Today In Entertainment MARCH 02, 2020
What's news: Judy Sheindlin is plotting a new show as she says Judge Judy will end, coronavirus cancelations continue as the advertising business begins to take a hit, The Invisible Man scares up a box office win, Hillary Clinton added to SXSW lineup, Jack Welch dead at 84. Plus: A first look at the set of Broadway's MJ, and why Hollywood's new moguls love its old estates. --Alex Weprin 'Judge Judy' Coming To An End ►Judge Judy is coming to an end after 25 seasons, host Judy Sheindlin says. At the same time, she isn't ready to hang up her gavel just yet. The syndicated court show host appears on Monday's The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where she told DeGeneres that the 2020-21 season of Judge Judy — the show's 25th — will also be its last. --"Judge Judy, you'll be able to see next year — a full year, all new shows," Sheindlin told DeGeneres. "The following couple of years, you should be able to get all the reruns that CBS has sold on the stations currently carrying Judge Judy, and Judy Justice will be going elsewhere. Isn't that fun?" It isn't clear where Judy Justice will be airing, and so far there's no comment from CBS... The story. ►Hillary Clinton has joined the lineup of SXSW. Clinton, Adam Schiff, Andrew Yang and Beto O'Rourke will head to Austin to participate in SXSW and The Texas Tribune Festival's two-day political series, Conversations About America's Future. In its second year, the event will feature elected officials, political activists and thought leader in conversation with journalists. The story. +Meanwhile: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is dropping out of his SXSW keynote, citing his company's call for all employees to ban "non-essential" travel due to concerns over the coronavirus. Of course, Dorsey is also under pressure from Elliott Management, which is seeking to oust him as CEO... +More coronavirus-related cancelations: France has closed the famed Louvre museum over concerns around the virus... APOS, one of Asia's leading media, telecommunications and entertainment industry summits, has become the latest event to fall victim to the global coronavirus outbreak, with organizers Media Partners Asia moving this year's edition from April to September... The 2020 Thessaloniki Documentary Festival — the sister event to Greece's well-establish Thessaloniki International Film Festival — has been postponed amid growing coronavirus fears... +Also: In an open letter, writers for the MI6-HQ website — the biggest James Bond fan blog and behind several books on the film, including the official MI6 Confidential magazine — said that MGM and Universal should “put public health above marketing release schedules” and postpone the release of No Time To Die. More. ►The coronavirus is coming for the advertising business. Every media and entertainment company that sells ads is hoping that the virus will be contained, but early signs suggest that the business may be taking at least a small hit. This morning, New York Times CEO Mark Thompson will tell a crowd of investors at a Morgan Stanley conference that "we are seeing a slowdown in international and domestic advertising bookings, which we associate with uncertainty and anxiety about the virus. We therefore now expect total advertising revenues to decline in the mid-teens in the current quarter, with digital advertising revenues expected to decline 10%." He added that the company's subscription revenue remains on course. --Is this advertising decline limited to news outlets? Or is it impacting the world of entertainment as well. We may find out sooner rather than later... ►On Saturday Night Live: John Mulaney hosted SNL this week, and the two sketches everyone will be talking about were the coronavirus cold open, and the eight minute-long Broadway-style musical about a man who bought sushi at LaGuardia Airport. The rest of the sketches. Elsewhere in TV... --The Bachelorette is dipping back into its pool of talent for the 16th season. Clare Crawley will be the next star of the ABC dating series, the network announced on Monday. --Netflix is launching a stand-up comedy festival. --AT&T is launching a new Internet-delivered TV service Monday as it struggles with a shrinking DirecTV satellite business. --Inkoo Kang reviews the FX comedy Breeders. --Former ABC News Nightline anchor Ted Koppel, The Daily Show host Trevor Noah and former Time magazine editor Nancy Gibbs debated the role of the media in a lively panel discussion moderated by journalist and Live PD host Dan Abrams on Saturday. --The Walking Dead: How that deadly Halloween homage came to life. 'Invisible Man' Scares Up B.O. Win ►Box office: In a major boost for the horror genre, Universal and Blumhouse's The Invisible Man scared up a stellar $29 million in its North American box office debut and $20.2 million overseas for a $49.2 million global start over the weekend. --The Invisible Man had the best domestic opening for a horror pic since last September's It: Chapter Two, and one of the best ever for Jason Blum's prolific production company. The film, which cost just $7 million to produce before marketing, is also a win for Universal's retooled monster universe. --Elsewhere, Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog fell to No. 2 in North America with a pleasing $16 million in its third weekend for a domestic total of $128.2 million... 20th Century and Disney's The Call of the Wild tumbled 47 percent in its second weekend, taking in $13.2 million for a domestic cume of $45.9 million... The story. +Meanwhile: Invisible Man filmmaker Leigh Whannell inks an overall deal with Blumhouse. Whannell, known for the Saw and Insidious franchises, has inked a two-year overall deal with Blumhouse for film and television. The first-look pact will include projects he writes, directs or produces. More. +Also: The Invisible Man’s Oliver Jackson-Cohen is finally revealing the particulars of what he shot as the film’s titular character... Elsewhere in film... --A group of more than 130 names from the film world, including at least 100 LGBTQIA+ filmmakers and film artists, have signed a pledge to boycott TLVFest, Tel Aviv's government-sponsored LGBT film festival, in what they say is solidarity with Palestinian members of the LGBTQIA+ community. --Matthew McConaughey on finding himself during his 'un-branding phase." --Jennifer Lopez addresses the "letdown" of her Oscars snub in conversation with Oprah Winfrey ►Jack Welch, former GE CEO, dies at 84. Welch — who spent two decades as the chairman and CEO of General Electric, including while it was the parent company of NBC — died Monday, his wife announced. Welch spearheaded the conglomerate's purchase of NBC owner RCA in 1985, giving it ownership of the broadcaster. The full obituary. +Obituaries: Joyce Gordon, a commercial actress, voiceover performer and the first female president of a Screen Actors Guild branch, died Friday. She was 90... Joe Coulombe, the founder of the Trader Joe's supermarket chain, has died. He was 89. The Mogul Real Estate Boom ►Jeff Bezos' $165 million home and why new moguls love old Hollywood estates. The Amazon chief bought the Jack Warner property from David Geffen, showing the enduring appeal of mansions built by entertainment pioneers, Peter Kiefer writes: "People appreciate owning a piece of history." The story. +"A coup to be invited": Inside the L.A. mansion where Hollywood stars partied for 40 years. An exclusive look at the hostess notebook of Edie Goetz, a daughter of Louis B. Mayer, who ruled over the industry's social scene: "Entertaining became her career." More. Berlin: Mohammed Rasoulof's Iranian drama There Is No Evil, a powerful rebuke to the brutal and repressive regime in Tehran, won the Golden Bear for best film at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival. Elsewhere, Hong Sang-soo received best director honors for The Woman Who Ran, while Elio Germano was tapped as best actor for Hidden Away and Paula Beer was named best actress for Undine at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival. The winners. +Also in Berlin: Brazilian skater drama My Name Is Baghdad wins Generation 14plus Section... Futur Drei (No Hard Feelings) wins the Teddy Award as best queer film... Christian Petzold's Undine wins the FIPRESCI Critics Award... +America Ferrera champions Latinx storytelling, industry unity at the 2020 Impact Awards. Speaking at the National Hispanic Media Coalition's annual event, the actress said, “For a very long time I felt very isolated and alone as a Latina in this industry." More. ►Harvey Weinstein, Russell Simmons accusers call for industry support for survivors. Accusers of both the disgraced former movie mogul, convicted earlier this week of rape, and the Def Jam co-founder joined forces to talk about the need for the entertainment business to back women who have accused powerful men of sexual misconduct. More. In other news... --Ta-Nehisi Coates will be leaving Marvel’s Black Panther this summer with the 25th issue of the title’s current run. --Vanessa Bryant, the widow of basketball star Kobe Bryant, is "absolutely devastated" by allegations that deputies shared graphic photos of the helicopter crash scene where her husband, their 13-year-old daughter and seven others were killed, her lawyer said Saturday in a statement. --Esports team FaZe Clan on Saturday confirmed via social media that it has suspended Danny "Dubs" Walsh from representing the team in competitive competitions or streaming events due to his use of hate speech in a live-stream video. --A daughter of film director Steven Spielberg was arrested in Tennessee in a domestic incident involving her boyfriend, police said. ^First look: Set design unveiled for the Michael Jackson Broadway musical MJ. The complete creative team also has been announced for the upcoming bio-musical, which begins previews July 6 at the Neil Simon Theatre ahead of an Aug. 13 opening, David Rooney reports. More. ►Final Fantasy VII Remake: Major tweaks, nostalgic nods abound in hands-on demo. THR's gaming editor Patrick Shanley and copy chief Pete Keeley discuss their brief time with the new take on Square Enix's classic role-playing adventure. The demo. In politics... --Joe Biden on Saturday scored a convincing victory in South Carolina’s Democratic primary, riding a wave of African American support and ending progressive rival Bernie Sanders' winning streak. +Pete Buttigieg is ending his presidential campaign. +Tom Steyer dropped out too. The week ahead... --In TV: The documentary Hillary debuts on Hulu Friday... Breeders debts on FX tonight...Nik Wallenda will walk across a volcano on a tightrope Wednesday on ABC... More. --Super Tuesday: 14 states will hold primaries Tuesday, potentially giving Bernie Sanders and insurmountable lead i the Democratic primary, or giving Joe Biden a shot at a comeback. --In film: The big release this weekend is Pixar's Onward, but Ben Affleck's The Way Back is also coming out Friday, and Apple's The Banker will get a limited release... What else we're reading... --"Spots service DAZN, streaming rival to ESPN, plots global expansion" [WSJ] --"The man behind Trump's Facebook juggernaut" [The New Yorker] --"Why the success of The New York Times may be bad news for journalism" [The New York Times] --"Did The Simpsons really predict the coronavirus outbreak? Twitter seems to think so" [LA Times] --"Public Enemy fires Flava Flav after Bernie Sanders rally spat" [Rolling Stone] Today's birthdays: Rebel Wilson, 40, Mikhail Gorbachev, 89, Daniel Craig, 52, Method Man, 49, Chris Martin, 43.
Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? ©2020 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. MARCH 02, 2020
|