Today In Entertainment

AUGUST 22, 2020

What's news: Movie theater owners pitch their safety plan as Tenet prepares for release, the Tony Awards go digital, will Ellen DeGeneres' brand survive her show's scandal? Lori Laughlin sentenced. Plus: Cancelations at Netflix and Showtime, and the DNC ends on a ratings high note. --Alex Weprin

 Theatrical's Big Comeback Hope

There was plenty of news over the last 24 hours, but this morning may be best spent digesting THR's review of the first big blockbuster since, well, you know. Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan's Tenet is being released in select international markets this weekend, and in some U.S. markets come Labor Day. Other markets will follow as health guidelines allow.

➤The review:  "Like Xanax, Tenet’s title is a palindrome, spelled the same way backward and forward. That's fitting for a story about technology that can “invert” people and things, making them capable of going back in time. And like Xanax, Tenet makes you feel floaty, mesmerized and, to an extent, soothed by its spectacle — but also so cloudy in the head that the only option is to relax and let it blow your mind around like a balloon, buffeted by seaside breezes and hot air." The review.

+What the other critics are saying: Here's THR's review roundup for Tenet.

And in an effort to encourage you to go see Tenet in theaters...

➤The theater owners rolled out their nationwide COVID safety protocols. Dubbed CinemaSafe, the NATO protocols are based on Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines, and were developed over several months by a team of industry experts in consultation with leading epidemiologists, including David F. Goldsmith of George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health and Joyce Sanchez, an infectious disease specialist and director of the Travel Health Clinic at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin.

--"As far as risk goes, it isn’t risk free. It is important for the public to understand that but there's no data that movies have been a source of transmission," infectious disease expecrt Joyce Sanchez said. "Honestly time will tell, but that is at least some basis for reassurance." The guidelines.

 The Tony Awards Will Stream

➤The Tony Awards are going digital. The 74th Tony Awards ceremony, which was scheduled to take place at Radio City Music Hall on June 7 before the pandemic cut short the 2019-2020 Broadway season it was to recognize, will now be held digitally in the fall on a date still to be determined. (The timeline and specifics of the voting process are expected soon.) The story.

➤Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were both sentenced to prison on Friday for their part in the 2019 college admissions scandal. Loughlin was sentenced to two months in prison and fined $150,000, Gianulli was sentenced to five months.

--Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin O’Connell said Loughlin "opted to cheat so her children could steal two admissions spots from more capable, deserving students." Loughlin reportedly cried as she addressed the judge. “I am truly, profoundly, and deeply sorry. I’m ready to face the consequences and make amends," she said. The story.

In other legal news...

+Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin has launched a lawsuit aimed at confirming that he once again holds film rights to his werewolf novella The Skin Trade, originally published in 1988 as part of a horror anthology that included short stories by Stephen King and Dan Simmons.

--According to a complaint filed on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Martin granted a film option in 2009 to Mike the Pike Productions, which later assigned it to Blackstone Manor LLC. Under the agreement, the producers had five years to commence principal photography. If no motion picture was made during this time, then Skin Trade rights would revert back to Martin. More.

+Apple vs Epic, Cont'd: Apple says it helped Epic grow into a gaming behemoth through its presence in the app store and the Fortnite developer is breaking the rules it agreed to play by, according to a Friday filing in their heated legal fight. More.

+Also: Donald Trump is a prolific tweeter; so, it’s not entirely surprising that he’s decided to take a dispute about whether or not he’s free to block whomever he wants on Twitter to the U.S. Supreme Court. More.

 Will Ellen's Brand Survive Her Show's Scandal?

➤Can Ellen's "be kind" brand survive a not-very-nice scandal? After a report of “toxic” culture on DeGeneres’ daytime hit prompted apologies and housecleaning, image experts and insiders analyze the potential for lasting damage and whether her playbook is working, Bryn Elise Sandberg reports.

--"When celebrities get into these kinds of situations, what we've noticed over time is that the sooner they react to it publicly, the less damage occurs to their perception," says Henry Schafer, executive vp of Q Scores, which measures celebrities' likability by polling a representative sample of the population. The story.

➤Netflix is pulling the plug on two previously renewed scripted series amid an array of issues brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The second seasons of both The Society and I Am Not Okay With This have been scrapped. YA drama The Society was picked up for a second run in July 2019 and scripts had not yet been crafted for the sophomore run. I Am Not Okay With This had been quietly renewed though not publicly announced, with scripts completed for the sophomore run. The story.

➤Final night of the DNC ends on a ratings high note. The 10 o'clock hour drew a combined 21.78 million viewers across ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. That's up by about 370,000 viewers from Wednesday's showcase hour and the largest audience for the four days of the convention.

--Across all four nights, the convention averaged 20.12 million viewers on the six networks. That's down by 21 percent vs. the 2016 convention's average of 25.51 million viewers on the same six outlets. Thursday's coverage slipped by about 22 percent compared to the closing night four years ago. The numbers.

➤How childrens shows lead the way in diversity on TV.  More than half of kids series on major networks and streamers are inclusive, a fact that execs say attracts similar talent behind the scenes and can "create loyalty for life" among viewers, Rick Porter reports. The story.

➤Showtime has canceled Penny Dreadful a second time. The ViacomCBS-owned premium cable network has axed Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, the so-called "spiritual descendant" of creator John Logan's original three-season story. More.

➤Amazon is bringing another key member of the Fleabag team back. The retail giant/streamer has inked director Harry Bradbeer to a first-look deal. Under the pact, the two-time Emmy-winning Fleabag helmer will create and develop new TV series for the company.  Bradbeer joins Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge with a deal at Amazon and previously worked with her on BBC America's Killing Eve. He next directs Netflix feature Enola Holmes, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill. More.

➤The fight within SAG-AFTRA over health care. "An unofficial Zoom meeting hosted by the SAG-AFTRA opposition faction Aug. 14 drew nearly 500 participants in a visceral display of fear and fury as dozens spoke out against a restructuring of the union’s affiliated health plan that will hike premiums and tighten eligibility. The words used by many: 'betrayed,' 'heartbroken' and 'lawsuit.'" The story.

In other news...

--Carl Reiner, who died June 29 at age 98, received an all-star sendoff during a private memorial Aug. 9, with Mel Brooks, Dick vam Dyke, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and many others attending via Zoom.

--American Media Inc., the parent company of tabloid The National Enquirer and celebrity magazine US Weekly, will merge with a wholesale distribution and logistics company called Accelerate360. As part of the merger, American Media CEO David Pecker will step aside, shifting to a role as an executive adviser to the newly-renamed company, A360 Media.

--Universal Orlando is bouncing back faster than Walt Disney World attendance-wise, according to a new report from Deutsche research analysts Bryan Kraft and Benjamin Soff.

--Universal Filmed Entertainment and Microsoft have formed a strategic partnership to use the cloud to build new live-action and animation production processes.

--Not so fast: the anticipated virtual live table read of Fast Times at Ridgemont High featuring an A-list cast hit another speed bump and has been postponed.

--A virtual fundraiser hosted by a veritable who's who of Hollywood Democratic donors raised $7 million for the Biden-Harris campaign Friday.

--Sketch comedy brand Smosh has partnered with Twitch to bring its popular channel Smosh Games to the live-streaming platform.

--The 2020 Environmental Media Association awards were presented in a virtual ceremony on Friday night.

--How Freeform produced Love in the Time of Corona mid-pandemic.

What else we're reading...

--"The TV divide: Convention ratings surge on MSNBC as Fox News dips" [NY Times]

--"Netflix apologizes after thousands call to remove film that ‘sexualizes’ young girls" [LA Times]

--"Movies misled the masses. Can they lead us into a more equal future?" [Vanity Fair]

--"Facebook CMO Antonio Lucio to exit" [WSJ]

Today's birthdays: Dave Chappelle, 47, Ava DuVernay, 48, Steve Guttenberg, 62, Rupert Grint, 32, Vince McMahon, 75.

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AUGUST 22, 2020

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