Today In Entertainment

DECEMBER 12, 2020

What's news: It's WME's turn to take on Warner Bros. over HBO Max plan, Disney's theatrical calendar shift, WarnerMedia closes its investigation into misconduct on Justice League, HBO's Game of Thrones prequel takes shape, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II joins Michel Bay's next thriller, Michael Douglas and Christoph Waltz will play Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in a limited series, FKA Twigs' suit against Shia LaBeouf. Plus: Vin Diesel joins a game studio, and a News of the World review. --Alex Weprin

 'Justice League' Investigation Concludes

►Justice League investigation concludes with "remedial action" following Ray Fisher claims. Five months after Justice League actor Ray Fisher spoke up about alleged misconduct during 2017 reshoots of the film and made claims that sparked a public back and forth between the star and studio Warner Bros., WarnerMedia has concluded an investigation into Fisher's allegations.

--"WarnerMedia’s investigation into the Justice League movie has concluded and remedial action has been taken,” WarnerMedia said in a statement Friday night. It provided no details of what actions were taken. "There are still conversations that need to be had and resolutions that need to be found," Fisher added in a statement of his own. "Thank you all for your support and encouragement on this journey. We are on our way." The story.

►Endeavor's Patrick Whitesell calls WarnerMedia's HBO Max move a "blatant attempt to self-deal." In a note to WME agents Friday afternoon, the executive chairman of Endeavor called the move by Warner Bros. to move its 2021 slate to a day-and-date distribution model with HBO Max "a blatant attempt to self-deal and use our clients work to build their HBO Max streaming service, which our clients have no financial interest in," and added said that the agency is engaged with talks at the "highest levels at Warner Bros." to try and resolve the dispute.

--Whitesell also shot down the argument from Warners that the move benefits theaters by guaranteeing high-profile theatrical releases for next year. "we don’t see this decision as a lifeline to the exhibitors or a way of supporting the existing business," he wrote. "Rather, we see this as a purely opportunistic attempt to re-write the rules of windowing to WarnerMedia’s favor, while the theater owners themselves have been brought to their knees due to COVID." The story.

In other film news...

+Disney is shifting some of its release calendar following a lengthy investor day presentation Thursday that laid out the company's streaming and theatrical plans for the next few years. Among the changes: Marvel's 2022 films move back a few months, while new projects such as Patty Jenkins' Star Wars movie Rogue Squadron are officially put on the calendar. The details.

+Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will star opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in Michael Bay’s latest feature project, Ambulance. Universal is distributing the contained thriller that is being produced by Bradley Fischer, William Sherak and James Vanderbilt. More.

+Also: Jamie Bell and Margaret Qualley are set to star in a biopic about iconic dancing duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Amazon Studios and Automatik are behind the movie — titled Fred & Ginger — that will be directed by The End of the F*ucking World creator Jonathan Entwistle. More.

+And: Knives Out star Ana De Armas is joining Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo's The Gray Man for Netflix. More.

 'Game of Thrones' Prequel Taking Shape

►HBO's Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon is beginning to take shape. Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy and Matt Smith have been tapped to star in the straight-to-series drama. Additionally, Greg Yaitanes has boarded as a director and co-exec producer, with Clare Kilner and Geeta Patel also set to helm episodes of the fantasy series. The story.

In other TV news...

+Michael Douglas and Christoph Waltz are set to play Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in a limited series from Paramount TV Studios. The project, which the studio will be taking out to buyers soon, is based on the book Reagan at Reykjavik: Forty-Eight Hours That Ended the Cold War by Reagan's former arms control director Ken Adelman. The story.

+The Handmaid's Tale boss looks toward season 4 and the endgame beyond. "Don't try to guess at all," creator Bruce Miller tells THR's Josh Wigler in an exclusive first interview about what to expect from the Emmy-winning series' fourth season, as well as the early season five renewal. The interview.

+NBC is sticking with its Canadian import Transplant. The network has renewed the medical drama for a second season in the United States, with the news coming two days after it concluded its run on NBC. The show's Canadian home, CTV, picked up the series for a second season in June following its conclusion there. More.

+On the Bachelor front: The Bachelor is going to look different in 2021. Matt James will be making his debut as the first Black Bachelor in 25 seasons, and now, the ABC franchise has announced the inclusive cast that will be joining him for the historic ride. More.

 LaBeouf Lawsuit

►FKA Twigs filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles against her former boyfriend Shia LaBeouf on Friday for alleged “relentless abuse,” according to court documents. Born Tahliah Barnett, the singer-songwriter claims that while involved with LaBeouf, she was the victim of sexual battery, assault and emotional distress. The suit also claims the actor knowingly gave Barnett an STD, along with a number of other disturbing and graphic allegations. The story.

►Vin Diesel has joined video game developer Studio Wildcard as president of creative convergence, serving as an executive producer on the upcoming Ark II game and Ark: the Animated Series, both of which were revealed at the Game Awards on Thursday. The story.

►Netflix beats Tiger King suit: Netflix's pandemic binge hit Tiger King may not have given Joe Exotic his royal moniker, but it also didn't infringe on the rights of the magazine that takes credit for the nickname, a California federal judge has ruled. More.

►TV Long View: The numbers behind media giants' all-in streaming plays. Consumers are already spending more time on streaming and other digital content than they are watching traditional TV, Rick Porter writes in this week's column. More.

►Video game review: Brittany Vincent reviews Cyberpunk 2077, writing that "the game does hit several high notes where it counts. In many ways, it feels like a triumph of open-world games. In others, however, it’s a frustrating step backward riddled with glitches, bugs and confounding design decisions that can routinely dampen player enjoyment." The review.

►Film review: David Rooney reviews News of the World, writing that "it's a drama made with tremendous feeling, an unhurried, contemplative tale peppered with nail-biting set-pieces." The review.

In other news...

--AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan has signed a contract extension with the company, keeping him at the helm of the owner of AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel and BBC America through the end of 2022.

--The U.S. gave the final go-ahead Friday to the nation's first COVID-19 vaccine, marking what could be the beginning of the end of an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans.

--Hans Zimmer and David Fleming on scoring Hillbilly Elegy under lockdown (and after Zimmer caught COVID-19).

--Hollywood "Con Queen" victims react to arrest, hope for "closure."

--How Canada is rethinking film financing amid a racial reckoning: "Something has changed."

--How George Clooney and Alexandre Desplat created the sound of The Midnight Sky.

--Controversial South Korean director Kim Ki-duk died in a hospital in Latvia where he was being treated for COVID-19. He was 59.

What else we're reading...

--"Francis Ford Coppola is still going for broke" [Vulture]

--"I didn't make it" [Washington Post]

--"Keanu Reeves on Cyberpunk 2077, Marlon Brando and how to stay creative in the pandemic" [LA Times]

--"Taylor Swift as a musician's musician" [Vanity Fair]

--"The COVID thriller Songbird will make you sick" [The Ringer]

Today's birthdays: Dionne Warwick, 80, Jennifer Connelly, 50, Mayim Bialik, 45, Bob Barker, 97, Sheila E, 63.

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DECEMBER 12, 2020

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