Why Young Maverick David Ellison May Just Be the Studio Head That Hollywood Has Been Waiting For

Happy Friday morning, folks!

Well, unless you’re 47 Ronin director Carl Erik Rinsch, who looks like he’s gonna catch some prison time after allegedly embezzling $11 million from Netflix. I feel kind of bad for the guy, as the only reason we’re following this bizarre fraud case is because Rinsch had the temerity to direct a bad Keanu Reeves movie back in 2013. But hey, he dug his luxury bed, and now he has to lie in it.

On Wednesday night, I watched Genndy Tartakovsky’s R-rated animated comedy Fixed the other night, and I’m bummed to have to tell you that it’s dogshit. It felt like it was written for 12-year-old boys, by a 12-year-old boy, one who keeps telling the same joke over and over. Seriously, this was one of the worst animated movies I’ve ever seen, and it got a big ‘Yikes!’ from me on Twitter.

Speaking of animation, here’s a little scoop for all my subscribers, though I encourage the unpaid ones to throw me a bone and sign up for a month or two as the holidays approach. After all, it’s hard to take on the trades and make a living as an independent journalist, and while I understand that this newsletter is a luxury good and thus churn is inevitable, I’d like to think I deliver enough bang for the buck. And again, if you’re an intern or an assistant, I’m happy to offer a discount, just email me…

With that needy prelude out of the way, I’m told that Jon Favreau’s limited series, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, is three episodes, and that while Favreau wrote the live-action/animation hybrid series himself, he’s sharing directing duties with Jude Weng and Andy Jones.

Weng directed the 2021 Netflix movie Finding ‘Ohana, while Jones served as the animation supervisor on Favreau’s live-action remakes of The Jungle Book and The Lion King. The cast is being kept under wraps, but I’m told it includes comedian Al Madrigal, Kathryn Hahn, and, in a small cameo role, Steve Martin.

Tonight, you’ll read about my trip to the Paramount lot to mix it up with new CEO David Ellison and his executive team. Plus, Weapons director Zach Cregger is developing a prequel, among other projects, and Jason Bourne is returning to Universal, as I’ve always suspected he would.

There are also items about Angelina Jolie reuniting with director Doug Liman, Benicio del Toro reuniting with director Oliver Stone, a Sinead O’Connor biopic and who I think should star, the hot spec sales at Netflix and Searchlight, the supporting cast of the action movie F.A.S.T. from writer-producer Taylor Sheridan, and when you’ll be able to see Sheridan’s Paramount+ series Landman and Mayor of Kingstown, followed by my thoughts on the trailer for Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, starring 94-year-old June Squibb.

Paid subscribers can enter the Sneider-Verse to read more…

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.