Olivia Wilde’s Sundance Darling ‘The Invite’ Bidding War Narrows to A24, Focus Features as Offers Eclipse $12 Million (EXCLUSIVE)

 A24 and Focus Features are in a big competition to get Olivia Wilde’s new movie, “The Invite.” The film got great reviews at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. After its premiere on Saturday night at the Eccles Theater in Park City, many companies like Neon, Netflix, Apple, Searchlight, and a new distributor called Black Bear showed interest in buying the movie. But as the offers got higher, some companies pulled out. The offers started going over $10 million, and it became clear that Wilde wanted the movie to have a traditional theater release. Right now, the offer is more than $12 million, according to people who know about the talks.

Directed by Olivia Wilde and written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, “The Invite” is about a dinner party between a married couple and their upstairs neighbors, who are swingers.

 Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton star in the film, which is an English remake of the Spanish comedy “The People Upstairs.”

This is Wilde’s third movie as a director, after “Booksmart” in 2019 and “Don’t Worry Darling” in 2023.

 She was also at Sundance with Gregg Araki’s “I Want Your Sex,” an erotic thriller where she co-stars with Cooper Hoffman.

Variety’s chief film critic, Owen Gleiberman, praised “The Invite” as a “bravura dinner-party dramedy that’s like ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’

 redone as vintage Woody Allen.” He said the movie keeps you laughing and never stops surprising. He added that it’s so original, full of surprises, and fresh in how it looks at relationships, making you watch it with excitement and delight.

BAFTA Film Awards 2026: ‘One Battle After Another’ Leads With 14 Nominations

 Another day, another awards battle won. Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another" topped all 2026 BAFTA Film Awards nominees, announced by David Jonsson and Aimee Lou Wood in London on Tuesday.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominated "One Battle After Another" in several categories, including best film, director for Anderson, leading actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, supporting actors for Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn, supporting actress for Teyana Taylor, and adapted screenplay (also for Anderson).

 Chase Infiniti, who was left out by the Oscars on January 22, made it to BAFTA's list for leading actress. BAFTA has six slots in acting categories, while the Oscars only have five.

When the longlists for this year's BAFTA were revealed on January 9, "One Battle After Another" set a record with 16 nominations.

 The only two categories it didn't make the cut for were costume design and makeup and hair. (That means Leo's bathrobe and man bun won't be recognized.)

"Sinners" followed with 13 nominations, including best film, director for Ryan Coogler, lead actor for Michael B. Jordan, and supporting actress for Wunmi Mosaku.

 Coogler and Jordan are first-time nominees. Delroy Lindo was longlisted for supporting actor but didn't make the final nominations.

"Hamnet" and "Marty Supreme" each received 11 nominations.

 As expected, Jessie Buckley, who dominated the lead actress category all season, was nominated for "Hamnet." Paul Mescal, who was left out by the Oscars, got a BAFTA nomination for supporting actor. Odessa A'zion from "Marty Supreme" also got her first nomination in the supporting actress category.

Stellan Skarsgård, a well-known European actor for over 40 years, received his first BAFTA nomination for "Sentimental Value," which had eight nods (tied with "Frankenstein").

 The film was nominated in categories like best film, best director (Joachim Trier), leading actress (Renate Reinsve), supporting actress (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), and film not in the English language. That category matched this year’s Oscar nominees five-for-five.

Five women made the longlist of 10 names for director, but only Chloé Zhao from "Hamnet" was among the final nominees.

 BAFTA's directing category has six spots, so other than Yorgos Lanthimos for "Bugonia," the rest matched Oscar nominees.

All five BAFTA best film nominees made the cut for the 10 Best Picture Oscar nominees.

 Since the Oscars expanded from five to 10 nominees in 2009, only four of the 80 BAFTA best film nominees were left out. Those were "The Mauritanian," "I, Daniel Blake," "Carol," and "Drive." In the 19 categories the Oscars and BAFTAs have in common, about 75% of the BAFTA nominees match Oscar noms, with a slightly lower success rate in acting categories.

The 2026 BAFTA ceremony, hosted by Alan Cumming, will take place on Sunday, February 22.

 Streaming availability in the U.S. and Canada is still to be determined. The full list of 2026 BAFTA film award nominees is below (and also on the BAFTA website).

"One Battle After Another" (Credit: Warner Bros.)

2026 BAFTA Film Awards Nominees

BEST FILM 

“Hamnet,” Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Steven Spielberg, Sam Mendes 

“Marty Supreme,” Timothée Chalamet, Anthony Katagas, Eli Bush, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie 

“One Battle After Another,” Adam Somner, Sara Murphy, Paul Thomas Anderson 

“Sentimental Value,” Maria Ekerhovd, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar 

“Sinners,” Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Ryan Coogler 

BEST DIRECTOR

“Bugonia,” Yorgos Lanthimos 

“Hamnet,” Chloé Zhao 

“Marty Supreme,” Josh Safdie 

“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson 

“Sentimental Value,” Joachim Trier 

“Sinners,” Ryan Coogler 

LEADING ACTRESS 

Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet” 

Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” 

Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue” 

Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another” 

Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value” 

Emma Stone, “Bugonia” 

LEADING ACTOR 

Robert Aramayo, “I Swear” 

Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme” 

Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another” 

Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon” 

Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners” 

Jesse Plemons, “Bugonia” 

SUPPORTING ACTRESS 

Odessa A’zion, “Marty Supreme” 

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value” 

Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners” 

Carey Mulligan, “The Ballad of Wallis Island” 

Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another” 

Emily Watson, “Hamnet” 

SUPPORTING ACTOR 

Benicio del Toro, “One Battle After Another” 

Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein” 

Paul Mescal, “Hamnet” 

Peter Mullan, “I Swear” 

Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another” 

Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value”

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM 

“28 Years Later,” Danny Boyle, Andrew Macdonald, Peter Rice, Bernard Bellew, Alex Garland 

“The Ballad of Wallis Island,” James Griffiths, Rupert Majendie, Tom Basden, Tim Key  

“Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,” Michael Morris, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jo Wallett, Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer, Abi Morgan 

“Die My Love,” Lynne Ramsay, Martin Scorsese, Jennifer Lawrence, Justine Cirrocchi, Andrea Calderwood, Enda Walsh, Alice Birch 

“H Is for Hawk,” Philippa Lowthorpe, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Emma Donoghue 

“Hamnet,” Chloé Zhao, Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Steven Speilberg, Sam Mendes, Maggie O’Farrell 

“I Swear,” Kirk Jones, Georgia Bayliff, Piers Tempest 

“Mr. Burton,” Marc Evans, Ed Talfan, Josh Hyams, Hannah Thomas, Trevor Matthews, Tom Bullough 

“Pillion,” Harry Lighton, Emma Norton, Lee Groombridge, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe 

“Steve,” Tim Mielants, Alan Moloney, Cillian Murphy, Max Porter 

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER  

“The Ceremony,” Jack King (Director, Writer), Hollie Bryan (Producer), Lucy Meer (Producer) 

“My Father’s Shadow,” Akinola Davies Jr. (Director), Wale Davies (Writer) 

“Pillion,” Harry Lighton (Director, Writer)  

“A Want in Her,” Myrid Carten (Director) 

“Wasteman,” Cal McMau (Director), Hunter Andrews (Writer), Eoin Doran (Writer) 

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 

“The Ballad of Wallis Island,” Tom Basden and Tim Key 

“Bugonia,” Will Tracy 

“Hamnet,” Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell 

“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson 

“Pillion,” Harry Lighton 

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY  

“I Swear,” Kirk Jones 

“Marty Supreme,” Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie 

“The Secret Agent,” Kleber Mendonça Filho  

“Sentimental Value,” Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier 

“Sinners,” Ryan Coogler 

CHILDREN’S & FAMILY FILM 

“Arco,” Ugo Bienvenu, Félix De Givry, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman 

“Boong,” Lakshmipriya Devi, Ritesh Sidhwani 

“Lilo & Stitch,” Dean Fleischer Camp, Jonathan Eirich 

“Zootropolis 2,” Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino 

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 

“It Was Just an Accident,” Jafar Panahi, Philippe Martin  

“The Secret Agent,” Kleber Mendonça Filho, Emilie Lesclaux 

“Sentimental Value,” Joachim Trier, Maria Ekerhovd, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar 

“Sirât,” Oliver Laxe, Domingo Corral 

“The Voice of Hind Rajab,” Kaouther Ben Hania, Nadim Cheikhrouha 

COSTUME DESIGN 

“Frankenstein,” Kate Hawley 

“Hamnet,” Malgosia Turzanska 

“Marty Supreme,” Miyako Bellizzi 

“Sinners,” Ruth E. Carter 

“Wicked: For Good,” Paul Tazewell 

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS 

“Avatar: Fire and Ash,” Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett, Eric Saindon  

“F1,” Ryan Tudhope, Keith Alfred Dawson, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington 

“Frankenstein,” Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess, Ivan Busquets, José Granell 

“How to Train Your Dragon,” Christian Mänz, Francois Lambert, Glen McIntosh, Terry Palmer 

“The Lost Bus,” Charlie Noble, Brandon K. McLaughlin, David Zaretti 

DOCUMENTARY 

“2,000 Meters to Andriivka,” Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson-Rath 

“Apocalypse in the Tropics,” Petra Costa, Alessandra Orofino 

“Cover-Up,” Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus, Olivia Streisand, Yoni Golijev 

“Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” David Borenstein, Helle Faber, Radovan Síbrt, Alžběta Karásková 

“The Perfect Neighbor,” Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu, Sam Bisbee 

 

ANIMATED FILM 

“Elio,” Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina, Mary Alice Drumm 

“Little Amélie,” Mailys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Nidia Santiago, Edwina Liard, Claire Le Combe, Henri Magalon 

“Zootropolis 2,” Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino 

CASTING 

“I Swear,” Lauren Evans 

“Marty Supreme,” Jennifer Venditti 

“One Battle After Another,” Cassandra Kulukundis 

“Sentimental Value,” Yngvill Kolset Haga and Avy Kaufman 

“Sinners,” Francine Maisler 

CINEMATOGRAPHY  

“Frankenstein,” Dan Laustsen 

“Marty Supreme,” Darius Khondji 

One Battle After Another,” Michael Bauman 

“Sinners,” Autumn Durald Arkapaw 

“Train Dreams,” Adolpho Veloso 

 

EDITING 

“F1,” Stephen Mirrione 

“A House of Dynamite,” Kirk Baxter 

“Marty Supreme,” Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie 

“One Battle After Another,” Andy Jurgensen 

“Sinners,” Michael P. Shawver 

MAKE UP & HAIR 

“Frankenstein,” Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey, Mike Hill, Megan Many 

“Hamnet,” Nicole Stafford 

“Marty Supreme,” Kyra Panchenko, Kay Georgiou, Mike Fontaine 

“Sinners,” Siân Richards, Shunika Terry, Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine 

“Wicked: For Good,” Frances Hannon, Laura Blount, Mark Coulier, Sarah Nuth 

 

ORIGINAL SCORE  

“Bugonia,” Jerskin Fendrix 

“Frankenstein,” Alexandre Desplat 

“Hamnet,” Max Richter 

“One Battle After Another,” Jonny Greenwood 

“Sinners,” Ludwig Göransson 

 

PRODUCTION DESIGN 

“Frankenstein,” Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau 

“Hamnet,” Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton 

“Marty Supreme,” Jack Fisk and Adam Willis  

“One Battle After Another,” Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino 

“Sinners,” Hannah Beachler and Monique Champagne 

 

SOUND 

“F1,” Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo, Juan Peralta 

“Frankenstein,” Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitallie, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoem 

“One Battle Afte Another,” Jose Antonio Garcia, Christopher Scarabosio, Tony Villaflor 

“Sinners,” Chris Welcker, Benny Burtt, Brandon Proctor, Steve Boeddeker, Felipe Pacheco  

“Warfare,” Mitch Low, Ben Barker, Howard Bargroff, Richard Spooner 

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION  

“Cardboard,” J.P. Vine, Michaela Manas Malina 

“Solstice,” Luke Angus 

“Two Black Boys in Paradise,” Baz Sells, Dean Atta, Ben Jackson  

BRITISH SHORT FILM  

“Magid/Zafar,” Luis Hindman, Sufiyaan Salam, Aidan Robert Brooks 

“Nostalgie,” Kathryn Ferguson, Stacey Gregg, Marc Robinson, Kath Mattock 

“Terence,” Edem Kelman, Noah Reich 

“This Is Endometriosis,” Georgie Wileman, Matt Houghton, Harriette Wright 

“Welcome Home Freckles,” Huiju Park, Nathan Hendren 

 

EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)  

Robert Aramayo 

Miles Caton  

Chase Infiniti  

Archie Madekwe 

Posy Sterling 

Handmaid’s Tale’ Sequel ‘The Testaments’ Sets Hulu Release Date

Hulu has announced the release date for "The Testaments," which is the next show based on the book that was adapted into the popular series "The Handmaid's Tale." The first three episodes of "The Testaments" will be available on April 8, and new episodes will come out every week after that. Like "The Handmaid's Tale," this new series is based on the same Margaret Atwood novel.

The official description of the show says it is a coming-of-age story set in a place called Gilead.

 It follows two young teenagers, Agnes (played by Chase Infiniti), who is very religious and dutiful, and Daisy (played by Lucy Halliday), who is new to Gilead and has converted to its beliefs. As they go through the strict and religious school run by Aunt Lydia (played by Ann Dowd), where obedience is taught very harshly and justified by religion, their friendship grows and becomes the key to changing their lives and the lives of others around them.

The series also features Mabel Li, Amy Seimetz, Brad Alexander, Rowan Blanchard, Mattea Conforti, Zarrin Darnell-Martin, Eva Foote, Isolde Ardies, Shechinah Mpumlwana, Birva Pandya, and Kira Guloien in key roles.

Bruce Miller, who created and produced "The Handmaid's Tale" for television, is also the creator, executive producer, and showrunner for "The Testaments."

 Other executive producers include Warren Littlefield, Elisabeth Moss, Steve Stark, Shana Stein, Maya Goldsmith, John Weber, Sheila Hockin, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, and Mike Barker. Barker also directed the first three episodes. MGM Television is the production company behind the show.

Chase Infiniti was officially announced as the lead of "The Testaments" in February 2025.

 Since then, she has received a lot of praise and has been nominated for several awards for her role in the Oscar-nominated film "One Battle After Another" by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Mercy’ Ends ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Five-Weekend Reign With $11 Million Debut Box Office Collections

Chris Pratt's sci-fi thriller "Mercy" made $11.2 million in its North American opening, ending the five-week reign of James Cameron's "Avatar: Fire and Ash."

Although not a big hit for "Mercy," the result is still strong, especially considering a big winter storm that’s covering much of the U.S. with snow.

 Warnings of cold weather, high winds and blizzards have been issued in 37 states, from Texas to Maine, leading to many theaters closing. This weekend is the worst of the year with only about $60 million earned by all films, a drop of about 9% compared to the same time last year.

"Mercy" was expected to make $12 million, but as the storm spread, those numbers were slightly lowered.

 The movie didn't do well internationally, making $11.6 million in 80 markets, which brings the total worldwide to $22.8 million.

Domestic moviegoers who braved the cold, or those in areas that were not hit by the snow or power outages, weren’t impressed with "Mercy," which got a "B-" on CinemaScore.

 Critics weren’t impressed either, as seen by the 20% Rotten Tomatoes score. That might be a problem for the movie's continued success, since it had a $60 million production budget, not including global marketing. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, "Mercy" takes place in the near future as a detective (Pratt) stands trial for allegedly killing his wife. An advanced AI judge (Rebecca Ferguson) decides his fate.

David A. Gross, who runs the movie research firm Franchise Entertainment Research, said, "The weekend start is also good considering the soft reception."

"Mercy" is the first big movie of the year for Amazon MGM, which didn’t release many films in 2025.

 The studio has big plans for the next 11 months, including "Project Hail Mary" starring Ryan Gosling, "Masters of the Universe," and "Verity," based on a Colleen Hoover book. This is good news for theaters, which have been complaining about the low number of new films since the pandemic and two Hollywood strikes. The drop in new releases led to lower domestic box office earnings in 2025, missing the $9 billion analysts expected.

"Avatar 3," which had been number one for all of January, dropped to second place, making $7 million.

 After six weekends, "Fire and Ash" has earned $378 million in North America and $1.378 billion worldwide. Even though this is a huge number, "Avatar 3" isn't close to the box office success of its predecessors, 2009's "Avatar" and 2022's "Avatar: The Way of Water." Those movies stayed on top for seven weekends and ended up with $2.9 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively.

Disney's animated hit "Zootopia 2" stayed in third place, making $5.7 million in its ninth weekend.

 The sequel has been a strong performer since Thanksgiving, with $401 million in North America and $1.744 billion worldwide. It remains the highest-grossing animated film of all time, ahead of "Inside Out 2" ($1.69 billion).

Another new release, "Return to Silent Hill," didn't make the top five, starting at No. 7 with $3.2 million from 1,850 theaters.

 That’s way behind the first two films in the series, 2006’s "Silent Hill" ($20 million) and 2012’s sequel "Silent Hill: Revelation" ($8 million). Sony released the first film, which made $100 million worldwide, while Open Road backed the second, earning only $55 million. Iconic Events, which has distributed thrillers like the "Terrifier" series and "Steamboat," is behind the third film, which currently holds a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Cineverse chairman and CEO Chris McGurk said, "The film has a total investment of only $3.5 million.

 Love it or hate it, the video game fans want to see the film and talk about it, and that will continue to make it a great title for us in home entertainment."  

He also mentioned, "Weather clearly was a big factor this weekend and impacted the box office significantly for everyone.

 Hopefully, the industry will get some of this missed demand back during this week and next weekend if the weather improves."  

Meanwhile, some Oscar hopefuls got a boost after nominations were announced on Thursday.

 A24's "Marty Supreme," which got 9 nominations, added $3.5 million from 2,021 theaters over the weekend. That's a 32% drop from the previous weekend, the smallest decline in the top five. The film, starring Timothee Chalamet and directed by Josh Safdie, has earned $86.2 million in North America and over $105 million globally.

At number eight, Chloe Zhao's "Hamnet" opened with $2 million from 1,996 theaters in its first weekend of a wide release.

 The Shakespearean drama, which earned 13 Academy Award nominations, has made $17.6 million domestically and $42 million globally after several weekends in limited release.

Comscore’s head of marketplace trends, Paul Dergarabedian, said, "Historically, films in the sweet spot of their runs in theaters have the most potential to get a coveted Oscar bounce at the box office."

Box Office: Chris Pratt’s ‘Mercy’ Toppling ‘Avatar 3’ as a Brutal Winter Storm Threatens Moviegoing

Mercy me.

A big winter storm is hitting much of the U.S., and it’s making it hard for movies to do well at the box office.

 Many places are telling people to stay home. Because of this, total movie ticket sales are expected to be the lowest so far this year. It might also be the first time this weekend’s earnings are lower than the same weekend last year, which was in 2025.

This weekend’s top movie is "Mercy," a new thriller directed by Timur Bekmambetov.

 Chris Pratt plays a man on trial for killing his wife. In a creepy twist, he finds out his fate is decided by an AI judge. MGM Amazon Studios thinks the movie will make about $12.6 million, which is what people expected. Some hoped for closer to $15 million.

The storm isn’t the only thing hurting "Mercy."

 Critics haven’t given it a lot of praise, and people who saw it didn’t give it a great rating. The CinemaScore is a B-, which is not very good.

Still, "Mercy" has a special win.

 It’s the first movie to beat James Cameron’s "Avatar: Fire and Ash" after that film had been number one for five weekends. "Fire and Ash," from 20th Century Fox, is expected to make around $7 million, bringing its total U.S. earnings to about $380 million. Another big movie, "Zootopia 2," is still number three. It’s expected to make $6 million, helping it reach over $400 million in the U.S. And worldwide, it’s already made more than $1.7 billion.

Paul Feig’s movie "The Housemaid," starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, is still doing well for Lionsgate.

 It’s number four in its sixth week, making about $6 million. The film is doing especially well with female audiences and has earned more than $250 million worldwide.

On the other hand, Nia DaCosta’s "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" isn’t doing as well.

 It opened lower than expected during the MLK Holiday weekend and is now number five with an estimated $4.2 million. Its total U.S. earnings are just over $21 million.

There’s still a chance that movies can do better if they win major awards, but this trend has gotten smaller over time.

 Josh Safdie’s "Marty Supreme," which got nine top Oscar nominations, including best picture and best actor for Timothée Chalamet, is still doing well. It’s number six with around $3.5 million, which is a 35% drop from its opening. That’s the second-best drop in the top ten behind Chloé Zhao’s "Hamnet," another Oscar favorite that got eight nominations. "Hamnet" started in a few theaters in November and expanded to over 1,200 theaters this weekend, making about $1.8 million. It has a total of almost $18 million in the U.S.

Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes are both supporting Zhao’s film in the awards season.

Another movie on the list is the 25th-anniversary re-release of Peter Jackson’s "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

 Warner Bros. and Fathom are running this event together, and they expect it to make around $14 million to $15 million.

Numbers will be updated on Sunday morning.

Riz Ahmed Wants to Be James Bond and Playfully Walks Out of Interview Over Jacob Elordi 007 Rumors: ‘I Don’t Mind Who Plays Bond as Long as It Is Me

Riz Ahmed takes on a role that feels like a James Bond movie, but with a twist, in Prime Video's new comedy series "Bait." The show had its world premiere on the opening night of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and will be available to stream on Prime Video in March. Ahmed, who has been nominated for an Oscar, wrote and stars in the series as a struggling London actor who finds himself in a deep personal crisis after his audition for the next James Bond goes viral. He said the series is more about the idea of life being like an audition than about Bond himself.

During a Sundance interview with co-star Guz Kahn at the Variety Studio presented by Audible, Ahmed talked about how he had been keeping notes on the many contradictions in his own life.

 He explained that the show was inspired by the feeling that life is like one big audition, where people are constantly trying to prove themselves online, looking for approval from strangers. He wanted to make a show that explores this idea.

Bond is still on Ahmed's mind, though.

 The 007 franchise is currently going through a reboot, and Amazon, the studio behind "Bait," is involved. Ahmed joked, "Everyone has an audition for Bond. Daniel Craig’s was 'Layer Cake'... This is my audition for Bond. I dare anyone to watch this show and think we shouldn't play Bond."

Amazon's first James Bond movie is being directed by Denis Villeneuve, the filmmaker behind "Blade Runner 2049" and "Dune.

" It will be the first major Bond film since the end of Daniel Craig's era. The new Bond actor hasn't been announced yet, but a recent internet rumor suggests that "Euphoria" star and Oscar nominee Jacob Elordi might be in the running.

Ahmed said he didn't mind who played James Bond as long as it was him.

 He playfully stormed off the set when co-star Guz Kahn told him, "I think Jacob Elordi will be James Bond over Riz Ahmed."

On a more serious note, Ahmed added, "This show is not about Bond.

 James Bond in our show is a symbol of what my character wants to be, the ultra alpha-male. He just wants to be someone else, which so many of us want to be. That's the relatable part."

"Bait" will stream on Prime Video on March 25.

Netflix Postpones Alex Honnold’s ‘Skyscraper Live’ Climb Amid Dangerously Rainy Conditions in Taipei

Even the best climber in the world can't climb a wet skyscraper without ropes or a safety net.

Alex Honnold, a famous rock climber known for free solo climbing, was going to try to climb Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in Asia.

 The climb was planned for 9 a.m. local time on Saturday in Taipei, which is 8 p.m. ET on Friday. The event was going to be live-streamed globally as part of Netflix's new live sports show called Skyscraper Live.

But when the sun came up on Saturday, it was raining heavily in Taipei, and the city looked wet and messy.

 This made the climb look impossible.

About 30 minutes before Honnold was supposed to start climbing, Netflix announced the event would be postponed by one full day.

 They wanted better weather on Sunday. Netflix said the decision to delay was up to Honnold because his safety was the most important thing.

A Netflix representative told The Hollywood Reporter on Friday that they would check in with Honnold to see how he was feeling about the weather conditions.

By Saturday morning, it was clear that Honnold wasn't going to attempt the climb.

 The building was too slippery because of the rain and strong winds.

Grant Mansfield, a leader in the production team for Skyscraper Live, said they were ready for a good show, but the weather was a big problem.

 He explained that the building is easy to climb when it's dry, but when it's wet, it's extremely slippery. Even with ropes, Honnold couldn't do it.

Netflix announced the event had been moved to Saturday, January 24, at 8 p.m. ET or 5 p.m. PT.

 The company said safety was their top priority and thanked everyone for their understanding.

The event's delay shows how risky the climb is.

Even though Netflix is confident Honnold can climb safely, they decided to delay the live stream by 10 seconds.

 This was to protect young viewers from seeing anything dangerous in case something went wrong.

Jonathan Mussman, a Netflix executive, explained that they wanted to be responsible and make sure no one saw something terrible.

Climbing experts and Honnold himself say that the structure of Taipei 101 is simpler than many of his other climbs, like El Capitan in Yosemite, which was shown in the movie Free Solo.

 But the building is extremely tall, making the climb like a vertical marathon.

Honnold said buildings are steeper than rock faces, and the challenge comes from the physical strain over the long climb.

 He isn't sure how it will feel until he tries it.

Honnold has been practicing on Taipei 101 with ropes this week, and people in the office have watched him climb past their windows.

Before the event was postponed, there was a lot of excitement in Taipei.

 The building's walls were lit up with lights saying "Go Alex!" on Friday night.

People were expected to gather in large numbers to watch the climb, but on Saturday, the area was quiet because of the bad weather.

 Honnold's fans were hoping for good weather so they could see the event.