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The Strikes and Lavish Hollywood CEO Pay; Why Are So Many Big Shows Stumbling?; 'Talk To Me' Filmmakers Talk Prequel; 'Meg 2: The Trench' Review

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August 04, 2023

What's news: The WGA warned members about the AMPTP's "playbook." AMC Networks' total streaming subscribers fell to 11m. The Notebook musical is heading to Broadway. Amazon has renewed The Summer I Turned Pretty. Crayola is launching a studio division. — Abid Rahman

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Could the Strikes Impact Lavish Hollywood CEO Pay?

►"It seems like the game is rigged against average working people." SAG-AFTRA and the WGA didn’t strike because of eight-figure C-suite pay packets, of course, but the optics of such disparity are fueling the flames. THR's Ashley Cullins writes that most entertainment giants won’t have to face a shareholder Say on Pay vote until early next year, but the striking unions have effectively drawn attention to the massive paychecks of top Hollywood executives. The story.

—"We won’t prejudge what’s to come. But playbooks die hard." A day before the WGA is set to meet with the AMPTP in contract negotiations, the union is warning its members that the Hollywood studios and streamers may not be willing yet to cede serious ground. The union's cautionary message highlighted the studios' "playbook." In a comment on Thursday, the AMPTP called the WGA’s rhetoric “unfortunate.” The story.

—"Yield to our deal." SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher joined the picket lines in New York on Thursday, armed with a new slogan that suggested the actors will not back down. “We’re in it to win it. And our new hashtag is, ‘Yield to Our Deal,’” Drescher said. Speaking in front of the Netflix offices near Union Square, and flanked by former SAG presidents Melissa Gilbert and Richard Masur, Drescher urged the gathered union members to keep up their morale as the strike goes on. The story.

—"We can't just stand here and wait around." With most Hollywood events on hold due to the double strike, those in red-carpet-reliant industries tell THR's Kirsten Chuba and Chris Gardner that they are feeling the pain of going through a second shutdown so soon after COVID, and they are relying on lessons learned during that time to pivot. The story.

—Anonymous strike diary. THR's series of frank accounts of the writers strike continues. The Eastside Warrior returns, and weighs in on the announcement that the deadlocked WGA and the AMPTP will convene on Friday to discuss a path forward: "Lock everyone up in a small windowless office with a bathroom and a take-out menu from California Pizza Kitchen until they come up with a deal." The diary entry.

'Witcher, 'Secret Invasion' Disappoint as Some Creatives Blame Fans

►Beyond the peak. The third seasons of Netflix's The Witcher and Disney+'s The Mandalorian, as well as the first season of Marvel's Secret Invasion have all landed with a thud, disliked by critics and fans alike. So why are so many big TV franchise shows stumbling at the same time? THR's James Hibberd writes that this slump comes after years of streamers demanding more-more, faster-faster content, and arguably stretching thin the creative community at the same time. The analysis.

—New chapter. The Notebook is heading to Broadway. A new musical based on Nicholas Sparks’ bestselling novel — which inspired the 2004 film starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams — is set to open at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on March 14, 2024, following previews, which are set to begin on Feb. 6. Casting for the production will be announced at a later date. Directed by Michael Greif and Schele Williams, with a book by Bekah Brunstetter and music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson. The story.

—Moving. Max is pushing back the second season of its comedy Rap Sh!t by three months in the latest strike-related scheduling move. The series, which stars Aida Osman and KaMillion as estranged high school friends who form a rap duo, had been slated to premiere on Aug. 10. Max has moved the date back to Nov. 9. The story.

—Endless Summer. Amazon Prime Video has handed out a season-three renewal for its young-adult series The Summer I Turned Pretty. Based on the book trilogy by author and exec producer Jenny Han, season three will consist of 10 episodes — up from its previous orders of seven and eight in seasons one and two, respectively. Season three of the show was greenlit ahead of the double strike and production on the new season will not begin until after the stoppages have been resolved. The story.

—Lawyering up. Season two of The Lincoln Lawyer got off to a strong start for Netflix in Nielsen's streaming rankings — but another legal drama, Suits, remained a runaway No. 1. Lincoln Lawyer recorded 1.41b minutes of viewing for the week of July 3-9; the first half of its second season premiered July 6. The viewing time is an improvement of 59 percent over its series premiere week in May 2022 — when the show had 884m minutes of viewing — and its second-highest tally ever on the Nielsen streaming chart. The streaming rankings.

'Talk To Me' Filmmakers Talk Prequel They've Already Shot

►"If A24 gave us the opportunity, we wouldn’t be able to resist." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Aussie directors Danny and Michael Philippou about their breakout horror hit Talk to Me. The filmmaking brothers discuss the warm welcome they’ve received from genre titans like Jordan Peele and Ari Aster and reveal they hope to release a prequel focusing on Duckett: "It’s told entirely through the perspective of mobile phones and social media." The interview.

—Didn't land. In a clip that has gone viral on social media, Shazam! Fury of the Gods star Zachary Levi appeared to question the rules of the ongoing actors strike at a recent fan event in the U.K., describing the inability to talk about his film and TV work as “dumb.” It is unclear what Levi says before or after the clip and his comments appear to be a clumsy joke, rather than pointed criticism. The actor has expressed his strong support for the work stoppage in previous social media posts. The story.

—New date. Jonathan Majors' trial for misdemeanor charges of harassment and assault, has been pushed to Sept. 6. Majors appeared in person in New York Criminal Court Thursday, the original trial date, but the prosecution said it was not yet ready for trial as the attorneys are still obtaining discovery. Majors' girlfriend, the actress Megan Good, once again accompanied him to court. The story.

—Wait, what? Leslie David Baker is refunding all donations sent by fans for a proposed spinoff centered around his Office character Stanley Hudson. In an Instagram post, the actor revealed plans to refund money received via a 2020 Kickstarter campaign for the proposed project called Uncle Stan. The show focused on a retired Stanley getting a call from his nephew who asks for help with his two kids and running his shop. The campaign launched with a crowdfunding goal of $300,000 and Baker is returning $110,629.81. The story.

—Lovely gesture. Taylor Swift — currently on the road with her blockbuster, record-breaking Eras tour — is spreading the wealth from a successful, sold-out run by offering bonuses to those who worked on the show. The gifts total more than $55m and were recently doled out to crew and collaborators including truckers, dancers, riggers, sound technicians, catering staff and more. The story.

—Coloring outside the lines. Crayola, the creative arts supply company famous for its crayons, is launching a studio division to produce multigenre content for kids and families. Victoria Lozano, Crayola’s executive vp marketing, will oversee the division, which has already partnered with production companies, animation studios and IP owners to build out a content slate focused on exploring the possibilities of children’s creativity while also leveraging color as an element of the studio’s stories. The story.

Apple Tops 1B Total Paid Subscriptions

►A cool billy. Apple says it now has more than 1b paid subscribers to its various services, as that line of its business has hit an all-time high. The company revealed the number in its quarterly earnings report, disclosing total revenue of $81.8b, a decline of 1 percent from a year ago. The services business continues to grow at a rapid pace, hitting $21.2b in Q2, up from $19.6b last year. Apple services include Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple News and iCloud+. The results.

—Football effect. Amazon saw its profits grow in Q2, reporting net income of $6.7b, after reporting a net loss of $2b, in Q2 2022. Advertising revenue increased to $10.7b, from $8.8b a year ago amid a ramp up surrounding Thursday Night Football. In its quarterly results presentation, the company also gave a shout-out to the debut of the Matt Damon and Ben Affleck film Air, which executives noted played in more theaters worldwide than any other Amazon Original film. The results.

—Not great. AMC Networks, the company behind such cable channel brands as AMC, IFC and Sundance TV, reported a 17 percent drop in Q2 ad revenue. The company, which owns the streaming platforms AMC+, Acorn TV and Shudder, also disclosed Friday that its streaming subscribers dropped to 11m as of the end of June from 11.2m as of the end of Q1. The results.

—Making inroads. Sports streamer Fubo saw subscriber and advertising growth in Q2, as price increases and sports demand bolster its results. In North America, the streaming platform saw total subscribers grow to 1.2m, up 23 percent from the 947,000 a year ago. Revenue in North America reached $305m, up from $216m. The results.

Film Review: 'Meg 2: The Trench'

►"More megs, less fun." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Ben Wheatley's Meg 2: The Trench. Jason Statham goes bigger with this follow-up to the surprise summer 2018 hit, this time teaming with Chinese action star Wu Jing to take on even more prehistoric sharks. The review.

—"A fun, faithful stage adaptation hits Broadway." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Bob Gale's Back to the Future: The Musical. The Olivier-winning musical version of the hit 1985 film arrives in New York, complete with a flying DeLorean and music and lyrics by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard. The review.

—"[F]lower your expectations." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Amazon Prime Video's The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. Sigourney Weaver, Alycia Debnam-Carey star in this seven-part adaptation of Holly Ringland's Australia-set novel about abuse, lies and the healing power of flowers. The review.

—"High-concept and heartfelt." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Jared Moshé's Aporia. Judy Greer, Edi Gathegi and Payman Maadi star in the writer-director’s drama about a time machine causing untold ripple effects among a handful of people. The review.

Thank Pod It's Friday

► All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.

—TV's Top 5. THR's Lesley Goldberg and Dan Fienberg break down the latest TV news. This week's episode begins with an in depth discussion with The CW's entertainment president Brad Schwartz on the evolution of the network. There's a section on the ongoing writers strike and another on August television. And Dan reviews The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, Strange Planet and season three of Only Murders in the Building. Listen here.

In other news...

—Megan Thee Stallion shows off her acting skills in first trailer for Dicks: The Musical

—Taylor Swift adds 2024 U.S. shows to Eras tour

—Spike Lee, Pedro Almodóvar tapped for Toronto Film Festival awards

—eOne film/TV chief Steve Bertram to depart amid Lionsgate acquisition

—MIPCOM: WBD's Gerhard Zeiler to give opening keynote

—Tom Brady becomes minority owner of soccer team Birmingham City

What else we're reading...

—Ben Lindbergh and Rob Arthur write that Apple TV+ is on a scripted-series hot streak, but wonder if people are paying attention [Ringer]

—Fascinating James Ball piece, that goes inside the wellness-to-fascism pipeline [Guardian]

—Josef Adalian looks into the looming catalog crisis that is about to hit the streamers [Vulture]

—Brandy Jensen, who has a dog named Walton Doggins, interviewed Walton Goggins about playing Uncle Baby Billy and working on TV's funniest show [GQ]

—Here's your Friday list: "Every Marvel TV show, ranked from worst to best" [AV Club]

Today...

...in 1954, Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller Rear Window, starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, was unveiled in New York at the Rivoli Theatre. The Paramount feature went on to nab four Oscar nominations at the 27th Academy Awards, including for directing. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Greta Gerwig (40), Barack Obama (62), Billy Bob Thornton (68), Meghan Markle (42), Abigail Spencer (42), Dylan and Cole Sprouse (31), Daniel Dae Kim (55), Lauren Tom (62), Sebastian Roché (59), Marques Houston (42), Dennis Lehane (58), Darrell Britt-Gibson (37), Bruna Marquezine (28), Michael DeLuise (54), Jen Lilley (39), Adhir Kalyan (40), Lucinda Dryzek (32), James Tupper (58), Fenella Woolgar (54), Kristin Richardson (53), Martin Jarvis (82), Chet Hanks (33)

Carl Davis, who composed the scores for The French Lieutenant’s Woman, the BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice and perhaps most famously Abel Gance’s epic 1927 silent film Napoléon, has died. He was 86. The obituary.

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Written by José Vizcarra
on Friday, August 04, 2023 at 7:13 AM.

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