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Viant Technology has announced a new partnership with LG Ad Solutions aimed at advancing addressable advertising within the connected TV (CTV) landscape.

The collaboration allows advertisers to access more than 45 million connected LG smart TV and smart screen devices through Viant’s demand-side platform (Dsp), providing a streamlined way to reach audiences as the industry moves away from traditional linear television.

The agreement makes LG’s inventory fully addressable via Viant’s advertising tools, allowing brands to run campaigns on some of the most-viewed screens in American households. Viant’s identity infrastructure, which helps match ad impressions with households in a privacy-focused way, will serve as the foundation for this new offering. Together, Viant and LG Ad Solutions plan to improve data matching, signal quality, and overall campaign performance.

“Identity is the backbone of effective advertising in a fragmented ecosystem,” said Kelly McMahon, the Senior Vice President of...

In 1983, a film dared to capture the raw courage of American men who defied gravity. A very ambitious project with a talented cast based on true historical events, this film was expected to do wonders after its release. And so it did, but only critically? Commercially, it became one of the 1980s' biggest box office flops, but unexpectedly, it was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won four Oscars. Philip Kaufman's The Right Stuff, which was based on a best-selling book published in 1979 by journalist and writer Tom Wolfe, chronicles the journey of the Mercury Seven astronauts and the test pilots who preceded them.

The Right Stuff was celebrated by the Academy for its undeniable artistry, but at the same time, the film grossed only $21 million domestically against a $27 million budget. How did this happen? The film is known for having unconventional pacing, but the answer doesn't lie in...

During one of the countless, often boneheaded interviews Sally Ride endured about her pioneering role in the United States space program, she schools a reporter on how to address her. “It’s Dr. Ride or Sally, but not Miss,” she says, flashing a smile that softened the lecture and much of director Cristina Costantini’s absorbing documentary the first American woman to go into space.

Throughout “Sally,” Costantini (“Science Fair”) leans into Ride’s face — the smile, the blue eyes, the moments of pensive regard — by closing in on archival images. Sometimes, she creates a palpable presence by linking footage with audio from interviews Ride gave during her lifetime.

In 1978, Ride was among the first women to enter NASA’s space program. Her groundbreaking compatriots were Judith Resnik, Anna Fisher, Shannon Lucid, Margaret Seddon and Kathryn Sullivan. Fisher and Sullivan appear here with stories that illuminate the era, but also...

For Manish Raval and Tom Wolfe, the duo behind Goosebumps: The Vanishing’s music supervision, playing in the sandbox of ’90s music is an opportunity to channel their childhoods. “It’s our soft spot,” Raval tells The Hollywood Reporter.

That connection and appreciation both music supervisors have for the turn of the century’s endless library of hits is particularly useful in the Disney+ and Sony Television Studios series, which taps into R.L. Stines’ younger Gen X, Millennial and ‘90s-adjacent Gen Z audience via the show’s multiple timelines.

“Going into Goosebumps, there wasn’t really a direction or specific vision in mind. We just knew we had a popular book series to support,” Raval says. “But we did know that we wanted to jump back and forth with time periods and that a lot of that story would be anchored in the music. So when we would jump back to the ’90s,...

Shot largely from the point of view of its two main characters, RaMell Ross’s masterly film takes you to the wrenching heart of this American south tale of brutal 60s racism

An unwritten rule of cinema is that great books very rarely make great movies. It’s not inevitable that a film adaptation of a literary classic will turn out to be a stinker, but plenty do: take Roland Joffe’s disposable and tawdry version of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Brian De Palma’s notorious butchering of Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities, and my personal nadir, Peter Jackson’s mangling of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones. There are ways of side-stepping the curse of the literary adaptation, of course, a recent example being Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, a picture that kept the title and the location of Martin Amis’s novel...

Before Laraine Newman brought it to Saturday Night Live, the valley girl accent was relatively obscure, really only known to Southern Californians as the way surfers spoke. As an L.A. native, though, Newman was very familiar with it, and so, she used it for inspiration for a character she developed named Sherry, a rambling, airheaded blonde who loved to talk about her “bitchin’ bod.”

She originally performed the character at The Groundlings, but she took Sherry — and the valley girl dialect — national when she became an original “Not Ready for Prime Time Player” in 1975 (in a sketch about group therapy that also included Don Corleone). In turn, Sherry became one of Newman’s best-known SNL characters. But because Newman never wanted to repeat herself, she only did Sherry for about a year, a decision which, 50 years later, she’s still unsure about.

Along with that, I recently spoke with...

In the "Simpsons" episode "Insane Clown Poppy", Bart (Nancy Cartwright) and Homer (Dan Castellaneta) are playing with fireworks and accidentally destroy the interior of Lisa's bedroom. To make it up to Lisa (Yeardley Smith), Homer takes the family to a local book fair, something Lisa gets very excited about. In attendance at the fair are multiple celebrity authors, including Amy Tan and John Updike, who give cameo performances as themselves. Amusingly, when Tom Wolfe's clean white suit is stained, he rips it away like a stripper costume to reveal another clean white suit underneath.

Also at the fair is Stephen King, who, like Tan and Updike, was game enough to voice himself. Marge (Julie Kavner) asks if King is working on a new horror novel, and King says no and that he has instead pivoted to a biography of Benjamin Franklin. Naturally, when King begins describing Franklin's life,...

If “Wicked” had been one movie as originally planned, the subplot involving all the animals of Oz and the backstory on the magical book the Grimmerie were due to be left on the cutting room floor. Instead, Winnie Holzman — who wrote the book for the stage musical and co-wrote the screenplay for the smash-hit “Wicked” film — said that by expanding the adaptation into two parts, they now “have room for everything.”

Holzman pulled back the curtain on the long process of turning “Wicked” into a movie during TheWrap’s “Art of Adaptation” panel at Power Women Summit on Tuesday in Los Angeles alongside producer Lucy Fisher (whose “Gladiator II” is currently in theaters), producer Nina Jacobson (the “Hunger Games” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” franchises) and actress Ariana Madix (a recent revival of “Chicago”) for one powerhouse conversation.

The first part of “Wicked” is in theaters now and has...

Tom Wolfe's social satire "The Bonfire of the Vanities" was published in 1987 and was constructed as a wry, readable send-up of New York's high society at the time. Its story follows a callow yuppie named Sherman McCoy who, while out on a drive with his mistress Maria, accidentally head into the Bronx. A series of small misunderstandings results in Maria taking the wheel and accidentally running over a Black teenager, Henry Lamb, then fleeing the scene. The accident is covered by a burned-out tabloid reporter named Peter Fallow, whose reporting leads to McCoy's arrest. The bulk of the narrative then focuses on McCoy's trial. No one is wholly good in "Bonfire," and most of the characters are largely bad.

The book was infamously adapted into a feature film by Brian De Palma in 1990, and, boy howdy, is it bad. Every character is miscast, with Tom Hanks playing Sherman...

Next year marks the 30th anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s death. But a new AI initiative, as well as programs it could spawn, aims to keep the Grateful Dead leader’s presence alive.

This summer, ElevenLabs, a two-year-old software company known for its advanced, lifelike voice AI tools, announced a free app that allows fans of Judy Garland, Maya Angelou, Burt Reynolds, James Dean, and Sir Laurence Olivier to listen to AI-recreated versions of their voices read books, articles, poems, and other content. As of this week, Garcia became the...

Tom Hanks has had nothing short of one of the most storied and incredible acting careers of all time, with some particularly career-defining films of his coming out in the 1990s. He is an actor capable of playing any role in a multitude of genres, from serious dramas to laugh-out-loud romantic comedies; his range and ability are seemingly never-ending. Hanks has a natural, universal appeal with his youthful good looks and effortless charisma that has helped him cement his status as one of the best acting talents to ever grace the screen.

Whether portraying the naive yet brilliant titular character in Forrest Gump or the commanding Captain Miller in Saving Private Ryan, he has an incredible way of bringing authenticity to every role. A career spanning many decades with multiple Academy Award wins, his work in the 1990s would be enough on its own to have a memorable body of work.

From Apollo 13 to Interstellar and Hidden Figures to First Man, among others, Hollywood has succeeded in capturing the history and spirit of NASA many times over. Through technical prowess, harrowing narratives, and three-dimensional characters, these films manage to convey the truly awe-inspiring nature of space travel, along with all the scientific ingenuity and danger that comes with it. However, as great as these movies are, none of them is as sprawling and intimately compelling as The Right Stuff. Based on Tom Wolfe's 1979 book and released in 1983, the Philip Kaufman-directed epic takes audiences behind the scenes of the 16 years America engaged in fierce competition with the Soviet Union over space travel and exploration. Clocking in at a lengthy 193 minutes and featuring a star-studded ensemble cast, The Right Stuff distinguishes itself as the premier cinematic account of NASA thanks to its docudrama approach to storytelling and detailed depiction of...

On the impeccably white sandy beaches of Nantucket, the wedding of the year is about to happen. Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson) is preparing to marry Benji Winbury (Billy Howle), the son of the glamorous and monied Winbury family, headed by icy matriarch Greer (Nicole Kidman.) A famous novelist with cash to spare, she doesn’t approve of her son’s fiance. But before the festivities can begin, a body is discovered on the beach. In a wedding party full of people with their own secrets, it falls upon Nantucket’s chief of police, Dan Carter (Michael Beach), to investigate.

It’s surprising that it’s taken this long for someone to adapt an Elin Hilderbrand novel into a binge-ready TV series. Known as “the Queen of the beach reads,” Hilderbrand’s Nantucket-set sagas are loaded with sex, scandals, rich people problems and interior decor porn that would put Nancy Meyers to shame.

It’s not uncommon for actors and filmmakers to be critical of their past works, especially with the benefit of hindsight, and Tom Hanks is no different. With a career spanning over four decades, there are bound to be some regrets. However, none of the actor’s mishaps in his illustrious career is bigger than one Brian De Palma movie, which is unanimously hated by critics, fans, and even its cast.

The Bonfire of the Vanities. (1990) | Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.

Not only did he deem the heavily star-studded movie his worst flick, Hanks even went as far as to deem it one of the crappiest movies ever made.

Tom Hanks Didn’t Sugarcoat His Comments About The Bonfire of the Vanities Tom Hanks as Sherman McCoy in The Bonfire of the Vanities | Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.

From having a star-studded cast, which involved Bruce Willis, Tom Hanks, and Morgan Freeman...

Industry is a British-American drama series created by Mickey Down and Konrad Kay. The HBO series follows a group of young finance graduates as they enter the cut-throat world to get a job at the prestigious investment bank in London, Pierpoint & Co. after the financial crisis of 2008. Industry stars Marisa Abela, Harry Lawtey, Myha’la, Freya Mavor, Ken Leung, David Jonsson, Sarah Parish, Indy Lewis, Jay Duplass, and Kit Harington. So, if you liked the high-stakes world of finance and battle of egos with billions at stake in Industry here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Billions (Paramount+ & Prime Video) Credit – Showtime

Billions is a financial drama series created by Brian Koppelman, David Levien, and Andrew Ross Sorkin. The Showtime series follows the battle of egos between Chuck Rhoades, a sincere but ruthless US attorney who tries to take the hedge fund kingpin Bobby ‘Axe’ Axelrod. But Axe...

Exclusive: Convexity Films, the production company of filmmaker Richard Dewey (Radical Wolfe), has optioned the Michael Lewis book The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story for development as a narrative feature.

The deal came together following Dewey’s collaboration with Lewis on his feature documentary Radical Wolfe, about author and journalist Tom Wolfe, which adapted an acclaimed Vanity Fair article from Lewis.

Published by W. W. Norton & Company in 1999, the bestseller is described as an insightful and engaging exploration of the dot-com boom and the technological innovations that fueled it. The book focuses on the life and ventures of Jim Clark, a Silicon Valley pioneer who founded three billion-dollar companies in the early days of the Internet: Silicon Graphics, Netscape, and Healtheon. Through the prism of Clark’s work, Lewis provides a look at the culture of innovation, risk-taking, and entrepreneurship that defined the late 20th-century tech industry.

Exclusive: Jeff Daniels (A Man in Full), Jared Harris (Chernobyl) and J.K. Simmons (Being the Ricardos) have signed on to star in Reykjavik, a historical drama from Sk Global (Anyone But You) that chronicles one of the most significant diplomatic achievements of modern times: The Reykjavik Summit.

Reykjavik takes place at the most dangerous point of the Cold War, watching as political enemies Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Iceland over one long, tense weekend to decide if there will be peace or war in the world.

Daniels plays U.S. President Reagan, with Harris as Soviet leader Gorbachev, and Simmons as United States Secretary of State George Shultz.

Michael Russell Gunn will direct from his own script, in his feature debut, following his work with Sk Global as showrunner of its acclaimed limited series Thai Cave Rescue for Netflix. He also produces alongside John Logan Pierson. Production will commence on location in Reykjavik, Iceland in early October, with extensive filming at Höfði House, the actual site of the 1986 summit.

Sources tell Deadline that Gunn’s project is one that he’s spent years working on and researching. His work began when he drove out to Stanford to interview Secretary of State Shultz before his passing, receiving now-declassified transcripts from the summit. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the recent revelation that the U.S. will again deploy long-range missiles in Germany, the hope is to reflect on how we, as citizens and as nations, can come together to work past our differences, in pursuit of a better, safer world.

Daniels is coming off of A Man in Full, Netflix’s limited series from David E. Kelley, which adapts the 1998 novel from Tom Wolfe. Recently, he was also seen starring opposite Maura Tierney in the crime drama American Rust, which ran for two seasons.

Most recently boarding Kathryn Bigelow’s new film for Netflix, as we were first to report, Harris also stars in Apple TV+ and Skydance’s sci-fi series Foundation, based on the works of Isaac Asimov, which previewed its forthcoming third season at Comic-Con. Previously garnering Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Chernobyl, he’s also recently wrapped on the indies Brave the Dark and Reawakening.

Following roles in films like National Champions and Being the Ricardos, Simmons’ upcoming slate includes the Clint Eastwood pic Juror #2, Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, Amazon’s sequel to The Accountant and holiday event film Red One, and the addiction film The Prince written by David Mamet.

Prior to Thai Cave Rescue, Gunn wrote and produced for the critically acclaimed Showtime series Billions, as well as the political thriller Designated Survivor for ABC and Netflix, having begun his career on Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom. On the film side, he sold his script The Virginian about a young George Washington to Warner Bros, and is currently adapting a novel for Charlize Theron at Universal.

Indie studio Sk Global has produced and financed over 100 features, dating back to its origins as Sidney Kimmel Entertainment. Most recently, the company unveiled the acclaimed rom-com Anyone But You, a star-making project for Glen Powell, who led the cast opposite Sydney Sweeney. The Sony pic emerged as a sleeper hit upon its December 2023 release, proving that rom-coms can continue to work theatrically as it grossed over $220 million worldwide. Also recently unveiling the acclaimed limited series Thai Cave Rescue, as well as inspirational docs like Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, which just debuted on Netflix, the company is also responsible for such acclaimed titles as Crazy Rich Asians, Hell or High Water and The Place Beyond the Pines, among many others.

Daniels is repped by CAA, Martino Management, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes; Harris by CAA, Gateway Management, Independent Talent Group in the UK, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Simmons by Gersh; and Gunn by WME and Artists First.

Journalist Tom Wolfe labeled the 1970s the "Me" Decade. It was a time when the importance of community and social and political justice was shifting towards a more selfish focus on individual well-being. As a reflection of this, the predominant James Bond of the 70s, played by Sir Roger Moore Kbe, was portrayed as somewhat of a playboy, exaggerated by plot lines laden with sexual innuendo and over-the-top action sequences. Most can agree, that of all the actors to have played Bond, Moore's version was the furthest removed from the original character created by British author Ian Fleming.

As this morning’s Emmy nominations prove, there may be less TV being made nowadays, but the quality certainly hasn’t declined with the quantity.

As widely expected, The Bear, Baby Reindeer, True Detective: Night Country and Shōgun were mentioned more than once by past Emmy winners Sheryl Lee Ralph and Tony Hale on Wednesday morning. As Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego said, “it was an exceptional year in television.” It certainly seemed exceptional that, for the first time in a long while, the names Succession and Ted Lasso were not heard when the nominations were read, as those multiple winners have wrapped up their runs.

Related: Emmy Nominations Analysis: Fresh Blood Livens Up The Race For TV Gold

There were surprises like the long-overlooked Reservation Dogs, which also has ended, but other names and shows that are far from wrapped up or new on the scene were overlooked. Our...

Jeff Daniels credits Clint Eastwood's one-shot directing style for helping him adapt to TV work in Netflix series A Man in Full. Daniels learned to hit the best performance in one or two takes, similar to Eastwood's method. Eastwood's directing style has earned respect and influenced many actors, including Tim Robbins.

Jeff Daniels Netflix series A Man in Full has been dividing both audiences and critics since arriving on the platform last month. While Daniels has been more accustomed to starring roles in movies, it was what he learned from cinema legend Clint Eastwood that helped his transition to television. In particular, Eastwoods no-nonsense one-shot directing style helped Daniels greatly in making sure that filming was as efficient as it could be.

A Man in Full TV-MADrama 2/5

A Man in Full is a Netflix original series starring Jeff Daniels, Tom Pelphrey, Diane Lane, and Lucy Liu. The limited-series...

Chemistry has always been Hollywood’s secret sauce, and, for rom-coms at least, the high-water mark remains the pairing of Doris Day and Rock Hudson. Most cineastes can name their first collaboration (Pillow Talk in 1959), but the others — Lover Come Back (1961) and Send Me No Flowers (1964) — don’t come to mind so quickly. As a brand, though, these two have more than endured in pop culture, and writers and directors have had to work harder and harder to find a way to recapture that magic, since we now know very well that it requires a great deal more than just putting a couple of good-looking famous people together.

Peyton Reed came close in 2003’s with his stylish, early-’60s period pastiche Down with Love, casting Renee Zellweger alongside Ewan McGregor, and Olivia Wilde certainly did not with 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling, lumbering Florence Pugh with Harry Styles in a risible ’50s-themed sci-fi.

A Man in Full star Jeff Daniels discusses Clint Eastwood's influence on the rest of his television career. It's something that's on full display in the Netflix miniseries.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Daniels explained how Eastwood's directorial style helped inform how he approaches filming television. "I do not sit around with casts on any project and talk about our collective journey," Daniels said. "I love to make it happen in front of the camera for the first time in take one. In Clint Eastwood movies, thats where I learned it. You get one take, and then Clints moving the camera."

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The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon star Norman Reedus shares how much longer he can picture himself sticking with the franchise.

Daniels continued, "So thats where you learn to hit it on one. But television,...

Many know actor/musician Jeff Daniels for his roles in classic ‘90s films like “Speed” and “Dumb and Dumber,” as well as his Emmy-winning performance as Will McAvoy in the Aaron Sorkin HBO series “The Newsroom.” However, in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Daniels says he received the greatest camera-acting education during his collaboration with Clint Eastwood on the 2002 mystery thriller “Blood Work.”

Eastwood, notorious for shooting very few takes, if not only one, made Daniels realize preparation and spontaneity are key.

“I do not sit around with casts on any project and talk about our collective journey. I love to make it happen in front of the camera for the first time in take one,” Daniels said. “In Clint Eastwood movies, that’s where I learned it. You get one take, and then Clint’s moving the camera. So that’s where you learn to hit it on one.

The Fourth of July is here, and with America’s birthday comes always the need to get in the patriotic spirit. There are many ways to do that of course. Fireworks are forever the go-to event; backyard barbecues and grills with hot dogs and hamburgers is another. But sometimes you might just want a bit of celluloid magic to remind you why you should care in the first place.

Whether you’re looking for a comedy or a drama, some ‘80s “USA, USA” cheese, or a genuine exploration of America’s founding, we’ve got you covered with a list of some of the most patriotic of American movies. Enjoy.

1776 (1972)

Let’s begin with the best movie about why today is called “Independence Day:” 1776. While there have been other movies about the Second Continental Congress’ travails during those sweltering days in the summer of ’76, none have truthfully been as...

There may have not been as much television in 2024 so far as in previous years, but there was a Hell of a lot of great TV in the first half of this year.

The harsh beauty of FX’s Shōgun, the depths of Baby Reindeer and Big Mood, the wit of Diarra from Detroit, and the surprising scope of X-Men ’97 set a very high standard. The icy reset that is the Issa López created True Detective: Night Country was another such high. Add to that the historical script flip of The Sympathizer, the sometimes brutal honestly of Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, Diane Lane and Jeff Daniels’ masterclass in A Man in Full, and the barrier drop kicking of Echo.

So, if you are looking for some true creative fireworks this Independence Day, may I suggest casting your eyes over our selection of some of the best new shows of 2024 so far.

Jeff Daniels is always a reliably excellent performer whether its in comedy or drama, TV or film, and the veteran actor has turned in another masterclass performance in Netflix’s “A Man in Full.”

Adapted from Tom Wolfe‘s novel of the same name and created by “Big Little Lies” helmer David E. Kelley, “A Man in Full” follows Daniels as real estate mogul Charlie Croker, who tries to protect his empire and legacy from crumbling when he falls into sudden bankruptcy. Daniels dominated the screen here, chewing scenery, spitting it out with venom, and then re-chewing the scenery some more. Whatever you may think of the show, Daniels is never anything less than ferociously good, as noted by critics.

Nick Schager (The Daily Beast) wrote that the show “struts about with swaggering ferocity, led by Jeff Daniels’ full-bodied performance as a blustery, bloviating capitalist predator… ego is both a...

“In the next 45 minutes, we’re about to hear Gus speak more than he has in the last 40 years,” Vito Schnabel, the art world scion who is increasingly turning his head toward Hollywood, told a crowd at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival last week.

He was there to moderate a conversation with American heavyweight filmmaker Gus Van Sant, who just directed Schnabel (and a pack of actors barreling toward Emmy nominations) in “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.” That history, of a glittery New York whose underbelly was found in the bedrooms and hallways of the ruling class, took a back seat to Van Sant’s impactful career.

He has directed some of the stickiest and profound films of the past four decades, including “Drugstore Cowboy,” “My Own Private Idaho,” the Columbine shooting-inspired “Elephant,” Nicole Kidman’s “To Die For,” the Oscar winner “Milk,” and “Good Will Hunting,” which launched...

Less than a month after his generally unnecessary Netflix adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s A Man in Full, David E. Kelley continues his visitations with the Ghosts of Literary Phenomena Past with Apple TV+’s eight-episode take on Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent.

Presumed Innocent was released in 1987, and the twisty character study of Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor who finds himself on the other side of the justice system when he’s accused of murdering a former colleague, breathed new life into dramatic jurisprudence. It was a smash hit, as was Alan J. Pakula’s solid 1990 big-screen version, which kickstarted a tiny subgenre of Chicago-set films in which Harrison Ford either did or didn’t kill the woman he was sleeping with. Both the book and the film were accused of either misogyny or myopia in their treatment of their female characters; both were products of a moment at which...

Exclusive: Kristen Stewart will make her TV series starring debut in The Challenger, a limited series in which she’ll play Sally Ride, the astronaut and physicist who became the first American woman to fly in space. She did this as part of a NASA space shuttle astronaut class of 1978 that was the first to be diversified and not comprised of all white men.

Kyra Sedgwick’s Big Swing Productions developed and brought the project to Amblin and is Executive Producing with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners and Stewart’ through her Nevermind production label.

Maggie Cohn will serve as the writer and showrunner, and her credits include American Crime Story, The Staircase and Narcos: Mexico. This has been the hot property on the TV auction block this week, and Amazon is close to tying it down. The series Series executive producers are Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, Kyra Sedgwick’s Big Swing Productions,...

Quick Links The Right Stuff Is Arguably the Best Wolfe Adaptation The Next Great American Movie That Never Was The Tom Wolfe Curse Strikes Again? Despite the endeavors of the best and brightest in Hollywood, Tom Wolfe's literary work struggles with film and TV adaptations. A Man in Full, a Netflix series, fails to impress viewers much like The Bonfire of the Vanities, a watershed moment in industry hype gone awry. Standing out among the many past duds, 1983's The Right Stuff remains the only respected version of Wolfe's work on celluloid.

Author and social critic Tom Wolfe is no stranger to explorations of American life in all its complexities, whether it be racial issues, class relations, or politics, usually all at the same time. At its release, his novel A Man in Full was heralded as an instant classic, almost winning the National Book Award for Fiction in 1998. There's...

Quick Links The Downfall of Charlie in A Man in Full A Man in Full's Inciting Event Sets up the Finale A Man in Full Ending, Explained A surprising and tragic final episode of A Man in Full left viewers divided, with some feeling cheated by the unexpected turn of events. Despite efforts to help others, the main character's unethical behavior catches up with him in a shockingly violent conclusion to the miniseries. A Man in Full portrays a cautionary tale of the consequences of an unchecked male ego, culminating in a morally ambiguous and downbeat ending.

From the mind of TV veteran David E. Kelley, A Man in Full is a 6-part miniseries that made its Netflix debut on May 2, 2024. Jeff Daniels stars as Charlie Croker, a successful Atlanta real estate tycoon whose sociopolitical world comes crashing down when he faces sudden bankruptcy. Along with Charlie's fall from grace,...

Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels starred in the hit 1994 comedy film Dumb and Dumber. The main point of interest in the film was the pairing of a rising comic talent like Carrey and a serious character actor like Daniels. Carrey had already proven his mettle in comedy with back-to-back comedy hits Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and The Mask earlier in the same year.

Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in Dumb and Dumber | New Line Cinema

On the other hand, Jeff Daniels was known for his dramatic performances in films like The Purple Rose of Cairo, Terms of Endearment, and Gettysburg. Starring in an outrageous comedy like Dumb and Dumber seemed like a wrong decision at the time and Daniels’ agent warned him from making that mistake. However, Carrey assured him that everything was going to be okay.

Jeff Daniels Feared Dumb and Dumber Would Be The End of His Career...

[This story contains spoilers from A Man in Full and Outer Range season two.]

Between Tom Pelphrey’s two current streaming shows, one would think that the series with the shimmering time portal in the ground would have the more off-the-wall ending. But that honor instead belongs to David E. Kelley’s A Man in Full.

Adapted from Tom Wolfe’s novel, the Netflix limited series centers on Jeff Daniels’ Charlie Croker, an overextended billionaire who owes various banks over a billion dollars in overdue loans, and Pelphrey’s Raymond Peepgrass is one of the bankers who’s tired of being stepped on by Charlie both personally and professionally.

All season long, Raymond and Harry Zale (Bill Camp) are on the verge of seizing Charlie’s assets, but he works the system to his advantage to stave off collection. Frustrated, Raymond makes one last move to acquire controlling interest in Charlie’s life’s work — a building called the Concourse,...

Exclusive: The novel Next to Heaven hit the market this week. Written by Anonymous, it’s a social satire that is being shopped by WME simultaneously for both a publishing deal and a TV deal. The TV deal has just closed, and the publishing deal will be next.

The rights to turn the book into a TV series were snapped up by former Agbo and Chernin executive Mike Larocca and Michael Schaefer for their as yet-unnamed production venture. They will produce with Entertainment 360’s Guymon Casady (Game of Thrones). Schaefer most recently ran New Regency and produced The Martian.

So, who is Anonymous?

Deadline sniffed out that it is James Frey, known for A Million Little Pieces and many other literary works. Actually, this was not like cracking the case of the Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping. Lit scouts who read the novel quickly deciphered the mystery. Frey has a way...

Quick Links Jeff Daniels Leads Netflix's A Man in Full A Man in Full Deviates From Its Source Material in All the Wrong Ways A Man in Fulls Satire Comes Across as Tone Deaf Despite a star-studded cast, the Netflix series A Man in Full fails to capture the book's satire and social commentary. The series features jarring changes to key plot elements, undermining character development and thematic depth, leaving the narrative off-balance. The show's attempt at poignant social commentary falls flat. It lacks the satirical edge expected from an adaptation of Tom Wolfe's work.

Based on the book of the same name by Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full follows Charlie Croker (Jeff Daniels), a wealthy Atlanta business tycoon whos facing the possibility of losing his empire after the bank decides to call in his nearly $1 billion loan. A good ol boy if there ever was one,...

Spoiler Alert: This post contains spoilers from “Judgment Day,” finale of the limited series “A Man in Full,” now streaming on Netflix.

If you went into Netflix’s “A Man in Full” thinking about the 1998 novel by Tom Wolfe, the final episode was likely a shock. Although the series opened with the dead body of Charlie Croker (Jeff Daniels) lying lifeless on the floor, the events that led up to it were unexpected. Flashing back 10 days earlier, Charlie is shown at his 60th birthday, forcefully saying hello to Raymond Peepgrass (Tom Pelphrey) by gripping the back of his collar. The moment foreshadows the finale, during which Charlie walks in on his ex-wife, Martha (Diane Lane) having sex with Raymond. She runs out, leaving Raymond — fully nude and erect after popping Viagra — facing Charlie.

Charlie ultimately chokes Raymond in a fit of rage, and then realizes he’s unable to let...

This article contains spoilers for A Man in Full.

One of May’s biggest original series premieres on Netflix is the star-studded limited series A Man in Full, adapting the 1998 novel of the same name by Tom Wolfe. The adaptation stars Jeff Daniels as Charlie Croker, an Atlanta real estate mogul whose unscrupulous and reckless business dealings have put his entire career and finances at risk of completely crumbling around him. As Charlie desperately tries to stave off his empire from imploding, banker Raymond Peepgrass (Tom Pelphrey) is among the figures trying to not only dismantle Charlie financially, but also through his personal life as he romances Charlie’s ex-wife and business partner Martha Croker (Diane Lane).

Unfolding over six episodes, with a concurrent legal drama narrative led by Aml Ameen and Jon Michael Hill, the Charlie Croker saga takes center stage in the final scene of the series. Filled...

Mixed reviews for Netflix's A Man in Full, starring Jeff Daniels, show critics divided on Daniels' first project with Netflix. A talented ensemble cast, including Diane Lane and Lucy Liu, join Daniels in the series created by David E. Kelly. Regina King, known for directing episodes of popular series, directed 3 episodes of A Man in Full after her acclaimed film debut.

The Netflix limited series A Man in Full ends a four-year directorial drought of an acclaimed film & television director. Jeff Daniels stars as Charlie Croker, a larger-than-life, relentless real estate mogul based in Atlanta, Georgia. A Man in Full's mixed reviews indicate a divided response among critics to Daniels' first project with Netflix. The series was adapted from the 1998 novel of the same name by Tom Wolfe, author of classic books such as The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968) and The Right Stuff (1979). By the end of A Man in Full,...

Plot: When Atlanta real estate mogul Charlie Croker faces sudden bankruptcy, political and business interests collide as Charlie defends his empire from those attempting to capitalize on his fall from grace. From Showrunner/ Writer/ Executive Producer David E. Kelley, A Man in Full is based on the New York Times bestselling novel by the late Tom Wolfe.

Review: Jeff Daniels has had a career that includes acclaimed performances on stage in Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird and on the big screen in dozens of dramas, as well as his iconic turn in the Dumb and Dumber films opposite Jim Carrey. To say the actor has a wide range would be an understatement. To follow up his brilliant turn in Sorkin’s HBO series The Newsroom, Daniels headlines the limited Netflix series A Man In Full, which has him channeling the most nefarious antagonist characters he has ever played.

The following contains spoilers for A Man in Full Episode 1, "Saddlebags," now streaming on Netflix.

The Netflix miniseries A Man in Full is very much like the world it creates -- stylish, engaging, but ultimately empty. On paper, it deserves to be a smash hit: written and produced by David E. Kelley, directed by award-winners Regina King and Thomas Schlamme, and with iconic actor Jeff Daniels in the lead. However, despite its lengthy resume and how beautiful it looks, the show never connects with its audience in any way past the surface.

The six-episode limited series is adapted from Tom Wolfe's 1998 novel of the same name, so some of the problems come inherent in the source material. Wolfe is an acclaimed novelist who even influenced Marvel Comics, and he has a very specific style that may not appeal to everyone. But given the credentials of the Netflix creative team,...

A Man in Full falls short of expectations with a meager 43% Rotten Tomatoes score, missing the mark on both plot and social commentary. The star-studded cast can't rescue the series from critiques of poor character development and lackluster execution by Kelly and King. Mixed reviews from A Man in Full raise concerns about the quality of Kelley's next project, Presumed Innocent, featuring Gyllenhaal in his TV debut.

The mixed reviews for Netflix's new limited series A Man in Full cause some concern over Jake Gyllenhaal's highly anticipated series on Apple. A Man in Full is the latest series created by the acclaimed television writer and showrunner David E. Kelly, whose previous works include Big Little Lies (2017 - 2019), Ally McBeal (1997 - 2002), L.A. Law (1986 - 1992), Goliath (2016 - 2021), Love & Death (2023), and The Lincoln Lawyer (2022 - 2023). The series was adapted from the 1998 novel of the same name by Tom Wolfe,...

Jeff Daniels and Diane Lane lead the cast of Netflix's new limited series, A Man in Full. 

A Man in Full is based on Tom Wolfe's novel of the same that centers around a powerful business magnate, Charlie Croker, who will do anything to protect everything he built from scheming executives and enemies after an unexpected bankruptcy.

A Man in Full premiered on Netflix on May 2. 

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A business mogul finds himself on the cusp of bankruptcy just after his big, glamorous 60th birthday party. Adapted from Tom Wolfe’s much-celebrated novel, Regina King’s limited series A Man in Full is a bummer. Set in Atlanta, Georgia, the series never takes itself seriously until the closing moments. The 60-minute man, Atlanta’s favorite boy Charlie Croker, plays a toned-down Donald Trump, but the character still holds some morals compared to the former President. In this article, we’re discussing the highlights of A Man in Full.

Spoilers Ahead

Why is Charlie getting the stick from the bank?

Charlie Croker is a real estate developer and pretty much a celebrity in Atlanta for his heroics in a university football match. Now, as a business mogul, Charlie faces the wrath of the bank for being over a billion dollars in debt. Charlie’s own vanity and reckless spending overtook his profits in business,...

Watch the full episode above or listen to it below.

On this week’s “Screen Talk,” co-hosts Ryan Lattanzio and Anne Thompson review new releases “The Fall Guy” (Universal), “Wildcat” (Oscilloscope), and “I Saw the TV Glow” (A24). While they both enjoyed David Leitch’s latest stunt-fest, starring Ryan Gosling as a movie stuntman and Emily Blunt as his director and ex-girlfriend, Thompson said the movie set in Sydney was well-mounted but a tad shallow and cartoony, while Lattanzio said it was not a challenging movie in any way, and that a series of showdowns and battles pile on at the end. Box office projections are all over the map, from $25-50 million. Upbeat word of mouth should carry the day.

Despite lukewarm Sundance reactions to Ethan Hawke’s “Wildcat” — which the actor-director-writer (“Blaze”) crafted specifically for his daughter, actress Maya Hawke, who plays Southern writer Flannery O’Connor — both Lattanzio and Thompson admired the movie,...

An intense and often funny drama starring the best fake news anchor and created by the guy who has made too many legal dramas and all of them are brilliant. A Man in Full is a drama miniseries created by David E. Kelley. Based on a 1998 novel of the same name by Tom Wolfe, it follows a real estate mogul Charlie Croker as he faces bankruptcy and his enemies circle him to gain something from his misfortune. A Man in Full stars Jeff Daniels in the lead role with Sarah Jones, Diane Lane, Lucy Liu, Tom Pelphrey, Evan Roe, Jon Michael Hill, Josh Pais, and Jerrika Hinton starring in supporting. So, if you loved Daniels’ incredible performance and the story of a man’s fall from grace and too much arrogance in A Man in Full here are some similar shows you could watch next.

Dynasty (Netflix & Rent on Prime...

A Man in Full is not based on a true story, despite its realistic portrayal of modern-day Atlanta. The Netflix series adapts Tom Wolfe's novel, but features a different ending and fewer plot points. Charlie Croker in A Man in Full was inspired by real Atlanta businessmen but is a fictional character.

The new Netflix limited series A Man in Full has a realistic story that takes place in modern-day Atlanta. A Man in Full is the latest series created by the acclaimed television writer and showrunner David E. Kelly, whose previous works include Big Little Lies (2017 - 2019), Ally McBeal (1997 - 2002), L.A. Law (1986 - 1992), Goliath (2016 - 2021), Love & Death (2023), and The Lincoln Lawyer (2022 - 2023). The series was adapted from the 1998 novel of the same name by Tom Wolfe, author of classic books such as The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968) and The Right Stuff (1979).

A Man in Full's...

Warning: Spoilers ahead for A Man in Full.

Charlie Croker's downfall in A Man in Full was fueled by his ego and debts, leading to a tragic demise in the series finale. A Man in Full received mixed reviews, highlighting the impressive ensemble cast and changes from the original novel's plot. Raymond Peepgrass's desperate attempts to gain Charlie's attention ultimately lead to a dangerous confrontation with deadly consequences.

A Man in Full ended with Charlie Croker's debts finally catching up with him. Fueled by sheer grit and a fierce ego, Charlie meets his demise at the end of A Man in Full after his own body turns against his best interests. Throughout A Man in Full, which is the latest series created by the acclaimed television writer and showrunner David E. Kelly, Charlie (Jeff Daniels) avoids the repercussions of funding his lavish life on loaned money from a prestigious bank.

Back when he was finishing “Dumb and Dumber To” in 2014, Jeff Daniels was ready to leave show business. “I’m done,” he told Jim Carrey. “You can’t stop man,” Carrey said. “You can’t, you’re creative, you’re going to create something, you’ve got to keep creating. That’s what we do!”

These days, Carrey’s off in Hawaii painting. And when Daniels is not acting, he’s writing songs and plays, which he mounts at his Michigan hometown’s Purple Rose Theatre Company. “It’s what keeps me going,” Daniels told me on Zoom. “It keeps me alive. It’s what I’m supposed to do. It’s helped me between the phone calls for the acting jobs. Because you can go insane staring at that phone. They’ll call you when they need you. And so I’ve always battled whatever depression or fear might...

Jeff Daniels’ recently released series, A Man in Full, has been taking the world by storm. As though food for critics, its reviews have been nothing but stellar. Audiences have not been able to get enough of the series, and this is not surprising, considering its cast and its creators. However, more aspects make up a show, and the most important is the story.

Tom Pelphrey and Bill Camp in A Man in Full (2024) | Image via Netflix

The show’s premise is truly spectacular, following the classic rich-turned-poor trope, but taking an approach so unique that one cannot stop watching. One of the main reasons for its appeal was the character of Charlie Croker. As his name suggested, the man was a crook, dishonesty being a living-breathing entity in his life, until all was taken from him as payment.

Recently, Daniels gave an interview in which he talked about how...

“A Man in Full,” the sprawling Tom Wolfe novel now adapted by screenwriter David E. Kelley into a limited series for Netflix, centers on a protagonist who, for all his resources, can’t bend the world to his will. Over six episodes, the show finds itself in a similar bind. “A Man in Full” boasts an all-star cast, led by Jeff Daniels as Atlanta real estate tycoon Charlie Croker; an Oscar-winning multi-hyphenate behind the camera; and a dense lode of source material. But the show ends up far less than the sum of its parts, an oddly generic and muted take on a larger-than-life American story.

Wolfe spent the bulk of his career as a longform journalist before turning to fiction. His first novel, “Bonfire of the Vanities,” was a social satire of 1980s New York that helped define the Wall Street boom’s impact on culture. For his sophomore effort,...