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Speaker 1: Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and

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Speaker 1: analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Monday, December fifteenth, twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty five. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton. I am co

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Speaker 1: editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm in

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Speaker 1: LA He's in New York, and Variety has reporters around

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Speaker 1: the world covering the business of entertainment. This is an

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Speaker 1: extremely sad day. Hollywood is still processing the news that

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Speaker 1: Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle's singer Reiner, were killed

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Speaker 1: in their Brentwood home. The couple's thirty two year old son, Nick,

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Speaker 1: is in police custody. That's pretty much all we know

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Speaker 1: at this recording. Rob Reiner was an enormous figure in

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Speaker 1: Hollywood's creative community. He carried a lot of moral authority.

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Speaker 1: He was part of a respected family only comedy dynasty.

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Speaker 1: As the son of the great Carl Reiner. Rob Reiner

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Speaker 1: put himself out there on a number of occasions to

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Speaker 1: advocate for issues he cared about. His legacy is enormous.

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Speaker 1: Mark Malkin will join me to help put Reiner's career

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Speaker 1: and work into context as Hollywood grieves this heartbreaking loss,

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Speaker 1: and we'll also have our regular Monday box office segment

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Speaker 1: with Rebecca Rubin. Before we get to that, here are

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Speaker 1: a few headlines just in this morning. Netflix is defending

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Speaker 1: its deal to acquire Warner Brothers and HBO. Leaders of

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Speaker 1: the streaming giant are clearly getting tired of reading statements

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Speaker 1: about how this deal will destroy the fabric of the

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Speaker 1: entertainment business. In a memo to employees, co CEOs Ted

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Speaker 1: Sarandos and Greg Peters Wright quote, we are strengthening one

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Speaker 1: of Hollywood's most iconic studios, supporting jobs and ensuring a

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Speaker 1: healthy future for film and TV production end quote. Netflix

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Speaker 1: has all also hired Danny Dudik as chief communications Officer.

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Speaker 1: She comes from Instacart and she has also worked for

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Speaker 1: Zinga and MySpace. Showrunner Darren Starr is now a Legion

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Speaker 1: of Honor Medal awardee in France. The Emily and Paris

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Speaker 1: creator got the nod from the French President Emmanuel Macron

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Speaker 1: in Paris on Monday. All of these stories and so

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Speaker 1: much more can be found on Variety dot com Right now.

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Speaker 1: Now we turn to conversations with Friday journalists about news

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Speaker 1: and trends in show business. Mark Malkln, Variety's senior Events

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Speaker 1: and Culture editor, covered Rob Reiner for decades. He joins

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Speaker 1: me now to pay tribute to this force in entertainment

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Speaker 1: and the civic life of California. Mark Malkin, thank you

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Speaker 1: for joining me.

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Speaker 2: You got it.

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Speaker 1: This is a sad morning, and I cannot believe what

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Speaker 1: we're seeing, what is unfolding here. It's just unbelievably sad.

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Speaker 2: This is beyond sad. It's beyond comprehension. When you think

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Speaker 2: about Rob Reiner in Hollywood, in the cultural zeitgeist, this

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Speaker 2: is a man who was so beloved. You never heard

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Speaker 2: anyone say anything negative about Rob Reiner. This was a

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Speaker 2: guy who always had a smile on his face. On

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Speaker 2: red carpets, He shook your hand, he looked you in

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Speaker 2: the eyes. This is someone who is so down to earth.

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Speaker 2: Weught such a huge cultural force.

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Speaker 1: I can't stress enough as a big personality and a

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Speaker 1: presence in our business. He was enormous. He had physical stature,

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Speaker 1: He kind of had the moral authority. Once you start

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Speaker 1: on all in the family. In the nineteen seventies, you

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Speaker 1: could pretty much strut around Hollywood as somebody who'd really

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Speaker 1: really made a mark, and then he goes on. As

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Speaker 1: others have mentioned, this incredible run of movies that literally

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Speaker 1: define the generation, from Spinal Tap to A Few Good

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Speaker 1: Men to movies later that weren't as successful. As we

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Speaker 1: speak here Monday morning, there is a human story here,

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Speaker 1: and there is an unfolding crime story, and because I

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Speaker 1: always want daily variety episodes to age, well, we are

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Speaker 1: just going to leave it as there is an unfolding

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Speaker 1: crime story. As always with these things, the details change

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Speaker 1: quite a bit. We know very little, but what you

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Speaker 1: and I know was covering Rob Reiner for decades and

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Speaker 1: just understanding the incredible presence of Rob Reiner, his father,

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Speaker 1: Carl Reiner. Carl Reiner was literally the definition of an entertainer.

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Speaker 1: He was on camera, he was a director, he was

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Speaker 1: a writer, he was a molder of other careers. You'd

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Speaker 1: covered him many times, including what appears to have been

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Speaker 1: one of his last major public appearances, the premiere in

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Speaker 1: September of Spinal Tap. The end continues. Tell me about

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Speaker 1: what you remember.

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Speaker 2: You know, I'd been covering Rob Rhiner for really decades now,

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Speaker 2: and anytime he was on a red carpet, he always

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Speaker 2: spoke to the press. He always gave his time. He

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Speaker 2: always shook your hand, He looked you in the eye.

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Speaker 2: This was a big moment. This was the Spinal Tap sequel.

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Speaker 2: He was so excited to be, you know, reuniting with

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Speaker 2: men like Christopher Guests for this movie. They had been

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Speaker 2: wanting to do this sequel for many, many years, and

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Speaker 2: it was all tied up in business and rights. They

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Speaker 2: finally got the rights back to do it. You know,

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Speaker 2: there was Rob on the red carpet in his signature

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Speaker 2: baseball cap. The entire family was there. His wife Michelle

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Speaker 2: was there, of course, she was a producer on the movie.

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Speaker 2: His kids, Jake, Nick, and romy were there, and everyone

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Speaker 2: was in just such a good mood, just so excited

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Speaker 2: it was Spinal Tap. There is a bitter sweetness to

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Speaker 2: the fact that his last major project was the Spinal

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Speaker 2: Tap sequel.

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Speaker 1: It sounds like Rob was one of those people. You

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Speaker 1: see him coming down the red carpet and you're like, Okay,

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Speaker 1: I know this is money. I'm going to get a

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Speaker 1: good interview. He's going to give me the bite to

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Speaker 1: that puts his movie in perspective. Was he that kind

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Speaker 1: of person to you.

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Speaker 2: Listen, He knew how Hollywood worked, He knew how a

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Speaker 2: red carbra worked, He knew how the press worked. This

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Speaker 2: was a man who grew up around it. You know,

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Speaker 2: he was part of this Hollywood dynasty, so he knew

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Speaker 2: how all of this worked. But he also talked very

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Speaker 2: openly about I understand I got my foot in the door.

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Speaker 2: My dad was Carl Reiner. But he said the pressure

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Speaker 2: to do even better than everyone else because of that

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Speaker 2: was really high, and he succeeded one hundredfold. He became

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Speaker 2: a household name because of All in the Family. This

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Speaker 2: was a show that tackled issues that no other show

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Speaker 2: ever tackled before in such an incredible way. With obviously

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Speaker 2: Archie Bunker the Conservative, and then you had Rob Riiner

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Speaker 2: the Meathead, and having conversations and having conversations about these issues.

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Speaker 2: Rob Reiner was part of the legacy of Norman Lear.

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Speaker 2: He was a trailbre blazer in tackling social issues in

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Speaker 2: pop culture.

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Speaker 1: Did he have a good sense of humor about Meathead?

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Speaker 1: Because I bet for all of his directing success, there

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Speaker 1: were still a lot of people as he walked around

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Speaker 1: this country that said, hey, Meathead, did he have a

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Speaker 1: good sense of humor about the All in the family legacy.

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Speaker 2: He has famously said, if he wins the Nobel Peace Prize,

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Speaker 2: the headline will say Meathead wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Speaker 2: No doubt he embraced it. He leaned in. He understands

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Speaker 2: what the significance of Meathead versus Archie Bunker meant. Like

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Speaker 2: you said, Meathead and Archie Bunker got families who were

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Speaker 2: watching television to sit down and talk about real issues.

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Speaker 2: So he did not in any way try to run

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Speaker 2: away from being Meathead, or he was Meathead through and through.

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Speaker 1: Even when he was out advocating for really tough stuff

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Speaker 1: anti prop eid the incredible universal preschool program that became

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Speaker 1: this larger First five California initiative that has literally helped

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Speaker 1: give preschoolers breakfast and education for going on twenty years.

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Speaker 1: And I have no doubt that that legacy. Waking up

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Speaker 1: knowing that you had a big part of that, I

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Speaker 1: can imagine, really really was meaningful to him and just

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Speaker 1: a great example of what you can do. You can

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Speaker 1: be successful, you can have beautiful homes in Brentwood, but

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Speaker 1: you can also use your celebrity and your energy to

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Speaker 1: do to really do amazing things to change the lives

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Speaker 1: of people.

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Speaker 2: Listen, Rob. He became a household name because of All

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Speaker 2: in the Family. Rob Erroner was part of the legacy

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Speaker 2: of Norman lear was. He was a Trailbury blazer in

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Speaker 2: tackling social issues in pop culture.

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Speaker 1: All in the Family allowed America to work out a

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Speaker 1: lot of issues on the counterculture, on Vietnam, on women's rights,

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Speaker 1: on the murgeoning LGBT movement, and I definitely remember he

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Speaker 1: was an important voice against Prop eight, which was California's

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Speaker 1: a horrendous same sex marriage which on the I'll ever

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Speaker 1: forget that passed and Barack Obama was elected on the

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Speaker 1: same night.

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Speaker 2: You know, he wasn't just a face. He wasn't just

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Speaker 2: a name. This is a man who co founded a

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Speaker 2: group that was fighting in the courts this ban on

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Speaker 2: same sex marriage. And he actually convinced Ted Olsen, who

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Speaker 2: was a conservative attorney, to join the fight because Rob

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Speaker 2: was able to convince him that it was a civil

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Speaker 2: rights issue, it wasn't a political issue.

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Speaker 1: I wish I had the words to sum up this

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Speaker 1: incredible life. What's happening right now is so overwhelming and heartbreaking,

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Speaker 1: But just want to salute the incredible legacy of philanthropy

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Speaker 1: and activism. The state of California in particular is better

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Speaker 1: for the fact that Rob Reiner lived here and that

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Speaker 1: is a legacy.

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Speaker 2: That is a legacy, and as we say in the

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Speaker 2: Jewish tradition, may his memory be a blessing. And what

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Speaker 2: that means is when you think of someone who's departed,

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Speaker 2: that you should be inspired, encouraged to follow in their

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Speaker 2: footste all the good deeds that they did. And Rob

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Speaker 2: serainly di at.

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Speaker 1: He sure did. Thank you, Mark. Thanks, and now it's

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Speaker 1: time for our Monday box office segment with Rebecca Rubin.

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Speaker 1: It was a seesaw weekend at the Turnstiles for Disney

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Speaker 1: Zootopia two was up. La McKay, not so much, Rebecca Rubin,

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Speaker 1: thanks z ever for joining me, Thank you for having me. Well,

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Speaker 1: would you call this the mid December Old Rooms. It

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Speaker 1: was kind of a whole hum weekend at the box office.

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Speaker 3: Yes, I would say this was the calm before the

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Speaker 3: Christmas storm. Next weekend, movie theaters will hopefully be very

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Speaker 3: busy with Avatar, fire and ash. There's also the SpongeBob

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Speaker 3: movie opening and Lions Gates film The Housemaid, which is

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Speaker 3: a thriller, and that should provide a range of offerings

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Speaker 3: for families. This weekend was pretty slow because the only

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Speaker 3: new release was Disney's political comedic drama Ella McKay and

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Speaker 3: it opened with two point one million dollars, below already

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Speaker 3: low estimates of four million dollars. And with this opening,

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Speaker 3: it's one of the worst debuts for Disney in modern times.

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Speaker 3: So it's surprising all around really that Disney released a

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Speaker 3: movie like this, because it's just very much out of

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Speaker 3: their wheelhouse these days, they of course, have really focused

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Speaker 3: on the big franchise Fair and so to me, the

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Speaker 3: question is where did this movie even come from on

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Speaker 3: disney slate.

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Speaker 1: From filmmaker James L. Brooks, who that great mix of

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Speaker 1: comedy and heart and drama like in his hands, terms

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Speaker 1: of endearment as good as it gets the Mary Tyler

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Speaker 1: Moore Show, Taxi, The Simpsons, an incredible filmmaker. With the disclosure,

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Speaker 1: I have not seen this movie. It did seem sort

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Speaker 1: of a mismatch for the times. Do you think the

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Speaker 1: studio knew that well?

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Speaker 3: To your point, this movie feels very mismatched even with that,

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Speaker 3: because it's set in two thousand and eight, it's this

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Speaker 3: idealistic feel good film about a young girl who becomes

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Speaker 3: her state's governor after her boss takes a position in

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Speaker 3: the Obama administration. And again, it just feels like who

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Speaker 3: is this movie for? And I'm sure Disney was not surprised.

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Speaker 3: There was a little surge of interest in the film.

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Speaker 3: There was something called the Ella McKay challenge. People were

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Speaker 3: posting on social media trying to recreate the poster for

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Speaker 3: the film where Ella is standing up and grabbing her foot.

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Speaker 3: That did not translate at all into people going to

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Speaker 3: see the film. So I'm sure Disney was not terribly surprised.

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Speaker 3: But as you said, Jims L. Brooks is a legendary

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Speaker 3: filmmaker and he will be working with the studio on

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Speaker 3: the Simpsons movie, which comes out in twenty twenty seven,

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Speaker 3: and so maybe this was a gesture of goodwill, one

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Speaker 3: for you, one for us situation.

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Speaker 1: So, in terms of the number one spot, Zootopia two

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Speaker 1: came back to number one, not because of a particular surge,

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Speaker 1: but because it was just relatively light weekend.

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Speaker 3: The good news for Disney is that they have much

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Speaker 3: more to celebrate. They don't need to focus on Ella

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Speaker 3: McKay because z Utopia two just became only the second

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Speaker 3: Hollywood film this year to cross the billion dollar mark.

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Speaker 3: It beat another Disney film, Leelo and Stitch, to now

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Speaker 3: stand as the highest grossing movie of the year with

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Speaker 3: one point one three billion dollars, and they have, of

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Speaker 3: course Tar three two end the year, and it definitely

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Speaker 3: eliminates the sweet spot of the studio, which really has

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Speaker 3: been these animated family films, and that's really what largely

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Speaker 3: has been driving their success this year.

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Speaker 1: The interesting surprise to me, Rebecca in your report is Hamnet.

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Speaker 1: This is by definition an art house movie. Chloe Jao.

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Speaker 1: It got absolutely white hot reviews coming out of the

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Speaker 1: fall festivals. Jesse Buckley is on everybody's lips for best Actress.

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Speaker 1: Oscar Little Hamnet from Focus Features seem to punch above

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Speaker 1: its way.

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Speaker 3: It does seem like this is one of the few

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Speaker 3: art house movies that is resonating. And to your point,

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Speaker 3: I think that's a big part of that is because

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Speaker 3: it was so rapturously received on the festival circuit and

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Speaker 3: it's a slow and steady winner. This weekend it made

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Speaker 3: one point five million dollars from just seven hundred and

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Speaker 3: fifty venues, and it's going to continue a slow and

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Speaker 3: gradual rollout into the new year. A lot of films

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Speaker 3: recently have actually unsuccessfully deployed a platform release like this,

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Speaker 3: and they've really only work when word of mouth is exceptional.

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Speaker 3: And even though this is a very sad, heart wrenching movie,

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Speaker 3: it is not a feel good film. People feel compelled

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Speaker 3: to go see it in theaters and that directly just

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Speaker 3: speaks to the word of mouth, the quality of the film,

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Speaker 3: And so far it has made seven million dollars while

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Speaker 3: just playing in limited release. It hasn't gone nation wide

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Speaker 3: yet and so it'll be interesting to see how well

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Speaker 3: it sticks around once it does expand beyond one thousand venues,

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Speaker 3: but it definitely an encouraging result for Focus.

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Speaker 1: Well obviously Rebecca. Exhibitors are certainly gearing up for the

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Speaker 1: arrival of the latest Avatar movie. I would imagine this

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Speaker 1: is going to be a huge draw for the premium

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Speaker 1: large format screens. Are you aware of anything special that

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Speaker 1: Cameron and Disney have cooking for the PLF market around Avatar?

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Speaker 3: It will probably be another huge draw in these premium formats.

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Speaker 3: The first two were just absolutely massive draws in Imax

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Speaker 3: and Dolby and three D and so that's largely expected

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Speaker 3: to continue.

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Speaker 2: Here.

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Speaker 3: Something to remember about the Avatar films, which people forgot

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Speaker 3: for the second one, is these films don't always have

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Speaker 3: the biggest opening weekends, but they stick around forever. And

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Speaker 3: so if this movie opens in the one hundred and

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Speaker 3: twenty five million dollar range, which is around what is

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Speaker 3: tracking now, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's destined to

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Speaker 3: not become a hit. Obviously that's a great number, but

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Speaker 3: it's not juggernaut status, and it's opening weekend, and that's

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Speaker 3: just never been the course for these movies. Hollywood executives

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Speaker 3: love to say this, but it really is true for Avatar.

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Speaker 3: You have to see how they continue to play in

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Speaker 3: the subsequent weekends, and it will be really interesting to

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Speaker 3: see if it is able to have enough momentum to

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Speaker 3: get to the two billion dollar mark that the prior

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Speaker 3: to installments have reached.

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Speaker 1: As always, Rebecca, really important context. Thank you so much

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Speaker 1: for setting all this up. It will be a very

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Speaker 1: big weekend to watch. We are going to give you

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Speaker 1: a break though for a couple of weekends. We're taking

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Speaker 1: a break on Daily Variety. We'll be back at it

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Speaker 1: January fifth, so we will catch up with how and

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Speaker 1: that's perfect for Avatar because we do need to give

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Speaker 1: it a couple of weekends. Rebecca, thank you so much

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Speaker 1: for your commitment to talking through the box Office to

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Speaker 1: Daily Variety listeners. I get so much feedback about these segments.

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Speaker 1: Listeners really them. I'm so grateful.

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Speaker 3: Well, thank you for having me, and we will catch

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Speaker 3: up on all things box office in the ear.

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Speaker 1: As we close out today's episode, it's clear that the

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Speaker 1: industry is slowly winding down for the winter holidays. One

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Speaker 1: thing we're watching for is the TikTok Awards on December

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Speaker 1: eighteenth in Hollywood. I'm looking forward to taking it in.

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Speaker 1: Before we go, we want to send the condolences of

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Speaker 1: the entirety of Variety to the Reiner family and all

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Speaker 1: who loved them. Blessed be their memories. Thanks for listening.

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Speaker 1: This episode was written and reported by me Cynthia Littleton,

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Speaker 1: with contributions from Mark Malkoln and Rebecca Rubin stick'snixt hick Picks.

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Speaker 1: Please leave us a review at the podcast platform of

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Speaker 1: your choice, and please tune in tomorrow for another episode

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Speaker 1: of Daily Variety, and don't forget to tell us what

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Speaker 1: you think at podcasts at Variety dot Com, Hanks