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Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
White House Slams ‘South Park' as 'Desperate' for Attention After Unflattering Depiction of Trump
The White House is slamming the political left in response to Wednesday night's controversial season 27 premiere of South Park, in which the show's cartoon-cut-out depiction of Donald Trump took Satan as a lover and which was capped off with a deepfake of the president featuring a rendering of his exposed penis. The controversy-courting and long-running animated series has delighted in skewering both the political left and the right for decades, along with celebrities, politicians, tech CEOs and anyone else its writers deem worthy of the show's specific brand of satire. Trump, whom creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone avoided directly depicting for years, finally made his South Park debut on Wednesday night. More from The Hollywood Reporter Colbert Teases Trump After Name Reportedly Listed in Epstein Files: "Mystery Man Known Only as Micropenis DJT" 'South Park' Lampoons Trump in Shocking Season 27 Premiere as Creators Ink $1.5 Billion Deal Jeff Daniels Takes Aim at Trump and His Supporters: "I Hope You're Losing Tons of Money" The president was depicted similarly to South Park's portrayal of Saddam Hussein in its 1999 feature-length movie, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut: ill-tempered, conniving and cruel. The depiction of Trump's fully nude, small penis, which is on full display while he is in bed with Satan, is topped only by a show-capping phony public service announcement in which an AI-rendered Trump walks through the desert, his penis soon exposed and speaking to him. White House Assistant Press Secretary Taylor Rogers reacted to the episode on Thursday, suggesting it represents the hypocrisy of the political left, lobbing insults at the Comedy Central show and touting Trump's delivery on his promises. 'The Left's hypocrisy truly has no end — for years, they have come after South Park for what they labeled as 'offense' [sic] content, but suddenly they are praising the show,' Rogers said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. 'Just like the creators of South Park, the Left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows. This show hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention. President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country's history — and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump's hot streak.' Ratings numbers are not yet available for Wednesday night's 27th season premiere, but according to Nielsen's ratings for April 2023, the first month that South Park's 26th season was available on HBO Max, it logged 700 million minutes of viewing time. This made it the most watched adult animated series that month. During the 2016 election, Stone and Parker expressed uncertainty about the best way to add Trump to the show or how to lampoon him amid his chaotic march to the presidency. Instead, they opted at the time to use the show's Mr. Garrison character as a stand-in for the 45th president. The inflammatory South Park episode comes as Paramount is preparing to be sold to Skydance Media, which the Federal Communications Commission must approve. Trump's appointed FCC chair, Brendan Carr, said Thursday that he does not watch South Park but added that Trump is of the opinion that 'a handful of national programmers' should not 'control and dictate to the American what the narrative is, what they can say, what they can think.' Notably, Skydance is run by David Ellison, who is the son of Oracle mogul and Trump ally Larry Ellison. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘South Park' Lives: Paramount Inks New Deal With Creators, Library Moving to Paramount+
South Park has been saved. Just hours before the Comedy Central show's season 27 premiere on July 23 (a premiere that had already been pushed back due to the uncertainty of a new deal), Paramount and Park County, the venture creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker run and which produces the show, have reached a new deal. More from The Hollywood Reporter Skydance Tells FCC It Will Create CBS News Ombudsman, Eliminate DEI at Paramount Trump's Side Deal With "New Owners" of Paramount May Hint at FCC Concessions Paramount Execs Tell Staff That Africa Offices and Channels May Close Amid Strategy Review (Exclusive) The agreement means that South Park's new season will debut as scheduled. The deal runs for five years and encompasses 50 new episodes of the show to debut on Comedy Central. In addition, the companies have inked an expansive new streaming partnership (via their joint venture South Park Digital Studios) that will bring South Park's library to Paramount+ in both the United States, where HBO Max has held the rights for years, and globally. New episodes will also stream on Paramount+ in the U.S. the day after they air on Comedy Central under the pact. A source pegged the value of the deal at about $1.5 billion. 'Trey and I and the whole South Park crew are grateful for this extension and this deal. We want to thank [Paramount co-CEO and president of Showtime/MTV Entertainment] Chris McCarthy and [COO] Keyes Hill-Edgar for years of great partnership and are looking forward to continuing to make South Park for the next five years,' said Stone. Added Parker, 'We are grateful for this opportunity and deeply honored by the trust placed in us. This is about more than a contract — it's about our commitment to this organization, our teammates, and our fans. We're focused on building something special and doing whatever it takes to bring championships to this city.' Streaming deals for the show expired on June 23, forcing an extension of a domestic deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to keep it on HBO Max for now. Earlier this month, Paramount+'s international license to stream episodes of the long-running animated series expired, which led to the streamer pulling the series from its global service. Park County has an unusual arrangement with Paramount, with the production company receiving about 50 percent of all streaming revenue, even as Paramount retains ownership of the show. 'Matt and Trey are singular, creative forces whose fearless humor and boundary pushing storytelling have made South Park one of the most beloved and enduring series ever — more popular today than at any point in its history, and one of the most valuable TV franchises in the world,' said McCarthy. 'They are exceptional talents and trusted partners. We're thrilled that Comedy Central and now Paramount+ globally will be the home to South Park for years to come and our thanks to the Skydance team for their vital partnership in making this happen.' The deal also comes after a heated but quiet behind-the-scenes legal dispute between Park County, Paramount Global, and Skydance, which is set to assume control of Paramount in the coming weeks. It was a dispute that had some sources concerned about the show's future. Parker and Stone were seeking an extension of their current first-look deal with the company, which a source pegged at being worth about $150 million per year during its six-year term. That agreement had a couple of years left, but the creators were seeking an early extension that could coincide with a streaming agreement. However, Skydance leadership, including CEO David Ellison and incoming president Jeff Shell, had approval rights on any deals that met a certain threshold, and the Park County deal fit that bill. Earlier this month, The Hollywood Reporter learned that Park County believed it had struck a basic framework with Paramount on a new 10-year, $3 billion deal, roughly three times the value of their last agreement. Skydance, however, was reluctant to sign off a deal that long, fearing how the streaming market could change by then. At $1.5 billion, the new deal would be worth about $300 million per year, albeit with the shorter time frame that Skydance had been pushing for. While $1.5 billion is an extraordinarily high number for what amounts to 50 episodes of TV, a source said that the overall deal also functioned as an advance on the streaming revenue, helping to explain the cost. When the talks were most heated, Parker and Stone brought on Bryan Freedman, a prominent lawyer and bulldog negotiator known for aggressive legal maneuvering, underscoring how the dispute had escalated. 'This merger is a shitshow and it's fucking up South Park. We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow,'' Parker and Stone wrote in a social media post on July 2, after Comedy Central announced that the season 27 premiere had been pushed by a few weeks. In a precursor to the legal dispute, Park County threatened legal action against Shell for allegedly urging Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery to modify certain terms of their offers for the show in a 'manner calculated to benefit Paramount at the expense' of the company. It pointed to Shell urging WBD to give Paramount+ an exclusive 12-month window for new episodes of the show and to shorten the term of the deal from 10 to five years, which could worsen the studio's bid for the series. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
From ‘South Park' to George Lucas' First Comic-Con: Inside the Most Anticipated Panels
Usually, not having a Marvel Studios panel signals a less than exciting convention. There's less rock-star energy and less hyped-up news (like last year's Robert Downey Jr. reveal as Doctor Doom). But even with Marvel sitting out this year's Comic-Con, the lineup is still surprisingly robust. (The below presentations all will appear in Hall H.) South Park (July 24, 6:45 p.m.) Creators Trey Stone and Matt Parker don't mince words, and with the panel coming amid their $3 billion battle over the future of South Park, fans are hoping for some grousing about Skydance, the presumptive soon-to-be owner of Paramount they have blamed for holding up season 27. More from The Hollywood Reporter George Lucas Heading to Comic-Con for First Time Ever Comic-Con: Fashion Brand Her Universe Partners With Universal Pictures for 'Wicked'-Themed Geek Couture Competition (Exclusive) Joe Russo Says Robert Downey Jr. Is Researching and "Writing Backstory" for Doctor Doom Role: "He Is So Dialed In" The Long Walk (July 25, 3 p.m.) The stacked cast of up-and- comers, including Cooper Hoffman and Alien: Romulus breakout David Jonsson, could make it The Outsiders of this generation. But the real reason to attend is to see how Lionsgate will position the film, which has subject matter so controversial — a contest in which men must walk at least 4 miles an hour or be shot — that New Line gave up the rights to the Stephen King novel several years ago. Alien: Earth (July 25, 1:25 p.m.); Predator: Badlands (July 25, 4:15 p.m.) After years of being considered second-rate properties, both are back on the upswing thanks to the 2022 Hulu hit Prey and last year's Alien: Romulus. Now, Predator returns to Hall H with Prey director Dan Trachtenberg's next venture, while Alien has the splashy Noah Hawley show. Parent company Disney is all over the con, bringing Jared Leto's Tron: Ares to Hall H at 5:30 p.m. July 25. Star Trek Universe (July 26, 12:30 p.m.) Paramount+ brings the original geek property for its customary blockbuster 90-minute panel featuring the upcoming Starfleet Academy live-action series and the fan favorite Strange New Worlds. It could be particularly poignant as that series was recently revealed to be ending. Project Hail Mary (July 26, 2:15 p.m.) Ryan Gosling returns to Comic-Con for the first time in nearly a decade, this time bringing his big-swing sci-fi epic. The movie also marks Spider-Verse favorites Phil Lord and Chris Miller's first directorial effort since 2014. Peacemaker (July 26, 3:30 p.m.) James Gunn arrives for a Superman victory lap to preview season two of his series. George Lucas (July 27, 11 a.m.) The Star Wars mastermind, shockingly, has never been to the con. That changes this year when he's joined by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and Star Wars prequels production designer Doug Chiang for a sneak peek at the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. This story appeared in the July 23 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe. Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 40 Greatest Needle Drops in Film History The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best Solve the daily Crossword
