| | | | What's news: As expected, Jeff Zucker's abrupt exit from CNN is leading to internal turmoil. Scream 6 is a go. Yellowstone is coming back for a fifth season. Dakota Johnson is the lead in Sony's Madame Web. Apple is adapting Presumed Innocent as a series. Amazon spent $13 billion on content in 2021. Plus: Amazon gave us a (sort of) first look at its pricey Lord of the Rings series — Abid Rahman |
CNN Reeling After Jeff Zucker's Exit ►"I would not describe Jason’s answers as 'direct.'" Jeff Zucker’s stunning resignation from CNN has left staff at the company reeling at one of the most critical points in its 42-year history. THR's media reporter Alex Weprin goes inside the tense town hall meeting that saw WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar clash with the newsroom over Zucker's exit, and what it all means for the news network with streamer CNN+ launching this spring and new leadership coming in when the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger is complete. The story.
—Quelle surprise. Paramount Network's ratings monster Yellowstone is returning for a fifth season. Taylor Sheridan's ranch drama capped a record-breaking season in January when the finale drew an all-time high of 10.3 million total viewers. Production on season five begins in May, with guest stars Jen Landon and Kathryn Kelly both upped to series regulars. The story.
—Heading back to Woodsboro. In more unsurprising news from Paramount, the studio and partner Spyglass have greenlit a sixth installment of the Scream franchise. Scream 5 directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick are all returning. Production is slated to begin this summer. The story.
—Casting the web wider. Dakota Johnson is in talks to play the title character in Madame Web, the Sony spinoff centered on the Spider-Man character. S.J. Clarkson is set to direct the feature, which is part of Sony’s growing stable of films based on Marvel characters. The story.
—Leads in place. Singer-songwriter Fantasia Barrino will make her feature film debut in The Color Purple movie musical. Barrino is in final negotiations to play Celie, a role that she played on Broadway. Peacemaker star Danielle Brooks has also joined the cast of the feature, playing the role of Sofia. The story. |
BAFTAs: Well-Intentioned Changes Could Lead to Irrelevance ►"Largely disregarding the preferences of the membership is insulting." With the BAFTA Awards nominations dropping yesterday, THR's awards analyst Scott Feinberg has had time to digest the snubs and surprises to give his take on what it all means and tries to explain some of the more head-scratching picks (hint: a lot of it is down to the complex selection process). The analysis.
—Final predictions. Switching focus to the Oscars, Scott runs through his final Feinberg Forecast before the Academy Awards nominations are revealed next Tuesday morning. The forecast.
—Another remake. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow's best-seller that was previously adapted into a hit film starring Harrison Ford, is being reimagined as a limited series at Apple. David E. Kelley will serve as showrunner and executive produce alongside Dustin Thomason, J.J. Abrams and Ben Stephenson. The story.
—New record! NBC says it has finally sold out all advertising spots for Super Bowl LVI, with some ads reaching $7 million for 30 seconds, a new record. Only a handful of ad spots in the pregame programming remain. The network added that, for the first time, all ads will run across NBC, Telemundo and Peacock. The story.
—Blame the NFL. Amazon is raising the price of Prime memberships, citing investment in the company’s entertainment offerings, and its exclusive deal with the NFL to stream Thursday Night Football beginning next season, as among the reasons for the hike. Prime annual membership will rise by $20 to $139, while monthly memberships will rise by $2 per month to $14.99. The results.
—Splurge. According to its annual report filed Friday morning, Amazon spent $13 billion on video and music content in 2021, a $2 billion increase from 2020 when it spent $11 billion on content. The story.
—Not Facebook. Beating forecasts, Snapchat owner Snap reported $1.3 billion in revenue during Q4 to close out 2021, with daily active users reaching 319 million. Snap has growth outside of North America and Europe, where DAUs grew by 5 million and 8 million, respectively, during Q4. The results.
—Streaming focus. Lionsgate widened its Q3 loss on higher overall revenue as the studio put more resources into Starz's streaming service. Revenue was up to $885.4 million but losses widened to $45.6 million. Starz's total streaming subscribers grew to 19.7 million. The results. |
'AJLT': Michael Patrick King and Writers Talk Finale, Che, Potential S2 ►"I just wanted Che to be authentic, passionate, not a liar, not a player." THR's Abbey White spoke to And Just Like That creator Michael Patrick King and co-writers Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky about the finale and all the ways the HBO Max series was never going to be a redo of the original, the fan backlash to Miranda and Che Diaz, and the Chris Noth sexual assault allegations. Warning spoilers. The interview.
—"Nothing about seeing a fictionalized version of myself in this criminal-insane-asylum setting sounds appealing." Anna Delvey says she won’t be tuning into Inventing Anna, the Netflix series about her life from Shonda Rhimes. In an Insider essay, the Russian-born fake German heiress explained that while people were talking about the show, she was languishing in prison and had tested positive for COVID-19. The story.
—Movie of the week. Netflix put out a star-studded trailer touting its 2022 film slate, which will include one new release a week. In the trailer we get first looks at upcoming films such as Rian Johnson’s Knives Out sequel, the Russo brothers’ The Gray Man and Jamie Foxx vampire movie The Day Shift. The trailer.
—The young and the feckless. Netflix’s That ’90s Show, the sequel to That ’70s Show, has revealed its young ensemble cast. The actors join previously announced returning castmembers Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp as Red and Kitty, who will also serve as executive producers. The cast.
—Kills the rich. Rosamund Pike is to star as the lead in Rich Flu, a poignant-sounding thriller in which a deadly disease starts killing off the wealthy. Spanish filmmaker Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia (The Platform) is directing from a script by Pedro Rivero and Gaztelu-Urrutia. The film is being produced by Spencer director Pablo Larraín. The story.
—A sort of heads up. Amazon has released the first character photos from its highly anticipated billion-dollar The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power television series. There’s just one catch: There are no heads. See the torsos! |
Review: 'Moonfall'►"Don't get caught between this moon and New York City." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall. The Oscar winner stars alongside Patrick Wilson as astronauts desperately attempting to save the world in the genre specialist's latest sci-fi disaster epic. The review. — "As generic and forgettable as its title." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Apple TV+'s Suspicion. The thriller follows a small group of British citizens whose lives are upended when they're accused of abducting the son of an American PR specialist played by Uma Thurman. The review. — "Great footage and great talking heads, even if the structure is a bit flimsy." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Amazon’s Phat Tuesdays. Reginald Hudlin's three-part docuseries fills in a key absence from Showtime's The Comedy Store, focusing on the all-Black standup showcase that launched in the 1990s. The story. |
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 latest on Paramount+ and Paramount Network, look at The CW’s pilot crop and the debacle at The View. THR's Alex Weprin drops by to talk Jeff Zucker's shock exit from CNN. They interview Jeopardy! co-host Mayim Bialik. Friday Night Lights creator Jason Katims is the showrunner in the spotlight and talks his new Amazon series As We See It. And Dan reviews Netflix’s Murderville, Amazon’s Phat Tuesdays and Reacher as well as Apple’s Suspicion. Listen here. — Awards Chatter. Awards analyst Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott speaks to Penélope Cruz. The first Spanish actress ever to win an Oscar reflects on her unlikely journey from superfan to seven-time muse of Pedro Almodóvar and why their latest collaboration, Parallel Mothers, was her most challenging yet. Listen here. In other news... — Peacock’s Joe vs. Carole trailer reveals Kate McKinnon as Carole Baskin — Supernatural, Walker prequels, Gotham Knights land CW pilot pickups —Film/TV labor unions rift in Canada widens over streaming wars —TV boom pushes 2021 U.K. production spending to record levels (and by some margin) —Netflix’s All the Light We Cannot See adds trio to cast —BAFTA Crafts noms: Ari Wegner becomes first woman to earn cinematography nod —Sharon Scott to lead A+E Networks unscripted division —Andrew Garfield to receive Spotlight Award at 24th Annual CDGA Awards What else we're reading... —As Beijing Olympics begin, exiled Uyghurs fight for families oppressed in China [ LAT] — Game Of Thrones "the gift that keeps on giving" as $55m studio tour opens in Northern Ireland [ Sky News] —An exposé on the post-Hurricane Katrina houses built in New Orleans by Brad Pitt-linked non-profit are falling apart [ Guardian] —Karen Attiah on why Whoopi Goldberg’s Holocaust comments show the need for critical race analysis [ Washington Post] —Amid the Spotify exodus, the Obamas are preparing to shop for a new podcast partner as their 3-year deal with the company winds down [ Insider] Today... Today's birthdays: Ben Robson (38), Jim Jefferies (44), Alice Cooper (74), Natalie Imbruglia (47), Hannibal Buress (39), Rob Corddry (51), Brandy Ledford (53), Jenette Goldstein (62), Lauren Ash (39), Gabrielle Anwar (52), Lewis Tan (35), Lawrence Sher (52), Don Davis (65), Nicolle Wallace (50) |
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