Terence Stamp, the prolific English actor who played General Zod in the “Superman” films and earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the title character in “Billy Budd,” has died. He was 87.
Stamp died of undisclosed causes Sunday morning, his family confirmed to Reuters.
“He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and as a writer that will continue to touch and inspire people for years to come,” the family said in a statement.
Stamp began his acting career onstage in 1960 on London’s West End, but quickly received international attention and critical acclaim with his 1962 portrayal of the title role in Peter Ustinov’s adaptation of Herman Melville’s historical adventure novel, “Billy Budd.”
The humanity Stamp imbued in the tragic, stammering naval vessel crewman established Stamp as a talent to watch — with a Golden Globe Award for best male newcomer to prove it. Still, Stamp didn’t fully break through in Hollywood until 1978 when he embodied the chilling persona of Superman’s arch-nemesis, General Zod, in the first film of what would become a wildly successful franchise. Stamp took on the role again in 1982’s “Superman II.”
Stamp, with his calm demeanor and pale eyes, proved such a successful villain that he feared he was becoming typecast as one. In 1994 he decided to try something radically different when he took on the role of a transgender woman named Bernadette in Stephan Elliott’s now cult-classic film, “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.”
The film marked one of the first times a transgender character was portrayed as a lead in an international film. When the movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May of that year, The Times’ then film critic, Kenneth Turan, interviewed Stamp for a feature. Stamp told Turan that he had been extremely nervous to play the role, but that a good friend encouraged him to take it, saying, “If you don’t start doing parts like this all you can look forward to is playing villains in Hollywood movies for the rest of your life,” and that, Stamp said, “stuck fear and loathing into my heart.”
“Priscilla,” about a group of drag performers on a bus trip to play a show at a resort hotel in the Australian desert, was a critical success, with Turan writing that it, “added some needed life to the Cannes Film Festival scene,” debuting in a “raucous midnight screening.”
In 1999 Stamp teamed up with Peter Fonda in Steven Soderbergh’s crime thriller, “The Limey.”
“When ‘60s icons collide, that should be the pitch for ‘The Limey,’,” noted a feature in The Times about the project. Stamp called his role as a British ex-con named Wilson investigating the death of his daughter in L.A., “the best offer I’ve had in 40 years.”
Stamp and Fonda, old friends who had long wanted to work together, were both experiencing comebacks at the time, with Stamp having just played Chancellor Finis Valorum in the blockbuster, “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.”
Terence Henry Stamp was born in London in 1938. His father was part of the Merchant Navy, and was often away for long periods of time. Stamp was raised mostly by his mother, grandmother and a variety of aunts. He loved the movies and idolized Gary Cooper and James Dean.
As a young man he earned a scholarship to Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art — one of Britain’s leading drama schools — and soon began performing at repertory theaters. His roommate at that time was the young actor Michael Caine, and the pair made friends with Peter O’Toole, quickly becoming enmeshed in the good-looking, fast-moving London party scene of the 1960s. Stamp famously dated actor Julie Christie, whom he starred alongside in director Ken Loach’s first feature film, 1967’s “Poor Cow.”
Stamp was known for his intense dedication to craft, particularly his ability to hone in on the psychological underpinnings of a given character. He was known for bringing the same depth of devotion to all his roles, including 1962’s “Term of Trial” alongside Laurence Olivier; William Wyler’s “The Collector” (1965); Joseph Losey’s “Modesty Blaise” (1966); John Schlesinger’s adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s “Far from the Madding Crowd” (1967); and a 50-minute short film by Federico Fellini, “Toby Dammit” (1968), among many others.
In 1999, while filming “The Limey,” he told The Times, “When you’ve had a long career you kind of merge all your great roles together. So I don’t think about being good in an individual thing. I think of the collective total, of working with [William] Wyler and Pasolini … I recently thought to myself, ‘You know, if it had to end now, it would really be OK.’ From ‘Billy Budd’ to ‘The Limey,” no actor could ask for more, so it’s a very great moment for me.”
“Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan and Paramount are going big in Texas, joining forces to open a 450,000-square-foot production campus in Fort Worth, in a boost to the Lone Star State’s growing entertainment economy.
The venture, announced Wednesday, comes on the heels of Skydance’s $8.4-billion takeover of Paramount and just as Texas has taken major initiatives to encourage more film production, having recently passed legislation increasing its film incentives program to $1.5 billion over the next 10 years.
The massive production hub will be situated on the Alliance Texas campus, a 27,000-acre development owned by billionaire Ross Perot Jr.’s Hillwood, a commercial and residential real estate developer and a partner in the project along with Sheridan’s and Paramount Television.
It will be the largest studio facility in the state, according to officials, and marks another step toward Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s goal “to make Texas the Film Capital of the World.”
“We are at a pivotal moment where Texas can become a global force in the film industry, and North Texas offers the location and resources to play a central role in this development,” said Hillwood President Mike Berry in a statement.
The film campus is composed of two buildings with six sound stages that can support four large-scale productions simultaneously. It is expected to be the home base for such Sheridan-produced shows as “Landman” and “Lioness,” which currently film in Texas.
The second season of “Landman” has been filming at the facility since March.
Taylor Sheridan at the premiere of Paramount+’s “1883” at Wynn Las Vegas in 2021.
(Greg Doherty / Getty Images for Wynn Las Vegas)
The move also marks a turning point for Sheridan’s productions.
In recent years, Sheridan, who grew up in Fort Worth, has filmed many of his hit television shows — including “1883” — across the state.
His productions have brought in hundreds of millions of dollars to local businesses and a stream of tourists in what some in the industry began calling “the Sheridan Effect.”
“SGS Studios isn’t just about sound stages or incentives — it’s about reclaiming the independence and grit that built this industry in the first place,” said Taylor Sheridan in statement about the new project.
Dan Ziskie, the veteran TV actor best known for his work on the Netflix political drama series “House of Cards” and HBO’s “Treme,” has died. He was 80.
Ziskie died July 21 in New York, his family announced in an obituary for the actor published on Legacy.com. Though his life “was cut short by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease,” Ziskie’s family said in the obituary, his legacy will live on.
“His was a life lived with passion, a life that exemplified the beauty of pursuing one’s dreams and the importance of cherishing every moment,” the family said. “Dan will be profoundly missed, yet he will forever remain in the hearts of those who knew him, like a cherished character in the timeless narrative of their lives.”
“House of Cards,” which premiered on Netflix in 2013 as the first scripted drama produced for the streaming giant, starred Ziskie as Vice President Jim Matthews. He appeared in six episodes from 2013 to 2017, acting alongside stars including Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright and Michael Kelly. “House of Cards” won several Primetime Emmys and secured dozens of nominations.
Ziskie also notably appeared in HBO’s drama “Treme,” as New Orleans banker and reconstruction financier C.J. Liguori. The series aired from 2010 to 2013 and featured an ensemble cast of Khandi Alexander, Rob Brown, Kim Dickens, Melissa Leo, Lucia Micarelli, Clarke Peters, Wendell Pierce, Jon Seda and Steve Zahn.
Ziskie also had minor roles in “The Equalizer,” “Newhart,” “L.A. Law,” “Quantum Leap,” “ER” and “Law & Order: SVU,” among other series. His final credit was a role in the miniseries “The Bite” in 2021 and he was set to appear in the film “Very Close Quarters,” according to IMDb.
Daniel A. Ziskie was born Aug. 13, 1944, in Detroit and had a knack for athletics, pursuing track and football in his high school days. Ziskie studied at the University of Michigan, where he excelled in track and field and struck up an interest in performing arts. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English, he took on a variety of jobs including as a crewman on a Great Lakes freighter before finding an outlet for his talents at improv hub Second City in Chicago. He began his screen career in the 1980s, landing a steady stream of acting jobs until the 2020s.
Beyond television, Ziskie also appeared in stage productions including “After the Fall” and “I’m Not Rappaport,” and the films “Adventures in Babysitting,” “Eight Below” and “War of the Worlds,” among others.
Ziskie’s family remembered him as a “gifted” photographer who shared his work in the photo book “Cloud Chamber.” He was also a travel enthusiast and took an interest in “complex” topics including the cosmos and quantum physics.
“Dan’s legacy extends beyond his family, as his colleagues and friends will remember him as a creative, thoughtful, and interesting man whose presence enriched their lives,” the family said.
Ziskie is survived by his brother David, wife Cynthia, nephews Jesse, Brett and Austin and their six children, the obituary said.
But enough people remember Cain in blue tights and a red cape so that he’s a regular on the fan convention circuit.
It’s his calling card, so when the Trump administration put out the call to recruit more ICE agents, guess who answered the call?
Big hint: Up, up and a güey!
On Aug. 6, the up until then not exactly buzzworthy Cain revealed on Instagram that he joined la migra — and everyone else should too!
The 59-year old actor made his announcement as an orchestral version of John Williams’ stirring “Superman” theme played lightly below his speech.
Superman used to go after Nazis, Klansmen and intergalactic monsters; now, Superman — er, Cain — wants to go after Tamale Lady. His archenemy used to be Lex Luthor; now real-life Bizarro Superman wants to go to work for the Trump administration’s equally bald-pated version of Lex Luthor: Stephen Miller.
“You can defend your homeland and get great benefits,” Cain said, flashing his bright white smile and brown biceps. Behind him was an American flag in a triangle case and a small statue depicting Cain in his days as a Princeton Tigers football player. “If you want to save America, ICE is arresting the worst of the worst and removing them from America’s streets.”
Later that day, Cain appeared on Fox News to claim he was going to “be sworn in as an ICE agent ASAP.” a role Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin later on clarified to the New York Times would be only honorary. His exaggeration didn’t stop the agency’s social media account to take a break from its usual stream of white supremacist dog whistles to gush over Cain’s announcement.
“Superman is encouraging Americans to become real-life superheroes,” it posted “by answering their country’s call to join the brave men and women of ICE to help protect our communities to arrest the worst of the worst.”
American heroes used to storm Omaha Beach. Now the Trump administration wants their version of them to storm the garden section of Home Depot.
Dean Cain speaks during a ceremony honoring Mehmet Oz, the former host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Feb. 11, 2022.
(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)
Its appeal to Superman is part of their campaign to cast la migra as good guys while casting all undocumented people as shadowy villains who deserve deportation — the faster and nastier the better. But as with almost anything involving American history, Team Trump has already perverted Superman’s mythos. In early June, they put Trump, who couldn’t leap over a bingo card in a single bound let alone a tall building, on the White House’s social media accounts in a Superman costume. This was accompanied with the slogan: “Truth. Justice. The American Way.” That was the day before Warner Bros. released its latest Man of Steel film.
Even non-comic book fans know that the hero born Kal-El on Krypton was always a goody-goody who stood up to bullies and protected the downtrodden. He came from a foreign land — a doomed planet, no less — as a baby. His alter ego, Clark Kent, is humble and kind, traits that carry over when he turns into Superman.
The character’s caretakers always leaned on that fictional background to comment on real-world events. In a 1950 poster, as McCarthyism was ramping up, DC Comics issued a poster in which Superman tells a group of kids that anyone who makes fun of people for their “religion, race or national origin … is un-American.”
A decade later, Superman starred in a comic book public service announcement in which he chided a teen who said “Those refugee kids can’t talk English or play ball or anything” by taking him to a shabby camp to show the boy the hardships refugees had to endure.
The Trumpworld version of Superman would fly that boy to “Alligator Alcatraz” to show him how cool it is to imprison immigrants in a swamp infested with crocodilians.
It might surprise you to know that in even more recent times, in a 2017 comic book, Superman saves a group of undocumented immigrants from a man in an American flag do-rag who opened fire on them. When the attempted murderer claimed his intended targets stole his job, Superman snarled “The only person responsible for the blackness smothering your soul … is you.”
Superman used to tell Americans that immigrants deserved our empathy; Super Dean wants to round them up and ship them out.
Rapists? Murderers? Terrorists? That’s who Superman né Cain says ICE is pursuing — the oft repeated “worst of the worst” — but Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse found that 71% of people currently held in ICE detention have no criminal records as of July 27 .
I don’t think the real Superman — by whom I mean the fictional one whom Cain seems to think he’s the official spokesperson for just because he played him in a middling dramedy 30-some years ago — would waste his strength and X-ray vision to nab people like that.
Dean “Discount Superman” Cain should grab some popcorn and launch on a Superman movie marathon to refresh himself on what the Man of Steel actually stood for. He can begin with the latest.
Its plot hinges on Lex Luthor trying to convince the U.S. government that Superman is an “alien” who came to the U.S. to destroy it.
“He’s not a man — he’s an It. A thing,” the bad guy sneers at one point, later on claiming Superman’s choirboy persona is “lulling us into complacency so he can dominate [the U.S.] without resistance.”
Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor and David Corenswet as Superman in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Superman.”
(Jessica Miglio / Warner Bros. Pictures)
Luthor’s scheme, which involves manipulating social media and television networks to turn public opinion against his rival, eventually works. Superman turns himself in and is whisked away to a cell far away from the U.S. along with other political prisoners. Luthor boasts that “[constitutional] rights don’t apply to extraterrestrial organisms.”
Tweak that line a little and it could have come from the mouth of Stephen Miller.
Director James Gunn told a British newspaper that his film’s message is “about human kindness and obviously there will be jerks out there who are just not kind and will take it as offensive just because it is about kindness. But screw them.”
He also called Superman an “immigrant,” which set Cain off. He called Gunn “woke” on TMZ and urged Gunn to create original characters and keep Superman away from politics.
Well, Super Dean can do his thing for ICE and Trump. He can flash his white teeth for promotional Trump administration videos as he does who knows what for the deportation machine.
“Miracle Mile” takes place in a city in the throes of chaos as Angelenos flee the threat of a nuclear strike. The film was released in 1988, but it has resurfaced in the last few years, attracting sold-out crowds at the American Cinematheque and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Written and directed by Steve De Jarnatt and made for $3 million, the film was restored and re-released by boutique film distributor Kino Lorber in 2024. In her commentary for the Blu-ray, author Janet Fitch (“White Oleander”) said “Miracle Mile” depicts “the kind of apocalypse that L.A. people imagine.”
Los Angeles knows how to weather a crisis — or two or three. Angelenos are tapping into that resilience, striving to build a city for everyone.
And even though it did not make a big impression when it opened, De Jarnatt said the film has gained what he called “cult status.”
Much of the appeal of “Miracle Mile” appeal can be attributed to the film’s obvious affection for the stretch of Wilshire Boulevard bordered by La Brea and Fairfax Avenues. Featured locations include the May Co. and Orbach’s department stores (now the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and the Petersen Automotive Museum, respectively), the nearby Park La Brea towers and Johnnie’s Coffee Shop, which is closed and used primarily for film and TV productions.
The movie, which takes place over the course of 24 hours, starts out as a lighthearted romance. Anthony Edwards plays Harry Washello, a struggling trombone player who falls for coffee shop waitress Julie Waters (Mare Winningham) after they meet cute at the La Brea Tar Pits. The couple make a date to meet after her evening shift is over.
But their plans fall apart. Harry unwittingly intercepts a call at a phone booth, and the caller tells him nuclear missiles will strike Los Angeles within the hour. As the city unravels, Harry and Julie try to save their upended romance.
The ending is both sad and happy. “To be with the one you love at the end, even if it’s a brand new love who you met at the La Brea Tar Pits, which is like a time portal and a museum dedicated to extinction, is as good a way as any to go out,” De Jarnatt says.
(And it was a particularly happy ending for Edwards and Winningham, who bonded while filming the project. At the time, both were married to other people and stayed friends while working together on other projects — including “ER,” in which Edwards played the lead role as Dr. Mark Greene. The two eventually became a couple and wed in 2021.)
The road to find steady work in Hollywood is more fraught now than ever before. The entertainment industry is in the throes of a seismic transformation, as traditional jobs are vanishing, and AI threatens to completely upend the way visual media is made and consumed. Fortunately, Ada Tseng and Jon Healey are here to help.
The writing team, both former Times editors with extensive experience covering show business, have written “Breaking Into New Hollywood,” a how-to guide like no other. Healey and Tseng interviewed hundreds of insiders both above and below the line — gaffers, casting directors, actors, writers, stunt people and many others — to provide an extensive, wide-screen view of how to break in, and what it’s like when you actually do find that dream job.
I sat down with Healey and Tseng to discuss their new book.
Ada Tseng, left, and Jon Healey.
(Ricardo DeAratanha; Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
This is the most comprehensive how-to guide for Hollywood careers I’ve ever read. Where did the impetus for the book come from?
Ada: The book started as a Hollywood careers series at the Los Angeles Times, when Jon and I were editors on a team that specialized in writing guides and explainers. As we were thinking about how to be useful to L.A. Times readers, I pitched a project to help people who were interested in getting a job in Hollywood. A lot of people come to L.A. starry-eyed with big dreams, but the film and TV industry can be pretty brutal.
As journalists, we’re Hollywood outsiders, but we had access to hundreds of professionals who were generous enough to share what they wished they knew when they were starting out. We see it like this: On behalf of the people who don’t have connections in the industry, we cold-emailed people, asked for informational interviews, picked their brains, listened to stories of what they did to build a career — and did our best to consolidate their most practical pieces of advice into an actionable guide.
Jon: A lot of folks I interviewed had similar origin stories in this respect: They knew that they wanted to work in the industry in some capacity, but they didn’t know what exactly they could do. So it made sense to do a book for that sort of person — a guide that would show an array of possible career paths to people who didn’t know what role they wanted to fill.
I feel like “How to Break into the Business” books in the past have tended to focus on positive outcomes rather than the struggle. Did you want to temper expectations, or at least make sure people think things through very thoroughly before jumping in?
Ada: We just wanted to be honest. The glamorous fantasy of Hollywood is so intoxicating. But if you’re going to work in the industry, you need to navigate the day-to-day reality of it. I don’t think we were trying to encourage or discourage anyone. I’d hope that some people would read the chapters and think, “This seems doable, and now I can make a plan,” while others would read it and think, “If I’m honest with myself, I’m someone who needs more stability in my life.” Because it’s not just a career choice. It’s a lifestyle choice.
Jon: Right, this was about expectation-setting and reality-checking. The very first interviews I did in this project were of Foley artists. An expert I interviewed said there were 40 to 50 established Foley practitioners in the U.S., and 100 to 200 folks trying to get into the field. That’s a very tough nut to crack. Then there are the Hollywood unions, which present a catch-22 to anyone trying to join their ranks — they have to do a certain number of hours in jobs covered by union contracts, but union members get first crack at all those gigs.
Your book also covers jobs above and below the line. I think many people don’t even realize how many different career opportunities exist.
Ada: There are two things we heard over and over again. People would say, “It’s incredibly important to understand what all the different departments do.” And they’d also say, “So many people — even our own colleagues in the industry — don’t understand what we do.” So we wanted to encourage newcomers to learn about all different types of jobs in Hollywood and how they work together.
Jon: Talking about the emotional components is about setting expectations too. The vast majority of people who work in Hollywood, from A-list actors to entry-level grips, are freelancers. That’s a tough life of highs and lows, and you have to prepare for that mentally as well as financially. People have to hustle for years to establish themselves, and that takes an enormous capacity for rejection. On top of that is the physical toll the work can extract, especially on the folks involved in setting up and tearing down sets. Part of the point of the book is to tell people with Hollywood dreams that they’ll need to gird themselves emotionally and physically for the work.
You also broach the subject of money and who makes what. Another novel idea for a book like this.
Ada: We consistently heard from people that it takes 5 to 7 years to make a living — and that’s if you’re successful. So unless you come from wealth, how you pay your bills when you aren’t booking gigs is an integral part of breaking into — and achieving longevity — in Hollywood.
Also, the money varies widely — depending on experience, how big the project is and other factors, but it’s good to understand the basic minimums dictated by the unions, as well as whether you’re interested in a career path where you can expect to have yearly full-time work – or if 30 weeks of employment a year is considered a really good year.
Jon: The hardest parts to write for me, and probably for Ada too, were the sections telling people in certain fields that they were expected to work for free. Happily, the industry seems to be getting better about that, albeit because it’s been forced to do so.
Ada: Although, it’s not even that you aren’t making money. You have to spend a lot of money, whether you’re taking classes, buying equipment, submitting your work for fellowships — getting your own plane tickets and hotel rooms to go to events to network or promote your work. You’re basically investing in yourself as a business.
Your sections on AI are eye-opening.It is not necessarily a career killer but, in fact, might boost employment, right?
Jon: I like to give a super long answer to this question that cites the long history of industrial revolutions, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll just say that technology has always been crucial to the film and TV industry, and innovations over the years have ended some livelihoods while creating others. AI tools can allow filmmakers to be more efficient, just as digital cameras and LED lights have done. That inevitably means fewer jobs per project, but also should result in more projects being green-lit. And as digital tools and streaming services eliminate barriers to entry in music, so can AI eliminate barriers to entry in film. Advocates of AI believe there will be a net increase in jobs, and time will tell whether they’re right. But there’s no question that the jobs in film and TV will be different.
Ada: This was another hard part to give advice about, because AI is rapidly evolving and there’s a lot of well-founded fear about the jobs of our generations that will be eliminated. But this book is for the next generation, and aspiring creatives need to treat AI as part of their toolkit.
Was there any common thread that runs through all of the interviews you conducted with professionals?
Ada: Everyone is deeply committed to their crafts, but what they’re most passionate about is storytelling. What I mean by that is: A costume designer, of course, is passionate about clothing, but if their main priority was beautiful clothing, they’d be a stylist or a fashion designer. Costume designers are passionate about using clothing to create a character and tell a story. Similarly, if a set decorator’s main passion was creating beautiful homes, they’d be an interior designer. But a set decorator wants to use the furniture, decor and objects to help you understand the protagonist’s backstory.
Jon: Even the most accomplished crew members and producers we talked to said they looked at their jobs as advancing someone else’s vision, not their own. They learned early on not to get invested emotionally in their best ideas because someone else — the director on a film, the showrunner on a TV series — would be the judge of which ideas to use. That’s really humbling.
What do you think is the most profound change in Hollywood as it continues to transition from theatrical and TV into streaming?
Jon: Streaming has proven to be a huge boon to long-form storytelling, at least from the viewer’s vantage point. You’d still have “Succession” without streaming, but you don’t have the quantity of “Succession”-level shows without the investment and competition from the likes of Netflix, Apple and Amazon. But the economics of streaming series are very different from those of a long-running broadcast TV show. There are fewer episodes, which means less pay for writers, actors and crew members over the course of a year. And residuals are lower for those who are entitled to them. Meanwhile, after a steady rise in the number of scripted shows released in the U.S., the volume fell sharply in 2024. So it appears that peak TV may have peaked.
For movies, the pandemic gave studios a preview of the post-theatrical world to come. Nevertheless, the industry is still struggling to come up with a coherent approach to streaming. So much of a movie’s marketing is still tied to theatrical releases, and multiplexes and studios continue to fight over how long a new movie should wait before it hits the streamers. And I wonder if there isn’t a lingering stigma for movies that are available immediately for streaming, similar to the one for movies that went straight to DVD.
Ada: It’s not just streaming. Everything that we consume from our phones — from social media content to podcasts to gaming livestreams — is not only competing with mainstream Hollywood but also becoming part of the same big entertainment ecosystem.
But on the flip side, it’s never been more possible for aspiring creatives to bypass traditional gatekeepers, make their own projects, connect directly with audiences and build their own revenue streams — even if it’s never going to be easy.
I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope newsletter. Got any home improvement projects on tap? Seems like a good time to tackle one while we take a look at the shows that might win Emmys next month for writing and directing.
Newsletter
Sign up for The Envelope
Get exclusive awards season news, in-depth interviews and columnist Glenn Whipp’s must-read analysis straight to your inbox.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Writing and directing power rankings
The writing and directing categories at this year’s Emmys could give us a couple of A-list acceptance speeches — Ben Stiller and Seth Rogen — as well as providing the usual hints about what shows will wind up prevailing in the series categories.
Let’s sketch out how the races are shaping up with our official set of power rankings, ordered from worst to first for drama, comedy and limited series. Try to see if you can read it all in a single take in honor of all the “oners” nominated.
Drama series directing
Adam Scott and Britt Lower in “Severance.”
(Apple TV+)
7. “The White Lotus.” “Amor Fati,” Mike White Season 3 aftertaste remains as bitter as one of Timothy’s poison piña coladas.
6. “Slow Horses.” “Hello Goodbye,” Adam Randall Another exemplary season. There’s a reason Randall recently became the first director to be hired for another go-round.
5. “Andor.” “Who Are You?,” Janus Metz Should be required viewing for American citizens right now.
4. “The Pitt.” “7 a.m.,” John Wells How it all began …
3. “The Pitt.” “6 p.m.,” Amanda Marsalis And how it ended.
2. “Severance.” “Chikhai Bardo,” Jessica Lee Gagné We finally got our Gemma episode and it was breathtaking in the ways it used visual language to convey the most heartbreaking love story this side of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”
1. “Severance.” “Cold Harbor,” Ben Stiller Innie Mark vs. Outie Mark. Frantic chases down the hallways. An impossible choice. And a marching band.
Comedy series directing
Sarah Polley, left, Catherine O’Hara and Seth Rogen in “The Studio.”
(Apple TV+)
5. “Mid-Century Modern.” “Here’s to You, Mrs. Schneiderman,” James Burrows For those keeping score, that’s Emmy nomination No. 28 as a director for Burrows. (He has won five times.)
4. “The Bear.” “Napkins,” Ayo Edebiri Tina’s origin story, and the episode that probably won Liza Colón-Zayas her Emmy last year. Also likely to be remembered for being Edebiri’s directorial debut and, taken with her co-writing this season’s standout “Worms,” an auspicious sign of good things to come.
3. “The Rehearsal.” “Pilot’s Code,” Nathan Fielder In which Fielder lives the life of Sully Sullenberger, from baby to adult, complete with a puppet mom and an unforgettable lactation scene.
1. “The Studio.” “The Oner,” Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg Not my favorite “Studio” episode (that would be “The Pediatric Oncologist”) but an obvious choice to take this category.
Limited / TV movie directing
Owen Cooper, left, and Stephen Graham in “Adolescence.”
(Netflix )
6. “Sirens.” “Exile,” Nicole Kassell It was not a good year for limited series.
5. “Zero Day,” Lesli Linka Glatter Seriously.
4. “Dying for Sex.” “It’s Not That Serious,” Shannon Murphy La petite mort onward to the last roundup. Que Dieu te garde, Molly.
3. “The Penguin.” “A Great or Little Thing,” Jennifer Getzinger Just when you thought it couldn’t get any darker, the show’s finale went there.
2. “The Penguin,” “Cent’Anni,” Helen Shaver The series’ best episode and why Cristin Milioti will probably win the Emmy.
1. “Adolescence,” Philip Barantini Every episode was a oner.
Drama series writing
Tramell Tillman in “Severance.”
(Apple TV+)
6. “Slow Horses.” “Hello Goodbye,” Will Smith To my great and everlasting surprise, “Slow Horses” won this Emmy last year, meaning that however long it lasts — and there will be at least two more seasons — it will have triumphed at least once.
5. “The White Lotus.” “Full–Moon Party,” Mike White I’m a little like Saxon after his hookup with his brother in this episode, wanting to pretend it — and the whole season — never happened.
4. “The Pitt.” “7 a.m.,” R. Scott Gemmill This is such a wonderfully written episode, introducing us to a couple of dozen characters, establishing them and the setting and doing so in a tight 53 minutes.
3. “Andor.” “Welcome to the Rebellion,” Dan Gilroy There’s so much respect for what the Gilroy brothers did with “Andor” that you could see voters having a strong impulse to reward it.
2. “The Pitt.” “2 p.m.,” Joe Sachs You remember how this episode ends? The honor walk for Nick? I am getting tears in my eyes typing this sentence. And that was just one element in an episode that left me so gutted that I had to sequester myself after it ended before I could even choke out a word or two with my wife.
1. “Severance.” “Cold Harbor,” Dan Erickson Trippy, emotionally fraught season finale that’ll probably win since loyalists of “The Pitt” have two choices in this category.
Comedy series writing
Jean Smart in “Hacks.”
(Jake Giles Netter / HBO Max)
6. “What We Do in the Shadows.” “The Finale,” Sam Johnson, Sarah Naftalis and Paul Simms They shut the casket one final time, satisfying nearly everyone who loved the show for six seasons.
5. “Somebody Somewhere.” “AGG,” Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen and Bridget Everett Another series finale, a near-perfect summation of the show’s lovely blend of joy and melancholy.
4. “Abbott Elementary.” “Back to School,” Quinta Brunson Solid season opener of a series that has crossed over into “taken-for-granted” status.
3. “The Rehearsal.” “Pilot’s Code,” Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Adam Locke-Norton and Eric Notarnicola “It was difficult at first to inhabit the mind of a baby. I know so much more than babies do, and it can be hard to forget all that stuff. So I tried not to think about the fact that I was a 41-year-old man and just did my best to be present in the moment.”
2. “The Studio.” “The Promotion,” Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory and Frida Perez The episode that started it all and made me more interested to see a “Kool-Aid” movie than practically anything that an actual studio released this summer.
1. “Hacks.” “A Slippery Slope,” Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky “Hacks” has won this Emmy twice in its first three seasons, and the dramatic episode — Deborah loves Ava more than her dream job! — seems a spot to prevent a “Studio” sweep.
Limited / TV movie writing
Christine Tremarco and Stephen Graham in “Adolescence.”
(Netflix )
5. “Say Nothing.” “The People in the Dirt,” Joshua Zetumer Car bombs, hunger strikes, political assassinations.
4. “Black Mirror.” “Common People,” Charlie Brooker and Bisha K. Ali Technology really is going to destroy us, isn’t it?
3. “Dying for Sex.” “Good Value Diet Soda,” Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether Of course, we’re all gonna die anyway. Might as well indulge.
2. “The Penguin.” “A Great or Little Thing,” Lauren LeFranc After all, evil and depravity win out in the end.
1. “Adolescence,” Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham So hug your children tonight.
Alfie Wise, who often appeared in films and TV shows with his friend Burt Reynolds, has died. He reportedly died July 22 of natural causes at the Thomas H. Corey VA Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., his longtime fiancée Stephanie Bliss told the Hollywood Reporter. He was 82.
Wise and Reynolds shared the screen in film and TV, including some of Reynolds’ greatest hits: the 1974 film “The Longest Yard,” the 1977 film “Smokey and the Bandit,” and the 1981 film “The Cannonball Run.” Wise also appeared with his friend in the CBS sitcom “Evening Shade” and ABC’s crime series “B.L Stryker.”
“His films were like an ongoing block party,” Wise told the New York Daily News after the death of Reynolds in 2018.
“You always knew you were going to have a great time with a Burt Reynolds movie,” he added.
Off screen, Wise worked as Reynolds’ assistant.
Wise graduated in 1964 from Penn State and joined the U.S. Navy, where he would produce and host shows. He later worked as an NBC page in Los Angeles. He made his acting debut in the 1972 TV movie “Call Her Mom.”
His filmography included “Midway” (1976), “Swashbuckler” (1976), and “Hot Stuff” (1979). Wise also appeared on the short-lived children’s show “Uncle Croc’s Block” with Lou Ferrigno and Charles Nelson Reilly in the titular role and the ABC series “The Fall Guy” with Lee Majors.
Wise’s last credit was 15 episodes of the CBBC show “S Club 7 in Miami.” After retiring from acting in 2000, he worked as a real estate agent in Juniper, Fla.
Jane Pitt, a schoolteacher, philanthropist and the mother of film star Brad Pitt, died on Tuesday at the age of 84.
The Pitt family shared her obituary with KY3, an NBC-affiliated station in Springfield, Mo., where Jane and her husband, Bill, raised their three children — Brad, Doug Pitt and Julie Neal.
The cause of Pitt’s death was not revealed by the family.
Doug Pitt’s daughter Sydney shared a tribute to her grandmother on her Instagram account with a series of pictures.
“We were not ready for you to go yet but knowing you are finally free to sing, dance, and paint again makes it a tad easier,” she wrote.
“I don’t know how we move forward without her. But I know she’s still here in every brushstroke, every kind gesture, every hummingbird. She was love in its purest form,” Sydney added.
In addition to being an accomplished artist, her family said Jane Pitt was an elementary school teacher with the Springfield public school system. In 2009, the Pitts donated $1 million to establish the Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center at Mercy Hospital in Springfield.
She would occasionally make red carpet appearances with her son Brad. The actor’s six children are among the Pitts’ 14 grandchildren, and the family said Jane Pitt treasured her role as grandmother. “The years of ‘Your Special Day’ of one-on-ones with each grandkid are some of their fondest memories,” the family said in her obituary.
The hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” is making its way to the big screen on Sept. 5.
Lin-Manuel Miranda announced the theatrical release date for the Tony Award-winning musical Tuesday night during an interview on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
“We always wanted to release it theatrically, but then the pandemic hit and so we decided to release it on streaming, so that everyone could see it at home whenever they wanted,” Miranda said on the show. “[Soon] you will be able to see ‘Hamilton’ in movie theaters nationwide and in Puerto Rico.”
The show’s cinematic release marks a major milestone: It’s been nearly 10 years since the off-Broadway premiere of “Hamilton,” which was based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, a founding father of the United States. Created by Miranda, who also composed the music, lyrics and book, the hip-hop- and R&B-inflected musical used source material from “Alexander Hamilton,” a 2004 biography written by Ron Chernow. The musical went on to win 11 Tony Awards, including best musical, and the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2016.
The film was shot in June 2016, during a live performance at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, and features much of the original cast. This includes Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler and Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton.
The film was originally slated for release in movie theaters in October 2021. Disney paid $75 million for worldwide movie rights in 2020 and released it later that year exclusively on its streaming platform; the film went on to win two Emmy Awards in 2021.
The “Hamilton” anniversary is being celebrated in more ways than one. Prior to Miranda’s “Tonight Show” interview, Madame Tussauds New York unveiled a wax figure of Miranda dressed as Alexander Hamilton at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
Two special performances of the hit musical will also take place at the same theater today. Every actor who has performed on the Broadway musical since its opening has been invited, according to the Associated Press.
Attendees for the matinee were already selected via a lottery process and the evening performance is an invite-only fundraiser for the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition — a host of 14 immigrant service organizations that uplift immigrant communities across the country.
Tickets for the film are now available for purchase.
It’s often named as one of the best places to live in the UK but this postcard-worthy village – used by Tim Burton for the Jonny Depp horror film Sleepy Hollow – has a chilling secret befitting of one of the movies it’s been used in
Lily Morl, Will Twigger and Liam Ryder Digital Production Editor
13:15, 05 Aug 2025
The rusitc village of Hambleden has been featured in countless films and TV(Image: pelvidge via Getty Images)
It is a charming, quintessential English village that often gets the nod by experts as being one of the prettiest and best places to live in the country.
Hambleden, nestled in a valley in Buckinghamshire, has attracted film crews time and time again thanks to its stunning scenery and Olde English allure. The Telegraph has ranked it among England’s 30 most beautiful villages, most recently as 2022.
For those who appreciate the finer things in life, the Chiltern Valley Winery and Brewery awaits, a proud recipient of the Travellers‘ Choice Award. Embark on an enchanting tour through the vineyards and seize the opportunity to sample a burgeoning array of wines.
Over at nearby Cliveden House, step into a world once inhabited by the elite and influential. Famed for its high-profile guests and notorious for centuries of salacious rumours and lavish celebrations, Cliveden has been a fixture since 1666.
Hambleden lies on the River Thames(Image: kodachrome25 via Getty Images)
What would a quaint country village be without its chic dining establishments frequented by celebrities? Nestled at the core of Hambleden lies The Stag and Huntsman, not your average gastropub but one that prides itself on “killer wallpaper” and also operates as a charming boutique hotel.
Hambleden, understandably, has been home to some big names. Deep Purple co-founder Jon Lord lived and died here, while 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Phil Vickery also spent some time as an inhabitant.
All that considered, it’s no wonder that sometimes visiting feels like stepping into a Midsomer Murders episode. The idyllic village has been used in a number of big productions for both television and cinema.
The village is full of Olde English charm(Image: BackyardProduction via Getty Images)
It has featured as the backdrop for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Into the Woods and Nanny McPhee Returns, and in TV series like Agatha Christie’s Poirot, and Amazon’s mini-series Good Omens with David Tennant. Most recently, Greys Anatomy stars Patrick Dempsey and Amy Adams were seen in the village during the shooting of Disney’s Enchanted sequel, Disenchanted, which was released in 2022.
Among the big-name directors who picked it out as a potential filming location, Tim Burton is arguably the biggest. He chose Hambleden as the place to shoot Johnny Depp horror film Sleepy Hollow.
But this tiny village has a dark, dark secret that fits the tone of Burton’s creepy classic. Back in 1912, archaeologists discovered the skeletal remains of 97 newborn infants at the historical Yewden Villa.
Hambleden has been used as a filming location in a number of big productions(Image: BackyardProduction via Getty Images)
The bones were rediscovered stored in cigarette tins within a storage room at Chiltern Archaeology in 2008, triggering debate over the cause of their deaths. In 2010, a researcher proposed that the ancient Roman villa might have operated as a brothel where residents and workers committed infanticide across a 50-year span.
Alternative theories suggest it housed a cult that carried out horrific and brutal operations on the infants. Whatever the truth of this awful discovery, Hambleden remains an ideal place for a day out in the countryside packed with intrigue, history and fairytale charm.
MIGRANT hotel residents have been spotted laughing while they video protesters and counter-demonstrators clash.
People believed to be asylum seekers inside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel, in Islington, waved and blew kisses at protesters in the street below.
3
People believed to be asylum seekers were watching from the windowsCredit: PA
3
Migrant hotel residents have been spotted laughing while they video protestersCredit: PA
3
They filmed the clash from their roomsCredit: PA
The protest outside the north London hotel was sparked today, while another demonstration will also take place in Newcastle outside The New Bridge Hotel.
The Metropolitan Police said the display was organised by local residents under the banner “Thistle Barbican needs to go – locals say no”.
Online groups called Patriots of Britain and Together for the Children have voiced their support for the demonstration.
A counter-protest, created by Stand Up To Racism, has also unfolded.
On student involved said he wants migrants to “feel safe” in the UK.
Pat Prendergast, 21, said: “I want people to feel safe. I think the (rival protesters) over there are making people feel unsafe.
“I want to stand up in solidarity and say that, you know, we want people here.
“We want migrants. We want asylum seekers.”
Meanwhile people against the hotel being used for migrants shouted “get these scum off our streets”, while waving England flags.
A large group of masked protesters dressed in black and chanted “we are anti-fascist”.
A man donning an England football shirt was also arrested by police after an aggressive altercation with officers.
There were clashes before cops separate the two groups.
Chief Superintendent Clair Haynes, in charge of the policing operation, said: “We have been in discussions with the organisers of both protests in recent days, building on the ongoing engagement between local officers, community groups and partners.
“We understand that there are strongly held views on all sides.
“Our officers will police without fear or favour, ensuring those exercising their right to protest can do so safely, but intervening at the first sign of actions that cross the line into criminality.
“We have used our powers under the Public Order Act to put conditions in place to prevent serious disorder and to minimise serious disruption to the lives of people and businesses in the local community.
“Those conditions identify two distinct protest areas where the protests must take place, meaning the groups will be separated but still within sight and sound of each other.”
In a statement, the organisers of the counter protest said: “Yet again far-right and fascist thugs are intent on bringing their message of hate to Newcastle.
“They aim to build on years of Islamophobia, anti-migrant sentiment and scapegoating.
“In Epping and elsewhere recently we have already seen intimidation and violence aimed at refugees, migrants and asylum seekers.
“Newcastle, like the rest of the North East, has a well-earned reputation for unity in the face of those who seek to divide us.
“Whatever problems we face, racism and division are not the answer.”
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
Thesun.co.uk is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.
Odeh Hadalin, an activist, football player and participant in the Academy Award-winning documentary No Other Land, has been shot in the chest and killed by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank. The suspect, Yinon Levi, has been under sanctions by the EU and the US.
The “Avatar: Fire and Ash” trailer is finally here.
The third installment in James Cameron’s “Avatar” series returns to Pandora and introduces a new Na’vi tribe: the Mangkwan Clan, also known as the Ash People, led by the fierce Varang (Oona Chaplin).
While not much is known about the Mangkwan Clan and its leader, the trailer offers a first look at their ashen home, destroyed by a volcanic eruption. The footage positions Varang, who wears a red headdress and can manipulate fire, as an adversary to Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and her family. It’s a stark departure from 2022’s “The Way of Water,” which took viewers underwater into the world of the Metkayina Clan.
The trailer also shows a tense exchange between Varang and Kiri (Sigourney Weaver): “Your goddess has no dominion here,” the fiery leader, donning a red and black headdress, says.
“Varang is the leader of a people who have gone through an incredible hardship. She’s hardened by that,” Cameron told Empire in an interview published in January. “She will do anything for them, even things that we would consider to be evil.”
In addition to the Ash People, the trailer includes a look at the Wind Traders, a nomadic Na’vi clan that travels aboard airborne ships drawn by massive jellyfish-like creatures. It also teases that the film will see Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) being captured by humans.
Also returning to the ensemble are Kate Winslet (Ronal) and Jack Champion (Spider). In addition to Chaplin, David Thewlis joins the cast as Peylak, the chief of the Wind Traders.
The trailer was first unveiled at CinemaCon in April and was launched exclusively in theaters ahead of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” which opened Thursday.
“Fire and Ash” comes three years after “Way of Water” and 16 years after the original film. The first two movies were nominated for best picture at the Oscars and “Way of Water” was the highest-grossing film of 2022. But Cameron has hinted that the third installment may be surprising to fans of its predecessors.
“One thing we wanted to do in this film is not be black-and-white simplistic,” he told Empire. “We’re trying to evolve beyond the ‘all humans are bad, all Na’vi are good’ paradigm.”
“Fire and Ash” hits theaters Dec. 19. The fourth and fifth installments are expected Dec. 21, 2029, and Dec. 19, 2031, respectively.
Filming kicked off in 2024, with none other than Steven Spielberg serving as producer, and Osman has been keeping his followers informed about the latest happenings. Taking to Instagram, he reassured fans that the film would be available both in cinemas and on Netflix, addressing concerns that some might not be able to watch it.
The Thursday Murder Club(Image: Giles Keyte/Netflix)
He announced: “Some very good news for everyone who wanted to see #TheThursdayMurderClub in UK cinemas. Netflix have listened to the clamour, and the film will now have a run in UK cinemas.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the release date, cast and more.
When is The Thursday Murder Club out?
The Thursday Murder Club is set to premiere in UK cinemas on August 22.
It will then be available for streaming on Netflix from August 28, with a runtime of nearly two hours.
Who are the stars of The Thursday Murder Club?
The main four characters, Elizabeth Best, Ron Ritchie, Ibrahim Arif and Joyce Meadowcroft, will be played by Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie.
Osman recently addressed the contentious casting of Ron, telling Empire: “You have to do something unusual and different and interesting.
“Here’s the key thing about Pierce Brosnan playing Ron: Pierce Brosnan is who Ron would choose to play Ron.”
Doctor Who legend David Tennant has also been signed up as Ian Ventham, alongside Jonathan Pryce who plays Elizabeth’s other half Stephen.
Naomi Ackie is set to portray PC Donna De Freitas, whilst Daniel Mays takes on DCI Chris Hudson and Henry Lloyd-Hughes stars as Bogdan.
Additional big names joining the production include Richard E. Grant, Tom Ellis, Geoff Bell, Paul Freeman, Sarah Niles and Ingrid Oliver.
Helen Mirren and Celia Imrie(Image: Giles Keyte/Netflix)
Is there a trailer for The Thursday Murder Club?
Viewers get a sneak peek at Cooper’s Chase, the retirement community where the central characters live.
When a killing occurs nearby, Joyce is eager for the group to get involved and crack a fresh case.
Supporters flocked to the comments section to share their enthusiasm, with one posting: “The perfect cast, I am sooooo looking forward to seeing this film, love all the books, get ready to snuggle in and be totally enthralled.”
Someone else commented: “Totally didn’t expect this book series to be adapted by Netflix, really looking forward to this. I hope it’s good. And man this cast is stacked!”.
The Thursday Murder Club will hit UK cinemas on August 22. It will subsequently become available to stream on Netflix from August 28.
It was clobberin’ time this weekend, as Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” nabbed the top spot at the box office with a performance that returned the Walt Disney Co.-owned superhero franchise to form.
The movie hauled in $118 million in the U.S. and Canada and grossed $218 million globally in its opening weekend. The film, which stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn, is just the latest remake of the comic book property, though the first under Walt Disney Co.’s ownership.
Disney has already capitalized on its ownership of the “Deadpool” and “X-Men” properties — its 2024 film, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” garnered more than $1 billion in global box office revenue.
Fox produced and released three “Fantastic Four” movies, none of which were well-received by audiences or critics. A 2015 reboot was particularly reviled.
Quality was not an issue this time. The movie notched a 88% approval rating on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and an “A-” grade from audience polling firm CinemaScore.
The movie exceeded pre-release estimates. “First Steps” was expected to gross $100 million to $110 million in its debut weekend, on a reported budget of about $200 million.
The theatrical reception for “The Fantastic Four” is a relief for Disney and Marvel, which has struggled in recent years to reap the box office earnings it once did with its superhero films.
The Anthony Mackie-led “Captain America: Brave New World” received middling reviews from critics and brought in about $415 million in global box office revenue. Ensemble movie “Thunderbolts*” received strong reviews, but made only $382 million worldwide.
Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said earlier this year that the company “lost a little focus” in its zeal to produce more shows and movies for the Disney+ streaming platform, acknowledging that “quantity does not necessarily beget quality.”
“By consolidating a bit and having Marvel focus much more on their films, we believe it will result in better quality,” he said during an earnings call with analysts in May.
Anticipation was high for “The Fantastic Four,” and Disney went all out with the marketing. The company hired a skywriter to craft encircled 4’s in the sky near downtown Los Angeles on the day of the premiere and featured a drone show outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion after the showing.
“While Marvel films have settled into a fairly predictable core audience after multiple under-cooked films and streaming series in the post-’Avengers: Endgame’ era, the brand remains sturdy when the right film comes along,” Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango and founder of site Box Office Theory, wrote in a weekend theatrical forecast published Wednesday.
Warner Bros.’ DC Studios’ “Superman” came in second at the box office this weekend with a domestic total of $24.9 million for a worldwide gross so far of $503 million.
After finally getting approval from the Federal Communications Commission, Skydance Media is just weeks away from completing its $8-billion merger with Paramount Global, leading to sweeping changes for some of the most iconic media brands.
CBS, MTV Networks and Paramount Pictures are all bracing for upheaval when Larry Ellison and his son, David, take the keys from Paramount Global controlling shareholder Shari Redstone. The long-running ownership saga has played out while the rules of the media industry have been upended by streaming and, more recently, a White House unafraid to use its muscle to silence critics.
Skydance and its backer, RedBird Capital Partners, have promised investors that it will find $2 billion in cost savings, which means further belt-tightening and layoffs.
“This will be the most dramatic change to the organization since its inception,” said one longtime CBS insider who was not authorized to comment publicly.
Here is what Wall Street and the media industry will be watching for once the deal closes on Aug. 7:
Will Skydance spend enough to supercharge streaming?
Last year, Paramount+ added 10 million new subscribers to reach 77.5 million. Its subscriber count is now 79 million, thanks also to NFL programming, CBS shows such as “NCIS” and original hits including “1923,” “Landman,” “Lioness” and “Tulsa King.” Paramount has projected full-year U.S. profitability for Paramount+ this year, making it one of the fastest subscription services to get there.
But its relatively scant resources and thinner slate has made it difficult to truly compete with Netflix and the other biggest players. One potential solution: partnering with a rival streamer to increase its reach.
“Questions around the long-term scalability of Parmamount+ continue to loom large,” analyst firm MoffettNathanson noted in a report Friday. “Will the new management team pursue external partnerships as a viable path forward?”
Ellison and his team have suggested that they will bring a tech-focused sensibility to Paramount. Technological prowess would help Paramount+ improve its user interface and recommendation process, which insiders acknowledge is currently underwhelming. As expected, the architect of Paramount+ original series strategy, Paramount Global co-CEO Chris McCarthy, will leave when the deal closes.
Can traditional TV be saved?
Analysts also want to see Skydance will increase investment in film and TV franchises to revive assets that have been constrained by Paramount’s debt.
While Skydance will get a robust library of films and TV shows, it will also be faced with the slow-melting iceberg that is broadcast and cable TV, which continues to lose viewers. Streaming has surpassed broadcast and cable as the leading source of video consumption just as Skydance takes over CBS and Paramount Global’s array of channels that include MTV, BET and Comedy Central.
Doug Creutz, an analyst for TD Cowen, believes the merged company should consider spinning off traditional TV businesses, similar to what Warner Bros. Discovery and Comcast are doing with their cable channels. Whether that will happen remains to be seen.
“There is a clear opportunity to improve Paramount’s growth profile by letting those assets go,” Creutz wrote Friday. “On the other hand, we suspect the Ellisons did not purchase Paramount in order to break it up for parts.”
A test of Skydance’s commitment to broadcast may come if the FCC relaxes TV station ownership rules, which would likely lead to consolidation.
“60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl with Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
(CBS Photo Archive / CBS via Getty Images)
How will ’60 Minutes’ reset?
CBS News’ “60 Minutes” received a vote of confidence with the naming of Tanya Simon, a respected veteran insider to take over as executive producer. She was the choice of the program’s strong-willed correspondents.
Simon’s appointment is expected to provide stability following the departure of longtime showrunner Bill Owens, who was forced out amid the push for a $16-million settlement over President Trump’s lawsuit claiming the program deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris to make her look better to voters.
“60 Minutes” remained tough in its White House coverage as negotiations went on. The question is whether that approach will continue with new owners. Larry Ellison has a friendly relationship with the president, and the new owners agreed to appoint an ombudsman to oversee news coverage.
Getting it right matters from a business perspective too, as “60 Minutes” remains the most profitable program on CBS.
With Simon in place, new management is expected to address other areas of the news division that can use improvement. The network’s revamp of the “CBS Evening News” has been a disappointment in the ratings and will likely see some changes.
In the longer term, there has been chatter that Skydance may set its sights on acquiring CNN from Warner Bros. Discovery and combining it with the broadcast news operation, an idea that has been considered numerous times over the last few decades.
“South Park” characters Eric Cartman, left, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski.
(Comedy Central)
Will creative freedom be tested?
CBS canceled “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” upsetting his fans, progressive Democratic legislators and other late-night hosts who make their living lampooning President Trump.
The network said it was strictly a business decision, as the younger viewers who made late-night TV monstrously lucrative for decades are no longer showing up. The timing of the move made the company look as if it were capitulating to Trump, who long had the host on his enemies list.
But Colbert will remain on the air through May. The show has already been sold to advertisers for next season. The host has remained unrelenting in his mockery of Trump.
The season premiere of “South Park” only upped the ante. The animated series made references to the “60 Minutes” deal, showed Trump in bed with the devil and aired its own version of a Trump-mandated PSA, showing a naked president with talking genitalia.
There is no question both shows will test the patience of the new owners.
Pulling Colbert off or censoring the “South Park” creators, who just received a $1.5-billion deal to continue their show and move its library to Paramount+, would lead to a far greater backlash than what has been seen so far. Any attempt to curtail their voices will send a negative message to creative types who consider working with the company’s movie and TV operations going forward.
Tom Cruise in “Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One” from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
(Paramount Pictures and Skydance)
Can the movie business be revived?
Over the last few years, Paramount Pictures — home of franchises such as “Transformers” and “Mission: Impossible” — has ranked either fifth or fourth at the domestic box office. So far this year, the lone major movie studio still located in Hollywood proper has accounted for about 7% of ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada, according to box office website the Numbers.
Since the pandemic, the company has enjoyed a number of major hits, including “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” It has also had some solid singles and doubles, including “Bob Marley: One Love.” But overall, the more-than-century-old studio has struggled from underinvestment in its intellectual property and movie brands.
The latest “Mission: Impossible” starring Tom Cruise — the eighth and purportedly last in the series — grossed $589 million globally but cost $300 million to $400 million to make, not including marketing costs. Paramount’s latest effort, an animated “Smurfs” reboot, sputtered at the box office. Next up: a reboot of “The Naked Gun.”
The unit’s leader, Brian Robbins (also head of Nickelodeon at Paramount Global), is expected to leave the studio, though he has not officially announced his plans. David Ellison is a movie fan and is expected to take a particular interest in the operation, with plans to put Skydance’s chief creative officer, Dana Goldberg, in charge of film at Paramount. Skydance has worked with Paramount on movies before, producing “Maverick” and the “Missions: Impossible” films
HOUSTON, TEXAS – JANUARY 11: Denico Autry #96 of the Houston Texans sacks Justin Herbert #10 of the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half of the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at NRG Stadium on January 11, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)
(Brandon Sloter / Getty Images)
Will the NFL take its ball elsewhere?
A transfer of ownership means the NFL can reopen its long-term deal with CBS, which has a Sunday package of games, the AFC Championship Game and two Super Bowls. The NFL is the lifeblood of broadcast television, providing a vast majority of the year’s most-watched programs.
Without the NFL, CBS would face tremendous challenges in getting fees from pay TV operators who carry its stations. Revenue from affiliates who pay the network for its programming would also dramatically decline.
Although the NFL is known for taking a pound of flesh at every opportunity, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has signaled he will give careful consideration before making any changes.
“We’ve had a long relationship with CBS for decades and we also have a relationship outside of that with Skydance,” Goodell told CNBC earlier this month. “We have a two-year period to make that decision. I don’t see that happening, but we have the option and it’s something we’re going to look at.”
The NFL could wait until 2029 when it has the option to open up the contract with all of its media partners. The new media deal for the NBA — $76 billion over 11 years — has the NFL believing its pact is underpriced.
Times staff writer Meg James contributed to this report.
British actor Micheal Ward, known for the Netflix series “Top Boy” and and most recently Ari Aster’s movie “Eddington,” is facing charges of allegedly raping and sexually assaulting a woman in the United Kingdom in 2023.
London’s Metropolitan Police announced in a Friday statement that prosecutors had charged BAFTA winner Ward, 28, with two counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault following an investigation into an alleged January 2023 incident. The statement did not provide details about the incident, including the location and the identity of Ward’s accuser.
“Our specialist officers continue to support the woman who has come forward — we know investigations of this nature can have significant impact on those who make reports,” Det. Supt. Scott Ware said in the statement.
Representatives for Ward did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment Friday. The actor is due to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court in London on Aug. 28.
Ward, who was born in Jamaica, broke into acting less than a decade ago, appearing in the British drama series “Top Boy” and rapper Rapman’s 2019 film “Blue Story.” He won BAFTA’s rising star award in 2020. That same year he appeared in “The Old Guard” opposite Charlize Theron and in Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” miniseries.
His movie credits also include Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light,” “The Book of Clarence,” “Bob Marley: One Love” and “The Beautiful Game.” He currently stars as a young police officer in “Eddington,” the latest film from “Hereditary” and “Midsommar” filmmaker Aster.
Resources for survivors of sexual assault
If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual violence, you can find support using RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline. Call (800) 656-HOPE or visit online.rainn.org to speak with a trained support specialist.
For filmmaker Scott Mann, three dozen F-bombs had the makings of a million-dollar headache.
When Mann wrapped “Fall,” a 2022 thriller about two women stranded atop a 2,000-foot radio tower, he figured the hard part was over. Shot in the Mojave Desert on a $3-million budget, the film didn’t have money to burn and seemed on course. But Lionsgate wanted a PG-13 rating and, with 35 expletives, “Fall” was headed for an R. Reshoots would cost more than $1 million — far beyond what the production could afford.
In the past, a director might have taken out a second mortgage or thrown themselves at the mercy of the ratings board. Mann instead turned to AI.
A few years earlier, he had been dismayed by how a German dub of his 2015 thriller “Heist” flattened the performances, including a key scene with Robert De Niro, to match stiff, mistranslated dialogue. That frustration led Mann to co-found Flawless, an AI startup aimed at preserving the integrity of an actor’s performance across languages. As a proof of concept, he used the company’s tech to subtly reshape De Niro’s mouth movements and restore the emotional nuance of the original scene.
On “Fall,” Mann applied that same technology to clean up the profanity without reshoots, digitally modifying the actors’ mouths to match PG-13-friendly lines like “freaking” — at a fraction of the cost.
A series on how the AI revolution is reshaping the creative foundations of Hollywood — from storytelling and performance to production, labor and power.
As AI stirs both hype and anxiety in Hollywood, Mann understands why even such subtle digital tweaks can feel like a violation. That tension came to a head during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, in which AI became the defining flash point in the fight over acting’s future.
“Ours is a rights-based industry,” says Mann, 45, who helped develop a digital rights management platform at Flawless to ensure performers approve any changes to their work. “It’s built on protecting human creativity, the contributions of actors, directors, editors, and if those rights aren’t protected, that value gets lost.”
Mann at his office in Santa Monica.
(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)
Still, Mann doesn’t see AI as a threat so much as a misunderstood tool — one that, used carefully, can support the artists it’s accused of replacing. Flawless’ DeepEditor, for example, lets directors transfer facial expressions from one take to another, even when the camera angle or lighting changes, helping actors preserve their strongest moments without breaking continuity.
“Plenty of actors I’ve worked with have had that moment where they see what’s possible and realize, ‘Oh my God, this is so much better,’” Mann says. “It frees them up, takes off the pressure and helps them do a better job. Shutting AI out is naive and a way to end up on the wrong side of history. Done right, this will make the industry grow and thrive.”
AI isn’t hovering at the edges of acting anymore — it’s already on soundstages and in editing bays. Studios have used digital tools to de-age Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” resurrect Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin in “Rogue One” and clone Val Kilmer’s voice in “Top Gun: Maverick” after throat cancer left him unable to speak. The technology has reshaped faces, smoothed dialogue and fast-tracked everything from dubbing to reshoots. And its reach is growing: Studios can now revive long-dead stars, conjure stunt doubles who never get hurt and rewrite performances long after wrap.
But should they?
Actors outside Paramount Studios during a SAG-AFTRA solidarity rally in September 2023.
(Al Seib / For The Times)
As the tools grow more sophisticated, the threat to actors goes beyond creative disruption. In an industry where steady work is already elusive and the middle class of working actors is vanishing, AI raises the prospect of fewer jobs, lower pay and, in a dystopian twist, a future in which your disembodied face and voice might get work without you.
Background actors were among the first to sound the alarm during the 2023 strike, protesting studio proposals to scan them once and reuse their likenesses indefinitely. That scenario is already beginning to unfold: In China, a state-backed initiative will use AI to reimagine 100 kung fu classics, including films starring Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, through animation and other digital enhancements. Lee’s estate said it was unaware of the project, raising questions about how these actors’ likenesses might be used, decades after filming.
If the soul of acting is a human presence, what remains when even that can be simulated?
“You want to feel breath — you want to feel life,” said actor and director Ethan Hawke during a panel at 2023’s Telluride Film Festival, where strike-era unease over AI was palpable. “When we see a great painting, we feel a human being’s blood, sweat and tears. That’s what we’re all looking for, that connection with the present moment. And AI can’t do that.”
Who’s in control?
Justine Bateman may seem like an unlikely crusader in Hollywood’s fight against AI. Launched to fame as Mallory Keaton on the 1980s sitcom “Family Ties,” she later became a filmmaker and earned a computer science degree from UCLA. Now, as founder of the advocacy group CREDO23, Bateman has become one of the industry’s fiercest voices urging filmmakers to reject AI-generated content and defend the integrity of human-made work. Loosely modeled on Dogme 95, CREDO23 offers a certification of films made without AI, using minimal VFX and union crews. It’s a pledge backed by a council including “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner, “The Handmaid’s Tale” director Reed Morano and actor Juliette Lewis.
The 2023 SAG-AFTRA contract set new guardrails: Studios must get actors’ consent to create or use digital replicas of their likenesses, and those replicas can’t generate new performances without a separate deal. Actors must also be compensated and credited when their digital likeness is used.
But to Bateman, a former SAG-AFTRA board member and negotiating committee rep, those protections are little more than sandbags against an inevitable AI flood: hard-won but already straining to keep the technology at bay.
“The allowances in the contract are pretty astounding,” Bateman says by phone, her voice tight with exasperation. “If you can picture the Teamsters allowing self-driving trucks in their contract — that’s on par with what SAG did. If you’re not making sure human roles are played by human actors, I’m not sure what the union is for.”
Justine Bateman, photographed by The Times in 2022.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
To Bateman, the idea that AI expands access to filmmaking — a central tenet of its utopian sales pitch — is a dangerous myth, one that obscures deeper questions about authorship and the value of creative labor.
“Anyone can make a film — my last two, I shot on an iPhone,” Bateman says. “The idea that AI is ‘democratizing film’ doesn’t even make sense. What it really does is remove the barrier of skill. It lets people pretend they’re filmmakers when they’re not, by prompting software that wouldn’t even function without having stolen a hundred years of film and TV production made by real filmmakers.”
Bateman’s opposition to AI is rooted in a deep distrust of Silicon Valley’s expanding influence over the creative process and a belief that filmmaking should be driven by artists, not algorithms. “The tech bro business completely jumped the shark with generative AI,” she says. “Is it solving plastics in the ocean? Homelessness? L.A. traffic? Not that I’m aware of.”
She scoffs at the supposed efficiencies AI brings to the filmmaking process: “It’s like saying, whatever somebody enjoys — sex or an ice cream sundae — ‘Hey, now you can do it in a quarter of the time.’ OK, but then what do you think life is for?“
To Bateman, an actor’s voice, face, movements or even their choice of costume is not raw material to be reshaped but an expression of authorship. AI, in her view, erases those choices and the intent behind them. “I’m deeply against changing what the actor did,” she says. “It’s not right to have the actor doing things or saying things they didn’t do — or to alter their hair, makeup or clothes in postproduction using AI. The actor knows what they did.”
While Bateman has been public and unwavering in her stance, many actors remain unsure whether to raise their voices. In the wake of the strikes, much of the conversation around AI has moved behind closed doors, leaving those who do speak out feeling at times exposed and alone.
Scarlett Johansson, who lent her smoky, hypnotic voice to the fictional AI in Spike Jonze’s Oscar-winning 2013 film “Her,” now finds herself in a uniquely uncomfortable position: She’s both a symbol of our collective fascination with artificial performance and a real-world example of what’s at stake when that line is crossed. Last year, she accused OpenAI of using a chatbot voice that sounded “eerily similar” to hers, months after she declined to license it. OpenAI denied the claim and pulled the voice, but the incident reignited concern over consent and control.
Johansson has long spoken out against the unauthorized use of her image, including her appearance in deepfake pornography, and has pushed for stronger safeguards against digital impersonation. To date, though, she is one of the few major stars to publicly push back against the creeping mimicry enabled by AI — and she’s frustrated that more haven’t joined her. “There has to be some agreed-upon set of boundaries in order for [AI] to not be detrimental,” she told Vanity Fair in May. “I wish more people in the public eye would support and speak out about that. I don’t know why that’s not the case.”
Lights, camera, replication
Ed Ulbrich, 60, a pioneering visual effects producer and co-founder of Digital Domain, has spent his career helping actors do the impossible, one pixel at a time.
In 2008’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” he led the team of more than 150 artists in building a fully digital version of Brad Pitt’s face so the actor could convincingly age in reverse — a two-year effort that earned Ulbrich and three colleagues an Oscar for visual effects and set a new benchmark for digital performance. (Nearly two decades later, the achievement is still impressive, although some scenes, especially those with Pitt’s aged face composited on a child’s body, now show their digital seams.) For 2010’s “Tron: Legacy,” Ulbrich helped digitally transform Jeff Bridges into his 1982 self using motion capture and CGI.
Working on last year’s “Here” — Robert Zemeckis’ technically daring drama starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright as a couple whose lives play out across decades in a single New Jersey living room — showed Ulbrich just how far things have come. For someone who jokes he has “real estate in the uncanny valley,” it wasn’t just the AI-enabled realism that floored him. It was the immediacy. On set, AI wasn’t enhancing footage after the fact; it was visually reshaping the performance in real time.
Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in the movie “Here.”
(Sony Pictures Ent.)
“You look up and see 67-year-old Tom Hanks. You look down at the monitor — he’s 20, and it looks better than the best CGI,” Ulbrich says. “In my world, the human face is the holy grail. That is the most complicated thing you can do. And now it’s getting done in near real time before your eyes. The actor can come back and look at the monitor and get new ideas, because they’re seeing a different version of themselves: younger, older, as an alien or whatever.”
This kind of seamless AI-driven alteration marks a new frontier in postproduction. Modern AI systems can now “beautify” actors’ faces, like some would with a Instagram or Zoom filter: smooth out wrinkles, alter skin tone, sharpen jawlines, subtly nudge eye position to better match a desired gaze. What once required painstaking VFX can now be handled by fast, flexible AI tools, often with results invisible to audiences.
Once limited to only big-budget sci-fi and fantasy productions, this digital touch-up capability is expanding into rom-coms, prestige dramas, high-end TV and even some indie films. Dialogue can be rewritten and re-lipped in post. Facial expressions can be smoothed or swapped without reshoots. More and more, viewers may have no way of knowing what’s real and what’s been subtly adjusted.
“Here” was largely rejected by both audiences and critics, with some deeming its digitally de-aged performances more unsettling than moving. But Ulbrich says digitally enhanced performance is already well underway.
Talent agency CAA has built a vault of client scans, a kind of biometric asset library for future productions. Some stars now negotiate contracts that reduce their time on set, skipping hours in the makeup chair or performance-capture gear, knowing AI can fill in the gaps.
“Robert Downey, Brad Pitt, Will Smith — they’ve all been scanned many times,” says Ulbrich, who recently joined the AI-driven media company Moonvalley, which pitches itself as a more ethical, artist-centered player in the space. “If you’ve done a studio tentpole, you’ve been scanned.
“There is a lot of fear around AI and it’s founded,” he adds. “Unless you do something about it, you can just get run over. But there are people out there that are harnessing this. At this point, fighting AI is like fighting against electricity.”
While many in Hollywood wrestle with what AI means for the oldest component of moviemaking, others take a more pragmatic view, treating it as a tool to solve problems and keep productions on track. Jerry Bruckheimer, the powerhouse producer behind “Top Gun,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and this summer’s “F1,” is among those embracing its utility.
“AI is not going anywhere and it’s only going to get more useful for people in our business,” he said in a recent interview with The Times.
He recalled one such moment during post-production on his new Brad Pitt–led Formula One drama, a logistical feat filmed during actual Formula One races across Europe and the Middle East, with a budget north of $200 million.
“Brad was in the wilds of New Zealand, and we had test screenings coming up,” Bruckheimer says. “We couldn’t get his voice to do some looping, so we used an app that could mimic Brad Pitt. I’m sure the union will come after me if you write that, but it wasn’t used in the movie because he became available.”
While he’s skeptical of AI’s ability to generate truly original ideas — “We’re always going to need writers,” he says — Bruckheimer, whose films have grossed more than $16 billion worldwide, sees AI as a powerful tool for global reach.
“They can take Brad’s voice from the movie and turn it into other languages so it’s actually his voice, rather than another actor,” he says. “If it’s not available yet, it will be.”
The debate over AI in performance flared earlier this year with “The Brutalist,” Brady Corbet’s award-winning drama about a Hungarian architect. After the film’s editor, Dávid Jancsó, revealed that AI voice-cloning software had been used to subtly modify the Hungarian accents of stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones, the backlash followed swiftly.
Some critics accused the film of using AI to smooth over performances while presenting itself as handcrafted, a move one viral post derided as trying to “cheap out without soul.” Corbet later clarified that AI was used sparingly, only to adjust vowel sounds, but the decision left some viewers uneasy — even as Brody went on to win the Oscar for lead actor.
If the controversy over “The Brutalist” struck some as a moral crisis, David Cronenberg found the whole thing overblown. Few filmmakers have probed the entanglement of flesh, identity and technology as relentlessly as the director of “Videodrome,” “The Fly” and last year’s “The Shrouds,” so he’s not particularly rattled by the rise of AI-assisted performances.
“All directors have always messed around with actors’ performances — that’s what editing is,” Cronenberg told The Times in April. “Filmmaking isn’t theater. It’s not sacred. We’ve been using versions of this for years. It’s another tool in the toolbox. And it’s not controlling you — you can choose not to use it.”
Long before digital tools, Cronenberg recalls adjusting actor John Lone’s vocal pitch in his 1993 film “M. Butterfly,” in which Lone played a Chinese opera singer and spy who presents as a woman to seduce a French diplomat. The director raised the pitch when the character appeared as a woman and lowered it when he didn’t — a subtle manipulation to reinforce the illusion.
David Cronenberg, photographed at his home in Toronto, Canada, in April.
(Kate Dockeray / For The Times)
Far from alarmed, Cronenberg is intrigued by AI’s creative potential as a way of reshaping authorship itself. With new platforms like OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo 3 now capable of generating increasingly photorealistic clips from simple text prompts, an entire performance could conceivably be conjured from a writer’s keyboard.
“Suddenly you can write a scene — a woman is walking down the street, she looks like this, she’s wearing that, it’s raining, whatever — and AI can create a video for you,” Cronenberg says. “To me, this is all exciting. It absolutely can threaten all kinds of jobs and that has to be dealt with, but every technological advance has done that and we just have to adapt and figure it out.”
Ghosts in the frame
In the Hollywood of the late 1970s, there was no AI to tweak an actor’s face. So when “Star Wars” star Mark Hamill fractured his nose and left cheekbone in a serious car crash between shooting the first and second films, the solution was to tweak the story. The 1980 sequel “The Empire Strikes Back” opened with Luke Skywalker being attacked by a nine-foot-tall snow beast called a wampa on the ice planet Hoth, partly to account for the change in his appearance.
Decades later, when Hamill was invited to return as a younger version of himself in the 2020 Season 2 finale of “The Mandalorian,” the chance to show Luke “at the height of his powers was irresistible,” he says.
But the reality left him feeling oddly detached from the character that made him famous. Hamill shared the role with a younger body double, and digital de-aging tools recreated his face from decades earlier. The character’s voice, meanwhile, was synthesized using Respeecher, a neural network trained on old recordings of Hamill to mimic his speech from the original trilogy era.
“I didn’t have that much dialogue: ‘Are you Luke Skywalker?’ ‘I am,’” Hamill recalled in an interview with The Times earlier this year. “I don’t know what they do when they take it away, in terms of tweaking it and making your voice go up in pitch or whatever.”
When fans speculated online that he hadn’t participated at all, Hamill declined to correct the record.
“My agent said, ‘Do you want me to put out a statement or something?’” Hamill recalls. “I said, ‘Eh, people are going to say what they want to say.’ Maybe if you deny it, they say, ‘See? That proves it — he’s denying it.’”
A digitally de-aged Mark Hamill as the young Luke Skywalker in a 2020 episode of “The Mandalorian.”
(Lucasfilm Ltd.)
When Luke returned again in a 2022 episode of “The Book of Boba Fett,” the process was even more synthetic: Hamill was minimally involved on camera and the character was built almost entirely from digital parts: a de-aged face mapped onto a body double with an AI-generated voice delivering his lines. Hamill was credited and compensated, though the exact terms of the arrangement haven’t been made public.
The visual effect was notably improved from earlier efforts, thanks in part to a viral deepfake artist known as Shamook, whose YouTube video improving the VFX in “The Mandalorian” finale had racked up millions of views. He was soon hired by Industrial Light & Magic — a rare case of fan-made tech critique turning into a studio job.
“In essence, yes, I did participate,” Hamill says.
It’s one thing to be digitally altered while you’re still alive. It’s another to keep performing after you’re gone.
Before his death last year, James Earl Jones — whose resonant baritone helped define Darth Vader for generations — gave Lucasfilm permission to recreate his voice using AI. In a recent collaboration with Disney, Epic Games deployed that digital voice in Fortnite, allowing players to team up with Vader and hear new lines delivered in Jones’ unmistakable tones, scripted by Google’s Gemini AI.
In May, SAG-AFTRA later filed a labor charge, saying the use of Jones’ voice hadn’t been cleared with the union.
Last year’s “Alien: Romulus” sparked similar backlash over the digital resurrection of Ian Holm’s android character Ash nearly a decade after Holm’s death. Reconstructed using a blend of AI and archival footage, the scenes were slammed by some fans as a form of “digital necromancy.” For the film’s home video release, director Fede Álvarez quietly issued an alternate cut that relied more heavily on practical effects, including an animatronic head modeled from a preexisting cast of Holm’s face.
For Hollywood, AI allows nostalgia to become a renewable resource, endlessly reprocessed and resold. Familiar faces can be altered, repurposed and inserted into entirely new stories. The audience never has to say goodbye and the industry never has to take the risk of introducing someone new.
Hamill, for his part, seems ready to let go of Luke. After his final arc in 2017’s “The Last Jedi,” he says he feels a sense of closure.
“I don’t know the full impact AI will have but I find it very ominous,“ he says. “I’m fine. I had my time. Now the spotlight should be on the current and future actors and I hope they enjoy it as much as I did.”
Actors, not avatars
Actor and AI startup Wonder Dynamics co-founder Tye Sheridan, photographed by The Times in 2021.
(Michael Nagle / For The Times)
Actor Tye Sheridan knows how dark an AI future could get. After all, he starred in Steven Spielberg’s 2018 “Ready Player One,” a sci-fi thriller set inside a corporate-controlled world of digital avatars. But Sheridan isn’t trying to escape into that world — he’s trying to shape the one ahead.
With VFX supervisor Nikola Todorovic, Sheridan co-founded Wonder Dynamics in 2017 to explore how AI can expand what’s possible on screen. Their platform uses AI to insert digital characters into live-action scenes without green screens or motion-capture suits, making high-end VFX more accessible to low-budget filmmakers. Backed by Spielberg and “Avengers” co-director Joe Russo, Wonder Dynamics was acquired last year by Autodesk, the software firm behind many animation and design tools.
“Since the advent of the camera, technology has been pushing this industry forward,” Sheridan, 28, says on a video call. “AI is just another part of that path. It can make filmmaking more accessible, help discover new voices. Maybe the next James Cameron will find their way into the industry through some AI avenue. I think that’s really exciting.”
With production costs spiraling, Todorovic sees AI as a way to lower the barrier to entry and make riskier, more ambitious projects possible. “We really see AI going in that direction, where you can get those A24-grounded stories with Marvel visuals,” he says. “That’s what younger audiences are hungry for.”
The shift, Todorovic argues, could lead to more films overall and more opportunities for actors. “Maybe instead of 10,000 people making five movies, it’ll be 1,000 people making 50,” he says.
Still, Todorovic sees a threshold approaching, one where synthetic actors could, in theory, carry a film. “I do think technically it is going to get solved,” Todorovic says. “But the question remains — is that what we really want? Do we really want the top five movies of the year to star humans who don’t exist? I sure hope not.”
For him, the boundary isn’t just about realism. It’s about human truth.
“You can’t prompt a performance,” he says. “You can’t explain certain movements of the body and it’s very hard to describe emotions. Acting is all about reacting. That’s why when you make a movie, you do five takes — or 40. Because it’s hard to communicate.”
Sheridan, who has appeared in the “X-Men” franchise as well as smaller dramas like “The Card Counter” and “The Tender Bar,” understands that instinctively and personally. “I started acting in films when I was 11 years old,” he says. “I wouldn’t ever want to build something that put me out of a job. That’s the fun part — performing, exploring, discovering the nuances. That’s why we fall in love with certain artists: their unique sensibility, the way they do what no one else can.”
He knows that may sound contradictory coming from the co-founder of an AI company. That’s exactly why he believes it’s critical that artists, not Silicon Valley CEOs, are the ones shaping how the technology is used.
“We should be skeptical of AI and its bad uses,” he says. “It’s a tool that can be used for good or bad. How are we going to apply it to create more access and opportunity in this industry and have more voices heard? We’re focused on keeping the artist as an essential part of the process, not replacing them.”
For now, Sheridan lives inside that paradox, navigating a technology that could both elevate and imperil the stories he cares most about.
His next acting gig? “The Housewife,” a psychological drama co-starring Naomi Watts and Michael Imperioli, in which he plays a 1960s New York Times reporter investigating a suspected Nazi hiding in Queens. No AI. No doubles. Just people pretending to be other people the old way, while it lasts.
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” slots into summer blockbuster season like a square peg in a round popcorn bucket. Prestige TV director Matt Shakman (“WandaVision”) isn’t inclined to pretzel himself like the flexible Reed Richards to please all four quadrants of the multiplex. His staid superhero movie plays like classic sci-fi in which adults wearing sweater vests solemnly brainstorm how to resolve a crisis. Watching it, I felt as snug as being nestled in the backseat of my grandparents’ car at the drive-in.
This reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise — the third in two decades — is lightyears closer to 1951’s “The Day the Earth Stood Still” than it is to the frantic, over-cluttered superhero epics that have come to define modern entertainment. Set on Earth 828, an alternate universe that borrows our own Atomic Age decor, it doesn’t just look old, it moves old. The tone and pace are as sure-footed as globe-gobbling Galactus, this film’s heavy, purposefully marching into alt-world Manhattan. Even its tidy running time is from another epoch. Under two hours? Now that’s vintage chic.
“First Steps” picks up several years after four astronauts — Reed (Pedro Pascal), his wife, Sue (Vanessa Kirby), his brother-in-law Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and his best friend Ben (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) — get themselves blasted by cosmic rays that endow them with special powers. You may know the leads better as, respectively, Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing. For mild comic relief, they also pal around with a robot named H.E.R.B.I.E., voiced by Matthew Wood.
Skipping their origin story keeps things tight while underlining the idea that these are settled-down grown-ups secure in their abilities to lengthen, disappear, ignite and clobber. Fans might argue they should be a bit more neurotic; screenplay structuralists will grumble they have no narrative arc. The mere mortals of Earth 828 respect the squad for their brains and their brawn — they’re celebrities in a genteel pre-paparazzi time — but these citizens are also prone to despair when they aren’t sure Pascal’s workaholic daddy will save them.
Lore has it Stan Lee was a married, middle-aged father aging out of writing comic books when his beloved spouse, Joan, elbowed him to develop characters who felt personal. The graying, slightly boring Reed was a loose-limbed version of himself: the ultimate wife guy with the ultimate wife.
Share via
But Hollywood has aged-down Lee’s “quaint quartet,” as he called them, at its own peril. Make the Fantastic Four cool (as the movies have repeatedly tried and failed to do) and they come across as desperately lame. This time, Shakman and the script’s four-person writing team of Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer valorize their lameness and restore their dignity. Pascal’s Mr. Fantastic is so buttoned-down that he tucks his tie into his dress shirt.
The scenario is that Sue is readying to give birth to the Richards’ first child just as the herald Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner), a.k.a. the Silver Surfer, barrels into the atmosphere to politely inform humanity that her boss Galactus (voiced by Ralph Ineson) has RSVP-ed yes to her invitation that he devour their planet. In a biologically credible touch, the animators have added tarnish to her cleavage: “I doubt she was naked,” Reed says evenly. “It was probably a stellar polymer.”
Typically, this threat would trigger a madcap fetch-this-gizmo caper (as it did in the original comic). Shakman’s version doesn’t waste its energy or our time on that. Rather, this a lean showdown between self-control and gluttony, between our modest heroes and a greedy titan. It’s at the Venn diagram of a Saturday morning cartoon and a moralistic Greek myth.
The film is all sleek lines, from its themes to its architecture to its images. The visuals by the cinematographer Jess Hall are crisp and impactful: a translucent hand snatching at a womb, a character falling into the pull of a yawning black hole, a torso stretched like chewing gum, a rocket launch that can’t blast off until we get a close-up of everyone buckling their seatbelts. Even in space, the CG isn’t razzle-dazzle busy. Meanwhile, Michael Giacchino’s score soars between bleats of triumph and barbershop-chorus charm, a combination that can sound like an automobile show unveiling the first convertible with tail fins.
There is little brawling and less snark. No one comes off like an aspiring stand-up comic. These characters barely raise their voices and often use their abilities on the mundane: Kirby’s Sue vanishes to avoid awkward conversations, Moss-Bachrach’s Ben, in a nod to his breakout role as the maître d’ on “The Bear,” uses his mighty fists to mash garlic. Johnny, the youngest and most literally hotheaded of the group, is apt to light himself on fire when he can’t be bothered to find a flashlight. He delivers the meanest quip in a respectful movie when he tells Reed, “I take back every single bad thing I’ve been saying about you … to myself, in private.”
Yes, my audience giggled dutifully at the jiggling Jell-O salads and drooled over the groovy conversation pits in the Richards’ living room, the only super lair I’d ever live in. The color palette emphasizes retro shades of blue, green and gold; even the extras have coordinated their outfits to the trim on the Fantasticar. Delightfully, when Moss-Bachrach’s brawny rock monster strolls to the deli to buy black-and-white cookies, he’s wearing a gargantuan pair of penny loafers.
If you want to feel old, the generation of middle schoolers who saw 2008’s “Iron Man” on opening weekend are now beginning to raise their own children. Thirty-seven films later, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has gotten so insecure about its own mission that it’s pitching movies at every maturity level. The recent “Thunderbolts*” is for surly teenagers, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is the drunk, divorced uncle at a BBQ, and “First Steps” extends a sympathetic hand to young families who identify with Reed’s frustration that he can’t childproof the entire galaxy.
Here, for a mass audience, Kirby gets to reprise her underwatched Oscar-nominated turn in “Pieces of a Woman,” in which she extended out a 24-minute, single-take labor scene. This karaoke snippet is good (and even a little operatic when the pain makes her dematerialize). I was as impressed by the costumer Alexandra Byrne’s awareness that even super moms won’t immediately snap back into wearing tight spandex. (By contrast, when Jessica Alba played Sue in 2007’s “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” the director notoriously asked her to be “prettier” when she cried.)
This reboot’s boldest stride toward progress is that it values emotionally credible performances. Otherwise, Pascal aside, you wouldn’t assemble this cast for any audience besides critics and dweebs (myself included) who keep a running list of their favorite not-quite-brand-name talents who are ready to break through to the next level of their career while yelling, “It’s clobbering time!”
Still, this isn’t anyone’s best role, and it’s a great movie only when compared to similarly budgeted dreck. Yet it’s a worthy exercise in creating something that doesn’t feel nostalgic for an era — it feels of an era. Even if the MCU’s take on slow cinema doesn’t sell tickets in our era, I admire the confidence of a movie that sets its own course instead of chasing the common wisdom that audiences want 2½ hours of chaos. Studio executives continuing to insist on that nonsense deserve Marvel’s first family to give them a disappointed talking-to, and send them to back their boardrooms without supper.
‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’
Rated: PG-13, for action/violence and some language
