The Most Powerful People in Podcasting; 'It Ends With Us' Opens to Huge $50M; 'Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( August 12, 2024 What's news: Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has died. Avatar 3 has a title. An Inside Out series is heading to Disney+. Deadpool 3 smashed through the billion dollar mark. Cartoon Network's website has been shuttered. Warner Bros. Discovery has dropped Fixed, a completed animated film. Paramount is developing a sequel to Crawl. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. Cruise Skydives Toward L.A. 2028 as Paris Olympics Closes ►Glitz and glamour. Tom Cruise kicked off the countdown to Los Angeles 2028 in epic Hollywood style on Sunday. In a spectacular segment during the Closing Ceremony of Paris 2024, Cruise jumped from the roof of the Stade de France before walking through a crowd of fans and accepting the official Olympic flag from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Simone Biles. He then rode out of the event on a motorcycle with the flag flying behind him, before hitching a ride on a plane to L.A. We then saw Cruise skydive towards the Hollywood sign. [The recap.]( —Au revoir! The Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony was full of surprises on Sunday and featured performances by Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg, H.E.R and Phoenix. France's Phoenix kicked off the show with their 2009 hit “Lisztomania,” as athletes danced and sang along to the indie classic. Their set featured surprise appearances from French synthwave artist Kavinsky and Belgian singer Angèle for a rendition of “Nightcall,” best known from the Drive soundtrack. [The recap.]( THR's Most Powerful People in Podcasting ►Champion chatters. From true crime masters to comedy titans, here are the on-air talent and behind-the-scenes dealmakers (increasingly the same folks) who are topping the charts and redefining the sector. [The list.]( —1.5x speed FTW. Listening to podcasts 50 percent faster is either a convenient way to maximize your pod consumption or an unforgivable insult to the craft, depending on who you ask. As part of its annual list of Podcast power players, THR polled the industry’s top practitioners about accelerated listening. Rachel Maddow, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Theo Von, Bill Simmons, the Pod Save America guys, Bowen Yang and more top podcasters have unusually passionate feelings about the fast-forward button. [The story.]( Susan Wojcicki 1968 - 2024 ►"Incredible person, leader and friend who had a tremendous impact on the world." Susan Wojcicki, the former CEO of YouTube and one of the first employees at Google after it was founded in 1998, has died. She was 56. Wojcicki died after a two-year battle with non-small cell lung cancer. The former exec was the 16th person to be hired at Google, initially joining the company in 1999 — after it was co-founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin the year prior — to build out its ad business and analytics products. She then transitioned into the YouTube CEO role after Google acquired the video platform in 2014. [The obituary.]( —Shuttered. Cartoon Network's website is no more. As of Friday, the landing page of CartoonNetwork.com features a popup directing users to sign up for Max, Warner Bros. Discovery's flagship streaming service. The shuttering of the Cartoon Network site follows WBD taking a $9.1b impairment charge in its quarterly earnings related to its networks division. The company cited a soft ad market as part of the reason for the hit. [The story.]( —No charges. Travis Scott has been released from jail with no changes after being taken into custody earlier this week for an alleged attack on a security guard at the five-star George V hotel on Friday morning. Sources close to the rapper told THR that there are no plans for him to be charged in the future and there were no injuries to any party, including Scott’s security. The rapper had been swarmed by fans and paparazzi all week while he was in Paris, and he blamed his bodyguard for not adequately protecting him. [The story.]( —"I never made it to pick up my son from school on the bike." Nev Schulman said he’s “lucky” to be alive after revealing he broke his neck in a crash involving his bike and a truck on Monday. The Catfish: The TV Show host took to Instagram on Saturday to share that he was headed to pick up his son from school when the accident happened. Schulman added that he’s thankfully “not paralyzed” and suffered stable fractures in his neck. [The story.]( Trump vs. Harris: Reality-TV Ringleading vs. the TikTok Ticket ►Brat vs. brat. The defining moment of Donald Trump as a presidential candidate to date was a ride down an escalator in a tower he developed. The defining moment of Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate to date was a British pop star she’s never met referencing an album she hadn’t heard in a post she didn’t control using a term she didn’t know. THR's Steven Zeitchik writes that the presidential campaign is a referendum on a lot of things. But it's also about Trump's very 2000s brand of broadcast reality against Harris' very 2020s style of online virality. [The analysis.]( —Hold on, they're coming. The family of Isaac Hayes is suing Donald Trump and his campaign for continued unauthorized use of the Sam & Dave hit song “Hold On, I’m Coming,” which was co-written by the late soul icon. On Sunday, Isaac Hayes III, the Grammy and Oscar-winner’s son, posted on social media that the family had filed suit over the Trump campaign’s use of the Sam & Dave hit at its rallies from 2022 to this year. The family is also demanding $3m in licensing fees. [The story.]( —Iceberg ahoy! Celine Dion denounced Donald Trump and J.D. Vance for using her song, “My Heart Will Go On,” at a rally in Montana on Friday. Her management team released a statement on behalf of the artist and her record label Sony for the use of the Titanic hit. The statement said, "In no way is this use authorized, and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use. …And really, THAT song?" [The story.]( —Audience capture is a helluva thing. After facing frothing backlash from the MAGA movement, Joe Rogan walked back reports that he endorsed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. when he expressed his support for the third-party presidential candidate on his podcast Thursday. Taken aback by the fury of Trump and his supporters, the influential podcaster took to social media to mollify some of his audience, suggesting he wasn't endorsing RFK, but rather revealing he liked him "as a person." [The story.]( Blake Lively's 'It Ends With Us' Opens to Huge $50M ►Family affair. Hollywood power couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have succeeded in creating their own Barbenheimer moment at the box office with their two very different films, Deadpool & Wolverine and It Ends With Us. Deadpool 3 stayed atop the North American chart with $54.2m in its third weekend. The blockbuster finished Sunday with an estimated domestic tally of $494.3m. Sony’s It Ends With Us, starring and produced by Lively, came in a strong second with an estimated $50m, well ahead of most expectations and serving up Lively’s biggest opening to date as a leading actress. Overseas, it also impressed in debuting to $30m from its first 42 markets for a global start of $80m. When compared to other female-driven titles, It came in more than two times ahead of Anyone But You and four times ahead of Where the Crawdads Sing (both are also Sony titles). [The box office report.]( —Billionaire boys club. Deadpool 3 stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, along with director Shawn Levy, have received their membership cards to the billion-dollar box office club. Marvel Studios and Disney’s summer blockbuster achieved the feat on Saturday, and will finish the weekend with an estimated $1.029b in global ticket sales, ($494.3m domestically and $535.2m overseas). [The story.]( D23: Disney Unveils Latest from Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm ►"Boy did I miss you!" Bob Iger got a rock star-worthy welcome Friday night, as roughly 12,000 screaming fans gave the Disney CEO a standing ovation as he kicked off a super-sized panel at D23. It was a homecoming for Iger, who missed the last D23 in 2022, as he was in the midst of a temporary retirement. This year’s biannual convention gave filmmakers and execs such as James Cameron, Kevin Feige, Pete Docter and Jennifer Lee the chance to announce new projects and tease what’s coming over the next year. [The recap.]( —Fire and Ash! Perhaps the biggest news to drop at D23 was James Cameron revealing that his third Avatar movie will be titled Avatar: Fire and Ash. “There are new cultures and settings and creatures, and new biomes. You will see a lot more of Pandora, the planet, that you’ve never seen before,” said Cameron of the movie. “The new film is not what you expect, but it’s definitely what you want.” [The story.]( —Shut up and take my money! Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails is composing the score for Tron: Ares, Disney announced Friday at D23. The reveal occurred during a first-look at the sci-fi movie that is being headlined by Jared Leto and directed by Joachim Rønning. The previous installment, Tron: Legacy, had a genre-defining score from Daft Punk. [The story.]( —Stark Flight Lab! Disney turned Saturday night’s D23 showcase into a veritable all-star concert, bringing A-list talent on stage to perform classic songs from Disney films and help introduce a veritable avalanche of new attractions and lands based on the company’s intellectual property. The presentation was led by Disney parks, experiences and products chairman Josh D’Amaro, who helped introduce all the new offerings on tap. [The story.]( —In-betweenquel! A new series set in the world of Inside Out is coming to Disney+. At D23, Pixar boss Pete Docter announced that the series, Dream Productions, would hit the streamer in 2025. The series will follow the “dream factory” inside of Riley’s head. It is set in between the events of Inside Out and Inside Out 2, with Docter describing the series as "an in-betweenquel." [The story.]( —Never enough! Disney is bringing The Greatest Showman to the stage. At D23, the company said that it is developing a stage musical based on the 2017 Hugh Jackman film, produced by its Disney Theatrical division. At the announcement, a cast performed “The Greatest Show,” the signature song from the film. [The story.]( More from D23... —Dwayne Johnson [dances at D23 while introducing Moana 2 trailer]( —Snow White [trailer puts Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot into classic tale]( —Kathryn Hahn, Aubrey Plaza [conjure up chaos in Marvel’s Agatha All Along trailer]( —Star Wars: Skeleton Crew [trailer reveals coming of age story in a galaxy far, far away]( —Percy Jackson [teases S2, reveals new cast]( Producer of Todd Haynes' Gay Romance Film Addresses Joaquin Phoenix Exit ►"It has been a nightmare." Christine Vachon, a producer behind Todd Haynes‘ gay romance movie, from which Joaquin Phoenix abruptly left last week, said on social media this weekend that the situation has been “a nightmare.” Reports surfaced on Friday that Phoenix exited the drama feature just five days before filming was set to begin in Guadalajara, Mexico. The role will not be recast. The actor’s reason for the exit was unclear, and felt further confusing to those around the project, as Phoenix has brought the project to Haynes. Vachon, of Killer Films, shared an article about the situation to Facebook over the weekend, and wrote: "A version of this did happen." [The story.]( —Yeesh! Warner Bros. Discovery has dropped another completed film. Fixed, an animated movie from director and co-writer Genndy Tartakovsky, is no longer getting a release from WBD. A co-production between Sony Pictures Animation and New Line, the feature was set up by WarnerMedia before the 2022 merger that created WBD. Fixed was initially planned for a release on HBO Max. WBD worked with the film's team to cover production costs and enable the filmmakers to find an alternate buyer. Rights for Fixed have reverted to Sony, which is shopping the project. [The story.]( —🎭 Filling out 🎭 Colin Hanks has joined the cast of Nobody 2, Universal’s sequel to the 2021 surprise hit produced by 87North. Bob Odenkirk is reprising his role as mild-mannered family man who is secretly a former government assassin, while Sharon Stone is cast as the stone-cold villainess of the piece. Connie Nielsen and Christopher Lloyd are reprising their roles of the family man’s wife and father, respectively. Plot details are being kept secret, but sources say that Hanks will play a corrupt sheriff. [The story.]( —Crawling back for more. Paramount Pictures is deep in development on a sequel to Crawl, its gator-gnashing horror movie released in 2019, and is eyeing a fall shoot in Europe. Andrew Deutschman and Jason Pagan, known for penning horror flick Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension and time-travel romp Project Almanac, are writing the script. French filmmaker Alexandre Aja, who directed the initial movie, will be back in the director’s chair. [The story.]( When Older Shows Become Newly-Minted Emmy Nominees ►All about the long game. For THR, Tyler Coates writes that shows like Apple TV+'s Slow Horses and The Morning Show, HBO's The Gilded Age and FX's Reservation Dogs got their first Emmy nods in the best drama series category after multiple seasons, proving that TV Academy voters can catch up to viewers. [The analysis.]( —New home. After a divisive 11th season of Vanderpump Rules following the aftermath of Scandoval, some fans asked for a shakeup, questioning if bringing back fan-favorite Stassi Schroeder could give the series the boost it needed. It turns out Schroeder is returning to reality TV — but it’s not at Bravo. As part of a new development deal with Hulu, Schroeder is getting her own show, a half-hour “docu-comedy” called Stassi Says. [The story.]( —"People would watch that and it would be unfamiliar to them as the country that they live in." Aaron Sorkin thinks he could still make The West Wing today, but there is one political factor he thinks would be very different from when the series ran 25 years ago: today’s Republican Party. At an event in support of the upcoming book in Los Angeles on Saturday, Sorkin acknowledged that he is sometimes asked if the show would work in the present day. "On the show, while the Republicans were the opposition, they were reasonable, the Republicans that they dealt with," the creator explained. [The story.]( 'Deadpool 3' Writers Reveal Scrapped RDJ Cameo ►"There is a script. We have the Downey draft." THR's second-nicest man Aaron Couch spoke to Deadpool & Wolverine scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick about the R-rated record breaker. The writers break down their big swings — and talk paths they didn't go down (Deadpool vs. Zombies?!). Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( —The thing about Dateline. In a rare joint interview, THR's [James Hibberd]( spoke to NBC's Dateline correspondents Keith Morrison, Andrea Canning and Josh Mankiewicz, who discuss the behind-the-scenes drama of making America's top-rated true-crime TV series and podcast — and what happens when you say "retirement" to Morrison. [The interview.]( —"I could talk about [Night Country] for the rest of my life." THR's [Mikey O'Connell]( spoke to Jodie Foster about her double Emmy nominated turn in True Detective: Night Country. Foster — who's up for lead actress and for producing the limited series — discusses stunt work, fantasy football and the comparisons between Silence of the Lambs and this summer's horror hit Longlegs. [The interview.]( Film Review: 'Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision' ►"Revelatory and refreshingly low-key." THR's [Sheri Linden]( reviews John McDermott's Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision. The people who helped the music icon realize his groundbreaking idea for a recording studio tell the story of how it was done in McDermott's oral history. [The review.]( —"An intriguing tale of motherhood and revolution." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews César Díaz's Mexico 86. In Cannes Caméra d'Or winner's second feature, The Artist star Bérénice Bejo plays a Guatemalan leftist militant desperately trying to raise her estranged son. [The review.]( In other news... —Colin Farrell [opens up about son with Angelman Syndrome]( —Rod Stewart [postpones more gigs, days after canceling 200th Vegas show]( —Michael Jackson’s nephew [Jaafar Jackson signs with CAA]( —Why stars like [Brad Pitt and Taylor Swift fall for Carmel, California]( —[Margaret Menegoz]( Amour, The White Ribbon producer, dies at 83 ​​​What else we're reading... —Bilge Ebiri dives deep into the peculiar joy of watching Tom Cruise jump from the sky [[Vulture]( —Domenico Montanaro reports that Donald Trump managed to tell an incredible 162 lies and distortions in that unhinged Mar-a-Lago press conference [[NPR]( —With the likes of George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr. and Denzel Washington coming to Broadway, Michael Paulson talks to producers behind this star-driven strategy [[NYT]( —In a wonderful piece on Tim Walz, Charlie Warzel writes that Kamala Harris putting "a dad on the ballot" was a masterstroke as the internet loves dads [[Atlantic]( —Ashley Carman looks at how iconic music artists selling their IP and catalogs is warping the industry [[Bloomberg]( Today... ...in 2011, New Line Cinema released Final Destination 5 in theaters. Steven Quale's horror film was a big box office success, but the franchise lay dormant until New Line began developing Final Destination: Bloodlines, which releases in 2025. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Yvette Nicole Brown (53), Casey Affleck (49), [LaKeith Stanfield]( (33), George Hamilton (85), Isaach De Bankolé (67), Cara Delevingne (32), Maggie Lawson (44), Bruce Greenwood (68), Dominique Swain (44), Peter Krause (59), Iman Vellani (22), Jim Beaver (74), Rebecca Gayheart (53), Sam J. Jones (70), Bex Taylor-Klaus (30), Matt Oberg (48), Charles Mesure (54), Rudy Pankow (26), Amanda Redman (67), Leah Pipes (36), Brent Sexton (57), Dana Ivey (83), Imani Hakim (31), Selina Cadell (71), Michael Ian Black (53), Steve Talley (43), Charlotte Salt (39), Ray Abruzzo (70), Natalie Mendoza (46), Ronald Guttman (72), Jade Tailor (39), Erin Bethea (42), Savannah Lee May (24), Katherine Kendall (55) Mitzi McCall, the delightful actress and sitcom writer who partnered with her husband, Charlie Brill, in a sketch comedy act that famously floundered between sets by The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, has died. She was 93. [The obituary.]( 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. Visit the [Preferences Center]( to update your profile and customize what email alerts and newsletters you receive. 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