by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:
MOVIES - From THR: Martin Scorsese's new film, "Killers of the Flower Moon," is a historical drama about the "Osage Reign of Terror." However, in 1926, Hollywood's first Native American director, James Young Deer, released his film on the subject, "Tragedies of the Osage Hills." It is one of thousands of silent films that are lost or no longer exist.
CELEBRITY - From THR: Two-time Oscar-winning actor, Michael Caine (Cider House Rules) has made it official that he is retiring from acting.
MOVIES/TRAILERS - From Deadline: Warner Bros. has released a second trailer for its upcoming film, "Wonka," a prequel to Roald Dahl's beloved novel, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," which has been adapted into film twice in 1971 and 2005.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Miramax has won the television rights to the Halloween film franchise, which is controlled by Malek Akkad's Trancas International Films. Miramax sees this new "Halloween" franchise as potential launch of a cinematic universe spanning film and TV. The franchise began with director John Carpenter's 1978 film, Halloween.
CELEBRITY - From Variety: In his new self-help book, "Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life," Hollywood legend and former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger says that director John Milius made him do "terrible shit" on the set of his breakthrough movie, Conan the Barbarian (1982), including biting into a real, dead vulture.
ANIMATION - From Variety: Paramount+ has set an Oct. 27th date from the U.S. and Canadian streaming debut of its exclusive feature, "South Park: Joining the Panderverse."
STAR TREK - From Variety: Netflix will stream the second season of the animated series, "Star Trek: Prodigy" beginning in 2024. Paramount cancelled the series earlier this year. The first season will arrive on Netflix later this year.
TELEVISION - From Deadline: Jerry Seinfeld teases a possible reunion of his beloved former NBC sitcom, "Seinfeld" (1989-98). He teased "something is going to happen" related to series final episode.
CELEBRITY - From THR: Emmy winner Jada Pinkett Smith says that she and her husband, Oscar-winner Will Smith, have been living separate lives since 2016, in an interview with NBC's "Today" show.
MOVIES - From Variety: Currently promoting his new film, "Ferrari," starring Adam Driver, director Michael Mann says his next film will be a sequel to his 1995 classic, "Heat."
WRITERS STRIKE - From Deadline: This afternoon (Mon. Oct. 9th), the Writers Guild of America (WGA) membership ratified its contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), bringing to a final end to the strike that lasted for nearly five months.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Director Pablo Larraín (Jackie) has revealed the first two photos of Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas in his new film, "Maria," that will explore the life of the legendary singer, often described as the original diva.
ANIMATION - From Deadline: DreamWorks Animation is laying off four precent of its staff (about 70 positions). The reasons apparently have to do with a business slowdown, rising production costs, and the recent Hollywood strikes.
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 10/6 to 10/8/2023 weekend box office is Universal Pictures' "The Exorcist: The Believer" with an estimated take of 27.2 million dollars.
STAR TREK - From Variety: Acclaimed actor and "Star Trek: The Next Generations," star, Patrick Stewart ("Captain Jean-Luc Picard"), explains why he thought that, Tom Hardy, his then young co-star in the film, Star Trek: Nemesis, would not last long in the acting profession. In "Nemesis," Hardy plays "Shinzon," a clone of Picard produced by the Romulans.
OBITS:
From Deadline: American television and stage actor, Mark Goddard, has died at the age of 87, Tuesday, October 10, 2023. Goddard is best known for his role as "Major Don West" in the former CBS sci-fi series, "Lost in Space" (1965-68). He was a rising young star in the early to mid-1960s and was also a regular cast members of such series as the former CBS Western, "Johnny Ringo" (1959-60), the former ABC-NBC crime drama, "The Detectives" (1960-62), and the former CBS sitcom, "Many Happy Returns" (1964-65), before joining "Lost in Space."
From Deadline: British film director and screenwriter, Terence Davies, has died at the age of 77, Saturday, October 7, 2023. He is best known for his films, "Distant Voice, Still Lives" (1988), "The Long Day Closes" (1992), and "The House of Mirth" (2000), to name a few.
From Deadline: American costume designer, Shawna Trpcic, has died at the age of 56, Wednesday, October 4, 2023. She is best remembered for her work on the Disney+ Star Wars series: "Anakin," "The Book of Boba Fett," and "The Mandalorian." Trpcic was also known for her work on Joss Whedon's television series, "Angel," Firefly," and "Dollhouse," as well as on Whedon's 2012 film, "Much Ado About Nothing." She received three Primetime Emmy Nominations for her work on the "Star Wars" series.
ISRAEL:
From CNN: The news network's website has published a "Here's what to know" article on the unprecedented attack the Hamas has launched against Israel.
From TheGuardian: from Patrick Wintour at "The Guardians UK": Hamas' attack has abruptly altered the picture for Middle East diplomacy. Iran wants to make it impossible for Saudi Arabia to strike deal with Israel, while others in region cannot afford mayhem in Gaza.
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ACTORS STRIKE:
From Deadline: The movie studios via AMPTP have suspended their talks with striking actors via SAG-AFTRA. The snag seems to be that actors want "2 precent of potential profits" on streaming.
From Variety: SAG-AFTRA (the actors) and AMPTP (the studios) are to resume strike talks Wed., Oct. 11th, as the actors strike enters Day 88.
From Deadline: The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Hollywood studios CEOs met for strike talks for the first time since the actors went on strike July 14th. They plan to meet again, Wed., Oct. 4th.
BREAKING - From Deadline: The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to end its strike after nearly five months. The parties finalized the framework of the deal Sunday when they were able to untangle their stalemate over AI and writing room staffing levels.
From WGAContract: The WGA contract page has additional information on the settlement.
From WGAContract: A summary of the new agreement.
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From Deadline: The actors’ strike is now in its 63rd day. Now, SAG-AFTRA leaders are ramping up their rhetoric against the studio heads, accusing them in the latest issue of the "SAG-AFTRA Magazine" of “behaving like petty tyrants,” “would-be feudal lords” and “land barons in feudal times.”
From Deadline: Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra says that Hollywood unions need to embrace AI.
From Deadline: Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav says the industry must focus and fight to resolve the writers and actors strikes.
From Deadline: Hollywood’s superstars are answering the call from the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, donating $1 million or more each to help their fellow performers during the ongoing actors and writers strikes. Among the big donors are Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, and Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.
From Deadline: If you are interested, here is a list of the film and TV productions SAG-AFTRA has granted waivers to continue filming.
From Variety: International superstar, Dwayne Johnson, makes a seven-figure contribution to the "SAG-AFTRA Foundation Relief Fund." Foundation president, actor Courtney B. Vance, says the amount will remain confidential.
From Variety: Why haven't A-list stars joined the SAG-AFTRA picket line?, asks "Variety."
From Deadline: Author George R.R. Martin, whose works were the basis for HBO's "Game of Thrones," says the strikes will be long and bitter.
From Variety: Halted film productions due to the writers and actors strikes are costing each Hollywood studio at least 600,000 dollars per week.
From Variety: Said at a strike meeting: “Without a transformative change in SAG-AFTRA’s current contract with the AMPTP, the acting profession will no longer be an option for future generations of performers, and actors already working in the industry will need to pursue other careers in order to survive.”
From Deadline: If you are a "social media influencer" who is NOT a member of SAG-AFTRA, you can be barred from future membership for promoting a film or television series during the actors' strike.
From Variety: The SAG/AFTRA strike begins in New York and Los Angeles. Hollywood actors began striking today, Fri., July 14th.
From Deadline: The site has the video of the powerful strike speech given by SAG-AFTRA president, Fran Drescher, the actress best known for CBS' former sitcom, "The Nanny."
From Deadline: SAG-AFTRA is already preparing strike picket signs in case the actors' strike begins next week.
From Deadline: The Hollywood studios via the AMPTP has given Canadian actors a new contract, including a 5 percent raise.
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