Chris Pratt is good again?
Chris Pratt is good again?
And The CW is dead, long live The CW
What to know
Chris Pratt helped Bryce Dallas Howard get equal pay on Jurassic World franchise… Howard has revealed that she was getting paid “much less” than her male co-star for their work in the movies, but when Pratt found out about this he fought for the two to have equal pay on ancillary projects including video games and theme park rides. It’s nice to see a positive headline about Pratt’s off-screen behavior, you know, after he recently mocked “woke critics.” Or what about that time he had to deny belonging to an anti-gay church? 👏
70 staffers laid off at HBO and HBO Max amid reshuffle… Despite the rumor of HBO Max’s demise not coming true, reports that layoffs were on the way at the brand did just come to fruition. The jobs were mostly cut from the HBO Max nonfiction and live-action family originals teams, the former being redundant with Discovery+. So no, HBO Max has not been gutted, but we’re still a year away from seeing how all these changes will really play out. 🙁
Academy apologizes to Sacheen Littlefeather for her mistreatment at 1973 Oscars… You probably know that when Marlon Brando won the Oscar in 1973, Sacheen Littlefeather went up on his behalf and spoke out against the mistreatment of Indigenous people in America. But did you also know that she was met with a chorus of boos and mock ululations from the audience, and that she was threatened with arrest and assault? John Wayne had to reportedly be held back from physically attacking her. Hollywood history seems to gloss over all that, but now the Academy is apologizing to her (good!) and making her a guest of honor at an evening of healing and Indigenous celebration at the Academy museum (also good!). 👍
Nexstar takes control of The CW, Mark Pedowitz to remain as CEO… The CW is dead, long live The CW. Under its new corporate overlords, the network will move away from pricey originals and instead focus on cheaper reality stuff and gameshows. Not prestigious, but could be profitable. Want to know something hilarious and telling? Nexstar says the average CW viewer is 58 years old! Yeah because that’s who watches broadcast TV linearly these days, but it’s pretty funny to think about all the youth-targeted originals Pedowitz and company made for decades. The CW was basically a shadow Netflix show factory. 🤝
Walmart to offer Paramount+ as part of its subscription plan… Walmart’s version of Amazon Prime just got its version of Prime Video. Members of the retail chain’s $98/year service, will get Paramount+ with ads for free. This should give Paramount+ a significant numbers boost and expose all the more people to the joys of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. ➕
“The Rehearsal is a window into a neurodivergent world”… Interesting analysis piece up over at /Film that reads Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal through the lens of being neurodivergent. Did you catch this week’s episode!? It was flooring. 🚪
Troy Kotsur loses then recovers Oscar statue in Jeep theft… The history-making actor thought he lost his Oscar when his Jeep was stolen, but the cops later recovered the vehicle and the statuette inside. Why was the Oscar in his car? Maybe it was keeping him company. 🏆
Jon Batiste is leaving Colbert’s Late Show… This is a loss for sure, but after Batiste won all those Grammys, it makes sense that he’d go off and pursue a big music career. 🎹
Showtime bumps new episodes of its original series to air Jackass Forever… Interesting choice considering the movie has been on Paramount+ for a while now. 🏔
Viola Davis joins Hunger Games prequel as villain… For a mostly forgotten franchise, The Hunger Games prequel certainly means business. 🏹
Millie Bobby Brown is taking online classes at Indiana’s Purdue University… Girl loves Indiana. 🙃
Kenya Barris to write and direct modern reimagining of The Wizard of Oz… Ok, I guess. 🤷♂️
What’s new
On the Count of Three — Aug 17 | Netflix dark comedy film | 🍅 85%
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law — Aug 18 | Disney+ Marvel comedy series | 🍅
Bad Sisters — Aug 19 | Apple comedy thriller series | 🍅 100%
House of the Dragon — Aug 21 | HBO drama series | 🍅
What to watch
Remember when movies were 90 minutes? When you could head into a mid-summer blockbuster and emerge to the last bit of fading evening sun? When writing was tighter and entertainment felt lighter? Marcel the Shell With Shoes On remembers. Based on the 2010 viral short, this A24 stop-motion/live-action hybrid is a poignant, charming, and heartwarming breath of fresh air. Collaborators Dean Fleischer Camp and Jenny Slate expand their jokey concept of a little shell in a big world into a full-fledged feature, grounded in astonishing emotion and stakes — but they never push the concept too far away from its central mythos. They understand what Marcel is and what it can contain, executing their vision to the fullest without ever breaking the audience’s attention or trust. The result is a beautiful little story that feels universal and connects, because of its brevity and small-scale charm. It is focused, which feels like a rarity among today’s sweeping tentpoles and elongated series. Fleischer Camp and Slate also managed to make a movie that is literally for everyone. Viewers age 1 to 100 can enjoy this little shell and his journey. While less metaphorical, Marcel recalls Spike Jonze’s Where The Wild Things Are, which took a similarly “indie” approach to family fare. They also had the good sense to let Isabella Rossellini voice the film’s emotional core, a real flex but just perfect in execution. You can spare the 90 minutes for this small wonder, in theaters now and coming to VOD in September.
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!