‘Moana 2’ Was Supposed to Be a Disney+ Series. Why It’s Hitting Movie Theaters Instead

Todd Longwell Charles D. King has an impressive list of accomplishments, including an Oscar nomination for best picture for his 2021 feature “Judas and the Black Messiah.” But his proudest moment came when he told his young sons that he was quitting WME, where he was the first Black partner, to launch Macro, a multi-platform media company amplifying the voices and perspectives of people of color. “They said to me, ‘Dad is going to be a boss!’ and started jumping up and down on their bed,” recalls King.

Game of Thrones‘ controversial ending did not happen as originally planned.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix says its ad-supported plan includes “the vast majority” of TV shows and movies available on the standard no-ads tiers — but more than a year after the streamer introduced the cheaper option, several popular titles remain unavailable to customers with the ad plan. Most recently, Netflix customers noticed that Eli Roth’s horror film “Thanksgiving” (pictured above), added Feb. 17 for subscribers on ad-free tiers, is unavailable on the ad plan.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The roll that country star Jelly Roll is on will make itself felt in arenas in the late summer and fall of 2024, as the singer has laid out an itinerary that has him headlining big-sized halls in 37 U.S. cities over a two-month period. The “Beautifully Broken” tour starts Aug.

Apple TV's new prestige drama series The New Look features a soundtrack that's assembled and produced by Jack Antonoff, the in-demand pop savant who just won at the 2024 Grammys for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical (his third Grammy in that category and 10th overall). The soundtrack collects covers of classic songbook standards from modern pop giants, and today's track comes from Perfume Genius, the singer-songwriter born Mike Hadreas.

After a deal couldn’t be made for David Leitch to direct, Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment have moved fast as the studio is in final negotiations for Rogue One director Gareth Edwards to helm a new Jurassic World movie. The studio recently dated the pic to bow on July 2, 2025 and moved fast to find a director with Edwards spending all of last week meeting with execs. After impressing producers Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall, who helped launch the franchise in the 90s, an offer soon followed and pre-production is expected to ramp up once a deal is sealed.

Rita McKenzie, known for staging the longest-running one-woman show in theatrical history, died Feb. 17 in Los Angeles days before her 77th birthday. She succumbed to what her family described as a long-term illness.

Mark Wright has been singing his wife - former Coronation Street star - Michelle Keegan's praises recently.The Only Way is Essex cast member spoke to the Express about Michelle's latest endeavour, Netflix's popular thriller, Fool Me Once. The 36 year old plays the lead character, Maya Stern, who is "disturbed by an image of her late husband captured on her toddler's nanny cam." However, while Mark gushed over his wife of nine years and admitted that he's eternally proud of her, he did have one criticism.

Michael Cera fought when Batman couldn’t.

With the Oscars fast approaching, the cast of “Barbie” is on one final press tour to drum up hype for its eight nominations. And oh boy, the secrets that have tumbled out of their mouths on this latest go-around.

EXCLUSIVE: National Geographic Documentary Films is bringing Bobi Wine: The People’s President back to the big screen in some major markets Friday for President’s Day weekend.

Welcome to ElectionLine’s A View From Abroad series, in which we speak to media figures who don’t live in America, but keep a close eye on its politics. Every few weeks, these smart observers will provide a unique perspective on what promises to be a fraught and unpredictable campaign for the White House. This week, our interview is with Matt Frei, who serves as an anchor and Europe editor for Channel 4 News. He is nominated for the network presenter prize at the Royal Television Society Journalism Awards, which take place on February 28.

Tyler Perry is adding to his collection of first-look deals.

Ben Affleck was supposed to be in summer blockbuster smash Barbie, according to Michael Cera.Cera played doll Allan in the film and speaking at a Q&A this week (via The A.V. Club), Cera revealed that original plans for the scene would have featured a cameo from Affleck, with him initiating a fight scene Cera is involved in towards the end of the film.He suggested Affleck wanted to do the movie but couldn’t due to his acting and directorial commitments on Air.“I wasn’t even supposed to fight in the movie,” Cera explained.

Spike Lee and Denzel Washington are reportedly teaming up for the fifth time to reimagine Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime drama High And Low.The pair, whose previous projects include Malcolm X, He Got Game and Inside Man, will begin filming the adaptation in March. The original film is based on Ed McBain’s novel King’s Ransom and stars Toshiro Mifune as a wealthy man who is forced to pay the ransom money for his employee’s kidnapped son.In 2008, it was reported that Martin Scorsese would be developing a remake of the story, but the project never went ahead.Lee has previously spoken about his admiration for Kurosawa, claiming that his 1986 comedy She’s Gotta Have It was influenced by the Japanese director’s 1950 drama Rashomon.The remake of High And Low will be released in cinemas by A24 before heading to Apple TV+ (as reported by The Guardian).Alan Fox, a former college basketball player and model turned playwright, will write the script.

America Ferrera, Carey Mulligan and Kerry Washington stepped out for a Chanel cocktail and dinner event held on Wednesday evening (February 7) in New York City.

“Kobe picked the pose you’re about to see,” said Vanessa Bryant at the unveiling of the statue honoring her late husband today, “so if anyone has any problems with it, tough sh*t.”

18 years after their last collaboration, director Spike Lee and Denzel Washington, one of the legendary filmmaker/lead actor duos, are teaming up again. This time, it’s for a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s classic crime thriller, the 1963 Japanese police procedural crime “High And Low,” which originally starred Toshiro Mifune.

One of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival‘s buzziest films finally gets its US theatrical release next month. That’s right, Thomas Cailley‘s “The Animal Kingdom” hits theaters and video on demand in March and also serves as the opening night film of “Rendezvous With French Cinema” in NYC on February 29.

Vicky McClure returned to the small screen this week as ITV's thrilling series, Trigger Point, is back for its second season, after a successful first run in 2022.The first episode of the new season was widely praised on social media as some fans exclaimed their 'heart was racing' during the thrilling segments. However, not all viewers were impressed.