Today In Entertainment

FEBRUARY 19, 2021

What's news: Imax CEO's optimism, Questlove set to direct another music doc, Hugh Jackman's latest gets dated, ABC rebooting another classic game show, Roku has a huge quarter but hedges on originals strategy, Disney+ goes down. Plus: Marilyn Manson investigation, and the 2020 British Independent Film Awards winners. --Alex Weprin

 Imax's Message For Theater Owners

►Imax CEO Richard Gelfond on what China’s huge theatrical recovery means for Hollywood. In the wake of China's historic $1.2 billion box-office week, THR's Patrick Brzeski spoke with the exhibition industry leader about Imax's booming business in the country and why he's "100 percent" confident that U.S. moviegoers will rush back to the multiplex in the same way.

--"I think China tells us 100 percent that when people feel comfortable going to the movies — when it's safe and there are great movies available — they're coming back. There's no question in my mind. They're coming back in big numbers, and they're going to come back particularly to Imax, because when they can leave their home, they’re going to want to experience something that feels transporting and special." The interview.

In other film news...

►Questlove to direct documentary about musician Sly Stone. After making his feature directorial debut with Sundance-winning doc Summer of Love, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson will direct the documentary about the influential artist, king of funk, and fashion icon, with his partners Zarah Zohlman and Shawn Geehis producing under their Two One Five Entertainment banner. The story.

+Warner Bros. has set a Sept. 3, 2021 release date for Hugh Jackman's Reminiscence. Director Lisa Joy's sci-fi action thriller, which also stars Thandie Newton and Cliff Curtis, will debut in theaters and on HBO Max. An international release for Reminiscence will kick off on August 25, 2021. More.

+In other film news: Ari Aster has set his latest project at A24, with Joaquin Phoenix set to star. Aster wrote and will direct Disappointment Blvd., which is described as an "intimate, decades-spanning portrait of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time." All other plot details are being kept under wraps. The story.

 Another ABC Game Show Reboot

►ABC, seemingly drunk on game shows, is updating another blast from the TV past. The network has given a season order to The Celebrity Dating Game, a spin on the series that showcased normies looking for love in the 1960s and '70s.

--Zooey Deschanel and Michael Bolton are set to host the project, given an initial order of eight episodes, all but ensuring that music will be well-incorporated as bachelors and bachelorettes vie for the attention of mystery celebrity guests. Described as "a wry wink at modern dating," the non-famous suitors have the opportunity to guess the secret identity of the celebrity contestant based on clues, questions and parody performances by Bolton. The story.

+Mattel is continuing its aggressive push into television. The toy company has set a pair of animated specials, Barbie & Chelsea: The Lost Birthday and a musical sequel, focused around its iconic Barbie character. Both specials are poised to launch this year and follow the success of last year's Netflix foray Barbie Princess Adventure. More.

+AMC continues bolster its originals with foreign co-productions. The basic cable network is teaming with Killing Eve producers Sid Gentle Films and U.K. producers Alibi for a new scripted drama, Ragdoll. The six-part murder thriller will be run by Freddy Syborn (Sex Education) and exec produced by Sally Woodward Gentle. More.

 Roku's Big Quarter

►Roku had more than 51 million active accounts at the end of 2020, a year in which it flexed its muscle as a distribution platform with new streaming services. That marks a 39 percent increase in accounts for the company, which makes connected TV devices on which it operates a streaming video platform. Roku users streamed 17 billion hours during the final three months of the year, an increase of 55 percent year-over-year.

--About the Quibi library deal: Quibi was "a unique opportunity" for Roku, general manager of the platform business Scott Rosenberg told reporters in a Thursday afternoon call, adding that the company "felt it was great original content to be had at an attractive price." But he stopped short of confirming that Roku will invest to produce its own original programming. "There are many avenues for us to grow the Roku Channel," he said, noting, that "anything we do in terms of content for the Roku channel has to be appropriate for our size and for an AVOD business model. In the case of Quibi those conditions were met." The story.

►The abuse allegations made about Marilyn Manson are being investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Special Victims Bureau is investigating allegation(s) of domestic violence involving Mr. Brian Warner, also known as 'Marilyn Manson,' who works in the music industry," it said in a statement. "The incidents occurred between 2009 and 2011 when Mr. Warner lived in the city of West Hollywood." The story.

►Disney+ experienced technical problems for some users in the early hours of Friday morning as people rushed to view the latest episode of Marvel's WandaVision. Outage tracking website Downdetector reported a huge spike in user-submitted problems with Disney+, rising from zero reported problems to over 8,000 just after midnight when the new episode dropped. Downdetector reported that most of the outages occurred on the West Coast, with clusters centered around Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. More.

►Exhibitor trade show CineEurope has pushed back its event from the usual summer slot to October due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Barcelona conference — which was forced to cancel its physical event entirely in 2020 and replace it with a two-day online show — is now set to take place Oct. 4-7. More.

►President Joe Biden's justice department has settled yet another dispute it inherited from the previous administration — and this one marks a win for journalists covering the White House. PEN America sued then-president Donald Trump in 2018 for retaliating against and threatening journalists whose coverage he viewed as "hostile," arguing that it impeded the First Amendment by hanging "a sword of Damocles over the heads of countless writers, journalists, and media entities." The story.

Awards roundup: Coming-of-age drama Rocks has claimed the top prize at the delayed 2020 British Independent Film Awards... Sofia Coppola will receive the American Society of Cinematographers' Board of Governors Award during the 35th Annual ASC Awards on April 18... George Clooney will receive the Cinema Audio Society's Filmmaker Award during its 57th CAS Awards for sound mixing, which will be presented during a virtual ceremony on April 17... Sophia Loren, the Italian screen legend who is among the last big-name survivors of Hollywood's Golden Age, will be this year's recipient of the L.A., Italia Legend Award...

Casting roundup: The Erin Brockovich-themed drama Rebel has enlisted Sharon Lawrence, Mo McRae, Sarah Grace White and Nina Millin for recurring roles... Jane Fonda has nabbed a lead voice role in Luck, the upcoming animation movie from Apple and Skydance Animation for AppleTV+... Weruche Opia and India de Beaufort have joined Jason Momoa in Slumberland, Francis Lawrence’s take on the influential early 20th century comic strip by Winsor McCay... Brittany Snow, best known for her work in the Pitch Perfect movies, has joined X, the latest horror endeavor from scaremaven Ti West...

Revolving door: Greg Coleman joins Amazon Studios as global head of franchise marketing, where he will oversee the team dedicated to getting the word out about fantasy and sci-fi originals films and TV series... Kelly Marie Tran, who next stars in Disney’s animated film Raya and the Last Dragon, has signed with M88 for representation... UTA has signed Hollywood actress and entrepreneur Jessica Alba...

►TV's Top 5 podcast: During this week's podcast, hosts Daniel Fienberg and Lesley Goldberg speak with For All Mankind showrunner Ronald Moore, discuss an early trend emerging from the broadcast networks and are joined by Jackie Strause to discuss The Bachelor controversy. Listen.

In other news...

--Gravitas Ventures has snapped up the North American rights to Say Your Prayers, directed by Harry Michell and starring Harry Melling, Tom Brooke, Derek Jacobi, Roger Allam, Anna Maxwell Martin and Vinette Robinson.

--STXfilms has picked up the U.S. rights to Violence of Action, Tarik Saleh's action pic that stars Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Gillian Jacobs, Eddie Marsan, Fares Fares, Nina Hoss and Amira Casar.

--The Second City, the Chicago-based improv and sketch comedy brand that spawned Hollywood talent like Tina Fey, John Belushi, Bill Murray and Keegan-Michael Key, has been acquired by Strauss Zelnick's private equity firm, ZMC.

--Adam McKay's first podcast in collaboration with Sony Music Entertainment has arrived. Things You Don't Need to Know from host Ari Cagan released its first two episodes on Thursday.

--Cinematographer John Hora, who collaborated with director Joe Dante on films including The Howling, Gremlins, Explorers and Matinee, has died. He was 80.

--Dolly Parton is urging lawmakers in her home state of Tennessee to withdraw a bill that would erect a statue of her on the Capitol Grounds in Nashville.

--Prince Markie Dee, radio personality and the Fat Boys rapper, has died. He was 52 years old.

What else we're reading...

--"WarnerMedia cuts thousands of ad agencies as it tries to save $1.5 billion" [Insider]

--"YouTube shutters 7 remaining ‘YouTube Spaces’ globally, doubling down on pop-ups and virtual programming" [TubeFilter]

--"Tech industry challenges Maryland online tax" [WSJ]

Today's birthdays: Jeff Daniels, 66, Smokey Robinson, 81, Roger Goodell, 62, Benicio del Toro, 54, Millie Bobby Brown, 17.

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FEBRUARY 19, 2021

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