Inside the Industry

Mar 20, 2018 | 9:30 AM

FIRST LOOK AT RENEE ZELLWEGER AS JUDY GARLAND: Fans are getting their first glimpse of Renee Zellweger as Judy Garland in the new BBC-backed biopic Judy. The film will follow the story of Garland and her last concerts in 1968 London. Jessie Buckley (War And Peace), Finn Wittrock (American Horror Story), Michael Gambon (Harry Potter), Rufus Sewell (The Man In The High Castle) and Bella Ramsey (Game Of Thrones) also star.

CHADWICK BOSEMAN AND CARDI B HEAD TO SNL NEXT MONTH: Ahead of Chadwick Boseman‘s appearance in Avengers: Infinity War (out April 27th) and the release of Cardi B‘s new album, the pair are set to take the stage for Saturday Night Live on April 7th. Here’s hoping for a Black Panther sketch!

PETITION CALLS ON MATT SMITH TO DONATE TO TIME’S UP: A petition is calling for The Crown star Matt Smith to donate part of his salary to Time’s Up after it came to light that he was paid more than his co-star Claire Foy, even though his role is smaller. “You know gender pay gaps are a problem when even the Queen isn’t paid fairly,” the organizers wrote. “Going forward, no one gets paid more than the Queen,” said Suzanne Mackie, creative director for Left Bank, which makes the series, when news of the pay gap was revealed. Foy and Smith have not yet publicly commented.

STEVEN SPIELBERG SPEAKS OUT ON TIME’S UP: Iconic director Steven Spielberg addressed the Time’s Up movement at the Empire Awards in London Sunday night. “It’s been a rich and diverse year for film and for gender and for race, and for speaking out,” he said on collecting the Legend of Our Lifetime award. “Thank you, Time’s Up. We were very much on board from the very beginning, my wife Kate and I. This is more important than any of us can ever really realize.” Spielberg, who said that he would start shooting the fifth installation of Indiana Jones in the U.K. starting in April 2019, added that he hoped Time’s Up would end “the way things were.”

WILL & GRACE RENEWED THROUGH SEASON 3: Season 1 isn’t over yet, but the third season of Will & Grace is already on tap. NBC gave a third season of the revival a green light with 18 episodes. The second season order has also been upped from 13 to 18 episodes. The series reunites stars Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally with creators/showrunners Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. The show averages 9.8 million viewers in adults 18-49 in its Thursday 9 p.m. time slot. The original aired on NBC from 1998-2006.

CHECK IT OUT:

First Look at Renee Zellweger as Judy Garland:

The first look at Rene Zellweger as Judy Garland in Rupert Goold’s biopic ‘Judy.’