Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 11th to 17th, 2026 - UPDATE #11

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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NEWS:

SCANDAL - From Deadline: Almost a year ago, television director and Emmy-winning actor, Timothy Busfield, was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and child abuse.  The charges stemmed from alleged incidents involving two minor boys on the New Mexico set of the Fox/Warner Bros TV series, "The Cleaning Lady," for which Busfield directed six episodes.  Now, the case against him has dismissed by the presiding judge who ruled that "the prosecuting attorney failed to act in a fair and impartial manner." The Bernalillo County District Attorney's office in New Mexico still has the option to “institute new criminal proceedings” against Busfield.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Universal's has officially titled "The Mummy 4" as "The Mummy: The Book of the Dead."  The film is due Oct. 15, 2027.  Oscar-winners, Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, are reprising their roles as Rick and Evie O’Connell.  The cast also includes John Hannah, Michael Johnston, Numan Acar, Kevin J. O’Connor and Oded Fehr. 

DC STUDIOS - From Deadline:  Oscar-winning director, Steven Soderbergh, will step in to finish principal photography for the final weeks of filming of "The Batman II."  The film's director, Matt Reeves, has had to leave the production because of a family issue.

HULU - From TheGrio:  Ryan Coogler’s “The X-Files” reboot has received a series order from Hulu, bringing the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s reimagining of the iconic science-fiction franchise closer to the screen. The series will star Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel as two FBI agents assigned to a division investigating unexplained phenomena.  The duo will play original character, and they will NOT be playing new versions of Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny).

MOVIES - From THR:  Emmy-winning actress Zendaya is set to star in acclaimed director Alex Garland's next sci-fi film for studio, A24.  The film is untitled and is expected to begin shooting in 2027.

NETFLIX - From Variety:  Netflix is laying off six percent of its workforce, which amounts to about 1000 employees. That is Netflix's largest layoff to date.

From Deadline:  Netflix has secured exclusive rights for all 104 FIFA World Cup 2030 matches in Spain and Andorra, a small nation bordered by Spain to the South and France to the North. Spain - the 2026 FIFA World Cup champions - is serving as one of the competition’s three host nations — alongside Morocco and Portugal.  As part of the deal, Netflix will make one match a day available for free in Spain. A package of matches, including every match in Spain, both semi-finals and the final, will be made available for broadcast on a national free-to-air broadcaster. Details are yet to be confirmed.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 10/9 to 10/11/2026 weekend box office is Universal Pictures' "Other Mommy" with an estimated take of 27.5 million dollars.

STREAMING - From Variety:  Eddie Murphy is set to star in the "Peacock" drama, "The Chairman," from Matthew Weiner, the creator of AMC's "Mad Men."

OBITS:

From Deadline:  American actor and film producer, RJ Mitte, has died at the 34, Monday, October 12, 2026.  Mitte was best known for the role of "Walter White, Jr." on AMC's former crime drama, "Breaking Bad." Diagnosed with "cerebral palsy" at the age of three, Mitte advocated for cerebral palsy and other disabilities.

From Deadline:  American film and television actress, Eva Marie Saint, has died at the age of 102, Tuesday, October 6, 2026.  Saint was one of the last living actors of Hollywood's "Golden Age," with her career taking off during the middle of the 20th century.  Saint won the "Best Supporting Actress" Academy Award for her role in "On the Waterfront" (1954).  She received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Special" for the 1990 NBC TV movie, "People Like Us."  Saint is also known for Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 film classic, "North by Northwest."

From Deadline:  The retired American film studio executive, Frank G. Mancuso, Sr., has died at the age of 93, Wednesday, October1, 2026.  He was best known as the chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures from 1984 to 1991 and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1993 to 1999.  Under Mancuso, Paramount released such hit films as "Top Gun" (1986), "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (1986), and "Fatal Attraction" (1987), to name a few.  One of Mancuso's two children is film producer, Frank Mancuso, Jr., who is best known for producing and overseeing the sequels to "Friday the 13th" (1980).

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