| | | | | | What's news: A wave of event cancellations and postponements has hit Hollywood as the wildfires rage on. Several celebrities have lost their homes to the fires. Wicked leads the SAG Awards noms. James Mangold secured a DGA Awards nom. Derek Chang is the new CEO of Liberty Media. OpenAI's Sam Altman has been accused of raping his sister. — Abid Rahman
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Hollywood Consumed By Apocalypse Vibes as Wildfires Rage ►"Seven of the eight largest California wildfires of all time have occurred in just the past four years." End-of-the-world angst has swept the entertainment industry in recent years — consider the pandemic, the strikes, the election, homelessness, studio contraction and media downsizing — but those fears became frighteningly real amid the devastating wildfires that have swept across the Southland. THR's James Hibberd wonders if this time is different, or does it just feel that way? The analysis.
—Heritage sites at risk. Another fire broke out Wednesday night in Los Angeles, this time endangering iconic landmark the Hollywood Bowl. Named the Sunset Fire, flames broke out in Runyon Canyon in the Hollywood Hills at around 5:30 p.m. The spreading fire was close to Hollywood Boulevard and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. That’s also in the vicinity of iconic Los Angeles locations and tourist destinations including the Magic Castle, the private magicians’ club; The Comedy Store; the TCL Chinese Theatre; the El Capitan Theatre; Madame Tussauds Wax Museum; Ovation Hollywood; Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel; and the Bowl. The story.
—"We are heartbroken and unsure what will be left." As fires continued to spread Wednesday morning, many L.A. residents took to social media to mourn the loss of popular Malibu eateries. Malibu’s Reel Inn, Moonshadows and Cholada Thai are among the restaurants that have been destroyed in the Palisades Fire. Malibu’s Rosenthal Winery had its Pacific Coast Highway tasting room destroyed Tuesday. The story.
—"I keep reinventing myself. And this just kicked me right in the gut." THR's Katie Kilkenny writes that the L.A. fires are another brutal blow to already battered Hollywood crew members. Workers who have recently weathered multiple production slowdowns are now being hammered by another event outside their control. The story.
—Paused. The wildfires have forced a host of TV productions to stop filming for the time being. More than a dozen L.A.-based shows, ranging from Grey’s Anatomy to The Price Is Right, have paused production. The story.
—Postponed. The Critics Choice Awards, which were set to take place in Santa Monica on Sunday and air live on E!, have been postponed. The show has set a new date of Jan. 26. The story.
—Wave of cancellations. As the fires rage, several Hollywood events have been canceled. L.A. premieres for Unstoppable and Wolf Man, as well as an awards season event for Emilia Pérez, were scrapped on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, red carpets for Better Man, The Pitt and On Call were also canceled. Thursday’s premiere of The Last Showgirl, starring Pamela Anderson and set for the TCL Chinese Theatre, has been canceled. Friday’s AFI Awards, a typically starry luncheon honoring the 10 best movies and TV shows of the year, has also been postponed and both Donna Langley’s Universal toast at Sunset Tower on Friday and Saturday’s BAFTA Tea Party in Beverly Hills was scrapped. The story.
—How to help. Entertainment industry groups including the Screen Actors Guild and the Entertainment Industry Foundation have launched wildfire relief efforts in Southern California geared toward helping first responders and members of the entertainment industry community. The story. |
Hollywood Stars Lose Homes In Wildfires ►"Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing." Billy Crystal and his wife Janice have confirmed that the Palisades Fire has destroyed their home of nearly five decades. Crystal is one of the Palisades most beloved residents, and the iconic actor served as the city’s honorary mayor for a recent stretch. The story.
—"I’m absolutely numb." Mandy Moore has shared that she tragically lost her home in the deadly wildfires. The This Is Us actress has taken to her Instagram Story since Tuesday night to share updates, first revealing that she had evacuated and was safe with her “kids, dogs and cats.” On Wednesday, Moore posted a video of what appeared to be her driving through the destruction in her community, as smoke continued to engulf the sky. She shared that her Altadena home was burned down in the Eaton Fire. The story.
—"Anna and her family are safe and grateful." Anna Faris‘ Pacific Palisades home has been destroyed by the Palisades Fire. The Scary Movie and Just Friends star bought her home in 2019 following her split from actor Chris Pratt; the pair share son Jack, 12. She is married to cinematographer Michael Barrett, whom she met while making the 2018 Overboard remake. The story.
—"Sadly, we did lose our home but we are grateful to have survived this truly devastating fire." At 10:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday night, actor Cary Elwes filmed his evacuation from Malibu. While driving down the winding Los Angeles roads adjacent to what has been described as the apocalyptic Palisades Fire, the Princess Bride star briefly hit the breaks to capture the blaze out his window. The following day, he shared an update that he and his family were safe, but that their home had been destroyed. The story.
—"The devastation is unimaginable." Paris Hilton is “heartbroken beyond words” after learning her Malibu home was destroyed in the L.A. wildfires. The reality star and businesswoman took to her Instagram Wednesday afternoon to share in an emotional post. Despite the devastation, Hilton also reflected on the positive memories she’s had in the home with her husband, Carter Reum, and two young children, Phoenix and London. The story.
—"Our house is gone." Documentarian Tracy Droz Tragos has plenty of experience with California wildfires. After all, she was on the ground with a camera not long after the November 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County as the community of Paradise tried to rebuild, shooting footage for Ron Howard’s 2020 National Geographic movie Rebuilding Paradise. On Wednesday, she became one of her subjects. The story.
—"I’ve had this house for almost 30 years." Diane Warren says the beach house she’s had for 30 years has been lost in the devastating wildfires raging L.A. County. On her Instagram account Wednesday, the 15-time Oscar-nominated songwriter posted a photo of a rock on the beach behind her home that reminds her of her late friend, Leah. The story. |
Peacock President Kelly Campbell Exiting Streamer ►Changes afoot. Kelly Campbell, who has headed Peacock for the past three-plus years, is leaving the company. Campbell’s departure comes about six weeks after NBCU parent Comcast announced that it would look to spin off most of its cable networks into a separate company, but Peacock would remain within the NBCU umbrella alongside the NBC broadcast network and cable flagship Bravo. Campbell joined Peacock in 2021 after several years at Hulu. She has presided over a period of growth at Peacock, which boasts 36m subscribers as of Q3 of 2024 and has narrowed its losses in the past year. Peacock also won praise for its blanket coverage of the Paris Olympics. The story.
—New leader. Derek Chang has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the Liberty Media Organization. Chang has been a director of Liberty Media since March 2021 and has led leadership roles at companies including EverPass Media, the NBA, DirecTV, Scripps, Charter and TCI. He takes over from Greg Maffei, who announced he would step down from the role at the end of 2024. Chang will start in his new role on Feb. 1, with John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media, serving as interim CEO until then. The story.
—Rape lawsuit. Open AI CEO Sam Altman has been accused by his sister of raping her for years when they were adolescents. In a complaint filed Monday in the U.S. Eastern District Court of Missouri, Ann Altman states that abuse at the hands of her older brother occurred at their family home in Clayton, Missouri, over nine years, from around 1997 to 2006. She alleges that the abuse began when she was 3 years old and her brother was 12 years old. In the complaint, she states that the abuse consisted of forced sexual assault molestation, sodomy and battery. The story. |
THR's Director Roundtable ►"If you show any doubt, they’ll eat you alive." THR's award-winning Roundtable Series continues, next up are the film directors. Six filmmakers — Edward Berger (Conclave), Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), Coralie Fargeat (The Substance), RaMell Ross (Nickel Boys), Ridley Scott (Gladiator II) and Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two) — sat down with Rebecca Keegan and chopped it up about the question of self-confidence, unnecessary multiple takes and what it’s really like to work with Denzel Washington. The roundtable. |
SAG Awards Nominations ►🏆 Wicked goes big 🏆 The 2025 SAG Awards nominations have been revealed. Wicked leads this year’s film nominations with five nods, followed by A Complete Unknown with four nods, and Emilia Pérez and Anora with three nominations each. All four films are nominated for the SAG Awards‘ top prize of best cast, along with Conclave, which landed two nominations, as did The Last Showgirl. On the TV side, Shogun leads this year’s SAG Awards nominees with five nods, followed by The Bear with four and The Diplomat with three. The nominations.
—What it all means for the Oscar race. THR's executive editor of awards coverage Scott Feinberg weighs in after Wednesday morning's SAG Awards noms announcement. Scott writes that unsurprisingly, the guild, which leans more populist than most other awards groups, wholeheartedly embraced two acclaimed blockbusters: Universal’s Broadway adaptation Wicked (including one for stunts!), and Searchlight’s Bob Dylan drama A Complete Unknown. The analysis. |
DGA Awards Nominations ►🏆 Back in the race 🏆 A Complete Unknown director James Mangold’s awards prospects got a boost Wednesday while The Substance helmer Coralie Fargeat and Dune: Part Two filmmaker Denis Villeneuve experienced a ding when the DGA announced the feature-film nominees for its 2025 awards. Mangold joins Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez), Sean Baker (Anora), Edward Berger (Conclave) and Brady Corbet (The Brutalist) as DGA feature-film nominees. All four were considered favorites coming in; Corbet on Sunday won the Golden Globe for directing. The nominations.
—"His film is playing like gangbusters." THR's executive editor of awards Scott Feinberg is back to offer his take on the DGA Awards nominations. Scott writes that the DGA nom suggests that James Mangold may still be in the hunt for a best director Oscar nom, and that it is also just the latest piece of evidence that A Complete Unknown is shaping up to be a top Oscar contender across the board. The analysis. |
TV Review: 'American Primeval' ►"Viscerally bleak, then redundantly vicious." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews Netflix's American Primeval. Creator Mark L. Smith's six-episode examination of scruffy, vicious people traversing the Utah Territory in 1857 stars Betty Gilpin, Taylor Kitsch and Dane DeHaan and is directed by Peter Berg. The review.
—"At least it's short." THR's Angie Han reviews Amazon Prime Video's On Call. In this Dick Wolf-produced cop drama series, a rookie and his more experienced partner search for the murderer of a fellow police officer while responding to other disturbances in Long Beach, California. The review.
In other news...
—Reacher S3 trailer: Alan Ritchson goes undercover and finds big trouble
—Amazon's Harlem picks up with mystery pregnancy cliffhanger in S3 trailer
—Diddy docuseries trailer reveals inner circle, survivors spilling on mogul’s scandal
—Bonnaroo 2025: Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, the Creator, Hozier to headline
—Music publisher Kobalt appoints Rani Hancock evp, head of U.S. creative
What else we're reading...
—Matt McGrath looks into the role of climate change in stoking the California wildfires [BBC]
—Kase Wickman writes that Mark Zuckerberg's recent rebrand extends beyond his fashion sense and now includes his morals [Vanity Fair]
—Annie Lowrey predicts that there will likely be a big crypto boom in the first few years of the Trump administration, followed by a huge crash [Atlantic]
—Adam Gopnik looks at why Justin Trudeau had to step down as Canadian PM [New Yorker]
—Sophie Haigney writes that the Cameo app has become a key stop for scandal-plagued Republican stars like Matt Gaetz, George Santos, Roger Stone and Donald Trump Jr. [NYT]
Today...
...in 2015, Sony released Peter and Michael Spierig's Predestination in theaters. The complex and riveting time travel thriller starred Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook was a big hit with critics. The original review.
Today's birthdays: J.K. Simmons (70), Kerry Condon (42), Joan Baez (84), Nicola Coughlan (38), Nina Dobrev (36), Joely Richardson (60), Omari Hardwick (51), Dave Matthews (58), James Acaster (40), Amber Ruffin (46), Nicola Peltz Beckham (30), Imelda Staunton (69), Joey Lauren Adams (57), Laura-Leigh (34), David Costabile (58), Kai Bradbury (31), Steve Lund (36), David Johansen (75), Sope Dirisu (34), Deon Cole (53), K Callan (89), John Doman (80), Jade Eshete (40), Caitlin McGee (37), Patrick Sabongui (50), Vassili Schneider (26), Megan West (34), Angela Bettis (52), Julia Dietze (44), Savannah La Rain (20), Marco Sanchez (55), Tim Kelleher (69) |
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