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In what’s shaping up to be the biggest weekend for Hollywood at the box office after many months, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie are set to engage in a theatrical clash, generating immense excitement not only for the viewers in their home market but also among Indian fans. Nolan’s devoted fan base and the movie’s positioning as a big-screen spectacle shot on IMAX are helping the epic Robert Oppenheimer biographical thriller dominate advance ticket sales in India.

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For actors and screenwriters affected by the recent strikes against film and television studios, having a spending plan and an advisor could be the difference between survival and financial calamity.

The common refrain is that there’s nothing Hollywood loves so much as its own history

Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) has said film and television studios in Hollywood offered actors over $1 billion in higher compensation and enhanced benefits before the SAG-AFTRA union called a strike last week. The AMPTP, which negotiated on behalf of Netflix, Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery and others, said the labor union representing media professionals "continues to mischaracterize the negotiations." The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRAP called a strike last Thursday after the negotiators said they were unable to reach an agreement with studios on a new three-year contract with higher benefits and limits on the use of their images by artificial intelligence.

Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the negotiating body for the studios, expired on June 30th, but the sides decided to extend negotiations until July 12th. No deal was reached. On the first morning of the strike, picket lines in Los Angeles and New York swelled with performers.

Manifest season 4, and Firefly Lane season 2 are among the top Netflix shows with best completion rates, according to a report. PlumResearch, a prominent Polish SVOD analytics company, has recently released the completion rates for several popular Netflix shows in 2023. Completion rates serve as a crucial metric when assessing the success of shows on Netflix, as they offer more than just the number of viewers or overall viewing hours. Instead, they provide insights into the number of viewers who watch a show from start to finish. In fact, Netflix itself has acknowledged the significance of this data by providing «starters» and «completers» information to its content creators, as stated in written testimony submitted to the UK government. Top Netflix shows in the list are «Ginny & Georgia» season 2, 'Manifest' season 4, «Firefly Lane» season 2, «Outer Banks» season 3, «The Night Agent» season 1, «Love is Blind» season 4, «That'90s Show» season 1, «The Recruit» season 1, and 'Unstable' season 1. Netflix investors will assess risks from the ongoing strike in Hollywood when the company reports quarterly results on Wednesday, but analysts said it was well positioned due to its solid pipeline of shows and international production crew. Striking Hollywood actors have joined film and television writers on picket lines, forcing US studios to shutter productions as workers battle over pay in the streaming TV era. Some of the people on strike are also picketing the Netflix offices in Los Angeles. But the streaming giant, which is set to report its highest second-quarter subscriber additions since 2020, is likely to keep churning out titles such as Gal Gadot's upcoming «Heart of Stone» and «Too Hot to Handle, Season 5».

Los Angeles County has 88 cities. Ten million people. Two hundred-plus languages spoken.

Many other premieres and entertainment events have been canceled in Hollywood as a result of the striking members of the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA. The premiere of the Disney movie Haunted Mansion was held at Disneyland on Saturday, July 15, 2023, without the movie’s leading stars. The film’s director and producers were present on the red carpet, but otherwise, Disney had to make do with making its theme park characters, including its classic villains, posing for the media. Disney’s Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Maleficent, Snow White’s Evil Queen, and Cruella were on the red carpet, along with influencers and other guests who were not actors. None of the Haunted Mansion cast members like Tiffany Haddish, LaKeith Stanfield, Danny DeVito, Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, Chase W Dillon, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hasan Minhaj, Marilu Henner or Lindsay Lamb were present at the premiere. The premiere was held in front of the Disney theme park's Haunted Mansion ride. The movie’s director Justin Simien, producers Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, executive producers Nick Reynolds and Tom Peitzman, and composer Kris Bowers walked the red carpet, but the cast skipped it in solidarity with the union. In view of the strike, the New York premiere of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer was canceled. The film’s UK premiere and red carpet went as planned in London, but the actors’ exited the venue just before the SAG-AFTRA strike was declared.

Hollywood productions and even Netflix and Amazon Prime Video Originals have been majorly impacted this year with the ongoing writers’ strike in the US since May 2, 2023. Now, thousands of actors have also joined the picket lines, impacting Hollywood like never before. Let’s know more about the strike and its effect on the entertainment industry. As union members and their supporters stood outside the offices of big studios and streaming giants in Los Angeles, New York, and other entertainment centers, they received support from the biggest movie stars. On July 14, 2023, Academy Award-winning actor Susan Sarandon and actor-writer Jason Sudeikis joined other actors and screenwriters in Hollywood's biggest strike in over 60 years. During the premieres of Barbie and Oppenheimer, the cast and crew quickly exited the red carpet before the actors’ strike was announced.

Emily Blunt has been trolled by fans for allegedly changing her appearance via Botox shots or cosmetic surgery to her face. Netizens noticed Blunt looking different at the UK premiere of her movie Oppenheimer, the much-hyped Christopher Nolan directorial. Social media users have commented on Blunt’s appearance, saying that she was looking like singer Madonna in one of the popstar’s appearances in black. «I’m more concerned with Emily Blunt and the filler she put on her face. It looks like Madonna,» said a fan. One Twitter user asked, «Is it just me or does Emily Blunt’s face look different?» while another reiterated, «Her face looks different…» Another fan wasn’t so kind when they asked, «Just noticed the Botox on Emily Blunt’s face.» “Did Emily Blunt have some sort of surgery?” questioned another fan, while one fan observed that Blunt «doesn’t look like herself anymore» and «too much botox». Emily Blunt stated earlier that she is not in favor of cosmetic surgeries. In an interview with Women & Home in 2019, The Devil Wears Prada actor said she doesn't believe in plastic surgeries and that she «loves imperfection». “I appreciate that every line on someone’s face bears a story, and is the result of experience,” she said in the interview. She observed that in Hollywood, people are «suffocated by plastic surgery», adding that «striving for an impassive perfection» isn’t something she finds beautiful or had tried to achieve. Blunt said that she believes in «taking care of your skin and your general health», adding that «women who spend too much time trying to look perfect lose some of the magic about them».

A post shared by Priyanka (@priyankachopra) Notable actors, including Emily Blunt, Rami Malek and Matt Damon, have made a powerful statement by walking out of the premiere of their upcoming film Oppenheimer in London.  The Hollywood labour battle has taken a significant turn as actors and writers join forces, marking the largest industry strike in over six decades. This joint effort poses a significant threat to the media sector, potentially grinding it to a standstill.

Los Angeles County has 88 cities. Ten million people. Two hundred-plus languages spoken. And a nine-letter sign that, for much of the world, defines the entire region: HOLLYWOOD. Los Angeles has long been regarded as the global «company town» for show business, and as a rare actors strike upended the signature industry this week, the potential for cascading economic impacts across Southern California has emerged as a critical local issue. But economists disagree on just how extensively the simultaneous actors and writers strikes will be felt. Even by the most generous estimates, Hollywood has never supported more than about 5% of employment in a region where many more people work in trade, health care, government and even Southern California's diminished manufacturing sector. Yet Hollywood pervades Los Angeles life in ways as big as a movie backdrop or as small as a street detour on some awards night. For many, the ceased productions and darkened premieres are not just a threat to the flow of dollars to restaurants and retailers that cater to film crews, but also a blow to the region's cultural heart. «To the extent that Hollywood defines America's idea of where I live, Hollywood's troubles become my troubles,» said D.J. Waldie, a cultural historian in Southern California. «When Hollywood stops, a great many things stop here, and not just a few studios.»

Kevin Spacey’s career turned upside down after serious charges of sexual harassment were made against him by four men. In a trial in the UK on Thursday, July 14, Spacey has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges in the case. Here are more details about the case.

Fran Drescher has captured the nation with her passionate address from Los Angeles. In her address, Drescher branded streaming giants such as Netflix, Disney, and Paramount as «disgusting,» accusing them of lavishing hundreds of millions on their CEOs. Her speech, which quickly went viral, epitomizes the broader labor disputes unfolding worldwide.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has crept into another arm of Hollywood, sending the industry into an ongoing debate over its usage as Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) chief negotiator, revealed a proposal from Hollywood studios.

By Lisa Richwine

Ryan Reynolds just released a first look of his film Deadpool 3, with a picture of Hugh Jackman as X-Men’s Wolverine and himself as Deadpool. Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine in Deadpool 3, and fans have been excited ever since Reynold’s video announcement of the same in September 2022. On July 10, 2023, Ryan Reynolds posted a picture of Deadpool and Wolverine from Deadpool 3 on his Instagram stories. In the photo, the two superheroes are seen walking together facing the camera. “Don’t blink,” wrote Reynolds in his story, with emojis of Deadpool and Wolverine. In the picture, Deadpool is walking on the left of the camera, while Wolverine is walking on the right.

artificial intelligence sure is swell, but it could never capture the essence of Mickey Mouse, according to the man who voices Disney's mascot. As part of Disney's upcoming 100th anniversary celebration, AFP spoke with animators, archivists and Mickey voice actor Bret Iwan about the company's past and future, including the potential for AI — a topic currently roiling Hollywood.

For Edmonton native Susanne Brown, Ozempic has been life-changing. After being prescribed the drug, she climbs mountains, she’s training for a 10-kilometre run, and she’s ziplined through tropical forests in Mexico and swum in cenotes.

Three weeks after its release, Shonda Rhimes’ Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, is still reigning supreme as the number one show on Netflix.