How Tom Holland's Casting in Christopher Nolan’s New Movie Could Create a Ripple Effect Across Town

Happy Monday, folks!

I had a great weekend, which included an early Halloween party where the guest list included a fun mix of screenwriters and execs; a rollerskating/karaoke birthday party that was a blast; a visit to Yeastie Boys Bagels followed by my first walk around the Silver Lake reservoir; basketball with my Comedy Store buddies; SNL, the NFL, some delicious Thai food, and my first dip in my apartment’s hot tub.

I also watched the Peter Dinklage-Josh Brolin “comedy” Brothers, which was an absolutely terrible, entirely laugh-free waste of top-tier talent. How a movie like that got made, I have no idea, nor can I fathom what Glenn Close or Oscar winners Brendan Fraser and Marisa Tomei saw in the script, but this is definitely one you can skip on Prime Video. Yikes…

Over the weekend, Parker Finn’s Smile 2 (which I reviewed on Friday) opened to $23 million at the domestic box office — right in line with industry expectations.

And speaking of expectations, the folks who were invited to see Gladiator II on Friday night did exactly as Paramount’s PR team expected of them — they either gushed over the sequel (one writer compared it to The Godfather Part II) or held their tongue for fear of losing such precious access going forward.

It truly is amazing how, in this world, you can’t find 100 people who will agree on anything — unless they’re film critics being shown a movie early. Only then will there be 100 people in agreement… publicly, at least.

Naturally, the word on the street from people I trust is that Gladiator II doesn’t live up to the original and doesn’t have the same kind of soul, but I have no idea — I just think it looks great. And I’ve heard that Denzel is coming for that third Oscar…

See, I’m happy to give big, expensive sequels their due… when they deserve it. I recall getting a lot of shit for calling Top Gun: Maverick a contender for Best Picture, which it ultimately proved to be. And I suspect that Gladiator II will prove to be a contender as well. Ridley Scott might even finally win the Best Director Oscar that has eluded him his entire career.

But I’m genuinely curious who studios think they’re fooling with this kind of nonsense, and why the trades rush to publish the same easy-to-please critics on social media. It’s like taking a screenshot of a 100 percent fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes after a dozen reviews from people desperate to be quoted.

Again, you’ll know Paramount has a winner on its hands when the truth-tellers with the stones to tell it like it is — you know who we are — begin raving about it. But the studio can’t risk poisoning the well with the truth a month out from release, can it?

So, sadly, I can’t trust a single one of the early reactions. The entire critic pool is tainted these days, as most of these writers have forgotten who they write for — audiences, not publicists.

If Paramount wants me or anyone else to start trusting these early reactions, the studio should curate a better invite list beyond the easy lays. I don’t have to be on it… but maybe they could find just one trustworthy critic… if there are any left these days.

Anyway, rant over. Tonight, you’ll read about Tom Holland joining Christopher Nolan’s new movie, the hot rumor about its possible premise, and the domino effect that Holland’s casting could have on blockbuster release dates across town

There are also items about Mike Flanagan tackling Stephen King once again, Joe Berlinger going back to the true-crime well, Disney’s new Chairman of the Board, Peter Dinklage’s latest indie movie, which three-letter agency signed Monsters star Cooper Koch, and where CAA’s Bryan Diperstein is heading after 15+ years in the agency biz.

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