Emmys snubs and Fantastic Four enthusiasm
I’m not a big believer in “Emmy snubs” or any of that nonsense. TV and movie awards shows are rarely reflective of what was deserving after months of campaign work. But, I did find it odd that there was no Emmy love for Dark Winds (AMC), The Agency (Paramount+), or Industry (HBO). All three are worthy of some attention, even if they aren’t going to win.
I have the full list of nominees on the Mediaweek site.
Oh, also… where were the Andor cast in the nominations? Diego Luna deserved to be there on the Best Actor list, along with supporting nods for Denise Gough and Genevieve O'Reilly. It’s proper madness excluding the three of them.
First steps towards Fantastic Four: First Steps
Last night in Sydney there was a “blue carpet” media event for the new Marvel film Fantastic Four: First Steps. They screened for an audience of critics and influencers around 30-ish minutes of the movie, but the main event was the cast of the film walking the carpet and then coming into the cinema for a Q&A.
After a nightmare effort to park my car in the Entertainment Quarter carpark (which ended up costing me $30 for the privilege *grumble*), I got to the event a bit late. Walking down the blue carpet into the cinema, I got stopped by security and told to wait outside.
Apparently, this was good fortune, because it left me right in front of the outside stage for the arrival of these guys:
I was quite literally right out in front of them. One couldn’t plan it better.
While watching Pedro Pascal on stage, who I’m sure everyone remembers best from his short arc on The Good Wife, but also starred in The Mandalorian and The Last of Us, I was struck for the very first time that this guy is an actual, bona fide movie star. He really does have that aura about him.
I’ve met and interviewed Vanessa Kirby before (who was really great… one of my favourite interviews), but I was mostly excited to see Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Yeah, some folks knew him from Girls and he’s obviously huge now from The Bear, but I first noticed him properly in this really good short film Tokyo Project, where he starred opposite(-ish) Elisabeth Moss. It’s available on the US HBO Max, if you have the means.
Of course, speaking of proper stars… check out this guy…
The film itself doesn’t get previewed to the media until next week. But, from what I’ve seen of it so far, I think it’s going to make a lot of people happy. The movie felt a lot more like an actual movie than most Marvel fare does. I’m not entirely sold on the special effects work for The Thing, but it does the job.
I’m keen to check it out next week and will no doubt offer some thoughts here.
News Desk
Another year, another Emmys with no Taylor Sheridan shows nominated. Read: THR
Following the nominations, HBO chief Casey Bloys spoke with THR about all things HBO and Emmys. The only interesting takeaway was that even though Max has been rebranded as HBO Max, original shows for the streamer will still be branded as ‘Max Originals’ and not as ‘HBO Max Originals.’ Read: THR
The BBC broke its license fee income record, generating £3.8bn in 2024-25. That record was thanks to an inflationary increase. There were actually 300,000 fewer people paying this year. Read: The Guardian
India has banned the kissing scene from the end of Superman. That super powered woke perve... Read: Variety
Sarah Polley has joined the writers room for The Studio. This feels like a waste of Sarah Polley. Read: Deadline
Cameron Diaz will star in Netflix action comedy Bad Day. Read: THR
Netflix’s Rebel Moon film series now has a spin-off game. Blood Line is available to download now. Read: Polygon
Trailer Park
The Map That Leads To You debuts on Prime Video August 20.
The film follows Heather, a young woman traveling Europe with friends before starting her perfectly planned life. A chance meeting with Jack sparks an unexpected romance that leads to deep emotional discovery. As secrets and life choices test their bond, her path changes forever. Based on the novel by J.P. Monninger.
Red Eye debuts on Hulu July 22.
A red eye flight from London to Beijing becomes a thrilling journey after Dr. Matthew Nolan (Richard Armitage) is arrested and accused of murdering a woman.
Women Wearing Shoulder Pads debuts on Adult Swim August 17.
Created by Gonzalo Cordova and produced in partnership with Mexico City-based studio Cinema Fantasma, the stop-motion series follows Marioneta, a proud wealthy Spaniard living in 1980s Quito, Ecuador.
That’s the newsletter for today.
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Surely Pedro Pascal is best known as Oberyn Martell a Prince of Dorne from a Game of Thrones?