Today In Entertainment

JANUARY 26, 2021

What's news: A Harry Potter TV series, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton eye scripted TV space, CBS suspends local TV stations president pending investigation, Jane Fonda to receive Cecile B. DeMille Award, Weinstein settlement confirmed by judge, Misha Green to helm next Tomb Raider flick. Plus: The THR Composer Roundtable, and Craig Mazin expands HBO deal --Alex Weprin

 A 'Harry Potter' TV Series?

►A Harry Potter live-action TV series is in early development at HBO Max. Sources tell THR's Lesley Goldberg that executives at the WarnerMedia-backed streamer have engaged in multiple conversations with potential writers exploring various ideas that would bring the beloved property to television. Sources say broad ideas have been discussed as part of the early-stage exploratory meetings.

--While it's news that executives at HBO Max and Warners are engaged in meetings to find a writer and pitch for a Harry Potter TV series, no writers or talent are currently attached as the conversations are still in the extremely early stages and no deals have been made. "There are no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform," HBO Max and Warner Bros. reaffirmed in a statement to THR. The story.

►Hillary and Chelsea Clinton have set their sights on their first scripted TV series. The duo, via their Hidden Light Productions banner, has acquired TV rights to best-selling author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice about a female Kurdish militia. A network is not yet attached. The story.

►CBS has suspended the president of its local TV stations group Peter Dunn, and the senior VP of news at its local sttaions David Friend. The company has suspended the executives while a third party conducts an investigation into claims of racism and misogyny at the CBS local station group, as reported by The L.A. Times.

--Earlier Monday, the National Association of Black Journalists said that it met with CBS CEO George Cheeks and global head of inclusion Marva Smalls. "NABJ has heard from numerous CBS employees across the country and has been made aware of multiple lawsuits and investigations. It is clear that there is a massive problem among CBS owned-and-operated stations, and in order for the company’s culture to be transformed, it must begin with the firing of Dunn and Friend," the organization said in a statement following th meeting.

In other TV news...

+Ellen Pompeo is expanding her producing footprint for ABC. The Grey's Anatomy star is teaming with former Mad Men writers Andre and Maria Jacquemetton to bring Elin Hilderbrand's best-selling Paradise book trilogy to ABC as a limited series. The story.

+The Last of Us and Chernobyl showrunner Craig Mazin is staying put at HBO and HBO Max. Mazin, a two-time Emmy winner, has extended his overall deal with the WarnerMedia outlets for an additional three years. He's currently at work on a series adaptation of the video game franchise The Last of Us alongside Neil Druckmann, the game's writer and creative director. More.

+NBC is not yet ready to say "goodbye" to Weakest Link. The network has picked up a second season of the game show, hosted by Jane Lynch. Production on season two, which will run for 13 episodes, is set to begin later in the year. More.

 THR Composer Roundtable

►Composer Roundtable: Pros from Mank, Soul, Minari and more talk remote recording sessions and finding creativity in isolation. Film composers may be accustomed to working alone, but they weren't immune to the tumult of 2020. Six film music specialists came together — virtually — to discuss the key to writing an effective score, even when creatively challenged by the pandemic: "What I really miss is playing music with human beings." The THR Composer Roundtable.

►AFI Awards: The American Film Institute has picked its 2020 award winners for the 10 best movies and TV shows of the year. The titles, presented in alphabetical order, are works AFI's juries have determined advance the art of the moving image, enhance the cultural heritage of America's art form, inspire audiences and artists and make a mark on American society.

--AFI's top films include Da 5 Bloods, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, One Night in Miami, and Soul... AFI's top TV programs of the year include Bridgerton, The Crown, Lovecraft Country, The Mandalorian, The Queen's Gambit, Ted Lasso and Unorthodox. The full lists.

+The Golden Globes: Jane Fonda, who is now in the 61st year of her Hollywood career, will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the virtual Golden Globe Awards ceremony on Feb. 28, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced on Tuesday. More.

►Misha Green is making the jump to feature directing with the next Tomb Raider film. The Lovecraft Country creator will write and direct the project for MGM. In addition to creating Lovecraft Country, the HBO hit that she executive produced with J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele, Green is known for WGN's Underground. She also worked on FX's Sons of Anarchy and penned and is producing action film The Mother for Netflix. More.

+Revolving door: Former Yale Productions director of development Russ Posternak has launched Post Film, a new film production and financing company... Randall Stephenson, AT&T's former chairman and CEO, has made good on his retirement from the telco giant, but with a one-year consultancy agreement in hand as he leaves the company's boardroom... Range Media has signed writing team Mauricio Katz and Pedro Peirano, the writers whose credits include behind Mexico's 2012 Oscar entry Miss Bala and Oscar-nominated No... Patton Oswalt is set to host the awards ceremony for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which is largely being held virtually...

 Weinstein Settlement Confirmed

►Weinstein sexual misconduct settlement confirmed by bankruptcy judge. "83 percent of the victims have expressed very loudly that they want closure through acceptance of this plan," U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Mary Walrath said as she approved a settlement plan resolving most sexual harassment and assault claims against the producer. The story.

+MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell sues over story of Jane Krakowski romance. Lindell is represented by Charles Harder, who notably has appeared for Donald Trump in libel actions. Lindell advertises heavily on conservative television and is a Trump die-hard. The story.

+Joy Reid wants Lin Wood disqualified from libel suit. The MSNBC host asks a judge to revoke the Trump-supporting lawyer's admission in a New York federal court. The story.

+In other legal news: In a huge win for filmmakers, a D.C. federal judge has ruled that it's unconstitutional for the National Park Service to require permits or charge fees for commercial filming on its land. More.

+Also: A French judge on Monday ruled to dismiss further charges against Luc Besson in connection to the ongoing rape case brought against the director by actress Sand Van Roy.

►Telecom giant Verizon on Wednesday reported that it lost 72,000 net pay TV subscribers for its FiOS consumer video service in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of 51,000 in the year-ago period and a loss of 61,000 in the third quarter. As it has done in the past, the company cited "the ongoing shift from traditional linear video to over-the-top offerings." The Verizon Media unit, which includes the likes of Yahoo and AOL, posted fourth-quarter revenue of $2.3 billion, up 11.4 percent from the year-ago period. Verizon also took a $119 million charge in the fourth quarter related to the sale of HuffPost to BuzzFeed. More.

Casting roundup: Star Wars franchise actor John Boyega and Robert De Niro are on board to star in Netflix's car race prodigy drama The Formula... Showtime's Dexter revivial has enlisted Michael Cyril Creighton for a recurring role in the series... Samara Weaving is set to star in Liz, a biopic about American founding mother and celebrity Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte...

►Film review: John DeFore reviews Palmer, writing that "A capable cast helps the pic rise above its formulaic nature (take out a drunken hookup and some language, and this is a thoroughly mainstream family film, at least for families of non-homophobes), but doesn’t make it a must-watch by any means." The review.

►TV review: Inkoo Kang reviews HBO's The Investigation, writing that "Plodding and mournful, the dirge-like series takes as its primary subject not even [investigator] Jens [Moller], but the laboriousness of the inquiry into [the victim Kim] Wall’s killing. The review.

In other news...

--The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees sent a letter to President Biden on Monday, offering the White House COVID Response Team and FEMA the labor union's infrastructure and members to contribute to building or converting vaccination sites across the country.

--Amanda Gorman's climb continues as the inaugural poet has signed with IMG Models. The 22-year-old Los Angeles native, who recited her original work "The Hill We Climb" on Jan. 20 and instantly became the breakout star of the inauguration ceremony as the world looked on, now has a team of reps that includes Writers House, WME and the law firm Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown and Passman.

--Disney on Monday announced that the iconic Jungle Cruise ride would be updated at its California and Florida theme parks in part to address "negative depictions" of cultures.

--Former President Donald Trump, who was a well-established media and entertainment personality for decades before winning the 2016 presidential election, saw his Hollywood income fall dramatically during his final year in office.

--Gold House— the nonprofit organization that seeks to promote Asian-led and multicultural films— is launching a new initiative focused on awards season.

--Colin Trevorrow on Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous and the creative highs of Dominion.

--Documentary group Wavelength Productions has got on board a film about African American contralto Marian Anderson (1897-1993) for PBS' American Master series.

--Arizona State University has brought Sidney Poitier's name and reputation as a ground-breaking Black actor in Hollywood to its Sidney Poitier New American Film School as it expands in three cities across Arizona and California.

--Berlinale Series, the television industry event that runs alongside Berlin's International Film Festival, has unveiled its 2021 lineup, highlighting some of the world's best new small-screen drama. 

What else we're reading...

--"Donna Speciale on how she'll shake up Univision ad sales" [AdWeek]

--"Rupert Murdoch, accepting award, condemns 'awful woke orthodoxy'" [NY Times]

--YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki releasd her 2021 annual letter to creators [YouTube]

--"Farewell to the last bastion of Y2K-era celebrity" [Vanity Fair]

--"How a Compton artist’s lost prison painting found its way to the Hammer Museum" [LA Times]

Today's birthdays: Wayne Gretzky, 60, Ellen DeGeneres, 63, Kirk Franklin, 51, Anita Baker, 63, Jazzie B, 58.

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JANUARY 26, 2021

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