Today In Entertainment

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

What's news: Ta-Nehisi Coates and J.J. Abrams are working on a Superman reboot for Warner Bros., Hollywood grapples with autism portrayals onscreen, HFPA controversy, George Clooney and Julia Roberts sign on to Universal's Ticket to Paradise, Seth Meyers renews his NBC deal, a Terminator anime in the works, Netflix commissions a deep dive into its own inclusion efforts. Plus: Golden Globes preview, and a review of Spongebob: Sponge On The Run. --Alex Weprin

 A New 'Superman'

►Acclaimed essayist and novelist Ta-Nehisi Coates has been hired to pen the script for a feature reboot of Superman that will be produced by J.J. Abrams. “To be invited into the DC Extended Universe by Warner Bros., DC Films and Bad Robot is an honor,” said Coates in a statement to website Shadow and Act, a website dedicated to the African diaspora in the arts. “I look forward to meaningfully adding to the legacy of America's most iconic mythic hero."

--Sources tell Borys Kit and Aaron Couch that the project is being set up as a Black Superman story. This is something that the studio has been trying to wrap its head around for months, if not a year or two. Michael B. Jordan tried to develop a Black Superman project when he first arrived at the studio with his deal in 2019, but that did not go very far at the time, according to sources. It is possible that the studio could return to him to star down the line. The story.

+Analysis: Richard Newby writes that "In film and television we’ve always been aware of Superman’s alien nature through the fact that he can pass as a white man. And as a white man, and the privileges that come with that, Clark Kent/Superman’s fallibility is something to be reckoned with... Coates has the insight and experience to delve further into this line of thinking, not simply through a Superman who presents as white but one who presents as Black." The column.

►Hollywood grapples with autism portrayals onscreen: "This is a responsibility you need to take really seriously." The Golden Globe-nominated Music drew heavy criticism for its portrayal of autism, while advocates point to Pixar's Loop as an example of authentic storytelling about a community that has long been misrepresented, Mia Galuppo reports. The story.

In other film news...

+George Clooney and Julia Roberts are set to star in Universal Pictures’ Ticket to Paradise, a romantic comedy to be directed by Ol Parker, who helmed Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Clooney and Roberts will play a divorced couple that travel to Bali to stop their daughter from repeating an error they made 25 years earlier. The duo earlier starred together in Jodie Foster's Money Monster and in the Ocean's Eleven movie franchise. The story.

+Kevin Hart has reteamed up with John Hamburg, who wrote the comedian’s hit, Night School, for Me Time, a comedy set up at Netflix. Hamburg, perhaps best known for writing the Meet the Parents comedies and directing Along Came Polly in the early 2000s, wrote the script and is directing and producing. More.

+Civil and voting rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer will be getting the biopic treatment. Common is set to produce a feature about the life of Hammer, titled God’s Long Summer. More.

+Netflix has picked up Parallel, a sci-fi spec script by Ben Ripley. Rideback, the production house run by Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich that was behind Netflix’s Oscar-nominated drama The Two Popes, will produce. More.

+Red Sonja has a new writer. Tasha Huo, the rising screenwriter who is showrunning and executive producing the upcoming animated Tomb Raider series for Netflix and Legendary, has been tapped to write the long-gestating fantasy reboot with director Joey Soloway. Millennium will be pre-selling the film at next week's EFM. More.

 Golden Globes Preview

The 78th Golden Globe Awards will be handed out Sunday, replacing the packed International Ballroom at The Beverly Hilton for a more pandemic-friendly format...

►The basics: The 78th Golden Globe Awards, presented by the Hollywod Foreign Press Association, will take place at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 28. It will air on NBC, and be hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Poehler will host from the traditional space at the Beverly Hilton (albeit without the crowded dinner tables) and Fey will host from The Rainbow Room atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York.

+The nominees: Mank led the nominees on the film side, while The Crown topped the TV nominations. Each earned six noms. Netflix dominated both sides. The full list of nominees.

+Who will win/Who should win: THR awards columnist Scott Feinberg and chief film critic David Rooney discuss which film nominees they think should win the Globes on Sunday, and which they think will actually win... Feinberg and chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg discuss which TV nominees should win, and which ones they think will win...

+Snubs and surprises: Music and Emily In Paris received nods while Da 5 Bloods and I May Destroy You were shut out. Elsewhere, The Prom's James Corden earned an unexpected nomination over fellow star Meryl Streep with Rosamund Pike sneaking into the best actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy, as Tom Hanks, Malcolm & Marie, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Fargo and Insecure weren't nominated. The list.

►HFPA controversy: In the aftermath of an exposé that revealed that the organization that hosts the Globes currently counts zero Black journalists among its membership (other reports suggest there was one in 1987), outrage has only grown with each passing day — particularly given the notable absence of any Black-centric films (e.g. Da 5 Bloods, Judas and the Black Messiah, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, One Night in Miami and The United States vs. Billie Holiday) among this year's nominees for best picture.

--Sterling K. Brown, Judd Apatow, Ava DuVernay and Gina Prince-Bythewood are among those who took to social media to express their displeasure. The HFPA says the issue will be addressed during the show on Sunday. The story.

+How the HFPA manages to keep dodging trouble. Are the Globes the Teflon awards show? THR's awards columnist Scott Feinberg weighs in on the controversy that has dominated the news in the days before Sunday's ceremony.

--"Will the HFPA, shamed by the backlash to some of its random 2021 noms, not just add Black members, but also make substantial structural changes? It seems the organization could address some concerns about its current composition — among the lifetime members is at least one who is legally blind — by taking a page out of the film Academy's book and significantly expanding its membership to include more active and legitimate journalists. But to make it possible for such people to join the organization, the HFPA would also have to reform its ethics rules. It is a big question mark if it would be willing to do so." The column.

+Golden Globes Ambassadors Satchel and Jackson Lee recall realizing Spike Lee was famous: "I thought my dad was just a big Knicks fan." The children of Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee talk about growing up with their firebrand filmmaker father, forging their own careers in the arts and which causes are getting their Golden Globes Ambassador grants. The interview.

+One Day at a Time boss on Golden Globe honoree Norman Lear's legacy of humor and humility. Showrunner Gloria  Calderón Kellett explains why the 98-year-old — set to receive the Carol Burnett Award during Sunday's ceremony — can't be honored enough. More.

►PGA Awards: The Producers Guild of America has announced its nominees in the categories of sports, children's and short-form TV programs for the 2021 PGA Awards. The nominees.

 Seth Meyers Reups

►Seth Meyers will roll into his second decade as host of NBC's Late Night. Meyers has renewed his deal to continue as host of the 12:35 a.m. show through 2025. The four year-extension comes as his current deal, signed back in 2016, was set to expire. Additionally, Meyers and producing partner Mike Shoemaker have signed an overall deal for their Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions at Universal Studio Group. That deal also runs through 2025. The company is behind Peacock's A.P. Bio and The Amber Ruffin Show. The story.

+Also at NBCU: Soo Hugh, the showrunner of Apple's forthcoming series Pachinko, is setting up shop at UCP. Hugh, who was co-showrunner of the first season of The Terror at AMC, has signed a multi-year overall deal at the Universal Studio Group unit to develop, write and produce projects. More.

+The Terminator is coming back and this time he will be an anime. Netflix and Skydance, the company that holds the rights to the long-running sci-fi franchise, have teamed up to produce an animated series based on the James Cameron-created killer robot from the future movie series. The story.

+New Freeform president makes her pitch for Gen Z viewers and emerging creators. Former Netflix executive Tara Duncan, who started last summer, has also picked up her first show for the cabler: Single Drunk Female.

--"The appeal was to be at a big, established media company like a Disney at a time of transition. I've had the most fun and the best success in my career when I've been at companies while they're charting a future toward what's next. I knew Disney was going to be focusing on streaming and I wanted to be part of that...To be presented with Freeform — a network that appeals to an audience that I feel a part of — and having it so squarely focused and targeted on Gen Z and millennials and wanting to tell stories in an authentic and inclusive way really spoke to me." The interview.

+Marissa Meyer’s bestselling novel, Instant Karma, has been optioned by HBO Max. The young adult contemporary romance novel, published by Feiwel & Friends last November, will be developed as a half-hour series with Meyer on-board to co-produce. More.

►Netflix taps Annenberg Inclusion Initiative for deep dive into its own content. The data revealed gender parity and proportional representation of Black cast members, but the streamer says it needs to do a better job of including other communities, including Latino, MENA, Native, LGBTQ and disability, Rebecca Sun reports.

--In addition to releasing the statistical deep-dive into its own content, Netflix also unveiled the creation of the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, which will see the company invest $100 million over the five years in internal programs and outside organizations to develop underrepresented talent for careers in the film and television industries. "Doing better means establishing even more opportunities for people from underrepresented communities to have their voices heard," wrote co-CEO Ted Sarandos, "and purposefully closing capacity and skill gaps with training programs where they are needed." The story.

►Film review: David Rooney reviews The Spongebob Movie: Sponge On The Run, writing that "the technological overhaul from 2D doesn't diminish the vibrant personalities of the character animation, and it's added an even trippier dimension to the surreal backgrounds. More immersive, if you will, even if its episodic action gets no prizes for storytelling discipline." The review.

In other news...

--Fred Segal, the retail giant who helped shape the fashion and cultural landscape in Los Angeles by launching new designers and providing threads for A-list clientele like The Beatles, Diana Ross, The Jackson 5 and Angelina Jolie, has died. He was 87.

--AMC Entertainment Holdings has awarded top execs $8.3 million in bonuses, including $3.75 million for CEO Adam Aron, for their "extraordinary efforts" amid the pandemic.

--Two French bulldogs owned by Lady Gaga, which were stolen on Wednesday night in an incident in which her assistant was also shot, have been returned safely.

--British actor Callum Woodhouse has signed with APA.

--Taylor Swift has clarified that a handful of her Lover Fest shows that were rescheduled in the summer of last year will not be happening in 2021 due to the ongoing safety concerns.

What else we're reading...

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--"Clown princes: Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall on Coming 2 America" [NY Times]

Today's birthdays: Josh Groban, 40, Chelsea Clinton, 41, Timothy Spall, 64, Rozonda Thomas aka Chilli, 50.

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FEBRUARY 27, 2021

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