James Cameron Gets Candid on 'Avatar,' 'Alien' and Whales; Bourdain Biopic in the Works; ABC Names Second Black 'Bachelor'; 'Bad Monkey' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( August 13, 2024 What's news: Layoffs at Paramount begin today. Universal Music Group has inked a first-time licensing deal with Meta. Jimmy Kimmel has explained his decision to turn down the Oscars hosting gig. James Wan is developing a feature remake of The Creature From the Black Lagoon. John Slattery will lead USA's series adaptation of The Rainmaker. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. Cameron Talks 'Avatar, 'Alien: Romulus' and Whales in Spicy Chat ►"Damn right I'm overbearing." In a must-read interview, THR's [James Hibberd]( spoke to James Cameron about his new National Geographic documentary OceanXplorers and from there they branched out to touch on a host of other Cameron-verse topics. The Oscar-winning director didn't hold back and offered his unvarnished views on Alien: Romulus, Netflix’s upcoming animated series Terminator Zero, Avatar 3 a.k.a. Avatar: Fire & Ash, the recent 4K transfers of Aliens and True Lies, Roland Emmerich’s viral comments about a Fantastic Voyage reboot, and why he doesn’t believe extraterrestrial life has visited Earth. [The interview.]( How Cruise's Olympics Stunt Was Inspired by… Conan ►"I’ve seen lots of handovers where the country that takes over does something in the stadium, and they’ve been great, but I wanted to do something different." THR's [Mikey O'Connell]( spoke to producer Ben Winston, who breaks down the LA28 segment of the Paris Olympics' Closing Ceremony. Winston goes deep on the creation of the Tom Cruise flag hand-off that was 20 months in the making. [The interview.]( —They'll always have Paris. NBCUniversal says the 2024 Olympics averaged a combined 30.6m viewers across all platforms for its “Paris Prime” daytime telecast (2-5 p.m. ET in the U.S.) and nightly primetime shows. That’s a huge improvement — 82 percent — on the last Summer Olympics three years ago in Tokyo, which averaged 16.9m cross-platform viewers for daytime and prime telecasts. The audience for the 2024 Olympics also compares favorably to those in both 2016 (26m viewers) and 2012 (30.3m), though streaming was a much, much smaller component of those games. [The ratings.]( —Over in Europe. Warner Bros. Discovery is also claiming the gold at this year’s Olympic Games, boasting record streaming and viewership figures for its coverage of the games in Europe. Official figures released by WBD on Monday show the company reached a cumulative 215m viewers in Europe across its television and streaming platforms, fully 23 percent, or 40m, more than with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. [The ratings.]( Netflix Opening 'Squid Game' Experience in NYC Ahead of S2 ►Get excited. Netflix says that it will open “Squid Game: The Experience” in NYC in October, letting people experience the thrill and stress of the popular series firsthand. The live experience will be based at the Manhattan Mall, and feature “Front Man” having participants test their skills and strategies in challenges inspired by the series. As with the original live Squid Game experience in L.A. last year, the NYC experience will also include a night market with Korean-inspired food, snacks, and cocktails. [The story.]( —Brutal. Paramount will begin cutting 15 percent of its workforce beginning today. Co-CEOs Chris McCarthy, Brian Robbins and George Cheeks announced to staff in a memo that the planned layoffs will begin on Tuesday, and happen in three phases. The first phase begins today, and will continue through the end of 2024. They add that 90 percent of the cuts will be done by the end of September. [The story.]( —✊ Unanimous ✊ Freelance casting assistants in New York and Los Angeles have unanimously voted to unionize with two Teamsters Locals. In a National Labor Relations Board vote whose ballots were counted on Monday, 91 casting assistants employed by top studios supported unionizing with Teamsters Locals 399 and 817. The election took place between July 19 and Aug. 9, with the contest open to any casting assistants who had worked 15 days with a single major studio over the course of a year. [The story.]( —🤝 Licensing deal 🤝 Universal Music Group has inked a first-time licensing deal with Meta to allow music from the label’s artists to be uploaded to WhatsApp and shared without violating copyright ownership. The move is part of an expanded global licensing agreement, first signed in 2017, to have UMG artists and songwriters continue placing copyrighted music across Meta’s platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Horizon and Threads. As part of the agreement renewal, UMG artists and songwriters will receive a slice of ad revenue from the use of licensed music on Meta creator posts. [The story.]( —On the slide. Buzzfeed reported total revenue of $47m for Q2, down from $62m a year ago. Ad revenue declined 19 percent year-over-year to reach $23.8m, with programmatic advertising revenue at $16m compared to $15.5m a year ago. Content revenue plunged 48 percent to $11.4m. Jonah Peretti, founder and CEO of BuzzFeed, noted that this is the first Q1 of y-o-y growth in overall programmatic revenues since Q1 2022, in “a signal that the strategic and organizational changes we have made to stabilize our business are beginning to pay off.” Overall revenue continues to be pressured by headwinds in the direct sales channels, but Peretti said the company is excited by the progress. [The results.]( Isaac Hayes III Explains Why He's Threatening Trump Over Copyright ►"Never, never use that song again." THR's Kevin Dolak spoke to Isaac Hayes III, the son of the late Isaac Hayes, about the impetus behind the soul icon's family suing Donald Trump and his campaign over the unauthorized use of the song "Hold On, I'm Coming." Hayes III opens up about why they are filing the suit now, and why they are one of the few in the music industry to threaten legal action against the former president over habitual unauthorized use of music. [The interview.]( —"You wind up pushing everything off ‘til after the Oscars, and you have to do everything you promised to do after the Oscars." Jimmy Kimmel has explained his decision to turn down the Oscars hosting gig. While appearing on this week’s Politickin’ podcast, Kimmel discussed his reasoning to turn down the chance to host the 2025 Academy Awards and opened up about his son’s surgeries and health. “When I’m focused on the Oscar, I’m less focused on the show,” he explained of his decision. “And I just decided I didn’t want to deal with that this year. It was just too much last year.” [The story.]( —"He's just not nice." Elle King got candid about her “toxic” relationship with father Rob Schneider, who she said sent her to fat camp two summers in a row. In a new interview, King explained that her father wasn’t really involved in her life growing up, and they didn’t connect until she was much older because she felt like he had a hard time relating to her. Even now, as an adult, King shared that her relationship with him is very ebb and flow and she slammed Schneider for his anti-LGBTQ views. [The story.]( Bourdain Biopic in the Works, Sessa to Star ►🎭 Big screen for a big personality 🎭 The Holdovers breakout Dominic Sessa is set to star as beloved food and travel icon Anthony Bourdain for a feature film from A24 and Star Thrower Entertainment. Matt Johnson, who is behind the well-received Blackberry feature, is set to direct Tony, from a script by Todd Bartels and Lou Howe. A24 is in talks to produce with Trevor White and Tim White under Star Thrower. [The story.]( —Creature feature. James Wan, the creator of the Saw and The Conjuring horror franchises, is developing a new take on the classic Universal monster movie The Creature From the Black Lagoon and is in early talks to direct the feature project. The move comes as Wan and his collaborators presented Universal with a pitch to remake the 1954 monster classic. A writer will now be hired to write a script, working in concert with Wan. This is the first project Wan has attached himself to as a director following his company’s production banner, Atomic Monster, merging with Blumhouse. [The story.]( —"Shockingly good." Fede Álvarez’s hotly anticipated Alien: Romulus was finally revealed to the public Monday night after the 20th Century Studios film held its world premiere in Los Angeles, and the first reactions have already hit social media. The eighth installment in the long-running Alien franchise, set between the events of Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien and James Cameron’s 1986 sequel Aliens, releases wide on Aug. 16. [The reaction.]( —🎭 One more 🎭 Heather Graham has joined the cast of They Will Kill You, the thriller being produced by Nocturna Pictures, the horror label formed earlier this year by Skydance and Andy and Barbara Muschietti. New Line is co-financing and distributing the feature, which will have Kirill Sokolov in the director’s chair when shooting gets underway in mid-September. Zazie Beetz is toplining They Will Kill You, which tells the story of a woman who answers a help wanted ad to be a housekeeper in a mysterious New York high-rise. [The story.]( ABC Names Second Black 'Bachelor' for S29 ►"He hopes to find a partner who shares his values of loyalty, humor and a deep appreciation for life’s simple pleasures." The Bachelor has revealed its next lead. Grant Ellis, 30, a former contestant from the current season of The Bachelorette, has been picked to hand out roses for the 29th season of ABC’s hit reality dating series. The news dropped Monday night at the end of the latest Bachelorette episode with star Jenn Tran, whose season is averaging 2.38m same-day viewers, up about 15 percent from the same time last year. Ellis, a former pro basketball player and day trader from New Jersey, was eliminated in the sixth week of Tran’s journey. [The story.]( —"I look exhausted. I look spent. I didn’t have another season in me." Kit Harington is opening up about his feelings concerning the final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. In a new interview, the Jon Snow actor says that “mistakes were made” when creating the ending to the global phenomena, noting it may have been “rushed,” but also that he’s not sure if there was another option given the cast and crew’s exhaustion. “I think if there was any fault with the end of Thrones, is that we were all so fucking tired, we couldn’t have gone on longer,” Harington told GQ. [The story.]( —🎭 Drummond found 🎭 USA Network has found its star for their reboot of John Grisham’s The Rainmaker. Mad Men alum, and birthday boy, John Slattery will be leading the yet-to-be-announced cast of the drama from Lionsgate Television and Blumhouse Television that counts Grisham, along with writer Michael Seitzman, Jason Richman, David Gernert and Jason Blum as EPs. Richman and Seitzman co-wrote the pilot. Slattery will play Leo F. Drummond, one of Grisham’s most iconic characters, a legendary lion of the courtroom and senior partner at Tinley Britt. [The story.]( —🎭 Host of new faces 🎭 The Gilded Age, the HBO drama from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, has added eight actors to its ensemble for season three, which is in production. Bill Camp, Merritt Wever, Leslie Uggams, LisaGay Hamilton, Paul Alexander Nolan, Hattie Morahan, Andrea Martin and Jessica Frances Dukes will have roles in the coming season alongside fellow newcomers Phylicia Rashad, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Victoria Clark and Jordan Donica. Camp will play J.P. Morgan, the famed financier who finds himself at odds with George Russell (Morgan Spector) over the future of the railroad industry. Emmy winner Wever plays Monica O’Brien, Bertha Russell’s (Carrie Coon) estranged sister. [The story.]( —📅 On the move 📅 The 2024 MTV VMAs is moving back a day and will now take place on Sept. 11 instead of the previously announced Sept. 10. The move is an effort to avoid having the VMAs air opposite the Sept. 10 presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. The 2024 VMAs will continue to be held at the UBS Arena on New York’s Long Island and will air live on MTV at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Additionally, the VMAs announced the first round of performers for this year’s awards show including Sabrina Carpenter, Camila Cabello, Chappell Roan, GloRilla and Rauw Alejandro. [The story.]( Audible Reveals Slate of New Comedy Podcasts ►Glen again! Audible and Broadway Video Enterprises are launching two new, original comedy podcasts this fall, with a lineup of castmembers including Glen Powell, Nicholas Braun, Taraji P. Henson and Tracee Ellis Ross. The Best Man’s Ghostwriter follows Nate (voiced by Powell) as a speechwriter hired to help write best man speeches and one of his client’s, Dan (voiced by Braun), in a podcast exploring the “often idiotic world of male friendship.” Stranded, created and directed by Chris Bruno and David Howard Lee and written with Shukri R. Abdi, follows longtime best friends Janet (voiced by Ross) and Serena (voiced by Henson) as they plan a girls trip to relax and reconnect. [The story.]( —Guilty Pleasures? Routines? Favorite place to listen? As part of THR's top podcasters package ([click here if you want to read the list!]( we surveyed the big names in the industry about their podcasting secrets. The likes of Bowen Yang, Charlamagne Tha God, Rachel Maddow, Bill Simmons and more spill. [The story.]( —"None of the apps are great." The top podcasters also took some time to answer our question on what they think are the biggest challenges facing the podcasting industry. [The story.]( Top 30 Stars Minting Cash From Beauty, Booze and Snacks ►"It’s no longer a market or ecosystem where it’s enough to say, ‘Hey, I’m posting my brand on social, swipe up or click and purchase.'" Celebrity-backed brands continue to boom in 2024 as big stars are driving disruptive businesses across a slew of categories and making bank at retail during an entertainment industry contraction. Dwayne Johnson's Teremana tequila sold a million cases in the U.S. last year, for example, and Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty is valued at more than $2b. For this list, THR spoke to a range of investors and brand builders about which celeb entrepreneurs are making the right plays. [The list.]( —The celebrity startups to watch. Top agents, investors and brand builders helped THR identify six new celebrity ventures that are just at the starting line. Read what their star founders — Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Kaley Cuoco, Simu Liu, Brooke Shields, Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves have to say about the art of business and finding their way in the scrappy startup space. [The story.]( TV Review: 'Bad Monkey' ►"Show me the monkey!" THR's [Dan Fienberg]( reviews Apple TV+'s Bad Monkey. Bill Lawrence adapts Carl Hiaasen's Florida-set novel as a 10-parter also featuring Vince Vaughn, Natalie Martinez, Michelle Monaghan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Meredith Hagner and Rob Delaney. [The review.]( In other news... —Theo James [gets bloody in Neon’s The Monkey teaser from Longlegs director Osgood Perkins]( —Peacock’s [Hysteria! teaser brings demons to the suburbs]( —SAG-AFTRA Foundation [opens Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists]( —Alan Cumming [to host .ORG Impact Awards to honor “mission-driven” changemakers]( —Emmys 2024: [Where to stream the nominated comedy series online]( —HamptonsFilm director [Anne Chaisson to step down]( —Nickelodeon, Paramount+ [marketing exec Sabrina Caluori exits]( —Hotel Bel-Air [debuts new dining room, patisserie]( —[Rachael Lillis]( Pokémon Misty and Jessie voice actor, dies at 46 ​​​What else we're reading... —Amanda Seitz reports that more than 100 pregnant women were turned away from ERs or negligently treated in the U.S. since 2022 [[AP]( —Julianna Ress does the crucial work and figures out the winners and losers of Brat summer, and it's good news for Kamala Harris [[Ringer]( —Jason Gay writes that the Olympics saved the summer [[WSJ]( —Chris Cameron and Michael Gold report that Trump flew to Montana on Saturday on a jet previously owned by Jeffrey Epstein [[NYT]( —Bruce Daisley, a former senior exec at Twitter, writes that the U.K. government should arrest Elon Musk if he continues to foment unrest on social media [[Guardian]( —Myles Burke has a fascinating piece about a 1964 BBC interview with Alfred Hitchcock, in which the legendary filmmaker unpacks his skill at playing with the audience's emotions and expectations [[BBC]( Today... ...in 1997, Comedy Central introduced South Park to America. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Paul Greengrass (69), Sebastian Stan (42), [John Slattery]( (62), Debi Mazar (60), Freya Mavor (31), Deborah Ayorinde (37), Kevin Tighe (80), Erika Henningsen (32), Corey Fogelmanis (25), James Carpinello (49), Kasia Smutniak (45), Heike Makatsch (53), Álex González (44), Dawnn Lewis (63), Jane Carr (74), Lennon Stella (25), Wesley Taylor (38), Moritz Bleibtreu (53), Álvaro Rico (28), Alyssa Jirrels (24), Anthony Keyvan (24), Crystal Allen (52), Quinn Cummings (57), Deborah Falconer (59), Damian O'Hare (47), Seana Kofoed (54), Jody Thompson (48), Sara Serraiocco (34), Eli Brown (25), Ashley Rae Spillers (38), David Monahan (53), Grégory Fitoussi (48) Deirdre “Didi” O’Hearn, a veteran cable executive who spent 16 years at A&E Television Networks and also worked for WeTV and the Food Network, among other channels, died Monday. She was 63. [The obituary.]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} by The Hollywood Reporter. 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