The progressive actor — a frequent and longtime critic of the president — appeared on Nicolle Wallace’s MS NOW podcast, The Best People, on Monday, where he tore into Trump and urged people to protest his actions.
“Trump is the enemy of this country, let’s not kid ourselves,” De Niro said. “It’s that simple. Everybody has to stick together to get them out and get back on track. We can all argue and fight about our little differences and all that. This is the big problem.”
When asked if he thought Trump would step down at the end of his second term, De Niro replied, “No way.”
“He won’t leave,” De Niro said firmly. “Let’s not kid ourselves. He. Will. Not. Leave. It’s up to us to get rid of him. We have to make sure … We’ve got to get rid of him. He’s going to ruin the country. People have to mobilize now and be ready for the midterms.”
In addition, De Niro made the case for people peacefully protesting and uniting against Trump in every legal way possible.
“Everybody has to get out there every way possible,” De Niro said. “This is our country. You know, I want my country back. I don’t want everybody going around with their MAGA flags and American flags like they’re the only ones [who are patriotic]. We are Americans, too. And there are more of us because we believe in what’s right and wrong; empathy, and kindness. Bringing the country together, not dispersing it … I understand tribalism — you stick with your own and all that. But this is way, way, way more serious.”
In fact, even if Trump dies, De Niro is concerned that the movement he’s created won’t go away.
Even if Trump dies for some reason — by having an illness or something — parts of that movement are still there, and that’s the scary part,” he said. “It has to be neutralized by the people who say, ‘Wait a minute, our rights are being trampled on.’ We have to stand up. Period.’”
During the most emotional part of the interview, Wallace played a clip of De Niro’s 1981 Oscars acceptance speech for best actor and asked him about why he’s always been driven to “lift up everybody around you.”
“You have to lift people up,” the 82-year-old Goodfellas actor said, his voice cracking and eyes watering. “You have to bring them together, period. You can’t divide people. You can’t win that way. It’s a no-win situation. It’s almost like our destiny to have this thing there attempting to destroy this country, and maybe not even understanding why. So it’s up to us to protect the country that we love.”
Trump has slammed De Niro repeatedly in turn, including today, when he urged the actor to leave the country on Truth Social, writing, “[Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashia Tlaib of Michigan] should actually get on a boat with Trump Deranged Robert De Niro, another sick and demented person with, I believe, an extremely Low IQ, who has absolutely no idea what he is doing or saying — some of which is seriously CRIMINAL.”
If you’re interested in De Niro’s comments, it’s worth watching the whole 40-minute video rather than just reading the cherry-picked quotes above because this is a very earnest, deep-dive conversation that gets into a lot of detail about the actor’s feelings on this issue.
Presidents use television for lots of reasons. Eisenhower used it to message cuddly. Bill Clinton used it to message cool. Barack Obama used it to message compassionate.
For Donald Trump, TV has served more purposes than most, including a chance to gain dominion over our mindshare (see under: all those televised rallies in the first campaign) or to seem like a martyr in the face of evil (see under: the 2024 RNC appearance right after the assassination attempt) — both of which helped him win elections many pollsters saw him losing.
Tuesday night’s appearance on all major networks for the State of the Union required some particular television magic. Trump’s approval ratings are abysmal, with the numbers consistently in the 35-40 percent range, a double-digit drop from a year ago. Independents, who will be key to many midterm races, believe the country is worse off today than a year ago to the tune of nearly 70 percent.
Could Trump use television to pull another polling and ultimately electoral miracle? That was the question hovering above the SOTU, and Trump responded by trying two key prongs.
The first was old-fashioned showmanship. Having been gifted the specter of a major U.S. win on the international Olympic stage, Trump grabbed the box and tore off the bow. The dramatic entrance of the United States men’s hockey team into the gallery early in the speech, complete with gold medals and USA sweaters, had all the trappings of a reality-show triumph. Mark Burnett, Trump’s maker and mentor, would be proud.
Members of the Team USA Men’s Hockey Team, including goalie Connor Hellebuyck, wave to the audience as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Trump’s talk about all the “winning” the U.S. is doing can’t be focused on affordability, which is a growing challenge for many Americans and seen largely as a loss So the president shifted to a kind of winning we all agreed on. Toss in some “U-S-A” chants, some good-natured jokes about goalie Connor Hellebuyck and the sight of Jack Hughes’ heroically toothless grin, and you have the makings of a perfect Trump small-screen spectacle in line with so many of his other effective small-screen spectacles.
Whatever your politics, the moment was great by pure TV standards. Sure, there were the five athletes who were conspicuously absent. Yes, ICE and inflation concerns continue to rock the country. But the scene on national television did what all good showmanship is supposed to do — make you forget about the facts and get caught up in the moment.
But this is the modern era, and television can’t just be used for great television moments. So Trump went to another trick, one honed by his years of dominating and mastering social media. He crafted a spectacle on TV he knew would go viral — knew would engage and engage again on all the platforms that prized the verb.
He asked Democrats to stand up.
“If you agree with this statement then stand up and show your support,” he called out to the chamber, proceeding to read the statement, “The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”
This substantively meaningless statement is of course an obvious trap, and a pretty brilliant one. If the Democrats do stand up, they look subservient to Trump and his ICE agenda and he affirms his power. If they don’t, they look petulant and dissenting of the first part of his message, about protecting Americans. They didn’t stand, and took the lesser of two evils.
Trump then implemented the next phase of his neat one-two plan, riding the sitting for all it was worth. He shook his head in performative disappointment and exclaimed, “Isn’t that a shame? You should be ashamed of yourself! Not standing up. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Having crafted the perfect feelgood spectacle moment, which is what television is made for, Trump had now crafted the perfect outrage spectacle moment, which is what social media is made for. Needless to say, the bit did exactly what it was meant to do, going viral and causing many right-wing influencers to shriek online about how awful Democrats were. I suspect not much will be remembered about the speech itself and its awkward combination of fearmongering about immigrants and Panglossian visions of an America on the rise. But we will remember the afterburn of these two moments — a smiling USA Hockey Team, and a sitting USA congressional bloc.
Donald Trump concludes his remarks during the State of the Union address in the House Chamber.
The bad news, if we care about democracy, is that television and digital platforms have now been turned over to such shenanigans. Presidents have always used the medium for the message; to decry that is to be naive. But before Trump they’ve rarely tried to poison it — turn it into something whose sole purpose is to get us angry. Given how effective Trump has been politically over the last decade, there’s not a ton of reason to think it will stop; the outrage-farming will probably be adopted by plenty of future Democrats and Republicans alike. The medium may be the message. Unfortunately, that message is now fear and anger about other Americans.
But the good (or at least better) news, if we care about democracy, is that these manipulative moments may in fact be losing their effectiveness. We’ll see what the latest president poll numbers show, but early anecdotal reports, like the swing-voter panel CNN convened, did not seem to go for it. Creating viral outrage moments is not the electoral tool it was a decade ago when Trump began his disruptive journey — our social media itself is too divided, too wary, for even shrewd tricks like this to break through and sway undecideds. Presidents will always find new ways to have the medium deliver the message. But the angry message, at least, may not land like it used to.
NBC has cast the lead role in another of its pilots — in this case tapping Jake Johnson to lead a comedy about an L.A. private investigator.
Johnson (New Girl, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) will star in the currently untitled show from Brooklyn Nine-Nine alumni Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici. The pilot, produced by Universal Television, has also signed Akiva Schaffer (last year’s The Naked Gun) to direct.
Johnson’s casting also continues a run of actors who had roles on Fox series in the 2010s leading NBC pilots this year. He joins his New Girl co-star Damon Wayans Jr. (Puzzled), David Boreanaz (The Rockford Files), Emily Deschanel (an untitled criminal profiler drama), Peter Krause (Protection) and Jane Lynch (a comedy with Katey Sagal).
The logline for Goor and Del Tredici’s single-camera comedy describes it as “continuing the proud tradition of Los Angeles private eyes that began with Philip Marlowe and will end with this show.” Johnson will play Mickey, a smart, cynical and heartbroken — but trying to pretend he’s not — private investigator with a knack for the job. He was an LAPD officer until his life fell apart three years ago.
Goor and Del Tredici are writing the pilot and will executive produce alongside Schaffer. Johnson is a producer.
Johnson next stars with Dakota Fanning in The Sun Never Sets from filmmaker Joe Swanberg, which is set to premiere at SXSW in March. He also has two Apple TV projects on tap for later this year — The Dink, a feature comedy about pickleball, and the series Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed. He is repped by UTA and Jackoway Austen.
As Survivor approaches its landmark 50th season, returning players are chasing more than the coveted $1 million prize. For veterans of the game, a win carries added weight — legacy, redemption and the chance to reshape how their story is remembered.
Days before filming began in Fiji, The Hollywood Reporter was on location and asked all 24 castaways what would winning this potential landmark victory would mean to them. Their answers — ranging from emotional reflections on family and identity to candid admissions about pride, regret and unfinished business — reveal why season 50 isn’t just another all-star edition. Even after a quarter century, the drive to outwit, outplay and outlast remains intensely personal.
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Cirie Fields: I don’t even know that words would explain the feeling of accomplishment I would feel. I dream about it. I hear it, I see it in my mind. And when I see it, I’m thinking about how I’m going to be able to hold it together. The most important things in my life have been 20 years or more. My marriage, my children, my career. I’ve been a nurse for 23 years. So Survivor is as much a part of my life as my family. To end the era with a win that I’ve been chasing for 20 years? It’s too big to even imagine.
Jenna Lewis-Dougherty: I’ve had the longest time to feel regret about things that I did or didn’t do correctly. I’ve also had the longest time to lose sleep over this and wonder if I’d ever get a shot at being back. It would mean that I came full circle. It would be 25 years, a quarter life, of me playing Survivor to finally win. I’ve had 25 years of being known as a Survivor but not a Survivor winner — I’m not gonna miss this shot. Chrissy Hofbeck: I actually do think that’s going to happen, and let me tell you what I’m going to do with that money. About two years ago, I was diagnosed with the BRCA gene. Eight weeks later I had my breasts, ovaries, and fallopian tubes removed proactively. I also have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer and melanoma. I could potentially face large medical situations in the future, so I would like to put some money aside so I don’t bankrupt my family staying alive. When you play for your life, it lights a good fire underneath you.
Christian Hubicki: It would validate me coming here. It would validate my overall approach to not just this game but how I take to lots of things in life, which is aggressively and analytical but also full of heart, determination and drive. But most of all, I would be proud of what I can show to my newborn son. He was born six weeks ago and it adds a completely new dimension to the reasons to be here. It would show him that it was wonderful to play Survivor and do all the things I did that season, to get all the way to seventh place. But you don’t have to accept that as a ceiling. You don’t have to accept any ceiling. Dee Valladares: Winning would mean everything. That visualization is all I’ve been obsessing about in pre-game. I feel like Jeff [Probst, host] would be proud to turn that parchment over and say my name. I think he would be proud. The first thing I would do is go up to him and be like, “Are you proud of me? Please be proud of me.” This is his baby and it’s a huge responsibility to be on 50. I want to make sure I never take that for granted.
Mike White: It would be surreal. It’s already kind of like a weird dream come true to have played Survivor and be a part of this monumental season. I feel like I’m really in the Survivor family. So to win would be almost too much. People would come to my house and burn it down, I think. Rick Devens: First of all, I’d be unbearable. You think Sandra [Diaz-Twine] talks about being the queen? Just wait. I don’t think I’d be able to control my emotions. It would just be overwhelming. As silly as it is to think about and imagine this game all the time — it’s given me so much to me and I’ve taken so much from it — the thing I haven’t taken from it is that crown. I’d almost be embarrassed by how much it would mean to me.
Angelina Keeley: Outside of having my girls, winning this season would be the honor of a lifetime. People would never stop hearing about it. I’d be that old grandma, at 90 in my rocking chair, being like, “I won Season 50,” and telling stories about the island and jacket. And my grandkids are going to be like, “We can’t hear about the jacket again, grandma.” To come back after seven years, and show growth and progress — to show that you fall down seven times but get back up eight — that’s the story of Survivor and that’s my story, too. Benjamin “Coach” Wade: If I’m the winner of Survivor, my life won’t change one bit. I’ll go back to being a school teacher. It wouldn’t matter if they paid me $5 million. I’m going to go back to being a teacher and give those kids that magic and love that I do every day, and focus on my family and put that money in the bank and just keep on doing the same thing I’m doing.
Emily Flippen: I haven’t let myself even think about that reality. You saying it is the first time I’ve even conceptualized it. Because I think it would mean so much. It would be a lot of validation for me in a way that I don’t give myself. I’m a deeply insecure person and very self-deprecating and don’t tend to believe in myself. I still want to be a realist, but also have a level of confidence I’ve never had before. It would just be validation that when you set a positive mindset and expectations for yourself that aren’t on the ground level that you maybe do better than you expect.
Quintavius “Q” Burdette: Coming into 50, what I believe right now is that I’m the hottest New Era player to play. If I were to win 50, I could start talking about being the hottest player in the last 10 years — legendary status. So to win this ultimate season with these players, some of which are already legends, to beat them out? That’s big time. My son would watch me win. My wife is a big Survivor fan and for her to say her husband is the winner of her favorite show growing up, it doesn’t get any better than that.
Tiffany Ervin: I’ve dreamt about that moment many times. Jeff is usually wearing a navy blue shirt when he pulls my name out of the urn and announces me as winner. Winning this season doesn’t just make me a great Survivor player, it cements a Survivor legacy. But beyond that, it means something personal because it means I was able to grow. I was able to actually take what I learned and apply it, and use it to get me to the place of victory I wanted to get to the first time. I would have actually benefited from the mistakes I have made in the past.
Colby Donaldson: Being able to pull it off this time would be me going out the way I came in. Although I didn’t win the first time, boy did I play a good game and I’m proud of that. I’m proud of everything that happened the first time I played and I’d love to replicate that. So to do what I did in Australia but actually win? For a 51-year-old that would be pretty sweet.
Kyle Fraser: If I win season 50, it finally means I’m the best at something. I said in my Final Tribal Council in season 48 that I want to be representative of my season. But I also want to be representative of this game. I care deeply about this game. Not only for what it’s done for my family but for the life lessons I’ve learned that I think have truly made me a better man. I would love, and be honored, to call myself the representative of Survivor. A two-time winner, twice within the span of a year who loves the game. If I won again, I’d be The Goat.
Kamilla Karthigesu: I’ve been watching this show since I was 10 and never thought I’d be able to play because they didn’t allow Canadians to play for a while. My dream came true. I got to play 48, I crushed it and now I’m here again. I can’t imagine what winning it would feel like. I remember sobbing the morning after 48 because I’d never been that proud of myself. Winning 50 would top that.
Ozzy Lusth: Winning 50 would allow me to found an eco-village and teach permaculture, and run mini Survivor experiences: bushcraft, spearfishing and surfing. A place for creativity, wellness and compassion. I would be able to share my love and connection to nature as well as my love of the game. Resilient communities will be valuable cornerstones of support as the world becomes more and more divided. A place to disconnect from the rat race and recharge in an abundance of nature, art and music.
Rizo Velovic: A slogan I go by is “If you’re dreaming big, dream bigger.” Winning Survivor 50 is dreaming the biggest possibility I’ve always ever wanted. I’m the first Albanian person to ever play Survivor and the fact that I now get to represent my country in back-to-back seasons and make them proud is something I’ve always wanted to do. Winning Survivor 50 would be the cherry on top of this entire experience.
Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick: Honestly, it would mean everything. It wouldn’t even be about the money. To prove to not only myself but my children that mommy really can do this and this is really hard. Harder than anything they can even imagine in their little lives right now. And then to all the people that have supported me for over 20 years who always believed in me, it would mean everything in the world.
Savannah Louie: Even though I’m living this dream right now, I haven’t even processed what happened in 49. As we were getting to the end, obviously I’m trying to win the game, but as we get closer there are things you’re proud of. And I felt in season 49 I couldn’t fully celebrate those moments because I was so focused on getting to the end. So when I think about what it would mean to win Survivor 50, if it’s anything like 49, I don’t know if I’d even be able to process what that means. Whoever wins this season will make Survivor history and to have my name be part of that history would be incredible.
Genevieve Mushaluk: I daydream about saying to my husband and parents when they pick me up from the Winnipeg Airport, “You will never believe it, but I won.” My dad would cry, my mom would think I’m lying just because it’s so fantastical and that type of stuff doesn’t happen to someone like me from Winnipeg. My daydream is their expressions when I get back to Winnipeg.
Aubry Bracco: Oh my gosh. I wouldn’t have words for what it would mean to win this season. It would be the culmination of the last 10 years of my life. I’ve played Survivor for 111 days, that’s a long time.
Joe Hunter: I get emotional just thinking about it, because what an honor it would be to be crowned the winner. I don’t take that lightly with this group. The impact would be so powerful and it’s because of who’s here. When you have that kind of expertise and skillset and are able to navigate that, it would be something to be extremely proud of.
Charlie Davis: That’s eternal glory right there. Legend status. And it’s $1 million. Let’s not forget that’s always the big ticket item of winning the game. Coming from someone who came real close to winning it, I can tell you I think about that a lot. It would be awesome to have.
Jonathan Young: It would be one of the best things that’s ever happened to me in my life. It would be an honor to be up there with the greats who have won Survivor. It takes a special person to come back out again. None of us knew what to expect the first time. Now we know — we know how hard it is. That’s very admirable. Whoever wins, they deserve to win.
***
Survivor 50 premieres Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBS, streaming on Paramount+. See how the cast is divided into their tribes here.
Searchlight Pictures has picked up the rights to the comedic horror novel by Grady Hendrix, which has been in development both as a film and series since being published in 2014.
Producing will be Brian Oliver of New Republic, Gillian Bohrer of Megamix, Adam Goldworm of Aperture Entertainment and Brad Fischer.
The book, Hendrix’s third published novel, told an Ikea-like furniture superstore named Orsk in Cleveland that becomes subjected to supernatural occurrences. To uncover the mystery, a group of employees sign up for a night shift, only to get way more than they bargained for, in a most sinister way.
Hendrix, who saw his horror novel My Best Friend’s Exorcism be adapted as a feature by Amazon, will exec produce, along with Quirk Books .
The book was initially headed to the small screen via Fox who had Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich) and The O.C. creator Josh Scwhartz as executive producers. When that stalled, Horrorstör landed at New Republic as a movie project.
VP of production Richard Ruiz and production executive Apolline Berty are overseeing the project for Searchlight Pictures, reporting to heads of production and development DanTram Nguyen and Katie Goodson-Thomas.
New Republic’s recent output has included animated feature Transformers One and the live-action Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, as well as Michael Bay action movie Ambulance, which was produced with Fischer.
Goldworm is producing Hannibal at Netflix with Denzel Washington attached to star and Antoine Fuqua directing and Alpha at Netflix with Taron Egerton starring.
Levine is known for his ability to straddle genres with great agility. He’s traipsed in horror and horror romance with All the Boys Love Mandy Lane and Warm Bodies, trafficked in coming-of-age stoner dramedy with Sundance hit The Wackness, and traded in dramatic emotion and laughs in the cancer comedy 50/50. His last feature was the Seth Rogen-Charlize Theron comedy Long Shot.
While he has been spending time in the TV series sphere, he is returning to movies later this year with Mr. Irrelevant, a true life football drama starring David Corenswet that will be released December.
As horses cantered around a corral and guests in cowboy hats and boots stomped across the red carpet, Hollywood was briefly transformed into the plains of Wyoming on Tuesday to celebrate the premiere of Marshals, the latest show from Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone universe.
Cast members Luke Grimes, Riley Green, Arielle Kebbel and Gil Birmingham were all on hand at the Autry Museum of the American West to support their show, which is a spinoff of Yellowstone and sees Grimes reprise his role as Kayce Dutton. In the first episode, Dutton is a rancher persuaded by Logan Marshall Green, his friend and fellow former Navy Seal, to become a U.S. Marshal after he sold the Yellowstone ranch in the original show’s series finale.
On the carpet, Grimes admitted he was initially reluctant to return to playing a Dutton, saying, “I didn’t think I wanted to come back to it, because I felt like Kayce’s story ended so perfectly in the first show. And I was like, well, what are we gonna do now? He’s got his dream life. Everything he’s been fighting for, he’s gotten. He literally rode off into the sunset. And what sort of breaks that world open for him is that that dream life became no longer possible.”
The show’s trailer hints at a major tragedy in Kayce’s life, showing him visiting a grave and seemingly without his wife, Monica (played by Kelsey Asbille). The star continued, “That just opened up an opportunity for him to get really, really out of his comfort zone and open himself to a new world, and to new people, and to a new job, new responsibilities. And using an old skill set that we never really got to see him use.”
One thing that sets Marshals apart from other Sheridan shows is that the prolific producer is not acting as the lead writer (but still serves as an exec producer) and has turned the reins over to showrunner Spencer Hudnut, who told The Hollywood Reporter what it was like to create an original show in someone else’s universe.
“I’m effectively sort of a Taylor Sheridan cover band. It’s a little intimidating. I mean, he is the best writer of my generation in the last 20 years; Yellowstone is the biggest show to come out in 20 years,” Hudnut explained. “So, yeah, when you stop and think about it, it’s very intimidating, but fortunately for me, he made himself available to me. I had a lot of resources to help me try to launch this show. I think once I stopped trying to do a Taylor impression, it really kind of freed me up because there’s only one Taylor Sheridan.”
Ash Santos stars as Andrea Cruz, an experienced Marshal on Grimes’ team. She shared just how intense it was to shoot the series, recalling, “I had to learn so much fight choreography and all these things that I had to do, and I got to do almost all of my own stunts and I was so proud of myself. There was one day in particular, it was so stunt-heavy. That day ended and I’m sweaty and bruised, and I’m like, ‘Oh, this is exactly why I became an actress.’ I’ve never done a role that was this action-packed.”
Mo Brings Plenty, another actor who carries his role over from the original Yellowstone, offered up his thoughts on what makes Sheridan’s shows special. “Taylor has so much openness and he supports cultural diversity. And that’s what makes it different, you know? And it’s always about the authenticity of everything,” he emphasized. “I mean, when you look at us, we as American Indian people are a group of people that are not celebrated in our own homeland. And so Taylor highlights that and he brings it to the forefront, and he gives us the opportunity to occupy the space.”
Following the screening of the pilot episode, guests enjoyed an afterparty in the museum’s courtyard, featuring custom-made cowboy hats, embroidered bandannas and a performance from country star Green and a live band. Marshals premieres Sunday on CBS.
A coalition of state attorneys general led by Republicans are urging the government to comprehensively dissect Netflix‘s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. They say that greenlighting the deal could create a monopoly in violation of antitrust laws.
“The proposed merger between Netflix and Warner Brothers will likely result in undue market concentration that stifles competition and therefore creates higher prices, lower reliability, and less innovation for one of America’s major industries — all to the detriment of American consumers,” the letter reads.
The missive, sent on Tuesday, marks the latest blow for Netflix as it navigates regulatory hurdles and a bidding war with Paramount. Among Paramount’s main arguments in courting Warner Bros. is that it offers a shorter and more certain path to completing the deal. The David Ellison-led company is confident it can get the transaction passed the government. In its latest revised bid, it said it would pay a $7 billion breakup fee in the event the merger doesn’t secure approval from the government, in addition to raising its offer to $31 per share.
The letter raises concerns that Netflix will face less competition and may start declining to license content to rivals if it’s allowed to acquire Warner Bros, which could lead to higher subscription prices for less content.
The states also echo concerns from James Cameron that the merger will have a disastrous impact on movie theaters. They cite Cinema United, a trade group that includes the largest theater chains, calling the proposed merger “culturally catastrophic.”
Cameron’s endorsement of Paramount in the battle for Warner Bros. was an unexpected setback for Netflix. In a letter to Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), he stressed that Netflix will likely change course on its pledge to keep movies in theaters for 45 days since theatrical releases fundamentally clash with its business model. Those remarks were challenged by CEO Ted Sarandos, who said he’s “surprised and disappointed” the director “chose to be part of the Paramount disinformation campaign.”
The state prosecutors said the Justice Department should review the merger under the Clayton Act, an antitrust law that bars mergers that may substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly. The government could opt to take another path if it files a lawsuit by alleging a violation of the Sherman Act, which bars deals intended to maintain monopoly power.
State attorneys general from Montana and Nebraska led the effort, which was joined by Alabama, Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia. They’re among the first take a position on the merger after California’s top prosecutor said the state is investigating.
Anime pic That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure will swim into theaters May 1, the kick-off of the summer box office season.
Crunchyroll and Sony announced the news Wednesday, stressing that while it is the second title in the film franchise, it is not a sequel, but rather an original standalone side story that takes place following the events in season three of the anime series, That That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.
Debuting in 2018, the streaming series follows an ordinary man reborn as a powerful slime in a fantastical world. As Rimuru Tempest, he builds a nation of peace and unity, blending epic adventures, world-building, and heartfelt storytelling into one of today’s most celebrated Isekai franchises.
The series is based on the best-selling manga + light novel franchise, which has sold over 56 million copies.
All three seasons are available to watch on Crunchyroll, while season four will be available to stream on the platform on April 3, 2026.
The first film, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond, was likewise an original standalone story set after season two. Crunchyroll/Sony released the pic in almost every major territory, excluding Asian markets. It grossed $14.6 million globally, including $2.5 million in North America.
In the aftermath of the deadly attacks of October 7, 2023, in Israel, budding filmmaker Meyer Levinson-Blount found himself working in a supermarket, interacting with people from all types of backgrounds. He describes the period as akin to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with most people staying indoors and paralyzed by fear.
“The conflicts within Israeli society were very present within the supermarket — I witnessed … a lot of tension between the Arab-Palestinian Israelis and the Jewish Israelis,” says Levinson-Blount, who grew up in Yonkers, New York, before moving to Tel Aviv with his family at 12 years old. “The collective trauma and that national crisis that was happening had an effect on the Palestinian and Arab-Israeli community because there was a finger pointed at them.”
Enter Levinson-Blount’s debut professional film, Butcher’s Stain, which the writer-director made fresh out of film school with producer Oron Caspi and is now Oscar-nominated for best live-action short. The two filmmakers were on hand last week for a specialTHR Frontrunners screening, followed by a panel conversation and reception at San Vicente Bungalows in Los Angeles.
Butcher’s Stain is directly inspired by what Levinson-Blount observed during his time in the supermarket, following a Palestinian employee named Samir (Omar Sameer) who’s falsely accused of tearing down posters demanding the return of the Israeli hostages. The film tracks Samir as he courts unfair suspicion and doubt at every corner while simply trying to live his life day by day. “How does it feel as a human being to be accused of something that you didn’t do? How does it feel to suddenly be looked at differently and to be treated differently and to be discriminated against?” Levinson-Blount says of his motivating question. “It’s a film that’s supposed to take the conversation back to the human experience.”
Sameer, who was recommended by an agent for Arab actors in Israel, gives a breakout performance. “Omar couldn’t do the dates that we originally went for, and I said, ‘This is not going to be possible,’” Caspi admits. “Meyer insisted, ‘No, this is the guy.’ And the audition went far and beyond what I wanted.” So the production schedule was built around Sameer, who then informed the character and his world. “He taught me a lot about his community and how his community feels at this time,” Levinson-Blount says. “He was able to put in some nuances in his acting and in the dialogue.”
Levinson-Blount stresses that Butcher’s Stain is not intended as a political statement, but it’s already making waves back home. “The [Israeli] culture minister has said some things about us,” the director says, referencing Miki Zohar’s recent comments that the film (along with fellow Oscar nominee Children No More) “amplify our enemies’ narrative.” “People have gotten mad over it because they think that it’s a film that represents some sort of one-sided argument, that this side is bad and this side is good — and it’s the opposite of what the film is trying to do.”
He adds, “When people do see the film … they realize that there’s nothing to get mad at: It’s just a guy going through this situation where he is being accused unfairly.”
This edition of THR Frontrunners was brought to you by Walnut Hill Advisors.
Sorry Jason Statham, but Gen Alpha (born 2010-2024/25) and Gen Z (born 1997-2012) are notlooking for a Transporter.
The Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS) at UCLA has released the findings from its “Evolving Masculinity” study. The study surveyed 1,500 tweens, teens and young adults, ages 10-24, finding that these groups want to see boys and men on TV and in movies “moving away from isolation and other masculine stereotypes” and “towards vulnerability and connection.”
If they get their way, (the new) Road House 2 is gonna suck.
Specifically, these new gens want to see dads “showing love to kids” on screen and “enjoying parenting.” Not surprisingly, it was the youngest participants who crave that stuff the most in their TV and film dads, just like their real ones. And fellas, if that feels like a lot, seek support (and maybe don’t have kids) — nearly half the respondents, 46 percent, want to watch content that depicts “men asking for help, including with their mental health.”
The CSS study was led by Yalda T. Uhls, founder and CEO of the center. Uhls and her team concluded that young people “are asking for a reimagining of how men show up in the lives of others,” as the study reads. “Whether it is a father, mentor, coach, or teacher, the message from the audience was the same.” Uhls and her team pointed to two TV examples — Heated Rivalry and The Pitt — as satisfying those depictions.
If I may add another example, one for the kids, Bluey dad Bandit is the model modern dad. Uhls agrees — the big blue guy is the gold standard.
“Exactly,” she said on a phone call with The Hollywood Reporter.
On the opposite end of the spectrum — Vin Diesel. Dominic Toretto may not have friends, he has family, but he would not be the father figure Gens Z and Alpha would gravitate toward.
“There’s not enough nuance or authenticity in the way that these men show the full range of their emotions,” Uhls told THR. “Young people are going to make fun of it or reject it.”
For what it’s worth, us old people make fun of that guy too.
