🎬 Leveling the Playing Field

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🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• ‘The White Lotus’ Levels the Playing Field

• A24 Takes on Video Games

• China Considers Ban on Hollywood

• Paramount Merger Delays

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

• Video Village: The latest trailers

• Martini Shot 🍸

CLOSEUP
🌴 ‘The White Lotus’ is leveling the playing field…

HBO's hit series ‘The White Lotus’ wrapped its third season over the weekend with a shocking finale. But behind the scenes, the show has quietly adopted a radical approach to cast compensation—everyone earns exactly the same amount.

The scoop: Every actor on the luxury resort dramedy—from A-listers to newcomers—pockets approximately $40,000 per episode, adding up to $320,000 for the eight-episode season. On top of that, the show uses alphabetical billing rather than the traditional hierarchy that puts the biggest names first.

Take it or leave it: This approach is completely non-negotiable, even for Hollywood heavyweights. Woody Harrelson, who was eyed for a S3 role, reportedly went straight to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav trying to bump his pay—and still got denied. (He signed on anyway before later dropping out due to scheduling.)

The equal-pay philosophy wasn't born from idealism but necessity. "It's a system we developed in the first season because there was no money to make the show," producer David Bernad explained. What started as a budget constraint during the pandemic-filmed first season has evolved into a deliberate strategy that's now part of the show's DNA.

‘The White Lotus’ isn't the only show embracing the flat-fee approach:

• Except for star and executive producer Noah Wyle, Max's medical drama ‘The Pitt’ offers either $50K or $35K per episode for its ensemble cast.

• Other shows following suit include Fox's 'Accused' ($150K for lead guests), CBS's 'Elsbeth' ($100K for special guests), and Peacock's 'Poker Face' ($75K for guest leads, down from $150K in S1).

The bigger picture: For decades, studios shelled out large sums to lure big-name actors, creating the industry’s notorious pay disparities. Now, in the post-Peak TV era, fixed-fees have been helpful at keeping budgets predictable and preventing runaway costs. What started as a cost-cutting strategy is transforming into a philosophical stance. As studios and streamers continue tightening budgets in a post-peak TV world, this egalitarian approach could become more common.

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WIDESHOT
🎬 A24, a ban on Hollywood, and Paramount…

🎥🎮 A24’s leveling up with a high-profile game adaptation. Michael Sarnoski has been tapped to write and direct the film version of Hideo Kojima's acclaimed video game ‘Death Stranding’ for A24, with Ari Aster producing. This announcement follows the massive success of ‘A Minecraft Movie’s’ opening weekend and marks the indie darling's first major foray into video game adaptations—a genre that's finally shedding its "cursed" reputation in Hollywood. The move fits perfectly with A24's hints from last year about wanting to play in the mainstream sandbox a bit more. While they're following the IP playbook that bigger studios have been running for years, A24's keeping their cool-kid cred intact by bringing on respected filmmakers like Sarnoski (fresh off ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’). It's a smart balancing act—chasing commercial potential without ditching the artistic sensibility that made them industry darlings in the first place.

🎬🇨🇳 Hollywood faces Chinese tariff trouble. China is reportedly considering a ban on U.S. film imports as retaliation for President Trump's tariffs, potentially ending Hollywood's exemption from trade disputes. While American studios have already seen their Chinese earnings decline as local productions gain popularity, the market remains valuable—Warner Bros. and Legendary's ‘Godzilla x Kong’ pulled in $132M in China last year alone. The film industry represents one of the few sectors where America maintains a trade surplus with China, making it a strategic target as Beijing weighs countermeasures. However, skeptics point to Marvel's ‘Thunderbolts’ just landing an April 30 China release date as evidence the threat may be all talk. Distribution insiders also note that since theaters help support nearby restaurants and shops, a ban could actually hurt China's own economy. Meanwhile, Chinese filmmaker stocks are already climbing as investors bet on a future with less Hollywood competition.

🎬🧩 Paramount's corporate marriage needs more time at the altar. The troubled $8B Paramount-Skydance merger has triggered an automatic 90-day extension, pushing the deadline from April 7 to July 7. Despite early green lights from other regulators, this review has now stalled at the FCC, which is currently on day 143 of its informal 180-day review process. Chairman Brendan Carr has raised concerns about CBS News and a disputed ‘60 Minutes’ interview at the center of litigation with the administration. The deal has faced other hurdles too, including angry shareholders and disputes over rival bids for Paramount. This was supposed to be one of 2025's biggest media deals during a year where many anticipated increased mergers under Trump's second term, but that wave hasn't materialized yet. Instead, the merger has faced increased scrutiny and shareholder activism, leaving one of Hollywood's oldest studios hanging in the balance.

LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️

• Robert Carlyle and Jefferson White have joined JFK thriller ‘November 1963’ as Jack Ruby and Lee Harvey Oswald. (more)

• Jaume Collet-Serra will direct Netflix’s psychological thriller ‘An Innocent Girl.’ (more)

• Robert Pattinson is in talks to join the cast of ‘Dune 3’ in a major new role, with Denis Villeneuve set to direct. (more)

• A24 and Fruit Tree are teaming up on a comedy from writer Morgan Lehmann about a nerdy teen with a secret life as an erotic fan fiction author (more)

• Paramount will release ‘The Angry Birds Movie 3’ on Jan. 29, 2027, with original cast returning and John Rice directing. (more)

• Vertical has acquired North American rights to Warwick Thornton’s ‘The New Boy,’ starring Cate Blanchett. (more)

• Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to sci-fi comedy ‘Cold Storage,’ starring Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell. (more)

• Syrian-French director Anas Khalaf is developing ‘Love-45,’ a hopeful tennis-themed drama set in post-Assad Lebanon. (more)

• Amazon MGM is adapting Kira Archer’s rom-com ‘69 Million Things I Hate About You’ into a feature film. (more)

• ‘Shōgun’ star Takehiro Hira has joined Teo Yoo, Cynthia Erivo, and Isabel May in Lionsgate’s samurai-tinged action thriller ‘Karoshi.’ (more)

• Harry Melling has joined Barry Keoghan and Riley Keough in ‘Butterfly Jam,’ the English-language debut of director Kantemir Balagov. (more)

TV Development 📺

• Thomas Doherty has joined S2 of Hulu’s ‘Paradise.’ (more)

• Netflix has landed a reality competition series based on ‘Monopoly,’ turning the classic board game into a high-stakes social experiment. (more)

• AMC is launching a new anthology called ‘Great American Stories,’ beginning with a limited series adaptation of ‘The Grapes of Wrath.’ (more)

• Apple TV+’s ‘Sugar’ has added Shea Whigham, Raymond Lee, and Sasha Calle as series regulars for S2. (more)

• Brooke Shields will star in and executive produce the murder mystery series ‘Allie & Andi’ for Acorn TV, set to premiere in 2026. (more)

Renewed & Canceled ✅ ❌

• ‘The Chicken Sisters’ is renewed for S2 by Hallmark. (more)

• ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ is renewed for three seasons at CBS. (more)

• ‘Master Chef’ is renewed for S15 at Fox. (more)

• ‘Colin From Accounts’ is renewed for S3 at Paramount+. (more)

Business 🤝

• Martin Freeman and Rachel Benaissa have launched a new production company, One Trick Poné, with two projects already in the works. (more)

• ‘Ultraman: Rising’ director John Aoshima has signed a multi-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. (more)

• The production company behind Simon Pegg’s ‘Angels in the Asylum’ has filed for UK bankruptcy after running out of funds mid-shoot. (more)

• Warner Bros. Discovery cuts non-essential employee travel in a broader cost-saving move amid rising economic uncertainty. (more)

Other News 🚨

• Robert De Niro will receive an honorary Palme d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in recognition of his lifetime achievements. (more)

• Sick of the news? Join 4M Americans who get clear, unbiased updates from 1440's free newsletter. (more)*

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