Today In Entertainment

JANUARY 07, 2021

What's news: TV news outlets and social media giants scrambled as rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Twitter and Facebook suspend President Trump, networks preempted primetime programming and late night shows went live, former President Obama calls out the "media ecosystem" that enabled the mayhem. Elsewhere: Oscar contenders fret over streaming screenings, how the world is providing COVID aid to their local entertainment businesses, THR's Documentary Roundtable, and Ricky Strauss departs Disney+. --Alex Weprin

 Riots At The Capitol

The TV networks already had their cameras and crews stationed at the U.S. Capitol, for what was expected to be a joint session of Congress with dramatic objections to Electoral College slates. But what started as a meeting to count the votes of the Electoral College turned to mayhem, as supporters of President Trump marched from a rally he held nearby and stormed the Capitol, forcing the Senate and the House to evacuate.

Ultimately, Congress reconvened, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Spaker Nancy Pelosi declaring the riots as "failed." In the middle of the night, Congress formally validated the wins of President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

+On TV: Cable news channels, which were already covering the proceedings live, quickly pivoted to videos and images of the mayhem. Broadcast networks broke into regularly scheduled programming for rolling coverage. NBC, CBS and ABC all preempted their primetime lineups on the east coast to continue with rolling news coverage. Many of the late night shows, including CBS' Late Show and NBC's Late Night, also went live. More on the coverage from Rick Porter.

--Speaking of late night: Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, James Corden, Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert dedicated portions of their Wednesday night programs to breaking down the pro-Trump riot that shocked the nation. Here's what happened.

--This morning, the severity of what happened was clear, with MSNBC's Joe Scarborough banging on the Morning Joe desk and lambasting Capitol police for "opening the f*cking door" to the rioters... "Let's be honest," Brian Kilmeade told Fox News viewers. "Since November 3rd... the president's behavor has been terrible."

+On social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat took unprecedented steps on Wednesday, locking President Trump's accounts after he posted a video in which he repeated his false claims of election fraud and called the rioters "special", and after he tweeted a comment that appeared to endorse the mayhem, ending with "Remember this day forever!"

--YouTube, meanwhile, joined Facebook in deleting the video Trump posted. Guy Rosen, vp of integrity at Facebook, tweeted that the company removed the video "because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence." Natalie Jarvey has the story on how social media handled the events.

--It wasn't just Trump: Many of the rioters used the social platforms to livestream the ransacking. While YouTube tried to highlight video from authoritative sources like major news outlets and remove videos from rioters, The Verge found that it was still easy to find footage from participants in the mayhem, some of whom used the platform (and others like Amazon's Twitch) to ask for donations from viewers.

+Critic's notebook: THR TV critic Daniel Fienberg writes about the coverage of the day's events, which began as "something that, in a typical year, even the most rigorous of non-CSPAN cable news entities wouldn't even bother to televise," and ended with chaos.

--"News networks were forced to try to capture the moment through poorly placed outdoor camera positions and repeated invocations of phrases like 'banana republic' or references to government overthrows in various former Communist countries. CNN had a few talking heads and anchors willing to call it an attempted coup, but the reliable folks at Fox News had pundits like Laura Ingraham on to continue her Twitter dog whistles suggesting or implying that the transgressors today so closely resembled Antifa protesters that they just might be Antifa. (Because, again, we all know that those uncouth Featheringtons would never protest violently.)" The notebook.

 Reacting To The Crisis

+Former President Obama specifically called out conservative media outlets -- though he did not name them -- for their role in the mayhem. "For two months ow, the Republican party and its accompanying media ecosystem has too often been unwilling to tell their followers the truth: That this was not a particularly close election and that President-elect Biden will be inaugurated on Jan. 20..."

--However, as Axios' Sara Fischer notes, those same outlets covered Wednesday's events by trying to ignore the truth as best they could: "Instead of condemning the pro-Trump mobs that stormed Washington, right-wing media outlets mostly blamed left-wing activists, the media, Vice President Pence — and even police officers — for the riots that some suggested were the start of a 'civil war' in America."

James Rosen, a Washington corrspondent for Sinclair Broadcast Group, opened a report by saying “Pro-Trump protesters, their ranks likely augmented by far-left infiltrators...” It was a theme repeated on Newsmax, OANN, and Fox News by hosts and guests, without evidence...

--CNN's Oliver Darcy writes that "while Trump may have been the one who lit the match under what happened on Wednesday, dishonest media personalities allied with the President had been laying down gasoline-soaked wood for the bonfire for weeks beforehand."

--The result? The New York Times' Charlie Warzel calls it a "poisoned information ecosystem" and a "reality crisis." The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg walked to the Capitol with the group from Trump's rally, before the rioting began, and called what he saw "mass delusion in America."

+Meanwhile, many in Hollywood called for action to be taken, by the social media companies, by Congress, or by President Trump himself, to end the madness. Conversely, the character actor Nick Searcy, who was a regular on FX's Justified among dozens of other major Hollywood projects, was part of the pro-Trump group outside the Capitol building, Politico reports.

+Other notes: Major advertisers scrambled to have their ads pulled from TV networks and online as the attack unfolded, fearful of having their brands tied to Wednesday's events... Shomari Stone, a reporter for NBC's Washington station, posted video of rioters yelling that the media is the "enemy of the people," stealing and destroying TV equipment... "Murder the media" was scrawled on adoor in the Capitol... Some TV news crews had their own private security protecting them...

What's in a word? The Daily Beast's Max Tani compiled how different outlets were referring to the rioters. CNN landed on the term"domestic terrorism," while CBS advised its staff "We don’t need to go out of our way to give this an overly dramatic label, This story doesn’t need that. We should not be calling this an attempted coup or a terrorist attack." NBC also advised against the use of the word coup...

In a statement released overnight by his social media aide Dan Scavino (with his own accounts suspended), Trump seemed to offer the closest thing yet to a concession: "Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th."

 Filmmakers Fret Over Streaming Screenings

►Oscar contenders worry screening by streaming does their films an injustice. With theaters shuttered, voters have started watching this year's awards contenders online, but filmmakers worry at-home distractions and laptop viewing could diminish the impact of movies — and influence voting choices, Gregg Kilday and Carolyn Giardina report. The story.

►Documentary Roundtable: Producers Stacey Abrams, Kerry Washington and more talk Big Tech's hold on distribution and fighting the "fake news" label. Six of the season's most compelling documentarians — including Amy Ziering, Jesse Moss, Jim LeBrecht and Garrett Bradley — also discuss censorship, how history is determined by who is in power and the one person they wish would watch their films.

--Kerry Washington: "That's another thing that ties so many of the films together — there seems to be a real interest from all of us in unpacking systems, unraveling the systems in a way that Amy was talking about, placing these very personal stories within the context of the systems that control them or guide them or try to limit them or silence them. Or learning to navigate those systems as in Jesse's film. Systems are made up of people, and people have the power to transform those systems, to right the wrongs, to change the narrative, to create community in different ways, as in Jim's film."

--Amy Ziering: "As the streamers consolidate, the options become more limited. I saw a much more open window five years ago than there is now. Now they're chasing algorithms much more, and it's more clickbait than integrity. It's less investigative journalism getting funded. I do see it as something we have to be very concerned about and really supportive of each other and our films and finding a way to get them out and seen. With On the Record, thank God for HBO Max. When Apple pulled out, we were rightfully terrified. These are not easy films to get made, they are not easy films to get seen or distributed." The roundtable.

►Amid rising COVID cases, international governments provide long-term aid to local entertainment industries. While the U.S. has only recently approved a COVID-19 relief package, many of Hollywood's global counterparts are moving on to more ambitious strategies, including finding a solution for the lack of virus insurance, Scott Roxborough reports. The story.

►Ricky Strauss is stepping down from his role as president of content and marketing for Disney+, the latest in a string of executive departures for the fast-growing streaming service. Strauss, a Disney veteran who spent a number of years leading its film marketing group, told his staff on Wednesday that he would be leaving the company. The story.

►Revolving door: Former Goldman Sachs banker Richard Sharp is the U.K. government's candidate to become the new chairman of the public broadcaster BBC's board... A3 Artists Agency has hired Doug Fronk as partner and head of television literary at the Hollywood talent and literary agency...

►Will Hollywood films bounce back in China in 2021? As the Middle Kingdom claims the No. 1 box office mantle, questions grow about whether the country has moved beyond U.S. imports.

--"The marketing campaigns for all of the recent Hollywood releases were much, much weaker than usual," notes James Li, co-founder of Beijing-based film market research firm Fanink. Li worries that U.S. executives have slipped into the trap of assuming that the whole world has shut down just because Hollywood has. "COVID-19 gives you the perfect cover to not spend marketing dollars and not be held responsible if the movie underperforms," he adds."But if that attitude doesn't change soon, it could end up costing Hollywood a lot of money in China." The story.

►Starz gets green light in lawsuit over MGM's breach of exclusivity. A federal judge rejects MGM's argument that the copyright owner of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Bull Durham, Rain Man, and other movies waited too long to sue. The story.

►Capri, Hollywood Film Fest: Trial of the Chicago 7 is film of year. The Aaron Sorkin film was also recognized with prizes for best supporting actor (Sacha Baron Cohen), best film editing and a special honor, Capri Italian-American Artist of the Year, recognizing cast member Frank Langella. The full list of winners.

►Danny Burstein on the devastating loss of his wife, fellow Broadway star Rebecca Luker. In a deeply personal essay for THR, the Tony-nominated Moulin Rouge star reflects on the "empty, dark abyss" left behind by his wife of more than 20 years, who passed away due to complications from ALS in December. The guest column.

►TV review: Inkoo Kang reviews the CBS All Access thriller Coyote, writing that the Michael Chiklis-starring series "is a simultaneously earnest and cynical iteration of a liberal fantasy — that of a conservative revising his worldview once he’s forced to walk in the shoes of a marginalized person." The review.

In other news...

--Sugar23, the company founded by Oscar-winning producer and manager Michael Sugar, is expanding in a bid to become a global media enterprise. The production company has made several key hires, including a chief financial officer and general counsel, and is launching a book division and a podcast division.

--The NFL's TV audience shrank some in 2020, but the league remains the top draw on ad-supported television.

--Catherine Zeta-Jones is headed to Fox. The Oscar winner has joined the network's drama Prodigal Son for its second season.

--Netflix is doubling down on South Korean content, a reflection of the East Asian nation's cultural influence globally.

--Roblox, the massively popular gaming platform played by over half of U.S. kids under 16, has raised $520 million in a new Series H funding round that includes investors Warner Music Group, Altimeter Capital and others. 

--The Canadian animation industry's racial reckoning has received an A from a new report on representation for homegrown kids and youth TV cartoon content.

--Longtime Toronto Film Festival programmer Dimitri Eipides has died. He was 82. Eipides, who programmed for Toronto for four decades to 2018, passed away in his hometown of Athens after a long illness, TIFF said on Wednesday. 

--HBO Max has debuted the trailer for the Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor quarantine heist film Locked Down, directed by Doug Liman.

What else we're reading...

--"Katie Couric will guest host Jeopardy! after the final Alex Trebek episodes air" [LA Times]

--"LG Electronics takes majority stake in TV data and advertising firm Alphonso" [WSJ]

--"Where does comedy go now?" [The Ringer]

Today's birthdays: Aloe Blacc, 42, David Caruso, 65, Jann Wenner, 75, Jeremy Renner, 50, Katie Couric, 64, Ruth Negga, 39.

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JANUARY 07, 2021

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