Hollywood Stars Respond to Hamas' Attack on Israel; 'Grey's' Cast Reunite on SAG Picket Line; Aronofsky on Creating First Movie for Vegas Sphere; 'Exorcist: Believer' Opens to $27.2M

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( October 09, 2023 What's news: Nelson Peltz is looking for multiple seats on Disney's board. DreamWorks Animation has eliminated 70 positions. Anonymous Content has cut around 8 percent of its workforce. Fox has canceled Welcome to Flatch. Drake is taking some time off from making music due to health issues. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. Hollywood Stars Respond to Hamas' Attack on Israel ►"I have always spoken up for my Jewish community and have also spoken up for my Arab brothers and sisters. I have no words today. Only heartbreak. Only tears." Jamie Lee Curtis, Gal Gadot, Amy Schumer and Guy Oseary were among the Hollywood notables who took to social media to share their sympathies for Israel after Hamas launched deadly land and air strikes on the country early Saturday morning. [The reaction.]( —Back in the game. Activist investor Nelson Peltz is making another play for Disney. In February, Peltz ended his proxy battle with the company in a big win for CEO Bob Iger, but with Disney's stock remaining under pressure despite reorganization moves, Peltz is eyeing a renewed push for board seats, according to a source familiar with the matter. Peltz’s hedge fund Trian Fund Management has acquired further Disney shares, bringing the value of its stake to more than $2.5b. Trian is expected to request multiple seats on Disney’s board of directors, including one for Peltz, the source says. [The story.]( —Layoffs. DreamWorks Animation has eliminated about 70 of its positions. "Roles affected were across corporate functions, feature, television and technology departments as part of an overall cost-reduction," a DWA spokesperson told THR. The news comes as the company readies its Nov. 17 release of Trolls Band Together, the third film in the hit franchise. Earlier this year, DWA released Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, which stalled at the box office, taking in $44.7m worldwide. [The story.]( —ICYMI. On Friday, Anonymous Content, the management and production company that backed Oscar winner The Revenant and the upcoming season of HBO’s True Detective, revealed that it is undergoing a round of layoffs. The Culver City-based firm cut 8 percent of around 170 employees companywide, a source confirmed to THR's [Erik Hayden](. The company, which saw CEO Dawn Olmstead and COO Heather McCauley exit in March, has yet to unveil a new leader, although a source says that the firm is in the “final stages” of naming a top executive. [The story.]( 'Grey's' Cast Reunite on SAG-AFTRA Picket Line ►"Proud to stand in solidarity on the picket line today with many of our Grey’s cast/crew family." Several Grey’s Anatomy castmembers reunited on the picket lines Friday for the actors strike. Kim Raver, who plays Dr. Teddy Altman on the medical drama, took to Instagram following the picket to share highlights from the day. Several of her co-stars from the ABC show who joined her could also be seen in her video, including Chandra Wilson, Jason George, James Pickens Jr., Camilla Luddington, Sarah Drew, Kelly McCreary and more. [The story.]( —Goodbye to Flatch. Fox has canceled Welcome to Flatch after two seasons. The mockumentary series, created by Jenny Bicks and based on the BBC series This Country, finished its second season in February. The series also counts Paul Feig among its executive producers. [The story.]( —"Disturbing pattern and practice of chilling and depraved behavior towards women." The Last of Us star Ashley Johnson, who voices the protagonist Ellie in the popular PlayStation video game series, has filed a lawsuit against Brian Foster, her ex-boyfriend and a former fellow castmember of the Dungeons & Dragons-themed web series Critical Role, alleging physical and sexual violence, as well as mental and emotional abuse. The lawsuit features a total of six named female plaintiffs, including Johnson, and one anonymized female plaintiff. [The story.]( —"I need to get right." Drake says he is taking some time off from making music so that he can make his health a priority. The rapper shared the news on Friday’s episode of his SiriusXM series Table For One, the same day that his latest album For All The Dogs dropped. Though Drake didn’t give many details on what’s been ailing him, he said he just needs “to focus on my health first and foremost” and will share more "soon enough." [The story.]( Meet Tom Brady's Hollywood Marketing Machine ►"Ego is the enemy." With work for brands like Hasbro and EA Sports under its belt — and an Emmy for Tom vs. Time — the creative studio Shadow Lion launched to support Tom Brady's off-field ambitions has expanded well beyond the iconic quarterback's social channels. THR's [Ashley Cullins]( spoke to Shadow Lion's Ben Rawitz, Jeff Fine and Gilad Haas about the latest celebrity founded marketing agency making waves. [The interview.]( —"I went around to different theatres and sort of stood in the back, and would then also turn up the volume up if I felt it wasn’t playing at the perfect level." Greta Gerwig says she hid in the back of Barbie screenings during the film's opening weekend. Speaking at the London Film Festival, the director of 2023's record-breaking hit reveals she was in New York when the film hit theaters, but she didn’t want to wait to hear about the reaction to her movie from other people, so she went to get answers for herself. [The story.]( —"We designed a great world. We designed great stuff." Guillermo del Toro confirmed that he was at one time working on a Star Wars movie that would center on the notorious crime lord Jabba the Hutt. During a Q&A, the Oscar-winning filmmaker said he was working on the project with screenwriter David S. Goyer, and explained why the project never happened. [The story.]( —"It is just emblematic of how often Black people, brown people, colored people are overlooked for their genius." Spike Lee is among those upset about Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner’s recent controversial choice to leave women and Black musicians out of his new book The Masters. During a wide-ranging interview with Lee at the 2023 New Yorker Festival on Saturday, New Yorker editor David Remnick recalled how a few weeks ago the pair were talking and Lee was “exercised” about the Wenner controversy. [The story.]( Aronofsky on Creating First Movie for Vegas Sphere ►"It really is a different medium because of the immersive nature of all the images that you create and how it translates to the viewer." THR's [Carolyn Giardina]( spoke to Darren Aronofsky about Postcard from Earth, the first movie to premiere at Las Vegas' Sphere. The Oscar-nominated director discusses how he and longtime collaborator, director of photography Matthew Libatique, created the one-hour film that features breathtaking images of nature from around the world. [The interview.]( —"My intention is just to start making things, and as those plans come together, if I find myself in that director’s chair, I'd be thrilled." THR's [Brian Davids]( spoke to The Exorcist: Believer filmmaker David Gordon Green. The prolific director discusses having to change release dates because of Taylor Swift's concert film and the plans for the trilogy Exorcist of films. [The interview.]( —"I cannot believe that three-time Tony Award-winning Nathan Lane is spitting ham at these puppets. I wrote it and now he’s doing it." THR's [Mia Galuppo]( spoke to Dicks: The Musical writers and stars Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp. The duo reveal how they managed to convince Nathan Lane and Megan Thee Stallion to star in their A24 film that also features a CGI animated vagina and twincest. [The interview.]( —"In the landscape of TV, there's not many premium Black dramas that deal with the full range of who we are in a very human way." For THR, Brande Victorian spoke to director Michael Francis Williams about helming "Stormy Weather," episode seven of Apple TV+'s The Changeling. Williams discusses the creation of the standalone episode and the inspirations he used to visually represent Lillian’s life story. Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( 'The Exorcist: Believer' Opens to $27.2M ►Decent enough. The Exorcist: Believer had no trouble delivering a first-place finish at the weekend box office with an estimated $27.2m from 3,663 theaters. While a respectable opening in this climate, the R-rated film came in below expectations domestically as it tries to revive the franchise after Universal reportedly paid a hefty $400m for rights. Overseas, Believer started off with $17.9m from its first 40 markets for a global start of $45.1m. The David Gordon Green-directed horror pic hits theaters exactly 50 years after the first Exorcist opened and made cinema history, grossing nearly $450m at the global box office, before adjusting for inflation. THR's [Pamela McClintock]( writes that Believer recently had to move up its release by one week after Taylor Swift announced that her new concert film, The Eras Tour , will open across the globe on Oct. 13 since both films will appeal to younger moviegoers. It's never ideal to make an 11th-hour release date change, as some marketing materials, including billboards and other outdoor promotions, have the original date. Blumhouse, Morgan Creek and Universal teamed on Believer, which cost a relatively modest $30m to produce, with two more installments already planned (the sequel is set to hit theaters in 2025). [The box office report.]( Terence Davies 1945 - 2023 ►Working class hero. Terence Davies, the critically beloved British writer-director who had his international art-house breakthrough with two deeply autobiographical films set in his native Liverpool, England, Distant Voices, Still Lives and The Long Day Closes, has died. He was 77. [The obituary.]( —"One of Hollywood’s pre-eminent science fiction costume designers." Shawna Trpcic, the Emmy-nominated costume designer who worked on the Star Wars series The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka, has died. She was 56. Trpcic died suddenly of an unknown cause in Palm Desert on Wednesday, her daughter, Sarah, told THR. [The obituary.]( —"His culinary brilliance, boundless creativity and unwavering commitment to family were at the core of his being." Michael Chiarello, the celebrity chef and former Food Network star who hosted Easy Entertaining With Michael Chiarello, has died. He was 61. The chef died at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, California, where he was being treated for an acute allergic reaction that led to anaphylactic shock, according to a statement from his company, Gruppo Chiarello. [The obituary.]( In other news... —Angus Cloud [becomes hostage-taker with Your Lucky Day trailer in one of his final roles]( —Disney’s [Moving sweeps Busan Film Festival’s Asia Contents Awards]( —Chris McCumber [leaving Blumhouse TV]( —Otis’ [house from Sex Education lists for $1.8m]( —Anya Taylor-Joy and Malcolm McRae [tie the knot in Venice]( What else we're reading... —After Israel's declaration of war on Hamas, Steven Erlanger considers what could happen next [[NYT]( —Ben Goggin reports that verified accounts on social media are spreading fake news about a Biden $8b aid package to Israel [[NBC News]( —Lucas Shaw digs into Candle Media's big money Hollywood bets and finds that earnings are expected to come in about 50 percent below what the companies they acquired had forecast for 2023 [[Bloomberg]( —Alex Sherman looks into how the NBA can shift the balance of power in media with its next rights deal [[CNBC]( —Julianne Escobedo Shepherd's review of Drake's new album, For All the Dogs, kinda nails the creative rut the rapper finds himself in [[Pitchfork]( Today... ...in 1992, A River Runs Through It was released in theaters. Directed by Robert Redford, the drama about two preacher’s sons growing up in rural Montana starred a young Brad Pitt in his first lead role in a major studio film. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: [Brian Blessed]( (87), Steve McQueen (54), Guillermo del Toro (59), Scott Bakula (69), Tony Shalhoub (70), Chris O'Dowd (44), Tyler James Williams (31), Jharrel Jerome (26), Jacob Batalon (27), Bella Hadid (27), Pete Docter (55), Sharon Osbourne (71), Spencer Grammer (40), Brandon Routh (44), Nick Swardson (47), Shera Danese (74), Sheila Kelley (62), Colin Donnell (41), Steve Burns (50), Erin Daniels (50), Michael Paré (65), Anna Castillo (30), Jodelle Ferland (29), Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (63), Melissa Villaseñor (36), Jason Butler Harner (53), Sam Riegel (47), James Dreyfus (55), Robert Wuhl (72), Linwood Boomer (68) 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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