Jonathan Majors verdict reached
Jonathan Majors verdict reached
And Netflix's next big film splits fans & critics
What to know
Jonathan Majors has been found guilty of harassment and assault… Specifically, “two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault,” but he was found not guilty “on one count of of intentional assault in the third degree and aggravated harassment in the second degree.” His sentencing is yet to come — but this likely means the end for a mainstream Hollywood career. A guilty verdict does not seem like something you can come back from and will likely make him a toxic figure in Hollywood. I’m fully expecting Disney and Marvel to announce their pivot plans away from Majors in the near future. ⚖️
Netflix’s next big movie has one of the widest gaps between critics and audiences in recent memory… It’s Zack Snyder’s space opera Rebel Moon and it drops on Netflix this Thursday, First the bad news — or maybe the good news, depending on how you feel about critics. As of Monday, the movie currently has a 23% based on 44 reviews. RottenTomatoes summed up the reviews with this: “Rebel Moon proves Zack Snyder hasn't lost his visual flair, but eye candy isn't enough to offset a storyline made up of various sci-fi/fantasy tropes.” Now the good news, or maybe the bad news depending on how you feel about mass opinions. This is a Zack Snyder movie and he’s got his fans, so it’s not terribly surprising that the audience score on RT is at 72%. Meaning there’s a 49% gap between critics and audience. I guess we’ll all find out for ourselves Thursday. 🌖
Bradley Cooper banned chairs from set, Poor Things has no video village or stand ins… Cooper and Lanthimos are saying “no, thanks” to chairs and monitors in order to create intimate, energetic sets. Emma Stone just told IndieWire that while working on Poor Things, “Yorgos [Lanthimos] doesn’t say action. There’s no video village, just Yorgos sitting with his monitor right by the camera. We don’t have stand-ins and we don’t leave set.” She said that made it feel “as small and intimate as humanly possible.” Lanthimos confirmed this saying there were typically under 10 people on set. “It would just be the camera, the actors, the A.D., focus puller, and sometimes the boom operator for sound” And that a lot of the time they did even have a boom guy, the sound department would just hang microphones instead. Cooper takes this a step further, claiming he doesn’t even have chairs on his set, telling Spike Lee in a sit-down for Variety, “When I direct, I don’t watch playback. There’s no chairs. I’ve always hated chairs on sets; your energy dips the minute you sit down in a chair. There’s no video village.” I love this, because the audience can always tell when a film has this kind of energy and intimacy — and when it doesn’t. 🎥
And everything else
Total box office might take a $2 billion hit in 2024… Because of strike delays. This is a shame because theatrical business was just starting to bounce back from the pandemic. “See you in 2025,” as THR’s headline says. 💵
Platonic renewed for 2nd season at Apple… Nice! Despite being a pretty good show, Platonic didn’t make much noise so this is good to hear. Go back and check it out if you haven’t. 🍎
The live-action Lilo & Stitch remake is going reportedly straight to Disney+… Wow. Disney must not be confident in it at all. 😬
Mayim Bialik out as Jeopardy! host… I have not been following the Jeopardy! drama recently, but there never seems to be a lack of it. 👋
George Clooney and Adam Sandler to star in Noah Baumbach’s next movie at Netflix… What are those two going to be like together?! 🤔
Barbra Streisand to receive SAG Lifetime Achievement award… Hopefully her speech is shorter than her book. 🏆
Greta Gerwig cut Ken fighting a bear from Barbie… How dare she. 🐻
What’s new
Percy Jackson and the Olympians — Dec 20 | Disney+ fantasy series | Ⓜ️ 74
Maestro — Dec 20 | Netflix drama film | Ⓜ️ 78
Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire — Dec 21 | Netflix space epic film | Ⓜ️ 32
The Iron Claw — Dec 22 | Wrestling drama in theaters | Ⓜ️ 71
Anyone But You — Dec 22 | Romantic comedy in theaters | Ⓜ️
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom — Dec 22 | Superhero film in theaters | Ⓜ️
Migration — Dec 22 | Animated film in theaters | Ⓜ️
American Fiction — Dec 22 | Satirical comedy in theaters | Ⓜ️ 81
The Boys in the Boat — Dec 25 | Historical sports drama in theaters | Ⓜ️ 48
Ferrari — Dec 25 | Historical biopic in theaters | Ⓜ️ 74
The Color Purple — Dec 25 | Musical drama in theaters | Ⓜ️
Returning: Doctor Who Christmas special, Dr. Death s2
What to watch
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!