🎬 This Is Gonna Be Weird 🫤

👋 Good morning! Welcome aboard the Dailies.

Whether you're a seasoned subscriber or a new arrival, we're thrilled to have you here. Twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, we'll deliver the most important industry scoops directly to your inbox.

🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• Closeup: Lights, Camera …Actors? 🪧

• Stalemate in Hollywood

• ‘Ashoka’ Premiere Shatters Disney+ Records

• Disney VFX Crew Push For Unionization

• College Football Expands to Movie Theaters

• Last Looks 👀: Bite-sized scoops on developing stories/projects

• Release Radar: What to watch this weekend

• Video Village 📀

• Martini Shot 🍸

But first, it’s Thursday, so let’s take a look at what people were watching this week… 👀

MOST STREAMED THIS WEEK

Lights, Camera … Actors?
Fall Film Festivals Are Gonna Be Weird

The atmosphere at this year's major fall film festivals—Venice, Telluride, and Toronto—will be rather unusual. Due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, the usual galaxy of A-list actors won't be gracing the red carpets to promote their films. This leaves directors, producers, and other below-the-line talent to shoulder the promotional responsibilities. It's an unprecedented scenario that has the industry buzzing about how it will impact the awards race. 🏆

However, it's worth noting that the predictive power of these fall festivals has been waning. In recent years, films like ‘Parasite’ and ‘CODA,’ which premiered at other festivals, have scooped up the Best Picture Oscars. So while these festivals are significant, they're not the definitive guide they once were to who will be taking home the golden statues. 🥇

Here are some of the premieres we’ll be keeping our eyes on 👀

• David Fincher’s ‘The Killer' starring Michael Fassbender [Venice]

• Alexander Payne’s ‘The Holdovers' [TIFF]

• Chris Pine’s Directorial Debut ‘The Poolman' [TIFF]

• Garth Davis’ ‘Foe' starring Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal [NYFF]

• Michael Mann's ‘Ferrari' starring Adam Driver [Venice]

• Bradley Cooper's ‘Maestro' [Venice]

• And many more… see a full list here 👈🏻

Venice Film Festival Begins…

The 80th Venice International Film Festival is going to be a weird one. There are a handful of big names that are set to appear and fulfill their usual press obligations, mainly due to the SAG-AFTRA interim agreements. These agreements allow such promotional activities without crossing the strike lines.

However, many have opted to stay away even if they do have interim agreements either to avoid being accused of strike breaking or to sidestep negative publicity. For instance, Bradley Cooper, despite being spotted in Venice, won't be on the red carpet for his movie "Maestro."

In a landscape altered both by a global pandemic and industry strikes, the question remains: can awards season thrive without its typical star-studded promotional cycle? By mid-September, as the New York Film Festival looms, we should have a clearer picture.

Strike Update: WGA and Studios at a Standstill 🪧 Major studio heads from Disney, Amazon, and Netflix held a virtual meeting yesterday to tackle unresolved issues surrounding the writers and actors strikes. While the industry leaders try to navigate internal tensions, their talks with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) have essentially flatlined. Disney CEO Bob Iger opted out of today's crisis meeting, sticking to a more hands-off approach towards these labor disputes. Since August 18, no formal meetings have occurred between the WGA and the studios. Both parties seem to be in a holding pattern, awaiting further moves from the other side. Some, like Richard Rushfield, remain hopeful that progress is being made despite the lack of hard evidence:

WGA is on day 121, SAG is on day 48, and there’s no end in sight.

'Ahsoka' Premiere Shatters Disney+ Records 🌟📺 The highly anticipated 'Ahsoka' series on Disney+ has made a splash in the streaming world. The platform recently announced that the show garnered a remarkable 14 million views worldwide within the first five days of its August 23 premiere. In terms of watch time, that equates to an astounding 784 million minutes. While Disney+ remains tight-lipped about metrics for the show's second episode, the impressive debut numbers speak for themselves. This is a milestone for Disney+ as it's the first time they've publicly disclosed such detailed viewership data. This comes at a time when there's a lot of debate and strikes going on about transparency in viewership numbers.

Disney VFX Crew Aiming for Unionization 🛡️Visual effects crew members at Walt Disney Pictures are making industry headlines by pushing to unionize. A solid 80% of the in-house team has signed authorization cards, signaling their intent. 📝 This is particularly noteworthy as it follows Marvel Studios’ own move to unionize earlier this month. The ballots for this initiative are due on September 11, with the official count happening a day later. These are the talented individuals behind blockbuster films like ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘The Lion King,’ and they're advocating for equal rights and benefits that their unionized colleagues enjoy. If the majority votes in favor, it obligates Disney to enter into good-faith contract negotiations with them. It’s a significant moment that could set a precedent for VFX artists industry-wide. 🗳️

College Football Expands to Movie Theaters 🏈🎥 ESPN is making a significant move by expanding college football's presence into movie theaters, courtesy of a new distribution agreement with Theater Sports Network. This deal encompasses about 75 games from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), featuring teams like Clemson and Florida State. But hold on, it's not just about the regular season; New Year's bowl games and even the playoffs are part of this cinematic sports experience. Local theaters have the liberty to set their own ticket prices, so affordability is a factor. This initiative comes at a time when theaters are looking for ways to diversify their offerings, especially amidst ongoing strikes in Hollywood. Now, fans can enjoy the stadium's electrifying atmosphere while sitting in a comfy movie theater chair. 🏈🍿

Development 🗒️

• Gary Oldman joins cast of Paolo Sorrentino’s untitled Naples-set feature. (more)

• Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver partner with Spotify for a limited-series podcast discussing the WGA strike. (more)

• ‘The Idol’ is cancelled at HBO after one season. (more)

• ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ is renewed for S3 at Netflix. (more)

• ‘The Great’ cancelled after three seasons at Hulu. (more)

Releases 📅

• Netflix unveils release dates for its fall slate. (more)

• Apple shifts from ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ limited release to worldwide theatrical release. (more)

Buzz 🗣️

• Amazon and Netflix find themselves in a bidding battle for Don Winslow Novella ‘Crime 101.’ (more)

• Ridley Scott teases a ‘fantastic’ 4.5-hour cut of ‘Napoleon.’ (more)

• A majority of Americans support the striking unions over studios, new poll finds. (more)

• Selena Gomez is accused of breaking SAG rules after tagging her new show on Instagram. (more)

First Look 👀

• Official poster for ‘Dune: Part Two,’ which is now set for release on March 15, 2024. (take a look 👉here👈)

• Official poster for ‘Poor Things’ unveiled. (take a look 👉here👈)

• Official poster for ‘What Happens Later’ unveiled. (take a look 👉here👈)

• Official poster for ‘All Of Us Strangers’ unveiled. (take a look 👉here👈)

  Other News 🚨

• The Entertainment Community Fund has distributed more than $5.4 million in financial aid to industry workers since the start of WGA strike. (more)

• Disney is hit with another lawsuit from investors alleging that the company hid streaming losses. (more)

• SAG-AFTRA health plan extends coverage for members who lost work due to WGA strike. (more)

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What to watch this weekend? 👀

THEATRICAL 🎥

• The Equalizer 3: Robert McCall finds himself at home in Southern Italy, but he discovers his friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends' protector by taking on the mafia.

• The Good Mother: A journalist who, after the murder of her estranged son, forms an unlikely alliance with his pregnant girlfriend to track down those responsible for his death.

STREAMING 📺

• Perpetrator: (AMC+) A smartly ambitious supernatural thriller, ‘Perpetrator’ blends an assortment of genres and influences into a bloody good time.