Back in 2008 the Warchowski siblings left The Matrix behind to adapt beloved anime show Speed Racer. An ongodly amount of money was spent on the film. It was big, loud, and very flashy. Or so I'm told. Like most people I didn't see the film. It died a spectacularly fast death at the box office.

Now in 2022 comes word that another live-action Speed Racer is on the way, this time by way of JJ Abrams and Apple TV+. Ron Fitzgerald and Hiram Martinez are attached to write and executive produce in addition to serving as co-showrunners. This is quite the tonal shift for Fitzgerald who recently co-created the recent HBO Perry Mason reboot. This may be the first time Speed Racer and Perry Mason have been connected in any way.

‘Speed Racer’ Live-Action Series in the Works at Apple, J.J. Abrams Executive Producing
A “Speed Racer” live-action series is in the works at Apple with J.J. Abrams onboard as an executive producer, Variety has learned. Apple has given the project, which has been in the wo…
VarietyJoe Otterson

In other JJ Abrams news...

His sci-fi drama series Demimonde is reportedly in choppy waters over at the newly price-conscious Warner Bros Discovery as management tries to right the ship financially and reduce some debt.

What's the problem? Well, JJ wants to spend $200 million on the first season of the show. That sounds like a lot of money to me.

J.J. Abrams’ ‘Demimonde’ In Jeopardy Over Budget Drama As Bad Robot’s Overall Deal Faces Scrutiny By Warner Bros. Discovery
J.J. Abrams’ ambitious HBO sci-fi drama series Demimonde has hit a major roadblock in its long journey to the screen. The issues, related to the show’s price, come amid talk of a potent…
DeadlineNellie Andreeva

All shook up

Reviews for the new Baz Luhrman Elvis film... they're not so hot. All sparkle and no cape, if you will.

Here's Peter Bradshaw at The Guardian:

It’s not a movie so much as 159-minute trailer for a film called Elvis – a relentless, frantically flashy montage, epic and yet negligible at the same time, with no variation of pace. At the end of it all, you might find yourself pondering the eternal questions: what does Luhrmann think of Elvis’s music? Does he, for example, prefer some Elvis songs to others? Has he listened to any of Elvis’s songs all the way through? Or does he shut down Spotify after 20 seconds once he reckons he’s got the gist?

David Ehrlich at Indiewire has similar concerns.

  • A red carpet premiere for The Orville: New Horizons was cancelled following the school shooting in the US yesterday. Read: THR
  • The FBI season finale was also pulled by CBS following the shooting. It involved a student involved in an armed crime. Read: LA Times
  • Susana Polo at Polygon reckons the best way to save Star Wars is to 'make it cheap again.' I get what she's saying, but I'm not convinced there has been a time where Star Wars was ever inexpensively made outside of those two Ewok TV movies... Read: Polygon
  • Melanie Lynsky on her relationship with Two and a Half Men - she wanted out. Read: Vulture
  • Did you know that there is a Scott Frank/Tom Fontana series starring Clive Owen playing Sam Spade? It is being filmed in France. I knew nothing about this and now it is the only thing I ever want to see. Read: Dark Horizons
  • What you can expect from the Star Wars Celebration fan event taking place over the next few days. Read: The Verge
  • Netflix aims to have fewer ads than HBO Max and won't interrupt shows or movies with ads. Read: The Streamable
  • Tim Roth will replace Ian McShane in the Australian Pramount+ drama Last King of The Cross. Read: Deadline
  • SBS has canned The Feed as a broadcast series. It will, for the time being, produce digital shorts for the Internet. A long-form documentary unit will also emerge from the production team. Read: IF

Danish Netflix dramedy Baby Fever debuts June 8.

When a fertility doctor drunkenly inseminates herself with her ex-boyfriend's sperm, she scrambles to explain her pregnancy - and win back her lost love.

That's it. Another day, another newsletter. We'll repeat this again tomorrow.