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Japanese director Nanako Hirose, who trained under Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda at his Tokyo-based film collective Bunbuku Inc., has unveiled her second feature, Between Two Lovers, a romantic drama centered on a married woman who pursues a simultaneous relationship with a female lover — and proposes that all three live together. The film is set for release in Japan on Nov. 27.

The film stars Masami Nagasawa (Our Little Sister) as Uta, a picture book creator described by the filmmakers as “selfish, cunning — yet utterly lovable.” Tasuku Emoto (Kobikicho no Adauchi) plays her husband Morio, an attentive and domestic man torn between his wife’s wishes and traditional family values, while Shizuka Ishibashi — who is set to headline the NHK Morning Drama Series Blossom this fall — takes on the role of Junna, Uta’s lover and editor.

Hirose says the film “was born from the idea that there should be more diverse forms of family in the world.” She says the premise first came to her during the pandemic and she has spent the years since developing and writing the screenplay. 

Nagasawa, who recently won the best actress prize at the 49th Japan Academy Awards for Dollhouse, says of her character: “Within Uta-chan’s seemingly conflicted actions lie a mix of ideals, reality, and a sense of justice. Even so, her honesty and authenticity continue to draw people in.” Emoto described the project as “a story about love, brought to life by characters who are clumsy, yet full of longing.” Ishibashi called her character “clumsy and prickly like a hedgehog,” yet carrying a “childlike softness inside.”

Hirose built her career as an assistant director within Bunbuku, the creators’ collective that Kore-eda (Shoplifters, Monster) founded in 2014 alongside filmmaker Miwa Nishikawa (Under the Open Sky). The company has served as a launchpad and incubator for emerging Japanese directors, with Kore-eda mentoring younger filmmakers from script development through production. Hirose’s directorial debut, His Lost Name, starring Yuya Yagira, premiered in the New Currents competition at the Busan International Film Festival in 2018 and played at festivals internationally.

Between Two Lovers first attracted industry attention at the script stage, winning both the CJ ENM Award and the ARRI Award at the Asian Project Market (APM) within Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market in 2023.

The film is a Japan-Taiwan co-production, with Taiwanese cinematographer Yao Hung-I — who shot several of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s later works as well as Huang Xi’s Missing Johnny — handling the photography, alongside Taiwanese lighting director Hsiao Hung-Yi. Filming took place in September and October of last year, and the film is already complete. Popular Japanese singer-songwriter HIMI composed the score, marking his first time scoring a full feature.

The project was developed by Bunbuku and is being produced and distributed by K2 Pictures, the Tokyo-based company launched in 2023 by former Toei producer Muneyuki Kii. K2 has positioned itself as a disruptor in the Japanese film industry, eschewing the country’s traditional production committee model in favor of a fund-based financing structure aimed at returning more profits to creators and attracting both domestic and international investment. The company’s directorial roster includes Kore-eda, Nishikawa, Takashi Miike and Shunji Iwai, and its K2P Film Fund I has drawn investment from some of Japan’s biggest financial institutions, including MUFG Bank and the Development Bank of Japan. Kii serves as executive producer on Between Two Lovers, with Daiju Koide producing.

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Emerald Fennell’s steamy and modern rendition of Emily Brontë’s pivotal Victorian novel hits streaming on Tuesday, March 31, at 12 a.m. ET (Monday, March 30, at 9 p.m. PT). Starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, Wuthering Heights‘ initial at-home release comes via premium video-on-demand (PVOD), available to purchase digitally on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.

At a Glance: How to Stream Wuthering Heights 2026 Movie

Wuthering Heights 2026 Streaming: Prime Video, Apple TV

As a premium video-on-demand (PVOD) release, the film is offered for digital purchase on both Prime Video and Apple TV for $24.99, starting Monday, March 30, at 9 p.m. PT/Tuesday, March 31, at 12 a.m. ET.

Wuthering Heights Blu-Ray and Digital Code

For those who prefer a physical copy, Wuthering Heights on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray is available to pre-order now on Amazon ($19.96 for DVD; $24.95 for Blu-ray; $24.95 for 4K). It has an official release date of May 5, 2026. The physical copies come with a digital code, allowing purchasers to download the digital version on their preferred devices.

Buy Wuthering Heights Book and Merchandise

Return to the source material with a copy of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel ($8 $9 on Amazon). In addition to the classic paperback, there are a variety of deluxe or collector’s editions that double as decor. See below for a few favorites.

As part of Wuthering Heights‘ marketing rollout, a number of brands and retailers collaborated on a limited-edition product lineup spanning fashion, fragrance and home. Check out all the releases in The Hollywood Reporter‘s movie merch roundup, and shop a few favorites directly below.

Related: 15 Enviable Signet Rings Like the Bespoke Wuthering Heights Piece Robbie Gifted Elordi

Filming on Tomb Raider has been paused after star Sophie Turner suffered a “minor injury,” Amazon MGM Studios said in a statement.

Turner plays Lara Croft in the Prime Video series, which hails from Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The show is based on the Tomb Raider video game franchise, which follows the adventures of the famed archaeologist and adventurer.

“Sophie Turner recently experienced a minor injury,” Amazon MGM Studios said. “As a precaution, production has briefly paused to allow her time to recover. We look forward to resuming production as soon as possible.”

The nature of the injury is unclear. The crew will continue to be paid while production is paused, sources said.

The studio announced the start of production on Jan. 15, sharing a first-look image of Turner as Croft.
 
The cast also includes Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs, Martin Bobb-Semple, Jack Bannon, John Heffernan,  Bill Paterson, Paterson Joseph, Sasha Luss, Juliette Motamed, Celia Imrie and August Wittgenstein.
 
Waller-Bridge is creator, writer, executive producer and co-showrunner alongside Chad Hodge, who is co-showrunner and executive producer. They are joined by Jonathan Van Tulleken, who will serve as director and executive producer.
 
The series is executive produced by Amazon MGM Studios, Crystal Dynamics, Waller-Bridge and Jenny Robins through Wells Street Films, Dmitri M. Johnson, Michael Lawrence Goldberg, Timothy I. Stevenson, and Dallas Dickinson through Story Kitchen, Michael Scheel and Legendary Television. Matt McInnis is co-executive producer, and Jan R. Martin is producer.
 
The series is produced by Story Kitchen, Crystal Dynamics and Amazon MGM Studios. 

Amy Seimetz never fully turns off her directing brain while acting. “My goal as an actor is always to not get cut out of the television show,” she says with a laugh. “A lot of things that are really helpful for me, in line delivery, are more technical on the filmmaking side: What are you cutting to next? Where are you playing this out? Is this a closeup? Wide? How are you editing this?” The approach has nothing to do with maximizing screentime or superseding her actual director, but modulating her performance within a broader context. “These questions can sound like I’m overstepping, but I actually am aware as an actor, ‘Oh, if I look over here, they can cut to this to help them out in some capacity.’” 

This yields rich rewards in The Testaments, Hulu’s upcoming sequel series set 15 years after the end of The Handmaid’s Tale (premiering April 8), and featuring Ann Dowd reprising her Emmy-winning turn as Aunt Lydia. Seimetz portrays Paula, the obsessive matriarch grudgingly raising Agnes (Chase Infiniti), which is the Gilead name for Hannah, the now-teenaged daughter of Handmaid’s protagonist June (Elisabeth Moss). With imposing, sometimes comic intensity, Seimetz captures the anxieties of a woman on the verge of unraveling whenever life seems out of order — even the misplacement of a dish. 

“She wants everything pretty, she wants everything perfect — and so anything that’s out of place, that’s where my eye goes,” she says. “It is very rare to get the opportunity to play someone so sort of insidiously bad. But I didn’t want to go for the arch-villain archetype.”

The performance ought to bring Seimetz some attention, a reminder of the piercing perceptiveness she’s brought to projects including the acclaimed film Upstream Color and her own directorial project, The Girlfriend Experience. Already, she’s up for an honor at the forthcoming SeriesMania. The indie darling, who’d steadily grown her hybrid acting-directing career in the 2010s, has been out of public view for the last few years. Part of this has to do with a shift in priorities — “It’s very rare that I act these days,” she says — and part of it has to do with swift larger industry shifts, the long-gestating nature of getting anything off the ground right now. And of course, there was the frenzy surrounding The Idol — the HBO series co-created by Sam Levinson, Reza Fahim and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye that Seimetz had directed nearly a whole season of, only for her version to be ultimately, shockingly scrapped for an entirely new take (more on that shortly).

So why was The Testaments the project to lead to her largest acting role — and, presumably, press circuit — in years? Indeed, she went so far as to audition for it. “It has to be something where I’m like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this, this is maybe not in my wheelhouse’ — if I look at it and I go, ‘I’ve never done that before,’ then I know I want to try,” she says. “They all sort of feed each other in a way — directing, writing, and acting. When I get tired of being bossy, I crave having people tell me when to hit a mark and what to say. When I get tired of being told where to hit a mark and what to say, I want to be bossy again.”

Seimetz came into the project a huge Margaret Atwood fan — the show is based on Atwood’s novel of the same name, which was written during The Handmaid’s Tale’s run on Hulu and builds off of the original series’ events as much as her original book — and with connections to Infiniti, her main co-star. “My very good friend is Sara Murphy, so we had mutual friends — there was an easy in,” she says, referring to the Oscar-winning producer of One Battle After Another, which featured Infiniti’s breakout role. 

Seimetz’s icy chemistry with Infiniti is instantaneous and surprisingly light on its feet, reflective of the show as a whole despite the heavy themes. “I wouldn’t say I was playing for comedy, even though Chase would probably argue that I was,” Seimetz says. “But the idea that this is allowed to be devilishly funny in a very, very dark — almost too-close-to-reality — universe pushed me really hard to make it so, because I knew that my character was being told through the lens of Chase’s character.”

“I would try to push as far as I possibly could,” Seimetz adds, “and then just trust the director to pull me back a little bit.”

***

Three years ago, Seimetz was traveling around New Zealand’s South Island with a friend, on break from filming her most recent acting role in Netflix’s Sweet Tooth, when she got a call from her publicist: Rolling Stone was asking for comment on “whatever chaos they were writing about” regarding The Idol. She lost signal; her friend asked whether they should turn back or continue on with their off-the-grid adventure. “I was like, ‘No, I want to do what we planned and go snorkeling with dolphins’ — and by the way, that was the best fucking decision I’ve ever made,” Seimetz says. 

She brings this up first to reiterate she still has no comment on what went down on that set or what happened to the show — which was critically derided — once she had been replaced (Levinson directed the final product). Rolling Stone reported that Seimetz was “set up to fail” and that she exited a “shitshow”; HBO later told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement that her version “did not meet HBO standards so we chose to make a change.”

“It doesn’t serve me to dwell on it, it doesn’t serve me to really comment on it,” Seimetz says. “If anything, it is great that I don’t feel the need to — and I really, truly don’t.” She pauses, then connects her Idol saga to the biggest project she’s taken on since: “The best I could say is a Handmaid’s quote: ‘Don’t let the bastards grind you down.’ I’m only half joking.”

Did Seimetz feel discouraged, though, coming out of an experience we can at minimum call not ideal? “It doesn’t really matter how I felt,” she says twice. “This is Hollywood. [Steven] Soderbergh actually said this to me: ‘You’re not a real filmmaker until you have that notch on your belt and you keep going.’” For the record, Seimetz looks back fondly on The Idol that she made, even though it’ll never see the light of day. “I really, really loved what I was doing, and they ended up making the show they wanted to make, but that’s just the way it goes,” she says. “I loved working with Lily [Rose Depp]. I think she’s brilliant. At least with the work that we were doing together, she’s a comedic genius, next-level — I don’t know if people know that.”

Behind the scenes, Seimetz forged ahead with vigor, helming multiple episodes of the acclaimed Mr. & Mrs. Smith series adaptation out of the gate. She’s now got multiple high-profile projects in the works as a writer-director, which she’s reasonably confident will move forward — even if they take years. She’s also shooting a hybrid documentary on a rolling basis with one of her best friends, Jillian Mayer, down in Florida. “Jillian’s from Miami and I’m from Tampa, and so whenever I go home, I drive down and reshoot these little pieces of it,” she says. The dynamic has echoed the making of She Dies Tomorrow, Seimetz’s electric 2020 horror-thriller. 

“I really fell in love with that process, which is: Start some ideas, and you don’t necessarily need to know where it’s going,” Seimetz says. “Once I realized that I don’t have to wait around for a big project to be there or for anyone to tell me I can direct something…I just went ahead and bought cameras, and now shoot pieces of things.” 

She’s learned to navigate a rapidly changing industry through the example of Soderbergh, who first asked Seimetz to turn his feature The Girlfriend Experience into a series a little over a decade ago — even though they’d never spoken beforehand. “He’s so savvy about the changing landscape…. He really saw an opportunity when TV was starting to drop binge-watching: He went to Starz and he was like, ‘What is the number at which you would make a television show and leave us alone?’” Seimetz says. “They gave him a number, and it was very low, and then we made it.” The first season starred Riley Keough in a breakout turn and drew wide critical acclaim, going on to run two more seasons in an anthology format.

“I’ve tried that tactic again on multiple things,” Seimetz says now of how Soderbergh pushed their auteur-driven drama through. “But it is just a forever-changing landscape.” Again though, she sees Soderbergh’s prolific slate over the last five years — even as, for many, it’s felt like getting anything made is harder than ever — and takes inspiration from the nimbleness. “Everyone’s scared to make things,” she says before paraphrasing him: “I’m just going to figure out a way that I can make a bunch of these.”

***

Taking on her first regular TV role since the pandemic, Seimetz wound up away from home in Toronto for six full months last year, echoing her intensive time making The Girlfriend Experience up in Canada a decade earlier. The main difference is that here, she was playing a supporting role in an expansive storytelling tapestry. She did not direct on The Testaments either — “I am not able to really be in a performance while directing; I know that about myself enough to say ‘No, thank you’” — and thus had many days to herself. 

“It’s almost like a meditation of being in that person because you’ll have breaks and you’re like, ‘What would this person do?’” Seimetz says. “And I can’t say that I relate to Paula.”

She does relate to Atwood, however — she speaks of the author as in sync with her own philosophy of filmmaking and storytelling. “Under these dire circumstances, yes, there are heroes, and yes, there are people that are oppressed, but she allows the emotions to be really messy,” Seimetz says. “She allows the heroes to make mistakes and gets into the psychology and the decision making of what happens under these circumstances. And she plays in this world of gothic darkness with a wicked sense of humor.” 

Seimetz then turns to how The Testaments came about in the first place: Atwood seized an opportunity, expanding upon her groundbreaking book right as the Handmaid’s adaptation hit a fever pitch of popularity. Seimetz clearly admires artists’ ability to find their moment. “She’s another one that’s extremely adaptable to the way that the world works,” she says. Seimetz can count herself among that group, too.

Me’Arah O’Neal, the basketball-playing daughter of NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, has signed with LIFT Management.

A sophomore with the University of Florida Gators women’s basketball program, O’Neal is looking to LIFT to help navigate possible sponsorship deal opportunities at the intersection of sports and an expanding creator economy. “Alignment and authenticity. It has to make sense, fit who I am and the image I’m trying to build. I look for brands that feel natural,” O’Neal tells The Hollywood Reporter about her ambitions beyond the hardwood as she looks to raise her business game.

LIFT will handle contract negotiations, including around possible brand marketing deals for O’Neal, along with communications and career development.

“We’re thrilled to welcome a talent like Me’ Arah to our organization. Her impact goes far beyond performance — she brings a level of excellence, discipline, and national appeal that aligns perfectly with our vision. This partnership isn’t just about today’s success; it’s about building a legacy that inspires her audience and elevates everything we stand for. We always look to bolster elite athletes who come from strong sporting pedigrees,” stated Gina Paradiso, chief content officer at LIFT.

O’Neal’s push into the entertainment space via LIFT follows other hoops stars — including brother Shareef — making inroads into film and TV, including launching their own production banners. Shareef O’Neal became the creative strategist for the Shaq Brand, leading efforts to bring a fresh vision that bridges sports, culture and next-generation storytelling. 

Me’Arah O’Neal welcomes carrying the torch for a family of hoopers, led by an NBA superstar. “It’s a blessing but it also comes with responsibility. I’m proud of my family and where I came from, but I’m focused on really trying to create my own path. There are certain expectations or standards that come with that but that just becomes motivation for me. I want people to respect my name for who I am while still honoring the family legacy,” she explained.

Epic Records president Ezekiel Lewis has been promoted to CEO and chairman of the record label, parent company Sony Music Entertainment announced on Monday. Lewis will report to Sony Music Group chairman Rob Stringer.

The move comes about six months after former Epic CEO Sylvia Rhone stepped down from her post, after first joining as president in 2014 and getting the CEO appointment herself in 2019. Given that she was one of the oldest major label CEOs, Rhone’s retirement was a frequent area of speculation among industry insiders, and many had seen Lewis as a natural successor at the label given how pivotal a role he’s played at the label for years. He’s ran Epic’s A&R department since 2018, and he was named president at the label in 2023. In his tenure at Epic, he’s worked with a wide range of acts including Meghan Trainor, Madison Beer, 21 Savage, Future, Zara Larsson and Tyla among others.

“I am truly humbled by the trust Rob has placed in me to lead this incredible label,” Lewis said in a statement. “Music has always been about the artist, their vision, their voice, their story. Everything we build here starts and ends with that belief. My focus, from day one, is to make this the best home for recording artists anywhere in the world. In a digital-first landscape full of noise and distraction, we have an opportunity to cut through and give creators something rare: a place where they are genuinely seen, supported, and set up to thrive. That is the mission, and I do not take it lightly.”

With his appointment, Lewis is now the second Black CEO in the major label system, joining Def Jam’s Tunji Balogun. Before joining Epic, Lewis was senior vice president of A&R at Motown Records, where he worked with acts including Ne-Yo, Erykah Badu and Migos among others.

 “Through his experience and knowledge in a senior creative capacity at Epic over the last eight years, Zeke is eminently qualified to take the label forward as its leader,” Stringer said in a statement. “Not only I am very pleased to make an appointment like this based on the executive growth of an internal candidate, but also because Zeke is highly respected and trusted by the artists and staff at Sony Music. I look forward to working together with him and his team on magnifying the musical vision of Epic Records.”

Global streaming subscription revenue surpassed $150 billion for the first time in 2025, according to a new survey from Ampere Analysis, which highlighted that as “a major milestone” for the subscription market. And streaming subscription revenue will hit $202 billion by 2030, up 29 percent, “as streamers shift focus from subscriber growth to price increases and ad-supported tiers,” the research firm predicted on Monday.

“While international expansion remains an important driver of the market, platforms are increasingly focusing on monetization through price increases and the rollout of ad-supported tiers, particularly in mature markets,” Ampere emphasized in its latest report. “As ad-free subscriber numbers stabilize, hybrid subscription and advertising models are playing an increasingly important role in revenue growth.”

Global streaming subscription revenue jumped 14 percent in 2025 to reach a total of $157.1 billion. That amounts to a tripling over the past five years from $50 billion in 2020. “The international expansion of global streaming services, the rollout of ad-supported tiers, and consistent price increases across major platforms have contributed to the increase,” Ampere noted.

Including advertising revenue, streaming services generated $177 billion in revenue worldwide in 2025, Ampere said, putting ad revenue at around $20 billion. The share of total revenue of subscription streamers from ad tiers has risen “rapidly” over the past five years, up from less than 5 percent in 2020 to 28 percent in 2025, the Ampere research highlighted.

“As adoption of ad tiers grows and platforms expand their ad loads, advertising is expected to become an increasingly important revenue stream, adding a further $42 billion in annual revenue by 2030,” the company estimated.

The U.S. remained the largest driver of the streaming sector last year, accounting for 50 percent of global streaming subscription revenue in 2025, according to the research firm. “Netflix is the largest contributor in the U.S. market, with revenues up by 14 percent in 2025 following an across-the-board price increase at the start of the year,” Ampere explained. “In more crowded markets such as North America and Western Europe, the next phase of expansion is increasingly driven by ad-tier subscriptions.”

Concluded Lauren Liversedge, senior analyst at Ampere: “As the streaming market matures, the emphasis is no longer on pure subscriber growth but on extracting greater value from existing audiences. Price optimization and the rise of ad-supported tiers are driving revenue growth, particularly in the most competitive markets.”