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September 19 - September 25

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Apple TV+ announced today it will expand its award-winning series slate with “The Off Weeks,” a thrilling new eight-episode limited series starring and executive produced by Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain (upcoming “The Savant”) and Emmy Award winner Ben Stiller (“Severance”), directed by Michael Showalter ("The Idea of You,” “The Dropout”), and showrun by Alissa Nutting (“Made for Love”)...

The organizers of the Canadian Screen Awards, the country’s Oscars and Emmys, are to end nomination eligibility for foreign talent, including American actors, starting with the 2026 edition. “In order to best celebrate and honor Canadians working on Canadian productions, individuals must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada to be eligible for a Canadian Screen Award,” the Academy said as tightened eligibility and voting rule changes unveiled Wednesday come amid rising U.S.-Canada diplomatic and trade tensions. Making CSAs eligibility exclusively available to homegrown talent or those with residency follows a rise in Canadian nationalism countrywide after U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff and annexation threats. Honoring the best in Canadian film and TV in past years occasionally had CSA trophies going to Americans and other foreign talent as productions with Hollywood actors, or U.S. streamers investing in Canadian projects, aim to drive increased international sales. During the 2025 CSAs, Cate Blanchett won for best lead performance in a comedy for her role in Guy Maddin’s Rumours, and The Apprentice, a Canada-Ireland-Denmark co-production and a Donald Trump origin drama, earned the best film prize. Also, the best performance in a lead role trophy went to Sebastian Stan for his portrayal of Trump while the best supporting actor win was awarded to Jeremy Strong for his performance as Roy Cohn. As Canadian talent and content increasingly figures on the world stage, other Canadian Academy rule changes include introducing four new “Spotlight” categories to honor Canadian directors, writers, performers and producers who work on international TV series made and broadcast in Canada. And while Trump’s threat ahead of Cannes to impose a 100 percent tariff on films made outside of the U.S., including Canada, has faded with no concrete policy action, the turbulence of the U.S. president’s global trade war is still felt by a Canadian entertainment industry dependent for jobs and investment on Hollywood production hubs in Toronto and Vancouver....

It’s no secret that independent films have faced a tough climb on the box office charts in recent years, forcing those that work in the space to figure out creative ways to make waves with their work. Admittedly, first time director Sam Hayes and the team from his new film Pools didn’t have to dive too deeply to locate a strategy to make a splash for the release from Utopia arthouse division Circle Collective. But they did get wet while doing so. Amid a sea of digital campaigns, Hayes and friends focused on in-real-life events by hosting a series of screenings and pool parties in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.“It seems like a no-brainer, right?” Hayes explained while standing in a quiet corner on the rooftop of West Hollywood’s Petit Ermitage, which hosted the screening, party and performance of rising group Haute & Freddy as part of its ongoing Petit Salon series. “For an independent film these days, you have to build a community around the film. Obviously, it has to be good, too. If the film is shit, it’s not going to work. But if it’s good, you can create word of mouth and memories while doing something completely different...

Netflix’s newly crowned “biggest movie ever” is already gearing up to be the streamer’s biggest franchise ever, with a spin-off reportedly already in the works and ready for release. While Netflix has found huge success with various movies and TV shows, including Strangers Things, Red Notice, and Wednesday, this year, the streamer saw an unexpected action fantasy outing suddenly take the top spot. The musical action urban fantasy genre mash-up KPop Demon Hunters has now become the biggest Netflix original release ever after racking up a mammoth 266 million views, and the streaming platform is clearly eager to keep the momentum, with a supposed short film having already been rated.Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans from a screenplay they co-wrote with Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan, KPop Demon Hunters features the voices of Arden Cho, Ahn Hyo-seop, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, Ken Jeong, and Lee Byung-hun. Alongside breaking streaming records, KPop Demon Hunters has even seen box office success after earning more than $19 million during its limited theatrical release. The action fantasy flick has been met with critical acclaim and now stands at a hugely impressive “Certified Fresh” score of 95% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, alongside a near-perfect “Verified Hot” 99% from audiences on the Popcornmeter. “Animated with infectious energy and vibrant colors, KPop Demon Hunters is jaunty family entertainment with a terrific soundtrack to boot,” the critics consensus reads....

In a move that won't exactly surprise anyone, some of the biggest companies in the entertainment industry have teamed up to sue an AI company for copyright infringement. The conglomerate consists of Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and NBCUniversal, which have filed a lawsuit against MiniMax, a Chinese AI-based company that is "reportedly worth $4 billion." Their fortune has been based on the use of well-known intellectual properties owned by the plaintiffs."MiniMax operates Hailuo AI, a Chinese artificial intelligence image and video generating service that pirates and plunders Plaintiffs' copyrighted works on a massive scale. MiniMax markets Hailuo AI as a 'Hollywood studio in your pocket' — an audacious self-anointed nickname given that MiniMax built its business from intellectual property stolen from Hollywood studios like Plaintiffs. "The Hailuo service offers its subscribers an endless supply of infringing images and videos featuring Plaintiffs' famous copyrighted characters. MiniMax completely disregards U.S. copyright law and treats Plaintiffs' valuable copyrighted characters like its own."...

Paramount's potential acquisition and merger with Warner Bros. Is sending shockwaves through Hollywood. Paramount and Warner Bros. are both among Hollywood's oldest institutions. Paramount's history dates back to 1912, while Warner Bros. was established in 1923. A merger of that magnitude would require approval by the FCC and the Justice Department. Paramount has already recently gone through this process, as Skydance Media merged with it through a lengthy process that only concluded earlier this year. However, the company is already considering entering a majority cash bid for ownership of Warner Bros Discovery, which would extend to their full library of movies, shows, comics, games, and more. The majority cash bid was put forward by Skydance Media founder David Ellison and his father Larry Ellison — and with the latter recently becoming the world's wealthiest person, it's unlikely that they could easily be outbid. Such a move would bring all WB IP (like DC, Harry Potter, Looney Tunes, Terminator, and Dune) under a new banner. That would also include ownership of Warner Bros. Discovery's cable networks, which include CNN, TBS, TNT, Food Network, HGTV, and Discovery. It would also give Paramount certain control over Turner Classic Movies, which has already struggled to survive in the current Hollywood climate (but has endured thanks to filmmakers like Steven Spielberg). While there are issues that would need to be addressed, it's not unfeasible for the companies to combine. 20th Century Fox was successfully acquired by Disney, which was a similar deal in terms of raw scale. Paramount's ability to put up a massive cash payment, thanks to the Ellison family, could also ensure the deal goes through...