story.

—🎭 Casting news 🎭 Two weeks after being picked up to series, Hulu’s Interior Chinatown drama has enlisted Ronny Chieng and Chloe Bennet. The duo join the previously cast Jimmy O. Yang in the series that counts Taika Waititi as an exec producer and is based on the book by Charles Yu. The story.

—🎭 More casting news 🎭 HBO’s True Detective has rounded out the main cast for its fourth season. Aka Niviâna, Isabella Star Lablanc and Joel D. Montgrand have been added and they join the previously cast Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, John Hawkes, Christopher Eccleston, Fiona Shaw, Finn Bennett and Anna Lambe. The coming season, subtitled Night Country and set in Alaska, will be the first not written and run by series creator Nic Pizzolatto. Issa López serves as showrunner and will also direct several episodes. The story.

—Next up. Ilya Naishuller, the Russian-born helmer who directed the surprise hit Nobody, has boarded Heads of State, an action comedy from Amazon Studios that will star John Cena and Idris Elba. The streamer picked up the project during a competitive Zoom presentation in October 2020. Peter Safran, who was announced as co-chair and co-CEO of DC Studios, and John Rickard are producing via The Safran Company. The story.

TV Review: 'Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi' Review'

►"For the fans." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Disney+'s Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi. Created by Dave Filoni, the six animated shorts detail pivotal moments in the paths of two classic characters, Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku, played by Ashley Eckstein and Corey Burton, respectively. The review.

In other news...

—Gina Balian, Nick Grad promoted to FX Entertainment presidents

—NATPE cancels January 2023 conference amid bankruptcy filing

—PR firm Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis appoints 5 senior staffers to leadership roles

—Startup BlueStar investing $180m in new Atlanta production campus

—Tilda Swinton, James Gray, Ranveer Singh among Marrakech Festival honorees

—Paul Glickler, writer and director of The Cheerleaders, dies at 81

What else we're reading...

—Laura Forman reports on Mark Zuckerberg and Meta's ever darkening metaverse dream [WSJ]

—Ed Hammond and Edward Ludlow report that Elon Musk told Twitter employees he doesn’t plan to cut 75 percent of the workforce [Bloomberg]

—Will Leitch on why LeBron James doesn’t talk about politics anymore [Intelligencer]

—With brands dumping Kanye West, Frank Pallotta looks into what will happen to his music [CNN]

—Karen Attiah wishes we could cancel the rabidly racist white men in our culture and politics just as easily as we canceled Kanye West [WaPo]

Today...

...in 1955, Warner Bros. released a teenage drama, Rebel Without a Cause, just a month after star James Dean’s untimely death in an automobile accident. The film would go on to earn three Oscar nominations at the 28th Academy Awards, including the first for young actress Natalie Wood. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Roberto Benigni (70), Inbar Lavi (36), Emilie Ullerup (38), John Cleese (83), Joanna Scanlan (61), Robert Picardo (69), Patrick Fugit (40), Gianni DeCenzo (21), David Walton (44), Laura Niemi (56), Marcos A. Ferraez (56), Melanie Minichino (39), Jeff East (65), Hamza Haq (32), Kelly Osbourne (38), Ming-liang Tsai (65), Channon Roe (53), Justin Rain (41), Angus MacInnes (75), Elan Gale (39), Theodore Melfi (52), Fran Lebowitz (72), Shelby Fero (29), Brontis Jodorowsky (60), Caitlin Cronenberg (38), Brad Rushing (58), Mohan Kapur (57), Simon Le Bon (64), Matt Chesse (57), James L. Conway (72)

Ben Feigin, who helped get Schitt’s Creek off the ground as an executive producer after working as an agent with UTA and Anonymous Content and as an executive with Warner Bros. Television, has died. He was 47. The obituary.

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Written by José Vizcarra
on Thursday, October 27, 2022 at 7:10 AM.

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