RJ Mitte dies at 34; Netflix names Peter Rice CCO — SkimNews
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- Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Dean Norris paid tribute after RJ Mitte's death at 34 in Brownsville, Texas, confirmed by his publicist as suicide; Cranston said the two had been texting weeks earlier about meeting for lunch.link ›
- Netflix named former Disney TV chairman Peter Rice its new CCO starting October 26, replacing Bela Bajaria one day after the company laid off roughly 1,000 employees — about 6% of its workforce.link ›
- Aditya Ahmad's Indonesian debut Goldfish won three APM prizes at Busan, where the project market set a record with 604 submissions from 48 countries and 746 business meetings logged across ACFM (Oct. 10–13).link ›
- Reese Witherspoon partnered with Mediawan to buy back Hello Sunshine from Candle Media, anchoring her 6.2M-reader book club — roughly $900M in U.S. sales — inside Mediawan's 100-label portfolio.link ›
- UK Culture Minister Lisa Nandy said she's 'minded to intervene' in Sky's $2 billion takeover of ITV, citing media-plurality concerns — particularly around news.link ›
- Paul McCartney texted Sam Mendes after seeing promotional images showing Harris Dickinson's Lennon taller than Paul Mescal's McCartney; Mendes sent a corrected photo of equal heights.link ›
- Paramount tapped Francis Lawrence to direct Red Rising with Justin Rhodes writing, kicking off Pierce Brown's six-novel dystopian series — Lawrence's third major franchise after Hunger Games and The Long Walk.link ›
RJ Mitte, who played Walter White Jr. across all 56 episodes of Breaking Bad starting at age 15, died at 34 by suicide in Brownsville, Texas. His publicist confirmed the cause; Brownsville police said no foul play suspected. He was days into promoting his romantic tragedy Talking to Strangers and had just talked through his Breaking Bad years on the Joe Vulpis Podcast. Bryan Cranston posted that he and Mitte had been texting weeks earlier about meeting for lunch. Mitte, who had cerebral palsy and drew on it to play Walt Jr., was one of the few actors with a visible disability to anchor a prestige drama. Netflix capped the week by naming former Disney TV chairman Peter Rice its new CCO one day after laying off roughly 1,000 employees — about 6% of its workforce.
The stories behind this week
RJ Mitte, actor best known for Breaking Bad, dies aged 34Mitte's death at 34 — confirmed by his publicist as suicide — cuts short the career of one of the few actors with a visible disability to anchor a prestige drama, and his co-stars' tributes underscore how closely he was identified with Walter White Jr. The news arrives while he was actively promoting a new film, complicating any read of his state of mind in his final days.
Peter Rice Named Netflix CCO, Replacing Bela BajariaA CCO changeover layered on top of 1,000 layoffs in the same week shows Netflix restructuring simultaneously at the creative and corporate level just as its stock sits roughly 28% below where it stood before the failed Warner Bros. Discovery bid. Rice inherits a bench already thinned by the Duffer Brothers, Levy, Baumbach, and Fincher walking out the door, making his October 26 start less a clean hire than a damage-control appointment.
'Goldfish' Wins Three Prizes at Busan Project MarketWith a record 604 submissions from 48 countries and 746 business meetings logged during a single combined market, the Asia indie pipeline just had its largest matchmaking event of the year — and an Indonesian debut feature splitting three prizes against an Indian project taking two signals South and Southeast Asian stories are dominating buyer attention this cycle.
Reese Witherspoon Partners With Mediawan To Buy Hello SunshineCandle Media built its portfolio by acquiring content companies with Blackstone capital during the streaming boom, but as Netflix and other platforms pivoted from subscriber growth to profit, suppliers lost leverage — this deal returns Hello Sunshine to its founder while embedding it in Mediawan's European-anchored, 100-label ecosystem. For Witherspoon, it preserves creative control of a slate with proven hits and a 6.2M-reader book club worth roughly $900M in U.S. sales.
Radial Revives 'A Haunting' With 16 New EpisodesRadial is making a direct bid for original programming on free, ad-supported streaming — a model it argues is now a primary viewing destination, not a pay-TV overflow lane — and is funding that push without traditional first-window paywall licenses. With 5 billion annual streaming hours, 50+ markets, and a redefinition of "premium" built entirely around engagement, the company is positioning Oaktree-backed FAST distribution as a viable alternative to prestige-TV economics.
British Government ‘Minded to Intervene’ in Sky’s Proposed $2 Billion Takeover of ITVIf the UK government formally intervenes, Sky's $2 billion takeover of ITV could be blocked, delayed, or forced to divest news assets, directly affecting Sky's strategic expansion plans and ITV's ownership future.
Paul McCartney demands equal height in Beatles biopicsMcCartney’s intervention ensures his onscreen portrayal aligns with his lifelong effort to counterbalance Lennon’s mythic status, affecting how a new generation will perceive the Beatles’ creative hierarchy. The films’ visual choices now carry legacy-shaping weight.
Paramount Taps Francis Lawrence to Direct 'Red Rising'With six novels in print and a seventh still forthcoming, "Red Rising" gives Paramount a multi-film franchise blueprint at a time when Lawrence has cemented himself as the go-to director for dystopian YA adaptations. His Hunger Games pedigree lends immediate genre credibility, though the still-unwritten finale means the cinematic roadmap can't fully be charted yet.
Why it matters: RJ Mitte's death at 34 by suicide — confirmed while he was actively promoting his new romantic tragedy — leaves Breaking Bad's 56-episode archive as the only professional legacy he'll ever have and removes one of the very few actors with a visible disability to anchor a prestige drama.
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