Hollywood
Hollywood is covered here as an industry remaking itself in real time. The stories trace two pressures at once: technology, as A24's Google AI partnership exposes the taste-versus-tech dilemma and the OpenAI drama Artificial becomes awards material at Neon; and format, as microdramas and vertical video turn phone-first storytelling into a mainstream talent pipeline. Franchise culture gets equal scrutiny, from Vin Diesel turning Fast Forever's patience into the main story to Jesse Eisenberg's Social Reckoning refusal, Madonna's collapsed biopic, and the analysis of why sanitised biopics have become the safest event-cinema bet.
Vin Diesel's Fast Forever update turns franchise patience into the main story
Vin Diesel's set message confirms the final Fast and Furious film is grinding towards 2028 — and shows how legacy franchises now manage fan trust.
Sylvester Stallone’s memoir The Steps: lion cages, a jail cell and the Rocky bell his father refused to ring
Searches for Sylvester Stallone surged in the UK on Friday as the 80-year-old’s account of the years before Rocky landed in bookshops. Here is what the book actually says.
Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 15 years in New York criminal sexual act case
A New York judge sentenced the former Miramax head over a first-degree criminal sexual act against former production assistant Miriam Haley.
Digger premiere brings Tom Cruise and the Waleses to Leicester Square
The Prince and Princess of Wales joined Tom Cruise and the Digger cast at the Royal Film Performance world premiere in London.
Artificial finds a new home at Neon as the OpenAI drama becomes awards material
Luca Guadagnino's film about the 2023 OpenAI crisis, dropped by Amazon MGM, has been acquired by Neon with a release and awards push planned this year.
Jesse Eisenberg's Social Reckoning refusal is a clue to the sequel's identity
Eisenberg says he no longer wants to be associated with Mark Zuckerberg, leaving Jeremy Strong to redefine the role in Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning.
Hollywood races into microdramas as phone-first storytelling goes mainstream
Major studios, streamers and creator-led companies are moving into short vertical dramas, a format once treated as a social-video sideshow but now drawing serious investment.
Vertical video is becoming Hollywood's newest talent pipeline
Phone-native creators are being watched more closely by agents, studios and producers as vertical storytelling starts to influence mainstream development.
Madonna's long-planned biopic collapses over budget and control, leaving Julia Garner film in limbo
The singer says the Universal-backed project, once set to star Julia Garner under her own direction, fell apart over money and creative authorship, with even a cost-cutting shoot in Serbia failing to save it.
A24's Google AI partnership exposes Hollywood's taste-versus-tech dilemma
A reported research partnership between A24 and Google DeepMind has stirred fan backlash and sharpened questions about how prestige studios should handle AI tools.
Sir David Beckham unveils his Hollywood Walk of Fame star
The former England captain was honoured in Los Angeles by wife Victoria Beckham and longtime friend Tom Cruise, as the city geared up for the World Cup.
Sanitised biopics are becoming Hollywood's safest event-cinema bet
Music and celebrity biopics may frustrate critics, but estate-approved versions of famous lives are proving increasingly useful to studios hunting reliable box office.