Meet the Superstars Who Glam Up Hollywood's A-List  

►On the cover. From the Oscars, Met Gala and Barbie to Beyoncé’s and Taylor Swift’s mega tours, to celebrity makeup brand success and viral Instagram and TikTok trends, it was a colossal year for beauty. In THR’s 2023 Beauty Issue, the spotlight is on a star-loved roster of 40 hair­stylists, makeup artists, nail artists and groomers, with some photographed getting ready with their celebrity clients, including Zoe Saldaña, Adam Driver, Michael B. Jordan, Ashley Park, Lola Tung, Gabrielle Union and Dakota Johnson. The cover story.

Reporters Grapple With Covering Israel-Hamas War

►"Everyone wants us to pick a side." For THR, Brian Stelter takes an inside look at how news correspondents covering the Israel-Hamas war are juggling online harassment even as they dodge the dangers of real-time reporting in the escalating conflict. The story.

—"Maha isn’t an antisemite, she’s just wrong." Aaron Sorkin has dropped CAA and returned to WME over a post critical of Israel made by its co-chief of the motion pictures department, Maha Dakhil. The Oscar-winner had been repped by WME until a 2017 move over to rival CAA. Dakhil, whose A-list client roster includes Tom Cruise, Natalie Portman and Reese Witherspoon, came under scrutiny for an Instagram repost that referenced “genocide” on the part of Israel amid a war in Gaza. That post was later deleted and Dakhil apologized for the remarks. The story.

—"We have been made aware of social media posts by one of our senior agents." Kitty Laing, head of comedy at United Agents, is under investigation by the top U.K. talent agency over sharing and reposting material highly critical of Israel on her social media. Laing represents comedy writers and actors and sketch comedy artists like Michelle Asante, Jamie Demetriou, Jack Brett Anderson, and Dan Harry and Ollie King. The story. 

—"We believe it is important to both explain our process and to attempt to rectify the situation." In the face of criticism, and following a similar move by the WGA East, the WGA West is explaining why it has so far not issued a statement on Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The officers explained that in the early days following the attacks, leaders were “horrified” but felt it was “outside the purview of a U.S. labor union representing writers to comment on it.” The story.  

—"I no longer wish to be a fellow traveller with those who hide behind the fetid veil of a morally bankrupt wokeism." Dan Gordon, a 56-year veteran of the WGA West, is becoming a Financial Core (Fi-Core) non-member over the union’s lack of an official statement about Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel. The veteran writer said he intended to inform the WGA West that he is renouncing his membership as a result of the guild’s silence on the attack. The scribe told THR that his adopted sister “just escaped being massacred” as her neighboring kibbutz was attacked by terrorists. The story. 

Inside the A-List Pressure Campaign That Brought SAG-AFTRA and Studios Back to the Table

►What really went down. THR's Pamela McClintock, Katie Kilkenny and Rebecca Keegan report that after Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, George Clooney and other A-list talent lobbied SAG-AFTRA to get back to dealmaking, a call between Disney CEO Bob Iger and the union's chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland broke the impasse. Says union president Fran Drescher, "I don’t need to emulate male energy to be an effective leader." The story. 

—About those talks. SAG-AFTRA and the Hollywood studios are set to return to the bargaining table on Wednesday after negotiations over a new three-year union contract resumed on Tuesday after a nearly two-week pause. Katie Kilkenny reports that Tuesday's session saw union negotiators sit down with studio leaders Ted Sarandos (Netflix), Bob Iger (Disney), Donna Langley (NBCUniversal) and David Zaslav (Warner Bros. Discovery) at SAG-AFTRA’s national headquarters. The story.

—New, old face. The Tonight Show is bringing in a new — but familiar — head writer with A.D. Miles rejoining the late night show. Miles will take over as head writer from Mason Steinberg, who is departing after a year and change in the role. Miles was the head writer on Late Night from 2009-14 and moved to Tonight when Jimmy Fallon took over the franchise from Jay Leno. He remained head writer on Tonight until 2017 before departing to work on other projects. The story. 

Why Hollywood Is in the Throes of an IP Frenzy

►"Sometimes people just throw their hat in the ring because others are bidding and they don’t want to be left out, and then they lose their minds." THR's Lacey Rose and Lesley Goldberg write that the recent flurry of media-rights sales is approaching early COVID days, the last time production ground to a halt and all of Hollywood had time on its hands. During the work stoppages, an influx of well-capitalized indie producers — A24 and Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap among them — are bringing urgency to bidding wars over hot podcasts, articles and books. The analysis. 

—About those wild bidding wars. Lesley has the scoop on A24 overcoming fierce competition for the rights to adapt Rufi Thorpe’s upcoming book Margo’s Got Money Troubles, with David E. Kelley in talks to co-write the TV adaption. Nicole Kidman as well as Elle and Dakota Fanning’s production companies are also attached to executive produce the potential series, which landed at A24 following a bidding war that featured nearly a dozen companies who were competing for the rights to the book about controlling your own narrative. The story. 

—This is getting silly. Amazon has emerged the victor in another massive bidding war. MGM Studios has won the rights to adapt the Vanity Fair story, “True Crime, True Faith: The Serial Killer and the Texas Mom Who Stopped Him,” which ran in the magazine’s September issue. The Julie Miller-penned piece reveals the story behind the 1981 abduction of Margy Palm by serial killer Stephen Morin outside a Texas Kmart. The story. 
 
—Oh come on! In yet another competitive bidding war, Hulu has won the rights to Lucy Foley’s bestseller The Guest List. Liz Tigelaar, the showrunner on Little Fires Everywhere and Tiny Beautiful Things, is developing a limited series based on the book. The TV iteration, like Foley’s 2020 book, will be set on a remote island off a rugged coast, where guests attend an elaborate celebrity wedding. The story. 

Britney's Most Memorable Memoir Revelations

►"There’s always been more leeway in Hollywood for men than for women." In her new memoir The Woman in Me, Britney Spears recounts the stories behind her most memorable career milestones and details the significant pain caused by the men in her life. From passing on a role in Chicago, her bond with Madonna and more bad behavior from ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake, THR's Seija Rankin highlights a few of the moments (both light and dark) that stood out most from the book. The story. 

—"Be the show that gives people a break from all this bullshit." Tom Bergeron is opening up about his dismissal from ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, and the former host is not holding back. Bergeron left the reality competition series in 2020 after being openly critical of the producers casting former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer in the show’s 28th season. Speaking with the Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast, Bergeron detailed his perspective of the behind-the-scenes conversations that led to his ouster after hosting the hit show for 15 years. The story. 

—Cheers to Chris Nolan. Imax continues to benefit from Hollywood’s ongoing box office recovery as the film technologies company unveiled its third-quarter financial results on Wednesday. Imax posted revenue of $103.9m for the latest financial quarter, up 51 percent from a year ago. The company had Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer generating more than $184m in Imax global box office across its network, making it a top 5 Imax release of all time. The results. 

—🎭 An "apple" original drama 🎭 Claes Bang has signed on to star in Nick Hamm’s period action film William Tell, playing the legendary Swiss marksman. The Danish actor, star of Ruben Östlund’s 2017 Cannes Palme d’Or winner The Square, will be joined by an ensemble cast, including Connor Swindells, Ellie Bamber, Golshifteh Farahani, Jonah Hauer-King, Rafe Spall, Emily Beecham, Jonathan Pryce and Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley. The story. 

—🎭 The wicker man 🎭 Oscar winner Olivia Colman is set to star as a fisherwoman and Dev Patel as her inanimate made-to-order husband in the twisted romance pic Wicker. Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson will direct the indie from a script they adapted based on a short story, The Wicker Husband, by Ursula Wills-Jones. Topic Studios and Tango will finance and produce the feature, with the cameras set to start rolling next year. The story. 

2023 Gotham Awards Film Nominees

►🏆 Strong field 🏆 Past Lives, A Thousand and One and All of Us Strangers are among the top film nominees for the 2023 Gotham Awards. Celine Song's Past Lives and A.V. Rockwell's A Thousand and One are both up for best feature, breakthrough director and best lead performance. Other best feature nominees are Ira Sachs’ Passages, which is also up for best lead performance, Tina Satter’s Reality and Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up. The nominees. 

—🏆 Streamers lead the way 🏆 On Tuesday, the Casting Society announced its nominations in the television, theatre, commercials, short film and short form series for its 2023 Artios Awards. Netflix led the nominations in the TV categories with eight nods, while HBO/Max, Apple TV+ and Prime Video each received five nominations. The winners will be announced at a gala on March 7, 2024. The nominees. 

—Shortlists unveiled. Also on Tuesday, the International Documentary Association announced its best feature and short shortlists for the 2023 IDA Documentary Awards. The ceremony will be held during the week of Dec. 11 in Los Angeles — venue information is set to follow. The shortlists. 

Richard Roundtree 1942 - 2023

►The first Black action hero. Richard Roundtree, the ultracool actor who helped open the door to a generation of Black filmmakers and performers with his portrayal of private eye John Shaft, “the cat that won’t cop out when there’s danger all about,” died Tuesday. He was 81. Roundtree died at his home in Los Angeles of pancreatic cancer, his manager, Patrick McMinn, told THR. In addition to playing Shaft, he was memorable in Roots, Once Upon a Time … When We Were Colored and Man Friday. The obituary.

—"The best to ever do it." Samuel L. Jackson, Gabrielle Union and Taraji P. Henson were among the Hollywood notables who took to social media to remember Richard Roundtree. In a touching tribute on Instagram, Jackson, who took over the Shaft film franchise from Roundtree in 2000, wrote, "His passing leaves a deep hole not only in my heart, but I’m sure a lotta y’all’s, too." The reaction. 

In other news...

—Occupied City trailer: Steve McQueen fuses wartime Amsterdam and modern-day extremism

—Leave the World Behind trailer: Julia Roberts stars in Obamas-produced Netflix thriller

—Netflix’s Best. Christmas. Ever! trailer: Brandy Norwood, Heather Graham butt heads over the holidays

—Michael Imperioli and NBA stars stage a heist in trailer for league's in-season tournament

—Adam Sandler, Jon Stewart, Amy Schumer, Chris Rock to take part in Night of Too Many Stars benefit

—Where to eat in Beverly Hills now

—Steven Weisberg, film Editor on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Men in Black II, dies at 68

​​​What else we're reading...

—Laura Bradley considers the real villain at the heart of Britney Spears' new memoir [Daily Beast]

—For Wicked’s 20th anniversary, Jackson McHenry spoke to original stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth about high notes, low rumors, and onstage emergencies [Vulture]

—A wild Noah Goldberg story on the legal dispute over Garbutt House, a sprawling L.A. property that has links to Kanye West, controversial American Apparel founder Dov Charney and alt right figure Milo Yiannopoulos [LAT]

—Jeremy Barr profiles Jesse Watters, Tucker Carlson’s perma-tanned replacement at 8 p.m. on Fox News, who is doing his utmost not to get fired [WaPo]

—Vanessa Friedman writes that almost 25 years after her tragic death, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy has become the ghost influencer of the current fashion season [NYT]
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Today...  

...in 1978, writer-director John Carpenter unleashed Halloween in theaters, spawning decades of imitations and sequels of the iconic horror title. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Antony Starr (48), Katy Perry (39), Nancy Cartwright (66), Mia Goth (30), Mia Wasikowska (34), Annabelle Dexter-Jones (37), Christopher McQuarrie (55), Marion Ross (95), Tracy Nelson (60), Mathieu Amalric (58), Tyler Alvarez (26), Adam Goldberg (53), Leslie Grossman (52), Laëtitia Eïdo (38), David McCormack (55), Craig Robinson (52), Melinda McGraw (55), Michael Weston (50), Zachary Knighton (45), Mehcad Brooks (43), Mariana Klaveno (44), Persia White (51), Valter Skarsgård (28), Kristian Bruun (44), Josh Henderson (42), Nika Futterman (54), Kelley Missal (30), Adam Pascal (53), Phil Daniels (65), Krista Marie Yu (35)