Exclusive: DC's 'Dynamic Duo' Finds Its Young Stars — And Maybe Batman, Too

Well, I would start the week off right by wishing everyone a Happy Monday, but it’s Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, so it’s supposed to be a sad day. Oh, well!

I have plenty to atone for, so I’ll be busy today, but beneath the bluster, I am just a nice Jewish boy at the end of the day. Someone else must run the infamous Twitter account you either love, hate, or love to hate…

Yom Kippur aside, I know it’s a sad day for some in Hollywood, as Paramount has reportedly struck a deal with 12 state A.G.s, clearing a path for David Ellison to close a deal to acquire Warner Bros. I know Mark Ruffalo and thousands of other people will consider this a tragedy of some kind, but I’m pro-Ellison (not to be confused with pro-Trump), and I think he’ll make a fine steward of Warner Bros.

Will there be some bumps in the road? I’m sure there will be. Will a lot of people lose their jobs? Yes, they will, and I’m truly, genuinely sorry about that, having been there before myself a time or two (or eight). But it doesn’t do anyone any good to bury their head in the sand and ignore the reality of this constricting business.

I believe that Ellison loves Hollywood and respects its history. He’s going to make mistakes. We all do, myself included, obviously. For example, Ellison may regret threatening to leave California, especially now that he’s not leaving, but at the time, it was a necessary threat. And whether it was ultimately helpful or not, he now has a deal.

Enough said, no?

I’ll be writing about this circus — both political and media! — more now that the “concessions” have been announced, but until then, a simple congrats to Ellison for doing whatever it took to get this deal done, and to California A.G. Rob Bonta for coming to his senses.

I know this isn’t everyone’s desired outcome, but WB’s fate could’ve been much, much worse. I’m just glad the studio will live to fight another day, even if thousands of employees won’t be around to enjoy that day. After all, it’s the movies that must survive.

And we are going to get movies, folks. Bonta and Co. made sure of it…

What I can do to help the affected employees is put a spotlight on them and their professional skills — when they’re ready, of course. Not all recently laid-off job-seekers want a spotlight on them, but if you do end up losing your job at WB (or Paramount) as a result of this deal, not only will I offer you a free year of this newsletter, but I’d be happy to mention you and your accomplishments in this space with a link to your resume, if only to help get the word out about your talent and availability.

I’m also available to meet for coffee — my treat! Just a friendly reminder for those in the biz who still admit to getting thirsty.

Over the weekend, I saw Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil, which was a lot of fun and a real rollercoaster ride. It runs a tight 95 minutes, and this thing moves, baby! I thought the first 45 minutes were excellent, and a real showcase for Cregger as a director. He does some things in this movie that I haven’t seen from him before.

I also appreciated the humor in this movie, though it does make for some awkward tonal shifts. I’m not saying that Resident Evil should’ve been a straight horror movie played simply for scares, as Cregger’s comedy background is an asset, not a hindrance. But the third act gets a little goofy before the movie ends rather abruptly, setting up a sequel that Cregger almost certainly won’t direct himself.

For all its cool gore, the third act cheapens the movie a little bit and prevents it from being an A-grade thing, which is why Resident Evil felt more like a B/B+ in my book. I found it to be on par with Barbarian, but I think I preferred the narrative intricacy of Weapons to the bare-bones plot of Cregger’s latest.

I also finished watching Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, and I plan to write about that series this week, which should also bring a new set of Oscar predictions following the fall festivals.

One prediction, or rather, non-prediction, already seems to be paying off, as the buzz on Digger (now screening for critics who aren’t me) is fairly weak, and Oscar pundits have already begun removing the film (and its star, Tom Cruise) from their Gold Derby lists. If you’ve been paying attention, I made that decision weeks ago. Update your Kalshi portfolio accordingly…

Before I drop a huge DC scoop in today’s newsletter, a quick update on Friday’s newsletter about the 2027 release calendar — a story that did a good job of shaking the tree, which is pretty much the entire purpose I serve in entertainment journalism.

In Universal’s entry, I wrote that the Untitled Blumhouse Movie currently on the calendar for Jan. 15 was likely a placeholder, as I had no idea which Blumhouse movie it could possibly be. In the same entry, I wrote that Focus Features will release Joshua Giuliano’s slasher movie River — a recent hit at TIFF — at some point next year.

Well, guess what? Jason Blum executive produced River, and I can exclusively reveal Giuliano’s slasher film as the mystery movie slated for release on Jan. 15. Expect a trailer sooner rather than later…

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