Tag: Entertainment-HollywoodReporter

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. 

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Survivor 50 premieres Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBS, streaming on Paramount+. See how the cast is divided into their tribes here.

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.

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 special THR 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.