Calling all Insiders: As the Olympic flag leaves Paris for its long journey to Los Angeles, Jesse Whittock gives us a look at the latest international TV and film news. It’s no impossible mission.
Tom Cruise makes an appearance and steals the show
Actor Tom Cruise appears at the Closing Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics Getty Images
CRUISE CONTROL: Tom Cruise is drawn to global entertainment events like a moth to a flame, or a teenage girl to a Taylor Swift concert. And half the time, he has a stunt in mind. Sunday’s Olympic Closing Ceremony was a perfect example of that. Cruise has been seen in the crowd throughout the three weeks of sporting competition, but once the Paris Games were over and the Olympic torch was handed over, literally and figuratively, to Los Angeles, the host city in 2028, rumors were swirling in Hollywood that he’d be embarking on a Mission: Impossible-esque entrance. So it was no surprise when the Top Gun star was spotted on the rim of the Stade de France, then abseiled down into the center of the stadium to join Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and gymnastics GOAT Simone Biles, who was handed the Olympic flag to bring it home to the United States. He then hopped on his motorcycle and exited with the flag on his back. “Tom will drive this thing straight to Los Angeles,” one commentator predicted. A pre-recorded stunt then showed Cruise jumping out of a plane, landing on the Hollywood sign and handing the baton to Team USA’s Olympians. Plus, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Snop Dogg and Dr. Dre performed on the beach. What a show! The Los Angeles Games are expected to be the most star-studded in years, and Cruise and company have definitely brought Hollywood to the French capital this month.
Directing the stunt: In LA, Peter White tracked down Ben Winston, co-founder of Fulwell 73, who oversaw the extravaganza and spoke with Cruise about how such a massive stunt was planned and produced. The stunt went exactly as originally proposed to Cruise, with one big difference: Winston planned to use a stuntman for the descent into the stadium. It’s not hard to imagine how the action star, who previously jumped out of a plane with James Corden on the Fulwell-produced Late Late Show, would have reacted to the stunt. “He said, ‘There’s just one problem: There’s no way they’re using a stuntman. It’s me on the roof,'” Winston explained. The Grammy Awards executive producer, no stranger to live TV events, also revealed some of the stressful parts of the production, including navigating the technical connections from LA to Paris, working with the Olympic broadcast team, and pre-filming certain sections on Venice Beach given safety concerns. “If word had leaked out about where we were or what was going on, we would have been taken off the air,” he recalled. “We knew we couldn’t shut it down because we were broadcasting live to a billion people around the world, and you know the biggest movie star in the world was about to jump off a roof.”
Dom’s verdict: Dominic Patten called the Los Angeles portion of the closing ceremony “pure Hollywood,” and it’s hard to argue with that assessment. “It was overblown and clichéd, as if anything less was enough,” the US-based reporter wrote. Dom noted that the sheer weight of star power “simply overshadowed” the stately artistry of Thomas Joly’s French portion of the three-hour ceremony, even as the country’s new hero, Léon Marchand, carried the Olympic torch into the stadium. Dom concluded his review by writing that while Paris did the Olympics its own way, Los Angeles “is clearly intent on going all-out bread and circuses in 2028 and giving the people what they want.” Watch the full Olympics here. Side note: I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Dom and Mel, Paris MVPs, for their hard work and dedication. The two went from entertainment industry writers to games experts overnight, helping make Deadline’s coverage the most comprehensive and creative anywhere on the web.
Buzz and Dave
Dave Stewart Helena Christensen/Dave Stewart Productions
Eurythmics and Musicals: Baz Bamigboi met with music heavyweights this week, including rock legend Dave Stewart of Eurythmics. Lyricist, guitarist and singer Stewart is working on a feature-length musical film, Ebony McQueen, with director Shekhar Kapur, Baz revealed. Set in the 1960s and early 70s, the coming-of-age story is inspired by the rocker’s teenage years in the North East of England. South Asian composer AR Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) is attached to film. Filming will take place in Sunderland, better known in entertainment circles as the home of the football team for Netflix’s Sunderland Till I Die and Winston’s production company Fulwell 73, where Stewart grew up. In classic Breaking Buzz style, the news is revealed in a fun interview that includes Stewart’s childhood memories, how he could have been a professional footballer if not for a bad tackle, and his father’s Rodgers & Hammerstein record collection. Local boy Tom A. Smith is looking for an actress of South Asian descent to play the semi-autobiographical Stewart character in the film, and the girl next door he falls in love with. A host of TV and music heavyweights are also set to appear. Stewart, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide in a career that spans half a century, and Buzz’s deep dive into his entertainment career is well worth the read. Grab a coffee and read on.
The role of entertainment in riots
Getty/Florian Weichert/Unsplash
“You don’t take a dictionary to a race riot”: The far-right riots across the UK earlier this month shocked the world. While communities rose up and launched much larger counter protests to put an end to the random destruction and violence, the UK is still questioning itself. Elon Musk may think he understands what’s going on, but trust me, he doesn’t. Jake decided to explore what role TV and film have played in making racism and hatred so blatantly visible on the streets. He spoke to many South Asian executives and creatives, who expressed concern about the industry’s failure and the lack of meaningful change after, as one producer and director put it, “years of dehumanizing brown people and normalizing racist language and behavior.” There is a sense within the UK’s Asian production community that news reports are unwilling to use the word “Islamophobia” to describe what happened, with one senior producer putting it succinctly: “You don’t take a dictionary to a race riot.” Indeed, our analysis shows that of the numerous internal memos sent to staff by producers and broadcasters last week, only Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon was willing to use the phrase. There is a sense that putting divisive figures like Nigel Farage, the populist politician who appeared on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! last year, on the platform has only exacerbated the feeling that Muslims are being ignored in the UK, and the Israel-Gaza conflict has further complicated things. It’s an incredibly difficult time for race relations in the UK and the TV and film industries need to recognise that they can and must do better. Read Jake’s feature here.
Fly Me to the Moonage
©Netflix / Courtesy of the Everett Collection
A Guide to M&A for Talented Reporters: Apart from RedBird IMI acquiring All3Media and ITV Studios acquiring Hartswood, the UK production market hasn’t seen much big merger or acquisition activity recently. Sadly, stories of indie production companies closing down due to tough economic times and weak orders have been more common. But yesterday morning Max broke the news that BBC Studios-backed Moonage Pictures is being sold after a good period which included producing the BBC/Netflix drama A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and co-producing Guy Ritchie’s TV spin-off The Gentlemen. Indie executives are trying to tell a different story to the shrinking global market, telling Max a few months ago that “the market is still bigger than it was 10 years ago”. That confidence is paying off, with next on the horizon is The Leopard for Netflix in Italy, the company’s first foreign language series. Sources in our exclusive report also say ITV, Universal International Studios and All3 Media may be keen on the drama house. BBC Studios currently has a minority stake, but that could change. Read the full story here.
Shah Rukh Locarno
Alessandro Levati/Getty Images.
Brad Pitt’s dentures and other stories: Shah Rukh Khan was the headliner at the Locarno Film Festival and did not disappoint with his tell-all masterclass. As Stephanie Bunbury reports, in normally low-key Switzerland, this was verging on pandemonium. Spontaneous singing, cries of “I love you!” and the sound of cowbells accompanied the Bollywood actor’s talk, where he told festival director Jonah Nazzaro that being a star doesn’t mean much to him, but “being able to entertain the people who come in contact with me” does. “I’ve always said that being a star is something I wear like a T-shirt, not a tuxedo,” he said, exuding effortless cool and warm charm. King Khan (as he is known) has appeared in over 100 films and has his own industry anecdotes, which he delighted the audience with about nearly opening a Chinese restaurant with Jackie Chan and wearing dentures modified from similar ones made for Brad Pitt. He also had great praise for female actors and directors, saying their work is often “more sensitive, more nuanced.” Read the full entertaining report from SKR’s Locarno love-in here.
Campion speaks: It’s also worth reading our report from Jane Campion’s appearance at the festival on Friday morning, where she talked about everything from not being able to retire to why Greta Gerwig’s Barbie success means “we can finally let women take control of our money.” Check out our full coverage of the Locarno Film Festival here.
Essentials
Karwai Tan/WireImage/Pip
🌶️ Hot One: Zac and Andreas reveal that Rupert Everett and Ruby Stokes will star alongside Callum Scott Howells in Mad Fabulous, a drama starring Celyn Jones, which is currently filming in Wales.
🌶️ Also Watch: Ishaan Khattar and Bhumi Pednekar star in Netflix Indian romantic comedy series, “The Royals.”
🌶️ MORE TO WATCH: According to Andreas, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleas, Elle Fanning and Renate Reinsve have joined the cast of Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value.”
🌶️ Another stroke of luck: Bollywood star Abhay Deol and Elvis actress Natasha Bassett will star in the indie romantic comedy “Don’t You Be My Neighbor!”
⛺ Focus on Film Festivals: Diana looks at the current state of CineLink Industry Days in the Balkans and previews the Sarajevo Film Festival.
💦 Going strong: Prime Video made the former Disney+ original “Nautilus” available in the UK and Ireland to much acclaim.
💃 Swifties: Taylor Swift fans have been banned from gathering outside Wembley Stadium when the Eraser Tour comes to London over safety concerns.
🚨 Major happening: Jenny Daily’s Critical Content has signed joint venture agreements with South Korea’s Something Special and Singapore’s Refinery Media.
🖋️ Bylined: Josh Fox, director of Gasland and international agency 5XMedia.
👩🏼 Independent Woman: Eric Producer’s Sister made $264 million in annual sales but is still in the red.
🍕 Viva Italia: Italy’s new co-production tax credit will limit payments to €18 million ($20 million).
👀 FIRST LOOK: Michael Sheen and Ruth Wilson star as Prince Andrew and journalist Emily Maitlis in the Prime Video series “A Very Royal Scandal.”