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Stars Say They're Quitting Twitter as Musk Takes Over; Why Ye Being Dropped by Biz Partners Isn't That Simple; Alejandro González Iñárritu on Making 'Bardo'

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October 29, 2022

What's news: Kelly Marcel will direct Sony's Venom 3. A WandaVision spinoff titled Vision Quest is in the works from Marvel. Aaron Taylor-Johnson has joined the cast of Universal's Fall Guy. Shelley Duvall is returning to film work for the first time in 20 years. Jeff Goldblum is in talks to join the Wicked movie. Avatar 2 will be over 3 hours long. — Abid Rahman

Stars Say They're Quitting Twitter as Elon Musk Takes Over

►"I’m out of here." Some Hollywood talent are beginning to quit Twitter — or claim they are, at least — now that Elon Musk has taken over the social media platform. This Is Us executive producer Ken Olin, Billions showrunner Brian Koppelman and Bill & Ted star Alex Winter claim they've left Twitter due to Musk. The story.

—In other Twitter news. Musk has countered speculation that he would immediately reinstate all permanently banned accounts and make sweeping content policy changes now that Twitter is firmly under his control. The Tesla mogul said Twitter would form a content moderation council to determine account reinstatements and that this body would have "widely diverse viewpoints." The story.

—Electric performer. Jerry Lee Lewis, the scandal-plagued and flamboyant rock ‘n’ roll founding father, swaggering country shouter and 2005 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, died Friday. He was 87. Lewis died of natural causes at his home in DeSoto County, Mississippi, south of Memphis, his publicist told THR. The obituary.

—Feature debut. Screenwriter Kelly Marcel will direct the upcoming third installment of Venom. Marcel has worked closely with franchise star Tom Hardy dating back to the days of his 2008 indie film Bronson, and was among the writers on Venom (2018) before getting solo screenplay credit on Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) after developing the story with Hardy. Venom 3 will be Marcel's directorial debut. The story.

Why Ye Being Dropped by Business Partners Isn't That Simple

►"In the morals clause, it allows the brand to terminate the agreement if the artist or celebrity is in breach of the morals provision." In the days and weeks since Kanye "Ye" West went on repeated antisemitic tirades in interviews and on social media, the rapper's corporate partners have all but abandoned him amid a Hollywood-led boycott. THR's Evan Nicole Brown writes that Ye's Adidas and Gap deals may be the hardest to unwind, however, given complicated questions surrounding IP ownership. The analysis.

—Second spinoff. Marvel Studios is producing another spinoff of the Disney+ series WandaVision, this time focusing on Paul Bettany's Vision. The new series, titled Vision Quest, will be written by WandaVision head writer Jac Schaeffer. Bettany’s Vision died in Avengers: Infinity War, but a version of him returned in WandaVision. The story.

—🎭 Casting news 🎭 THR scoop machine Borys Kit has the exclusive on Aaron Taylor-Johnson joining Ryan Gosling in The Fall Guy, Universal’s big-screen take on the 1980s adventure television series. David Leitch, who directed Taylor-Johnson in Bullet Train, is helming the action piece, which will also star Emily Blunt. The Fall Guy TV show was created by Glen A. Larson, and starred Lee Majors as a Hollywood stuntman who, to make ends meet, has a side hustle as a bounty hunter. The story.

—Sunk. CBS’ dating show The Real Love Boat has been pulled from the broadcast network after four episodes and will finish out its season on Paramount+. The move comes after the show, an unscripted spin on the 1970s-’80s romance/comedy anthology, pulled in soft ratings numbers. The Real Love Boat is CBS’ least watched primetime series of the fall, averaging a little under 1.9m same-day viewers and a slim 0.24 rating in the key ad demo of adults 18-49. The story.

The Long Wait for Season Two

►A watched pot never boils. After recently completing their first seasons, fans of House of the Dragon and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are champing at the bit for more episodes. Epic TV means an increasingly epic wait for new seasons, writes THR's James Hibberd, as two-year hold times — perhaps, even three — become the norm for lavish productions. (And you can sort of blame Game of Thrones for this.) The story.

—Important collaboration. Roadside Attractions’ Call Jane is teaming with local and national abortion care providers on screenings of the film, as well as other supporting organizations on star-fronted PSAs, to help encourage education and awareness around abortions. The Elizabeth Banks-led, ’60s-set story follows Joy, a suburban wife and mother who turns to the real-life, Chicago-based underground abortion care network The Janes. The story.

—Welcome back! Shelley Duvall is returning to the big screen with a cameo role in director Scott Goldberg’s The Forest Hills. This marks the first role in 20 years for The Shining actor, who last year spoke about her legacy in a moving profile for THR. In The Forest Hills, Duvall plays the mother of a tormented man. The film also stars Edward Furlong, Chiko Mendez and Dee Wallace. The story.

—Cutbacks continue. As cost-cutting changes continue to roil CNN, chairman and CEO Chris Licht has announced that the news division will be cutting back on commissioning films and television series from outside firms. CNN will pivot to producing titles internally, Licht wrote in a memo. The story.

'Handmaid's' Boss on How Long That Twist Was in the Works

►"The best thing about the story is that Serena is not blind to what is happening, and she still doesn’t want it." THR's Jackie Strause spoke to The Handmaid’s Tale creator and showrunner Bruce Miller about what the seventh and eighth episodes reveal about starring duo Serena Joy Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski) and June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss). Warning spoilers. The interview.

—Well, uh, yeah, that's, uh, y'know, great news. Jeff Goldblum is in talks to star as the Wizard in Universal’s upcoming adaptation of Broadway mainstay Wicked. If the deal makes, Goldblum will join Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey on the roll call. Jon M. Chu is directing the big-screen adaptation, which is being divided up into two movies. Wicked is scheduled to begin principal photography in January, with the two-parter being shot back-to-back. The story.

—Suit filed. A former COVID-19 compliance supervisor for Dexter: New Blood is suing Paramount Global, alleging she was hindered from doing her job and ultimately fired to keep the production on track. In a lawsuit filed on Thursday, Jennifer Lyon says she was excluded from meetings, provided minimal resources and undermined when she raised COVID compliance concerns in an intentional effort to obstruct her attempts to follow virus protocols. The story.

—A long time in the deep. James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is set for a monster runtime of around three hours and 10 minutes, sources tell THR. For reference, Cameron’s original Avatar, released in December 2009, clocked in at two hours and 41 minutes and Titanic had a runtime of three hours and 14 minutes. The story.

Alejandro González Iñárritu on Making 'Bardo'

►"The most challenging filmmaking I have ever done." Ahead of Alejandro González Iñárritu's arrival at the Tokyo International Film Festival, where he will receive the Kurosawa Akira award, the auteur connected with THR's Patrick Brzeski to discuss the making of his latest film, Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, his phantasmagoric journey through personal and Mexican history. The interview.

—"It was a career highlight." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Andor director Toby Haynes about episode eight of the Disney+ Star Wars series. Haynes talks at length about the scene between Forest Whitaker's Saw Gerrera and Stellan Skarsgard's Luthen Rael and reveals the care that went into bringing Andy Serkis back to Star Wars after his role as Snoke. Warning spoilers. The interview.

In other news...

—Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen announce end of high-wattage marriage

—Lance Reddick signs with CAA

—Kantemir Balagov to direct Butterfly Jam for Square Peg, AR Content

—Saturday Night Live postproduction workers unionize with the Editors Guild

What else we're reading...

—Katherine Eban and Jeff Kao have a bombshell report on the origins of COVID-19 [VF]

—Netflix and HBO's fierce rivalry began with an insult and a sneak attack according to a fascinating excerpt from Felix Gillette and John Koblin's book, It’s Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO [Bloomberg]

—Is The Simpsons good again? Jesse David Fox has an interesting chat with the show's writers Matt Selman, Brian Kelley, and Christine Nangle on how they attempt to do something new 34 seasons in [Vulture]

—Andrew Carnegie biographer David Nasaw writes that Elon Musk is not the self-made genius he plays in the media [NYT]

—Jon Henley reports on Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir releasing her debut crime novel [Guardian]

Today...

...in 2004, Universal unveiled Ray Charles biopic Ray in theaters, where it would go on to gross $124m globally. The film earned six nominations at the 77th Academy Awards, winning in the sound mixing category as well as the best actor category for Jamie Foxx’s performance. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Gabrielle Union (50), Winona Ryder (51), Michael Schur (47), Janet Montgomery (37), Italia Ricci (36), Ben Foster (42), Rufus Sewell (55), Richard Dreyfuss (75), Jodi Balfour (36), Brendan Fehr (45), Chelan Simmons (40), Dan Castellaneta (65), Cleopatra Coleman (35), Jon Abrahams (45), Jed Brophy (59), Carlson Young (32), Andrew Lee Potts (43), Milena Govich (46), Maria Sten (33), Joy Osmanski (47), Coco Kleppinger (40), Lee Child (68)

Stephen C. Grossman, who served in various producing capacities on all eight seasons of the acclaimed 1982-90 CBS sitcom Newhart, died Thursday of coronavirus complications, his wife, Joan, announced. He was 76. The obituary.

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Written by José Vizcarra
on Saturday, October 29, 2022 at 7:01 AM.

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