Meet the Gate Crashers, a Panel of Oscar Pundits Who Weren't Good Enough for the Gold Derby Gang

Happy Friday, folks!

Yesterday, THR’s Rebecca Keegan published an interesting interview with Rust director Joel Souza and cinematographer Bianca Cline, who stepped in following the tragic death of fellow DP Halyna Hutchins. Two things jumped out to me about this story. First and foremost, Cline should not be blackballed by the industry for taking this job and finishing this movie. That’s completely unfair. She did it to honor Hutchins’ legacy rather than have Hutchins’ significant contributions to Rust vanish forever.

Second, I keep hearing about how Hutchins’ family stands to benefit from the profits of the film, but to say I’m nervous on their behalf would be a severe understatement.

“The profitability of the movie will trigger the payments to the family,” said an attorney for the film’s producers. In other words, if the movie isn’t “profitable,” the payments to Hutchins’ family won’t be “triggered,” for lack of a better word. Kind of insensitive for the attorney to have used that particular word in this instance, but so be it.

We all know movies that have made huge amounts of money and still haven’t been deemed “profitable.” I believe Men in Black is among them, and possibly the Harry Potter movies, too. Both scenarios seem impossible, of course, but there are no greater creatives in Hollywood than studio accountants.

Meanwhile, Disney removed an untitled Star Wars movie from its release calendar on Friday. The film, which could’ve been one of three different Lucasfilm projects, had been slated for release on Dec. 18, 2026 — a date that has now been given to Ice Age 6.

On last week’s Hot Mic podcast, I said that Disney wasn’t pressuring Lucasfilm to have a movie ready for release in December 2026, and that a movie in May 2027 — the 50th anniversary of the original Star Wars — might make more sense.

I know Avengers: Secret Wars is scheduled for May 2027, but you could release that movie any time of the year and it’ll do gangbusters business. The 50th anniversary of Star Wars should supersede the MCU’s plans, and if Disney really wants to fix this franchise, the studio should start by honoring its history.

There is another Star Wars movie dated for December 2027, but as with everything surrounding this franchise, it’s all just temporary until there’s more clarity.

Tonight, you’ll read about The Gate Crashers, the Oscar pundits taking Hollywood by storm and putting the Gold Derby gang on its heels. There’s also a hot scoop about a pair of Emmy winners who are being eyed for roles in Dexter: Resurrection.

There are also items about Conan O’Brien hosting the Oscars, Zack Snyder returning to Netflix, Brian K. Vaughan traveling to a Forbidden Planet, Sophie Turner landing the Tomb Raider TV show, Jason Katims mounting a Friday Night Lights reboot, Netflix diving into an Under Paris sequel, and a Boyz II Men biopic that’s in the works.

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