Welcome back, Insider. It’s been another breakneck week in entertainment. Jesse Whittock here guiding you through the most important TV and film stories.
Spacey Wins Sex Crimes Case
“Humbled”: Kevin Spacey is a free man. On Wednesday, a UK jury found him not guilty of nine sex crime charges — the most serious of which could have seen him jailed for 10 years. Since the beginning of the trial at Southwark Crown Court in London, Spacey has cut a surprisingly relaxed figure for the most part. Being on unconditional bail, he’s been to allowed roam free between hearings and head home each evening. He sat dispassionately through the testimony of his four accusers and only showed any emotion when the defense brought character witnesses such as Jack Lemmon’s son to testify in his favor. However, the American Beauty star broke down in tears once hearing the verdict, twice mouthing “thank you” to the jurors. Ultimately, the jury hadn’t been completely convinced of the allegations from the four men, and the bar for conviction in the British legal system is ‘beyond reasonable doubt.’ Without damning physical evidence or another smoking gun, it appears they felt there was no other choice but not guilty following lengthy deliberations . In a brief statement given outside the court, Spacey said he was “humbled by the outcome” and added he would need to take time to process what had happened.
What’s next?: Before the trial, Spacey told a German magazine that he expected to resume working “the moment” he was cleared. That’s a lot of chutzpah considering the gravity of the charges he was facing, and the fact he’s been accused multiple times of inappropriate and criminal sexual behaviors in the UK and the U.S. Last year, he won a $40M civil case brought by Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp, but two years ago he was ordered to pay House of Cards producer MRC nearly $31M as a judge ruled the sexual misconduct allegations surrounding him amounted to a breach of contract. Prior to the trial, Spacey had filmed Michael Zaiko Hall thriller Peter Five Eight, which could release in the U.S. in August, but it remains to be seen how much appetite there is in Hollywood and elsewhere to work with the two-time Oscar winner. Since the trial, I’ve been approach by various crisis management and reputation consultant types, who all have views on whether he’ll be welcomed back. Mark Stephens, a media law expert and partner at Howard Kennedy, told the PA news agency Spacey should theoretically be able to return after leaving court “as innocent as a new-born lamb without a stain.” However, Stephens warned: “He has won in the court of law. It remains to be seen whether he has won in the court of public opinion.” Read our extensive coverage of the trial, from its preliminary hearings through to the aftermath, here.
The Virtues Of Venice
Strike? What strike?: Over to Zac Ntim with this report on the coming Venice Film Festival… With dual labor strikes in the U.S., Venice head Alberto Barbera had been expected to reveal a streamlined Competition lineup of largely European titles. The fest had already lost Luca Guadagnino’s starry drama Challengers to the SAG action. On Tuesday, however, Barbera approached the podium with confidence. He reassured the press corp that the WGA and SAG strikes would have little impact on proceedings in Venice, before unveiling an impressive lineup of meaty Hollywood and arthouse fare. Read a full interview with Barbera that followed the announcement here. In Competition, we have new works from Sofia Coppola (Priscilla), Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), David Fincher (The Killer), and Michael Mann (Ferrari). All five filmmakers had been widely tipped for Lido bows, but alongside them, we find Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi with the previously unannounced Evil Does Not Exist, Pablo Larrain’s Netflix title El Conde, and Ava DuVernay’s return Origin. DuVernay is one of five women playing in Competition this year at Venice. The Selma filmmaker also makes history as the first African American woman in selection. The pic is directed by DuVernay from a screenplay she wrote based on Isabel Wilkerson’s seminal, Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction book, ‘Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.’ The film stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Niecy Nash-Betts, Audra McDonald, Nick Offerman and Connie Nielsen.
Inevitable controversy: Always unafraid to court controversy, Barbera has handed Roman Polanski a safe festival berth for his new movie The Palace. The pic plays Out of Competition alongside Woody Allen’s latest Coeur de Chance . Barbera told Italian journalists in a Q&A after the lineup announcement that Polanski, who turns 90 in August, will not make the trip to the Lido due to extradition laws between Italy and the US. It is 45 years since Polanski fled the U.S. after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. His victim Samantha Geimer has spoken on multiple occasions in the director’s defense, most recently in an interview with his wife, Emmanuelle Seigner. But the director continues to divide opinion in his adopted home country of France and internationally, with a further fall from grace in recent years following five fresh sexual assault allegations, all of which he had denied. Allen, whose star has also fallen in the wake of repeated public sexual assault allegations by adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow, which he has denied and for which no charges have even been brought, will make the trip to the Lido. He has not world premiered a new movie at an A-list festival since 2016, when he attended Cannes with Café Society, which played Out of Competition. Billed as a contemporary thriller, Coup de Chance was shot in Paris last fall, and stars Lou De Laage, Niels Schneider, and Valérie Lemercier.
Besson’s back: Also re-emerging on the Lido following a period of controversy is French filmmaker Luc Besson, who will debut his comeback pic Dogman in Competition. His invitation to the festival comes in the wake of France’s highest appeals court definitively dismissing rape allegations against him by Belgian-Dutch actress Sand Van Roy in June. This year Venice runs August 30-September 9. Damien Chazelle is president of the jury. Go here for more Venice coverage.
TV Chef Feels The Heat
Bullying allegations surface: The world of British celebrity chefs shook on Tuesday, when Max broke the story that the culinary TV star James Martin had been accused of bullying his crew on multiple occasions. Max revealed ITV, the UK network that airs most of his programs, had told him to change his behavior sharpish after receiving a complaint about his conduct back in May. Another incident, which wasn’t made into a formal complaint, occurred back in 2018 during the production of James Martin’s Saturday Morning . The news was a bombshell for ITV, which faced intense pressure earlier this summer over its handling of the Philip Schofield scandal after the former This Morning presenter admitted to having a sexual relationship with a young runner. Martin’s production company, Blue Marlin Television, issued a statement saying he had “responded emotionally” to the 2018 incident, which occurred at his home where many of his programs film, and said “lessons have been learned” in relation to the newer allegation. Martin didn’t deny allegations of bullying but has since attempted to provide context for his mental state back in 2018 after The Sun released audio of a foul-mouthed rant at production crew. A series of tough life events had created “one of the most fraught and difficult periods of my life,” he said in a statement. A day after Max’s scoop landed, I spoke with a source close to ITV’s management, who said the network would “closely monitor” Blue Marlin’s productions going forwards to check their demands of workplace safety and respect had been met.
More ITV: It was a tough week for the UK’s largest commercial network, which on Thursday morning revealed first-half 2023 earnings had fallen a whopping 52% to £152M ($197M), with only strong performances from ITV Studios and its digital divisions holding overall revenues steady. ITV CEO Carolyn McCall later told journalists the broadcaster was facing “the worst ad recession we’ve seen since the global financial crisis” of the late 2000s. She also provided some color around the aborted plan to buy Fleabag firm All3Media, saying a deal would have been “bang on strategy.” She declined to say why ITV had pulled out, with rumors ranging from competition concerns, the broadcaster’s sagging share price and All3’s debt obligations. McCall and ITV Studios chief Julian Bellamy also addressed the U.S. labor strikes, saying they were in a “good position” should American networks begin looking to license more content as the industrial action hits production schedules.
Saudi Soccer Soars
Footy in the Gulf: The big sporting story of the summer has been the emergence of the Saudi Pro League, which has disrupted international soccer in a way few tournaments have over the years. Cristiano Ronaldo, global soccer superstar and owner of the most Instagram followers in the world (lucky lad), left Europe to join Saudi side Al-Nassr at the end of 2022. He has now been joined by a slew of major players, who have swapped seemingly higher quality leagues for mega-bucks deals in the Gulf state, which remains plagued by concerns over its human rights record and allegations of ‘sports-washing.’ I went deep dive on the issue, speaking with IMG Media President Adam Kelly about the Saudi Pro League’s prospects as a genuine global product. IMG has been selling rights to the tournament since Ronaldo’s move and, while a first round of deals were thought to be more like a marketing exercise, it looks like there’s much more interest this time round — “every broadcaster now considers it viable,” said one source close to the rights sale. Much of its potential success or failure hinges on whether French mega-star Kylian Mbappé, widely considered the successor to Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the game’s greatest, agrees to a mind-bendingly massive contract to join Al-Hilal. The signs are he will say no. Does that doom the controversial league’s charge to reshape the game? For more, go deeper.
Strike Chaos Hits UK
Conflict and confusion: The fallout from the actor’s and writers’ strikes is becoming clearer in the UK, which is more exposed than most to Hollywood grinding to a halt. Jake delved into impact here in Britain and found industry figures in a conflicted mood. Many are genuinely sympathetic to strikers’ aims, but there is also a sense of anguish at shoots shutting so soon after the pandemic and during a cost of living crisis. Freelancers are being hit hardest again, with some fearing for how they will pay for food and shelter amid spiraling inflation and interest rates. There is also confusion. UK unions Equity and Writers’ Guild of Great Britain were flooded with calls from members desperate to stay on the right side of picket lines. The strikes, which have paused shoots including Apple’s Silo and Paramount’s A Gentleman in Moscow, have raised questions over whether Britain is too closely entangled with the U.S. Inward investment counts for 92% of the UK’s record £6.3B ($8.2B) production spend, leading some to argue that greater energy should be invested in growing domestic filmmaking. Read more here.
Red, White and feeling Blue: More evidence of the strikes’ impact on Blighty came yesterday, when our roving International Editor-At-Large Baz Bamigboye reported exclusively from an empty, sombre red carpet at the BFI Imax theater in London’s Waterloo for the premiere of Prime Video rom-com Red, White and Blue . Director Matthew López was in attendance (well, sort of), stationing himself in a holding room inside the building but away from the red carpet. “I’m on strike as a screenwriter but not as a playwright and not as a director,” he told our man on the ground. Lopez agreed to a picture — but only of the back of his head. The feature’s stars Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez, both SAG-AFTRA members, stayed away altogether. Was this an example of what we’ll find at Venice, Telluride, Toronto and co during the fall festival season? “Afraid so,” wrote Baz.
The Essentials
🌶️ Hot One: Channel 4 set cast for The Gathering, a drama show from Line of Duty producer World Productions. Max had the scoop.
🌶️ Another: The Lives of Others star Sebastian Koch has joined Máxima, RTL’s upcoming streaming, with Beta Film also board. I had this one.
🌶️ Honestly, another: Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio has penned an ITV drama about a doctor in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
🍿 Box Office: Barbenheimer fever continues with the doll at $473M and the physicist on $238M internationally, per Nancy’s report.
🚪🚶🏽♂️ Exiting: Sony Pictures Television’s long-serving international production exec Richard Parsons. We were first.
🚪🚶🏽♂️🚶🏽♂️ Also exiting: Kai Finke and Marc Van Den Bosch Mprah from Netflix’s German team. Andreas’ exclusive.
🛥️ ‘Super-trawlers’: The name given to streamers in a Screen Producers Australia commissioning survey.
🪓 Axed: Roberto Saviano’s mafia doc series, amid a political row at Italian pubcaster Rai.
🐭 Tom & Jerry: The famous feuding toon duo will be localized for the first time ever, in a Cartoon Network Asia Pacific/HBO Go series.
🗣️ Interview: Asia Ed Liz Shackleton sat down with Kohrra showrunner Sudip Sharma.
📺 Trailer: For HWJN, the ambitious fantasy-romance hailing from the Gulf region.
And finally: The world said goodbye to one of its most influential, gifted and unique music stars in Sinead O’Connor this week. The Irish Grammy winner, who was once banned from Saturday Night Live after tearing apart a photo of the Pope, passed away aged 56.
Zac Ntim and Jake Kanter contributed to this week’s Insider.
