July 09, 2024

What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover star is screen icon Sharon Stone. Late night hosts all took on Joe Biden. Bob's Burgers actor Jay Johnston pleaded guilty to a charge related to the Jan. 6 attack. A sequel to The Devil Wears Prada is being written. Halle Berry and Glenn Close have joined the cast of Hulu's All’s Fair. — Abid Rahman

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Sharon Stone Leaves Nothing Unturned

►On the cover. Sharon Stone’s fortunes in Hollywood have followed more twists and turns than a Joe Eszterhas script — a stroke in 2001 knocked her off the screen for a full seven years — but still, even today, she’s pretty great at drawing a crowd (albeit sometimes an angry one). Ahead of her keynote speech at THR's joint summit with the Social Impact Fund, Benjamin Svetkey sat down with the 66-year-old cinematic icon for a frank and freewheeling discussion — her favorite kind — not just about her philanthropic endeavors but also about Hollywood’s lingering misogyny problem, her preferred way to be kissed and why she believes it’s time the industry finally forgives Kevin Spacey. The cover story. 

—Making a difference. Sharon Stone, Charlize Theron, Wilson Cruz and Thomas Sadoski are among the stars who will discuss “The Future of Hollywood Philanthropy” at a special summit on July 11. Co-hosted by the nonprofit Social Impact Fund and THR, the 2024 inaugural Social Impact Summit will see some of the entertainment industry’s biggest names —  celebrities who are committed to giving back — come together to talk about the role Hollywood can play in making a difference on local, national and global levels. The story. 

What Now for Paramount?

►How things will (or won’t) likely change. If and when the Skydance Media merger with Paramount Global closes next year, a "fresh approach" has been promised. THR's Aaron Couch, Pamela McClintock and Rick Porter look at what moviegoers and TV watchers could see going forward. The story.

—"There are assets here which we think are not strategic to where we’re going." As Skydance and Paramount chart out their strategy as a merged company, its new leaders say they would still be open to selling assets. On a call with investors Monday morning, incoming Paramount president Jeff Shell suggested the sale of some assets and a continuation of a strategy set in place by Paramount’s three current co-CEOs. The story. 

—"David deeply believes in the power of creative storytelling." Major Hollywood players celebrated the Paramount–Skydance deal, calling the sale “a win for the industry” and a “match made in movie heaven.” The likes of Tyler Perry, John Krasinski, Mark Wahlberg, Jane Fonda, Alan Ritchson, James Patterson and Lee Child warmly congratulated Skydance on reaching a deal, and backed David Ellison to steer Paramount back to prominence. The reaction. 

—"A merger that results in fewer movies being produced will not only hurt consumers." The National Association of Theatre Owners, representing major movie exhibitors, is combing over the deal points for the proposed Paramount-Skydance deal for signs the studio will continue its commitment to theatrical movies amid stiff streaming competition. "We are encouraged by the commitment that David Ellison and the Skydance Media team have shown to theatrical exhibition in the past," NATO CEO Michael O’Leary said in a statement. The story. 

Jon Stewart Slams Biden Team's "Blatant Bull****"

►"Honestly, ‘get on board or shut the f*** up’ is not a particularly compelling pro-democracy bumper sticker." Jon Stewart once again criticized Joe Biden and excoriated the White House’s response to ongoing concerns about the president’s age and mental fitness for office. Returning to The Daily Show Monday night, Stewart played clips of Biden struggling with his words while trying to reassure voters in the wake of his disastrous debate performance on June 27, and showed clips of his supporters giving an array of excuses (some since debunked) to explain the president’s performance. The recap.  

—"I don’t know what’s the right thing to do here." Late night shows returned following a hiatus on Monday night, giving hosts Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon their first chances to react to last month’s presidential debate. "So should he stay, should he go? Who am I to recommend," Colbert said on the Late Show. "I don’t know what’s going on in Joe Biden's mind. Something I apparently have in common with Joe Biden." The recap. 

—"I am not going anywhere." Pointing to large crowds at weekend rallies in battleground states across the U.S., Biden laughed off the notion that he is seriously ill and pushed back against naysayers across the political and entertainment industries calling for him to step down, assuring all that he’s “not going anywhere” on a defiant phone call to MSNBC's Morning Joe on Monday. The recap. 

—"Let me tell you what’s important to me." Tyler Perry weighed in on the 2024 presidential election on Monday evening, as speculation about Biden's candidacy continues. "What is important to me is that America remains a democracy that is free from anyone that is trying to change that or is trying to have the power of a dictator or a king. So I’m supporting anyone who stands against that," Perry told THR at the New York premiere of Divorce in the Black. The story. 

Eva Longoria, Lauren Sánchez on Philanthropy, and Their 20-Year-Friendship

►"You and I constantly have these conversations that inspire each other." Close friends for two decades, Eva Longoria and Lauren Sánchez have engaged in countless phone conversations over the years — but this, as far as we know, is the first to be recorded. THR eavesdropped on a recent chat between the actress and onetime reporter turned billionaire’s significant other, both formidable forces in the world of philanthropy. The pair discuss being Latina in America, and Sánchez’s children’s book about a space-faring bug. The conversation. 

—Comeback attempt continues. Kevin Spacey is set to be honored with a prize at the Folkestone Independent Film Awards for his voice role in the 2023 film Control. On Monday, organizers of the event confirmed to THR that the actor is set to win a best performance trophy. The British action thriller, written and directed by Gene Fallaize, did not have Spacey on screen, but rather the two-time Oscar winner had a voice role in the feature. The prize comes as Spacey continues his comeback amid a series of legal issues stemming from sexual assault allegations. The story. 

—Guilty. Jay Johnston, an actor who played a street-brawling newsman in the movie Anchorman 2 and a pizzeria owner in the television series Bob’s Burgers, pleaded guilty on Monday to interfering with police officers trying to protect the U.S. Capitol from a mob’s attack on Jan. 6, 2021. Johnston faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison after pleading guilty to civil disorder, a felony. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols is scheduled to sentence Johnston on Oct. 7. The story. 

Tom Cruise Touches Down in London at 'Twisters' Premiere

►Star power. Twisters whipped up a frenzy in London on Monday night as the Lee Isaac Chung disaster epic touched down in Leicester Square for its European premiere. Before any tornadoes hit the screen, audience members got some early thrills courtesy of a very special guest in the crowd: Tom Cruise. The Hollywood superstar attended the screening in support of his Top Gun: Maverick pal Glen Powell, who stars in the Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. release opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones, Harry Hadden-Paton and Anthony Ramos. The story.  

—In the works. The Devil Wears Prada writer Aline Brosh McKenna is penning a would-be follow-up to the hit film that is being developed by original producer Wendy Finerman. While no deals are done, a follow-up to the 2006 coming-of-age comedy has long been talked about, with Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway recently reuniting on stage for this year’s SAG Awards. No deals for the cast are in place. Disney would be the studio behind any sequel, following the acquisition of the original Devil studio Fox 2000. The story. 

—🎭 Stacked 🎭Richard E. Grant and Tom Ellis are the latest additions to Netflix feature The Thursday Murder Club, based on the beloved novel series by Richard Osman. The newly-released cast, alongside Geoff Bell, Paul Freeman, Sarah Niles, and Ingrid Oliver join a star-studded lineup including Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays and Henry Lloyd-Hughes. The story. 

—📅 Coming to America 📅 The latest installment in the wildly popular My Hero Academia anime franchise is heading to North American movie theaters this fall. My Hero Academia: You’re Next, the fourth film in the series, is set to premiere stateside on Oct. 11, courtesy of distributor Toho International. The film will be shown with both English subtitles and in a dubbed version. The story. 

—Toon times. Fueled by animated tentpoles Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2, AMC Theatres enjoyed bumper business over the July 4 holiday. The return of Gru and his Minions ruled the Fourth of July box office for the Universal/Illumination release with an estimated five-day domestic opening of $122.6m from 4,428 theaters. The result had AMC Theatres pointing to 4.2m patrons drawn during the July 3 to 7 period. That marked AMC’s busiest domestic Wednesday through Sunday period in 2024. The story. 

—"I’m always trying to move forward." Anthony Michael Hall has revealed why he turned down the opportunity to be part of Andrew McCarthy's Hulu doc, Brats. In a new interview, Hall, who starred in the key Brat Pack films The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Weird Science, said, "it was just something I chose not to do because I’m always trying to move forward and make new things and do new stuff." The story. 

How That Brutal 'HOTD' Battle Death Played Out in the Book

►The Dance of the Dragons is officially here. For THR, Josh Wigler breaks down the quite incredible fourth episode of the second season of HBO's House of the Dragon. Josh writes that George R.R. Martin's version of the Battle at Rook's Rest mostly plays out the same as in the series — with some key differences to one fan favorite's fatal ending. Warning: Spoilers! The story. 

—🎭 Award-winning additions 🎭 Halle Berry and Glenn Close have joined the cast of Hulu's All’s Fair, a legal drama from megaproducer Ryan Murphy and 20th Television. The pair will also be executive producers alongside Murphy and Kim Kardashian. Per usual with Murphy’s shows, details about the roles Berry and Close will play are being kept quiet for now. All’s Fair is described as a glossy and sexy procedural in which Kardashian plays a top divorce attorney at an all-woman L.A. law firm. The story. 

—Heading north. Amazon Prime Video has greenlit a second season of Australian crime comedy Deadloch. The producers of the breakout show revealed Tuesday that a six-episode second season will go into production later this year. Season two sees the return of Kate Box and Madeleine Sami as detectives Dulcie Collins and Eddie Redcliffe, as the duo is drawn to Darwin in northern Australia to investigate the death of Eddie’s former policing partner, Bushy. The story. 

—Thriving. A week after making its first appearance on the streaming charts, former Showtime drama Your Honor has rocketed to No. 1 overall. The series starring Bryan Cranston nearly tripled its viewing time on Netflix and Paramount+ in the week of June 9, grabbing 1.53b minutes (vs. 544m the week before) and bumping Bridgerton out of the top overall spot. Your Honor had its Netflix premiere on May 31. The ratings.