Category: Entertainment

Amélie Hoeferle was a 14-year-old girl waiting for her mom at a Cleveland, Tennessee, coffee shop, when a woman in her 20s approached her for a conversation that would change the trajectory of her life and career.

She’d just finished her homework up and was nearing the exit when the young woman stopped her. “She said, ‘I know this is going to sound really weird, and it’s really freaking me out. I’m writing a screenplay right now and you look exactly how I imagine this character to be,’” a present-day Hoeferle tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Neither Hoeferle or her mother knew what to make of it, but Hoeferle was never afraid of the woman nor scared of the situation. That 20-something woman, writer-director Erica Scoggins, it turns out, was a family friend, so a meeting was set to talk about the script. They spent hours talking and ended up making a short film together.

“That was my introduction to film,” says Hoferle. “We went to a couple film festivals with it and flew to France. Erica’s really the main reason why I thought it would even be an option for me in life to do this.”

Hoeferle, now 24, still regularly keeps in touch with Scoggins. The pair saw each other just weeks before the premiere of the actress’ Prime Video series Sterling Point.

Hoeferle plays Ramona in the Megan Park-created coming-of-age series, which premiered Aug. 5. Sisterhood, something Hoeferle feels deeply about, plays a major factor in Ramona’s story. She and Sterling Point’s other lead character, Ella Rubin’s Annie, spend much of the series navigating their newfound relationship after meeting in the series premiere.

“The concept of finding out you have a sister, but you don’t obviously have a relationship with her, really interested me,” Hoeferle says. The actress has a sister herself — she clarifies they’ve had a more conventional sibling relationship since birth and recently moved in together — so shooting Sterling Point really hit home.

What initially drew her into the project was the complicated relationship between Ramona and Annie. It’s the heart of the story in Sterling Point, and it’s something that Hoeferle and Rubin talked about at length. “Sisterhood between two sisters is so raw, and it’s complicated. It’s a complicated relationship. When it’s good, it’s so good,” she says.

“It feels like you are the luckiest person on earth to get this. I’m going to cry,” she adds, tearing up. Hoeferle admits she’s thinking of her real sister, who she’s thanked her parents for giving her.

On the other hand, “When it’s bad, it’s earth-shattering. It’s like the rug is being pulled out underneath you,” she says.

Hoeferle has a supportive and loving family, but she nonetheless relates to Ramona’s feelings of not having any family outside of Annie. “In those very rare moments where my sister and I don’t get along, it feels like my life is being really challenged, and my stability is being challenged because so much of who I am as a person, I am because of her,” she says.

The feelings are easy to analyze after the fact, sometimes less so on set in front of cameras and a room full of people. Hoeferle found that the days where she and Rubin’s character had tension in their scenes could be particularly hard, because she couldn’t always access what it was like to be in such a fraught situation.

“In those moments, my sympathetic nervous system might be a bit more on fire, and I have less access to what I’m saying, what I’m doing,” she says. “There’s a dolly all around you, and I felt so much internal pressure that day to portraying this in an honest way,” she says. Of one particular scene between Ramona and Annie, she says, “I couldn’t seem to access what that honest way would be because I feel like I almost suppress the memories of me fighting with my sister.”

Those days were exceptions while making Sterling Point, however. “I was very thankful that I got to play a sister and explore that in a different world with different circumstances than my own,” she says.

A big part of what made the experience, and the show itself, work was her chemistry with Rubin. “I wish I had an interesting answer for you, but it was very natural,” she says.

Hoeferle had a feeling from the minute she met Rubin during the audition process that the pair clicked, but she wasn’t always sure of the future. “I wouldn’t even say I had a feeling it was going to be the two of us because I did not have that confidence with myself,” she says.

When the pair met, Hoeferle had pneumonia. She wasn’t feeling the most confident and was soldiering through antibiotics, but she could still feel something special was happening.

“You know when meet someone and you just feel a certain air between the two of you? There was something there with her in the room and it felt right,” she says. “We’re on the same railroad tracks right now. We have the same goal in mind, and that really translated onto set and into the scenes.”

Hoeferle also liked that her character was sad, as odd as that might sound. She was able to show a “real” and “raw” portrayal of depression in a young woman, which enticed her to the role. “[Ramona’s] a sad person, and she has every reason to be,” she says. “She’s gone through things that I have never gone through. She’s gone through more than most 16- or 17-year-olds do.”

Park gave Hoeferle and the rest of the cast much more freedom than most creatives would in finding their own characters. “I’ve done barely anything, so to be in a scene and for Megan to go, ‘Yeah, this is the script, but just go and play,’ was really disarming in the best way,” she says. “There’s just a level of understanding. I felt very trusted.”

The entertainment industry in California won a crucial lifeline when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a $420 million boost to the state’s film and TV tax incentives program into law in 2025.

Now, stakeholders claim that win is in jeopardy thanks to language in a recent state budget bill that was signed into law on June 29. And they’re racing to pass a solution by the end of the legislative session.

“Budget bill SB 122 puts our program at risk by retroactively changing the rules and threatening the recovery efforts of our already fragile industry throughout California,” reads one letter that entertainment unions are encouraging their members to send to legislators. “Changing the rules after the fact creates uncertainty and instability, further disrupting our struggling industry.”

The letter calls for the legislature to exempt the entertainment industry from the bill in question, SB 122. So far, around 350,000 such messages have been sent to legislators from union members, a spokesperson for the Entertainment Union Coalition tell The Hollywood Reporter.

SB 122 extends temporary caps on the use of business tax credits over $5 million in a given tax year and, starting in 2030, enshrines a permanent tax credit cap of 70 percent of a taxpayer’s liability or $5 million, whichever is greater. Practically speaking, that means that if a major studio has earned tens of millions in tax credits in a single year by locating their productions in the state, it could take years to realize the full value of those credits.

For instance Paramount nabbed $37.7 million in tax credits, including for Viola Davis thriller Ascent and a sequel series to the film Clueless, from the California Film Commission in its latest round of incentives. As the studio puts these projects into production, however, it will need to keep in mind that for now SB 122 is capping the amount of credits it can get back in a year to $5 million, with rules slightly modified starting in 2030. Same scenario for Disney, which received $45 million from California to shoot a big as-of-now untitled detective series in the state. Disney can only get back a fraction of the tax credits it earns in California annually.

Critics say this slow payout process will diminish the value of California’s film and television tax credit program which, along with the uncertainty created by this sudden change in policy, could persuade skittish productions to take their business elsewhere.

Legislators including State Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur and Senator Ben Allen — who both carried bills realizing 2025’s tax credit boost — are working on finding a legislative solution. “I am confident that we all can work together to make some changes to SB 122 that continues to allow the film tax credit program to achieve its goals, which is to preserve and grow the film and television industry in California,” Zbur said in an interview.

Sources tell THR that entertainment organizations were blindsided by finding themselves exposed to the tax credit cap. Some were allegedly told that the industry would be carved out from the bill, only to later learn that they weren’t.

To Zbur, it was a matter of simple confusion. “When we were voting on SB 122, I think there was confusion about the details of it. I think members believed that the film and TV tax credit was exempt from the program,” he said. “As it turns out, the exemption that was in the bill was an exemption only to the refundability aspects of the program, which basically meant that the program was not exempt in the end.”

Since the $750 million tax credit was signed into law last year, Los Angeles hasn’t yet experienced a significant recovery in production levels. Still, advocates believe they may soon see a turnaround as projects that earned credits — like the nine TV shows recently awarded $145.5 million to film in California — get going. The budget trailer bill, they claim, will dampen a return to form that has barely gotten started.

“Amending SB 122 is essential to helping to ensure that the next production happens in California rather than in the United Kingdom, Australia, Georgia, Vancouver or Saudi Arabia,” Brigitta Romanov, the president of the California IATSE Council, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “For IATSE members, this legislation is about helping to ensure the entertainment industry continues to fuel jobs that feed families and our state’s economy.”

Also threatening momentum for production in California is the Paramount-Skydance Warner Bros. megamerger hanging in the balance. Amid legal fights over the legality of the deal, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has threatened to move one or, if he succeeds in merging the companies, two studios out of California if the parties don’t come to a settlement by Oct. 1. The relocation threat may be an unrealistic bargaining tactic, but it’s not calming any nerves about production levels in California.

Within this delicate environment, the fight against SB 122 has become a last-minute scramble, with advocates trying to get an amendment in motion before the legislative session adjourns on August 31. Some kind of solution to resolve industry concerns is expected to be proposed within the next week. 

“Our success in last year’s fight was a direct reflection of the engagement and voices of our members,” at least a couple of entertainment unions have said in messages to members, referencing the 2025 tax credit increase. “We are now asking our members to once again use their voice to raise the concerns about our fragile industry and call for an urgent solution.”

Adam Scott‘s audition tape for The Office is now part of the curriculum in a prestigious acting class, he revealed during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. But it’s not all good news for the actor, as he joked his audition is an example of “what not to do.”

On Thursday night’s episode, Scott shared that his daughter participated in an acting program over the summer in New York while he and his family were in town as Scott films the third season of Severance.

On the first day, Scott recalled, the teacher showed Scott’s Office audition and John Krasinski’s Office audition.

“And then he put it to the class like, ‘OK. Let’s discuss why he got the job, and he didn’t,’” Scott said.

Scott added that the teacher “had no idea” his daughter was in the class and that she was “mortified” by the experience.

But Scott has found a silver lining to what happened.

“I’m just happy to know that, like, in a prestigious acting class, I’m the subject of what not to do,” he joked to Fallon.

Ultimately, the teacher realized who Scott’s daughter is: “When she was walking out, the teacher stopped her,” he recalled. “He’s like, ‘Hey, um, do you know one of them? Like, what…’ and then he kind of put two and two together with her last name, and he felt terrible.”

Though Scott didn’t land the Jim Halpert role on The Office, he went on to work with Office writers Mike Schur and Greg Daniels on fellow NBC comedy Parks and Recreation.

Scott told Fallon that he was currently filming the third season of Severance, noting that it had been almost two years since they finished shooting the second season of the acclaimed Apple TV workplace drama.

But Scott was light on additional details, saying he can’t share anything about what happens in the new season, and he doesn’t even know when it will premiere.

Christine Vachon, the prolific independent producer whose Killer Films has backed Happiness, Boys Don’t Cry, Carol and more recently Past Lives, May December and Materialists, said at the Edinburgh Film Festival on Friday that Pedro Pascal is “a revelation” in Todd Haynes’ re-worked gay romance movie.

De Noche, currently in post-production with no release date announced yet, was set to star Joaquin Phoenix before he abruptly pulled out before the shoot began. Vachon previously called the situation “a tragedy” and explained in an industry talk at Edinburgh how she and her long-time collaborator Haynes managed to rebuild the project after Phoenix’s exit.

Host Wendy Mitchell joked: “I actually like [Pascal] better than Joaquin Phoenix anyway,” to which Vachon responded: “I kind of do too!” The tightly-packed crowd at Edinburgh’s Central Hall laughed with them.

Vachon continued: “It wasn’t an easy situation. And as I also stated, it was devastating that Todd didn’t get to make a movie again that year. If you take the […] glass half-full version, and ‘everything happens for a reason’ [perspective], maybe the reason was that this was a role that Pedro was born to play. He is certainly extraordinary in the film, and by the way, so is Danny [Ramirez]. I mean, both of them are a revelation.”

Getting a “do-over” allowed them to find a better shoot location, said Vachon, which showed her everything worked out for the best. Pascal was brought on board via her work with him on Celine Song’s Materialists. “People always say to me, ‘Is he as nice as he seems?’ […] He is. People are so invested. They love him.”

As a titan of independent film production, Vachon — in Edinburgh with her latest film Pretty Babies, directed by Tyler-Marie Evans, who spoke to THR in depth about winning over Vachon just this week — was also probed on the box office success of Obsession and Backrooms this year, two movies that have challenged the status quo in Hollywood. “I do,” she said when asked if she likes the energy coming out of YouTube. “But when we were making movies like Poison [and] Go Fish, we also identified an audience… Back in those days, the LGBTQ audience could go to bars. There were parts of town [where you] could take your leaflets and just go specific places where people gathered and say, ‘Look! We made this! It’s for you.’ That’s just moved online.”

Vachon is extremely buoyed by the current theater-going demographic being made up, predominantly, of people aged under 30. She cannot deny, however, that “we’re at a time of great disruption,” and the queer film landscape is a little rocky with so much division in the U.S. at the moment. “It’s a conundrum right now. We have something like Heated Rivalry which couldn’t be a bigger hit, and we still have politicians campaigning on who gets to use what bathroom. And it’s happening [in the U.K.] too. It’s not like we have the monopoly on [marginalizing] LGBTQ people.”

“I remember when I would go see screenings of Poison or Swoon, which were boy queer [films] and [the theater] would be filled with lesbians because they were like, ‘I guess I’ll go see this.’ But now there is more choice,” she continued. “And the power of narrative to actually change people’s perspectives is stronger than it’s ever been.”

On the toss-up of a box office hit or flop, Vachon confessed she can’t predict the commercial outcome of her movies. She’s actually pleased streaming services can get movies to wider audiences nowadays. “When Todd Haynes’ Safe came out, it didn’t do anything at the box office. People weren’t interested in seeing it. The reviews were a little head-scratchy, like, ‘Not quite sure what he was going for here.’ But in the mid-late ’90s, I can’t remember exactly when, a newspaper [called] the Village Voice, which was incredibly influential at the time, did a survey of every single movie critic in America. What was the best movie in the ’90s? Safe was number one.”

“Sometimes the answer is that people just didn’t want to see it. They just didn’t, and you can’t really put your finger on why it didn’t hit the zeitgeist in that way. Who knows why? It was either too late or too soon. And now, the good thing in my mind [is] we have access to things and [movies] can find their way later. People can discover movies [from] another time.”

Mitchell asked Vachon at the end of the session: “Do you use AI?”

Vachon replied: “Yes,” explaining that she often uses it for synopses — to spare a busy intern from doing the job — or getting restaurant recommendations, such as when she was at the “very expensive” Venice Film Festival with last year’s Late Fame and needed a cheap, nearby spot.

The 2026 Edinburgh International Film Festival runs Aug. 13-19.

Two directors revealed on social media that they declined opportunities to direct episodes of HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV series over author J.K. Rowling‘s trans views.

First, writer-director Ally Pankiw (Black Mirror, Ponies) took to Instagram to post a screenshot of an apparent text-message exchange with her agent where she was asked if she would be interested in the high-profile fantasy series.

“I have an instinct on the answer but I feel compelled to ask,” the unnamed agent wrote. “Harry Potter? Hard no?”

Pankiw shot back: “Absolutely fucking not! lol… (But thank you for asking).”

To which the agent replied, “Of course 🙂 … I assumed as much… (And agree).”

Pankiw added in the comments: “It simply is this easy to say ‘no’ to funding transphobia.”

The post inspired director Kate Herron (Loki, Doctor Who) to write in the comments, “They’ve asked me twice and I’ve had to explain my answer is never going to change from a ‘no.’”

Pankiw added in her Story, “Also want to shout out the amazing @herronthatkate who also said ‘no’ … twice! And that’s actually hard!”

The disclosures mark a rare instance of prominent behind-the-scenes creatives revealing they turned down a major upcoming studio production to protest a person involved in the project. An HBO representative for the show had no immediate comment.

Franchise creator and executive producer Rowling’s views on transgender issues have been an issue for HBO and the show’s talent since the series was announced. While Rowling has long denied that she is transphobic, she regularly posts anti-trans rhetoric and has celebrated legal and political developments opposed by trans-rights advocates.

Several actors on the show have spoken out against Rowling. Bel Powley, who plays Potter’s aunt Petunia Dursley in the highly anticipated series, told The Telegraph in an interview published on Monday, “I strongly disagree with J.K. Rowling’s views on gender. I think that the trans community deserve safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance.”

Powley then added, “But I love Harry Potter. I grew up with the books. I am from that first generation of readers and, again, I love magic and spookiness.”

Nick Frost, who plays the Hogwarts gamekeeper Hagrid, said last year, “She’s allowed her opinion and I’m allowed mine, they just don’t align in any way, shape or form.”

John Lithgow, who plays headmaster Albus Dumbledore, has given somewhat conflicting statements on the topic. In April of 2025, he told The Times UK, “Why is this a factor at all?” and, when asked if her stance on trans rights gave him any pause about accepting the role, replied, “Oh, heavens no.” After receiving backlash for those comments, he called Rowling’s stance “ironic and inexplicable” in February at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. But then Lithgow made headlines again in April saying Rowling’s views had been “twisted and misrepresented.”

Paapa Essiedu, who plays Severus Snape in the series, signed an open letter supporting trans rights in the U.K. last year. Responding to an article speculating that she would “fire” the actor from the show, Rowling posted, “I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did. I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine.”

When asked about Rowling last year, HBO chief Casey Bloys told The Town podcast, “The decision to be in business with J.K. Rowling is not new for us. We’ve been in business for 25 years” — referring to Warner Bros.’ long relationship with Rowling through the film franchise. “It’s pretty clear that those are her personal, political views. She’s entitled to them. Harry Potter is not secretly being infused with anything. And if you want to debate her, you can go on Twitter.”

The first season of the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, premieres Dec. 25 on HBO.