Summer Box Office Is Down, But No Need to Panic; Erotic Films Seduce Venice; How 'Tiger King' Led to 'Chimp Crazy'; 'The Room Next Door' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( September 03, 2024 What's news: Pedro Almodóvar's The Room Next Door received a 17-minute standing ovation in Venice. Ian McKellen says he’s open to returning as Gandalf. Tim Fehlbaum's September 5 has leaped into the Oscar conversation. Anya Taylor-Joy revealed she’d love to play Elsa in a live-action adaptation of Frozen. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. Summer Box Office Falls, But It Could Have Been Far Worse ►Keep calm and carry on. Domestic revenue for the 2024 summer box office hit an estimated $3.67b, down 10.4 percent over 2023, Comscore said Monday. As counterintuitive as it may seem, Hollywood studio executives and theater owners aren’t panicking. They were experiencing far different emotions at the end of May, the official start of the summer box office. Movie ticket sales were down a terrifying 29 percent until Bad Boys: Ride or Die jump-started a remarkable comeback that was powered by Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4, Kung Fu Panda 4, It Ends With Us, Alien: Romulus and Deadpool & Wolverine. [The story.]( —Driving people to the cinema. According to a recent survey from TikTok, users of the social media app already have a larger affinity for going to the theaters – users are more than 44 percent more likely than non-users to go to the movies at least once per month. Of those attendees, 33 percent say that TikTok was the reason they went to watch a new movie in theaters and 47 percent said they learned about a new movie through TikTok. After finding a new movie on TikTok, 42 percent say that they looked up showtimes and 36 percent say that they purchased a ticket. Overall, movies and TV is the 4th most viewed content category across TikTok, which has about 170m users in the U.S. [The story.]( —"We are going to win and we are going to radically change this industry." A veteran Hollywood union is backing an ambitious push to unionize film and television production assistants, a move that has the potential to reshape how many entry-level creatives break into the industry. THR's [Katie Kilkenny]( reports that the Hollywood branch of Laborers’ International Union of North America, Local 724, is partnering with the grassroots group Production Assistants United to organize one of the last non-union crew positions on entertainment sets. The goal is to bring roles where, classically, early-career creatives — set production assistants, office production assistants, art production assistants, assistants and production secretaries — pay their dues into the union fold across the country. [The story.]( Let's Talk About Sex, Baby: Erotic Films Seduce Venice ►Look away now, Zoomers. Sex is seemingly everywhere at the Venice Film Festival this year. THR's [Scott Roxborough]( reveals that Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson get hot and heavy in Babygirl, Daniel Craig dives into obsessive gay desire in Queer, and there's plenty of sex on the beach in Alfonso Cuarón's Disclaimer. [The analysis.]( —17-minutes! Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore and Pedro Almodóvar soaked up the raucous applause inside the Venice's Sala Grande Monday night, where the world premiere of the Spanish auteur's first-ever English language feature The Room Next Door received an ardent 17-minute standing ovation. [The story.]( —"I would love to do a musical." Anya Taylor-Joy has a few Disney dreams she won’t let go. In a new interview, the Brit actress revealed she’d love to play Elsa in a live-action adaptation of Frozen. “It would be very fun to shoot ice out of your hand,” Taylor-Joy told Vogue Hong Kong. “Also, you’d just be the favorite at every kid’s birthday party. All of my siblings have children now, so I would love for them to be able to say ‘my auntie is Elsa.’ That would be pretty sick.” [The story.]( —Get on it Peter! Ian McKellen says he’s open to returning as Gandalf in the upcoming new Lord of the Rings films. In an interview with British magazine the Big Issue, the actor discussed returning to his iconic role as the grey pilgrim. “I’ve just been told there are going to be more films and Gandalf will be involved and they hope that I’ll be playing him,” McKellen said. “When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So they better be quick!” McKellen portrayed Gandalf in the first three LOTR films as well as the Hobbit movies. [The story.]( —🎭 Award-winning addition 🎭 Marcia Gay Harden has boarded Renner, the new sci-fi thriller from writer, director and producer Robert Rippberger. The Oscar-winner joins an ensemble cast led by Frankie Muniz, Violett Beane and Taylor Gray. Harden will voice the role of Salenus, an artificially intelligent companion designed by computer genius Renner (Muniz). Rippberg will helm Renner based on a script he co-wrote with Martin Medina and Luke Medina, while sharing the producer credits with Medina, KT Kent, Devin Keaton and Jay Burnley of Slated. [The story.]( Joey Chestnut Wins Netflix's Live Hot Dog Eating Competition ►Clash of the titans. Joey Chestnut and Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi settled some unfinished beef (or rather hot dog meat) on Labor Day, courtesy of Netflix. The streamer held a competitive eating live stream event, hosted by Rob Riggle and Nikki Garcia, that saw Chestnut and Kobayashi resume their epic rivalry — battling it out for the first time in 15 years. The winner was awarded $100,000 and presented with a WWE-made custom championship title belt. Ultimately, America prevailed, and Chestnut was revealed as the champion after chomping down a whopping 83 hot dogs. [The story.]( —"I think our chemistry is good." Vanna White has opened up about teaming with Ryan Seacrest on Wheel of Fortune after Pat Sajak's retirement. In a new interview, the longtime game show staple admitted she felt “scared” amid Seacrest’s hosting given she worked with Sajak for so long. White and Sajak hosted the syndicated Wheel of Fortune beginning with its debut in 1983 and are recognized as the longest-running game show hosts in American TV history. [The story.]( —"I love crazy Cassie." Sydney Sweeney has revealed she is “very excited” to head back to the world of Euphoria. In a new interview, the Emmy-nominated actress said she's looking forward to playing Cassie Howard again on the influential HBO drama. The Anyone But You star added that she can’t share anything about the hotly awaited (and debated) season three of Euphoria because “honestly, I don’t know anything about it,” but that she always enjoys exploring the darker side of her notoriously chaotic character. [The story.]( Angelina Jolie, Pablo Larraín Talk 'Maria,' Opera and Celebrity ►"It certainly was the hardest thing I’ve ever done." THR's Scott Feinberg spoke to Angelina Jolie and director Pablo Larraín about their film Maria, which had its North American premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on the weekend. Jolie talked about playing opera icon Maria Callas, in a performance for which she is generating white-hot best actress Oscar buzz. [The interview.]( —"I’m super excited and happy that it’s coming out before the election." Hot-button Trump origin story The Apprentice had its North American premiere on Saturday night in Telluride. Scott spoke to director Ali Abbasi, writer Gabriel Sherman and actors Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong about the film, the blind criticisms of the project and finally securing a U.S. theatrical release on Oct. 11, mere weeks before the presidential election. [The interview.]( —"I have a special connection with these women. I feel so grateful that I get to go on this journey with them." Jacques Audiard’s one-of-a-kind musical Emilia Pérez had its North American premiere in Telluride on Friday. On Sunday, Scott spoke to the film's three principal stars — Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Selena Gomez — who spoke at length about the feature that has become a top-tier Oscar contender with each actress discussing the different hurdles they faced en route to Emilia Pérez. [The interview.]( —Telluride's hottest title. Tim Fehlbaum's September 5 had its world premiere in Venice last week, but also screened in Telluride over the weekend, and Scott reports that the film "might be the strongest narrative film of the entire fest!" Scott writes that if/when the 94-minute flick — the story of ABC Sports’ coverage of the 1972 Munich Olympics terrorist attack on Israeli athletes — lands a top-tier distributor, it could seriously contend in numerous Oscar categories. [The story.]( How 'Tiger King' Led to 'Chimp Crazy' ►"I know many of these niche groups — the tropical fish people, the reptile people, the bird people. But the monkey mom world was particularly odd and curious." THR's [Gary Baum]( spoke to Tiger King documentarian Eric Goode about his intense, sordid follow-up Chimp Crazy, that has been unfolding on HBO over the past couple of weeks. Goode explains the origins of the docuseries, and unpacks the revelation in the third week with exotic animal broker Tonia Haddix. Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( —"I am just basking in the glow." THR's [Brian Davids]( spoke to filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier about his new action thriller Rebel Ridge. Saulnier opens up about the fraught history of the Netflix project which saw the exit of lead John Boyega a month into filming, the delays and challenges of the pandemic, and the dual strikes of 2023 all of which contributed to the feature's five-year journey to the screen. [The interview.]( —"There was such a tremendous emotional catharsis for me." THR's second-nicest man [Aaron Couch]( spoke to Mattson Tomlin about his new Netflix anime show Terminator Zero. Tomlin discusses finding peace with making a show about an AI war after battling imposter syndrome, his work on Matt Reeves The Batman franchise, and finding himself involved with Game of Thrones spinoff Aegon’s Conquest. [The interview.]( —"It’s been a beautiful, beautiful career." THR scamp [Ryan Gajewski]( spoke to living legend Laurence Fishburne on his new film, Slingshot. The busy actor discusses the sci-fi thriller that co-stars Casey Affleck, as well as his many new projects (including Megalopolis, The Astronaut and the animated film Transformers One), and also reflects on Man of Steel, calling it a "wonderful movie." [The interview.]( Film Review: 'The Room Next Door' ►"A mixed bag that eventually delivers." THR's chief film critic [David Rooney]( reviews Pedro Almodóvar's Venice competition entry The Room Next Door. In the Spanish auteur's English-language debut, a woman with terminal cancer asks a complicated favor of an old friend in this adaptation of a Sigrid Nunez novel, starring Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, John Turturro and Alessandro Nivola. [The review.]( —"Creeps up on you." David reviews Neo Sora's Happyend. In Sora's narrative feature debut, the threat of natural disaster and citizen unrest provides justification for incursions into personal freedoms by the Japanese government and education authorities. [The review.]( —"A deeply moving portrait of growing old." THR's [Lovia Gyarkye]( reviews Sarah Friedland's Familiar Touch. Kathleen Chalfant stars in this drama following an octogenarian as she confronts the realities of dementia and moving into an assisted living facility. [The review.]( —"Soaring but often curiously flat." THR's Leslie Felperin reviews Maura Delpero's Venice competition entry Vermiglio. Set in the mountains, this Italian film follows a large rural family deeply affected by events both local and global. [The review.]( —"Top of the class." THR's [Angie Han]( reviews FX's English Teacher. Brian Jordan Alvarez created and stars in the half-hour series about an idealistic but frequently misguided gay educator working in suburban Austin. [The review.]( In other news... —Netflix’s [Perfect Couple trailer serves up wealth, death and Nicole Kidman]( —Trailer: [Soviet cinema legend inspires artist in exile in I Will Revenge This World With Love – S. Parajanov]( —Zoe Saldaña, Denis Villeneuve, Lupita Nyong’o, Daniel Kaluuya [talks set for London Film Festival]( —Antonio Banderas [points to Philadelphia for inspiring his AIDS activism at Venice’s amfAR Gala]( —Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton and Pedro Almodóvar [make bold fashion statement in Venice]( —Armani [hosts star-studded soirée in Venice with Richard Gere, Cate Blanchett]( —Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz [have date night ahead of Queer world premiere]( ​​​What else we're reading... —With releases like The Idea of You, A Family Affair, Last Summer, and Between the Temples and the upcoming Lonely Planet, I Want Your Sex and Babygirl, Rachel Handler posits that 2024 is the year of "MILF cinema" [[Vulture]( —Nate Jones asks: Why is Alfonso Cuarón’s Apple TV+ series Disclaimer screening at the Venice Film Festival? [[Vulture]( —Coleman Spilde identifies the worrying trend of big pop culture and nostalgia accounts on X spewing lies for clout and clicks [[Slate]( —Rebecca Jennings makes the compelling case that the entire history of the capitalist labor market can be explained by the Minions from the Despicable Me franchise [[Vox]( —With China's economy slowing down, Daisuke Wakabayashi and Claire Fu report on the structural problems in the country that are making things worse [[NYT]( Today... ...in 1969, Michael Caine’s heist film The Italian Job made its way stateside to theaters. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Noah Baumbach (55), Garrett Hedlund (40), Holt McCallany (61), Jean-Pierre Jeunet (71), Kaia Gerber (23), Valerie Perrine (81), Christine Woods (41), Jack Dylan Grazer (21), Paz de la Huerta (40), Ashley Jones (48), Nichole Hiltz (46), [Steve Schirripa]( (67), Lisa McGrillis (42), Nick Wechsler (46), Clare Kramer (50), Maria Bamford (54), Pauline Collins (84), Nina Kiri (32), Drena De Niro (57), Jessalyn Wanlim (42), Eloise Webb (21), Ashley Boettcher (24), Amy Lindsay (58), Sean San Jose (55), Angus Sutherland (42), Bracha van Doesburgh (43), Yûki Kaji (39), Kieu Chinh (87), Maja Ostaszewska (52), Rita Volk (34) James Darren, the former teen idol and pop singer who played the dreamy surfer Moondoggie in three Gidget movies before starring on television on The Time Tunnel and T.J. Hooker, died Monday. He was 88. [The obituary.]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} by The Hollywood Reporter. 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