Open Thread

Deadline Hollywood reports: It’s taking around $1 billion to have 007 stewards Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson cede creative oversight of their family’s storied James Bond franchise to Amazon MGM Studios, sources tell us. Amazon originally overpaid on its purchase of MGM in a deal orchestrated by then-MGM board chair Kevin Ulrich. Though valued between $3.5 billion-$4 billion, the …

Variety reports: HBO’s “The Last of Us” Season 2 will release on April 13, the company announced Wednesday. After Season 1 covered the events of PlayStation’s first hit video game, Season 2 will follow the sequel “The Last of Us: Part II.” Like the sequel, Season 2 takes place after a five-year time jump and follows an even more grizzled …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Wicked‘s Cynthia Erivo will play the title role of Jesus Christ Superstar at a Hollywood Bowl presentation of the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical this summer. Performances of Jesus Christ Superstar will start on August 1 and run through August 3. Additional casting will be announced at a later date. Erivo previously portrayed Superstar’s …

Variety reports: “The Odyssey” has got its hero. Matt Damon will play Odysseus in Christopher Nolan‘s upcoming epic “The Odyssey.” He will appear alongside an expansive cast including Tom Holland, Mia Goth, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal and John Leguizamo. Damon’s role was revealed Monday morning through the film’s official X account. …

Variety reports: Some of David Tennant’s Donald Trump jokes during his BAFTAs monologue ended up on the BBC’s cutting room floor. Several of the host’s quips — one of which compared the U.S. president to Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice character — were cut from the BBC’s broadcast of the British awards ceremony on Sunday night, which is pre-recorded two hours before …

Variety reports: “The Goonies” are officially back. Warner Bros. has hired Potsy Ponciroli to write the script for the sequel, it was announced Friday — almost 40 years after the original movie hit theaters back in 1985. Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger and Holly Bario will produce for Amblin Entertainment alongside Chris Columbus, who wrote the original “Goonies” script. Josh …

Deadline reports: Operation Mincemeat, the hit London musical comedy that begins previews at Broadway‘s John Golden Theatre tomorrow, will have to start performances without the usual marquee lights shining: The LED bulbs are stuck in China, a casualty of the Trump tariff. According to the musical’s spokesperson Rick Miramontez, thousands of ceramic yellow LED bulbs were scheduled to arrive from …

Variety reports: The final season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” will premiere on Hulu on April 8. Three episodes of the dystopian drama will drop at once, followed by weekly episodes until the series finale on May 27. Elisabeth Moss’ protagonist June Osborne narrates a teaser trailer for the final season, saying, “They believed that these garments that they put on our …

Variety reports: Sean “Diddy” Combs has filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal, Peacock TV and Ample Entertainment for defamatory statements published in the documentary “Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.” The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in New York, asserts that these media companies “falsely, recklessly, and maliciously” accused Combs of serial murder and sex trafficking, among other claims made …

Variety reports: Disney is adjusting the content warnings ahead of some of its old movies, including “Peter Pan” and “Dumbo,” amid an overall shift in DEI strategy at the company following President Donald Trump taking office again. Disney is changing the disclaimer that autoplays before these titles. The previous version noted that the film “includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of …

Variety reports: A performer in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show was detained on the field and is now banned from all NFL stadiums and events. A spokesperson for the NFL confirmed via AP News that one of the 400 performers in Lamar’s triumphant Super Bowl show on Feb. 9 “hid” a combination Sudanese-Palestinian flag — with “Sudan” and “Gaza” …

Variety reports: Oscar-winning songwriter and Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Buffy Sainte-Marie, known for the anti-war song “Universal Soldier” and stolen-land lament “Now That the Buffalo’s Gone,” has had her prestigious Order of Canada appointment terminated. The award is the country’s highest honor presented to a civilian. An investigation by the CBC’s “Fifth Estate” show alleges that Sainte-Marie fabricated …

Broadway News reports: “Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends” begins performances February 8 at Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles ahead of its Broadway engagement this spring. “Old Friends” plays on the West Coast through March 9, beginning previews at Broadway’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre March 25 where it opens April 8. Devised by Cameron Mackintosh, the show is a …

Variety reports: The use of AI in best picture contender “The Brutalist” recently grabbed headlines and ignited controversy, but it isn’t the only Oscar contender to use the advancing technology. High-profile films such as “A Complete Unknown,” “Dune: Part 2” and “Emilia Pérez” have also used AI in large or small ways, and the growing popularity has led the Motion …

Variety reports: “Night Stage,” the gay erotic thriller by Brazil’s Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon, has been acquired by German distributor Salzgeber, which will release the film in Germany and Austria. The film will world premiere in Berlinale’s Panorama sidebar next week. M-Appeal is handling international sales for the film, and has released the international trailer. “Night Stage” follows an …

Deadline reports: Travis Kelce is playing in the Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, February 9, in New Orleans, where Donald Trump is expected to attend. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end recently told reporters he is “honored” that the president would attend the big NFL game at the Caesars Superdome. “It’s a great honor, I think, no matter who the …

Variety reports: Netflix is distancing itself from “Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón in an effort to salvage the film’s Oscar prospects. And as the Spanish actress tries to defuse the blowback for her past social media posts, in which she shared offensive views that were seen as Islamophobic and racist, she’s doing it on her own, without the guidance …

The Daily Beast reports: Kanye West has reportedly lost a $20 million deal to perform in Japan following his controversial stunt at the Grammys which saw his wife Bianca Censori appeared in a completely see through outfit. The artist, 47, faces two shows at the Tokyo Dome in May being cancelled. A source told the Daily Mail: “Kanye is just …

Variety reports: Those who have been patiently awaiting news of a Cowboy Carter tour just got their first confirmation that Beyoncé will in fact be heading out on the road this year to support her eighth album. On Saturday night, news trickled out that the tour was coming. Netflix was first to signal that an announcement was in the works, …

Deadline Hollywood reports: The casting process for Prime Video‘s Legally Blonde prequel series, Elle, is currently underway — and Reese Witherspoon has a difficult decision ahead of her regarding who will next don her iconic hot pink two-piece and assume ownership of Bruiser the Chihuahua. Witherspoon said she was first inspired to explore the idea of a prequel series through …