Tag: Entertainment-HollywoodReporter

With nine total NBA Champion rings — five as a player and four (thus far) as head coach of the Golden State Warriors — Steve Kerr is a bonafide NBA legend. But what would be truly legendary is if Kerr’s bright mind could help change gun culture in America.

Kerr’s father Malcolm Kerr was assassinated by a pair of gunmen in 1984 at the American University of Beirut, where he served as president. Malcolm Kerr allowed Lebanese residents to use the college’s vacant buildings to avoid an Israeli assault on West Beirut. What he did not allow was for Israeli officers to inspect those he sheltered. Kerr’s assassination was claimed by the Islamic Jihad Organization, a militant organization close to Hezbollah.

Steve Kerr is a natural shooter — he still holds the NBA record for career 3-point shooting percentage. Given his family tragedy, Kerr has also naturally transitioned into an advocate for common sense gun safety. His two pursuits crossed paths just a few months ago when John Beam, the athletic director at Laney Community College and the head football coach on season five of Netflix docuseries Last Chance U, was shot and killed on campus some 12 miles from where the Warriors play.

At a press conference for just another NBA game in November, Kerr used his platform to honor Beam and pushed for a change in our unfortunate culture of American gun violence. Kerr’s message brought him to Joshua Seftel’s All the Empty Rooms documentary, a short film chronicling the bedrooms of children murdered by gun violence that is now on Netflix and in Oscar contention, as an executive producer. That’s where The Hollywood Reporter began its Q&A, recorded on the Friday of NBA All-Star Weekend, with Kerr.

What did you actually do here as an executive producer?

My joke, which is the dead truth, is that executive producer is a fancy way of saying, “I had nothing to do with it.” But I support it. I was asked maybe a year ago if I would be interested in being an executive producer, and immediately said, “Yes,” because I think— number one, I think it’s brilliant. I think it’s so powerful, and I think it speaks to everybody, and it cuts through all the political bullshit. And I think it’s so important. I mean, I have two granddaughters who are going to be heading off to school in the next couple of years. You know, the thought of them having to go through these active shooter drills, it’s just heartbreaking. So I just think there’s got to be ways to get through to people that this is an issue that we can tackle, and we don’t have to be pitted against each other on political lines.

What is your solution to gun violence in America?

I do work with Brady — you’ve probably heard of them. And one of the things I like about Brady is that they’re named after a Republican, and they are very much nonpartisan in their quest to protect people and save lives. But it almost sounds funny saying that, because it so clearly is a partisan issue. What Brady tries to do is cut through the political lines, and I do think that there are ways to do that. And one of the the campaigns that they have is called End Family Fire. It’s basically a nationwide campaign for gun owners to safely store their guns. So you’re really reaching out to gun owners, not far left people in San Francisco. You’re talking to directly to people who have guns. Eight kids a day are shot by un-stored guns. Seventy-five percent of school shootings happen with unsecured guns.

And so this is a really simple campaign that Brady has embarked on. This is not about the Second Amendment — it’s about gun responsibility. And in the old days, the NRA was all about gun safety. They taught gun safety. They encouraged good habits, and they were a completely different organization than they are now — now they’re just basically a wing of the gun lobby trying to increase sales. But when they first started, they were trying to teach gun owners how to be safe. And so even that alone is saving lives already.

Like most social-impact documentaries, this one was a very hard watch at times. Is there one story or scene that is particularly tough for you to watch?

Gosh, I mean, I cried several times. You know, I’ve seen it several times, and I’ve cried every time. I think the SpongeBob characters in the room (was the hardest for me). That was really, really tough … Seeing the rooms, I think, is so real because — you know, I have three kids, and they’re all grown now, but it’s like those rooms could have been my kids rooms or your kids rooms. I think that’s what hits home, is that anybody with children, it really reminds you that this is about human loss. It’s not about a statistic or political issue. And that’s the power of the movie.

You know they never mention guns one time in the film. They don’t even talk about solutions. It just focuses on the loss. And I think the most beautiful part of the film is just how deeply moved and empathetic (journalist) Steve Hartman and (photographer) Lou (Bopp) both are. Like, the juxtaposition of them going home to their own kids, and how respectful they are, you know, taking their shoes off before they go into the room. I just thought it was so beautifully done. And I don’t know that it could have happened without those two guys and their humanity and how prominent that was.

It was interesting to me that, to a family, each of the kids rooms were untouched — for some that included not picking up after and cleaning dirty laundry. No judgment on my end because far be it for anyone not in that terrible situation to say what they would or wouldn’t do, but it struck me.

Yeah, yeah. I totally agree. I thought that was really interesting, too. And it seemed to be the common thread that all the parents just wanted to preserve everything so that they could go in there and just feel the presence of their children. You’re young enough where you haven’t experienced it yet, but for every family who’s an empty nester, you go into your kid’s room after they leave for college and you sit in there sometimes and you reminisce and you think about their childhood — and they’re alive. So imagine the power of that room if the children are no longer with you. So, yeah, it was really, really something — so difficult to watch and yet so necessary to watch.

What would an Oscar mean for this film and the subject matter?

Well, I don’t really know, because it’s not my world. It’s something that I’ve thought about, and I don’t really know what to make of it. I would hope that it would just increase viewership. I think the more people who watch it, the more impact it will have. And that’s the main thing for me, is — what I want is, I want people to act, I want people to be proactive with this issue. I think Steve Hartman talks about it in the beginning of the movie, he says that human nature is to go numb and to look away — but the point of the movie is for people not to look away. It’s to address it and understand it. What my hope is, if they can address it and understand it a little bit, then they’ll be more willing to act on it.

Like a lot of issues that society has — it’s kind of a movement that has to happen. It’s not going to be, you know, all of a sudden people in Congress are going to come to their senses and say, “Oh, OK, maybe [we’ll change gun laws].” It’s going to be a movement. It’s going to be people sort of demanding it. It’s the turning of the cruise ship, is the analogy. So hopefully this will, you know, help turn the cruise ship.

If you’ll indulge me, I’d love to talk some hoop here too.

Of course.

Your Warriors contract expires in a few months — what are you thinking for next season?

I love what I do. I love coaching and so this is something I want to keep doing. But you know, it has to line up organizationally, and, and I’m completely at ease with that fact. These jobs all have expiration dates on them, and you don’t know exactly when that is. But, it’s important for me that this ends in a really healthy way. So if it’s not right for next year and I move on, I’ll be very happy and grateful for the opportunity. And if it works out, great, then I’ll keep going — but we all have to be on the same page.

You were a pretty good 3-point shooter in your day and still hold the record for highest career three-point percentage. You have a guy on your team who can shoot a bit as well — is there anything you’ve personally taught Steph Curry about shooting?

I’m not touching it — I haven’t touched it. I’ve never, ever given him one bit of shooting advice.

When I was growing up, there was a commercial about the Maytag repairman. The Maytag repairman just had nothing to do all day because Maytags run perfectly. I am the Maytag repairman (with Steph).

Last week (at the time of this interview), Fox Sports talking head Nick Wright said the way to fix the NBA All-Star Game is white players vs. Black players. Thoughts?

First, I thought it was hilarious, and I’m glad we’re getting back to being allowed to tell politically incorrect jokes. But maybe he was actually serious. I don’t really know.

All the Empty Rooms is now streaming on Netflix.

Tom Hanks is set to take on Honest Abe.

The Oscar-winning performer will portray former President Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln in the Bardo, a feature adaptation of author George Saunders’ best-selling 2017 novel.

Duke Johnson is directing the film that is a hybrid of live-action and stop-motion animation. Hanks will appear as a live-action version of the 16th U.S. President for the film that is currently in production in London.

Johnson, who co-directed the Oscar-nominated 2015 animated feature Anomalisa, helms Lincoln in the Bardo from a script by Saunders. Lincoln in the Bard centers on Lincoln’s relationship with his recently deceased 11-year-old son Willie Lincoln.

Producers include Hanks and Gary Goetzman for Playtone, along with Johnson, Devon Young Rabinowitz and Paul Young for Starburns Industries. Saunders, Steven Shareshian and Aaron Mitchell are executive producing. Saunders’ acclaimed novel won the 2017 Booker Prize.

Hanks’ recent features include The Phoenician Scheme, Here and Freaky Tales. He reprises his voice role of cowboy Woody in Pixar’s Toy Story 5, set for release this summer from Disney, and also stars in director Aaron Schneider’s forthcoming World War II drama Greyhound 2.

Lincoln’s legacy has remained in the forefront of popular culture in recent years. Hamish Linklater played the commander in chief in the 2024 Apple TV+ series Manhunt, while the Broadway play Oh, Mary!, a comedic examination of the politician’s personal life, won multiple Tony Awards last year.

Hanks is represented by CAA and Greenberg Glusker.

Deadline was first to report on Hanks’ casting.

As 20^th Century Studios and New Regency prepare to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s The Revenant, Insight Editions has announced a new publishing effort centered on the Oscar-winning frontier survival epic and its behind-the-scenes.

But this are no mere making-of book. Insight, working hand-in-hand with Iñárritu and in partnership with New Regency, is putting out a premium luxury book set aimed at the ultra cinephile and film book collector. Upping the collectibility factor, the package comes signed not only by Iñárritu but by star Leonardo DiCaprio as well.

The Making of The Revenant limited edition set is housed in a bespoke clamshell box, the clothbound collection includes two debossed, foil-stamped hardcover volumes, as well as a traditionally bound facsimile of the original shooting script.

One volume is a facsimile of Iñárritu’s rare photography book, originally created as a personal wrap gift for cast and crew and reproduced exclusively for this volume.

The second volume is the actual The Making of The Revenant tome by author Gina McIntyre, offering an in-depth look at the film’s production, creative vision, and behind-the-scenes journey through detailed commentary and striking images by on-set photographer Kimberly French.

The limited edition set is restricted to only 500 numbered copies, signed by Iñárritu, DiCaprio, and cinematographer Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki, each of whom received an Academy Award for their work on the film.

While that alone should make the set highly coveted, within that batch is the so-called Signed Print Edition of The Making of the Revenant. This one has the above books and script but also comes with an exclusive 16” x 20” giclée print on archival Hot Press Bright paper, signed by DiCaprio.

Those editions, in which the collector is receiving a double dose of DiCaprio signatures, are limited to the first 150 of the 500 numbered copies.

The publication date for both editions is June 2 but they are available for pre-order. The Making of the Revenant (Limited Edition) is retailing for $750 and The Making of The Revenant (Signed Print Edition) will sell for $1,100.

20^th Century and New Regency are bringing back Revenant to select Imax theaters nationwide on February 26 and March 1. It will also be re-released internationally in the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico.

To celebrate the film’s 10^th anniversary, Iñárritu will participate in a special Q&A panel discussion Feb. 26, where he will be joined by the film’s star DiCaprio via Zoom. A few tickets still remain for that event but they are going fast.

Check out a peek of the set below.

The global rise of microdramas, shortform vertical storytelling for the mobile generation, was in focus during a crowded panel session at MIP London on Monday. Among the topics of debate was a lack of big stars among casts, the growth outlook and the benefit of being able to watch microdramas in one of the most private spaces.

Sensor Tower’s annual report on the state of mobile recently highlighted that video streaming app downloads increased globally by nearly 39 percent in 2025, while their revenue increased nearly 18 percent. The gains were driven by short drama app downloads, which grew more than 100 percent over 2024, while traditional streaming app downloads fell by more than four percent.

Panel moderator Maria Rua Aguete, head of media & entertainment at intelligence and data firm Omdia, also highlighted on Monday that microdramas already account for $11.1 billion in global revenue, including $3.5 billion in advertising revenue.

Alex Montalvo, co-founder and chief content officer of GammaTime, a Hollywood-backed premium microdrama platform, was asked if vertical content wasn’t mostly bad. “I would beg to differ,” he replied. “This is a brand new medium,” and programming was continuously evolving. The firm’s genres and storytelling have continued to expand, he added.

After showing a sizzle reel of key short series, he said: “You can see, we’re already offering a wider range of options for consumers: true crime, thrillers, romance stories. We’re also finding early success in partnering with some of the most successful people in, dare I say, traditional Hollywood and bringing them into our ecosystem. As you saw on the screen, four of our projects were created and written by Anthony E. Zuiker, who is the creator of CSI.” Indeed, the platform showcases his thriller The Temptress, sex-crime drama Lust Cop, romantic series The Road Between Us and thriller series Kill Switch.

Concluded Montalvo: “We are adapting high-end IP, and it’s only just the beginning of the types of partnerships that we’re striking.”

The former executive of Warner Bros. Discovery and Jeffrey Katzenberg’s shortform mobile content service Quibi, which abruptly shuttered in 2020, was also asked why Quibi failed. “We probably were early,” he offered.

Anatolii Kasianov, co-founder and chief technology officer of Holywater Tech, the company previously known as Holywater until its recent acquisition of visual effects company Jeynixa, which specializes in facial animation, face replacement, de-aging and lip-sync work, also spoke on the panel. The European startup’s platforms include microdrama service My Drama and ad-supported streaming service Freebits.

He said the Jeynixa deal was designed to help the firm “disrupt how content is made [and] not only in vertical.”

Asked about how Holywater has attracted investment from the likes of Fox, Kasianov said: “We built this kind of IP incubation where we [take] hundreds of best performing, best selling books, then we transfer them into verticals and they already have an existing audience.”

He added: “We also recently signed, exclusively, Dhar Mann. He’s one of the biggest creators, I think second after MrBeast.”

Why have women been the core audience for microdramas? “I think that’s how the niche originated,” he offered. “It came from adaptations of books and performed very well, so it just started from this genre that was underrepresented, I think it’s already, on our platform, moving towards male as well.”

Tim Oh, general manager of COL Group International, where he oversees the likes of international operations, IP licensing and global expansion of the company’s microdrama and shortform content businesses, was asked about opportunities in the space for owners of existing intellectual property (IP). He said they should look at extensions of their franchises and “tell them in the microdrama space.” In fact, has team has been in talks with IP owners for “microdrama versions” of their brands that would come in a “quite tactical” way.

But Oh shared that so far, his firm has not looked to get Hollywood stars to act in its short dramas, sharing about acting talent: “We don’t cast famous actors at this point because [for audiences, watching is about] a fantasy.” And stars may distract from that.

So, is microdrama a fad or the future, the MIP London panelists were asked. “Is it a hype? Is it a fad? Yes, but at the same time, it is here to stay,” Oh offered. “Candy Crush was the biggest game at one point. People are still playing it, but there are a million other mobile games that have come out.”

He predicted a similar future for the microdrama space. “It is going to change, and it’s going to change very quickly,” Oh said. “The vertical format or short attention span is not going to change. You’re able to watch a microdrama on the way to work on the tube, walking back. It would be so hard to watch a full-length series of 40 minutes and finish it, but you get paid off and satisfied [with a microdrama].”

Oh saved one key benefit of shortform mobile content for last, sharing: “I can watch this on the toilet.”

Longevity guru Dr. Peter Attia is stepping aside as a contributor to CBS News, after correspondence between Jeffrey Epstein and the researcher and health media personality came to light in the release of the Epstein Files from the Department of Justice.

CBS News staff were informed of the decision Monday in a note from the network’s booking department, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Attia told CBS that he would be resigning effective immediately.

Attia was one of a number of high-profile contributors that CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss brought on as part of her planned overhaul of the network news division, seeking to bring more voices into CBS’ linear and digital coverage.

Shortly after that announcement, however, the embarrassing exchanges were released by the DOJ, many of which contained crude banter. CBS subsequently pulled a rerun of a 60 Minutes segment that featured Attia.

That said, Attia had been expected to remain a contributor to the network, with Weiss being a critic of so-called “cancel culture.” Of course, the Epstein emails damaged his reputation even if he personally did not engage in or know about any criminal activity, as Attia wrote in a note he sent to his team and his patients.

“I apologize and regret putting myself in a position where emails, some of them embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible, are now public, and that is on me,” Attia added. “I accept that reality and the humiliation that comes with it.”

Attia’s name appears some 1,700 times in the 3 million Epstein documents released on Jan. 30. The bulk of the emails between Attia and Epstein are from the mid-2010s — after Epstein was convicted (in 2008) on a Florida charge of soliciting prostitution from someone under 18, but before a 2018 Miami Herald exposé on a host of allegations against Epstein and his second arrest in 2019.

The health and longevity researcher and author is one of many people with connections to Hollywood and the media business who were found to have known Epstein.

Once the domain of film students and YouTubers, crowdfunding an independent movie has now reached the upper echelons of Silicon Valley and American politics.

Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s running mate in the 2024 presidential campaign, is attached as an executive producer on a feature film project that is being billed as a COVID-set satirical comedy. The project, titled The Rash, will center on a character, a public-health professor, inspired by Jay Bhattacharya, the current National Institutes of Health Director under RFK Jr., who was an outspoken critic of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown and later vaccination efforts.

Leading the apparent financing efforts is The Brownstone Institute, the Texas-based nonprofit founded by libertarian thinker Jeffrey Tucker, which was itself founded in response to the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent policy decisions. For its part, Brownstone notes that it is “well-positioned to be a fiscal sponsor of this effort” because the project “exists squarely within the purview of our mission.”

The announcement on Brownstone’s website says the story will take place during a health problem “that captures the public mind with contagious fear and loathing.” It continues: “This rash – real, imagined, or created – is viewed as a financial opportunity by dominant institutions on the cultural landscape. Among them is a pharmaceutical company with an off-the-shelf product called Zenvidia that seems to address the rash by making people forget all about it (with major side effects). Hilarity ensues as a Stanford public-health professor speaks out against the mania.”

Walter Kirn — the novelist behind the book Up in the Air, which later became the George Clooney-starring movie — is writing the screenplay. Kirn, himself a COVID policy skeptic, has already spent hours with Bhattacharya for research. Shanahan, who became a reported billionaire following her divorce from Google’s Sergey Brin, will exec produce with her partner Jacob Strumwasser.

There is a pitch deck and sizzle reel available via Brownstone’s announcement for interested investors. Wag the Dog, Thank You for Smoking and Dr. Strangelove are all listed as references for the project.

According to the pitch deck, The Rash has a prospective budget of nearly $6 million.

Jeffrey Epstein’s private island was filled with over-the-top amenities. A helipad for quick escapes. Its own dock for visiting yachts. Guest villas and swimming pools and an exclusive stretch of beach — not to mention that creepy dentist chair that nobody’s been able to explain. But it turns out there was one luxury indulgence he was never able to acquire: his own Imax theater.

According to emails that Rambling has unearthed from the Epstein files, the late billionaire sex criminal was drawing up plans to install a jumbo-screen theater on his Caribbean property. “We are pleased to provide this proposal for the following work, best described as 6 seat IMAX Theater for the Little Saint James residence in the US Virgin Islands,” reads one 2014 email from a New York-based company called House Systems, which goes on to describe “dual-projection 4K 3D technology,” “immersive surround sound” and “luxury automated seating.” The price tag: a cool $2.25 million.

Epstein didn’t close the deal, but he clearly couldn’t get the idea out of his head. Four years later, in 2018, he corresponded with a different Imax representative, this one offering a similar setup (including a “3 year VIP customer support line” with “24/7 365 service support”) for $2.3 million.

“IMAX is going to do a few drawings for us (got them included for free in proposal) that we can pass on to architects/contractors if we do design build,” the rep promised. Not long after, an email arrived with blueprints for the theater — schematics that included a 600-inch screen and two rows of three oversized seats. But less than a year later, Epstein was arrested. The theater was never built. 

***

Also in Rambling Reporter:

Sheriff Chris Nanos doesn’t just run the police department investigating Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance — he’s the brains behind A&E’s reality cop show ‘Desert Law.’ And a thorn in the side of right-wing media.

Why despite being a Sundance hit, Courtney Love is reshooting her documentary.

This story appeared in the Feb. 23 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.