The daily gossip: The Knives Out sequels cost Netflix a pretty penny, Jen Shah's court arraignment gets postponed, and more

The Knives Out sequels cost Netflix a pretty penny, Jen Shah's court arraignment gets postponed, and more

knives out
(Image credit: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

1. Knives Out murders all of Netflix's other movie acquisitions with a massive $450 million sale

Knives Out said a million dollars isn't cool. What's cool is the nearly half a billion dollars Netflix just paid for the rights to Knives Out 2 and 3. For $450 million — a number Vulture called "astronomical," and Entertainment Weekly called "eye-popping" — the streamer will own the follow-ups to Rian Johnson's 2019 murder-mystery starring Daniel Craig as "the Last of the Gentleman Sleuths," Benoit Blanc. Previously, Netflix's biggest movie splurge was $130 million for Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, so needless to say, Knives Out has set a new record. Johnson has reportedly already written the sequels — which, Agatha Christie-style, are expected to only feature the detective as a recurring character — and the first follow-up is set to begin filming in Greece in June.

Vulture

2. So many people called into Jen Shah's court arraignment that it had to be postponed

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jennifer Shah was unable to participate in her own court arraignment on Wednesday because so many people attempted to call into the virtual hearing. Shah was arrested earlier this week on charges of wire-fraud conspiracy and money-laundering conspiracy for her alleged role in a "wide-ranging telemarketing scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims," many of whom were "over age 55." Shah's assistant, Stuart Smith, was also arrested and charged. Though Shah, 47, was supposed to appear before the judge, technical issues snarled up the conference call line, causing the hearing to be postponed. Prior to the delay, the judge had to repeatedly ask people to mute their lines, since some callers could be heard chattering "I'm on for the Housewives trial" and querying, "Do you watch Bravo?"

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CNN Vulture

3. Godzilla and King Kong take on their greatest opponent yet: the pandemic

Maybe all that was needed to "save the movies" was a two-hour fight between a giant prehistoric ape and a nuclear weapons metaphor. At least, that will be the test this weekend, after Godzilla vs. Kong hit U.S. theaters on Wednesday. The movie is projected to make $20 million in the U.S., which, though "pretty lackluster" in regular times, could end up being "one of the biggest box office openings of the pandemic," CNN reports. Indiewire cautions that comparisons between movies released during the pandemic isn't "fair" due to shifting regulations and the fluctuating number of open screens, though Godzilla vs. Kong's "incredibly entertaining fight sequences" are a testament to why we went to the movies before the pandemic. Read our full review here (and go Team Godzilla!).

CNN Indiewire

4. The Satan Shoe saga ends with the 666th sneaker unsold

So dawn goes down to day/nothing satanic can stay. Streetwear company MSCHF says it will not ship the 666th pair of Satan Shoes after Nike sought a temporary restraining order against its unauthorized Nike Air Max 97s, which were modified in collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X and allegedly contain a drop of real human blood. But whoops — MSCHF said Wednesday that it has already shipped the other 665 pairs of shoes, which sold for $1,018 when they went on sale earlier this week. So sad! Sorry Nike! Meanwhile, the most satanic pair of all, the 666th, which was going to be used in a giveaway on April 2, will no longer be up for grabs due to Nike's lawsuit.

The Verge

5. Page Six published an entire article about how normal Tom Hanks' other children are

You've got to imagine that things have been kind of awkward in the Hanks-Wilson household for awhile now, owing to Chet Hanks, the actors' eldest son, who has a penchant for using a fake Jamaican accent and very calmly trying to contact Adele by leaving Instagram comments like "PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ADELE HIT MY LINE ASAP !!!!!!!!!!!" Recently, the child of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson got into even more hot water after declaring this summer to be "white boy summer," after which TMZ reported that Chet's ex-girlfriend once obtained a restraining order against him after he acted and spoke threateningly toward her. Now Page Six has gone and published an entire article about how much "less embarrassing" Hanks and Wilson's other children are. That's gonna make things uncomfortable at Thanksgiving.

Page Six

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.