Today In Entertainment

JANUARY 15, 2021

What's news: Crooked Media looks beyond politics and podcasting, behind Warner Bros. olive branch to talent, Nomadland will get simultaneous theater-Hulu debut, Universal exec talks shortening the theatrical window, HBO Max orders Julia Child series, The CW's plan for business as usual, Technicolor's post business is sold, Disney CEO praises ESPN's pivot. Plus: AMC Networks hires ViacomCBS' former CFO, and a review of WandaVision. --Alex Weprin

 Crooked Ambitions

►After the resistance, what's next for the Crooked Media podcasting empire? Former Obama officials built a 21-show portfolio explaining — and organizing against — Trump-era chaos. As Biden takes the White House, they're ready for a new chapter that includes film and TV ambitions, Natalie Jarvey reports.

--"Our decisions are really dictated by what is going to help us grow our audience," says COO Sarah Wick. The company also plans to invest in expanding its video capabilities, including shortform series for Crooked's social platforms as well as big-budget Hollywood projects. Its first major TV job — outside of a series of HBO specials during the 2018 midterm elections — is a Hulu adaptation of Wind of Change, based on the podcast it produced with Spotify and Pineapple Street Studios about whether the CIA had a hand in creating the hit song from the Scorpions.

--Expanding beyond politics: "Though Crooked's founders say the election changes little for the company, they are making moves to keep the business around for the long haul. That includes expanding beyond the 'capital P' political coverage that has been its bread and butter. Plans are underway to launch at least three new podcasts this year, including narrative series 544 Days, about Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian's detention in Iran. The company, which recently hired commentator Jason Concepcion from Bill Simmons' The Ringer, is eyeing adding more shows in arenas like sports "that could benefit from the Crooked lens," says content chief Tanya Somanader."

--The mission: "From the beginning, we knew that this was about Trump as a symptom," says [co-founder Jon] Lovett, who co-created the short-lived NBC sitcom 1600 Penn after his time as an Obama speechwriter. "One takeaway from this election is that those larger problems, they remain. We are in an incredible fight against misinformation, against distrust, against these right-wing propaganda machines that are pumping out information that is leading to [Trump supporters] challenging the election." The story.

►Behind Warner Bros.’ olive branch to top talent. Denzel Washington is said to be getting his $20 million plus backend fee, while the sheer number of bonuses tied to the HBO Max day-and-date plan is said to be costly for the studio, Mia Galuppo and Kim Masters report.

--"According to sources, a Warners draft proposal outlined that talent making less than $4 million will be paid an additional 25 percent of their salary upon the release of the film as an advance against box office bonuses. Anyone making $4 million and over the advance would be getting 40 percent of their salary. Moreover, the box office performance thresholds tied to the bonuses would be halved. And regardless of the film’s run at the global box office, all deferments would be honored upon the film’s release." The story.

+Chloé Zhao’s awards contender Nomadland will get a hybrid release in theaters and on sister company Hulu due to the ongoing pandemic and widespread theater closures, Searchlight Pictures announced Tuesday. The film, starring Frances McDormand, will debut on the Disney-owned streaming service and in U.S. cinemas on Feb. 19 — its previously scheduled release date — after getting an exclusive run in select Imax theaters beginning Jan. 29. The story.

+Universal exec says deal to shorten theatrical window "wasn't about a quick fix." Peter Levinsohn talks to Pamela McClintock about the fight to keep films like Promising Young Woman and The Croods: New Age on the big screen amid the pandemic and why he won't be sending movies straight to sister company Peacock anytime soon.

--"Every media company needs to do what's in the best interest of their shareholders. We at Universal believe that a reasonably priced VOD transaction that occurs a few weeks or so after a film is theatrically released is what's right for the ecosystem. That is ultimately how you build a sustainable future for the industry. We're not talking about day-and-date." The interview.

In other film news...

+Apple has landed the Joaquin Phoenix and Ridley Scott reteam Kitbag. Phoenix will star as the French military leader and emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, in the film that will track his origins and, as the logline reads, "swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine." David Scarpa penned the screenplay. The story.

+Oscars: Tyler Perry, MPTF tapped for Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Awards. Citing the pandemic-era work of both Perry and MPTF, the Academy's board of governors voted to make a one-time exception to its bylaws to allow for more than one Hersholt to be presented in a single year. More.

+Also: MGM has signed a first look film production deal with Queen & Slim director and producer Melina Matsoukas and her production company De La Revolución Films. More.

+SXSW news: Nearly one year after the 2020 iteration of the SXSW film festival had to be canceled at the 11th hour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first titles for the 2021 virtual SXSW have been announced. The world premiere of the Demi Lovato docuseries Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil will open the paired-down fest. More.

 HBO Max Julia Child Series a Go

►HBO Max is moving forward with a drama focused on the life of famed chef Julia Child. The streamer on Thursday announced an eight-episode series order for Julia, starring Sarah Lancashire (Happy Valley) as the chef. Chris Keyser (Party of Five) serves as showrunner on the drama from Lionsgate Television and 3 Arts. The story.

+How The CW is plotting a return to business as usual during a pandemic. The CW CEO Mark Pedowitz talks with THR's Lesley Goldberg about doing more straight to series orders, the future the DC brand and finding hope in freshman fare like Walker, Superman & Lois and Kung Fu. The story.

In other TV news...

+The Queen's Gambit creator Scott Frank is headed to FX for his next TV project. The Disney-owned cable outlet is developing a limited series adaptation of Mary Doria Russell's novel The Sparrow. Frank will write all episodes of the project, and Johan Renck (Chernobyl) is attached to direct. The story.

+Animal Kingdom is coming to an end. The TNT drama from exec producer John Wells has been renewed for a sixth and final season on the WarnerMedia-backed basic cable network. More.

+OWN is doubling up on Queen Sugar in 2021. The Discovery-owned cable network has renewed Ava DuVernay's drama for a sixth season, which it plans to air later in the year. The pickup comes about a month before the series' fifth season premieres on Feb. 16. More.

+Primetime scripted cable meets goal to increase LGBTQ people of color, study finds. GLAAD's annual "Where We Are on TV" report indicates that asexual characters continue to be non-existent, while representations of those living with HIV/AIDS has dropped significantly. The story.

+Streaming ratings: The Mandalorian closed out its second season on Disney+ by ascending to the top of Nielsen's streaming rankings. The Star Wars series became the first program on a streaming platform other than Netflix to claim the top spot. The numbers.

+Impeachment ratings: A little more than 12 million people watched the House of Representatives vote to impeach President Trump for a second time, according to early ratings figures for Wednesday. CNN drew the biggest share of that audience. The numbers.

 'WandaVision' Review

►TV review: Daniel Fienberg reviews Disney+'s WandaVision, writing that the Marvel series "may not be weirder than Guardians of the Galaxy, which still has a talking raccoon and an adolescent sapling, but there's something creatively courageous about handing a postmodern exploration of sitcom conventions to an audience expecting snazzy suits and explosions. Expect a merited mixture of confusion and TV-nerd joy from viewers in response to a show that has picked a distinctive lane and commits to it." The review.

+Meanwhile: Here's what the other critics are saying. The review roundup.

►Postproduction shake-up: Technicolor's post business to be sold to Formosa Group's parent company. Plans call for the Technicolor post business to be merged into L.A.-headquartered Streamland's post businesses, which also include Ghost VFX, The Farm Group, and Finalé Post. With the deal, Technicolor — a century old brand that has been synonymous with motion pictures — effectively exits key aspects of the business, including motion picture color grading. The story.

►Spike Lee eyes future during American Cinematheque tribute: "I got some more joints to make." The Oscar-winning filmmaker talked about the late Chadwick Boseman with Ryan Coogler, touched on his legacy with Jodie Foster and received tributes from Rosie Perez, Angela Bassett and the cast of Da 5 Bloods. More.

+Fran Lebowitz on Pretend It's a City, President Trump's post-White House career and making Martin Scorsese laugh. "It is my belief that [Trump] will only have any kind of post-White House career if the media gives it to him. They can decide not to do this. People can decide that. When I say the media, I mean the real media. I'm not talking about these crazy websites or whatever... But if the real media, real newspapers, real magazines, real websites, real television networks, they can just stop covering him. I mean, how often do they cover Bill Clinton? You know, he’s an ex-president." The interview.

►ESPN chief tells staff, direct-to-consumer shift "is something we’ve been building towards for years." ESPN held its annual employee town hall on Thursday, using a virtual format due to, you know. Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke with ESPN and sports content chairman Jimmy Pitaro during the town hall, according to a transcript, where they discussed the company's pivot to streaming.

--“ESPN+ is no longer a niche business," Chapek said. "You’re dedicating so much first-run content and important content to ESPN+ that we’re essentially making that pivot as we are with the rest of the Company. ESPN is very aligned overall with where the Company is going. The consumer is voting with their pocketbook, and we see where they’re going, and they’re going hard to direct to consumer."

--"For so many reasons, I feel optimistic about the year ahead,” Pitaro said. “At the same time, I’m also realistic about the business challenges we face. The changes we’ve seen over the last few months have, at times, felt sudden and difficult, but I can assure you this strategic business shift is something we’ve been building towards for years, at Disney and at ESPN.”

►SPAC of the day: Group Nine Acquisition Corp., the SPAC backed by Group Nine Media, will start trading on the Nasdaq today, and expects to raise $200 million in its IPO. Former Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons and Reddit and Time Inc. COO Jen Wong are joining its board. Now, the hunt is on for a digital venture to merge with...

►Guest column: John Lewis doc filmmaker Dawn Porter reacts to Capitol riots: "This is harder without him." The veteran documentary filmmaker of John Lewis: Good Trouble reflects on the lessons she learned from the late congressman and civil rights activist in processing the political events of the past week: "He told me that if I let anger overwhelm me, I was the person who lost the most. That if I stopped loving my country, I was the person who would experience an incalculable loss." The column.

Casting roundup: Cardi B has landed her first leading big-screen role in the Paramount comedy Assisted Living... Former Andi Mack star Peyton Elizabeth Lee will star in the Disney+ update of the Neil Patrick Harris comedy Doogie Howser, Doogie Kameāloha, M.D... Sanaa Lathan, Linda Emond and Jihae will all recur on the Emmy-winning HBO drama Succession... The latest David O. Russell movie has filled out its A-list ensemble. Frequent collaborator Robert De Niro has joined the project, along with Mike Myers, Timothy Olyphant, Michael Shannon, Chris Rock, and Anya Taylor-Joy... Netflix and director Matthew Warchus have found their Matilda. Relative newcomer 11-year old Alisha Weir has been cast as the title character in the streamer’s adaptation of the musical that is based on the Roald Dahl book. Emma Thompson is also joining the cast...

►AMC Networks has hired Christina Spade as its new CFO. Spade was most recently the CFO of ViacomCBS, departing the company last summer. Spade becomes executive vp and CFO for AMC's portolio of channels, including AMC, BBC AMERICA, IFC, SundanceTV and WE tv; streaming services AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now and ALLBLK; and AMC Networks International. More.

+Revolving door: Bad Robot is pushing further into the animation space. The production company overseen by J.J. Abrams and his producing partner/wife Katie McGrath has hired John Agbaje to serve as senior vp animation... HBO marketing veteran Lucinda Martinez has announced she's moving on. She leaves after two decades with the company, most recently serving as the executive VP brand marketing for both HBO and streaming service HBO Max...

Obituaries: Siegfried Fischbacher, the ace illusionist who made big animals appear and disappear as one-half of the breathtaking Las Vegas magic act Siegfried & Roy, has died. He was 81... Ray Brady, who covered business, economics and Wall Street for CBS television and radio for nearly three decades, has died. He was 94... Joanne Rogers, an accomplished concert pianist and wife of iconic kids TV host Fred Rogers who provided an invaluable assist to the filmmakers behind the 2019 feature A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, died Thursday. She was 92... Peter Mark Richman, the pharmacist turned ubiquitous character actor who showed up in such films as Friendly Persuasion and The Black Orchid and on TV shows including Dynasty and Three's Company, has died. He was 93...

►Awards Chatter podcast: In the latest episode Ben Affleck reflects on a rollercoaster career, from highs like his breakthrough with Matt Damon and two Oscar wins to lows like the 'Bennifer' period and his struggles with alcoholism, and why he considers his latest role "the crowning achievement of my life as an actor." Listen.

►TV's Top 5 podcast: During this week's podcast, hosts Daniel Fienberg and Lesley Goldberg are joined by the creator of Apple's Dickinson to talk season two of the Hailee Steinfeld comedy and break down why Sex and the City is returning and other topics. Listen.

In other news...

--Horror legend John Carpenter is taking his talents to the audio world. Carpenter and Sandy King Carpenter, the president Storm King Productions, have signed an exclusive pact with Serial Box that will see them co-produce horror audio stories and podcasts for the audio service.

--Disneyland is ending its annual pass program, the company said Thursday.

--With more streaming than screening, the Sundance Film Festival is looking to virtual panels and forums to generate audience moments and momentum for its upcoming pandemic-era 2021 edition.

--The cast and creator of FXX's critically acclaimed comedy You're the Worst are reuniting for a fundraiser to benefit Feeding America.

--How the streaming wars could save L.A.'s office market.

--A near mint issue of Batman #1 has just sold for just over $2.2 million, setting a record for the most expensive Batman comic sold.

What else we're reading...

--"Snap names new content leader in push to counter TikTok" [The Information]

--"Startup pushes picture-in-picture ads for streaming TV" [WSJ]

--"Rudy Giuliani and Sydney Powell have disappeared from Fox airwaves" [Washington Post]

--An open letter from Laura Poitras [Praxis Films]

Today's birthdays: Pitbull, 40, Regina King, 50, Eddie Cahill, 43, Skrillex, 33, Charo, 70.

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JANUARY 15, 2021

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