What to know
Struggling Neil Diamond jukebox musical changes up traditional Broadway schedule… It’s been tradition on Broadway for shows to do 3 matinees and 5 evening shows a week, but producer Ken Davenport is saying screw that with A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical. Starting in September, the show will move one of those evening performances to a matinee time slot on Thursdays, hoping it will sell more tickets. In a statement, Davenport explains the move is in response to changing audience behaviors and his research showing more interest in matinees. The producer says the old schedule was “set for a different audience in a different decade.” I’m not sure this change will save Beautiful Noise, which is playing to 58% capacity, but forward thinking is always a good thing. 🎭
WGA gives update on latest studio offer… The WGA and the AMPTP continue to negotiate and the latest word is that the studios’ offer is “neither nothing, nor nearly enough.” Which is a nice bit of phrasing, as one would expect from the writers. It seems they’re getting half measures from the studios and are holding out for more. Stay strong WGA! 🪧
CBS will air two episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Sept 8… I’m told Star Trek used to air on broadcast television regularly and that broadcast television is moving images and sound that gets beamed into your home over the air for free? I don’t know, sounds fake. 🖖
/Film: “Star Wars TV is way too serious, and it’s bumming me out man”… The Ahsoka show is fine. I’m not sure it’s worth the 94% it currently has on RT. But this /Film piece definitely hit the nail on the head. Where’s the levity? ✨
Barbie becomes top grossing movie of the year domestically, passes Frozen to enter top 20 of all time, becomes Ireland’s all-time box office champ, and will play in IMAX with bonus footage this fall… Go Barbie go go go. 💄
Live-streamed CNN channel is coming to HBO Max… As linear TV continues to languish, WBD just took a big step in creating the future of news. 🗞️
Wes Anderson’s 2nd movie of 2023, The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar, drops on Netflix Sept 27… He’s a busy man that Wes Anderson. 🍿
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What’s new
Ahsoka — Aug 22 | Disney+ Star Wars show | 🍅 94%
How to Blow Up a Pipeline — Aug 24 | Hulu indie drama | 🍅 94%
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah — Aug 25 | Netflix Adam Sandler comedy film | 🍅 89%
Vacation Friends 2 — Aug 25 | Hulu comedy film | 🍅
Gran Turismo — Aug 25 | Sports drama in theaters | 🍅 61%
Returning: Invasion s2, Ragnarok s3
What to watch
Trailer: Flora and Son — Limited theaters Sept 22, Apple TV+ Sept 29
Written and directed by John Carney, starring Eve Hewson, Jack Reynor, Orén Kinlan, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Between Once, Sing Street, and now Flora and Son, John Carney has really carved out a genre all his own with these grounded Irish musical dramas. (Plus Begin Again, which isn’t Irish.) They all happen to be fantastic and this one looks no different, focusing on a mother-son relationship through music rather than a romantic one. Like Carney’s past work, it comes with original songs, this time written by Carney and Gary Clark. Eve Hewson, who happens to be Bono’s daughter, has been bouncing around for years in supporting roles (check out Soderbergh’s The Knick) and it’s nice to see her get a big leading role here. Also nice is seeing Joseph Gordon-Levitt pop up as a token American, he’s quite believable as a Zoom guitar lesson teacher. The movie received a warm reception at Sundance earlier this year and sports a 95% on RottenTomatoes currently. I’ll for sure be checking this out if it’s in theaters near me, and if not, on Apple.
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!