Box Office: Suicide Squad’ Drops Big, But Remains #1 as ‘Sausage Party’ Eats Up the Box Office
Despite Squad‘s large, to-be-expected second weekend drop, the film pulled in more than enough to hold off all newcomers for a second weekend at number one at the box office as it now totals more than $465 million worldwide. Meanwhile, Sony’s R-rated animated comedy Sausage Party scored a strong second place finish. Overall, the top twelve totaled $157.8 million, up 16% from last year. (BOM)
Patty Jenkins Responds To Open Letter Accusing ‘Wonder Woman’ Of Being “a Mess”
The anonymous open letter to the studio’s CEO Kevin Tsujihara from a clearly disgruntled former WB employee detailing how, in the author’s opinion, Warner Bros. has damaged employees lives, laying people off and not holding the senior leadership responsible for the failure of a handful of films. It also made accusations about the upcoming film that the director has gone on record to refute. (IW)
Thomas Gibson Mulls Lawsuit Over His ‘Criminal Minds’ Firing
According to reports, new evidence is emerging and Gibson has hired a legal team to look into a possible wrongful termination suit or something along those lines. Two weeks ago, after an argument between Gibson and writer-producer Virgil Williams escalated, Gibson kicked Williams in the shin, which is what led to his suspension, then dismissal. (UR)
Set Your Calendars: Tribeca Film Festival Sets Its 2017 Dates
The 16th annual festival is set for April 19th through the 30th in New York City. The 2017 edition also will have a new Director of Programming: Cara Cusumano, who has worked on the festival since 2008, has been promoted to oversee the feature film and TV programming. (DH)
‘The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore’ Cancelled by Comedy Central
The staff of the show was told today that the still relatively new Comedy Central series will be ending. The show won’t be given much of a grace period to finish out its run, either, as the last episode of The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore will air on Thursday at 11:30 p.m. ET. (CB)
Geoffrey Rush to Play Albert Einstein in Nat Geo’s First Scripted Series
Newcomer Johnny Flynn will play the younger version of the physicist. The first season of the anthology is based on Walter Isaacson’s critically acclaimed biography of the celebrated scientist, with the pilot to be directed by Imagine’s Ron Howard and marking his first time directing a scripted primetime drama. (LF)
Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg Team with ‘Silicon Valley’ Vet for FX’s ‘Singularity’
Goldberg and Rogen are set to produce Singularity under their Point Grey banner, making this their third recent foray into television. The artificial-intelligence-centric comedy from Silicon Valley writer-producer Sonny Lee, had been given a pilot order from FX. (COL)
‘The LEGO Ninjago Movie’ Keeps Adding Big Names To Its Already Impressive Voice Cast
Olivia Munn and Justin Theroux have boarded the voice cast of the Lego Movie spinoff, joining the previously announced Jackie Chan, Dave Franco, Michael Peña, Abbi Jacobson, Kumail Nanjiani, Zach Woods, and Frank Armisen. Film is due out September 22, 2017. (SF)
Maybe We Get the Movies We Deserve
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were wrong. The studios aren’t going to implode, crushed by their own faulty strategies, with their top-heavy product dragging them down, but rather rising to previously untold grosses and new records. No, they’re going to continue to thrive, because no matter how badly they treat us, we keep slinking back, asking for more, so that’s what they give us. (TB)
Screenwriters: Meet the Reader — Screenplays. Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me! (No, Really – Don’t Tell Me)
Movies are self-contained entities. Their stories unfold continuously from beginning to end without breaks or pauses. Viewers are meant to watch films with their attention focused completely on the screen. They do not have the time nor should they be expected to stop watching the movie while it is unfolding to consult any supplemental material. (SM)