Paramount CEO: No animated originals

And bad news for Tarantino heads

What to know

• Paramount CEO says the company is moving away from original animated movies, will focus on IP films… Fuuuuuck this. Sorry for the language, but this is just heartbreaking and extremely discouraging. Even Guillermo del Toro thinks so, tweeting “Dear lord” in response. Without original animated movies there’s no Disney renaissance, there’s no Toy Story and Pixar, there’s no Shrek, there’s no Mitchells vs the Machines. I could go on forever. I write about Hollywood’s reliance on IP nearly every day, but up until this moment, it’s been easy to see it as a necessary evil that brings in profits and allows for the studios and filmmakers to then take risks on original ideas. But this is a very real shot across the bow at the future of originality. It would be easy to shrug this off and say, “well, that’s just one company, there are other who will continue to take chances on original stories,” but Paramount CEO Brian Robbins’ thinking could be infectious. One has to imagine Bob Iger is debating the same thing as he looks at Pixar’s recent track record. Let’s hope the success of Barbenheimer keeps the flame of originality alive. 😡

• NBCUniversal revenue rises off healthy theatrical business (Mario) and theme parks, but it lost $651M on Peacock last quarter… The middling streamer added just 2M subscribers. THR says the company “smashed” Wall Street expectations on revenue and earnings per share, but do those streaming numbers look good to you? 🦚

• Production delayed on Tarantino’s The Movie Critic… It was supposed to roll this September, but uh yeah, there’s just that pesky strike going on, so who knows when we’ll get to see it. Patience, people. 🎥

• Women are using Barbie as a litmus test for dating men… Makes sense to me. Get you a man that understands and agrees with the central tenants of Barbie. 💕

• Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron will open the Toronto Film Festival in September… Some very lucky people in Toronto. Hopefully a North American release date gets announced soon.

• A24 to release Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White wrestling drama The Iron Claw this December… A24 coming in clutch. 🤼‍♀️

• WGA leader says studios will either make deal “together or separately”… Yup, those are the two options. 🪧

• Critics are digging Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem… Cowabunga! 🐢

• Righteous Gemstones renewed for 4th season… Praise be. 🙏

• Bo Goldman, Oscar-winning screenwriter of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, dies at 90

Upgrade to a full Pop Culture Brain Daily subscription for $1/month or $6/year.

What’s new

• The Haunted Mansion — July 28 | Family horror comedy in theaters | 🍅 45%

• Talk to Me — July 28 | A24 horror movie in theaters | 🍅 95%

• The Beanie Bubble — July 28 | Apple TV+ comedy film | 🍅 64%

• Returning: Futurama s11, The Hardy Boys s3, The Witcher s3, Harley Quinn s4, Good Omens s2, This Fool s2, Heels s2, How To With John Wilson s3

---

What to watch

It’s always a pleasant surprise to end up liking something more than the critics. Hulu’s musical comedy series Up Here has a so-so 56% on RottenTomatoes. The lukewarm reception is probably responsible for the show getting absolutely buried in the spring, but if musicals and meet-cute romcoms are your jam, put this on your list. It’s got a clever idea at the center (the main characters’ inner voices take the shape of influential people from their pasts and sing to them), a generous amount of tuneful, catchy songs by the EGOT-winning Lopezes (Frozen, Coco), and some playful directing by Tommy Kail. The show operates in the land of broad tropes and archetypes, but as a television interpretation of musical theater, that’s to be expected. If you loved Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Glee, Smash, or Schmigadoon!, Up Here is for you.

For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!