Today In Entertainment

SEPTEMBER 24, 2020

What's news: Disney delays Black Widow and Mulan, Cineworld lays out pandemic impact, AMC Theaters seeks fresh cash, Zack Snyder sets Justice League re-shoots, a Suicide Squad prequel series, Alan Arkin leaves The Kominsky Method, Hollywood reacts to the Breonna Taylor grand jury decision. Plus: Scripps buys ION in $2.65 billion deal, and the Tribeca Film Festival is adding video games. --Alex Weprin

 New Trouble For Movie Theaters

➤More bad news for theaters: Disney is pushing 2020 event pics Black Widow and West Side Story to next year amid challenges posed by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Marvel's female superhero pic, starring Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, had been set to hit the big screen on Nov. 6. It will now open on May 7, 2021. In turn, Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is being pushed from the May 7 date to July 9, 2021. (Marvel's Eternals also has a new date.)

--Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, from 20th Century and Amblin, is being delayed almost an entire year, and is moving from Dec. 18 to Dec. 10, 2021. Disney isn't giving up its seat at the 2020 Christmas table entirely and is relocating 20th Century's Death on the Nile from Oct. 23 to Dec. 18. The story.

Theater chains are feeling the heat and looking for additional liquidity...

+Exhibition giant and Regal owner Cineworld Group on Thursday swung to a loss for the first half of 2020 as revenue fell sharply amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, which led to cinema closures worldwide. "The impact of COVID-19 on our business and the wider leisure industry has been substantial, with the closures of all of our cinemas worldwide for an extended period," said Cineworld CEO Moshe "Mooky" Greidinger.

--On the earnings call, the Cineworld CEO added: "It’s very early to judge the Universal-AMC deal," but he said it looks to be "not sustainable" with an "unrealistic," short window. "None of the other studios are excited about the deal or trying to move" towards a similar one, he argued. And most exhibitors are also "really reluctant." The story.

+Cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings is looking to raise more cash, in part for debt refinancings and repayments amid the coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, AMC unveiled an equity distribution agreement with Citigroup Global Markets and Goldman Sachs to sell up to 15 million class A shares “from time to time” and “at-the-market” prices, the company said in an SEC filing.

--The capital raise, essentially a private placement of stock, will see the proceeds used "for general corporate purposes, which may include the repayment, refinancing, redemption or repurchase of existing indebtedness or working capital, capital expenditures and other investments," cash-strapped AMC said. The story.

 New Footage For Snyder's 'Justice League'

➤In October, director Zack Snyder will roll cameras for his extended cut of Justice League, working for WarnerMedia’s HBO Max division on restoring his version of the maligned 2017 movie that he exited because of a family tragedy. The shoot, which will turn the “Snyder Cut” into a four-episode limited series, is expected to bring back Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman for new scenes. Also set to appear on the call sheet for what is expected to be a week-or-so-long shoot is Ray Fisher as Cyborg.

--The latter is noteworthy because Fisher is in a public dispute with sister WarnerMedia division Warner Bros., which he accuses of permitting Joss Whedon, the director who took over from Snyder, to engage in misconduct and abuse while reshooting Justice League. Fisher also claimed that executives Jon Berg and Geoff Johns, who both have since left the studio, enabled Whedon’s behavior. The story.

In other DC/HBO Max news...

➤The Suicide Squad isn’t due out until August 2021, but it’s already getting a prequel series spinoff. James Gunn, the writer-director behind the movie, is reteaming with actor John Cena for Peacemaker, an action-adventure-comedy series for HBO Max. HBO Max has given a straight-to-series order for an eight-episode first season with Gunn writing all eight episodes and directing several, including the first. Cena will reprise his role from the upcoming movie for what will explore the origins of the character. The story.

And in other TV news...

+The Kominsky Method is losing one of its stars. Alan Arkin, who toplined the Chuck Lorre comedy alongside Michael Douglas, will not return for the third and final season of the Netflix series. The Emmy-nominated actor made the decision to leave after season two dropped late last year; sources note the global pandemic did not play a role. Arkin's absence will be written into the upcoming third season of the series. The story.

+Fox is locking in two of its long-running animated series for additional seasons. The network has given two-season renewals to Family Guy and Bob's Burgers, which will keep both shows on the air through the 2022-23 season. The pickups will take Family Guy through its 20th season on the network and Bob's Burgers through its 13th. More.

+In a deal backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, local TV station giant E.W. Scripps is buying the independent broadcaster ION Media from the private equity firm Black Diamond Capital Management for $2.65 billion. The deal will give Scripps a national footprint, merging ION with its Katz networks and Newsy to create a new national TV business for the company. Scripps says the deal will yield $500 million in synergies. More.

➤Hollywood is falling for The Fall Guy. Or something like it. Universal has come out on top of bidding war for a hot package that has executives opening their wallets for a dream team-up: actor Ryan Gosling and action director David Leitch in a stuntman action drama. MGM, Lionsgate, Sony and Universal were all bidding on the package, with numbers hitting at least the $125 million stage, according to sources. The story.

 Hollywood Reacts To The Breonna Taylor Decision

➤Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced that a grand jury brought no charges against Louisville police for the killing of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid gone wrong, with prosecutors saying Wednesday that two officers who fired their weapons at the Black woman were justified in using force to protect themselves. The grand jury instead charged fired Officer Brett Hankison with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into Taylor's neighbors' homes during the raid on the night of March 13.

--"There will be celebrities, influencers and activists who having never lived in Kentucky will try to tell us how to feel, suggesting they understand the facts of this case, that they know our community and the Commonwealth better than we do, but they don’t," Cameron said. "Let’s not give in to their attempts to influence our thinking or capture our emotions." The story.

+Kentucky native George Clooney countered Cameron's statement and expressed that he as someone with knowledge of the community is "ashamed" of the decision to bring no charges against Louisville police for the killing of Taylor. "The justice system I was raised to believe in holds people responsible for their actions. Her name was Breonna Taylor and she was shot to death in her bed by 3 white police officers, who will not be charged with any crime for her death." More.

+Filmmaker Ava DuVernay is calling for justice to be served. "Our sis. We live in a world of crooks with titles and criminals with badges that will not give you justice today," she began in a statement to THR. "But justice will come. And it will come from us." More.

+Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change, spoke with THR's Degen Pener about the decision, the work that Hollywood can do, and the organization's ongoing campaign calling on tech companies such as Facebook to do more to curb content promoting white nationalism. More.

➤TikTok has asked a federal court to stop Donald Trump's ban of the social video app as it works to complete a deal that will meet government approval.

--The motion for a preliminary injunction was filed Wednesday in Washington, D.C., after a suit came on Friday. (A similar case brought in California was concurrently dropped). The injunction bid comes as TikTok owner ByteDance faces a Sunday deadline to finalize an agreement with Oracle and Walmart that will allow it to keep operating in the United States. Separately, Chinese media outlets are reporting that its government might not sign off on the Oracle deal. The story.

+Kung Fury 2 producers sue Chinese financier for failing to pay $10 million. The complaint alleges that Creasun Entertainment USA's failure to meet its funding obligations has effectively shut down production of the 1980s-inspired action-comedy, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Fassbender. More.

+Carole Baskin, who became a pop culture sensation due to Netflix’s docuseries Tiger King, is being sued for defamation by a former assistant. As part of the lawsuit, the daughters of Baskin's former husband are seeking more information about what happened to their father, who disappeared mysteriously more than two decades ago. More.

➤Video games will be added to Tribeca Film Festival's program of official selections in 2021, organizers revealed on Thursday. Chosen projects will also be eligible for a new honor; the Tribeca Games Award, recognizing games that demonstrate artistic excellence in storytelling. More.

➤Brené Brown is moving her podcasting business exclusively to Spotify. The professor and author has struck a multiyear deal with the audio giant that includes turning her popular podcast, Unlocking Us, into a Spotify exclusive. It's the latest in a series of moves by Spotify to scoop up top talent. More.

Revolving door: AMC Networks Entertainment Group has elevated development execs Carrie Gillogly and Emma Miller to serve as co-heads of AMC scripted series... MRC Television has hired former NBCUniversal executive Felicia Joseph to lead its casting efforts... Charlie Weber, star on ABC's How To Get Away With Murder, has signed with APA...

Casting roundup: Sienna Miller, Michelle Dockery and Rupert Friend will star in Netflix's Anatomy of a Scandal... Demi Moore will star in and and executive produce Amazon's Dirty Diana, based on the QCode podcast of the same name... Olivia Munn is attached to play the lead in Aleppo, a Syrian refugee drama from MiLu Entertainment...

Obituary: Gale Sayers, the legendary all-purpose running back whose friendship with cancer-stricken Chicago Bears teammate Brian Piccolo was recounted in the fabled telefilm Brian's Song, has died. He was 77...

In other news...

--Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch and Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch received significantly less in compensation in fiscal 2020 as compared to the year prior, earning $33.98 million and $29.15 million, respectively. The lower compensation was revealed in a proxy filing Wednesday, and reflects the new corporate structure of Fox, as well as voluntary pay reductions due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

--In a shock move, Lili Hinstin has resigned as artistic director of the Locarno International Festival after less than two years at the job.

--Major League Baseball and WarnerMedia's Turner Sports division have signed a new seven-year TV rights extension, keeping MLB games on WarnerMedia's platforms through 2028.

--ViacomCBS is launching an effort to give more people of color and women a shot at directing made-for-television movies for its Entertainment and Youth Group.

--Sony Pictures Classics has picked up the U.K. period drama Mothering Sunday, starring Olivia Colman, Colin Firth and Josh O'Connor and first shopped at the virtual Cannes market... Screen Media has picked up the U.S. rights to Chad Faust’s revenge thriller Girl, which is toplined by The Duff star Bella Thorne...

--Discovery Channel has greenlighted a new wildlife series titled The Bond, which hails from Team Downey and Glen Zipper.

--J.P. Morgan analyst Alexia Quadrani on Wednesday raised her price target on the stock of ViacomCBS, led by CEO Bob Bakish, by $5 to $35, highlighting potential streaming upside.

--CMT on Wednesday unveiled the nominations for the 2020 CMT Music Awards, with Ashley McBryde, Dan + Shay, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs, Sam Hunt and Thomas Rhett leading the nominees with three each.

What else we're reading...

--"I built a time machine to the 1960s" [NY Times]

--"Procter & Gamble calls for change to annual TV ad-buying process" [WSJ]

--"CNN shuts down its 5 year old digital video startup Great Big Story" [TVNewser]

--"Kanye speaks: West's plan to 're-think' the music industry" [Billboard]

Today's birthdays: John Rutter, 75, Kevin Sorbo, 62, Paul Hamm, 38, Stephanie McMahon, 44, Ross Mathews, 41.

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SEPTEMBER 24, 2020

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