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What to know
“The strange $55 million saga of a Netflix show you’ll never see”… This is one of the wildest stories to come out of Hollywood in a long time. In short, 47 Ronin director Carl Rinsch successfully sold a show to Netflix for 8 figures back in 2018 and then took the money meant to fund the series and spent it on faulty stock market plays, Dogecoin investments, Rolls Royces, designer furniture, and more. All the while, it allegedly seems—according to The New York Times’ reporting—his mental health was deteriorating and his marriage was falling apart. Now, he’s demanding more money from Netflix, saying they breached his contract. Meanwhile, there’s no finished TV show to speak of. All of this is highly emblematic of the peak streaming wars era when Netflix and every other big company was shelling out billions for content with very little oversight. The Times even explains how Netflix missed a few red flags with Rinsch. Wild stuff. 🍿
Only one movie budgeted over $200M has made a profit this year… Speaking of overspending, the only $200M+ movie to turn a profit this year was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 The lesson here? The movies cost too damn much and Hollywood (especially Disney) needs to reign in the spending. Or listen to Edgar Wright, who suggests that some major franchises need to take a break to let anticipation and excitement build again. 😮
Margot Robbie isn’t sure about a Barbie sequel… Saying, “we didn’t build it to be a trilogy.” That’s good from an artistic standpoint. Not everything has to lead to a sequel or a connected universe. That said, Warner Bros. is going to back the truck up to Greta Gerwig’s house for more — if they haven’t already. Considering how successful Barbie was, some kind of follow up is all but inevitable. 💄
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade pulled in record viewership numbers… This is kind of surprising! What with live linear television on the decline. Big live events still can pull in big numbers (the Super Bowl, award shows, sports), but even those are lower than they used to be. So the fact that the parade broke a record is notable. Close watchers of the parade might have noticed this year that it started earlier and that the Broadway performances were spread throughout the broadcast — all improvements if you ask me. 🦃
Loki writer Michael Waldron will now also write Avengers: Kang Dynasty… He’s already writing the sequel Secret Wars, so it makes sense for him to do both. But verdict’s still out on whether this movie is still about Kang. 💥
Stephen Colbert recovering after suffering ruptured appendix… That’s really not good! But it sounds like his surgery went well and he’s on the mend. 🏥
Five Nights at Freddy’s becomes Blumhouse’s biggest movie at the box office… Horror, niche IP, low budgets all made this possible. 🐻
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour film is coming to on demand Dec 13… In case you’ve got a blank space in your streaming schedule. 🎸
The Holdovers is coming to on demand tomorrow… That’s a short theatrical window, but I’m not complaining. 👍
What’s new
The Artful Dodger — Nov 29 | Hulu drama series | Ⓜ️ 73
Candy Cane Lane — Dec 1 | Amazon holiday comedy movie | Ⓜ️
May December — Dec 1 | Netflix drama film | Ⓜ️ 85
Godzilla Minus One — Dec 1 | Monster movie in theaters | Ⓜ️ 84
Silent Night — Dec 1 | Holiday action movie in theaters | Ⓜ️
Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé — Dec 1 | Concert film in theaters | Ⓜ️
Returning: Slow Horses s3, Power Book III: Raising Kanan s3
What to watch
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!