The Inauguration Tells a Tale of Two Trumps; 'The Brutalist' Director Responds to AI Backlash; 'Severance' S2 Theories; 'Prime Target' Review

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View on web New reader? Subscribe January 21, 2025 What's news: The full lineup of the Berlin Film Festival has been revealed. Jon Stewart lambasted Elon Musk's controversial inauguration salute. Prince Harry's legal battle with News Corp. kicked off in London. IMDb CEO Col Needham is stepping down after 35 years. — Abid Rahman Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at tips@thr.com. The Inauguration Tells a Tale of Two Trumps ►"It was a speech that implicitly made a mockery of any commentator who praised the formal inaugural address as polished and — I can’t believe we’re returning to this grading curve again — presidential." THR critic Daniel Fienberg reviews President Donald Trump's second inauguration, an event that had the vibe of a Comic-Con presentation. The review.   —"[Lauren Sanchez's] striking choice may verge on distracting." The 60th presidential inauguration (and the weekend events leading up to it) presented a second opportunity for the Trumps to put their stamp on Washington style. All eyes were on incoming first lady Melania Trump, who made a statement in a crisply tailored navy blue coat by New York-based fashion designer Adam Lippes, topped off with a matching hat by Eric Javits, another New York designer. For THR, Ingrid Schmidt recaps all the looks from the event. The looks.   —"Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?" Melania Trump's inauguration outfit sent social media into a frenzy, with many making comparisons to the character Carmen Sandiego. Melania wore a dark outfit with a hat that seemed taken straight from the 1990s video game heroine, that promoted both jokes and some curiosity as to why she opted for such a dark vibe to an event that she would presumably consider a happy occasion. The story.  —Kissing the ring. Trump's inauguration attracted several celebrities beyond the performance roster, which was announced in advance of the event. Podcasters Joe Rogan and Theo Von received select seats in the US Capitol Rotunda. YouTubers, fighters and longtime Trump supporters Logan and Jake Paul were there, as were UFC chief Dana White and disgraced Irish fighter Conor McGregor. NHL legend Wayne Gretzky was present as well. The story.  Jon Stewart Reacts to Inauguration, Elon Musk Salute ►"Historic vibe shift." Jon Stewart gave his take on Donald Trump’s second inauguration on Monday night. The Daily Show host took on Trump’s news-filled inauguration day during a 15-minute opener, mocking the tech billionaires in attendance, President Joe Biden’s last-minute pardons of his family, Elon Musk’s controversial crowd salute and, of course, Trump’s speech. The recap. —The cutting begins. The Department of Government Efficiency’s first order of business was itself: It’s now down to one leader. Vivek Ramaswamy is no longer part of the commission that President Donald Trump championed, officials confirmed hours after the Republican took office Monday, and that leaves billionaire Elon Musk to run the cost-cutting operation alone. Trump picked Musk and Ramaswamy to lead DOGE, a nongovernmental task force that Trump has assigned to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and slash federal regulations — all part of what the new president calls his “Save America” agenda for his second term. The story.  MusiCares Grateful Dead Tribute Lineup Revealed ►Dead right. The MusiCares Persons of the Year benefit gala, one of several official pre-Grammy Awards functions scheduled to take place in Los Angeles ahead of the Feb. 2 show, will go on with its tribute to the Grateful Dead on Jan. 31 and some big names are attached. THR 's Shirley Halperin has the scoop that the lineup will include Dead & Company, John Mayer, Mick Fleetwood with Stewart Copeland, Norah Jones, Maren Morris, Noah Kahan, Vampire Weekend, Sierra Farrell and Lukas Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, Billy Strings, My Morning Jacket, the War and Treaty, Sammy Hagar, Zac Brown and the War on Drugs. Previous Grateful Dead collaborator Bruce Hornsby is also expected and friend of the band, and Bravo TV host, Andy Cohen — himself a longtime Deadhead who has hosted Weir on Watch What Happens — will MC the evening. The story.  —"This is a deeply personal battle for Prince Harry." A legal battle brought by Prince Harry against the publisher of The Sun newspaper, owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, kicked off at the High Court in London on Tuesday, without the prince in attendance and with several delays. The trial against the News Group Newspapers unit of News Corp’s U.K. operation is expected to last around six to eight weeks. The case is based on alleged activities, including alleged phone hacking and unlawful information gathering, carried out by journalists and private investigators working for The Sun and the defunct The News of the World between 1996 and 2011. The story.  —Passing the torch. Thirty-five years after launching IMDb, Col Needham is stepping back from the CEO role, with the site promoting chief operating officer Nikki Santoro as his successor, the company said on Tuesday. Santoro will become only the second CEO in IMDb’s history while Needham will transition to the title of founder and executive chair and still be based in the firm’s Bristol, England office. Like its parent company, Amazon, IMDb is as an internet giant itself with more than 65m monthly visitors to its flagship url. The story. —Fitting tribute. Pinewood Toronto Studios has announced the naming of one of its soundstages after Norman Jewison, who passed away one year ago at age 97. Jewison shot the classic 1971 film Fiddler on the Roof at Pinewood Studios in the U.K., but the London-based studio group is honoring the seven-time Oscar nominee in his hometown, Toronto. His varied film credits include The Russians Are Coming, The Thomas Crown Affair, In the Heat of the Night, Jesus Christ Superstar and Rollerball. Jewison also earned the prestigious Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences in 1999. The story. 'The Brutalist' Director Responds to AI Backlash ►"Adrien and Felicity’s performances are completely their own." Brady Corbet has responded to online chatter regarding the use of AI technology on his award contender The Brutalist, which is coming under fire after the film’s editor Dávid Jancsó commented in an interview on the use of AI to enhance the performance of the film’s leads, Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones. In an interview with a video tech publication, editor Dávid Jancsó said the filmmakers used AI tools to tweak Brody’s and Jones’ Hungarian dialogue in the film to make it sound more authentic. That AI was used in the film in any form has sparked online outrage, with many suggesting it should disqualify it for awards consideration. The story.  —Festival favorites. New films from Richard Linklater, Michel Franco and Hong Sang-soo are among the competition highlights for the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, the world’s largest public film festival, which unveiled it full lineup Tuesday. Linklater’s Blue Moon will have its world premiere at the festival, marking his fourth time in Berlin competition. At his last go-around, with Boyhood in 2014, he walked away with the Silver Bear for best director. Other competition highlights include Hot Milk, the directoral debut of Polish screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Michel Franco’s Dreams, and French drama The Ice Tower from director Lucile Hadžihalilović. James Mangold's A Complete Unknown and Bong Joon-Ho's Mickey 17 have landed non-competition slots at the event. The full lineup. 'Severance': 3 Theories From the S2 Premiere, Explained ►"Admit it. I’m your favorite perk." Severance is back, and a lot went down in the season two premiere. What does "Cold Harbor" mean, and is Helly lying? For THR, Josh Wigler, dives into the Apple TV+ thriller's second season return and explains it all. The story.  —Big Tech dominance. The holiday season brought big gifts to several streaming platforms, with YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video all hitting or tying their best mark ever in Nielsen's monthly snapshot of TV use. The ratings service’s December Gauge rankings — which, due to a quirk of how Nielsen collects its data, also includes the last week of November — show streaming services commanding an all-time high of 43.3 percent of all TV viewing in the U.S. That’s within a few percentage points of the combined 46.2 percent for broadcast (22.4 percent) and cable (23.8 percent) for the month. The story.  —"We are the biggest media platform in the United States for football." Men in Blazers, the soccer-focused media company, has raised $15m in a Series A funding round backed by a number of media, sports and entertainment heavyweights. The round is being led by Marc Lasry’s Avenue Sports Fund, joined by Ryan Reynolds’ and Rob McElhenney’s RR McReynolds, Peter Chernin’s Chernin Group, Brent Montgomery’s Wheelhouse, Ryan Sports Ventures and Bolt Ventures. Founded as a podcast in 2010 by journalist and filmmaker Roger Bennett and TV producer Michael Davies, Men in Blazers has become arguably the place where U.S. soccer fans congregate for news, analysis, opinion and soccer-related entertainment across its programming and properties. The story. How the 'Kneecap' Director Reinvented an Entire Film Genre ►"One way or another, I was going to make this film." THR's Lily Ford spoke to filmmaker Rich Peppiatt about his much-talked about feature Kneecap. Off the back of six BAFTA nominations, the helmer discusses the determination that drove him to make one of the riskiest, buzziest and most audacious indie films of the year. The interview. —"The truth of this world is violent." For THR, Abbey White spoke to the team behind Netflix's American Primeval on portraying the brutal history of America’s westward expansion. Director Peter Berg, executive producer Eric Newman, Indigenous consultant Julia O’Keefe, stars Taylor Kitsch, Betty Gilpin, Irene Bedard, Kim Coates, Derek Hinkey and more discuss the show's approach to fact and fiction, particularly in its depiction of violence: "We are holding up something of a mirror." Warning: Spoilers! The interview.  —"We didn’t want to make a traditional Western." For THR, Brande Victorian talked more in-depth with American Primeval director Peter Berg. The filmmaker discusses the finale deaths, the prequel spinoff he's considering, and his thoughts on the Friday Night Lights reboot. Berg also responds to criticisms of the representation of Mormon church leader Brigham Young and the line he wouldn’t cross when it came to violence depicted in the events surrounding the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.  —"I’m grateful that we did real prosthetics. The film is all the better for it." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Christopher Abbott about his new film, Wolf Man. The actor discusses making the horror movie and admits the prosthetics took their toll, even though they helped him get into the right headspace for the character. The interview. —"Filmmakers over the course of their careers make movies that talk to each other, even indirectly." Brian also spoke to Wolf Man director Leigh Whannell. The writer-director reveals his film was partially inspired by a close friend who died of ALS, but ultimately lost a scene involving the affliction: "That's definitely one that hurt when I took it out." The interview.  TV Review: 'Prime Target' ►"Should've been smarter — or stupider." THR's Angie Han reviews Apple TV+'s Prime Target. Leo Woodall (Netflix's One Day) plays a brilliant graduate mathematics student whose work puts him in the crosshairs of a global conspiracy. The review.  In other news... —Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich dive into cult fandoms in trailer for A24 horror movie Opus —BBC/PBS' Miss Austen trailer stars Keeley Hawes as Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra —Anora leads Vancouver Film Critics Circle nominations with 5 nods —Henry Cavill and Natalie Viscuso welcome first child together —Lynne Taylor-Corbett, choreographer for Footloose and Broadway’s Swing!, dies at 78 ​​​What else we're reading... —Chris Lee writes that Hollywood is bracing itself for a "masks off" Trump era [Vulture] —Jon Caramanica feels that at Trump’s inauguration rally, the contradictions were in the music [NYT] —Cameron McWhirter and Kailyn Rhone spoke to residents of Altadena about the concerns of who will return to the historic Black neighborhood ravaged by the wildfires [WSJ] —Alexis Petridis writes that Drake’s lawsuit against Kendrick Lamar puts artistic freedom on trial [Guardian] —Myles Burke has the surprising story behind Kate Bush's first hit song, "Wuthering Heights" [BBC] Today...   ...in 1953, 20th Century Fox opened the Marilyn Monroe-Joseph Cotten melodramatic thriller Niagara in New York. Directed by Henry Hathaway, the film elevated Monroe to star status. The original review. Today's birthdays: Geena Davis (69), Ken Leung (55), David F. Sandberg (44), Michael Wincott (67), Luke Grimes (41), Kelly Rohrbach (35), Robby Benson (69), Booboo Stewart (31), Charlotte Ross (57), Izabella Miko (44), Matthew Willig (56), Martin Shaw (80), Karina Lombard (56), Jackson Brundage (24), Donna Lynne Champlin (54), Nick Gehlfuss (40), Svetlana Khodchenkova (42), Craig Roberts (34🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿), John Early (37), Jeremy Shada (28), Jerry Trainor (48), Lars Eidinger (49), Tovino Thomas (36), Jacob Smith (35), Alexander Lincoln (31), Greg Pitts (55), Jill Eikenberry (78), John Ducey (56), Remy Auberjonois (51), Dylan Kussman (54), Marina Foïs (55), Marny Kennedy (31), Emma Bunton (49) Cecile Richards, a national leader for abortion access and women’s rights who led Planned Parenthood for 12 tumultuous years, has died. She was 67. 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