| | | | What's news: ViacomCBS and Comcast reach a new carriage deal. The DOJ is looking into the CAA-ICM deal. The PGA Awards has a new date. Rebel Wilson will host the BAFTAs. Staggs and Mayer's Candle Media makes key hire. Plus: NBC has greenlit a sequel pilot to Quantum Leap — Abid Rahman |
THR's Writer Roundtable ►"All of us have cruelty, perversity, strangeness and darkness." THR's Scott Feinberg sat down with Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter), David Chase (The Many Saints of Newark), Jeymes Samuel (The Harder They Fall), Sian Heder (CODA) and Zach Baylin (King Richard) as they discuss writing complex characters, when to know a script is finished ("OK, that's dope") and how to tell the stories of underrepresented groups to which they might not belong. The roundtable.
—Deal done. ViacomCBS and Comcast Cable have agreed comprehensive multi-year carriage deal. The pact includes renewed carriage of ViacomCBS’ TV networks in addition to extending the availability of the streaming services Paramount+, Pluto TV and Showtime OTT. The story.
—Delayed. The DOJ is scrutinizing CAA’s acquisition of ICM, digging into the major agencies’ proposed merger and its impact on the entertainment industry. The acquisition, unveiled in September, initially planned to close by the end of 2021, but is now targeting Q2 2022. The story.
—Yet to be relinquished. Alec Baldwin has yet to hand over his cell phone to authorities investigating the deadly Rust shooting, even though a search warrant has been issued according to an update issued by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday. The update comes after the actor insisted he is complying with the investigation and that it was "a lie" that he wasn't. The story.
—They're just making it up! THR's Lacey Rose has the scoop on Will Arnett's latest project for Netflix, an improvised star-packed whodunnit based off the BBC series Murder in Successville. Arnett will star in Murderville, which features celebrity guests, including Conan O'Brien and Sharon Stone, who completely improvise their way through an otherwise scripted murder mystery. The story.
—The prince formerly known as HRH. Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Andrew’s honorary military titles and royal patronages have been returned to Queen Elizabeth II. More than 150 navy and army veterans had written to the queen asking her to strip Andrew of all his military ranks and titles after a U.S. judge said Wednesday a sexual assault lawsuit against Andrew could go ahead. The story. |
Spears vs. Spears: Britney and Jamie Lynn in Escalating Public Feud►"Things being said are absolutely not the truth." Jamie Lynn Spears shot back at sister Britney Spears’ claims that she was talking about her older sister in a recent interview to sell copies of her book, the latest in an escalating and increasingly fractious public feud between the siblings. The tit-for-tat began Wednesday when Jamie Lynn sat down for an interview with Good Morning America, and spoke about two historical incidents when Britney made her feel unsafe. The story. — Spreading the love. The Writers Guild of America revealed the nominees for the WGA Awards (March 20, in case you're wondering) and it's good news for newbies Hacks, Loki, Yellowjackets and Only Murders in the Building. There's also still love for Succession, Ted Lasso and What We Do in the Shadows. The full list of nominees. — A blow to Anglo-American relations. The 27th Critics Choice Awards has been rescheduled for March 13, the same day that the BAFTA Awards are scheduled to take place in London. The move will inevitably force some talent to pick between one or the other. "Our choice is to do a show on March 13 or not do a show," Critics Choice Association president Joey Berlin tells THR. The story. — BAFTA's trump card. Aussie star Rebel Wilson will host the 75th BAFTA Film Awards on that extremely popular March 13 date. The ceremony will be returning to London’s Royal Albert Hall for an in-person event and be broadcast on BBC One and BBC’s iPlayer. The story. — Another one. The PGA has postponed the 33rd Producers Guild Awards due to the surge in COVID-19 cases. The awards ceremony was originally scheduled for Feb. 26 but will now take place on March 19 at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. The story. — March is getting rather crowded. The awards season calendar shuffle continues, with the American Film Institute moving the AFI Awards reception March 11, which will take place at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. It was previously scheduled for Jan. 7. The story. — Thunder from down under. White Lotus breakout Murray Bartlett is joining Hulu's Immigrant. The limited series is based on the true story of Somen ‘Steve’ Banerjee (played by Kumail Nanjiani), the Indian American entrepreneur who started the Chippendales nightclub chain. The Aussie actor will play Banerjee’s business partner and nemesis Nick De Noia. The story. — Staffing up. Kevin Mayer and Tom Stagg’s Candle Media has bolstered its executive ranks by naming Salil Mehta as CFO and Brent Weinstein as chief development officer. Candle has been on a buying spree recently, snapping up Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, CoComelon producer Moonbug Entertainment, Fauda maker Faraway Road Productions and a stake in Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook Inc. The story. |
James Gunn on 'Peacemaker' and the Influence of 'Better Call Saul' ►"It’s the ability to take its time in telling the story." THR's Brian Davids spoke to James Gunn about his new HBO Max series Peacemaker, a spinoff of The Suicide Squad focused on John Cena's trigger happy freedom-loving character. The filmmaker, who has successfully straddled the DC-Marvel divide, also updates the status of the long-awaited Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The interview.
—"Spooky, if not quite scary or strange enough." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Netflix’s Archive 81. Mamoudou Athie and Dina Shihabi star in this creepy podcast adaptation about film restoration, cults and various malevolent supernatural forces. The review.
—A quantum leap forward. The possible return of Quantum Leap is taking a big step forward at NBC. The network has greenlit the sequel pilot to the 1989 time-travel adventure-drama that ran for five seasons on the network. And it appears Scott Bakula is involved in project, which is set 30 years after the original series. The story.
—We need, nay demand, a Drake cameo. WarnerMedia Kids & Family has greenlit a new series based on Degrassi, the decades-spanning Canadian franchise about middle and high school kids that will debut on HBO Max in 2023. Additionally, HBO Max has acquired U.S. rights to all 14 seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation, which will begin streaming this spring. The story.
—Spidey's impact. Cineworld, the owner of Regal cinemas, revealed that it has turned cash flow positive in the fourth quarter thanks to improved revenue and cost controls and said it reached pre-pandemic revenue levels in December, helped by Spider-Man: No Way Home. The story.
—Jersey? Sure. New Jersey is expanding tax credits for film, television and digital media productions. Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law a major increase in the state’s tax break program, which was extended to 2034, and boosts the annual limit on these tax credits from $10 million to $30 million. The story.
—Prison rules. Sandra Bullock’s The Unforgivable easily topped Nielsen’s movie streaming chart in its first full week of play on Netflix. For the week of Dec. 13-19, the film racked up a hefty 556 million minutes of viewing time, according to Nielsen. The streaming movie rankings.
—Toss a view to your witcher. The second season premiere of The Witcher catapulted the show to the top of the streaming rankings for Dec. 13-19, and it likely played a sizable role in helping streaming platforms set a usage record the following week, according to Nielsen. The streaming television rankings. |
Thank Pod It's Friday►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio. — TV's Top 5. Lesley Goldberg and Dan Fienberg break down the latest TV news. This week the guys discuss the frenzy of news over the last week, Disney's TCA presentation and Dexter finally sticking the landing with its second finale. James Gunn drops by for a wide-ranging interview covering HBO Max's Peacemaker. And finally, Dan offers reviews of Peacock’s Wolf Like Me, Netflix’s Archive 81, HBO’s Somebody Somewhere and Hulu’s How I Met Your Father. Listen here. — Awards Chatter. Awards analyst Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott speaks to Daniel Craig. The now-former James Bond actor reflects on why he almost turned down the offer to join the iconic film franchise, what he found most challenging and gratifying about being part of it and what's next for him following his fifth and final installment. Listen here. — Behind the Screen. Tech editor Carolyn Giardina's podcast focuses on the filmmaking crafts. In this episode, Carolyn speaks to West Side Story's sound team, including supervising sound editor/rerecording mixer Gary Rydstrom, rerecording mixer Andy Nelson and production sound mixer Tod Maitland. Listen here. In other news... — Godfather of Harlem renewed for third season at Epix — 60 Minutes+ canceled at Paramount+ — David Ramsey to star in Justice U drama at The CW —KAWS, Takashi Murakami among artists in LACMA exhibition inspired by music of Interscope Records — Baby Shark Dance sets YouTube record, surpassing 10b views — Action Comics No.1 sells for $3.18m —ACE editors to honor Sundance Institute —Tom Holland gets dressed, undressed and bares his chest for “intimate and real” Prada campaign —TikTok creator Christina “Tinx” Najjar signs with WME —Producer Jonathan King lists double-lot Venice compound for $10m —Kirk Douglas estate, which includes personal walk of fame, sells for $1.5m above asking — Technicolor restructures VFX company MPC, names Tom Williams president — Hollywood flashback: 40 years ago, Spago changed restaurants forever —How to watch Yellowstone on Paramount Network and Peacock online — Robert Allan Ackerman, acclaimed director for stage and television, dies at 77 What else we're reading... —Elon Musk, Hollywood Actors Criticize California’s Plan to Cut Solar Subsidies [ Wall Street Journal] —We’re Going to Talk About "Bruno," Yes, Yes, Yes [ New York Times] —Interscope at 30: A Chat With the Heads of the World’s Biggest Record Label [ Bloomberg] —Reese Witherspoon, Matt Damon, and the Hollywood A-Listers Embarrassingly Shilling Crypto [ Daily Beast] —Why Telemundo Is Launching A Latino-focused Programming Hub On Peacock [ Los Angeles Times] Today... ...in 1972, Sanford and Son, starring Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson, premiered on NBC’s primetime Friday lineup. The show, a U.S. adaptation from the BBC program Steptoe and Son, was said to have been “sweetened somewhat for American viewing.” The original review. Today's birthdays: Faye Dunaway (81), Steven Soderbergh (59), Jason Bateman (14), Zach Gilford (40), Kevin Durand (48), Adjoa Andoh (59), Carl Weathers (74), Emily Watson (55), Holland Taylor (79), Grant Gustin (32), Mark Addy (58), Kerri Green (55), LL Cool J (54), Lawrence Kasdan (73), Dave Grohl (53), Melina Matsoukas (41), Stuart Baird (75), Jeff Cronenweth (60) |
| Sam Adams, the literary agent who represented the likes of Alvin Sargent, John Badham, Peter Bogdanovich, Margaret Atwood, Earl Hamner Jr. and Stephen J. Cannell during his long career, has died. He was 94. The obituary. |
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
