Assholes have gotta asshole: A profile in Kevin Costner
Also: The future of WBD. And so, so many trailers.
Initially, it seemed a bit like a mean-spirited hit-piece, but the more I read Peter Kiefer’s THR article about how “Kevin Costner lost Hollywood,” the more fascinated I became about the disconnect between Kevin Costner as 80s and 90s creative and box office superstar and his current status as a guy still trying to ride that career after several decades of high profile failures (in terms of box office and professional relationships).
I think Costner is an incredibly interesting Hollywood figure in that he has never felt like a traditional leading man, nor has he ever really felt ‘of-Hollywood.’ He also represents more than any other leading actor that sense of middle-America, fly-over state values. A career defined heavily by sports films and westerns creates that vibe.
But what is especially interesting about Costner is that one can imagine that alternate reality where Kevin Costner meets up with Taylor Sheridan, who both seem to have a likeminded creative spirit, and the two fall completely into sync with the tail-end of Costner’s career defined by appearing in multiple Taylor Sheridan shows and movies.
But that never happens because the creative joining is laden with friction and turmoil to the point that Costner’s character eventually just gets killed off in Yellowstone mid-season.
Assholes have gotta asshole, it seems.
Indeed, shortly after the 2016 historical drama Hidden Figures — in which Costner played neither a cowboy nor a water-faring mutant but a NASA scientist — the actor landed that rarest of opportunities in Hollywood, a shot at redemption.
Of course, at the time, nobody knew what a phenomenon Yellowstone would become. But when it was announced that Costner had signed on to play the role of John Dutton, it set the stage for his return to superstardom, on an epic Western no less. (Sheridan had originally envisioned Robert Redford for the role, but when the show jumped from HBO to Paramount, the role went to Costner.) The pairing of Costner with Sheridan — who was 15 years younger — was immediately intriguing.
Sheridan had burst on the scene with Sicario, a gritty crime thriller about drug cartels set on the U.S.-Mexico border, which was followed up by the well-received Western crime drama Hell or High Water. It’s not hard to see parallels between Sheridan and Costner. Both started out as actors before finding their ways toward writing, directing and producing (in Sheridan’s case, that was out of necessity, as he never found success as an actor). Both are ruggedly handsome, gruff and not short on ego. Most of all, both have a deep and abiding affinity for frontier life and Westerns.
(For the record, I’m a huge Costner fan and am eagerly awaiting Horizons two through four).
A House of Dynamite screenings
Just a heads-up that there are cinema screenings starting today in Australia for the new Kathryn Bigelow film A House of Dynamite. I believe there’s also a limited release in the US this weekend too. It was made for Netflix and debuts on the streamer October 24.
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Speculation about the future of Warner Bros Discovery bubbles along
Bill Cohan at Puck has an interesting article today about the future of WBD, which is reportedly in the crosshairs for an acquisition by Skydance.
In a piece covering analysts findings that WBD is worth more once it splits than David Ellison at Skydance is likely to pay for it as a combined entity, he raises the idea that the linear networks business has the potential to increase its value. He cites Bank of America research analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich:
To that end, Ehrlich suggested that any one of ITV, RTL Group, ProSieben, Télévision Française, or M6 Métropole Télévision could be good candidates for Gunnar. All have market caps of roughly $5 billion or less—several of them are sub-$2 billion—and therefore, she thought, could make fine acquisition targets for Discovery Global. “We believe the European linear market is better positioned than the U.S.,” she wrote. “Rampant cord-cutting has impaired the U.S. linear TV ecosystem and will likely continue to do so.”
A less interesting article is this Deadline piece which just feels like an excuse to write about WBD in wake of the news that film chiefs Michael De Luca & Pamela Abdy have re-upped their contracts.
Sources at both studios tell us that while no formal offer has yet been sent from PSKY to WBD, the Jeff Shell and Gerry Cardinale-advised Ellison is just biding his time before making a bid for another iconic studio. However, it is unclear how far “informal” pitches and discussions between the parties have evolved.
To that, specifically, Ellison and his father Larry Ellison, the second richest man in the world depending on what time of day it is, don’t want to see a repeat of the prolonged painful saga that marked Skydance‘s $8 billion acquisition of Paramount. Nor do they want to step on landmines or find any surprises at the debt-heavy WBD.
News Desk
Rob Lowe is set to return back to the White House (and NBC) by way of a new Secret Service drama The Detail. Read: Variety
The Buccaneers will be back for a third season at Apple TV+. Read: THR
While prequel Dexter: Original Sin remains cancelled, sequel Dexter: Resurrection will return for a second season. A reminder that nobody wants prequels… people want to know what happens next. Read: THR
Speaking of what happened next, Jeremy Strong will star in a six-episode limited series for Paramount+ called 9/12, which is about 9/11 first responders’ David vs. Goliath legal fight for compensation. Read: Deadline
With Clarkson’s Farm taking a bit of a break, a spin-off has been announced for series star Kaleb Cooper, titled Kaleb: Down Under. Read: Radio Times
Twitch streamer Fandy went live with her childbirth. Read: The Verge
Trailer Park
The Rachel Sennot show I Love LA debuts Nov 2 on HBO Max.
A tight-knit friend group gathers after years apart, navigating the complexities of ambition, relationships, and how time has changed them.
The Kim Kardashian TV drama All’s Fair debuts on Hulu Nov 4.
A team of female divorce attorneys leave a male-dominated firm to open their own powerhouse practice. Fierce, brilliant, and emotionally complicated, they navigate high-stakes breakups, scandalous secrets, and shifting allegiances - both in the courtroom and within their own ranks. In a world where money talks and love is a battleground, these women don’t just play the game - they change it.
The Bad Guys: Breaking In debuts on Netflix Nov 6.
How did the Bad Guys break into the bad guy business in the first place? Find out in this hilarious prequel series set before the hit films.
40 Acres is a film debuting on Hulu Oct 17. It just screened in Sydney at self-described handsome man
‘s Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival.After a series of plagues and wars leaves society in ruins, the Freemans are surviving - even thriving - on a farm in the middle of nowhere... so long as they repel the occasional raiding party.
Train Dreams debuts Nov 17 on Netflix.
Based on the novella of the same name, “Train Dreams” is the portrait of Robert Grainier, a logger and railroad worker who leads a life of unexpected depth and beauty in the rapidly changing America of the early 20th Century.
Baby Bandito returns for season 2 on Netflix Oct 22.
Playdate debuts on Prime Video Nov 12.
An afternoon playdate between two stay-at-home dads (Kevin James and Alan Ritchson) turns into high-stakes chaos.
Just Alice debuts on Netflix Nov 5.
Torn between two loves, Alicia secretly marries both a famous writer and a former priest. How long can she juggle love, lies and her double life?
That’s the newsletter for today.
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