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Taika Waititi on Hollywood Diversity and His Legacy; Jeremy Strong Talks Kendall's Fate; 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' Review

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May 31, 2023

What's news: Kia ora! It's magazine day! This week's cover star is the inestimably talented Taika Waititi. The series finale of Succession scored record ratings. Ted Lasso looks to have come to an end after its season three finale. Season six of Black Mirror has a release date. The 1975 frontman Matty Healy has fired back at his critics. — Abid Rahman

Taika Waititi: "Am I Allowed to Laugh at This?"

►On the cover. With sly and subversive humor, Taika Waititi is redefining representation — “Comedy is a great way of pulling people in and going, ‘Hey, we’re all friends. Get comfortable. You’re racist’”— while having more fun in Hollywood than just about anyone else. THR's Lacey Rose spoke to the multihyphenate powerhouse about his various projects including the TV hits Reservations Dogs, What We Do in the Shadows and Our Flag Means Death and his upcoming feature, the Samoan soccer dramedy Next Goal Wins. The cover story.

'Ted Lasso' S3 Finale: This Might Be All That We Get

►"The finale hit enough right notes to leave viewers with the warm feelings that it’s trafficked in all along." THR's Rick Porter breaks down the season three finale — possibly series finale? — of Apple TV+'s monster hit series Ted Lasso. Despite no official confirmation whether this is the end, Rick writes that the episode, "So Long Farewell," felt every bit like a series finale, with callbacks to the past and flash-forwards to the futures of several key characters. Warning: Spoilers! The recap.

—🎭 Human riders ahoy! 🎭 Universal’s live-action adaptation of DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon has found its leads. Mason Thames, who starred in Universal’s horror hit The Black Phone, and Nico Parker, the rising actress who was last seen in HBO’s The Last of Us, are set to star as Hiccup and Astrid in the feature being directed by Dean DeBlois. The story.

—📅 Mark it down 📅 Black Mirror season six finally has a date. The long-awaited return of Charlie Brooker’s Netflix anthology series is June 15, the series announced along with episode descriptions and the full official trailer on Wednesday. The season is confirmed to be five episodes, which is two more installments than the last season that released back in summer of 2019. The story.

—📅 As expected 📅 The 2024 BAFTA Film Awards will once again take place in its traditional February slot, three weeks ahead of the Oscars. The British Academy said Wednesday that the awards ceremony is set for Sunday, Feb. 18. This year's BAFTAs had shifted back to its usual February slot after being held in mid-March in 2022. The story.

'Succession': Jeremy Strong Talks Kendall's Fate

►"He’s stuck in a silent scream forever." For THR, Josh Wigler spoke to Succession star Jeremy Strong about the HBO show's breathtaking series finale. The Emmy winner discusses that devastating ending, why he views it as a death, and how it reflects our own modern moment. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.

—"I find myself in the most strange way wondering what they’re doing now, like a friend that I’ve lost contact with." THR's queen of chat Jackie Strause spoke to Succession's longtime director and executive producer Mark Mylod about the finale. Mylod opens up about the fates for Kendall, Roman and Shiv as he unpacks the final shots for each, and goes behind the scenes of wrapping the entire show on the “Meal Fit for a King” scene, where Jeremy Strong actually drank that smoothie for every take. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.

—Going out with a bang. The series finale of Succession brought in the show’s largest first-night audience ever. The HBO show’s final episode on Sunday drew 2.93m viewers across all platforms, passing the previous series high of 2.75m for the season’s sixth episode on April 30. The Emmy-winning series has set multiple series highs over the course of its fourth and last season. HBO's Barry also ended its four-season run with solid tune-in, drawing 700,000 viewers on Sunday night. The ratings.

'Maisel' Cast Looks Back on Their Characters' Evolution

►Life-changing four minutes. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel may have come to a close last Friday, but the characters at the heart of the Emmy-winning Amazon series will stay with the castmembers who played them for much longer than that. THR's Christy Piña spoke to Maisel stars Rachel Brosnahan, Michael Zegen, Marin Hinkle, Kevin Pollak and Caroline Aaron who offer their perspective on the characters' fate. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.

—"The way that they welcomed me as a younger actress was really empowering." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Portuguese rising star Daniela Melchior about her debut in the Fast franchise with Fast X. The actress, who plays Elena Neves’ (Elsa Pataky) street-racing sister in the film, also discusses her hopes of returning to the role of Ratcatcher 2, which she first played in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. The interview.

—"Real people have accidents every day." Jay Leno is sharing an update on his recovery, months following a garage fire and motorcycle crash. In a new interview, the former Tonight Show host said that he’s doing “alright," adding, “I’ve got a broken collar bone and two broken ribs and a couple cracked knee caps, but I’m OK." In November 2022, Leno sustained third-degree burns in the fire. He was working on one of his vintage cars at the time of the incident. The story.

—Sorry not sorry. The 1975 frontman Matty Healy is speaking out again on comments he made about rapper Ice Spice. Healy, who has enraged Taylor Swift fans over reports he is dating the singer, said in a new interview that the whole Ice Spice controversy "doesn’t actually matter." Healy also responded to fans who claim to be offended by his past remarks, saying, “You’re either deluded or you are, sorry, a liar. You’re either lying that you are hurt, or you’re a bit mental for being hurt." The story.

WGA Targets Exec Pay in Letters to Netflix, Comcast Shareholder

►"Approval of this compensation package is inappropriate." The Writers Guild of America is taking its attack on over-the-top corporate executive pay from the picket lines to the boardrooms. THR's Alex Weprin reports that on Tuesday, WGA West president Meredith Stiehm sent letters to major shareholders of Netflix and NBCUniversal owner Comcast, urging them to vote against each company’s “Say on Pay” proposal, which asks shareholders to sign off on those companies prior-year pay packages at their respective annual meetings. The story.

—Anonymous strike diary. THR's series of frank accounts of the writers strike continues. The Eastside Warrior returns, the writer reckons with the realities of a prolonged fight, including summer childcare, lots of Bob's Big Boy and, most crucially, holding onto wider support: "You always wonder if others will sympathize. What about the freelancer, what about the aspiring actor, what about the overworked crew whose families take the hit for all those 14-hour days?" The diary.

—Settlement. Cox Communications, CBS and Fox have reached a $48m deal to settle a long-running TV advertising antitrust complaint and will “provide meaningful cooperation” to help plaintiffs in their case against the remaining defendants, according to a May 26 filing. The litigation began in 2018, when a series of complaints were filed across the country that alleged the broadcasters and their sales firms fixed ad prices. The story.

—Controversial ruling. A California appeals court said Tuesday that Leslie Van Houten, who participated in two killings at the direction of cult leader Charles Manson in 1969, should be let out of prison on parole. The appellate court’s ruling reverses an earlier decision by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who rejected parole for Van Houten in 2020. She has been recommended for parole five times since 2016. The story.

Film Review: 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'

►"Less limber, but still exciting." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson's Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. In the second chapter of the Spider-Verse series, featuring voice work from Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Oscar Isaac and Issa Rae, Miles Morales must face challenges across the multiverse. The review.

—"The storytelling is engaging, but hard truths seem elusive." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews ESPN's The American Gladiators Documentary. Ben Berman examines the teased hair, tight spandex and ultra-competitive phenomenon that was American Gladiators in a two-part documentary airing under ESPN's 30 for 30 banner. The review.

—"A brutally honest family portrait." THR's Leslie Felperin reviews Mona Achache's Little Girl Blue. Marion Cotillard plays the writer-director's own troubled mother in this hybrid film exploring the complexities of mother-daughter love. The review.

In other news...

—Amazon’s Jack Ryan series debuts frenetic final season trailer

—Jharrel Jerome towers as a 13-foot giant in trailer for Boots Riley's absurdist I’m A Virgo

—The Idol’s final trailer puts a different spin on HBO drama

—Terra Potts exits movie marketing post at Warner Bros.

—Cathy Nam joins Universal as svp of global communications

—Ke Huy Quan signs with UTA

—Al Pacino expecting child with girlfriend Noor Alfallah

—Miramax CEO Bill Block lists Bird Streets house for $5m

What else we're reading...

—Decca Muldowney reports that Twitter, unsurprisingly, is failing to remove hate speech by blue-check users [Daily Beast]

—In an excerpt from her new book, Maureen Ryan reveals the toxic culture behind the scenes that blighted ABC's Lost [VF]

—Matt Wilstein talks to sisters Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar about how late-night TV is letting Black women down [Daily Beast]

—Leo Sands reports that for mega-rich heirs, the anxieties that drive Succession are all too real [WaPo]

—Peter Kafka asks whether Apple’s new weird headset is the future [Vox]

Today...

...in 1990, NBC's Seinfeld made a bet that viewers would embrace Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer. At least one critic, however, wasn’t thrilled with the initial offering. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Clint Eastwood (93), Sarah Goldberg (38), Colin Farrell (47), Brooke Shields (58), Paolo Sorrentino (53), Lea Thompson (62), Tom Berenger (74), Archie Panjabi (51), Justine Lupe (34), Eric Christian Olsen (46), Jonathan Tucker (41), Chris Elliott (63), Meredith Hagner (36), Phillipa Soo (33), Merle Dandridge (48), Sharon Gless (80), Gregory Harrison (73), Hugh Dillon (60), Roma Maffia (65), Susie Essman (68), Luke Arnold (39), Sebastian Koch (61), Don Harvey (63), Lee Majdoub (41), Stuart Graham (56)

John Beasley, the admired character actor who played the school bus driver Irv Harper on The WB drama Everwood and Barton Bellentine, the father of Cedric the Entertainer’s character, on the TV Land comedy The Soul Man, died Tuesday. He was 79. The obituary.

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Written by José Vizcarra
on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at 7:03 AM.

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