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6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Feed
Hunger Games Prequel Has Cast Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes had introduced Hunger Games audiences to Lucky Flickerman (Jason Shcwartzman), the first host of the Hunger Games, but Sunrise on the Reaping will bring in the host from Katniss' days, Caesar Flickerman. Just in, they've announced that the role of Flickerman is going to be played by none other than Succession 's Kieran Culkin. Here's the official announcement: Caesar Flickerman. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping – in theaters November 20, 2026. — The Hunger Games (@TheHungerGames) May 21, 2025 Originally, the part of Caesar was played by Stanley Tucci, and the host of the Hunger Games in Ballad was supposed to be Caesar's ancestor. By the time of Katniss' Everdeen's games though, Caesar had already been hosting the games for 40 years, so it would make sense that he would appear in Sunrise of the Reaping. Besides Elle Fanning getting cast as Effie, a lot of people also think that Kieran Culkin is an amazing choice for Flickerman. Admittedly, Tucci's take has a more detached show host feel to the character, but maybe Culkin's younger Flickerman could be more energetic and chaotic when it comes to his interviews with the tributes. No doubt he may also have some sharp commentary on how the games would play out. If anything, it's going to be interesting just how colorfully they're going to dress him up as a young Caesar. By the time he's Stanley Tucci, Caesar already looks like he's done everything to appear as young as he possibly could. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is set to come out in theaters on Nov. 20, 2026.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lionsgate's Staggered ‘Ballerina' Embargo For 'Enthusiastic' & 'Critical Sentiment' Irks Reviewers
We're all atune to the increasingly curated early responses to movies from distributors but this was beyond the pale for many. Lionsgate yesterday sent out an email to Ballerina critics and reviewers in which it told them that 'spoiler-free enthusiasm' on social media is allowed starting on May 22 and that 'critical social sentiment & formal reviews are embargoed until' June 4. More from Deadline Lionsgate Confirms It May Split Michael Jackson Biopic Into Two Movies As Release Is Pushed - Update New Lionsgate Studios Swings To The Black, Revenue Pops In First Quarterly Report As Standalone Company Kieran Culkin Joins 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping' As Caesar Flickerman Quite rightly, this bent many out of shape. That's an unethical demand for most. Critics we spoke to hadn't heard of an embargo edict going that far before. Many online were also perturbed. The BALLERINA embargo notice is absolutely unethical: An embargo hold on negative reactions?! Only positive reactions are okay?!Certainly hope none of you will be complicit in this buffoonery. If any of you value your dignity (I know, it's a tough ask), you won't cave. — Courtney Howard (@Lulamaybelle) May 22, 2025 This is the review embargo for Ballerina. Negative reactions being on hold is absolutely insane. Regardless if the reaction is positive or negative, wouldn't you want people talking about your film anyways? — Mission Impossible – The Final Alex (@Alex_Madden_) May 22, 2025 The Lionsgate split embargo on BALLERINA has me fired up and I wrote a little rant about the slow death of film — devincf (@devincf) May 22, 2025 We hear from studio sources that this was a case of poor wording and that following the outcry marketers reached out to those who received the note to let them know that they're welcome to express whatever opinion they have of the movie. That would be a good outcome if it came to pass. Hopefully the rowing back wasn't only a result of the outcry. The early reaction and influencer curated responses to movies have been growing in the wrong direction for a while. We don't need anymore blurring of the critical boundaries. Best of Deadline Every 'The Voice' Winner Since Season 1, Including 9 Team Blake Champions Everything We Know About 'Jurassic World: Rebirth' So Far 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Liz Hurley playing The Deceased on a Channel 4 game show? It's camp and it's on-trend
What's this week's biggest casting announcement? Kieran Culkin and Elle Fanning set to enliven The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping? Carey Mulligan tipped for Greta Gerwig's Narnia film? How about Cillian Murphy and Daniel Craig 'in talks' to brood through Damien Chazelle's new prison project? It's none of the above, obviously. It's the news that 'actress, model and British icon' Elizabeth Hurley will play The Deceased in Channel 4's 'wickedly immersive new reality series' The Inheritance later this year. This is either going to be excruciatingly unwatchable or the most amazing thing on the channel since the Countdown board was arranged to spell 'GOBSHITE' for eight points. But who is The Deceased and what's her motivation? She's a 'fabulously glamorous benefactor', according to Channel 4, and she has the kind of sense of humour that you don't encounter every day – even if it does seem to have become a little less rare of late. READ MORE For laughs, she has designed a mischievous game that will make things complicated for the 13 strangers who fancy a piece of the fortune she has left behind. These strangers have been summoned to a stately home to work as a team to complete The Deceased's 'devilishly difficult' final requests, overseen by The Executor, aka barrister-turned-broadcaster Rob Rinder. Alas, only one player can claim the money won each time, so they must persuade the others that they alone deserve the cash they earned together, with the victor being the person most adept at out-scheming their competition. Insert your own corporate workplace metaphor here. Just as a sidebar, I googled 'liz hurley the deceased' on Wednesday, and the top result was Google AI assuring me that she is 'alive and well'. Thanks, Google AI. I like to keep an eye on Hurley because I feel a certain kinship with her ever since I went to a 1990s-themed party – one of those recessionary cosplay things – wearing a black maxi dress customised to look like her Versace safety-pin gown in a very dim light. So I'm confident that screen-wise what she excels at is rocking up to various shows being effortlessly camp. Channel 4 does indeed assure us that The Inheritance will be camp, with Liz promising that The Deceased 'dresses to the nines in every scene'. It will also be 'cut-throat and completely gripping', which either points a fatal fondness for alliteration or is another way of saying 'this is definitely as good as The Traitors, we swear'. [ The Traitors Ireland: Slane Castle heir on how reality TV show marks new chapter for a venue 'full of stories' Opens in new window ] The Inheritance, co-produced by The Traitors UK makers Studio Lambert, doesn't exist in a vacuum. It continues a pattern of actors – and not perennially out-of-work Joey Tribbiani-type actors either – signing on to headline a new-ish breed of TV confections that sit at the intersection of gameshow and reality series. Actors have long presented gameshows, of course, but the names now muscling in on the patch are becoming starrier, more acclaimed and more likely to prompt speculation about the big pay cheques that must have been waved in their face. It began in the US, where its version of The Traitors is presented by Scottish actor Alan Cumming, the host with the most major acting awards. Does his Emmy for the persona he adopts while presenting the reality competition series rank among them? He would probably say so. 'I act my socks off in The Traitors, just like I did on The Good Wife,' he said last year . You can see why there was a long queue of people keen to front The Traitors Ireland – an honour that went to Sister Michael herself, actor Siobhán McSweeney . There's no better example of the trend than Jamie Foxx, who won the best actor Oscar in 2005 and now hosts Fox gameshow Beat Shazam. The industry being the international affair that it is, this is filmed in Dublin, meaning Jamie Foxx got to visit Johnnie Fox's pub. But the phenomenon also thrives outside the US, with ITV recently gifting us Genius Game with video-link inserts from David Tennant. This show was baffling in so many respects that the question 'why is David Tennant fronting an ITV gameshow?' was the least of it, frankly. Maybe he wanted to emulate fellow Rivals star Danny Dyer, erstwhile host of The Wall. [ Genius Game review: David Tennant's new show deserves to be sent to dunce's corner Opens in new window ] I did enjoy the bit on Genius Game where one of the contestants explained that it was 'not just about being the best, but knowing when to be the best and when not to be the best' – a strategy I plan to implement at work. Speaking of The Irish Times, I must inform my more televisual-minded colleagues that the dream is over. The dream of having a CV that includes both 'journalist for The Irish Times' and 'well-paid gameshow host', like the late Henry Kelly of Going for Gold, is toast. It's an A-lister business now. Everyone else is playing catch-up.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Hunger Games prequel Sunshine on the Reaping makes the franchise more exciting than ever'
The Hunger Games may have changed the game back in 2012 but the franchise has never been more exciting than it is right now, with the upcoming release of prequel Sunrise on the Reaping. The forthcoming movie follows the experience of Haymitch Abernathy (originally portrayed by Woody Harrelson, next played Joseph Zada) when he was reaped into the 50th Hunger Games, where all districts had to produce double the amount of tributes for the deadly event. It explains how the character came to become the broken man he is during the events of the original trilogy, and why he was so determined to tear down the Capital and its leader President Snow. In recent weeks Lionsgate has announced several members of the cast, the most recent names include Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Jesse Plemons, Maya Hawke, and Ralph Fiennes as iconic characters Caesar Flickerman, Effie Trinket, Plutarch Heavensbee, Wiress, and Coriolanus Snow. Sunrise on the Reaping has gathered possibly the best cast humanly possible for the film, not only are all the actors spitting images of their predecessors (or should we say successors) they are also all some of the best in the business. These are actors who are all currently at the top of their game, a who's who of the hottest talent in Hollywood and a cast that feels almost too good to be true. The original trilogy had a fantastic troupe of actors, don't get me wrong — we will never forget the wonderful work of the late great Donald Sutherland and Phillip Seymour Hoffman — but the movies were a star-making vehicle for Jennifer Lawrence. Sunrise on the Reaping just feels different. The Hunger Games franchise is already established as a pinnacle of success in Hollywood, and that means the creative team are making some really exciting choices when it comes to the prequel. It's bold and unexpected, Culkin playing a younger version of Stanley Tucci? That wasn't on my 2025 bingo card, but words can't describe my excitement at seeing the Oscar winner camp it up as Caesar. And don't get me started on Fiennes, he is an acting powerhouse and if anyone is capable of matching Sutherland's villainous presence on screen it's Fiennes. The actor will certainly deliver President Snow's epic monologues with panache whilst expertly conveying the subtle malice of the man, he's already proven more than capable of it with roles like Lord Voldemort. Then there's actors like Fanning and Plemmons, two actors who have been on fancasts for years to play Effie and Plutarch. The studio are clearly well in tune with what their audience want, and are ready and willing to do whatever it takes to deliver the best version of this story as possible. Speaking of the story, as the second prequel in a franchise it might seem surprising to those unfamiliar with The Hunger Games world that this is exciting and not a cash grab. But that's the thing, it is perhaps the most exciting story author Suzanne Collins could have delivered because it is Haymitch's origin story — a character beloved by fans, and whose experiences readers have been begging to know for years. Finally Collins has delivered, and Sunrise on the Reaping certainly doesn't disappoint with its intense and dramatic plot. I will not elaborate on the ins and outs of the story here though, that would spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't read the book. But to see the story come to life on screen is a really exciting prospect. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the first prequel which centred on President Snow's life, was a smash hit at the box office, and given Sunrise on the Reaping's cast so far (and the fact it focuses on a fan favourite character) it's likely to repeat this success in November 2026. I, for one, can't wait to see what Collins and director Francis Lawrence, who has helmed every film since 2013's Catching Fire, deliver with Sunrise on the Reaping. And, honestly, I hope to see many, many more stories within the world of Panam to come, because it feels like The Hunger Games franchise has so much more to give, and can only go up from here. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will land in cinemas on 20 November, 2026.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lionsgate, Now Without Starz, Swings to Quarterly Profit on Higher Revenues
Lionsgate, led by CEO Jon Feltheimer, has released its fourth quarter financial results for Lionsgate Studios — a standalone public film and TV company comprised of its Motion Picture and TV production divisions — after completing the spinoff of the media giant's studio business from Starz to create separately traded companies and stocks. The Hollywood studio now excluding the Starz results recorded a fourth quarter net profit attributable to shareholders at $21.9 million, compared to a year-earlier $47 million loss, on overall revenue rising 22 percent sharply to $1.06 billion, against a year-earlier $879.9 million. More from The Hollywood Reporter Kieran Culkin to Play Caesar in 'Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' (Exclusive) Elle Fanning to Play Effie in 'Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' (Exclusive) 'Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' Finds Its Louella and Lou Lou (Exclusive) Lionsgate during its latest financial quarter rolled out Flight Risk and Den of Thieves 2: Pantera at the multiplex, and delivered the scripted series The Rookie, Ghosts and Acapulco, while also licensing The Chosen to Amazon Prime and The Rookie to Disney+. The media giant, having greatly reduced its exposure to a declining linear TV space impacting rival studios, posted an adjusted earnings per-share profit of 21 cents, compared to a year-earlier per-share loss of 5 cents. Adjusted OIBDA rose 49 percent to $138.3 million. During the quarter to March 31, 2025, the company's studios business, which combines the Motion Picture and TV production segments, saw Motion Picture revenue rise to $526.4 million, compared to $410.6 million in the same period of 2024, while the TV production revenue reached $543.3 million, up 16 percent from a year-earlier $469.3 million on a higher number of episodic deliveries, compared to last year's fourth quarter impacted by the Hollywood strikes. The segment profit, a key metric, for the Motion Picture division soared to $135.3 million, compared to a year-earlier $82.2 million. The TV Production segment profit fell back to $40.6 million, against a year-earlier $52.6 million. The media giant launched Lionsgate Studios as a standalone, publicly traded company, split off from the Starz premium cable and streaming outlet now also a standalone company with shares trading on the NASDAQ exchange. The two companies still have ties on screen, as Lionsgate Television produces the flagship Power franchise for Starz along with BMF, P-Valley and the upcoming series The Hunting Wives. Starz, which continues to drive into the digital space, has around 20 million domestic subscribers on cable, satellite and streaming platforms. Launching Lionsgate Studios as a standalone company on the NASDAQ, separate from Starz, looks to have the goal of creating two companies so investors can value the Starz and studio assets separately amid a contracting media and entertainment landscape and financial markets uncertainty. Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire Sign in to access your portfolio
