Today In Entertainment JUNE 12, 2020
What's news: How do you market a movie amid a pandemic? ABC casts its first Black Bachelor, SAG-AFTRA and the studios strike a labor deal, how new on-set protocols could impact productions, YouTube commits $100 million to support Black creators, Paradigm eyes a spin-off, inside Joe Biden's latest Hollywood fundraiser. Plus: Pop TV's president jumps to Amazon's Audible, and Tom Hanks' Greyhound gets an Apple TV+ release date. --Alex Weprin How Do You Market a Movie Amid a Pandemic? ►Which movies will audiences deem "mask worthy"? Studios strategize as theaters plan to reopen. Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, marketers are tasked with convincing viewers to head to theaters for Hollywood's big-screen return, Rebecca Keegan and Pamela McClintock report: "Messaging is really tricky." Quote: "Movies are still escapist, and people want to get away more than ever," says Russell Schwartz, an ex-marketing exec at Relativity and New Line Cinema who now teaches at AFI and Chapman College. "But now the marketing effort will be 20 seconds to sell the movie and 10 seconds to sell the audience on the idea of even going to the theater." The story. +The theater chains are also planning to take matters into their own hands. AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron told analysts this week that the country's largest movie theater chain will be "implementing aggressive marketing communications and promotional activity, all aimed at jumpstarting consumer demand." ►There's a deal! Performers’ union SAG-AFTRA and major motion picture and television studios have reached agreement on a new three year TV/theatrical deal, the parties announced Thursday, capping six weeks of bargaining via videoconference. No details were available. The union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had been operating under a press blackout since talks began April 27. The current contract expires June 30. The new agreement now goes to the SAG-AFTRA national board for review. The story. ►ABC casts its first Black Bachelor. Matt James was originally cast as a contestant on the upcoming Clare Crawley season of The Bachelorette, and is known by Bachelor Nation as Tyler Cameron's best friend and business partner. --“Matt has been on our radar since February, when producers first approached him to join Bachelor Nation, as part of Clare’s season. When filming couldn’t move forward as planned, we were given the benefit of time to get to know Matt and all agreed he would make a perfect Bachelor," ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke said Friday. "We know we have a responsibility to make sure the love stories we’re seeing onscreen are representative of the world we live in and we are proudly in service to our audience. This is just the beginning and we will continue to take action with regard to diversity issues on this franchise. We feel so privileged to have Matt as our first Black Bachelor and we cannot wait to embark on this journey with him.” The story. The New On-Set Protocols ►As film and TV crews plan return, on-set work may be a "difficult situation to navigate." Production time could increase as safety recommendations, which include frequent testing for performers, staggered meal times and paid sick leave, are implemented, Carolyn Giardina and Katie Kilkenny report. --"Entertainment company members of the task force 'didn't necessarily feel' mandatory testing and paid sick leave should be included in the white paper, one labor source says and others confirmed, but unions felt strongly about those two points given their discussions with medical experts and pushed them through. Said one cinematographer of paid sick leave, 'If a worker feels like them might be sick, they can’t be tempted to go to work because they need money. We can’t put financial need into the equation.'” The story. +Paramount TV chief talks maintaining "creative integrity" amid COVID-19. In a Creative Space interview, Nicole Clemons also discusses buying virtual pitches and plotting a return to production — all from her kitchen. Quote: "There are also the conversations about what if there's a resurgence of the virus. Do you wait to shoot a show that's going to have a long production in multiple locations after a potential second wave passes? Honestly, it's like trying to hold back the ocean. At a certain point, someone's got to jump in the water and start figuring it out along the way." The interview. ►YouTube creates $100 million fund to support Black creators. “At YouTube, we believe Black lives matter and we all need to do more to dismantle systemic racism,” YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki wrote in a Thursday morning blog post where she announced the multi-year fund “dedicated to amplifying and developing the voices of Black creators and artists and their stories.” As part of the effort, the platform will live stream fundraising event Bear Witness, Take Action on Saturday, June 13. The story. ►Inside Joe Biden's latest Hollywood fundraiser: The presumptive Democratic nominee was hosted at the virtual fundraiser by Barbra Streisand, John Legend, and perhaps most surprisingly former Tonight Show host Jay Leno, who has typically kept his political views close to vest. Streisand opened the fundraiser by comparing her memories of 1968 to today, and praising Biden as "a decent man with an open mind and an open heart." Legend and Jennifer Hudson closed the fundraiser by performing four songs. --As for Leno: The pool reporter said "he compared watching Biden’s acceptance speech after winning the South Carolina primary to Jimmy Stewart’s character in It’s a Wonderful Life, explaining, that it was like 'when the whole town realizes that a truly decent man he is... If they ever remake that movie, I think we all know who’s going to play Mr. Potter.'” ►Paradigm eyes spinoff with close-to-home backers. As billionaire Tom Gores' investment vehicle takes an ownership stake in Paradigm, more change may becoming to the financially challenged agency as several deep-pocketed investors eye its music division, including Casey Wasserman and Ron Burkle, sources tell THR's Tatiana Siegel. --Sources close to the negotiations say Wasserman, Burkle and Tom Gores would be partners in a spun-off entity, but Wasserman – whose titular agency is second only to CAA in the sports representation space – would have operational control because of the structure of the deal. More. Snapchat Expands Hollywood Relationships ►Snapchat plans AR-enabled original series, strikes content deals with Disney, NBCUniversal. “We know this is a difficult and uncertain time, so we’ve rolled out new products and features to support the well-being of Snapchatters, and we want to make a positive difference,” CEO Evan Spiegel said to kick off the Snap Partner Summit keynote. “Close friends are the first line of defense during times of stress, anxiety and depression, so Snapchat has an important role to play.” More. +Also: Snapchat and mobile game developer Zynga unveiled Thursday a partnership to create multiplayer titles exclusively for Snap Games. More. ►Pop TV president Brad Schwartz jumps to Audible. The executive, who brought Schitt's Creek to the cable network, will join the audio company as chief content officer. At Audible, Schwartz will bring his two decades of television experience to the task of expanding the company's focus from its roots in audiobooks into original audio storytelling. The story. ►Speaking of Pop: Anna Paquin's Flack has been revived at Amazon. The dramedy starring Anna Paquin was canceled by Pop in March — just a week before its second season was set to premiere — as part of a shift in strategy at Pop's parent company, ViacomCBS, which wants to own more of the programming it airs. More. +Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist renewed at NBC. The renewal arrives more than a month after the series from Lionsgate TV wrapped its critically acclaimed freshman run. More. +Love Life scores first renewal from HBO Max. The pickup comes after HBO Max sped up the release of the show from a planned eight-week run into a more bingeable three weeks, following what it said was strong response to the Lionsgate-produced, Anna Kendrick-led series after its premiere. More. +Another TV pickup: Keira Knightley is headed to Hulu, where she's attached to star in and executive produce a limited series project based on Suzanne Rindell's novel The Other Typist... Starz has renewed its crime drama Hightown for a second season... Byron Allen settles with Comcast after losing Supreme Court battle. The entertainment mogul withdraws his suit after Comcast agrees to a limited pick-up of his TV channels, including The Weather Channel and Justice.TV. He continues his fight with cable rival Charter. The story. +Paramount's Wolf of Wall Street libel win affirmed by appeals court. The 2nd Circuit tackles a "libel-in-fiction" claim, holding no actual malice because among other things, the producers used fake names and included a disclaimer. More. Obituaries: Nanci Ryder, the beloved Hollywood publicist who co-founded BWR Public Relations, on Thursday lost her courageous six-year battle with ALS. She was 67. Ryder died peacefully at her home in Los Angeles at 2:24 p.m., CAA partner Bryan Lourd, her longtime friend, said... Mel Winkler, a character actor known for his voiceover work and appearances in such films as Devil in a Blue Dress, Doc Hollywood and Coach Carter, died Thursday. He was 78... Denise Cronenberg, the costume designer behind brother David Cronenberg's horror films like The Fly and Dead Ringers, has died. She was 81... ^Tom Hanks' Greyhound lands July 10 release date on AppleTV+. Apple picked up the movie from Sony in May after the coronavirus crisis upended release calendars and compelled some studios to sell certain movies. Sony originally planned for a May 8 release date. More. +Meanwhile: STXfilms has set the theatrical release date for the thriller Greenland, starring Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin, for July 31. ►Kaitlyn Dever in talks for Dear Evan Hansen film adaptation at Universal. Stephen Chbosky, helmer of the family film Wonder, will direct. Steven Levenson, the original author of Dear Evan Hansen, will adapt the story for the screen. More. +Villains filmmakers Dan Berk and Robert Olsen set up untitled horror thriller at Amblin. Berk and Olsen will write and direct the project, which will be produced by Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell. The latter pair have a first-look deal with Amblin via their Safehouse Pictures banner. More. Revolving door: Dana Sims, the agent who counts Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Pearl Thusi as clients, has joined CAA’s motion picture talent department... Allison Janney and John Hawkes have signed up to star alongside Andrea Riseborough in To Leslie... Jojo Rabbit star Thomasin McKenzie is set to play American ballet dancer Joy Womack in James Napier Robertson's Joika... Elisabeth Moss is set to take the lead in Daina Reid's ghost horror thriller Run Rabbit Run... Keke Palmer will take on the title role in the feature film Alice for Steel Springs Pictures and first-time helmer Krystin Ver Linden... ►Film review: David Rooney reviews Disney's Artemis Fowl, writing "this long-in-development adaptation, directed with misplaced bravado by Kenneth Branagh, has enough plot for four or five movies, none of which you will want to see." The review. +Video game review: Brittany Vincent reviews Sony and Naught Dog's The Last of Us Part II, writing that the game "manages to touch a nerve, accomplishing something shocking: getting you to care about the seemingly endless hordes of "bad guys" out to get you. They all had names. They had families. They had lives. Is what Ellie’s after really worth the violence she leaves in her wake? These are questions you have to ask yourself as you progress." The review. ►Critics' conversation: The vibrant, varied, ever-evolving landscape of LGBTQ TV today. For Pride 2020, THR's TV critics take a look at the current state of LGBTQ representation on the small screen — from the queering of CW's superhero space to the refreshing tendency toward flawed LGBT characters (hello, Work in Progress), steamy same-sex love scenes and more. The conversation. ►TV's Top 5 podcast: During this week's podcast, THR executive editor, TV, Lacey Rose joins the show to discuss the latest hurdles writers are facing as production slowly inches closer to resuming, and Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger join the show to discuss their Love, Simon offshoot Love, Victor. Listen. In other news... --Analysts at MoffettNathanson are projecting that overall video consumer spending in the U.S. will, for the first time ever, decline in 2020. --A movie about Doug Williams, the first African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl as a member of the Washington Redskins, is in the works with producer Will Packer. --Oscar-winning Mexican directors Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu joined actress Salma Hayek to set up a fund to help support movie industry workers out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic. --Filmmakers Gus Van Sant and John Cameron Mitchell came together on Thursday for a thought-provoking conversation as part of Outfest's United in Pride digital film festival. --The 24th annual American Black Film Festival in Miami Beach is headed online from Aug. 21 to 30 this year, organizers ABFF Ventures said on Thursday. --Grammy-winning country group Lady Antebellum is changing its name to Lady A, with members saying they are regretful and embarrassed for not taking into consideration the word's associations with slavery. --Canadian cinemas, shut down since mid-March by the coronavirus spread, have slowly begun to reopen in British Columbia and Alberta. --BBC Women, a group made up of hosts and producers, has called for "real and urgent change" to end racism and sexism" at the British public broadcaster. What else we're reading... --"Amazon weighs The Dukes of Hazzard’s streaming future" [Vulture] --"TikTok parent ByteDance has tripled its U.S. employees in past year" [Reuters] --"Fox News host Tucker Carlson loses more advertisers" [NY Times] --"Makers of Magic: The Gathering game remove racist cards" [WSJ] Today's birthdays: Dave Franco, 35, Adriana Lima, 39, Jerome Jarre, 30, Chick Corea, 79, Lil Duval, 43.
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