Trump Found Guilty; Skydance, RedBird Make New Offer for Paramount; Sony to Use AI to Produce Movies, Shows; 'Summer Camp' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( May 31, 2024 What's news: Donald Trump is a convicted felon. Max has renewed Hacks. Mahershala Ali is in talks to star in the new Jurassic World film. Jeremy Renner has joined the cast of Knives Out 3. The Deadpool 3 popcorn bucket has been revealed. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. Trump Found Guilty of All 34 Counts in Hush Money Case ►A man of convictions. Donald Trump has been found guilty in his Manhattan criminal hush money trial. After five weeks of testimony, a jury found the WWE Hall of Famer guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records. After the verdict was read, Trump called it a "rigged trial" and a "disgrace," and said that the "real" verdict will be delivered in November when voters pick the next president. Sentencing for the Home Alone 2: Lost in New York star will be on July 11. [The story.]( —"We should start referring to him as 34 instead of 45." Steve Martin, Mark Hamill, John Leguizamo, Barbra Streisand, Stephen King, Kathy Griffin, Mark Hamill, Billy {NAME}, D.L. Hughey, Rob Reiner, Bette Middler, Lynda Carter, George Takei and Sheryl Lee Ralph are among those in Hollywood who have taken to social media to share their reaction to Trump’s guilty verdict. [The reaction.]( —"How long before he starts bragging about this?" Jimmy Kimmel addressed Trump’s guilty verdict on Thursday night. “Weeks of sleep farting all down the drain,” Kimmel joked during the monologue of Jimmy Kimmel Live! “You’ve got to hand it to him, no president has ever been convicted more than Donald Trump." [The story.]( —More bad news. Twenty years after The Apprentice debuted on NBC, the expansive NDAs signed by its producers are beginning to expire. This week, one of the show’s top producers during seasons one and two is sharing previously unheard details about Trump. Reality TV producer Bill Pruitt spoke on the record about Trump's alleged on-set behavior, include using the N-word to describe a contestant and consistently making sexist and lewd comments about women. [The story.]( Skydance, RedBird Make New Offer for Paramount ►A little more sugar. Skydance and RedBird Capital are sweetening their takeover deal for Paramount Global. A source confirms to THR's [Alex Weprin]( that the investor group, which also includes KKR, has made a revised offer to Paramount’s independent board committee reviewing deals. While the specifics of the new offer were not immediately available, it is believed to sweeten the deal for Paramount’s Class B shareholders. Paramount is effectively controlled by Shari Redstone and her National Amusements, which holds more than 70 percent of Class A voting shares. [The story.]( —"People are going to have different opinions about how much voices sound alike, but we don’t." OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has made his first public comments on the Scarlett Johansson voice controversy, though he opted to mostly sidestep questions about the “Sky” chatbot that many users felt sounded like the actress. Altman spoke at the AI for Good Summit Thursday, hosted by the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations agency focused on communications issues, and he was directly asked about Johansson’s concerns about the OpenAI voice. [The story.]( —Charged. Actor Nick Pasqual has been charged with allegedly stabbing his ex-girlfriend, Allie Shehorn, a Hollywood special effects makeup artist, several times. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Pasqual with one count of attempted murder; one count of first-degree residential burglary with person present; and one count of injuring a spouse, cohabitant, fiancé, boyfriend, girlfriend or child’s parent. [The story.]( —Better news. When Calls the Heart star Mamie Laverock’s family confirmed she is on the road to recovery after being placed on life support earlier this week. In a new update shared on the GoFundMe page for the 19-year-old’s medical bills, Laverock’s parents Rob and Nicole wrote, "Mamie is out of her big surgeries and the doctors day she is doing well. It’s impossible for us to be happier. Thank you all for your support." As previously reported, Laverock fell from a five-story walkway while under medical care at a Vancouver hospital. [The story.]( 'Deadpool 3' Popcorn Bucket Ups the Ante ►"Years from now they will look back at 2024 as when the War of the Popcorn Buckets began." The Deadpool & Wolverine novelty popcorn bucket has been revealed. On Thursday, star Ryan Reynolds unveiled a suggestive ad teasing the popcorn bucket for Marvel’s upcoming superhero team-up. The bucket is a Wolverine helmet with a very wide open mouth. The move follows Marvel chief Kevin Fiege promising a “crude and rude” design for the bucket. [The story.]( —"The Chosen's relationship with Angel Studios is effectively over." The Chosen creator Dallas Jenkins teared up during a livestream telecast Wednesday. He revealed he had just won a hard-fought, months-long arbitration with his Biblical drama’s original partner, Angel Studios. The arbitrator had ruled in Jenkins’ company’s favor, freeing him to potentially secure a major exclusive streaming partner to help fund the show’s upcoming seasons. [The story.]( —"I think a lot of the women who step into Star Wars struggle with this a bit more." Kathleen Kennedy is familiar with the difficulties that women often face in the male-dominated Star Wars world. In a new interview about Leslye Headland's upcoming series The Acolyte, Kennedy also opened up about how she has faced misogyny as the head of Lucasfilm. “Operating within these giant franchises now, with social media and the level of expectation — it’s terrifying,” she said. [The story.]( Sony to Use AI to Produce Movies and Shows ►"We’ll be looking at ways to use AI to produce films for theaters and television in more efficient ways, using AI primarily." Sony Pictures is embracing generative artificial intelligence to cut costs. Chief executive Tony Vinciquerra, at an investor conference in Japan, said on Thursday that the company is “very focused on AI” and mobilizing to adopt the technology into the moviemaking process to streamline production. The comments from Vinciquerra were made in the midst of ongoing negotiations between Hollywood's major crew union and top studios. [The story.]( —Wait, what? Generative AI is coming for streaming, with the release of a platform dedicated to AI content that allows users to create episodes with a prompt of just a couple of words. Fable Studio, an Emmy-winning San Francisco startup, on Thursday announced Showrunner, a platform the company says can write, voice and animate episodes of shows it carries. Under the initial release, users will be able to watch AI-generated series and create their own content — complete with the ability to control dialogue, characters and shot types, among other controls. [The story.]( —"AI is a threat — and an opportunity." In a guest column for THR, Dawn Ostroff, a board member of Paramount Global and Mattel, writes that evolving tech is blurring lines and encroaching on artists’ terrain. But rather than just fighting AI, the industry must harness it in creative new ways. [The column.]( Mahershala Ali Circling New 'Jurassic World' Movie ►🎭 Will Blade ever happen? 🎭 THR's [Borys Kit]( has the scoop that Mahershala Ali is in talks to join Scarlett Johansson in Universal’s new Jurassic World feature. Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo are already on the manifest for the project that is stomping toward a production start in mid-June in London with Gareth Edwards in the director’s chair. The script is written by Jurassic Park vet David Koepp but the studio is keeping plot details under wraps. [The story.]( —🎭 Dementus doubles down 🎭 Chris Hemsworth is in talks to lead an untitled crossover film for Paramount and Hasbro Entertainment that unites the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises. This marks a second Transformers project for Hemsworth, who voice stars in the upcoming Transformers One animated movie. The proposed crossover film follows the events of last year’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, which ended with Anthony Ramos’ Noah Diaz getting a job offer from the Joes. [The story.]( —🎭 *DJ Khaled voice* Another one 🎭 Jeremy Renner continues his comeback after his snowplow accident and is joining Daniel Craig in Rian Johnson‘s Netflix sequel Knives Out 3. Renner joins previously confirmed castmembers Glenn Close, Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington, Josh O’Connor and Cailee Spaeny in the forthcoming film, titled Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. [The story.]( 'Hacks' Scores S4 Renewal at Max ►No-brainer. Max has ordered a fourth season of Hacks, the Emmy-winning comedy starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder. The renewal came Thursday, on the day Hacks concluded its nine-episode third season (just under the wire for Emmy eligibility this year). Max says last week’s release of the seventh and eighth episodes of season three gave the series its best single-day viewership to date (though per usual with streamers, there aren’t any numbers publicly available). [The story.]( —"The people have spoken." Netflix has handed out a second season renewal for The Vince Staples Show. The five-episode scripted comedy from rapper and actor Vince Staples and exec producer Kenya Barris was initially billed as a limited series. An episode count for season two has not yet been determined. Originally ordered to series in September 2022, the series is loosely inspired by the life of the rapper and was created by Staples, Ian Edelman and Maurice Williams. [The story.]( —Oh geez. Netflix's latest animated series order comes from several people behind Rick and Morty. The streamer has ordered The Undervale from creator and showrunner Matt Roller, a former writer for the Adult Swim mainstay and current co-executive producer of Fox’s Krapopolis. Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon and executive producer Steve Levy are also exec producing, along with Spider-Man: No Way Home writer Chris McKenna. Erica Hayes, also a Rick and Morty alum, will be supervising director on The Undervale. [The story.]( —Reality is merely an illusion. Netflix has picked up new seasons of both The Ultimatum and its companion show, The Ultimatum: Queer Love, as part of its ongoing expansion of reality programming. The streamer has also ordered another show in its Selling … franchise; a competition show called Battle Camp that’s reminiscent of MTV’s The Challenge; and a music competition titled Building the Band that has a Love Is Blind-ish twist. [The story.]( —We need to talk about Kevin. Amazon Prime Video has handed out a series order for Kevin, an animated comedy from Aubrey Plaza and Joe Wengert (Big Mouth). The series revolves around a lifelong house cat who decides that he doesn’t want to live with people anymore. The comedy is loosely inspired by a real breakup and the cat caught in the middle. Titmouse will handle animation for the series. [The story.]( —Bluey planet. The Netflix special roasting NFL great Tom Brady made onto the streaming charts for the week it premiered — despite it only be up for a few hours of that week. The Roast of Tom Brady racked up 279m minutes for the week of April 29-May 5, good for 10th place among original series in Nielsen’s rankings. Bluey moved back into the top overall spot with 1.18b minutes of viewing on Disney+, adding to its total as the most streamed title in the U.S. so far this year. [The streaming rankings.]( Bruckheimer Talks 'Young Woman and the Sea,' 'Maverick' Followup ►"We'll have to get a good screenplay, and hopefully, he'll like it as much as we will." THR's [Brian Davids]( spoke to mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer about his new film Young Woman and the Sea, a biopic of American swimmer Gertrude Ederle. Bruckheimer also discusses his upcoming Formula One film with Joseph Kosinski and Brad Pitt, another Top Gun film, as well as the Maverick lesson his team applied to July’s Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. [The interview.]( —"We set out to make a film that was wonderful and cinematic." Brian also spoke to Young Woman and the Sea star Daisy Ridley about the film that opens in theaters today. After nearly a decade in the spotlight, the swimming biopic gave the Brit actor something she'd never had before: the chance to perform opposite an onscreen sister and mother for the first time. [The interview.]( —"I thought Reena’s story, first and foremost, was a story I wanted to honor." THR's [Christy Piña]( spoke to Riley Keough about the finale of Hulu's Under the Bridge. The star and producer talks about approaching Reena Virk's story with sensitivity, as someone who is familiar with people telling stories about her family, and balancing the real events with fictional aspects. Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( —"I want to be someone that my family could be proud of." THR's Kimberly Nordyke spoke to Gypsy Rose Blanchard ahead of the debut of the Lifetime docuseries Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up. Blanchard discusses her post-prison life, dealing with fame, and what viewers can expect from the series. [The interview.]( Film Review: 'Summer Camp' ►"Reunions should be more memorable than this." THR's [Sheri Linden]( reviews Castille Landon's Summer Camp. Set during a reunion for boomers, writer-director Landon’s comedy stars Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Eugene Levy and Dennis Haysbert. [The review.]( Thank Pod It's Friday ►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio. —TV's Top 5. THR's [Lesley Goldberg]( and [Dan Fienberg]( break down the latest TV news. This week's episode begins with the headlines, including news on on Hacks, a Minecraft series, the animated series The Undervale and Kevin. There's a segment on June TV and We Are Lady Parts creator Nida Manzoor is the showrunner in the spotlight. Dan also reviews Peacock's We Are Lady Parts, Netflix’s Eric and Geek Girl. [Listen here.]( —Awards Chatter. THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this live episode, Scott spoke to Kevin Costner. The legendary actor and Oscar-winning filmmaker reflects on the projects for which he was most (and least) celebrated, what's going on with Yellowstone and why he has put millions of his own dollars towards Horizon, a four-film Western epic. [Listen here.]( In other news... —Neil Patrick Harris, Tig Notaro, Nicole Byer [laugh over shared pain in Group Therapy trailer]( —Mythical Entertainment taps [Jawhara Tariq to lead venture investing and strategy]( —Lionsgate taps former Bad Robot, CAA exec [Brian Weinstein as 3 Arts co-CEO]( —Italian designer [Veronica Leoni appointed creative director of Calvin Klein Collection]( ​​​What else we're reading... —Thomas Buckley reports that Disney is banking on sequels and also considering reboots of Finding Nemo and The Incredibles to help get Pixar back on track [[Bloomberg]( —Justin Rohrlich and Pilar Melendez outline the possible futures that await the Trump trial jurors [[Daily Beast]( —David G. Savage answers some legal questions that have been raised by Trump's guilty verdict (and yes, he can still be elected as a convicted felon) [[LAT]( —Ken Silverstein has a remarkable story on military contractor Erik Prince's private and incredibly unhinged Whatsapp group chat, that includes the likes of Tucker Carlson, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Michael Flynn [[New Republic]( —Here's your Friday list: "Clint Eastwood's best films – ranked!" [[Guardian]( Today... ...in 1990, NBC made a bet that viewers would embrace Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer in the new comedy Seinfeld. At least one critic, however, wasn’t thrilled with the initial offering. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Clint Eastwood (94), Brooke Shields (59), Colin Farrell (48), Archie Panjabi (52), Tom Berenger (75), Paolo Sorrentino (54), Lea Thompson (63), [Justine Lupe]( (35), Mark Dindal (64), Sebastian Koch (62), Gregory Harrison (74), Luke Arnold (40), Sobhita Dhulipala (32), Jonathan Tucker (42), Chris Elliott (64), Meredith Hagner (37), Phillipa Soo (34), Merle Dandridge (49), Ellen Wong (39), Eric Christian Olsen (47), Sarah Goldberg (39), Sharon Gless (81), Susie Essman (69), Hugh Dillon (61), Anna-Maria Sieklucka (32), Roma Maffia (66), Don Harvey (64), Stuart Graham (57), Sandrine Bonnaire (57), Justine Cotsonas (39) Stephen J. Rivele, who shared an Oscar nomination for the screenplay for Oliver Stone’s Nixon and worked on such other biopics as Michael Mann’s Ali, Agnieszka Holland’s Copying Beethoven and Don Cheadle’s Miles Ahead, has died. He was 75. [The obituary.]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} by The Hollywood Reporter. 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