The all-new Hollywood Reporter offers unprecedented access to the people, studios, networks and agencies that create the magic in Hollywood. Published weekly, the oversized format includes exceptional photography and rich features.
Almost every time Robert Zemeckis called cut on a scene in Here, Tom Hanks would run back to the playback monitors. He was looking to get a sense of how his character — whose arc is traced from high schooler to senior citizen with the help of a generative AI tool from VFX studio Metaphysic — was aging. After seeing the takes, he would adjust his physicality to walk with a bit more spring in his step or appear stiffer getting up off the couch. Just a few years ago, a movie like Here would not have been greenlit. Without advancements in aging tech made possible by AI, filmmakers would have been forced to go the route of Brad Pitt’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which likely earmarked twice…
Noah Oppenheim The former NBC News chief nabs financial backing from Jeff Zucker and RedBird Capital to launch a production banner with partners Lloyd Braun and Sarah Bremner. Jonah Peretti Amid a cash crunch, the BuzzFeed chief sells the Hot Ones franchise to a consortium of investors in a deal that leaves the company down a major asset. Andrew Ferguson Trump’s pick for the FTC chair says he’d like to reverse an “anti-business agenda” by repealing “burdensome regulations.” Bring on the dealmaking! Jennifer Witz The SiriusXM CEO plans to cut $200 million in costs and pivot focus back to in-car subscribers after its streaming-app strategy didn’t pan out as hoped. Showbiz Stocks $12.49 (+16.5%) WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY (WBD) David Zaslav’s corporate restructuring plan marks a step toward the potential spinoff…
Donald Trump might, perhaps inadvertently, shake up where Hollywood looks to shoot tentpoles and TV shows. His victory had the effect of boosting the U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar (or loonie), ostensibly providing producers potential for savings by tapping the country’s extensive production infrastructure, especially in Toronto. Now Trump’s threat of a 25 percent tariff on Canadian and Mexican exports to the U.S. appears likely to further depress the value of the Canadian dollar, making it even cheaper for Hollywood to shoot in the country. The fluctuating foreign exchange rates “enhances the value that comes out of international co-productions,” says Noah Segal, co-president of Toronto-based Elevation Pictures. The value of the loonie had already tumbled to slightly more than 70 cents against the American greenback, a low not seen…
Alan Bergman was beaming at the afterparty for the Dec. 9 premiere of Mufasa: The Lion King, and for good reason. Disney’s film empire, run by Bergman, is back on top in domestic box office market share after a bruising loss to Universal in 2023. As of Dec. 10, Disney releases accounted for more than 24 percent of all movie tickets sold, worth nearly $2 billion. Pixar’s Inside Out 2 ($1.69 billion) and Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine ($1.33 billion) are the only 2024 titles in the global billion-dollar club, with Moana 2 likely to make it in as well. Universal’s Donna Langley had plenty to celebrate, too, with Despicable Me 4 and Wicked leading the way to 22 percent of market share with $1.73 billion in ticket sales. Warner Bros.…
Darkly (DELACORTE PRESS, NOV. 26) BY Marisha Pessl AGENCY CAA Beloved and decorated author Pessl expands her YA thriller oeuvre with another page-turner. In Darkly, a group of teenagers score a coveted internship with a cultish game company struggling to pick up the pieces after its founder’s mysterious death. The novel follows Dia, a longtime obsessive, as she starts to uncover the secrets that game inventor left behind. Pessl’s second novel, Night Film, originally was optioned by Chernin Entertainment in 2013 and recently appeared on The Black List’s inaugural Adaptation List of novels primed for the big screen; Darkly offers a chance to build a cinematic universe for her crack ling works.…
If you are a TV show (perhaps a 70-year-old NBC late night show), how do you maintain relevance in a world where new things are watched in short bites on iPhones? It turns out, even in a culture dominated by TikTok and Instagram, nostalgia clicks. When Lindsay Lohan appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in March, she reprised her characters Hallie and Annie from the 1998 film The Parent Trap in a sketch with Jimmy Fallon. The sketch wasn’t part of the show but instead was posted on the program’s social channels, including TikTok and Instagram. It since has been viewed 43 million times. “We’re always trying to tap into fandoms — that’s a huge part of our strategy, whether it’s Marvel, Game of Thrones, K-pop, Taylor Swift,…
