Open Thread

Deadline Hollywood reports: Deadline can reveal that Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron has purchased the rights to Charles Pellegrino‘s forthcoming book Ghosts of Hiroshima. The film will be called Last Train From Hiroshima. Pellegrino’s Ghosts of Hiroshima will be published by Blackstone Publishing in August 2025. That marks the 80th anniversary of the dropping of the bomb in 1945. The film …

The Associated Press reports: The Daily Wire movie “Am I Racist?” placed fourth at the box office, with an estimated $4.7 million from only 1,517 theaters. Described as a mockumentary in the style of “Borat,” the movie has conservative columnist Walsh going undercover as a “DEI trainee.” Walsh had a similar gimmick, pretending to be a gender studies professor, in …

Variety reports: After a bruising fight for both sides, Disney and DirecTV have called a truce: The companies announced a preliminary agreement on a new deal that will restore ESPN, ABC, FX, Disney Channel and other Disney networks to the DirecTV lineup after a nearly two-week blackout. Under the new deal, announced Saturday, Sept. 14, DirecTV will continue carriage of …

Variety reports: Every now and then, a low-budget film emerges from outside the studio system and catches fire with the largely ignored right-leaning demographic, leaving mouths agape in Hollywood’s executive suites. The Daily Wire hopes to add to the list of films that includes “The Passion of the Christ,” “I Can Only Imagine” and last year’s “Sound of Freedom” with …

NBC News reports: Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood mogul whose alleged sexual misconduct fueled the #MeToo movement, has been indicted on new charges by a New York City grand jury, Manhattan prosecutors announced during a court hearing Thursday. The new indictment is under seal, prosecutor Nicole Blumberg told Judge Curtis Farber, who has set a trial date for Nov. 12. …

Variety reports: It’s official: TV-news anchors can fact-check presidential candidates during a national debate. In an era when news outlets have been loath to make themselves the target of invective from partisans, ABC News on Tuesday night opted to allow moderators in a broadcast of a presidential debate to correct the participating candidates — mostly former President Donald Trump — …

Variety reports: Shailene Woodley is set to star in a biopic of Janis Joplin, which will receive $2.5 million in funding from the California Film Commission. Numerous attempts have been made over the years to capture the rock star’s life on film, but none have come to fruition. “California meant so much to Janis Joplin — from the stoops of …

Variety reports: Hollywood is mourning the death of one of its most recognizable voices, James Earl Jones, who died Monday morning at age 93. He gave life to “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader and “The Lion King’s” Mufasa, starred in “Field of Dreams,” “Conan the Barbarian” and many more films, plus earned the prestigious EGOT honor in his career. Mark …

Variety reports: Kendrick Lamar will perform at the 2025 Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime show, Roc Nation, Apple Music, and the NFL announced on Sunday. Super Bowl LIX is scheduled to be played on February 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans and will air on Fox. Since the 2012 release of his pivotal major label debut, …

Broadway.com reports: Five-time Emmy Award winner and Tony Award winner Neil Patrick Harris (Into the Woods, Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and Tony Award winner Jane Krakowski (Nine) have joined the world-premiere cast of the satirical play Shit. Meet. Fan. The play, written and directed by Tony nominee Robert O’Hara and based on the Italian film Perfect Strangers, will begin …

Deadline Hollywood reports: The Handmaid’s Tale is officially back in production on its sixth and final season. Hulu revealed Friday that cameras began rolling on the series’ conclusion on September 3, sharing a photo of series star Elisabeth Moss holding the slate for the first scene of Episode 1, which she will also be directing. Along with the production announcement, …

Variety reports: Larry Ellison, the megabillionaire founder of Oracle, will be the majority shareholder of National Amusements Inc., the company that controls Paramount Global, after the expected closing of the deal with Skydance Media — led by his son, David Ellison — next year, according to a regulatory filing. Larry Ellison will own 77.5% of National Amusements through Pinnacle Media, …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Within a day of launching a Kickstarter campaign in hopes of expanding Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice‘s distribution potential, the filmmakers have exceeded their goal. While the team behind the hot-button Ali Abbasi film had initially sought $100,000, which would help them get the film in front of as many viewers as possible, they’ve received $139,063 as …

Variety reports: In the latest move in an ongoing dispute, singer-songwriter Barry Manilow, who sold a catalog of his music to Hipgnosis Songs Fund in 2020, and Nevada-based Stiletto Entertainment have filed a lawsuit seeking $1.5 million in unpaid bonus funds in U.S. District Court in California. The lawsuit, obtained by Variety, claims that the bonuses were due as part …

Variety reports: Ticketmaster is set to face some tough questions in the U.K. after thousands of Oasis fans were left disappointed having failed to secure tickets through the site for the band’s long-awaited reunion tour. U.K. culture minister Lisa Nandy has pledged to look into Ticketmaster’s use of “dynamic pricing,” which saw ticket prices shoot up by hundreds of pounds …

Variety reports: George Clooney has commented for the first time on his New York Times op-ed asking Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race. “I’ve actually never had to answer that question so I suppose I will do it here,” Clooney said when asked about it at the Venice press conference for his new film “Wolfs.” “The person …

Billboard Magazine reports: Some Oasis fans celebrated like a champagne supernova, while others looked back in anger on Saturday (Aug. 31) as online ticket sites strained under demand for the band’s first shows in 15 years. The Britpop-era behemoth led by brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher is scheduled to play 17 gigs in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin starting …

Variety reports: Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson brought sexy back to Venice Friday night at the premiere of Halina Reijn’s kinky, sex-filled “Babygirl.” With Kidman playing a high-powered CEO and Dickinson as the young intern she with whom starts a sexual relationship, “Babygirl” stimulated the Venice audience, leading to a 6.5-minute standing ovation that lasted all the way through the …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Netflix has snapped up U.S. rights to Maria, the biopic of opera singer Maria Callas, teaming Spencer helmer Pablo Larraín and Angelina Jolie, which is premiering Thursday at the Venice Film Festival. This is Netflix’s second film with Larraín directing following last year’s El Conde, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography. The project marks the …

Variety reports: Sigourney Weaver got emotional while talking about Kamala Harris during her press conference at Venice Film Festival ahead of receiving a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement. Asked about the impact of her acting in empowering women — specifically her “Alien” character of Ripley — and how it could help make it possible for Harris to become U.S. president, …