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| | | | | What's news: There will be a new Hunger Games prequel novel and movie, Amazon's IMDb is changing its streaming video service, sequels and spinoffs continue to have a rough go at the box office, expect to see more of President Trump on broadcast TV. Plus: What's happening this week, and a first look at Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. --Alex Weprin | | | | | | Sequel Slump Continues |  | | | | ►Another big-budget sequel has stumbled at the box office. Men In Black: International debuted this weekend to an underwhelming $28.5 million domestically across 4,200 theaters. While Sony had modest expectations for the spinoff compared to the original trilogy (which saw each of its three films open in the low to mid $50 million range), it nonetheless failed to impress. The good news: MIB: International scored a reasonably strong $73.7 million overseas, led by China. Still, Sony execs may want to break out the Neuralyzer to forget this one. | | --The other franchise flick to debut this weekend, Shaft, also underwhelmed, drawing $8.3 million at 2,952 theaters. The sequel to the 2000 film did not receive widespread critical acclaim, but audiences gave it an "A" on CinemaScore. Amazon Studios' Late Night also opened wide this week, and also underwhelmed, though one assumes Amazon hopes that it brings more value to their Amazon Prime Video service. The full review of box office numbers. | | --MIB: International follows Dark Phoenix as a high-profile spinoff that failed to take off. Richard Newby argues that these films find themselves trying to balance nostalgia with franchise fatigue, and while of those efforts clearly don't click, many more succeed. "No one asked for Men in Black: International, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a new generation of fans are glad they got it, and an older generation found pleasure in the franchise’s return beyond the exclusivity of their nostalgia," he writes. | | --Meanwhile, Josh Spiegel wonders why leads Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson didn't lean into the distinct, offbeat chemistry they developed on Thor: Ragnarok. |  | | ^Just in: Author Suzanne Collins is writing a Hunger Games prequel novel, and studio Lionsgate is working "closely with her on the movie," per a statement from Joe Drake, chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. The novel will be set 64 years before the first book in the series, and is scheduled for release in May, 2020. The full story. | | ►The 10 best films of 2019 (so far): Halfway through 2019, THR's film critics weigh in on their favorite films of the year thus far. Among those that made the cut: Us, Toy Story 4, Rolling Thunder Review: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese...The full list. | | Obituaries: Katherine Textor, a producer on the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes, passed away on Friday at age 45 after a battle with cancer… Franco Zeffirelli, the Oscar-dominated director of Romeo and Juliet, dead at 96… Linda Giannecchini, an executive at the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, passed away at age 70... | | Elsewhere in film... | | --Here's the first photo from Steven Spielberg's upcoming West Side Story adaptation. | | --ICM partners is launching an LGBTQ+ initiative, which will include quarterly events aimed at promoting understanding of issues facing the LGBTQ+ community. | | --Tencent boards Tom Hanks' Mr. Rogers film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. | | --Boris Akopov's Byk (Bull) took home top honors at Russia's Kinotavr Festival | | --Caryn James reviews Blowing Up Right Now. |
| | | | | Should Emmys Expand To 10 Nominees? |  | | | | ►TV critics debate: THR chief TV critics Tim Goodman and Daniel Fienberg make their case for what shows deserves Emmy nominations, and whether the TV Academy should expand key categories to 10 nominees. | | Goodman: "If they moved to 10 nominations in every category, which I rant about every year and sometimes twice a year, then [Counterpart's J.K.] Simmons and [Patriot's Michael] Dorman would actually have a shot, as would dozens of other great actors in shows that aren’t currently in the awards conversation — like Wyatt Russell from Lodge 49 or Rufus Sewell in The Man in the High Castle." | | Fienberg: Honestly, I don't think your '10 nomination' plan currently works on the drama side of the ledger, especially since we still wouldn't get a Michael Dorman or Toni Collette nominated. Off the radar is off the radar, and I don't think there are enough legitimate contenders for voters to know what to do with the space." The debate. | | ►Just in: IMDb is rebranding its Freedive streaming service as IMDb TV. The Amazon-owned website launched the streaming service early this year, with a mix of some original content and acquired fare. Now, with the rebrand, the company says it plans to triple its content selection and expand its service to Europe. IMDb struck deals with a number of studios, including Warner Bros., MGM Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment for new content, including the film La La Land, which will make its free streaming debut on the service July 1. | | +IMDb TV is Amazon's biggest foray into free streaming video, and the rebrand and expanded content library suggests that the company is taking the opportunity very seriously. With Netflix and Hulu dominating the subscription video streaming market, Amazon clearly thinks it has a chance to take a bite out of the free streaming market by emphasizing big-name moves and TV shows, while leveraging its IMDb brand. | | Rep Sheet Roundup: CAA has launched CAA Convene, a new business to develop future C-suite executives. … Sean Astinhas followed his agent, Jay Schachter, from Abrams to Stewart Talent. … CeeLo Green has signed with APA. … UTA has hired Riot Games' Travis Mynard as an esports agent and signed attorney-turned-comedian Eli Castro. … Peter Facinelli has signed with management company Mainstay. … Vinessa Shaw has signed with Buchwald. More here. | | Elsewhere in TV... | | --Tim Goodman reviews the Hulu series Das Boot. | | --"Zendaya issues warning ahead of Euphoria premiere: 'It's a raw and honest portrait of addiction'" | | --Jimmy Kimmel opened a comedy club in Las Vegas Friday night. | | --Paul Giamatti talked about season four of Billions at the Monte Carlo TV Festival. | | --How Big Little Lies season two tackles PTSD and the aftermath of trauma. |
| | | Who Is 'Euphoria' For? |  | | | | ►The controversial HBO series Euphoria has drawn no shortage of coverage over the past few weeks, owing to its explicit content. Still, creator Sam Levinson tells THR's Bryn Elise Sandberg that the show is meant for a wide audience, while acknowledging that "There's going to be parents that are totally fucking freaked out by it." | | +"I think it's for anyone who is old enough to watch the show and for any generation older than them. Even though older generations may not relate to the specifics of, let's say, some of the issues related to the internet, they'll relate to the emotional world of it. In the same way that like I can watch The Breakfast Club and go, 'Oh that feels authentic in some way.'" The interview. | | The week ahead... | | --Film: Toy Story 4 opens for previews Thursday night, with a wide release on Friday | | --TV: The MTV Movie & TV Awards air tonight (it taped over the weekend)... the NBA Draft is Thursday, with extensive coverage on ESPN... | | --Elsewhere: The Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity kicks off in Cannes, France today, running through the rest of the week. | | ►Expect to see more of President Trump on ABC, CBS, and NBC. With his 2020 campaign officially kicking off this week, Trump appears poised to make more appearances beyond his preferred TV channel, Fox News. "[I] Think I will do many more Network Interviews, as I did in 2016," he tweeted over the weekend, adding "It is called Earned Media." His tweets came after ABC News featured an interview with him across their programming, culminating in a primetime special called President Trump: 30 Hours on Sunday night. | | Last night on late night... | | --John Oliver makes the case for impeachment on his HBO show. [Last Week Tonight] | | What else we're reading... | | --What is Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Quibi all about, and why should you care? [Vanity Fair] | | --WPP chief Mark Read is tasked with giant turnaround amid ad-industry upheaval. [WSJ] | | --The New York Times profiles CBS News president Susan Zirinsky. [NY Times] | | --Billionaire media and telecom mogul Patrick Drahi is buying Sothebys [Yahoo Finance] | | --Troye Sivan’s Coming of Age [The New Yorker] | | --Lyrics site Genius accuses Google of lifting its content. [WSJ] | | From the archives... | | 32 years ago today: On June 17, 1987, Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket premiered in Beverly Hills. The anti-war film comprised two acts — the first at the U.S. Marine Corps trailing facility in Parris Island, and the second in Vietnam on the eve of the Tet Offensive. Flashback to THR’s original review. |  Today’s birthdays: Barry Manilow, 76, Bobby Farrelly, 61 Greg Kinnear, 56, Michael Showalter, 49, Venus Williams, 39 |
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