Today In Entertainment

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

What's news: Last night's "sh*tshow" and "train wreck" face-off between President Trump and Joe Biden, Disney lays off 28,000 people in theme parks and experiences division, Amazon lands the secret Borat sequel, Barry Jenkins to direct a Lion King sequel, movie theaters cut hours as tentpoles delayed, LeBron James inks Universal deal, Gabrielle Union and NBC settle. Plus: HBO orders another late-night show, and Anita Hill launching a harassment reporting platform. --Alex Weprin

 "A Dumpster Fire Inside A Train Wreck"

➤Off the rails: NBC's Andrea Mitchell called it "a disgrace," CNN's Dana Bash called it "a sh*tshow," ABC's George Stephanopoulos called it "the worst presidential debate I've ever seen," CNN's Jake Tapper called it "a hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a train wreck," MSNBC's Rachel Maddow said Trump delivered a "monstrous cavalcade of increasingly wild and obscene lies," ABC's Martha Raddatz said “it was not a presidential debate. It was mud wrestling in the middle of a pandemic,” Fox News' Bret Baier said "You wonder if America lost on the substance, on the issues." That was last night's debate in a nutshell.

--While ostensibly about debating serious issues like how to recover from the novel coronavirus pandemic, or the fate of the Supreme Court, or the threat of climate change, it quicky turned into a barrage of personal attacks and interruptions, mostly from President Trump. Moderator Chris Wallace took a barrage of criticism from pundits (including conservative commentators), though as his Fox News colleague Geraldo Rivera said on-air "the guy signed up to moderate a debate and he ended up trying to referee a knife fight.”

+Daniel Fienberg's critic's notebook: "This was sh*tty television. Maybe we were never going to get a Lincoln-Douglas debate, but there had to be a middle ground that wasn't releasing a hyena on the stage and politely trying to tell the hyena that he and his handlers agreed that this would be a no-ankle-gnawing debate..."

--"What should Chris Wallace have done? Dunno. Not my job. When you're the moderator, your job is to moderate. When you're a TV critic, your job is to complain, or at least critique. And whatever goals Wallace went into the debate with — six topics, 15 minutes a piece, blah blah blah — there is absolutely no way that even Wallace believes he accomplished that." The notebook.

+Behind ABC's coverage: Carolyn Giardina spoke to ABC News ep Marc Burstein about how the network covered the debate while also dealing with COVID protocols. More.

+Related: Everyone in attendance at the debate had to manage with enhanced safety procedures as well, including mandatory tests, masks, and social distnacing measures. More.

➤Disney lays off 28,000. The Walt Disney Co. on Tuesday announced that 28,000 employees from the Parks, Experiences and Products segment "at all levels" will be laid off. What's more, the company placed the blame for the decision on California not allowing Disneyland to reopen at this time.

--"We are talking with impacted employees as well as to the unions on next steps for union-represented Cast Members," reads [Parks and experiences chief] Josh D’Amaro’s statement. "Over the past several months, we’ve been forced to make a number of necessary adjustments to our business, and as difficult as this decision is today, we believe that the steps we are taking will enable us to emerge a more effective and efficient operation when we return to normal."

--Last week D’Amaro said to the state and lawmakers, "Help us reopen. We need guidelines that are fair and equitable." He went on to say that the "longer we wait" the more "damage" would be done to the local economy and furloughed employees. Some context: Disney is laying off more people than ViacomCBS has employees in total. The story.

 Amazon Lands 'Borat' Sequel

➤Borat 2, the sequel to British comic Sacha Baron Cohen's hit 2006 mockumentary Borat, has landed at Amazon Studios. The original Borat movie, also known as Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, pulled in just over $262 million for 20th Century Fox. The Borat sequel, shot and produced in secret in recent months, will debut on Amazon Prime ahead of the election. The story.

--The movie launched a sort of viral promotion campaign last night with a faux "Republic of Kazakhstan" Twitter account and website, which includes a video of Cohen as Borat calling Trump "the strongest premier in history," imploring viewers to "vote for premier Trump or you will be crushed."

+More Lion King is on the way, courtesy of director Barry Jenkins. The Oscar-winning Moonlight filmmaker will helm a prequel to Disney's 2019 hit. Lion King scribe Jeff Nathanson has penned a draft of the prequel.

--Jon Favreau directed the first installment, a remake of the 1994 animated classic. It used innovative techniques to create photorealistic animals and African landscapes and voice starred Donald Glover as Simba and Beyonce as Nala. It became a massive hit, earning $1.65 billion globally for Disney. The story.

In other film news...

➤LeBron James' company inks a deal with Universal. The SpringHill Company, the banner run by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, has signed a first-look deal with Universal Pictures. The pact, which has a four-year term, comes as the two entities already have three projects in development.

--Those include Untitled LeBron James Project, which is based on the book Shooting Stars by James and Buzz Bissinger and other events in James’ life; New Kid, based on the first graphic novel ever to win the Newbery Medal by Jerry Craft; and Catch the Wave, based on an original pitch by Ali Kinney. The details.

+Movie theaters reduce hours as tentpoles delayed. The next big event pic isn't until Nov. 20, when both James Bond installment No Time to Die and Pixar's Soul are scheduled to unfurl over the Thanksgiving corridor. Hopes are high that both films will restart the box office recovery. Many circuits, including AMC Theatres, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark — the country's three largest chains — are beginning to limit the number of showtimes, as are scores of other chains and independent houses in order to reduce costs. The story.

+Blumhouse and Sony's reboot The Craft: The Legacy reboot will bypass a traditional theatrical release and be made available on premium VOD in North America just in time for Halloween, the two companies announced Monday. The film will be available for a 48-hour rental for $19.99, and to buy for $24.99, beginning at midnight on Oct. 28. An international theatrical release is anticipated in several territories. More.

+Zac Efron will star in Universal and Blumhouse's adaptation of Firestarter. The 1980 Stephen King book, which will be adapted by Scott Teems, follows a young girl with pyrokinetic abilities who is abducted by a secret government agency that wants to harness her powerful gift as a weapon. (The 1984 adaptation of Firestarter starred a young Drew Barrymore.) The story.

 NBC and Gabrielle Union Come To Terms

➤Gabrielle Union and NBC have reached an agreement into allegations of racism on the set of the network's talent competition America's Got Talent. “We’ve reached an amicable resolution. NBC Entertainment appreciates the important concerns raised by Gabrielle Union and remains committed to ensuring an inclusive and supportive working environment where people of all backgrounds can be treated with respect,” NBC and Union said in a joint statement Tuesday. No additional details were provided about the settlement. The story.

In other TV news...

+ABC is getting into business with Sam Esmail. The network has put into development two drama projects from the Mr. Robot and Homecoming creator: Acts of Crime, described as a unique spin on the crime procedural, and an untitled show set at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More.

+HBO is adding to its late-night lineup. The premium cable outlet has ordered a half-hour, weekly series starring comedian and Saturday Night Live writer Sam Jay. The untitled show, executive produced by Prentice Penny, is set to premiere in 2021. More.

+TV's fall season opens with fewer shows and fewer viewers. A paucity of original shows — in particular scripted series — led to TV usage figures that were off by double digits compared to the opening week of the 2019-20 season. The decreased usage in turn fueled precipitous ratings drops for the broadcast networks, on top of the expected year to year dips as traditional TV's footprint continues to shrink. Rick Porter has the details.

+Riverdale and Batwoman have shut down production in Vancouver. The cause, per a source, is delays in COVID test result processing.

+Film Independent's Spirit Awards announce expansion into TV. The celebration of indie work held down by the beach in Santa Monica, is adding five categories recognizing work in television ahead of its 2021 celebration. Film Independent also confirmed that the 2021 Spirit Awards ceremony will be pushed back to April 24 — thereby remaining, as always, the day before the Oscars ceremony — and will again air on IFC, which has broadcast the event since 1994. More.

+And: After partnering on ultra-popular high school rom-com franchise The Kissing Booth, Joey King and Netflix are reteaming for the feature adaptation of popular young adult novel Uglies. McG, who directed Babysitter for the streamer, will direct the feature that is based on Scott Westerfeld's novel. More.

➤Anita Hill-led Hollywood commission to launch harassment reporting platform. Hill discusses plans for a 2021 launch and the results of a recently completed survey on sexual abuse in the industry with Kim Masters: "As many as 64 percent of our sample said they thought people in power or authority would not be held accountable." The story.

➤TV review: Daniel Fienberg reviews Hulu's Monsterland, writing of the horror anthology "not a single episode is a complete success — which isn't the sort of proportion one would want to boast about, even in a notoriously hit-and-miss format." The review.

➤Reminder: Do you know a New York Power Lawyer? Now's the time to nominate them for THR's new feature spotlighting the most influential attorneys in the entertainment industry who are based on the East Coast. Time is running out to submit your nomination.

Obituaries: Mac Davis, the genial singer-songwriter who had a No. 1 hit with "Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me," penned Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" and "In the Ghetto" and starred in the football film North Dallas Forty, has died. He was 78... Helen Reddy, the activist and lilting voice behind the 1972 feminist anthem "I Am Woman," has died at age 78...

In other news...

--The American Black Film Festival has unveiled plans for a Remembering Chadwick Boseman Film Retrospective on Oct. 3 and 4, via its newly launched streaming platform ABFF Play.

--Grindstone Entertainment has picked up the North American rights to The Gardener, which stars Gary Daniels and Robert Bronzi.

--Magic lanterns, magic lantern glass slides, prints, praxinoscopes, figurines, paintings, peepshows and shadow puppets dating as far back as China’s Ming Dynasty are among 9,000 objects from the Richard Balzer Collection — widely regarded as the world’s foremost collection of pre-cinematic optical toys and devices — that have been gifted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Museum of Motion Pictures and Margaret Herrick Library

--The upcoming, quarantined season of The Bachelorette is beginning to take shape for viewers. On Tuesday, ABC revealed that 31 men will be competing for star Clare Crawley's long-stemmed roses when the franchise returns with season 16 on Oct. 13.

--How Black-ish made its way back onto ABC's fall schedule.

--Freeform's remotely produced, youth-focused series Kal Penn Approves This Message is taking a nonpartisan stance in its attempt to get young viewers engaged in the political process. But that doesn't mean it ignores basic facts.

--AMC Network and Sid Gentle Films have named IMG as the exclusive consumer products licensing agent for the hit BBC America spy thriller Killing Eve.

--Jim Parsons has revealed that he and his partner, Todd Spiewak, contracted the novel coronavirus in the middle of March.

What else we're reading...

--"HHS ad blitz sputters as celebrities back away" [Politico]

--"As Disney retreats, AT&T and Comcast have options" [Bloomberg]

--The NFL is facing its first COVID challenge [ESPN]

--"Martin Sorrell says U.S.-China ‘cold war’ is bogging down business, dismisses Big Tech break-up" [CNBC]

Today's birthdays: Johnny Mathis, 85, Fran Drescher, 63, Marion Cotillard, 45, T-Pain, 35, Monica Bellucci, 56.

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SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

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