Open Thread

Deadline Hollywood reports: Legendary’s Dune might have been crimped by a theatrical day-and-date release on HBO Max due to Covid, but the sequel, Dune: Part Two is apt to be on fire this fall in an exclusive big-screen release. The sequel to the 2021 Denis Villeneuve feature take of Frank Herbert’s novel created a sandstorm here at CinemaCon during Warner …

Variety reports: Long-time “Dancing With the Stars” and “Strictly Come Dancing” judge Len Goodman has died. He was 78. Goodman’s manager confirmed his death to the BBC on Monday. The British ballroom dancer and judge, who had been diagnosed with bone cancer, died on April 22 at a hospice in Kent, surrounded by his family. Goodman was a mainstay as …

Variety reports: Jeff Shell is stepping down as CEO of NBCUniversal following a misconduct investigation, which found an “inappropriate relationship” with a woman in the company. Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal, and Shell announced the news in a joint statement, saying they have mutually agreed that Shell will depart effective immediately following a third-party investigation into a complaint of …

Variety reports: “Evil Dead Rise” might not be able to vanquish the soon-to-three-peat box office champion “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” but the horror entry is still chainsawing off its own solid opening on domestic charts. The Warner Bros. release earned $10.3 million from 3,402 locations on Friday, a figure that includes $2.5 million in previews. “The Super Mario Bros. …

Variety reports: Luca Guadagnino will next direct the William S. Burroughs adaptation “Queer” with Daniel Craig playing the renowned counterculture author’s alter ego, an outcast American expat who lives in Mexico, and “Outer Banks” star Drew Starkey starring as a younger man with whom he becomes madly infatuated. “Queer” will also topline Lesley Manville (“The Crown”), frequent Wes Anderson collaborator …

Broadway World reports: Paying tribute to a beloved national icon for her birthday, NBC will celebrate Carol Burnett’s illustrious career with “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love.” The two-hour special will air Wednesday, April 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and will also stream next day on Peacock. The star-studded event will feature an A-list lineup of musical performances …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Billy Porter has signed up to co-write and star in a James Baldwin biopic and recently addressed criticism of people doubting his talent. During an appearance on The Tamron Hall Show, Porter hit back at critics saying, “First and foremost, the internet has created a space where it’s made people think that their opinion matters at all …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Netflix plans to phase in “paid sharing” — the company’s preferred term for cracking down on the loaning of login credentials — in the U.S. in the coming weeks. The U.S. debut during the second quarter (April through June) is part of a “broad rollout” across the world in the current quarter, the company said in its …

Variety reports: The Writers Guild of America has passed a strike authorization vote with 97.85% voting in favor, giving union leadership the power to call a strike once the contract expires on May 1. In an email to members, the guild said that 78.79% of eligible members had cast ballots. The vote was 9,020 in favor and 198 opposed. In …

Variety reports: “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” left its box office competitors in the dust, scoring a massive $87 million in its second weekend of release. Ticket sales declined just 41% from its debut, resulting in the best sophomore outing ever for an animated film. So far, the video game adaptation has grossed $347.8 million in North America and $678 …

Playbill reports: Prior to the April 16 closing of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, New York City Mayor Eric Adams awarded a Key to the City of New York to the famed composer. “For more than 50 years, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music has defined Broadway,” said Mayor Adams. “From Jesus Christ Superstar to The Phantom of …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Cindy Williams’ final television project, Sami, has gotten a premiere date on Prime Video. The 10-episode short-form comedy/musical series will launch April 23 on the Amazon streaming service. The series wrapped just two months before Williams died following a brief illness at the age of 75. Created by Williams’ longtime friend, Grammy-nominated music producer Bruce Kimmel, the …

Variety reports: Jamie Foxx has been hospitalized in Atlanta following a “medical complication” his family revealed late Wednesday evening. “We wanted to share that my father Jamie Foxx experienced a medical complication yesterday,” Foxx’s daughter, Corinne Foxx, posted in a statement on Instagram. “Luckily due to quick action and great care he is already on his way to recovery. We …

Variety reports: Ariana DeBose is back to do “the thing” as the host of this year’s Tony Awards. It’s the second time the actor is serving as emcee for Broadway’s biggest night, which is taking place on Sunday, June 11 at the United Palace in New York’s Washington Heights. DeBose, an Oscar winner for “West Side Story” and theater kid …

Billboard Magazine reports: Days after country singer Travis Tritt said he would be banning Anheuser-Busch beverages from his backstage hospitality riders, The Offspring guitarist Noodles responded by announcing that the veteran punk act is doubling down on the Bud products. “We are going to be adding Anheiser-Busch products & Jack Daniels to our hospitality rider just to piss off a …

Variety reports: Kim Kardashian is adding yet another item to her ever-growing resume: the reality star turned businesswoman is joining Season 12 of “American Horror Story.” Kardashian made the announcement Monday on her Instagram account, posting a teaser video with eerie music, along with the eyeball and blood drop emojis as her cryptic caption. The video posted by Kardashian says …

Deadline reports: The BBC has said it is speaking to Twitter in an effort to change the “government funded media” tag on its official account. A spokesman said: “We are speaking to Twitter to resolve this issue as soon as possible. The BBC is, and always has been, independent. We are funded by the British public through the licence fee.” …

Variety reports: “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” continues to super smash its opening projections, drawing $55 million from 4,343 theaters on Friday. Released Wednesday, the film has already earned $137 million in domestic ticket sales. Replace every dollar with a coin and that would amount to 1.37 million 1-Up mushrooms. That’s a lot of extra lives. The Universal and Illumination …

Deadline reports: NPR said that it has stopped tweeting from its main Twitter account after the platform labeled the news organization “state-affiliated media.” A spokesperson said that the outlet stopped posting from @NPR “after they attached that false label to it because each tweet we publish would carry it. We have paused tweeting from that account until we hear back …

Variety reports: “Wicked,” the untold story of everything that happened before Dorothy dropped down in Oz, is poised to make Broadway history. When the hit musical plays its 7,486th performance on Tuesday, April 11, it’ll surpass Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats” to become the fourth-longest running production on the Great White Way. “Phantom of the Opera,” which is closing in April, …