Exclusive: Natasha Lyonne to Play Joan Rivers in Biopic 'Can We Talk?' for Sony’s 3000 Pictures

Happy Friday, folks! And apologies to everyone who thought they were going to Bonnaroo this weekend.

Fortunately, I’m off to Boston tonight to spend a few weeks with the family from Father’s Day through the 4th of July, so expect the newsletter to arrive a little earlier than it usually does. Or at least, that’s the plan…

Last night, I watched Evan Ari Kelman’s new indie thriller Barron’s Cove, which features a blistering performance from Garrett Hedlund as a grieving father and an equally intense turn from Stephen Lang as his shady uncle. The movie doesn’t entirely work, as it gets too bogged down in political intrigue, but it’s still very much worth a watch — especially if you’re a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.

I have no interest in seeing Universal’s live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon, but it’s poised to rule the box office this weekend with a domestic opening of $85 million, though I’m more interested in the tracking for Universal’s Jurassic World Rebirth, which is slated to open to $115 million to $135 million. Of course, that’s over the five-day holiday weekend, which is good but certainly not great, especially when considering that 2022’s Jurassic World: Dominion opened to $145 million over three days.

In other box office news, Disney’s live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch crossed the $800 million mark worldwide this week, with the coveted billion-dollar mark well within reach, even with Pixar’s Elio hitting theaters next week.

Tonight, you’ll read about a Joan Rivers biopic that is in the works, as well as my review of the new Apple TV+ series Smoke starring Taron Egerton, Jurnee Smollett, and Oscar winner Greg Kinnear.

There are also items about Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs sequel, Darren Aronofsky’s return to A24, Matthew McConaughey’s True Detective reunion, Pixar’s new hand-painted animated movie, DC’s latest animated series, and new cast additions to Season 2 of The Pitt, Season 3 of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and Season 4 of both The Traitors and Reacher. Plus, my thoughts on the trailer for the indie rom-com Oh, Hi starring Logan Lerman and Molly Gordon.

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