Harris Trounces Trump in ABC Debate; Pharrell on Checking His Ego for Biopic; Josh Brolin Passes on Green Lantern Show; 'Speak No Evil' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( September 11, 2024 What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover star is the multi-talented Pharrell Williams. Taylor Swift has endorsed Kamala Harris. Jon Bernthal and Pablo Schreiber have nabbed key roles in Netflix's His & Hers. Amazon says 40m people have watched at least some of the first three new Rings of Power S2 episodes. Bad Bunny has joined the cast of Happy Gilmore 2. It Ends With Us has sailed over $300m worldwide. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. Pharrell on Checking His Ego for New LEGO Biopic ►On the cover. Pharrell Williams is a cultural phenomenon. Who else has worked with Kendrick Lamar, SZA and Frank Ocean as well as Hans Zimmer, Beck and Daft Punk? Or Beyoncé and Madonna, Shakira and Rosalía, Ed Sheeran and Miley Cyrus? And that’s not even counting his meteoric and unprecedented rise in the fashion industry, from style-setter with his signature Buffalo hat to Louis Vuitton Men’s creative director. The megastar opens up to THR's [Mesfin Fekadu]( about his personal story in the animated feature Piece by Piece , why you won’t hear him talking about presidential politics and teases upcoming work with frequent collaborator Beyoncé: “Just get ready!” [The cover story.]( Harris Goads Trump Into a Frenzy at Presidential Debate ►"Talk about extremes!" The ABC News-hosted presidential debate held in Philadelphia on Tuesday night saw Donald Trump goaded, goaded and goaded into a frenzy of shouting by Kamala Harris, who for over nearly two hours took the former president to task on several issues. In a humiliating spectacle, Trump was also repeatedly fact-checked by the ABC anchors, who called out multiple false claims he made from the stage. [The recap.]( —"I've done my research, and I've made my choice." On an already dramatic night, Taylor Swift took to Instagram Tuesday to endorse Kamala Harris‘ presidential bid, potentially activating her huge army of Swifties to head to the polls in November. In a lengthy post to her 283m followers, sent after the debate, Swift explained her reasons for the endorsement and even touched on the recent use of AI that falsely claimed she was supporting Trump. The superstar signed off the post with a devastating dig at the Trump-Vance, writing, "With love and hope, Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady." [The story.]( —"Holy s***! She crushed that." Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert went live with their respective late-night shows on Tuesday to react to the first, and perhaps only, Harris-Trump debate. Both Stewart and Colbert dinged Trump for his frankly ludicrous statements but also had high praise for Harris' ability to get under the former president's skin. "He was so nonsensical that she looked at him the way a parent looks at a kid giving a presentation on why they should be allowed to get a pet tiger." [The story.]( —"Harris floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee in debate against Trump." THR critic Frank Scheck writes that it was no surprise that the former president increasingly lost his cool the longer the ABC News-hosted evening went on, as Harris landed a series of sharp rhetorical blows. [The review.]( Lachlan Murdoch: Fox Corp. Will Pursue M&A Deals ►Ready to deal. During an interview at a Goldman Sachs conference Tuesday, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch explained the company’s strategy in sports, news, and entertainment, but also indicated that it is quite willing to cut some deals. Murdoch, asked what the next couple of years look like for his company, said that it will continue to focus on news, sports, and live content (“you won’t see us pivoting to entertainment,” he said), but he added that they also plan to find ways to expand. [The story.]( —Huge. The new Broadway play McNeal, starring Robert Downey Jr., started off with a bang, with $746,230 brought in across just four performances last week. THR's [Caitlin Huston]( writes that if the production, which is playing at the Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater, had played the typical eight performances at that cadence, it would have brought in close to $1.5m – a big number for a play, putting it in league with the top-grossing musicals. [The story.]( —"Well, I guess consider the source." Casey Wasserman slammed The Daily Mail on Tuesday for publishing a report detailing claims about his personal life — allegations that covered everything from infidelity to sleeping with a staffer at his company — in what marked his first public comments since the article hit on Aug. 1. The billionaire mogul addressed the tabloid exposé at a conversation focused on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics during the CNBC x Boardroom Game Plan Summit. [The story.]( —Suitable development. A film and TV tax credit initiative designed to juice production and soundstage construction in California has lured Suits: L.A. to shoot in the state. The California Film Commission on Tuesday announced that the spinoff to the former USA Network series turned streaming juggernaut will get nearly $12m, thanks to a program that incentivizes the construction of additional soundstages. Other projects that will get tax credits to film in California include a Janis Joplin biopic, Community — The Movie and Killing Gawker. In all, the 19 titles — three big-budget features, 15 independent films and a TV series — were granted $51.6m in incentives. [The story.]( Brolin Passes on HBO's Green Lantern Show ►Ring leader wanted. THR's [Aaron Couch]( and [Borys Kit]( have the scoop on Josh Brolin passing on an offer to star in Lanterns, the DC Studios series based on the Green Lanterns superhero character. Brolin was eyed to play Hal Jordan, the cocky Green Lantern hero previously played by Ryan Reynolds in the ill-fated 2011 Green Lantern movie. According to multiple sources, the actor received on offer at the end of August. By the end of this past weekend, his mind was made up. Lanterns has a high pedigree as Ozark’s Chris Mundy is showrunning the eight-episode series, and co-writes with Damon Lindelof, the creator of HBO’s Watchmen, as well as Eisner Award-winning comics author Tom King. [The story.]( —🎭 Next up 🎭 Freshly minted Emmy winner Jon Bernthal and Halo star Pablo Schreiber have nabbed key roles in Netflix's His & Hers, an adaptation that has Tessa Thompson executive producing and starring in the lead role. The series is described as a seductive and twisty psychological thriller. The six-episode limited series stars Thompson as newscaster Anna Andrews, a woman who, per the show’s logline, lives in haunting reclusivity in the sweltering heat of Atlanta, fading away from her friends and career as a journalist. But when she overhears about a murder in Dahlonega, Georgia — the sleepy town where she grew up — Anna is snapped back to life, pouncing on the case and searching for answers. [The story.]( —🎭 Lead found 🎭 The Paramount+ limited series about the murder of JonBenét Ramsey has cast the girl at the center of the story. Emily Mitchell will play JonBenét in the drama. Garrett Hedlund, Alison Pill and Owen Teague have also been cast in the series, which comes from Yellowstone producers MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios. JonBenét Ramsey (a working title) will follow the Ramsey family before and after the still unsolved murder of 6-year-old JonBenét on Dec. 25, 1996. The four actors join the previously cast Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen — playing JonBenét’s parents, Patsy and John Ramsey. Shea Whigham and Will Patton will also star. [The story.]( Peacock's 'Office' Follow-Up Adds Trio to Cast ►🎭 Newbies 🎭 The staff of the fictional newspaper in Peacock‘s follow-up to The Office is growing. The as yet untitled series from U.S. Office creator Greg Daniels and Michael Koman has added Melvin Gregg, Chelsea Frei and Ramona Young to its cast. They join Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore in the ensemble. The series, which Peacock greenlit in May, is set in the same world as The Office and, like that show, will be a mockumentary. The show’s description reads, "The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch is in search of a new subject when they discover a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters." [The story.]( —🎭 Going solo 🎭 HBO is moving ahead with a comedy series from Bottoms star Rachel Sennott. The premium cabler has picked up the untitled show, which Sennott created and will star in. The series follows a group of codependent friends who reunite after some time apart, navigating how the separation, ambition, and new relationships have changed them. Sennott wrote the show’s pilot and executive produced it with Emma Barrie, Aida Rodgers (both alums of Barry) and director Lorene Scafaria (Succession). [The story.]( —🎭 Voilà! 🎭 PBS has ordered Maigret, a series based on Georges Simenon’s novels about Jules Maigret, a chief inspector for the Paris police. Production on the series, which will star Benjamin Wainwright as the title character, has begun in Budapest; it will air under PBS’ Masterpiece Mystery! banner. Simenon published more than 100 novels and short stories about Maigret, selling more books than any other detective series aside from Sherlock Holmes. The new Maigret series, produced by Playground (Wolf Hall, All Creatures Great and Small), is set in the present and will position the character as an unconventional young detective with something to prove. [The story.]( —Posting big numbers. Amazon Prime Video released some viewership numbers for the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The company says 40m viewers worldwide have watched at least some of the first three new Rings of Power episodes through the sophomore season’s first 11 days. The streamer did not make clear, however, how much of the season, or an episode, those 40m people viewed. Amazon also noted Rings of Power is a top 5 all-time season for Prime Video (compared to the first 11 days of other shows), and has been No. 1 for the service since its return. [The story.]( Shailene Woodley to Star in Janis Joplin Biopic ►🎭 It's happening 🎭 The elusive Janis Joplin biopic is closer to reality, as Shailene Woodley, who will star in and produce the film, has received a commitment for a $2.49m tax credit from the California Film Commission for the project. The Joplin biopic from Temple Hill qualified for just under $10m in production expenditures for a 30-day shoot in California, according to the state’s film commission. Joplin died in 1970 at age 27 and a biopic of the legendary singer has yet to be produced, but not for a lack of trying. Amy Adams, Zooey Deschanel, Pink and Melissa Etheridge, among others, were earlier on board to play Joplin in movies that never got to production. [The story.]( —🎭 Happy Bunny 🎭 Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasió, aka Bad Bunny, has joined the cast of Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore sequel. Kyle Newacheck is helming the Netflix sequel to the 1996 comedy about a wannabe professional hockey player who discovers his talent in the game of golf and begrudgingly goes on tour, only to become a sensation. Plot details for the sequel are being kept under wraps. Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald are back for the sequel, having starred in the original film, respectively, as Virginia Venit, Sandler’s onscreen love interest, and Shooter McGavin, a jealous golf pro and the film’s villain. [The story.]( —Box office milestone. Sony's It Ends With Us continues to make history at the global box office. The film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling book about a woman whose fairy-tale marriage turns abusive has amassed more than $309m in global ticket sales to become the top-grossing romantic drama since 2018’s Oscar-nominated A Star is Born, which earned $436.4m globally, not adjusted for inflation. [The story.]( —Coming to America. Sideshow and Janus Films have scooped up North American rights to Maura Delpero’s acclaimed Italian period drama Vermiglio, winner of the Venice Film Festival's Silver Lion grand jury prize. The film debuted in competition in Venice and received its North American premiere Tuesday night at the Toronto Film Festival. Sideshow and Janus say they will release the title in North American theaters in the coming months. Vermiglio is a follow-up to Delpero’s well-received 2019 directorial debut, Maternal. She wrote, directed and produced the new feature, which is loosely based on her own family history. [The story.]( —In it, to win it. Hungary has picked Lajos Koltai’s biopic Semmelweis as its contender for the 2025 Oscars in the best international feature category. The feature traces the life of Hungarian doctor Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures who became known as “the savior of mothers” for his efforts in fighting deadly infections following childbirth. Semmelweis was a commercial hit back home, selling more than 350,000 tickets and grossing more than $2m on its theatrical release, becoming the most successful Hungarian movie of the past five years. [The story.]( Film Review: 'Speak No Evil' ►"A mostly entertaining weekend from hell." For THR, Caryn James reviews James Watkins' Speak No Evil. James McAvoy is in top sinister form and Scoot McNairy and Mackenzie Davis play the victims in a Blumhouse remake of the 2022 Danish horror movie about two families holed up in a remote farmhouse. [The review.]( —"A great Grant makes it work." THR's [Lovia Gyarkye]( reviews Scott Beck and Bryan Woods' Heretic. Two Mormon evangelists are tasked with converting a reclusive older man in A Quiet Place duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods' feature starring Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East. [The review.]( —"Stitched together with care." THR's Leslie Felperin reviews Wang Bing's Venice competition entry Youth (Homecoming). A follow-up to 2023's Youth (Spring) and this year's Youth (Hard Times), the film follows several factory workers as they return to their hometowns to celebrate the New Year. [The review.]( —"Flimflam." THR's chief film critic [David Rooney]( reviews Dito Montiel's Riff Raff. Jennifer Coolidge, Bill Murray, Ed Harris, Gabrielle Union, Pete Davidson and Lewis Pullman star in Montiel’s violent comedic account of an uncomfortable family reunion that gets uglier once the patriarch’s shady past catches up with him. [The review.]( In other news... —Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story [final trailer paints a portrait of parents]( —Salma Hayek, Kim Kardashian, Leonardo DiCaprio [raise millions at Kering dinner]( —The Emily in Paris [cast shares favorite Parisian spots to eat and stay]( —Jake Gyllenhaal’s [Nine Stories taps Josh McLaughlin as president]( —Twice’s [Dahyun makes her runway debut during NYFW]( —Lear deBessonet [named next artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater]( —[John Cassaday]( artist on Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men, dies at 52 —How [to watch the MTV VMAs online for free without cable]( ​​​What else we're reading... —Ed Kilgore writes that the debate showed that Trump is losing his war with reality [[Intelligencer]( —Frances Vinall has all the must-know info on Benjamin Button, Taylor Swift’s cat and star of her Harris endorsement [[WaPo]( —Andrew Prokop, Nicole Narea, and Christian Paz have the 3 winners and 2 losers from the Harris-Trump debate [[Vox]( —Keziah Weir spoke to Melinda French Gates on life after Bill, philanthropy and her willingness to get more political [[Vanity Fair]( —Hugh Grant has been on a streak of playing memorable villains, but Bilge Ebiri believes the actor has surpassed himself with his new film Heretic [[Vulture]( Today... Today's birthdays: Brian De Palma (83), [Tony Gilroy]( (67), Taraji P. Henson (53), Tyler Hoechlin (36), John Hawkes (64), Ludacris (46), Harry Connick Jr. (56), Virginia Madsen (62), Scott Patterson (65), E. G. Daily (62), Lola Falana (81), Reed Birney (69), Ariana Richards (44), Susan Gibney (62), Amy Madigan (73), Roxann Dawson (65), Matilda De Angelis (28), Cameron Richardson (44), Julia Nickson (65), Kristy McNichol (61), Anne Ramsay (63), Sarah Holcomb (65), Elizabeth Henstridge (36), Earl Holliman (95), Laura Wright (53), Adam Gillen (38), Tiffany Shepis (44), Ben Lee (45), Bertrand Bonello (55), Lauren Maher (46), Felton Perry (78), Adriane Lenox (67), Jan Luis Castellanos (28) 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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