Today In Entertainment

SEPTEMBER 19, 2020

What's news: NBCUniversal and Roku strike a deal, This Is Spinal Tap settlement, WarnerMedia rebooting DC Universe as Harley Quinn goes to HBO Max, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the "superpower of Hollywood's Black genre heroes, Ms. Marvel lines up its directors, a guide to Sunday's Emmy Awards. Plus: Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsberg. --Alex Weprin

 Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsberg

➤Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a diminutive yet towering women's rights champion who became the court's second female justice, died Friday at her home in Washington. She was 87. Ginsburg died of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer, the court said. Chief Justice John Roberts mourned Ginsburg's passing. "Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature. We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her — a tireless and resolute champion of justice," Roberts said in a statement. The obituary.

+The tributes: After Ginsberg's death came as a shock to many on Friday, Hollywood social media users quickly began paying tribute to her life and legacy. Hillary Clinton, Julia Louis-Drefus and Kerry Washington were among those who paid tribute. More.

 NBCU And Roku Have a Deal

➤Two months after the launch of NBCUniversal's Peacock, the streaming service will be accessible on Roku devices. Roku announced a distribution deal that will bring the new streamer to Roku users in a few weeks and that will also keep NBCU's TV everywhere apps on the platform. It comes after a heated round of negotiations this week that enveloped the TV everywhere apps, which would have gone dark on Roku platforms without a new deal. The story.

➤This is Spinal Tap co-creators Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest have got a deal that could potentially revive the franchise. On Friday, attorneys for the group as well as Vivendi and its StudioCanal division told a California federal court that they had finally achieved settlement.

--Shearer sued back in 2016 with the headline-making allegation that despite decades of cult success, the creatives had just $81 in merchandising income and $98 in musical sales income to show for their work on the 1984 rockumentary. They alleged "Hollywood accounting" sins, Vivendi bungling trademark rights, and more. The four demanded hundreds of millions in damages plus hoped to reclaim Spinal Tap by exercising termination rights under the Copyright Act. The story.

➤Harley Quinn goes to HBO Max as DC Universe is rebooted. The streaming wars has claimed another victim. Two years after it launched as a home for scripted originals and library content, DC Universe is officially exiting the scripted landscape. All of the platform's scripted originals and library titles will move to fellow WarnerMedia-backed streamer HBO Max. That includes animated breakout Harley Quinn, which has now been renewed for a third season. Harley Quinn will join Doom Patrol and the previously announced third season of Titans as an HBO Max originals.  The story.

+So about the new DC Universe: DC Universe will soon be rebranding as DC Universe Infinite, as it abandons its streaming shows to become a comics-only platform. The newly-renamed DC Universe Infinite will launch in the U.S in January, offering DC catalog titles sixth months after their on-sale date — currently, DCU has a year-long wait. There will also be original comics. More.

+Disney+'s Marvel series Ms. Marvel has assembled its directing team. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the duo behind this year's Bad Boys for Life, have been tapped to work on episodes of the series. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a two-time Oscar winner in the documentary short category, has also joined the helming roster for the series, as has Meera Menon, whose credits include episodes of The Walking Dead, The Punisher, Titans, Dirty John and Outlander. More.

+Also: Lee Isaac Chung— the director behind Sundance winner Minari— has been tapped to direct Paramount's live-action adaptation of the popular Japanese movie Your Name. More.

 The Power Of Black Heroes In Pop Culture

➤Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: The real superpower of Hollywood's Black genre heroes. Hollywood's usual reaction to social protest is to produce a few sincere dramas about the African American experience, but "the real measure of a group's acceptance by society is when its people are celebrated in popular culture," writes the THR columnist.

--"Why does having Black genre heroes matter? Because our stories provide role models that influence how our children measure themselves and their potential. Diverse action heroes help youngsters define the range of characteristics they see in themselves. If a Black child never sees a Black mountain climber or world-saving scientist, they tend not to envision that as a possible path." The column.

➤Emmys prep: Here's what to look out for on Sunday's virtual broadcast. Host Jimmy Kimmel says to expect a "beautiful disaster."... The producers explain how they hope to pull it all off... A guide to the historic nominees... THR awards analyst Scott Feinberg and chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg on who will win and who should win...

➤Two weeks before the 2020 election, HBO will air a documentary about the Florida recount in the 2000 presidential contest that tipped the outcome to George W. Bush.

--The film, 537 Votes, comes from director Billy Corben (The U, Cocaine Cowboys) and his producing partner, Alfred Spellman, is executive produced by Adam McKay, who has an overall deal with HBO. The documentary, which premieres Oct. 21, offers a Miami-centric take on the controversy, which HBO has previously dramatized in its Emmy-winning 2008 movie Recount. The story.

In other news...

--Paul Feig on hosting a Bridesmaids viewing party, his new gin brand, and the future of movies.

--Selena Gomez, one of the most influential stars on social media, went public Friday night with a private message she sent to Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg.

--Beyond Fest's 2020 edition is bucking the trend for film festivals to go online amid the Coronavirus pandemic by unveiling plans for a physical event at a drive-in theater to run Oct. 2 to 8.

--Tony Tanner, an actor, director and choreographer who received a pair of Tony nominations for his work on the original 1982 Broadway production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, has died. He was 88.

--Sudan documentary maker Hajooj Kuka, a new member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and one of five artists recently jailed in Khartoum, has received a call for an immediate release by the Toronto Film Festival.

--Thursday proved to be a big night to stay in for Kenya Barris, Jane Cha Cutler and Richard and Demi Weitz. They were honored by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles during the organization’s “The Big Night In” virtual gala.

--Meryl Streep may not have an Instagram account, but she is mugging on the platform for a cause with Kageno. Streep is among the more than two dozen stars and notable names who posed in vibrant aprons as part of a social media campaign on behalf of nonprofit Kageno as a way to spotlight its upcoming event. 

What else we're reading...

--"California movie theaters are reopening. Will there be any new movies to show?" [LA Times]

--"The future of film talk is on Letterboxd" [The Ringer]

--"Facebook tried to limit QAnon. It failed" [NY Times]

--"Launch events try to fit their parties in a box" [WSJ]

Today's birthdays: Jeremy Irons, 72, Nile Rodgers, 68, Sanaa Lathan, 49, Pia Mia, 24, John Wick director Chad Stahelski, 52 (On Sept. 20), Jimmy Fallon, 46.

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SEPTEMBER 19, 2020

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