SAG-AFTRA Talks Stuck on AI Protections

►"This is massive." THR's Katie Kilkenny reports that when SAG-AFTRA responded to the studios’ latest contract offer on Monday, AI protections for high-earning members remained a key sticking point. The AMPTP is seeking to secure AI scans for high earning performers, while the union is looking to attach compensation for the re-use of AI scans as AMPTP members would also need to secure consent from the performer. The language currently in the AMPTP’s offer would see the studios and streamers secure the right to use scans of deceased performers without the consent of their estate or SAG-AFTRA. The story. 

—🏆 Euro stars 🏆 Jonathan Glazer’s harrowing Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest leads the nominations for this year’s European Film Awards revealed on Tuesday, picking up five nominations, including for best film and best director. Other best European film nominees include Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano, Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border and Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall. The nominees.

—"He walked like a king. And to me, always acted like one." Taraja Ramsess, a stunt performer and set dresser with credits including Fast & Furious, Avengers and the Black Panther movies, died on Halloween in a car crash in Atlanta that also claimed the lives of three of his children. He was 41. Ramsess died shortly before midnight after the vehicle in which he and his children were traveling hit a tractor trailer that had broken down in the left lane of an exit off Interstate 20. The obituary. 

Elfman Denies Most Recent Sexual Abuse Allegations, Claims Extortion

►Reponse. Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman is denying allegations from a woman who accused him of sexual abuse from 1997 to 2002. He claims that the lawsuit was “maliciously filed” for the “purpose of embarrassing him” with the goal of extorting settlement money. Elfman on Monday claimed that he “committed no sexual abuse, made no inappropriate advances and never inappropriately touched” his accuser. Two women have accused the Grammy-winning composer of sexual assault in similar lawsuits. The story. 

—Tribute special. VH1 is planning to honor the life and legacy of Matthew Perry with an exclusive Entertainment Tonight news special. The tribute special will feature archival footage and never-before-seen interviews of Perry at various stages of his life, reflecting on his career. VH1 & ET Present Matthew Perry: Life and Legacy is set to air Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on VH1, and encore Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. ET/PT. The story. 

—Looking for that Swift bump. Dancing With the Stars will have a Taylor Swift-themed episode this month. “A Celebration of Taylor Swift” will see contestants tackling the Grammy-winning megastar’s songs and dance moves. In the episode airing Tuesday, Nov. 21, the six remaining couples will compete to selections from Swift’s catalog. Longtime DWTS choreographer and the lead choreographer of Swift’s Eras Tour, Mandy Moore, will serve as special guest judge. The story. 

'Echo' to Launch Marvel Spotlight Banner

►New chapter for the MCU. The Disney+ series Echo will be the first one under Marvel’s Spotlight banner, which is rooted in Marvel Comics’ decades-long publishing history. In the comics, Spotlight was an anthology series introduced in 1971 that served as the origin of characters like Ghost Rider and Spider-Woman. The banner will separate TV shows and movies that require previous Marvel knowledge from those that don't. The story. 

—First project. Apple TV+, which holds the rights to the late Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts catalog, has ordered its first original animated film from Wildbrain Studios and Peanuts Worldwide. Steve Martino will direct the untitled film from producer Bonnie Arnold and co-writer Karey Kirkpatrick. The movie will follow Snoopy and Charlie Brown as they and the rest of the Peanuts gang go on an epic journey to the big city. The story.

—New gig. James Corden is getting back into the interview game. The former CBS late night host has set an interview program with SiriusXM, which will “seek to tell the untold stories of some of the most well-known public figures.” The show, This Life of Mine with James Corden, will premiere in early 2024. The story. 

Bleacher Report's Next Big Bet: Athlete-Led Video Podcasts

►Growth opportunity. Athletes are increasingly becoming media personalities in their own right, and one of the fastest-growing areas is the athlete-led video podcast. THR's Alex Weprin reports that Bleacher Report, the digital sports brand owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, is making these podcasts a priority and NFL stars like Von Miller and Micah Parsons are hosting shows alongside MLB star Mookie Betts, the NBA's Draymond Green, and other athletes. The story.  

—Snapped up. Bleecker Street has nabbed Tony Goldwyn’s Ezra, which stars Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, Robert De Niro and newcomer William A. Fitzgerald in a drama about the challenges of parenthood and autism. Ezra, which bowed at the Toronto Film Festival, also has Vera Farmiga, Rainn Wilson and Whoopi Goldberg in its ensemble cast. Bleecker Street plans a 2024 theatrical release. The story.

—Regulation incoming. The U.K. government plans to present the much-debated Media Bill in the new legislative period, including regulation of streaming services in line with TV networks. The Media Bill would, among other things, force streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ to follow the code of conduct set out by U.K. media regulator Ofcom, whose rules around harmful material have applied to the national broadcasters for decades. The story. 

Schwarzenegger Honored By Holocaust Museum L.A.

►"We have to speak up and confront" antisemitism. Arnold Schwarzenegger was honored with the inaugural Award of Courage at Holocaust Museum LA’s annual gala on Monday for his longtime fight against antisemitism and bigotry. The event, held at the Beverly Hills Hotel, was particularly timely due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, and counted 27 Holocaust survivors as guests of the evening. The story. 

—Harrowing footage. Private audiences in Los Angeles and New York City will this week be given the opportunity to view Bearing Witness, a 43-minute montage of graphic videos images assembled by the IDF taken from the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack. The location and times for the private screenings have been withheld for security reasons. The story. 

'Stranger Things': What We Know About the Final Season

►The end is nigh. The hype machine for Stranger Things season five is up and running. THR's Christy Piña breaks down the final run for the Upside Down saga — from new and returning castmembers to what chaos Vecna might bring to the Hawkins crew in the hit Netflix series. The story. 

—"It’s also the origin story of how Henry Creel became number one." Stranger Things: The First Shadow — the stage play based on the series — promises to be a “cinematic” experience that lays the groundwork for the series biggest villain, Henry Creel. In a new three-minute featurette released Monday, Stranger Things co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer were joined by the production’s creative team and cast, including director Stephen Daldry, as they teased what fans can expect from the upcoming live stage show. The story. 

—🎭 Heading to Broadway 🎭 Boy George will join the cast of Moulin Rouge! The Musical on Broadway in February. George will play the role of Harold Zidler, the club owner of the Moulin Rouge, starting Feb. 6 through May 12. The role of Zidler is currently being played by Tituss Burgess, who is set to end his run on Dec. 17. Eric Anderson is scheduled to return to the role on Dec. 19 and play it through Feb. 4. The story. 

How 'Blue Eye Samurai' Explores Mixed Race Identity

►"We wanted it to just break all of the boxes." THR's Abbey White spoke to Amber Noizumi and Michael Green, the co-creators of Netflix's Blue Eye Samurai. The duo discuss how various elements of the animated series' production — including its art, music composition, setting and casting — helped deliver their 17th century tale of revenge. The interview. 

—"Robbie and Robbie — they had this great chemistry." Abbey also spoke to Dave Rogers, director of episode five of the third season of Amazon Prime Video's Upload. Rogers discusses the video game inspiration behind that colorful horse VR workout class and how a Picard marketing campaign helped the show create a dystopic design to hide the houseless. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. 

—"When franchises lose their way, one of the mistakes they make is forgetting what made the franchise great in the first place." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Terrifier 2 filmmaker Damien Leone about the upcoming threequel of the horror franchise. The writer-director traces how the no-budget feature starring Art the Clown launched a box office brand. The interview.

TV Review: 'The Curse'

►"The year's squirmiest new show." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Showtime's The Curse. Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder play married HGTV stars in this exhilarating, exhausting home renovation cringe comedy that was co-created by Benny Safdie. The review. 

—"Vivid and affecting." THR film critic Sheri Linden reviews Nick Broomfield's The Stones and Brian Jones. The documentarian weaves together a vast range of archival material and new commentary from bandmate Bill Wyman in this portrait of Brian Jones and the early years of The Rolling Stones. The review.

In other news...

—Final The Marvels trailer sees a band of heroes unite for “one last fight”

—Mark Wahlberg plays a diaper-changing killer in The Family Plan trailer

—Reacher goes big in S2 trailer

—Saturday Night Live: All the S49 hosts and musical guests

—CFDA Awards: The 2023 winners and red carpet stars

—Time Studios taps Dave O’Connor as president

—CAA’s Music City office to relocate to Nashville Yards

—Fire of Love producers Sandbox Films opens NYC office

—Pat E. Johnson, Karate Kid choreographer, trainer and referee, dies at 84

—Gary Martin, longtime Sony Pictures exec and MPTF benefactor, dies at 79

​​​What else we're reading...

—Li Zhou explains the dire medical crisis unfolding in Gaza [Vox]

—Joshua Rivera writes that with the new Spotlight banner, Marvel is admitting that fans are increasingly put off by MCU homework [Polygon]

—Michael Schulman's Ridley Scott profile has been aggregated to death, but it's well worth reading the whole thing, not least for the legendary director's dismissive turn of phrase [New Yorker]

—Simran Hans talked to How to Have Sex filmmaker Molly Manning-Walker about the onscreen depiction of sexual assault [NYT]

—Helen Holmes looks at the implications of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop now being available in Target and whether it is "going mass" [Daily Beast]
​​
Today...  

...in 2003, the ensemble romantic comedy Love Actually hit theaters across America. The film would later become a (much-debated) holiday staple on television screens. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Lindsay Duncan (73), Adam Devine (40), Yunjin Kim (50), Mike Henry (58), Algee Smith (29), Lawrence O'Donnell (72), Amybeth McNulty (22), Sophia Ali (28), Jason and Jeremy London (51), Billy Gallo (57), Ronen Rubinstein (30), Natalie Madueño (36), Reid Ewing (35), Rachele Brooke Smith (36), Lucas Neff (38), Christopher Knight (66), Michelle Veintimilla (31), Holmes Osborne (76), Troy Byer (59), Alonna Shaw (59), Hannah Zeile (26), Preston Vanderslice (38), Park Ji-hu (20), Rick Malambri (41)