Today In Entertainment

JANUARY 20, 2021

What's news: How the Joe Biden presidency could impact Hollywood, Netflix's big beat, studio tentpoles on the move once more, Warner Bros. sets Wonka origin story, Supreme Court hears argument over media ownership rules, Riz Ahmed inks Amazon deal, Disney nixes bonuses for top execs. Plus: Trump departs the White House and promises that he "will be watching," Lil Wayne and Kodak Black score pardons, Trump faces expulsion from SAG-AFTRA, DOJ loses its tune on music licensing. And: How Reed Hastings celebrated 200 million subscribers. --Alex Weprin

 What Joe Biden Could Mean For Hollywood

►How the Biden presidency will really impact Hollywood: 4 key areas to watch. From repairing strained relationships with foreign leaders to coping with COVID-19, how the new commander-in-chief handles the nation’s challenges will impact businesses across the entertainment industry, Eriq Gardner writes.

--"During the Trump years, the Department of Justice attempted to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger and brought antitrust actions against Google and Facebook. That may be merely a warm-up to what the Biden administration pursues, as liberal think tanks have been buzzing about trust-busting and ensuring open access to critical infrastructure and healthy labor markets. Of particular significance to the entertainment industry will be what, if anything, is done about companies that take a dual role in selling products while also managing platforms connecting independent producers and consumers." The story.

►President Trump has left Washington D.C., bound for his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump, a real estate scion-turned-media personality, was a fixture of the New York and Hollywood social scene and a regular presence in news, film and TV for more than 30 years before being elected president in 2016. The end of his four-year term saw him impeached twice, left him banned from his preferred social network and scorned by Hollywood over his policies and temperament. 

--Speaking to supporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews Wednesday morning that he "will be watching" what happens, and suggested that he has no intention of staying out of the public eye. "Good bye, we love you, we will be back in some form," he said. "Have a good life, we will see you soon." The story.

+Out of time, Trump’s Justice Department loses its tune on music licensing. "[With the departure of Trump from the White House] it’ll be a mild surprise that key restrictions on ASCAP and BMI — the two largest performance rights organizations — will survive his administration," Eriq Gardner writes. More than 800 letters to his office, some from such powerful interests as the National Association of Broadcasters, urged the status quo, fearing price hikes and lack of access to music libraries. And truth be told, ASCAP and BMI weren’t ready to rip up consent decrees. The story.

+Notable pardons: Rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black are among the people to have been pardoned or had their sentences commuted by Trump in his last full day in office. Late on Tuesday, the president granted 73 pardons and commuted the sentences for 70 other individuals. Pardons were given to Trump's political allies including his former campaign manager Steve Bannon and Elliott Broidy, the former deputy national finance chair of the Republican National Committee. More.

+Meanwhile: President Trump is facing expulsion from SAG-AFTRA. On the final full day of Trump's term in office, SAG-AFTRA’s National Board voted "overwhelmingly" to find probable cause of a violation of SAG-AFTRA’s Constitution and ordered a Disciplinary Committee hearing for which, if found guilty by the committee, Trump could face expulsion from the Guild.

--The charges, initiated by national executive director David White at the request of president Gabrielle Carteris, cite Trump’s role in inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and "in sustaining a reckless campaign of misinformation aimed at discrediting and ultimately threatening the safety of journalists, many of whom are SAG-AFTRA members," according to the Guild. The story.

 Netflix's Big Beat

►Netflix faced more competition than ever before in 2020, but the streamer is showing little sign of flagging, ending the year with an unprecedented nearly 204 million global subscribers. It turns out, the pandemic is a more powerful force than the threat of new rivals. Lockdowns around the world helped to significantly boost streaming sign-ups across the board, and Netflix benefitted from the industry’s overall boom, adding more than 36 million subscribers during the year. Though most of its new subscribers came during the first half of 2020, it added 8.51 million subscribers during the fourth quarter, more than the 6 million that Wall Street investors were expecting.

--Meanwhile,the company said it no longer needs to raise cash, and will even explore share buybacks as it seeks to boost its stock price even higher. CEO Reed Hastings also addressed the growing competition from Disney+: "It's super impressive what Disney's done," he said. "It's going to be great for the world that Disney and Netflix are competing show-by-show, movie-by-movie. We're very fired up about catching them in family animation — maybe eventually passing them, we'll see, it's a long way to go just to catch them — and maintaining our lead in general entertainment that's so stimulating like Bridgerton, which I don't think you're going to see on Disney anytime soon." The story.

+Analyst takes: "We've gone from a historical bear on Netflix to a card-carrying bull," writes one Wall Street observer. Another one says that "positive free cash flow going forward marks a new chapter." More.

+Netflix's most popular: The fourth season of The Crown, the debut of the Shonda Rhimes-produced Bridgerton and limited series The Queen's Gambit all posted big numbers in Netflix's viewing metric, which counts two minutes of viewing time of a series or movie — long enough to show "the choice was intentional," as the streamer puts it — as a view. The numbers.

+How did Reed Hastings celebrate 200 million subscribers? With a steak delivery from Denny's. Flashback to 2017 when Netflix hit 100 million subscribers.

 Tentpoles On The Move Once More?

►Release date deja vu: Studio tentpoles are on the move again. Like last year, James Bond pic No Time to Die might lead a slew of delays from studios as insiders strategize on how long it will take for box office to be revived, Pamela McClintock reports.

--“Lest anyone thought that the transition from 2020 into 2021 would magically fix the issues that perplexed the industry for the past almost 12 months, the reality is that the many of the very same market forces are still in play and will continue to inform the strategic decisions of studios and creatives alike,” says Paul Dergarabedian of Comscore. “That said, there is hope for a recovery for the theatrical movie biz on the horizon, but of course that future is in constant flux.” The story.

+Warner Bros. has set a date for Wonka, an origin story focusing on the storied chocolate factory owner. Wonka will hit theaters on March 17, 2023 and is from Paddington director Paul King and Harry Potter producer David Heyman. The studio describes it as focusing on "a young Willy Wonka and his adventures prior to opening the world’s most famous chocolate factory." The story.

+Jennifer Lopez’s Shotgun Wedding has found a new groom. A week after Armie Hammer’s exit from the Lionsgate romantic action comedy, Josh Duhamel has been chosen as his replacement. Duhamel, who appeared in the Michael Bay Transformers movies, is now in negotiations. More.

►Supreme Court hears argument over media ownership rules. On the final full day of the presidency of Donald J. Trump, his administration urged the Supreme Court to allow media ownership rules to change despite some who believe the move would hurt female and minority ownership of broadcast outlets. A high court with three Trump appointees could grant such wish, although the forthcoming decision figures to be prelude to more battles ahead, Eriq Gardner reports. The story.

+In other legal news: Disney is asking an L.A. judge to dismiss a sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation complaint from California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing for being "hopelessly vague" about which Criminal Minds workers its suing on behalf of. The story.

►Riz Ahmed's Left Handed Films has signed a first-look TV production deal with Amazon Studios. The move comes as Ahmed is enjoying rave reviews for his starring role in the Amazon film Sound of Metal. AMC veteran Allie Moore is joining Left Handed as senior vp, head of television to oversee the company's production and development alongside Ahmed. The story.

+Snowpiercer will keep rolling into a third season. TNT has renewed the drama for season three, six days before its second season is scheduled to premiere. More.

+Netflix has greenlit YA drama series Heartstopper, adapted from Alice Oseman's young adult graphic novel series described as a the "queer graphic novel we wished we had at high school" by the Gay Times. More.

►Disney is nixing bonuses for its top executives. In its annual proxy filing, the entertainment giant said that it made the decision "in light of the company's circumstances this year." Of course, executive chairman Bob Iger still pulled in $21 million and CEO Bob Chapek earned $14 million in his first full year atop the company, down significantly from pre-pandemic levels, but still highly-compensated, especially given Disney's challenges and layoffs this year. The story.

Revolving door: ABC News is shuffling its Washington correspondents, tapping Cecilia Vega to be its new chief White House correspondent... Fox News Digital is laying off staff, as a continuation of restructuring plans the company first announced last fall... Former lifetime executive and longtime producer Mioshi Hill is joining the ITV America-owned Sirens Media as president, replacing outgoing leader Jessica Sebastian-Dayeh — who is departing to pursue a new independent venture...

►TV review: Inkoo Kang reviews Hulu's The Sister, writing that "with a shorter running time, writer Neil Cross’ featureless protagonist, director Niall MacCormick’s more-generic-than-aspirin atmospherics and their indifference-inducing twists might’ve seemed less glaring. But stretched out over four hour-long installments, their tale feels droopy and drab." The review.

In other news...

--The Canadian storytelling app Wattpad has unveiled a deal to be acquired by Naver, the South Korean Internet conglomerate and home of Webtoon, the global digital comics platform as part of a cash and stock deal valued at $600 million.

--Creative Artists Agency has acquired Tandem Entertainment, the sales and creative agency.

--Digital media company Cinedigm Corp. is to acquire the Fandor indie film streaming service as it expands its presence in the online space.

--Former ESPN president John Skipper and radio host and former ESPN on-air talent Dan Le Batard are joining forces on a new content venture. The pair are launching Meadowlark Media, which will emphasize a "creator-centric point of view" to content, with its initial focus on sports.

--Shepard Smith has opened up about why he decided to leave Fox News in 2019 after 23 years at the network.

--Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti expressed frustration with the state's vaccine rollout, while Hollywood insiders are jetting to Florida to get vaccinated.

--The Banff World Media Festival will run as an online-only event from June 14 to July 16, 2021, organizers said Tuesday.

--The courtroom drama Foster Boy, starring Matthew Modine, Louis Gossett Jr. and Danny Glover, is set to open the virtual Toronto Black Film Festival on Feb. 10.

--R&B star Jazmine Sullivan and country singer Eric Church will join forces to sing the national anthem at the next month's Super Bowl, where Grammy-winning singer H.E.R. will perform "America the Beautiful."

What else we're reading...

--"Triller poised to make Super Bowl commercial debut" [Ad Age]

--"How fast do you cancel streaming services? It's a problem for Hollywood" [LA Times]

--"Slow COVID vaccine distribution adds to Tokyo Olympics woes" [WSJ]

--"When reality TV turns trends into content" [The Ringer]

Today's birthdays: Buzz Aldrin, 91, David Lynch, 75, Skeet Ulrich, 51, Stacey Dash, 54, Rainn Wilson, 55.

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JANUARY 20, 2021

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