Panic Over Biden’s Shaky Debate Performance; NFL Loses $4.7B 'Sunday Ticket' Case; 'Twisters' Eyeing Major $40M-$55M U.S. Opening; 'A Family Affair' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( June 28, 2024 What's news: The world is reacting to Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance. The Big East has inked rights deals with Fox Sports, NBC Sports and TNT Sports. Cirque du Soleil will produce longform content based off its shows. Social sports streamer Caffeine has been shuttered. Center for Investigative Reporting is suing OpenAI. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. Panic Over Biden's Shaky Debate Performance ►The insults fly. Joe Biden and Donald Trump came face to face in Atlanta for what was a testy first presidential debate that saw the sitting president fumble at the outset as the former president shouted out insults at his opponent over dozens of topics, only for Biden to lob insults right back at him, bringing up the numerous scandals and lawsuits that plague the former real estate mogul and convicted felon. [The recap.]( —"Biden will be a one-term president. He still has the chance to watch a Democrat be inaugurated. There are 68 days until the DNC." The concern over Joe Biden’s advanced age and cognitive abilities crystallized in the front half of the first presidential debate on Thursday, leading to panic among his supporters and several notable individuals to call for him to be replaced on the ticket. [The reaction.]( —"This cannot be real life." On The Daily Show, Jon Stewart reacted to a very dramatic debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump on Thursday night. Stewart roasted the performances of both candidates, and seemed massively frustrated with the electoral choice America has apparently been presented with. Stewart seemed particularly concerned by Biden’s performance, with the president seeming pale, fragile and shaky on stage. [The reaction.]( —"He didn’t just have a frog in his throat — he had the entire amphibian kingdom." In his review of the debate, THR's Frank Scheck writes that Biden failed badly at optics, Trump was outrageously but calmly dishonest, and moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash barely bothered to do their job. [The critic's notebook.]( —"Everybody, take a breath." In a guest column for THR, Eric Schultz, who served as deputy press secretary to President Obama, and acted as political consultant for Civil War and Succession, offers his take on the first debate. Amid the post-debate panic amongst Dems, Schultz calls for calm: "Biden may have gotten off to a slow start, but Trump’s extremism was on full display as the night went on." [The column.]( NFL Loses $4.7B 'Sunday Ticket' Case ►Antitrust violations. The NFL has been hit with a roughly $4.7b verdict after a jury found that its broadcast model violates antitrust laws. A Los Angeles jury on Thursday agreed with fans who claimed they overpaid for NFL Sunday Ticket. The decision could force the league to change its broadcast model that’s made it the most popular sports league in the country. The 8-year-old legal battle centered on allegations that the league and its 32 teams conspired in violation of antitrust laws to allow the NFL to reach exclusive deals with broadcast partners for the right to air out-of-market games. [The story.]( —Back in the game. In a major media rights deal for college basketball, the Big East has inked new long-term pacts with Fox Sports, NBC Sports and TNT Sports. The new deals run through the 2030-2031 season, with Fox serving as its lead broadcast partner. However, perhaps the most significant part of the new deal is the addition of TNT Sports, which will get at least 65 games each season, including 50 mens games and 15 womens games. All the games will stream on Max, and the company has secured highlight rights for Bleacher Report and other digital platforms. [The story.]( —Award-winning presenters. The Emmy nominations news will be delivered by two previous winners: Tony Hale and Sheryl Lee Ralph. The pair will anchor the nominations ceremony, 8:30 a.m. PT/11:30 a.m. ET on July 17, at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. A live stream of the announcement will be available on the Television Academy’s Emmy website. The actual Emmys will be handed out Sept. 15, during the live ABC telecast. [The story.]( —New department. THR's [Etan Vlessing]( has the scoop on CAA formalizing a new department specifically to forge partnerships between brands and their IP, media companies and star talent. The newly formed Media & Entertainment Partnerships department will look to help the Century City-based agency’s clients develop, finance and launch films, TV, social and digital series. For the major entertainment and sports talent agency, the goal is securing a new source of film and TV production financing via brand partnerships. [The story.]( —Content drive. Etan also has the scoop on Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group moving into producing longform content with Hollywood heavyweights with the launch of Cirque du Soleil Studio. The new venture will kick off with a partnership with Ridley Scott and Scott Free Productions to jointly develop and produce a feature film based on O, the long-running water-based stage production at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. [The story.]( IATSE, Studios Reach Tentative Agreement on Area Standards Contract ►🤝 Tentative deal 🤝 Entertainment’s top crew union struck a tentative deal with Hollywood’s studios and streamers for a contract covering 23 Locals on Thursday, just two days after their West Coast peers did the same. IATSE announced in a message to its members that a three-year successor deal to its Area Standards Agreement has been reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The agreement will need to be ratified by IATSE members — 20,000 of whom work under the deal — before it can take effect. [The story.]( —More legal woe. OpenAI and Microsoft have been sued by another news organization for using articles to train its artificial intelligence systems, this time by the Center for Investigative Reporting. In a lawsuit filed in New York district court, the nonprofit newsroom, which produces Mother Jones and Reveal, alleges the Sam Altman-led firm “copied, used, abridged, and displayed” the Center for Investigative Reporting’s content without consent or compensation, in violation of copyright laws. [The story.]( —🤝 Better news 🤝 Time Magazine has struck a strategic partnership with OpenAI that will see its current and historical content land on ChatGPT and other generative AI products. The multi-year licensing agreement will see OpenAI gain access to Time’s archives over 101 years to bolster its generative AI products and display, and which will include a citation and link back to the original source on Time.com. [The story.]( —Donezo. Caffeine, a social streaming sports platform that had raised nearly $300m from companies like Fox, Disney, Cox, Andreessen Horowitz and Greylock, abruptly shuttered on Wednesday. The company launched in 2016 as an alternative to Twitch, with a focus on esports, video games, and live events. 21st Century Fox invested $100m in the company in 2018, coinciding with a streaming concert deal with Live Nation, and the promise to build a new venture called Caffeine Studios that would see Fox help develop content for the platform. [The story.]( 'The Bear' Star Jeremy Allen White Explains S3's Stunning First Episode ►"It felt like walking around in somebody's mind." For THR, Josh Wigler talked to Jeremy Allen White about the first episode of season three of FX/Hulu's hit series The Bear. White discusses how the episode demands viewers take a breath and slow down alongside Carmy. Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( —Fork in the road. THR's queen of chat [Jackie Strause]( spoke to The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach as well as more Jeremy Allen White about picking up the pieces from the devastating season two finale at the start of season three. Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( —🎭 Expanding cast 🎭 Max has unveiled some cast changes for season three of Sex and the City sequel series And Just Like That. Mehcad Brooks, Jonathan Cake and Logan Marshall-Green join the series in recurring guest roles, and Sebastiano Pigazzi and Dolly Wells are elevated to series regulars for the third season, now shooting in New York City. Along with Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon, the season three cast also features Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Ari Parker, Mario Cantone, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Christopher Jackson, Niall Cunningham, Cathy Ang, Alexa Swinton and John Corbett. [The story.]( —"Truth is stranger than fiction, especially here." AMC/AMC+ have ordered a series set in present-day Silicon Valley, centering on the falling out of a tech CEO and someone in his orbit. Jonathan Glatzer, who has written episodes of Better Call Saul and HBO’s Succession, created the as-yet-untitled series and will serve as its showrunner. AMC Studios will produce. AMC previously chronicled the early days of Silicon Valley in its critically acclaimed series Halt and Catch Fire. [The story.]( —🎭 New housewife incoming 🎭 Racquel Chevremont is joining the Real Housewives of New York City for season 15. Bravo announced Chevremont will be joining the previously announced cast of Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Lichy, Jenna Lyons, Jessel Taank and Brynn Whitfield as a main cast member. Rebecca Minkoff is also joining the cast in a friend role. RHONY, which is currently in production, doesn’t yet have a premiere date. Chevermont, an art curator and model, is the franchise’s second openly queer housewife, following Lyons, who joined the show last season. [The story.]( —Scripted plans. YouTube stars Rhett & Link are getting back into the scripted comedy space. The duo, who host Good Mythical Morning and own Mythical Entertainment, will launch a new scripted series on their Rhett & Link YouTube channel in August. The new series, Wonderhole, "combines docu-comedy, sketch comedy, original music, visual FX, celebrity cameos, and outright bonkers attitude." Mythical independently financed Wonderhole, which will release new episodes on YouTube each week. [The story.]( 'Twisters' Eyeing Major $40M-$55M U.S. Opening ►Storm tracking. THR's Pamela McClintock reports that Lee Isaac Chung's Twisters — featuring a high-wattage cast that includes Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos — is tracking to open to $55m over the July 19-21 weekend in North America. Universal, which is handling the film domestically, is being more conservative in suggesting $40m to $45m considering that tracking has been off as of late in many cases. Some tracking firms believe Twisters could even do more than $55m. [The box office report.]( —"I don’t even think I got a call back." Austin Butler has revealed that he auditioned for The Hunger Games but didn’t get a part in the hit movie series. In a new interview, The Bikeriders star said went for the part of Peeta Mellark, the male tribute played by Josh Hutcherson who represented District 12 in the 74th annual Hunger Games, alongside female tribute Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence). [The story.]( —"A lot coming up." Letitia Wright is teasing the possibility of returning to her role as Shuri from the Black Panther films. "Let’s just say … I would like to continue with Shuri," Wright said during a Wednesday appearance on The View when asked about her appearing in future Avengers movies The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars, set for May 2026 and May 2027, respectively. “She’s one of my favorite characters. Such a blessing, honestly. I kid you not, I’m so grateful for her." [The story.]( Film Review: 'A Family Affair' ►"Efron delights in an uneven but enjoyable romance." THR's [Angie Han]( reviews Richard Lagravenese's A Family Affair. Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron star in this Netflix rom-com that centers on a widowed middle-aged writer having an affair with a younger movie star — who happens to be her daughter's boss. [The review.]( Thank Pod It's Friday ►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio. —Awards Chatter. THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott spoke to Calista Flockhart. The TV icon best known for Ally McBeal reflects on being a stage actress plucked from obscurity and catapulted to sudden fame, the effects of harsh media scrutiny on her psyche and her subsequent career trajectory, and why she was lured out of semi-retirement by the prospect of playing Lee Radziwill in FX's Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. [Listen here.]( In other news... —Alec {NAME} [trains a novice with a dark past in Clear Cut trailer]( —Mark Wahlberg [plays psychotic mob hitman in Mel Gibson’s Flight Risk trailer]( —Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella [go tripping in My Old Ass trailer]( —Sigourney Weaver [to receive Venice Golden Lion]( —Rachel Bilson [reprises The O.C. role for tequila ads]( —Evan Cabnet [named artistic director of Second Stage Theater]( —Ellie Goulding, Jordyn Woods [and more attend Viktor & Rolf’s Paris couture show]( —Mymama, Beta [team up on Brazilan outfit Janeiro Studios]( —[Kinky Friedman]( Texas musician and humorist, dies at 79 ​​​What else we're reading... —David Weigel and Shelby Talcott talk to Dem insiders who are in full panic mode over Biden's debate performance [[Semafor]( —Shawn Hubler, J. David Goodman, Eduardo Medina and Campbell Robertson have debate reaction from Democratic voters, and it's pretty grim reading [[NYT]( —Jeremy Barr reports on the anger over CNN's inability/refusal to live fact-check the debate [[WaPo]( —A frustrated Frazier Tharpe writes that the third season of The Bear could have dominated the cultural conversation from now through September if FX/Hulu dropped one episode at a time [[GQ]( —Jack Hamilton is of the opinion that The Bear is not a good show, and with the new season it's becoming impossible to ignore how bad the FX hit has gotten [[Slate]( —Brad Stone and Angelina Rascouet spoke to LVMH head honcho Bernard Arnault on how he built his luxury empire and his succession plans [[Bloomberg]( —Here's your Friday list: "10 episodes that prove The Leftovers is the best post-apocalyptic TV show" [[AV Club]( Today... ...in 2013, Sony released Roland Emmerich's White House Down in theaters. The political action thriller's all-star cast featured Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Richard Jenkins, Joey King, and James Woods. The film received a mixed critical reaction and grossed $200m on a $150m budget. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: [Mel Brooks]( (98), John Cusack (58), Kathy Bates (76), Mike White (54), Jon Watts (43), Brendan Hunt (52), Mary Stuart Masterson (58), Felicia Day (45), Jessica Hecht (59), Niamh Algar (32), Alice Krige (70), Daniel Webber (36), Gil Bellows (57), Aileen Quinn (53), Alessandro Nivola (52), Bruce Davison (78), Camille Guaty (48), Maya Stojan (38), Benito Martinez (53), Daniel Zovatto (33), Tichina Arnold (55), Angeline Ball (55), Sara Stewart (58), Mark Fischbach (35), Noah Fearnley (25), Elaine Tan (45), Steve Burton (54), RaéVen Kelly (39) This email was sent to {EMAIL} by The Hollywood Reporter. Please add email@email.hollywoodreporter.com to your address book to ensure delivery to your inbox. 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