We’d be remiss if we did not report about something that many people excited about. Grown Ups is getting a sequel..
Netflix posted the image today of the grown ups now all grown up back in action for the third movie. Since Netflix is posting it would be assumed this will not be a theater release but instead streaming.
Also presumably the movie will be a little bit worse than the second and the second was a little bit worse than the first but, it’s still cool to have another one coming..
Police have responded to Perez Hilton’s Miami home after the celebrity blogger shared what appeared to be a video in which he self-harms.
Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the New York Post Page Six Tuesday night they’d received “multiple calls” of “an individual livestreaming acts of self-harm on social media” and dispatched deputies to investigate.
Officers spoke with Hilton’s family members who were on the scene and ultimately decided to “tactfully disengage” while continuing to “monitor the situation” after confirming Hilton, 48, was alone inside.
Developing …
WELL NOTAI!
What do you think of that!
This one is set to rock the real people of Hollywood — as real as they can be as they alter their appearance and get ozempic breath…
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday announced rules changes for the 99th Oscars in March affecting international entries, acting nominations and addressing the use of artificial intelligence..
More..
On the use of AI, the Academy said that “only roles credited in the film’s legal billing and demonstrably performed by humans with their consent will be considered eligible.” The new requirements also apply to screenplays, which must be written by humans.
Major changes are also coming to the International Feature Film category.
How long before AI replaces Hollywood? How long before only AI watches the Oscars….?
At least not outright..
In a new interview with The New York Times, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said that, should the WBD acquisition go through, the streamer will commit to 45-day theatrical release windows for the legacy studio’s upcoming releases.
Sarandos insisted that Netflix has no intentions of disrupting “a theatrical distribution engine that is phenomenal and produces billions of dollars,” and that he believes there is value in the movie theater experience.
“I’m giving you a hard number,” Sarandos said. “If we’re going to be in the theatrical business, and we are, we’re competitive people — we want to win. I want to win opening weekend. I want to win box office.”
“I mean, like the town that Sinners is supposed to be set in does not have a movie theater there,” Sarandos reasoned. “For those folks, it’s certainly outmoded. You’re not going to get in the car and go to the next town to go see a movie.”
This news is coming from some LUCASFILM PR releases..
Lucasfilm announced that after 14 years of leading the studio, President Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down from her role. Kennedy will return to full-time producing, including the studio’s upcoming feature films The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter.
So gone.. but not totally..
Dave Filoni, who worked closely with creator George Lucas to build the Lucasfilm animation department on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and helped launch Star Wars live-action series alongside Jon Favreau on The Mandalorian, will take on creative leadership of the company as President and Chief Creative Officer and Lynwen Brennan will serve as Co-President.
While she is not being trashed by Lucasfilm on the way out, fans are certainly pointing out her biggest flops..
This summation from detractors on social media:
– Over a dozen high profile canceled projects
A Star Wars Trilogy that damaged the brand
Indiana Jones 5 was seemingly meaningless
An inability to get anything made; even simple slam dunk projects like Rogue Squadron
The Willow Series was a complete disaster and there’s no way to legally watch it anymore Outside of Rogue One and Andor..
Another reaction: Finally, the long nightmare ends. Kathleen Kennedy is out as Lucasfilm president after 14 years of turning Star Wars into a lecture hall disguised as space opera.
Flash
Timothy Busfield, the actor and director, turned himself in to the authorities in New Mexico on Tuesday and was booked on charges of child sex abuse, the Albuquerque police said. The case involves two boys who were appearing on a television drama that he was producing in New Mexico.
This is developing,,
The actor also released a video tape today denying accusations and saying he will fight the charges.
Are you excited about the Oscars on YouTube starting in 2029?
Oh, you didn’t know? That might be because no one has really been excited about the Oscars for many years now.
And yet, entertainment rags across the world are insisting that the decision to move the Oscars from ABC to YouTube will send shockwaves through the entertainment industry. Maybe the Netflix deals have already done more damage than this ever could, but the fact remains that a streaming platform will now be the exclusive home of the Academy Awards. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, this feels like another official nail in the coffin of traditional television.
Everything tends to come full circle. Maybe in a hundred years we will all be back to basic cable again, proudly announcing that the Oscars are airing on Channel 13 once more. But for now, the future is here. Beginning in 2029 and running through 2033, YouTube has acquired the exclusive rights to broadcast not only the ceremony itself but everything that comes with it. What that ultimately looks like remains to be seen.
The truth is, the excitement surrounding the Academy Awards that existed in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s has steadily faded over the last quarter century. Most of the time, people have not even seen the movies nominated for the golden statue, let alone felt connected to them. The films being celebrated often feel foreign to the general audience, while the movies people actually watch are rarely acknowledged. And horror? Forget it. That genre has never really been invited to the party.
As part of the newly inked deal, YouTube will broadcast not only the Oscars ceremony itself, which generated roughly 150 million dollars in revenue for the Academy during the fiscal year that ended June 30, largely through the television rights deal with Disney, but also a significant amount of related programming.
That additional content will include the red carpet preshow and behind the scenes coverage, the Oscar nominations announcement, the Governors Awards where honorary Oscars are presented, the Oscars Nominees Luncheon, the Student Academy Awards, the Scientific and Technical Awards, and interviews with Academy members and filmmakers. Film education programs, podcasts, and other supplemental content will also live on the platform.
Whether this move reinvigorates the Oscars or simply confirms what many already believe is another question entirely. What is clear is that the way we experience Hollywood’s biggest night has permanently changed.
We tried to soften our shock but just can’t..
The murder of Rob Reiner and his wife this time of year or anytime, quite frankly is very, very upsetting and unfortunate. But what makes it even extra strange and bizarre is the circumstances surrounding it, and how fast it all unfolded.
Because we’re used to the long goodbye when someone in Hollywood is sick. The updates. The “fighting for their life” talk. The gradual acceptance. This wasn’t that. This was one of those moments where a person who’s been part of our cultural wallpaper for decades is suddenly just… gone. Just like that.
And now there’s this surreal detail layered on top of it: the reporting that, hours before the killings, there was a tense incident involving Rob Reiner and his son Nick at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party. That’s the part that feels like a movie — except it isn’t. According to reporting, Nick’s behavior at the party unsettled people, and there was an argument involving the family.
Then the next thing you know, Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, are found dead at their home in Brentwood, Los Angeles and police arrest their son, Nick Reiner, in connection with it. Multiple outlets report he was taken into custody and booked on murder charges / arrested on suspicion as the investigation continues.
And yes, this is the part that has to be said, because it’s impossible to ignore: this wasn’t a peaceful passing. It’s being described as a brutally violent, horrifying crime. The kind of thing you don’t associate with a household name you grew up with.
The reporting also points to a longer, darker backstory .. addiction issues, instability, a family that was scared, a situation that didn’t just “start” that night. That doesn’t explain what happened, and it doesn’t make it easier to read… but it does make it even more tragic.
You know it’s weird and this is going to sound trite, but the idea that we could all live with Rob Reiner in our lives in some form is true. Some people remember him from All in the Family. Others know him from the movies and the moments that shaped whole eras: Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…, A Few Good Men, a career that touched way more people than he ever met.
And now that life gets extinguished in Brentwood, California, in a way nobody saw coming .. and you’re left with that same feeling every time something like this happens: how can a famous life feel so permanent… until it suddenly isn’t?
Life takes strange turns when you least expect them .. health incidents, car accidents, traumatizing events. Sometimes good too like a loytrry win!
But this one? This one is surreal. And even Conan O’Brien’s name, and everyone at that party, gets indirectly touched by something horrific they never signed up for, simply because they were in the orbit of it.
Nick Reiner has been taken into custody on a murder charge following the deaths of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.
Rob and Michele were killed in their Los Angeles home on Sunday, Dec. 14. Sources previously told PEOPLE they were found by their daughter Romy.
According to Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department records, Nick was taken into custody and is being held on $4 million bail. At an unrelated press conference Monday morning, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said Nick had been booked on a murder charge.
MORE..
Nick Reiner, 32, has a long history with drug addiction, which began in his teens. He told People in an interview in 2016 that he spent periods of weeks sleeping rough on the streets and was in and out of rehab for addiction treatment that started when he was 15.
MEANWHILE…
The President…. weighed in.
This is bigger than Stranger Things season 5…
Well… whoa.
That’s really the only word that fits right now.
On Friday morning, as the stock market, Oscar winners, and the White House were all waking up to the news cycle, both Netflix and Warner Bros leadership sent out internal emails confirming what the media instantly latched onto: Netflix will acquire Warner Bros Discovery and its entire streaming business for a staggering $82.7 billion.
If it goes through, this is one of those “fundamentally reshape the entire entertainment industry” moments. This isn’t just another merger. This is a tech titan fully planting a flag in the center of Hollywood and essentially saying: We run the table now.
Netflix has spent years building toward dominance, but this?
This is conquest-level stuff.
The deal gives Netflix enormous leverage over the film and TV landscape … library content, franchises, IP, and the kind of studio infrastructure you simply can’t build from scratch anymore. If you’re wondering what this means for the future of streaming, the future of movie theaters, or even the political implications of a mega-merger this size… well, you’re not alone. Washington is probably already sharpening knives over antitrust concerns.
But let’s be honest for horror fans, there’s one immediate question:
Because with this merger, Netflix would now own The Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Just think about that.
Netflix, the same company currently dominating the global streaming market .. now potentially holding the rights to Elm Street, and deciding the future of one of the most iconic villains in cinema history.
Do they reboot it?
Do they build a prestige horror series?
Do they fold Freddy into a new expanded horror universe?
Or do they let him sleep a little longer?
Whatever happens, this is one of the biggest entertainment shakeups we’ve seen in decades and it’s only the beginning.
If you’d like, I can add a punchier ending, a horror-purist angle, or a list of “possible futures for Freddy.”
And a lot of others …
MORE..
The Writers Guild of America has joined other industry groups in coming out against Netflix‘s proposed blockbuster deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery‘s studios and streaming business.
The WGA warned that the $83 billion Netflix-WB deal would eliminate jobs, reduce wages — and raise prices for consumers.
“The world’s largest streaming company swallowing one of its biggest competitors is what antitrust laws were designed to prevent,” the guild said in a statement. “The outcome would eliminate jobs, push down wages, worsen conditions for all entertainment workers, raise prices for consumers, and reduce the volume and diversity of content for all viewers. Industry workers along with the public are already impacted by only a few powerful companies maintaining tight control over what consumers can watch on television, on streaming, and in theaters. This merger must be blocked.”