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Academy Unveils Shortlists in 10 Oscar Categories; Vin Diesel Sued For Alleged Sexual Battery; Will Taraji P. Henson Get Her Due?

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December 22, 2023

What's news: Lionsgate is set to spinoff its studio business in a $4.6b SPAC deal. Jo Koy will host the Golden Globes. HBO renews The Gilded Age for a third season. Veteran investment banker James Gorman will join Disney's board. The Critics Choice Awards is changing venues. — Abid Rahman

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Academy Unveils Shortlists in 10 Oscar Categories

►🏆 Making the cut 🏆 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday announced shortlists in 10 categories for the 96th Academy Awards. The shortlists were unveiled in the following categories: documentary feature film, documentary short film, international feature film, makeup and hairstyling, music (original score), music (original song), animated short film, live-action short film, sound and visual effects. Barbie, Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Color Purple and The Zone of Interest are among the film that made the cut on multiple lists. The lists.

—Mixed messages for Barbie and The Color Purple. In the aftermath of Thursday morning’s announcement of shortlists for 10 Oscar categories, here are THR's executive editor of awards Scott Feinberg's main takeaways. The analysis.

—"This is that moment where I get to make my Filipino family proud." The Golden Globe Awards have tapped comedian Jo Koy as host for the 2024 ceremony. Koy will make his award show hosting debut at the Globes, following another stand-up, Jerrod Carmichael, who hosted the 80th awards. The story.

—Change of venue. The Critics Choice Awards is changing venues in 2024, moving to Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar as its traditional home remains in a labor dispute with the hospitality union Unite Here Local 11. Critics Choice Association CEO Joey Berlin confirmed to THR on Thursday that the Jan. 14 ceremony would no longer be taking place at the Fairmont Century Plaza, as was previously planned. The story.

Vin Diesel Sued For Alleged Sexual Battery By Ex-Assistant

►Suit filed. Vin Diesel has been accused of sexual battery by his former assistant, who claims he assaulted her in a Georgia hotel in 2010 when Fast Five was filming. In a lawsuit filed on Thursday, Asta Jonasson alleges Diesel pinned her to a wall where he groped and masturbated in front of her. The complaint names the actor's One Race Films, which allegedly fired Jonasson in retaliation for resisting his advances and to have the “assault covered up.” In a statement, Diesel's lawyer said his client "categorically denies this claim in its entirety." The story.

—🤝 SPAC deal 🤝 In a move it has telegraphed for some time, Lionsgate unveiled a deal to spin off its studio business in a SPAC deal to create a separately traded public company with a $4.6b enterprise value. The proposed SPAC-style merger follows strategic talks by the company to spin off its studio division away from the Starz streaming platform. The studio business comprises Lionsgate’s TV production and Motion Picture Group divisions and an 18,000-title film and TV library. The story.

—Succession planning. James Gorman, who will step aside as CEO of Morgan Stanley at the end of this year after overseeing what is widely regarded as a carefully-planned succession process at the investment bank, will officially join Disney’s board in February. And he says he intends to be involved in Disney’s succession planning, finding a suitable person to follow Bob Iger. The story.

—New additions. Byron Allen’s expanding Allen Media Group has added to its board. The company has tapped six new board members, led by CFO Chris Malone, Janice Arouh, president, network distribution, who handles distribution strategy for Allen’s media portfolio, and Mark DeVitre, executive vp and general counsel. Other new board members are Eric Gould, executive vp of finance and chief investment officer, Sydnie Karras, vp and chief accounting officer, and Andy Temple, COO, broadcast sales and syndication for TV and streaming assets. The story.

With 'Color Purple,' Will Taraji P. Henson Get Her Due?

►"There's a place for me because there's a girl out there that needs to see herself on this screen." Taraji P. Henson made headlines after tearfully calling out Hollywood for not giving Black actresses the equity they deserve. While it’s unclear if playing the role of Shug Avery in The Color Purple remake will get her any closer, the project and her purpose keep her going. The story.

—"There is much more story to tell." The Gilded Age, the lavish period drama from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, has scored a third season renewal at HBO. The pickup comes just four days after the show's second season finale on Dec. 17. The Gilded Age is a co-production of HBO and Universal TV. Fellowes created the long-developing series which was initially set up at NBC before moving to HBO. The story.

—The brand is strong. Squid Game: The Challenge may not be as big as the show that inspired it, but the competition series still got off to a very strong start. Netflix’s unscripted offshoot of its most popular series of all time scored a strong opening in the Nielsen streaming rankings for Thanksgiving week. Adam Sandler’s animated movie Leo claimed the top spot overall, and Young Sheldon also joined the top 10 after making its Netflix debut. The streaming rankings.

'Naked Gun' Turns 35

►"We just made each other laugh all day long. When “nice beaver” came up, we laughed for a day and a half." THR gadabout Ryan Gajewski spoke to Naked Gun director David Zucker and co-writer Pat Proft as the classic comedy celebrates its 35th anniversary. The pair discuss the unique casting choices (Bo Derek as Jane?), bumpy first test screening and disappointment over their script for a fourth film. The oral history.

—"Authenticity was key for us, showing Nigeria as it is, in a way that Nigerian people would recognize." THR's Scott Roxborough goes inside Editi Effiong's The Black Book, the Nigerian revenge thriller that was made for just $1m, and went on to hit No. 3 on Netflix's global charts in 2023, with more than 20m views worldwide. The story.

—Pulled. Fox canceled press appearances for John Schneider the morning after his emotional exit from The Masked Singer over a since-deleted X post about President Joe Biden. Fox had no comment in the wake of the Dukes of Hazzard star calling on the social media post for the public executions of Biden and his son Hunter Biden. The story.

—A loss, but minimal payout. Disney infringed on a VFX company’s intellectual property when it used copyrighted technology to animate CG characters in Beauty and the Beast, a jury has found. Siding in favor of Rearden, a jury on Thursday awarded the firm roughly $600,000 after finding that Disney knew it may be engaging in copyright infringement by utilizing VFX software called MOVA Contour, which has been used in array of titles by major studios across Hollywood, but continued to use and benefit from it regardless. The story.

'The Crown' Producer on Critiques of Diana's "Ghost"

►"I’d say the thing that might’ve been slightly misunderstood was the ghosts, because they were never intended as ghosts." For THR, Brande Victorian spoke to The Crown executive producer Suzanne Mackie about the contentious final season of the Netflix hit series. As well as addressing the critical pushback on the use of so-called "ghosts," Mackie discusses the return of Claire Foy and Olivia Colman in the series finale. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.

—"It’s very cool to get to do a cinematic experiment, something that is artistically courageous." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Joel Kinnaman about his new film Silent Night. The Swedish actor discusses working with action master John Woo on the near dialogue free movie, explains why he does not go method for roles, and reflects on one memorable day he spent at Nic Cage's home. The interview.

—"It’s hard enough to cut a character that you love, never mind when it’s a real person." Brian also spoke to filmmaker Sean Durkin about his harrowing new A24 wrestling drama The Iron Claw. Durkin discusses saving perhaps Zac Efron's finest scene of his career till the end of the film, compares the toxic patriarchal figures that appear in all his films so far, and details why he omitted Chris Von Erich from the feature. The interview.

—"[Our son] has to sit there as we’re pitching out ideas about his parents’ death or their sex lives." THR's Lacey Rose spoke to Mandy Patinkin and his wife Kathryn Grody as they discuss their insanely intimate family dramedy that Showtime shelved in June. The unlikely TikTok stars open up about what might have been with the Jax Media project they created with their son Gideon. The interview.

In 2023's AI-Themed Shows, the People Were the Problem

►"The AIs at the center of these series are not driven by any internal desire to eliminate or subjugate humankind." THR TV critic Angie Han writes that in Peacock's Mrs. Davis, Netflix's Black Mirror and FX/Hulu's A Murder at the End of the World, the danger isn't intelligent machines — it's the all-too-flawed humans driving them. The critic’s notebook.

—"This is a show which, outside of a traditional narrative context, could only make sense coming after four full seasons of Stranger Things." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg writes that Stranger Things: The First Shadow gives the fanbase what they want with audacious style. With the Duffer Brothers on board as "creative producers," Netflix's Stranger Things arrives on London's West End with a three-hour, effects-driven stage spectacle spinning a new origin story for the nefarious Vecna. The critic's notebook.

Thank Pod It's Friday

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

—Awards Chatter Part I. THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott spoke to Emily Blunt. The Brit actor reflects on how a childhood stutter led her to acting, taking on frightening physical and vocal challenges in film roles and playing the wife of J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's acclaimed summer blockbuster, Oppenheimer. Listen here.

—Awards Chatter Part II. In this episode, Scott spoke to Olivia Rodrigo. The 20-year-old Grammy-winning singer/songwriter, one of the world's biggest pop stars, reflects on her path to acting and singing, rocketing to mega-fame during COVID lockdown with "Driver's License" and writing songs for her two albums versus writing a song — "Can't Catch Me Now" — for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Listen here.

—Awards Chatter Part III. In this episode, Scott spoke to Lenny Kravitz. Nearing his 60th birthday, the legendary singer/songwriter and rock star reflects on growing up biracial and half-Jewish, his greatest hits and his new Golden Globe-nominated tune "Road to Freedom" for the film Rustin. Listen here.

In other news...

—Beyoncé surprises fans at Renaissance event in Brazil

—Peacock’s first exclusive NFL game will have commercial-free fourth quarter

—Beverly Hills 90210 star Joe E. Tata’s house hits the market for $2.175m

What else we're reading...

—Joe Flint, Jessica Toonkel and Amol Sharma look into the costs and benefits of another big media deal as WBD and Paramount Global make eyes at each other [WSJ]

—Lucas Shaw asked the smartest people in media 15 questions about the future of the entertainment industry and the answers are illuminating, with an overwhelming number of people believing Paramount will be sold [Bloomberg]

—Aurelien Breeden reports that France's President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the "manhunt" against actor Gérard Depardieu, who faces multiple allegations of sexual assault [NYT]

—Nadeem Badshah reports on the incredible teenage British hacker who managed to breach Rockstar Games using just an Amazon Firestick, a mobile phone and hotel TV [Guardian]

—Here's your Friday list: "The 25 best Christmas films – ranked!" [Guardian]

Today...

...in 2000, the Coen brothers’ comic epic O Brother, Where Art Thou? hit theaters, where it would go on to gross $71m globally. The film was nominated for two Oscars at the 73rd Academy Awards, for cinematography and adapted screenplay. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Ralph Fiennes (61), Diane Sawyer (78), Hector Elizondo (87), Vanessa Paradis (51), David S. Goyer (58), Meghan Trainor (30), Jordin Sparks (34), Anthony Jeselnik (45), Dina Meyer (55), Chris Carmack (43), Krystal Joy Brown (37), Shioli Kutsuna (31), Brooke Nevin (41), Omar J. Dorsey (48), Gregor Fisher (70), Isha Talwar (36), Poorna Jagannathan (51), Joanne Kelly (45), BernNadette Stanis (70), Genevieve Hannelius (25), Judith Scott (58), Thunderbird Dinwiddie (50), Hugh Quarshie (69), Heather Donahue (49), Jay Brazeau (70), Joshua Bassett (23), Tasie Lawrence (33), Joe Dinicol (40), Bryce Gheisar (19), Greg Finley (39), Neel Sethi (20), Deborah Twiss (52)

Norby Walters, a music agent who worked with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye, Kool & the Gang and Public Enemy before gaining renown in Hollywood for his annual “Night of 100 Stars” Oscar party and weekly poker game, has died. He was 91. The obituary.

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Written by José Vizcarra
on Friday, December 22, 2023 at 7:01 AM.

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