Zack Snyder's Next Cut: No Capes Allowed

►On the cover. Zack Snyder is not the sort of filmmaker who’s feted at film festivals, or even the sort whose movies sparkle at the box office on the Fourth of July weekend. His operatic, bombastic pictures are blunt instruments, not precision, clockwork devices, which is part of what makes them so contentious. But boy, do they have their fans, an army of them. After the chaos and controversy of his DC movies, the polarizing director is giving outer space a try with Netflix’s Rebel Moon. THR's Borys Kit spoke to Snyder about his obsessions and the massive double production that Netflix says cost $165m. The cover story. 

The Golden Bachelor's Not-So-Golden Past

►Art is a lie, nothing is real. Gerry Turner, the star of ABC's ratings monster The Golden Bachelor, made viewers swoon as his search for love displayed such emotional awareness, authenticity and willingness to listen that his whole persona seemed to have been cooked up in some Perfect Man lab. For THR, Suzanne O'Malley and Barbara Lippert dig into the secret history of America’s senior sweetheart and found secret girlfriends, a juiced-up résumé and the selling of a septuagenarian stud. The story. 

—Not happy. The WGA slammed The TV Academy for apparently making the decision to remove the presentation of the outstanding writing for a variety series/special award from the Primetime Emmys telecast that will take place on Jan. 15, 2024. In a missive sent on Tuesday to members of the WGA East and West, the guild’s top leadership calls the TV Academy’s move a “regrettable decision” and one “without any justification or defensible reason” which “devalues our profession.” The story. 

—No-brainer. Starz, which cleaned house during Hollywood’s dual strikes, has renewed Power Book III: Raising Kanan for a fourth season. The news comes mere days before the third cycle of the spinoff series returns. Raising Kanan is the third spinoff in the Power franchise from creatives Courtney Kemp and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. Sascha Penn returns as showrunner for season four after Kemp decamped her Lionsgate TV overall deal for a rich pact at Netflix. She remains involved as a non-writing exec producer in the lucrative franchise. The story. 

—Snapped up. Netflix has picked up It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia grads John and Dave Chernin’s high school comedy Incoming, which stars The Black Phone actor Mason Thames, Bobby Cannavale, Kaitlin Olson and Scott MacArthur. The Chernin brothers’ directorial debut from Artists Road and Spyglass Media production follows four freshmen — played by Thames, Bardia Seiri, Ramon Reed and Raphael Alejandro — as they navigate the terrors of youth at their first-ever party. The story.

—Smoldering bridges. Taika Waititi has revealed that he initially had “no interest” in directing 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok for Marvel, only taking on the gig as he was poor and had just had a second child. Appearing on the Smartless podcast, the Kiwi filmmaker offered a frank account of how he managed to secure the job to helm Thor 3, admitting that he never read the Thor comics as a child and that he was still "baffled by this character." The story. 

Linda Yaccarino's Very Unmerry X Mess

►"She let her ego get the best of her." Linda Yaccarino, the former NBCUniversal ad sales chief, thought she could manage the mercurial Elon Musk when she dramatically became the CEO of calamity-stricken social media platform X. THR's editor-at-large Kim Masters write that her former colleagues are baffled at the result. The story. 

—As you were. The Joe Rogan Experience was the top podcast of the year globally in 2023, marking its fourth consecutive year in that position, according to Spotify Wrapped data released Wednesday. Wrapped, which analyzes listening data in 2023 about the most-streamed artists and podcasts on the platform, also saw Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy (which, like Joe Rogan’s, is exclusive to Spotify) retain its second place spot on the global list, while Dr. Andrew Huberman’s science podcast, Huberman Lab, jumped to third. The list. 

—Usual suspects. Staying with Spotify, the music streaming giant has revealed its most-streamed artist, song and album of the year. In a surprise to absolutely no one, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and Bad Bunny have reason to celebrate. Swift is the music service's most-streamed artist, while Cyrus has the top song with "Flowers" and Bad Bunny has the most-streamed album for a second consecutive year. The list. 

Cynthia Nixon on Hunger Strike to Protest Israel-Hamas Conflict

►"None of this is normal. None of this is routine and none of this can be allowed to continue." Cynthia Nixon is going on a hunger strike to protest the Israel–Hamas war. The Sex and the City star joined a group of progressive lawmakers at a protest rally outside the White House on Monday where they called for a permanent Israeli ceasefire in Gaza. The 57-year-old actress and activist confirmed she’s embarking on a hunger strike for two days. The idea is to call attention to the plight of Palestinians who are struggling to find food and water due to Israel’s blockade. The story. 

—"I used the wrong example to make that point and I regret that." Supermodel Gigi Hadid has backtracked from claims that Israel is the “only country in the world” keeping children as prisoners of war. Hadid, in a since-deleted Instagram post, had used as an example, Palestinian Ahmad Manasra. Her post came amid the Israel-Hamas hostage cease-fire deal. The story. 

—Stellar career. Victor J. Kemper, the veteran cinematographer who shot more than 50 features, including Dog Day Afternoon, Eyes of Laura Mars, The Jerk and Slap Shot, during his four-decade career, died Monday, the American Society of Cinematographers announced. He was 96. The obituary. 

—Sudden death. Thomas Augsberger, the producer, international film consultant, former Lionsgate board member and founder of Eden Rock Media, has died. He was 60. Ausberger passed away suddenly at his home in the Hollywood Hills on Tuesday, his family told THR. The obituary. 

—Cause revealed. My Sister’s Keeper star Evan Ellingson’s cause of death has been revealed less than a month after the actor died at age 35. Ellingson died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to THR on Tuesday. On Nov. 5, the actor was found dead at his Fontana, California, residence, the Sheriff’s Department said at the time. The story. 

Iger Tells Disney Employees He "Never Second Guessed" Return

►"I knew that there were myriad challenges that I would face coming back." At a town hall meeting, Disney chief Bob Iger told employees of the company that his second turn as CEO has been more challenging than he anticipated, but that he is nonetheless “optimistic” about the entertainment giant’s future. The event was held in New York at the New Amsterdam Theatre and moderated by ABC News anchor David Muir. The story. 

—"Do what you can; he would have been grateful." Keith Morrison, who is Matthew Perry's stepfather, is speaking out nearly a month after the Friends actor died at age 54. The Dateline correspondent took to X Monday to encourage people to donate to the Matthew Perry Foundation on Giving Tuesday, a day for celebrating and partaking in charitable generosity and philanthropic efforts. The story. 

—Comfort in Chandler. With the news of Perry’s death in late October, viewers seemingly turned to his best-known work on Friends to remember him. The beloved comedy gathered 583m minutes of viewing on Max for the week of Oct. 23-29, according to Nielsen’s streaming ratings. That was a 31 percent gain over the previous week and the biggest total watch time for Friends since early February. The streaming ratings.

—"Not driven by an individual." Sean “Diddy” Combs has resigned as chairman of hip-hop TV network Revolt as he faces multiple sexual assault and battery accusations dating back to the early 1990s. In a statement Tuesday, Revolt said that Combs has stepped down to ensure that the network "remains steadfastly focused on our mission to create meaningful content for the culture and amplify the voices of all Black people." The story.

—"A lot of young actors may not be up for the task." Colman Domingo addressed the rumors that Euphoria is a “toxic production” saying the reports aren’t true. In a new interview, while promoting his new film Rustin, the actor explained that the rumors about the HBO drama's work environment may have come from younger actors who haven’t spent as much time in the industry as he has. The story. 

'The Crown' Shares First Look at William and Kate's "Royal Fairytale"

►Last hurrah. The Crown is preparing to release its final six episodes, and on Tuesday Netflix teased nine photos from the Emmy-winning historical drama’s climax. The first look photos for the second half of season six — which will mark the end of the hit royal drama — show a grown-up Prince William and Prince Harry following the death of their mother Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki), and introduces Meg Bellamy as the highly anticipated Kate Middleton. The pictures. 

—🤝 Can't quit radio 🤝 THR's Lacey Rose has the scoop on iHeartMedia inking a new three-year deal with Ryan Seacrest, bringing his contract through the end of 2027. Under the agreement, the omni-present entertainer will continue to be a core personality across all iHeartRadio platforms, hosting and producing its No. 1 L.A. morning drive-time show for 102.7 KIIS-FM as well as the nationally syndicated On Air with Ryan Seacrest and American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest. The story. 

—🤝 Adrian Chiles Cinematic Universe please, lads 🤝 Sony Pictures Entertainment has signed a new exclusive first-look deal with The Guardian, giving the studio first rights to the U.K. newspaper’s reporting for film and TV adaptations. The agreement includes development rights to The Guardian’s current and developing news stories, as well as the paper’s archive, reaching back 200 years. The story.

In other news...

—Jessica Chastain plays damaged single mother in Memory trailer

—Dr. Death trailer: Edgar Ramírez stars as transplant surgeon Paolo Macchiarini

—Fallout: Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins brave the wasteland in first photos from Amazon series

—Robert Eggers' Nosferatu sets holiday 2024 release

—Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer tops HPA Awards

—Don Burgess to receive ASC Cinematographers lifetime achievement award

—Larry Fink, legendary American photographer, dies at 82

​​​What else we're reading...

—Ben Goggin reports that Elon Musk has boosted the 'pizzagate' conspiracy theory five times in the last two weeks [NBC News]

—With Wish and The Marvels the latest Disney films to bomb this year, Jesse Hassenger reflects on the company's annus horribilis [Guardian]

—As Studio Ghibli readies the release of The Boy and the Heron, Carlos Aguilar goes behind the scenes at the studio and finds out what it's like to work for a master like Hayao Miyazaki [NYT]

—Twenty years after Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy concluded, Kevin Baxter reflects on how the films and the associated fandom and tourism changed New Zealand [LAT]

—Li Zhou writes that scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos may have finally (finally!) reached the end of the line [Vox]

Today...  

...in 2018, Netflix released Andy Serkis' Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. An adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories, the film, featuring an all-star cast, was originally slated to be a Warner Bros. release in 2016, but was delayed due to Disney's live-action Jungle Book and was eventually sold to the streamer. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Gemma Chan (41), Anna Faris (47), Don Cheadle (59), Saagar Shaikh (37), Howie Mandel (68), Dany Garcia (55), Joel Coen (69), Lucas Black (41), Lauren German (45), Janina Gavankar (43), Diane Ladd (88), Andrew McCarthy (61), Jeff Fahey (71), Laura Marano (28), Sam Keeley (33), Cathy Moriarty (63), Claudia O'Doherty (40), Kim Delaney (62), Liv Hewson (28), Brian Baumgartner (51), Jennifer Elise Cox (54), Briana Cuoco (35), Diego Boneta (33), Larry Joe Campbell (53), Jackie Hoffman (63), David Rintoul (75), Naoko Mori (52), Julian Ovenden (47), Gena Lee Nolin (52), Lovie Simone (25), Paola Turbay (53), Tom Wright (71), Tiffany Smith (41), David Lambert (30), Hannah Endicott-Douglas (29), Fawad Khan (42), Ehren McGhehey (47), Blake Tuomy-Wilhoit (33), Eddie Spears (41)