Tag: Entertainment-HollywoodReporter

Tired of seeing unauthorized AI-generated versions of its characters proliferate on various platforms, Hasbro is launching its own AI studio called Sixth Wall, which will enable the toy giant’s stable of characters to be deployed by third parties across the new experiences that the technology allows for.

And of particular note to Hollywood: Hasbro is working with real voice actors, including the original voice actors for many of its most popular characters, to help it do so.

“Every IP owner looks at all of the millions of unauthorized versions of their characters on other tech platforms and frontier models, and it’s not a great experience for fans, and it’s not on brand for us,” says Sixth Wall CEO Roberta Thomson, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “So you have a few choices as an IP owner: You could decide to enforce on everything, whack a mole, send a bunch of cease and desists. You could decide to enable the UGC directly with consumers … but the question we posed was, what if we just offered the authorized end-to-end blue check version of the character that a company could license from us? And then we can guarantee that they’re going to show up in a context that we already approve of and feel comfortable with, and show up in a way that is within the guardrails that we have set with the character.”

“Right now all of our IP is sitting in static media, trapped in a toy on a shelf, a movie, a video game, but as these characters come to life and interact and speak in real-time, you have to govern their behavior, which is a different set of technical and brand challenges, and it’s that expertise that we’ve developed,” she adds.

So the company has developed its own internal platform called CharacterOS (Thomson calls it a “golden record” for each piece of IP), that sets guardrails and personality traits for each character. Mr. Potato Head, for example, won’t be giving any tips on how to cook the best french fry. Cobra Commander is primarily focused on conquering planet earth, not giving power lunch recommendations, as The Hollywood Reporter tried to get out of him in a voice chat.

“CharacterOS is compelling because it unlocks a bigger creative canvas while addressing a real challenge in AI: the unauthorized use of content. It is built around a creator-first model that gives voice talent and creatives a meaningful seat at the table. It gives brands a trusted way to bring characters into new AI-enabled platforms without losing what makes them authentic,” said Chris Cocks, CEO of Hasbro. “And most exciting to me, it opens entirely new surfaces for play and storytelling, from making a store greeting feel magical to transforming a call waiting experience into a moment with a fan’s favorite character.”

The initial slate of characters will include Mr. Potato Head, Megatron from Transformers, Cobra Commander from GI Joe, and the cast of the Clue board game. Others will be added later on. There’s even Optimus Prime, voiced by Peter Cullen, who has been voicing the character since the 1980s. For characters without an established voice actor, the company approached professionals in the space and found some that were interested in participating.

In fact, Thomson says that using real voice actors is a”crucial” part of the company’s strategy in the space: The studio will not use the voices to create films or TV shows, only for AI-enabled interactive experiences.

“We could have decided to move forward with synthetic voices, and all of the models give a good approximation of those voices because they’re out there, but it didn’t feel like the right thing to do,” she says. “As we talked to the voice talent, we said very sincerely, this should be a new source of revenue for you. Because these experiences are enabled by the technology, they’re dynamic, interactive, and personalized. They’re not replacing something that you would currently go into the studio for, like a long-form movie voiceover. So, we’re not going to use the voices for those purposes, but for something that wouldn’t have existed before.”

Instead, she said, Sixth Wall will function “almost like the talent agents who are offering up these characters to licensees who might want to build fun experiences with them,” with the real voices a part of that package.

The company is also partnering with ElevenLabs to bring select Hasbro characters to its audio marketplace.

Sixth Wall has already held conversations with potential licensees, and Thomson says that the enthusiasm from those partners is real.

The company is currently focused on experiences and enterprise use-cases that cater to consumers 13 and older, with a particular focus on specific areas like: Interactive storytelling experiences; Conversational games and digital companions; Connected physical products and robotics; AI-powered brand ambassadors; Location-based entertainment experiences; and Dynamic customer engagement agents.

“Imagine like giant animatronic robot [say, perhaps, Optimus Prime?] walking around in a theme park and entertaining guests as they’re waiting in line. Suddenly, your one hour wait in line becomes a really fun and delightful and engaging experience,” she says. “Imagine you’re waiting on hold for a customer service agent playing a voice game of Trivial Pursuit. Suddenly, you wouldn’t mind your 10 minute wait. You might actually be like, ‘wait, I haven’t finished.’ At its most basic, there storytelling experiences with infinite branches, where, because these experiences are new and additive, they’re dynamic, they’re personalized. You can take a story in any direction.”

Sixth Wall is perhaps a model for a new path forward for IP owners, which are all grappling with the misuse of their characters in new places. Last year, Disney cut a deal with OpenAI to bring its characters to its Sora platform after seeing them misused there, though that deal ended up being short-lived. Perhaps licensing the traits and voices of those characters is the next logical step.

Writer-director Natalie Erika James’ latest film Saccharine feels as timely as it could be, even if the director didn’t necessarily intend for that to happen.

The psychological horror film tackles weight loss, diet culture, obsession and addiction. Watching the film, it would be fair to assume that James might’ve felt inspired by the recent return of the early aughts’ outlook on weight loss and the rise of GLP-1 medications, however, the filmmaker chalks it up to an unfortunately evergreen conversation.

“I always knew I wanted to create a film or write a story exploring this kind of subject matter, which had a lot to do with how I was brought up, but certainly in the early 2000s — there were those tabloids where bodies were being torn apart,” the filmmaker tells The Hollywood Reporter on a recent Zoom. “It felt like there was a time when we stepped away from that [diet culture], but in a way I feel like it’s just been lying dormant or cultures swinging in certain ways.”

In the film, actress Midori Francis plays Hana, a medical student who becomes terrorized by a sinister force after partaking in the latest dieting fad — eating human ashes. James says the film isn’t a direct reaction to the current moment, but that things have become even more “insidious” due to social media showing what only tabloids previously did.

Saccharine is far from the first film to use body horror to analyze the beauty standards in modern times — 2024’s Oscar-winning The Substance was a cultural moment in and of itself. James and Francis both understand the unique position that the genre has in telling stories like this, even if audiences might not expect the genre to be leading this conversation. “Horror is amazing at externalizing what’s internal and allowing you to play with quite extreme or surreal imagery to depict that,” notes the filmmaker.

Francis agrees. “That was my initial reaction to reading the script, that this is not the vehicle I would instinctively think to tackle this issue, and yet it works so well,” the actress says.

The actress found herself holding onto the kernels of truth in the story, even when things seemed outlandish. “No matter how otherworldly or absurd things got, it was always rooted in the feelings of being in the grips of compulsion or obsession or body checking,” she says. “How it can sometimes feel, when you’re dealing with a mental battle or struggle or addiction, nobody sees what’s going on, but it’s so loud inside your own brain.”

“I loved how loud parts of the movie are to distract and contrast the internal pressure that goes on inside one’s head at times, even the dopamine sequences,” says Francis, whose film uses surreal imagery to depict the dopamine-fueled highs that can come along with binging.

Both James and Francis have witnessed memorable and unexpected reactions to the film. James notes that it’s easy to forget how “visceral” body horror can be. “Someone in our Sundance screening apparently passed out and then had to leave,” she says. “I didn’t expect that it would be to that extreme.”

Francis also noted how audiences reacted to her after seeing her character on screen. “I’ve been doing a lot of Q&As after, and it’s interesting to see people feel a little uneasy by my presence,” the actress says. “After the credits role, I think, ‘Are they scared of me?’”

The actress recalls a family member hoping for a happy ending, something that James admits Francis asked her about in the beginning.

Either way, the actress is clearly happy with the final story — she constantly praises James and admits she’s only interested in horror when there’s a point to it. “Eating disorders [and] addiction [are] all things very personal to me, personal to afflictions shared by my family. I knew that whoever wrote this script that there was an authenticity there, a real voice and it was bold,” she says.

Francis just might appreciate boldness the most. She adds, “Nat has that in spades.”

James knew the film was always going to be challenging for some viewers. “It’s just confronting to even talk about it openly, or even depict binging on screen… It’s just a very intense thing and certainly requires trigger warnings,” the director says.

While the film does not have an actual trigger warning that appears onscreen, James has been transparent about its subject matter. She explains that Saccharine is not necessarily the film that those at their darkest point or struggling with these topics should be watching.

James also speaks to the feedback they’ve received of the choice to have menace in the film being a larger character. “I think you have to see it through Hana’s very distorted lens,” she says. “The growth of the ghost is her own projection of her fears and those fears are due to her childhood, but also internalizing pressures from the culture that she lives in, which is very fatphobic.”

The director explains that there’s a very real weight stigma that exists in society and that due to that it’s often suggested that being in a larger body is somehow a moral failing. “I hope that people just go beyond the surface reading of that and look at what journey Hana is actually on to unpack those beliefs within herself as well,” she says.

As for Francis, she believes that Hana is missing the point and is afraid of the wrong thing. “Hana [is] complicit in this societal belief that the worst thing in her life could be to be ending up in that larger body,” the actress says.

“Ultimately the worst thing is Hana,” she adds. “She, and all of the shame inside of her she doesn’t address, is the monster at the end of this movie.”

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Saccharine is now playing in theaters and begins streaming on Shudder on July 24.

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The New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs head into the NBA Finals in what’s sure to be a star-studded series, beginning with Game 1 on June 3, at 5:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. ET. Since the full championship series will be broadcast on ABC, fans can also livestream games on any streaming service that carries said network, namely DirecTV (with a five-day free trial), Fubo (with a five-day free trial), Sling and Hulu + Live TV.

At a Glance: How to Watch 2026 NBA Finals

While Spike Lee and Timothée Chalamet’s courtside seats may not be an option, see below for more info on each online streaming service, along with their free trials and new subscriber discounts.

Where to Watch NBA Finals 2026: New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs​

Like with the 2026 Stanley Cup Final, ABC is the exclusive U.S. broadcast home for this year’s NBA Finals, meaning games can be streamed live on any TV streaming service that carries the network, including DirecTV (with a five-day free trial), Fubo (with a five-day free trial), Sling and Hulu + Live TV. More on each option below.

Learn more about each plan option, including how to build your own channel lineup (starting at just $19.99 per month), at directv.com.

Visit Sling.com to check station availability and package options, starting as low as $4.99 per day or $19.99 per month.

NBA Finals Schedule 2026

All games are set for 5:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. ET, and since the NBA Finals is a best-of-seven series, games five, six and seven will only be played if necessary.

The progress on Sonic the Hedgehog 4 keeps rolling along.

Franchise newcomer Kristen Bell took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a photo of herself in the recording studio as she begins dialogue as Amy Rose in the forthcoming sequel feature. Paramount Pictures is set to release director Jeff Fowler‘s Sonic the Hedgehog 4 in theaters March 19, 2027.

“In the booth for @sonicmovie,” the actress captioned the post, adding a raised-hands emoji. “#AmyRose is coming to life!” She also tagged Ben Schwartz, who voices the titular critter in the films, and added, “Wish you were here!!!”

Schwartz shared the post to his Stories with the reply, “Aaaaaaammmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!”

For his part, Schwartz posted a photo last week of himself in a recording studio with Fowler and editor Al LeVine. Schwartz wrote, “Voice records for Sonic 4 have begun! I. Am. So. Excited. For. You. To. See. This. Movie.”

Fowler, who also helmed the three previous Sonic features, posted to social media last month to celebrate that the latest film had wrapped production, calling it “the BEST Sonic Movie yet.” His post included a photo of himself with a puppet of Metal Sonic, an evil robot version of Sonic from the Sega gaming franchise that was teased at the end of the third movie.

The Hollywood Reporter had the scoop earlier this year that Bell would join the property as the hammer-wielding pink hedgehog known from the video games. In addition to Schwartz, other voice stars include Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails, Idris Elba as Knuckles and Keanu Reeves as Shadow. Jim Carrey, James Marsden and Tika Sumpter round out the film’s live-action cast. Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher and Toru Nakahara return as producers for the fourth movie.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 hit theaters in 2024 and saw Carrey portraying a dual role as Dr. Robotnik and the mad scientist’s grandfather. It surpassed $490 million at the global box office. The franchise, which kicked off with the February 2020 release of Sonic the Hedgehog, has also spawned the Paramount+ series Knuckles.

German director Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas, Perfect Days) has pulled his 1975 film Wrong Move (Falsche Bewegung) out of circulation, citing a controversial nude scene with the then 13-year-old actress Nastassja Kinski.

Kinski has been trying for years to get Wenders to edit the film to cut out the controversial scene, in which she is shown lying on her bed, wearing only panties. In the scene, her 30-something co-star Rüdiger Vogler comes into the room, strips down to his underwear and lies on top of her, slapping her and then caressing her face.

“Although I didn’t know much at the age of 13, I could already tell that it wasn’t right,” Kinski said, in a recent interview with German newspaper the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

On Wednesday, the The Wim Wenders Foundation, which controls rights to the film, announced that it has withdrawn Wrong Move from circulation. “Streaming partners, television broadcasters and distribution partners will be instructed to cease public access to the film,” the non-profit group said in a statement.

Wenders has not said whether he plans to re-edit the film to remove the scene.

Wenders addressed the controversy surrounding the film at the German Film Awards last Friday, where he received a lifetime achievement award. In his acceptance speech, Wenders said he would not shoot the scene today, and said he knew keeping it in the film continues to cause pain to Kinski, an actress, he said, “whom I deeply admired, and still do.” After Wrong Move, Wenders and Kinski would go on to collaborate on the acclaimed, Palme d’Or winner Paris, Texas (1984) and on Faraway, So Close! (1993).

But Wenders stopped short of pledging to remove the scene, questioning whether he had the right to alter film history.

“I can’t blame the 29-year-old young man I was then, 50 years ago, who made a film of his time; wanting, in a way, to capture the zeitgeist,” said Wenders.

Wenders called on the members of the German Film Academy, particularly younger filmmakers, to debate and help him resolve the issue.

In his speech, Wenders cited Steven Spielberg’s regret in digitally re-editing ET: The Extra Terrestrial for the film’s 20th anniversary reissue. In the film’s famous bicycle chase scene, Spielberg replaced the guns held by government agents with walkie-talkies. Spielberg later said it was a mistake and restored the original firearms for subsequent editions of the movie.

In the case of Wrong Move, however, the issue is not simply one of freedom of expression or changing cultural norms. Kinski’s lawyer, Christian Schertz, criticized Wenders’ speech an attempt to evade personal responsibility for his actions and has said he will file suit if Wenders does not remove the scene.

Another observer noted that even though Kinski has always respectfully expressed her wish to have the images removed, in his speech, Wenders made her request sound like she was posing “a threat to the very freedom of cinema itself: the freedom of every single artist in the room. Anyone watching and listening to his words could only feel stunned,” states an editorial piece in Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Another opinion piece in German daily Welt also agreed that it “would be symbolically right to remove the scene.”

There’s a new Max Cady in town.

The iconic villain, portrayed by Robert Mitchum in 1962’s Cape Fear and by Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s 1991 version, is back on screen in the new Apple TV adaptation. The 10-episode series sees Javier Bardem stepping into the role of convict Max Cady, who is released from prison after 17 years and out for revenge on the happily married attorneys (Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson) who put him behind bars.

At the show’s Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday, Bardem admitted that he “would not have dared to touch” the role — which landed De Niro an Oscar nomination — if it was another straight remake, but was drawn in by the appeal of a new interpretation explored over 10 hours instead of two.

The star said he didn’t speak to De Niro while working on the project (teasing, “I talked to him in my mind like, ‘Please forgive me!’”) and is not one to stay in the killer’s mindset off camera, musing “What’s the point? I don’t find it even interesting to do it otherwise. I’m not that guy.”

That ease in shaking off a character was particularly useful for this project, as Bardem had to leave to shoot his scenes for Dune: Part Three in the middle of working on Cape Fear.

“You have a plane trip to just put it out and put it in,” the actor said of switching between Max Cady and his Dune role of Fremen leader Stilgar. “It’s what you do for a living. We are in the pretending department.”

Showrunner Nick Antosca said in casting his Max Cady, he had to reckon with, “You have Robert Mitchum, you have Robert De Niro, two of the most iconic villain roles ever — how do you match that? It’s got to be somebody who is worthy of that legacy, and who out there can bring the magnetism and the menace and the intensity and all of that?”

“I couldn’t imagine anyone but Javier playing this role. It’s got to be one-of-a-kind and it’s got to be something different too,” Antosca continued. “What De Niro did was so different than what Mitchum did; I knew Javier wasn’t going to do an imitation, he was going to bring something new to it.”

Bardem transformed his look with tattoos, contacts and bleached hair and Adams confirmed when he came to set she could “feel that energy sort of step into the room, it was palpable.” Wilson added, “He really locked into the charm and the humor of it, and him being able to switch on a dime into that dangerous mode is something he’s very, very, very good at.”

Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, who produced the 1991 version, also gave their blessing on the series and are on board as executive producers, as Antosca said Scorsese in particular “gave amazing suggestions and encouraged Javier and everyone else to make it their own.”

That resulted in the biggest change, which is Max Cady facing off against a couple — who met while working on his case — instead of his solo male lawyer, as had been the case in the films. Antosca said of that update, “Their happiness and their perfect life is built on his suffering. They wouldn’t have everything that they have if he hadn’t been seemingly wrongly convicted. So that’s an interesting change to me because it brings up all these questions about the justice system, fairness and privilege and do we deserve this?”

Cape Fear starts streaming Friday on Apple TV.

Westwood’s historic Village Theatre will welcome moviegoers one more time before it shuts its doors for an extensive and extended renovation odyssey later this year.

Under a special arrangement between Universal and the Village Directors Circle, the collective of filmmakers led by Jason Reitman that bought the movie palace in 2024, American Cinematheque will screen Christopher Nolan’s new epic The Odyssey in a special three-week engagement beginning July 17.

The movie will be presented in 70mm and play three times a day, according Cinematheque, which partnered with the theater last year to program and operate the theatre.

The three-week engagement is part of programming and special events Cinematheque is putting on as a fundraising effort prior to its fall closure for a 12-month renovation and restoration. The theater recently hosted the world premiere of James Cameron and Billie Eilish’s Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D).

Nolan and Odyssey producer and wife Emma Thomas are partners in the VDC, which bought the theater in 2024 and features a galaxy of filmmakers ranging from J.J. Abrams and Ryan Coogler to Steven Speilberg and Denis Villeneuve among its ranks.

“There are many reasons to go to the movies, but few better than a three-week run of ‘The Odyssey’ in 70mm at one of the most beautiful movie palaces in the country. This American Cinematheque series is a preview of what we hope the restored Village Theatre will become,” said Reitman in a statement. “A home for great filmmakers, great audiences, and the kind of theatrical experiences that simply can’t be replicated anywhere else. Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas were among the very first filmmakers to step in when the Village Theatre needed help. Their commitment to keeping the spirit of moviegoing alive continues to inspire us all.”

Cinematheque artistic director Grant Moninger stated, “The Village booth will be fitted with restored dual 70mm projectors to ensure a world-class presentation throughout the entire run.”

Odyssey is the one of the more anticipated cinema releases of the summer. Opening July 17, the movie is a retelling of the epic tale of Homer and stars Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya and Charlize Theron, among others.

With a projected 2027 completion to its planned renovation, the VDC and Cinematheque want the remodeled Village Theatre to be the latest go-go venue for special screenings with in-person conversations, awards season events, new theatrical releases, retrospectives and tributes, as well as Cinematheque’s popular year-round programming and festivals such as Beyond Fest, Bleak Week, This Is Not a Fiction and Ultra Cinematheque 70. The organization also want to continue the venue’s legacy of hosting movie premieres.

After ‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms’ made history, here are the talents on deck to make the jump from YouTube views to theatrical grosses.

If the New York Knicks win the NBA Finals, they’ll have one person to thank. That’d be Danhausen.

The WWE wrestler, whose shtick involves laying theatrical curses on his rivals, seems to have actual supernatural powers over the team’s fortunes. On April 17, he went on ESPN and hexed the Knicks during a TV beef with host (and Knicks superfan) Stephen A. Smith. Within a week, they started losing games — to the Atlanta Hawks, no less. 

But 11 days later, on April 28, Danhausen reversed the curse after a Knicks fan on Cameo offered to pay him (Cameo lists a cost of $200-plus for his services). The team instantly started winning again. They haven’t lost a game since, sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers, building the most dominant scoring differential 10-game streak in NBA history. 

Turns out Danhausen isn’t the only celebrity throwing down jinxes. Back in 2011, Lil B hexed Kevin Durant after the basketball star dissed the Bay Area rapper’s music on Twitter. Sure enough, Durant’s game stumbled for the next five years — until he signed with Lil B’s hometown team, the Golden State Warriors, and all was forgiven. “Welcome home KD,” Lil B posted, “the curse is lifted.” Durant went on to win back-to-back championships. 

Then there was the time in 2018 when rapper and self-described witch Azealia Banks — who once posted a video of the blood-caked closet where she sacrificed chickens — got into an online spat with Lana Del Rey. Banks threatened to burn down Del Rey’s house with voodoo. That curse, though, didn’t take; the following year, Del Rey released her best reviewed album ever and her house is still standing.

And let’s not forget the Kardashian Curse — or Kurse — which while entirely unintentional may be the most potent of all: Any athlete who gets romantically involved with a K girl can kiss their career goodbye. Just ask Lamar Odom. Or James Harden. Or Blake Griffin.

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Also in Rambling Reporter:

Meet Hollywood’s other Jeffrey Epsteins; Director Graydon Carter found himself getting photographed aboard a boat in the Mediterranean — he’s still trying to figure out exactly why.

This story appeared in the June 3 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.