Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LinkedIn here if ya like), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on THURSDAY August 17, 2023.
Where if Britney & Sam reportedly can’t make it work in this cruel, cruel world… well, I guess I actually feel a bit better about my own dating life now come to think of it 🤔.
PLUS: This THR profile on what former industry journalist Anita Busch is now doing with her VICTIMS FIRST non-profit is a #goodread. She and her organization focus on getting all donated money intended to help the victims of mass shootings… directly to the victims themselves, and she was spurred to create it after seeing that the money donated to help victims of the Aurora 2012 movie theater shooting was not getting to the people for whom it was intended (including the family of her cousin, who was killed in the shooting).
On top of that, Anita reveals a brutal rape attack she endured that left her needing a wheelchair for five years, ending her time in Hollywood journalism… this at the same time that her life was well-known to already be fraught with threats, reportedly backed by Anthonoy Pellicano associates and others. I’ll call it an early Weekend Read high recommend.
AND: Bradley Cooper’s NETFLIX pic Maestro will have its US premiere at the NY FILM FESTIVAL on Oct 2. NETFLIX also opens the fest on Sept 29 with the Julianne Moore / Natalie Portman pic May, December.
AMAZON’s Saoirse Ronan/Paul Mescal joint Foe will also have its World Premiere here.
ALSO: NYC is the latest to ban TIKTOK from government-owned devices. Somehow my phone has been just fine without it all this time.
🥳🎂: HBD to Bob Robert DeNiro! Although sadly the “DeNiro Con” set for the end of September in NYC to celebrate had to be postponed due to the strikes.
But in turning 80 today, DeNiro joins Marty in the octogenarian club, (he turned 80 last November), plus of course: Harrison – 81, Pacino – 83, Francis – 84, Ridley – 85, and… then there’s Clint, who’s about to direct his next WB movie at 93.
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE POLL, PT 2:
Now onto Strays, which has a “mid-teens” tracking… Good Boys is probably the last, best comp in 2018. It opened to $21 Million so – place yer bets.
The bears were dominating the Blue Beetle predictions yesterday:
Under $29 Million: 52%
$29 Mil to $33 Mil: 32%
Over $33 Mil: 16%
IN THIS EDITION
PAR pulls plug on BET sale
SONY adjusts another Fall pic release plan
What’s up with the continual WBD layoffs?
DIAMOND sues former owner SINCLAIR
PAR+ series pulls impressive linear numbers, BLEECKER buy another pic and more.
📽 THE SILVER TV 📺
More layoffs just keep rolling in at WBD
For a company that has indicated the tough decisions and rightsizing of 2022 was in the rear view… there certainly seems to be an internal culture that must still be living on eggshells.
First there was the Linear group “trim”…
note: this post was amended to correct the name in the Anita Busch item to Anthony Pellicano, my apologies for the error.
