Milly Alcock told Vanity Fair in a new interview that she’s aware she’ll face backlash over leading Warner Bros. “Supergirl” simply because she’s playing a female superhero. The 25-year-old actor is no stranger to dealing with intense fandoms having broke out as young Rhaenyra Targaryen in the first season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon.”
“It definitely made me aware that simply existing as a woman in that space is something that people comment on,” Alcock said. “We have become very comfortable having this weird ownership of women’s bodies. I can’t really stop them. I can only be myself.”
Alcock debuted as Supergirl in a cameo in last year’s “Superman,” which launched James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Universe on the big screen. This summer’s “Supergirl” is the next movie up for the franchise. Alcock told Vanity Fair that she swore off doing a big franchise after completing work on “House of the Dragon.” She changed things up considerably starring opposite Julianne Moore in Netflix’s “Sirens” limited series, but then she couldn’t find work for an entire year.
“I was so shit-scared that my life was over at 22. And, of course, it wasn’t,” Alcock said about the career anxiety that settled in and made the chance to audition for “Supergirl” all the more favorable. “I kind of bullied myself into it.”
Vanity Fair also asked Alcock about legendary directors such as Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott speaking out against the superhero genre. Scorsese infamously compared comic book movies to theme park rides when talking about the worrisome state of film exhibition, while Scott said superhero movies are “boring as shit” and “they aren’t any fucking good.” Alcock does not seem to mind.
“I get it. They’ve been around for fucking ever making phenomenal films,” she said. “Not every film is for everyone. The beauty of art is that you can be selective.”
Warner Bros.’ “Supergirl” synopsis reads: “When an unexpected and ruthless adversary strikes too close to home, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, reluctantly joins forces with an unlikely companion on an epic, interstellar journey of vengeance and justice.” The movie also stars Matthias Schoenaerts as Krem of the Yellow Hills, David Krumholtz as Supergirl’s Zor-El and Jason Momoa as the alien mercenary Lobo.
“Supergirl” opens in theaters June 26. Head over to Vanity Fair’s website to read Alcock’s interview in its entirety.
[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from the Paradise season two finale, “Exodus.”]
Julianne Nicholson didn’t know Sinatra’s fate when she first signed on to play the villain of Paradise. Creator Dan Fogelman likes to keep some mystery even among the cast, so the actress didn’t find out that Sinatra was going to sacrifice herself until they started production on season two.
“Going down with the ship, quite literally and visually, it’s pretty astounding,” Nicholson tells The Hollywood Reporter in the conversation below with Thomas Doherty, who plays Link/Dylan.
You can now perhaps call Doherty her onscreen son — as that revelation was dropped in the season two finale, titled “Exodus,” before Sinatra stayed behind to destroy the bunker she helped create, dying in the process. Paradise answered season two’s big looming question — Who is Alex? — by revealing that “Alex” is a quantum computer that is designed to play with time. When Sinatra meets Doherty’s character — who had been going by the nickname Link until now — she believes that he is her son, who died as a child, and that his existence is proof that Alex works.
“You have to believe in the story — and then go get your PhD in quantum physics and it will all make sense,” says Nicholson with a laugh. “But Samantha believes that Link/Dylan is her son, so that’s what I had to hold onto.”
Below, the co-stars share what the writers explained to them about the AI quantum computer named Alex that will steer Paradise into season three, now that Sterling K. Brown‘s Xavier has been tasked with going to find Alex and saving the world, while Nicholson shares how she’s processing that moving goodbye to Sinatra after two seasons: “She kind of breaks my heart.”
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Now knowing the connection between you two, did you have a chemistry read before Thomas was cast? Julianne, were you involved in his casting? You two look alike.
JULIANNE NICHOLSON No, we didn’t know that. Dan [Fogelman, creator] did the casting. But that’s the feedback we’ve been getting!
THOMAS DOHERTY People keep saying it’s our eyes.
How much did you know once he was cast about this Link/Dylan role and how it would connect to Sinatra by the end of the season?
NICHOLSON I don’t think I knew right away. I probably knew two or three episodes in what was coming down the road. But then it was trying to make sense of that. How does that work? Which I’m still trying to figure out. (Laughs.)
DOHERTY And then [the writers] try and explain it to you, and it just makes it worse. It’s all quantum physics and mechanics and stuff.
What was your casting story, Thomas?
DOHERTY I wasn’t even going to do the audition. I was a huge fan of Paradise, and then we got the breakdown for the character, and it said, “Burly man.” I don’t generally fall into that category or description. (Laughs.) But, I was burly enough! It was really, really quick. I auditioned a few times in New York. Then I flew out to L.A. to meet with Dan and John [Requa] and Glenn [Ficarra], who directed the first two episodes and who are producers as well. Then I got told that Shailene [Woodley] was going to be playing Annie. I got the job on a Thursday. By Monday, I had moved to LA.
I had a week in L.A. to prepare, but Shailene went into fittings on Wednesday and started shooting on Friday. It was really, really quick.
Nicholson as Sinatra saying goodbye to Thomas Doherty as Link/Dylan in the finale.
Hulu
Did you have the full scope of your character?
DOHERTY No. You have to go to Dan and be like, “Please tell me!” So he told me. He gave me a general idea of the direction that it was heading, which is amazing and quite rare in television. A lot of the time, they haven’t even written the scripts while you’re filming. So that was really good to know directionally where I was going to go.
The beginning of the season did dabble in the time and space realm with those memory flashes. Were you playing that straight in the beginning, where it could be effects from the blast or from radiation, or were you leaning into the Alex of it all?
NICHOLSON I had no idea. The nose bleeds and all those things were a complete mystery to me. It wasn’t until further into the episodes that it started to make sense in terms of alternate timelines, and when people come into your life — you know, the mind of Dan Fogelman.
I looked back on the conversation I had with you, Julianne, and Dan Fogelman after the season one finale, and he confirmed you were not dead after that finale and that you would be in season two, but you didn’t know what that was going to look like. He said he threw some big things at you right before our interview. Did he bring up Alex before our chat?
NICHOLSON Yes. Pretty much. He threw out the idea of Alex but also said, “Don’t say anything” — as I’m reeling and trying to make sense of it myself. (Laughs.)
When did you understand her full arc, and when did he tell you about her fate?
NICHOLSON Pretty early on in the season. The scripts hadn’t been written yet, but I knew how it was going to end and I loved it. Because I feel that Sinatra’s been a little bit misunderstood, and people have been a bit harsh on her. She’s deserved it in some regards. But giving her that humanity and that ultimate generosity was something I loved. I love her, so for her to have that as the way of saying goodbye felt really big and moving. Going down with the ship, quite literally and visually, it’s pretty astounding.
Did you know Sinatra was a two-season role from the start?
NICHOLSON No, I didn’t know. Dan likes to keep a little mystery around for everybody; keep everybody on their toes. But I didn’t need to know. I was very happy to take it as it comes and trust that whatever storylines Dan was coming up with was going to be the right thing for the show and the characters.
She was more of a villain, I would say, in season one. She finds her humanity more in season two, and seems more recognizable to the person we saw in flashbacks. What was that like for you to uncover more layers to her, and how do you feel about her in the end when you think about her?
NICHOLSON I find her whole storyline so genuinely moving. To be able to explore those different colors of a person’s life and to flesh those out was so fun. She kind of breaks my heart, actually. Dan is so good being in the gray area, which is like being a person. We’re not all good. We are not all bad. Obviously, these are extreme circumstances. But I thought Dan did a great job, and I loved doing those last scenes with Sterling and finding that closure.
DOHERTY You’re also so good. Something in your eye changes, and it’s almost like she goes from Sinatra to Samantha.
“Alex,” pictured here, was revealed to be a quantum computer in the finale.
Hulu
When you started getting scripts for the final two, and given this era of AI that we’re currently in, what did you make of Alex? Did she feel too realistic, in an unnerving way? What was your reaction?
DOHERTY For a long time, we discussed just trying to understand it!
NICHOLSON “So, how is he my son? Somebody explain that to me?”
Did you get it explained? Can you explain it to us?
NICHOLSON Yes, it was explained to me a few times, but if you start getting literal, the whole thing goes down the toilet. So you have to believe in the story — and then go get your PhD in quantum physics and it will all make sense. If you hold onto a detail, the whole thing falls apart. You have to give some grace, and just believe it. Samantha believes that Link/Dylan is her son, so that’s what I had to hold onto.
What I was holding onto was Dylan’s reaction when Sinatra called him her son. He didn’t look at her like she was crazy. He looked at her almost with recognition. Can you talk about how you played that scene?
DOHERTY It was that panic. He was bombarded with so much information in that hallway — hearing that you’re my mother, that Annie [Shailene Woodley] was pregnant and has a child, and I have a child, and Annie’s dead. That all happened in a minute. I played it as very, very overwhelmed, but it wasn’t a denial. He built Alex. Link created Alex with the professor and someone stole her. So I think because of Link’s knowledge of Alex, it’s completely feasible and he understands. I like to think there were moments of him thinking about possibilities that this could exist, and be a reality.
Did you have sit downs before these final scenes, where you would have lessons in quantum physics or debates about what was happening?
NICHOLSON There’s always at least one writer on the set, so daily, we would have check-ins and say, “Ok, explain that to me?” And they would explain it so clearly, and it made so much sense that you were like, “Okay. I’ve got it.” Then if you try to describe it to somebody else, or explain how this could possibly be, it’s like sand through the fingers. It sort of falls away.
DOHERTY You’re right, you have to just believe. You have to trust and believe. It’s kind of an unusual thing. I’ve never had to do that before [in acting].
It gives Baby Annie a different layer of importance in this world. Do you have any idea about season three?
DOHERTY I have no idea about season three.
NICHOLSON I have literally heard nothing. So I’m not quite sure.
[Note: Paradise was officially renewed for the third and planned to be final season after this interview.]
Heading into season three, Sterling K. Brown’s Xavier (left, pictured with Doherty’s Link and Baby Annie) was tasked with saving the world, and going to find Alex.
Hulu
In your final move as Sinatra, you task Xavier with saving the world. It seems like Dylan will have a role in that. What excites you about hypothetically teaming up with Sterling K. Brown to go and save the Paradise world?
NICHOLSON I’m imagining you guys flying around the world, popping into places and solving crimes.
DOHERTY Yeah, we’ll have a spinoff show. (Laughs.) But that would be amazing. I didn’t really get a lot of onscreen time with Sterling, and I’d love to love to work more intimately with him. So that would be awesome [if that happens]. And then, hypothetically, with Baby Annie, to play out as well.
Julianne, what was the final scene that you filmed?
NICHOLSON My very last day was that stuff with Sterling down the hallway when we have our goodbye. We filmed me walking through the ruins a little bit earlier. So the wrap on Sinatra was when she hands him the key and shuts the door and locks herself in.
How did you feel once they wrapped? What was it like to say goodbye to her?
NICHOLSON I found it really moving; genuinely moving. You grow to care for your characters. I remember feeling a little bit intimidated — that’s a big ending, and I was wanting to do that justice. I remember feeling like I didn’t know exactly what that was going to look like or feel like. Dan was there and I went over to him, and was like, “Dan, I just need a little help. Tell me something. Why am I saying this to Sterling?” And he said, “Don’t forget: You’re going to go away, but your husband and daughter are still going to be in this world. So you’re asking for help, you need him to help them and keep the world going for them.” That helped me so much to then say goodbye. I also love Sterling. He is so easy to be with, and I really love these two characters together: Sinatra and Xavier. It felt genuinely emotional and deep knowing where they’ve come from to now where they end.
DOHERTY You said it was almost a relief when you saw him alive.
NICHOLSON Yes, because I haven’t seen him for the whole season until the finale. I think Sinatra was genuinely happy to see him. They’re adversaries, yes, but there’s also a respect and admiration and care there, from her side anyway. Even though he does have a gun to her head — again — she’s happy to see him and relieved he made it back.
When you two said goodbye, Sinatra was so confident she’ll see Dylan again. Is there anything in your writers’ conversations that you could share to help make sense of that?
NICHOLSON It’s back to this idea of different timelines happening at the same time, and the possibilities that opens up. I feel like we also just needed some hope. We needed to hold onto love and hope, and whether that means we’re in the same physical plane together again or you go into the spirits, who knows. It’s more open than anything physical that you can put your finger on, I think.
Season one tackled climate issues, and this speaks to our current AI era. What do you hope viewers are thinking about in bigger picture terms, about how we treat and view the world?
NICHOLSON Much like the first season and the way we treat our environment and the climate crisis, it is a wake-up call. It’s alarm bells: Pay attention. And the whole AI thing is to really pay attention. Maybe ChatGPT helps you get your homework done, but there are bigger questions we need to be asking and holding people accountable to.
DOHERTY It’s absolutely petrifying. The climate crisis, and what the government has redacted in terms of policy is even scarier. The AI thing, I’m not smart enough to understand it, so that’s quite terrifying. There is something about this hyper-normalization of everything that’s happening in the world right now, where you become so apathetic because you don’t know what to trust. You don’t know what to believe. It forces you to then say, “Okay, what can I control?” And it’s how you conduct yourself in the world, how you move in the world and how you treat other people. When you can’t trust outside, with all these voices and opinions, it forces you to turn inward and return to yourself, and trust yourself and your gut. I don’t think anything bad can ever come from being more connected to yourself and knowing yourself more. That’s the silver line I can draw.
Julianne, you’ve been doing some comedy. What’s next for you?
NICHOLSON I’m doing a film next, a drama. It takes place in 1989; I play an American who grew up in Berlin. I’d love to do more comedy. It was so fun to break my way into that world.
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Paradise is now streaming seasons one and two on Hulu.
A24 has released the trailer for “Backrooms,” an upcoming sci-fi horror film starring Renate Reinsve and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Directed by Kane Parsons in his feature directorial debut, “The Backrooms” is based on Parsons’ viral YouTube found-footage horror universe. His anthological series debuted in 2022 and focused on the story of a therapist searching for her patient who vanished mysteriously into a dimension beyond reality. Just 19 when he signed with A24, Parsons is the youngest filmmaker ever to collaborate with the studio.
The screenplay is written by Will Soodik, based on the online urban legend of the same name, which inspired Parsons’ YouTube series.
Along with Reinsve and Ejiofor, the film stars Mark Duplass (“Creep”), Finn Bennett (“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”), Lukita Maxwell (“Generation”) and Avan Jogia (“56 Days”).
Chernin Entertainment, part of the North Road Company, will co-finance the film alongside A24. Producers include Atomic Monster, Chernin Entertainment and 21 Laps Entertainment. Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen and Dan Levine are producing for 21 Laps Entertainment and Chris Ferguson for Oddfellows Pictures. James Wan and Michael Clear are producing for Wan’s Atomic Monster, with Judson Scott executive producing and Alayna Glasthal overseeing for the company. Chris White, who brought the project to Atomic Monster, will also executive produce. Additional producers include Roberto Patino.
Production took place in Canada in July, with Chernin Entertainment co-financing alongside A24. A24 and Chernin Entertainment serve as co-studios on the film.
“The Backrooms” is in theaters on May 29. Watch the trailer below
“Hacks” co-creators Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs have tapped Tara Dorfman to serve as head of TV development at their Paulilu Productions shingle. Dorfman will work with Aniello and Downs to find, develop and produce series and handle television development across all genres.
Dorfman has most recently working as an independent producer, partnering with Australia’s Easy Tiger Prods. in building an international comedy incubator. That has included working on comedy collaborations between the U.S. and Australia with shows like Paramount+’s “Colin from Accounts” Netflix’s “Territory” and Australian ABC’s “Optics.”
“Tara has impeccable taste in comedy and we couldn’t be more excited to build something special together,” said Aniello and Downs said in a joint statement.
Dorfman first met Aniello and Downs while working on Season 3 of Comedy Central’s “Broad City.” She called Aniello and Downs “the ultimate trifecta — smart, funny, and thoughtful. We’ve been in each other’s orbit for a long time, so it’s especially meaningful to come together in this way. Getting to work with people who care about the same things I do feels very special, and I’m excited to help them build on what they’ve created.”
Dorfman spent nearly eight years at Creative Artists Agency, from February 2016 to May 2023, as a scripted television and comedy agent. While there, she repped stand-up comedians, writers, directors, and producers. Dorfman was also named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30 in Entertainment” list in 2018.
Aniello and Downs first launched Paulilu Productions in 2007 to produce character-driven comedy for digital and linear TV. Its credits include “Hacks” and Netflix’s “The Baby Sitters’ Club.” The company holds an overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group. They are repped by UTA.
Tubi is betting that viewers are feeling nostalgic for old-school episodes of Sesame Street.
The free, Fox-owned streamer is bringing select episodes of seasons one through 38 of the iconic children’s series to its platform starting Wednesday, April 1, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Two hundred fifty old-school Sesame Street episodes, aired between 1969 and 2007, will be available on the platform as part of the one-year deal.
Every quarter, 10 percent of the available episodes will be swapped with new ones, bringing additional old-school favorites to the fore.
“Few brands have shaped young minds and sparked imagination quite like Sesame Street,” Tubi’s chief content officer Adam Lewinson said in a statement. “By bringing hundreds of episodes to Tubi for free, we’re giving today’s kids access to joyful, foundational learning while inviting parents to share a piece of their own childhood with the next generation.”
Some notable episodes that will be available on the platform include the series’ 1969 premiere, “Gordon Introduces Sally to Sesame Street.” The 1988 episode when characters Maria and Lewis get married (and Elmo serves as the ring-bearer) will be on offer, as will the 1980 episode when Star Wars characters C-3PO and R2-D2 visited the Street. That’s not to mention one of the series’ first big on-location shoots, 1978’s “Big Bird Goes to Hawaii.”
Sesame Street, produced by the New York-based nonprofit Sesame Workshop, has aired on PBS since its debut in 1969. But streaming platforms have shown deep interest in carrying the series in the last decade or so as well. Starting in 2015, HBO partnered with the series for several years to serve as its first window before the show went to public-access television.
After HBO declined to renew its deal, Netflix stepped in to air new episodes alongside PBS in 2025 while that year YouTube also inked a deal with Sesame Workshop to air classic episodes.
The Tubi deal demonstrates just how enduring the power of Big Bird and Elmo is. The move additionally aligns with polling released by Tubi and The Harris Poll earlier this year that emphasized viewers’ interest in watching nostalgic storytelling. The poll found that 97 percent of respondents were interested to watch projects released more than 10 years ago and that 79 percent of respondents thought streamers should resurface old, beloved projects and not just promote new shows and films.
“For more than 55 years, Sesame Street has been making trusted, joyful learning accessible to every child,” Sesame Workshop chief operating officer Joseph Giraldi said in a statement. “Bringing Sesame Street to Tubi allows us to expand our reach and impact — and we are thrilled that our beloved characters and proven educational media will now be available to even more children, families, and fans.”
The Chainsmokers are headlining the first-ever “Bridge Show” between the two upcoming Final Four games for the NCAA Men’s National Basketball Tournament, a move that reflects a growing presence of music programming at the world’s biggest sporting events.
The Bridge Show will air on TBS and was first revealed during the Elite Eight broadcasts over the weekend, with Turner hoping the performance can appease more casual fans and add some more flair to the sort of programming limbo between the two semifinal matchups set to take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday.
The Chainsmokers’ show isn’t the only music programming for the tournament this year. There’s also the annual March Madness Festival that Turner Sports produces, which goes back over a decade. This year’s lineup though, is among the most robust it’s organized to date, with Post Malone, Twenty One Pilots and Zac Brown Band all listed as headliners, while Megan Moroney, Ravyn Lenae, Russell Dickerson and Dominic Fike are all on the bill as well.
CAA is the agency for the Chainsmokers as well as all three headlining festival acts at the festival this year. The agency didn’t give a specific figure but said the coming weekend now represents “eight figures” in deals, with Dave Aussenberg, a music sponsorship agent at CAA, calling it “a very lucrative weekend for the music department.”
“It’s an event our clients are asking us for now,” Aussenberg says of its musical roster with March Madness. “When the festival was first conceptualized, it was a nice-to-have complement to a weekend of basketball, but it’s growing so much. March Madness is growing leaps and bounds. It’s positioned before the NFL starts, before NBA playoffs, and before baseball is in full swing. There’s a wide audience of fans. People want entertainment, they want to make a weekend out of an event like this. “There’s a huge captive audience, you’ve got four-night hotel minimums, what are you supposed to do?”
The three-day festival itself is free and is subsidized by corporate sponsorships. CAA works closely with TNT Sports, as well as with the Solomon Group for March Madness’s music programming. In a statement, TNT Sports U.S. EVP and Chief Content Officer Craig Barry called their combined efforts “a true convergence of sport, music, and culture.”
“By bringing artists into the fabric of the tournament — not just as performers, but as creative partners — we’re creating a multi-platform experience that resonates far beyond the games themselves,” Barry said.
As the Solomon Group added: “The festival is an event that Final Four and music fans look forward to every year. Working creatively with CAA to line up artists and with TNT Sports to integrate on broadcasts during Final Four weekend, TNT Sports and Solomon Group produce a concert experience that matches the energy of the games, turning the whole weekend into an experience you can’t find anywhere else.”
Music is becoming a more prominent buy-in for additional programming for major sporting events across the country. The Super Bowl Halftime Show has only grown larger in its importance and footprint in recent years. Bad Bunny drew 128.2 million viewers for his show back in February, more than the game itself, and Kendrick Lamar put up 133.5 million the year before.
Now FIFA has been notably growing its musical presence as well. The first-ever World Cup Halftime Show will take place when the world’s most-watched sports tournament comes to the U.S. later this Summer, and Coldplay is helping select the talent for the halftime gig. Coldplay, along with Doja Cat, J Balvin and Tems, played FIFA’s Club World Cup Halftime Show as well last year.
Even outside of these larger televised events, Live Nation put a stake in the ground to capitalize on an influx of baseball fans that head to Arizona for spring training, putting on the Innings Festival in Tempe, Arizona since 2018. For musicians, playing these sporting events gets them in front of broader audiences that may come outside of their core fanbase. And in March Madness’s case, as the more regional music festival scene has shrunk some since COVID while the larger festivals have become more dominant, it provides more multi-day music for fans outside of those markets too.
“These events are drawing so many fans in different cities where they’re hosted,” Aussenberg says. “Including music is good for the ratings and good for the cities. And it’s a nice draw for artists, everyone’s there from the diehards to more casual fans.”
Netflix and the American Film Institute have revealed that the televised special, “The 51st AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Eddie Murphy,” will premiere on Netflix on May 31.
The award will be presented to Murphy at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on April 18, recognizing Murphy’s accomplishments as an actor and his box office achievements. This is the first year the special will stream on Netflix.
“AFI is grateful to Ted Sarandos and the talented team at Netflix for the opportunity to share this proud tradition with the world,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “And to do so in honor of Eddie Murphy will allow us to shine a proper light on the impact of art at a time the world needs it most.”
According to AFI, Murphy is “the most commercially successful African-American actor in the history of the motion picture business and is one of the industry’s top five box-office performers overall.”
Murphy’s multiple accolades include a Golden Globe and SAG Award for best supporting actor in “Dreamgirls,” which earned him his first Academy Award nomination in the same category. Some of his best-known appearances include “48 Hrs.,” “Trading Places,” “Dr. Dolittle,” “Coming to America,” and the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise, receiving multiple Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy across various films. Murphy also appeared as the voice of Donkey in the “Shrek” franchise. He began his career as a stand-up in 1980 and joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” at 19-years-old. His most recent work includes the Netflix documentary “Being Eddie” and Amazon’s heist comedy “The Pickup.”
Considered the highest honor for a career in film, the AFI Life Achievement Award recognizes talent that has advanced the cinematic arts, demonstrated longevity and been acknowledged by scholars, critics, peers and audiences alike. Most recently, AFI presented the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award to Francis Ford Coppola in 2025. Previous recipients include Julie Andrews, George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg.
Starting today, fans can order new adult meals tailored to the dueling bands, Huntr/x and the Saja Boys, featured in the movie.
“KPop Demon Hunters” follows fictional K-pop girl group Huntr/x, who protect the world from demons with their music. Along the way, they face the Saja Boys, who turn out to be shapeshifters. By day, they’re the hot new boy band taking the world by storm, and by night they’re demons.
The Saja Boys breakfast meal includes: Spicy Saja McMuffin, a sausage McMuffin with egg, topped with a peppery Spicy Saja Sauce — inspired by the fire of Gwi-Ma, hash browns and a “soda pop” (small soda).
The Huntr/x meal includes Ramyeon McShaker Fries: a spicy, umami spin on the classic fries featuring a soy, garlic, sesame and spice seasoning — inspired by Rumi, Mira and Zoey’s go-to snack; Hunter Sauce, a sweet chili sauce mixing notes of chili, garlic and pepper with just enough heat to accompany the 10 chicken McNuggets inspired by the band’s fierce, yet fun-loving personalities; and demon sauce: a bold mustard sauce with heat and tang — made purple, just like demon patterns.
Alyssa Buetikofer, chief marketing and customer experience officer at McDonald’s said, “Everything we do at McDonald’s is for the fans, and no one can relate to that more than Netflix and ‘KPop Demon Hunters.’ Big things happen when you bring two massive fandoms together, and this partnership was a natural fit. We found authentic ways to unite our iconic worlds — inviting Huntr/x and Saja Boys fans into the rivalry in ways that feel true to the film and unmistakably McDonald’s.”
Marian Lee, Chief Marketing Officer, Netflix added, “‘KPop Demon Hunters’ has ignited an incredibly passionate global fandom, and we’re always looking for authentic ways to bring fans deeper into the worlds they love.” Lee said, “With McDonald’s, we were able to turn the rivalry between the Saja Boys and Huntr/x into something fans can actually experience, drawing inspiration from Korean culture and food traditions that sit at the heart of the film. From Ramyeon McShaker Fries to Demon sauces paired with Soda Pop, every detail was designed to feel like it could have come straight out of a scene in the movie.”
All meals come with an exclusive Saja Boys or Huntr/x photocard and a Derpy access card. The Derpy card features a QR code which unlocks more exclusive content.
“KPop Demon Hunters” took home the Oscar for best animated feature at the Academy Awards. Netflix’s most-watched movie in history also won for best original song for “Golden.” It made history when it became the first K-pop song to ever to take home an Oscar. EJAE, who provides the singing voice of Rumi in the film, Mark Sonnenblick and South Korean hit factory the Black Label (Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Zhun) became the first Koreans to win best original song.
On Feb. 28, 1986, Paramount unveiled John Hughes’ high school feature Pretty in Pink in theaters, where it would go on to gross $40 million in its run and become a breakout for Breakfast Club star Molly Ringwald. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:
What do you say about a girl whose date reneges in his invitation to the prom? If it’s Molly Ringwald and you’re Paramount, you’d say you’ve probably got a box-office hit. Color Pretty in Pink green for the studio.
Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy star in this latest John Hughes’ teenage melodrama about a girl from the wrong side of the tracks and a boy from the country club who fall for each other. It’s not an easy boundary to cross in their stratified high school and screenwriter Hughes has very astutely dramatized the pressures and crosscurrents of high school life.
As an industrious and self-reliant senior, Ringwald essentially baby-sits her chronically myopic father (Harry Dean Stanton), sews her own clothes and contends with the condescension of her patrician peers. She’s a model of decorum and restraint but largely unnoticed by the opposite sex. Only a geeky, witty male pal (Jon Cryer) sees her worth, until one day, quite remarkably, rich-kid McCarthy takes an interest. This sparks all kinds of adverse reaction, mainly from McCarthy’s snotty pals and girlfriends, a tribe so fiercely materialistic and shallow as to make current Less Than Zero-types seem well rounded by comparison.
While Hughes has tapped into the peer dilemmas of high school with sensivity and keen insight, his stacked-deck script tends to dilute the film’s obvious emotional appeal. As the poor girl, Ringwald seems a candidate for canonization. Disciplined, considerate, well groomed and studious, she’s the model young lady. Quite unbelievably she’s constantly attacked by sniping future-sorority girl types — in real life, one suspects they wouldn’t even notice the unobtrusive, demure Ringwald.
Nevertheless, the film shines with atmospheric nuances and Ringwald’s away-from-school life (working in a record store, tending her dad) taps into common teen-age problems. Her easy, quirky friendship with the hypertensive Cryer rings true. As the smart and smitten outsider, he is convincingly vulnerable and likable.
Characters who ring less true include Stanton’s role as the bathrobe-clad father. He’s a deadbeat, pining away for his long-departed wife but as written here the role is reminiscent of an old-time, hangdog-lovable Disney villain. Another oddity is Ringwald’s co-worker in the record store (Annie Potts), a ’60s leftover who looks 15, alternates between punk and beehive hairdos and listens to the Association, of all groups. It’s a nice and odd idea, but such lines as “I loved The Big Chill” make this pseudo-’60s section a distraction.
Ringwald and McCarthy are outstanding in their roles, a credit to writer Hughes and first-time director Harold Deutch. Ringwald’s prim, disciplined portrayal adds just the right touch of endearing spunkiness, while McCarthy, fighting with his social demons, is a likable rich kid with character substance.
As two snotty rich girls, Kate Vernon and Emily Longstreth are positively princess, convincing in their cool bitchiness.
Certain to be a touchstone for teen-agers grappling with identity and prom problems this spring, Pretty in Pink is discolored by a pat and incredible ending. Hughes has drummed up a blonde exmachina to save the day. It rings false Molly’s last choice is a surprise and will be, for many, a disappointment. Technical credits, all of them, get top grades. — Duane Byrge, originally published on Feb. 7, 1986.
Veteran agent Paul Coggiola has left UTA to lead LIFT Creators, a new division of athlete-representation firm LIFT Management focused on digital influencers.
Coggiola will serve as president of LIFT Creators. At UTA, he led the agency’s sports crossover team. At LIFT, he’s already signed clients to join him at the new agency including Kickball Dad, Sydney Carter (managed by Taylor Burner at Agency 3-2), Stu Holden, Treasure Wilson (managed by Regina Harris at DBA), RainbowDads (managed by Mack Davey at DBA), Imperial Hal, and DougDoug.
The former UTA agent will assist with digital marketing strategy and maximize LIFT’s traditional talent verticals, along with their representation duties. Coggioloa will remain based in L.A.
“Creators are at the intersection of sports, entertainment, lifestyle and most importantly, culture. That’s where brands strive to be. And brands are clearly seeing success with utilizing influencers and content creators,” LIFT chief marketing officer Corey Vann said in a statement. “Establishing LIFT with a presence in the growing creator economy was one of my top priorities upon joining, and we feel like we landed the perfect partner in Paul.”
LIFT CEO Donnie McGrath commented: “This is a critical addition to our business, and it comes at a pivotal time as we look to bridge the gap between traditional athlete representation and the digital arena. I am thrilled to have Paul join us. He brings impactful client experience and a proven track record in talent management.”
Coggiola said in a statement, “Creators are the storytellers of our time. I look forward to building a distinct platform and providing tools that let their voices travel farther than ever before. This new division isn’t just about content — it’s about empowering people with ideas to reach the world. At its core, LIFT Creators will be built on the foundation of knowing our clients’ passions and utilizing our relationships to build brands they are proud of.”
New York-based LIFT Management’s roster of sports clients includes athletes in the NBA, WNBA and NFL. The agency’s services span contract negotiation, name, image and likeness (NIL) representation, marketing, community outreach and philanthropy
The agency was founded in 2020 (as LIFT Sports Management) by McGrath, a former Providence College star college basketball player, and former NBA star Mike Miller.
