Today In Entertainment

FEBRUARY 06, 2021

What's news: WME and the WGA have a deal, WME drops Armie Hammer, Fox News cancels Lou Dobbs, explosive Woody Allen doc coming to HBO, HBO lines up another GameStop project, the Obamas release their Netflix slate, Blade finds its writer, remembering Christopher Plummer. Plus: Will Paramount be able to make a new version of Breakfast at Tiffany's? A Super Bowl preview. --Alex Weprin

 A Trio of Friday Evening News Dumps...

The first Friday evening in February lended itself way to three late-breaking and significant news developments...

►WME and the WGA have a deal. "More than 22 months after thousands of scribes parted ways with their reps amid one of the biggest showdowns in recent Hollywood history, all of the town's major agencies have now made peace with the Writers Guild of America. The lone holdout, WME, has agreed to terms with the guild," Erik Hayden and Kim Masters write.

--The basics: The deal will allow the Beverly Hills-based talent firm, led by president Ari Greenburg, to represent writers for the first time since April 2019, when the franchise agreement with the guild expired. Endeavor, the parent company of WME, will reduce its ownership stake in film and TV company Endeavor Content down to 20 percent. The talent agency will sunset the practice of packaging fees — in which an agent is paid directly by a studio for attaching talent to a writer's pitch — by June 30, 2022. Additionally, legal claims that WME has made against the guild will be withdrawn. The story.

►Fox News is parting ways with Lou Dobbs. Dobbs hosted Fox Business Network's highest-rated show, making the cancelation a shocker. However, Dobbs was also named in a suit this week filed against Fox by the voting machine company Smartmatic, and his commentary has veered into conspiracy theories in recent years.

"Fox News Media regularly considers programming changes and plans have been in place to launch new formats as appropriate post-election, including on Fox Business – this is part of those planned changes," A spokesperson said. As for the lawsuit, Fox says that it "is committed to providing the full context of every story with in-depth reporting and clear opinion. We are proud of our 2020 election coverage and will vigorously defend against this meritless lawsuit in court.” The story.

--Dobbs spent his Friday night retweeting people praising him, as well as people that were trashing Fox News.

►Armie Hammer has been dropped by WME. Hammer losing his agency is the latest development of a career in freefall and comes amid controversy over graphic messages he allegedly sent several women over social media. Sources tell THR's Borys Kit that his personal publicist has also stepped away. The story.

 Super Bowl Preview

►The basics: Super Bowl LV will kick off at 3:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday. The game will air on CBS, but will also stream for free on CBS' websites and apps, and on NFL.com. The game will see the GOAT, Tom Brady and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking on the next-generation GOAT (a baby GOAT if you will) in the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, who are looking for a repeat Super Bowl win.

+What about the halftime show? The Weeknd will be the halftime performer, though if the past few years is any indication, expect cameo appearances from other artists. Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church will sing the national anthem, H.E.R. will sing "America The Beautiful," and poet Amanda Gorman will recite an original poem before the game.

--Jesse Collins on producing the Super Bowl halftime show amid a pandemic: "Viewers will still have a spectacle." Speaking with Michael O'Connell, the in-demand exec who pulled off June’s BET Awards — the first pandemic-era marquee TV event not filmed over Zoom — also discusses his upcoming gigs putting on the Grammys and the Oscars while under the shadow of COVID-19. The interview.

+And the commercials? Yes, there will be commercials. So far, we know of spots that include a Wayne's World reboot (for Uber Eats), a spot with celebrity lookalikes (and the real Don Cheadle) for Michelob, and a spot with Matthew McConaughey, Jimmy Kimmel and Mindy Kaling for Doritos. Also expect lots of ads for streaming services, including Paramount+, which will use the game to kick off its marketing campaign.

--There's already a lawsuit over a Super Bowl ad. Suzie's Brewery Company on Tuesday sued Anheuser-Busch for false advertising and filed a motion for a temporary restraining order that would keep it from airing ads Sunday that Suzie's claims are false. At question: What counts as a “national hard seltzer that is USDA certified organic.” The story.

+How many people will watch? Last year, 100.4 million viewers tuned in on Fox, up from 98.2 million in 2019. The wild cards this year: Will fewerSuper Bowl parties mean higher Nielsen ratings as more people watch at home instead of at friends' houses? Will lower out-of-home ratings mean lower overall ratings? How many people will stream the game this year? Stay tuned. 

►Will Paramount Pictures be able to make a new version of Breakfast at Tiffany's? Or will it be another studio? On Feb. 2, Paramount hinted at how it will be defending the claim that it has lost ownership by sitting on rights for too long. Paramount has a screenplay for a new movie, according to court papers.

--But Alan Schwartz, Trustee of the Truman Capote Literary Trust, has been shopping a television series, and gotten 7-figure offers from multiple interested buyers. Early last year, both sides pursued settlement with the idea that Paramount would be involved in the TV production, but in May, negotiations were halted when Paramount chief Jim Gianopulos decided to opt for a feature instead. Now they're fussing over decades-old deal work and trying to figure out who has power to commission a new version. The story.

In other film news...

+Marvel Studios’ Blade, the Vampire Slayer feature has found its writer. Stacy Osei-Kuffour, a playwright who acted as story editor and writer on acclaimed limited series, Watchmen, has been tapped to pen the script for the feature project that reboots Marvel’s vampire hunting hero. The story.

+Ben Stiller has come aboard to direct Bagman, a true-life drama based on a Rachel Maddow podcast that is being developed by Focus Features. Adam Perlman wrote the script along with Stiller and Mike Yarvitz.  The latter executive produced the podcast that examined the hidden story of a corruption scandal that hit the Richard Nixon White House and co-wrote the subsequent book with Maddow. More.

 HBO Orders Doc Series About Woody Allen

►A secret, explosive Woody Allen doc series from Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering is coming to HBO. In a move bound to spark controversy, HBO is bringing an explosive investigative documentary series about embattled filmmaker Woody Allen to the screen.

--Directed by Oscar-nominated documentarians Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, the four-part series titled Allen v. Farrow goes behind decades of sensational headlines to reveal the private story of one of Hollywood’s most notorious and public scandals: the accusation of sexual abuse against Woody Allen involving Dylan, his then 7-year-old daughter with Mia Farrow. The Amy Herdy-produced series chronicles Allen and Farrow's subsequent custody trial and the revelation of Allen’s relationship with Farrow’s daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. HBO will debut the first episode on Feb. 21 at 9 p.m., with new episodes airing on subsequent Sundays at the same time. The story.

►Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground Productions has unveiled a new slate of projects at Netflix, with subjects ranging from one of the first men to reach the summit of Mt. Everest to a YA thriller centered on a Native American girl. The company also formally announced it's developing Exit West, a feature starring Riz Ahmed and based on Mohsin Hamid's acclaimed novel. News of the movie, directed by Yann Demange (White Boy Rick), first broke in March 2020. The details.

+HBO is jumping into the crowded pool of producers circling projects about the GameStop stock saga. The premium cabler has put into development a scripted project from Billions co-creator and financial journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin, former HBO Films head Len Amato and Jason Blum. More.

+Taylor Sheridan is doubling down on his relationship with ViacomCBS. The Yellowstone creator has inked his second sprawling overall deal with the media titan in a pact that sources estimate is valued in the nine-figure range. The new agreement comes a year into Sheridan's current three-year pact and extends his deal for five additional years (through 2028). It also includes a series order for a Yellowstone prequel, titled Y: 1883, at Paramount+. The story.

+It's the end of the road for Wynonna Earp. The genre drama from creator Emily Andras will come to an end when season four returns to Syfy in March with its final six episodes. The series, which is produced by IDW Entertainment, will return March 5 at 10 p.m., with its series finale bowing April 9. More.

+Transplant writer Lynne Kamm has teamed with Mad Samurai Productions to acquire the executive TV rights to best-selling author Eric Walters' YA book series The Rule of Three. Kamm will executive produce and showrun production on a TV pilot, with Walters attached to consult. More.

+HBO Max has filled out the creative team on its Sex and the City follow-up, And Just Like That. The new 10-episode series starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis has enlisted five women to join showrunner Michael Patrick King on the writing staff. More.

+Lana Condor is staying in business with Netflix. The To All the Boys I've Loved Before favorite has signed on to star and exec produce an eight-episode limited comedy series called Boo, Bitch for the streamer. More.

+Taran Killam is returning to broadcast. The Single Parents and Saturday Night Live alum has been tapped as the male lead in CBS comedy pilot Welcome to Georgia. More.

+Hulu is expanding its comedy lens. The Disney-backed streamer is teaming with stand-up comedian Chris Estrada for a scripted comedy series inspired by his life called Punk Ass Bitch. Estrada will star, write and exec produce the comedy, which is currently in the development stage. More.

►Obituary: Christopher Plummer, the sophisticated star who in 2012 became the oldest actor to ever win a competitive Oscar — a just reward for his seven standout decades as leading man on the stage and screen — died Friday. He was 91. A legendary performer on Broadway, for the National Theater and The Royal Shakespeare Company in England and for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada, Plummer died peacefully at his Connecticut home, with Elaine Taylor, his wife and best friend for 53 years by his side, his agency, ICM Partners, announced. The obituary.

+The tributes: Julie Andrews, Ridley Scott, Helen Mirren and more weigh in on the late, legendary actor. The tributes.

►Awards Chatter podcast: Sean Combs, the man who made hip-hop mainstream reflects on becoming a mogul by 23, the East Coast-West Coast feud that claimed his best friend and expanding his brand into fashion, vodka and socially-important films like a new short about police brutality on which he is an executive producer. Listen.

Revolving door: A3 Artists Agency has promoted Danielle De Lawder and Keith Bielory to partners, while also upping Jared Thompson and Marienor Madrilejo to senior agents... Joseph Sikora, best known as Tommy Egan on Starz's Power franchise, has signed a first-look deal for his Black Fox Productions banner with Lionsgate TV...

In other news...

--Dirty Films — the production banner from Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton — and New Republic Pictures are partnering on the municipal fraud drama Queen Bitch & The High Horse.

--Chiwetel Ejiofor has landed at Paramount+ to star in the streamer's series The Man Who Fell to Earth.

--It's Super Bowl weekend and Sunday's game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs isn't the only clash on the NFL's radar. International Game Pass customers have filed a putative class action against the league over livestream failures during last year's big event.

--In a sign of the growing need for intellectual property rights, Disney Television Studios has formed a creative acquisitions department.

--Nearly 200 LGBTQ actors in Germany, including some of the country's biggest film and TV stars, staged a mass coming-out in a German national newspaper on Friday, in a public appeal for more diversity on stage and screen. 

What else we're reading...

--"Donald Trump’s business sought a stake in Parler before he would join" [BuzzFeed News]

--"Three days in the life of Bowen Yang" [Vanity Fair]

--"Country music is playing a dangerous game with Morgan Wallen" [The Ringer]

--"Biden to revive weekly address that faded under Trump" [NY Times]

Today's birthdays: Tinashe, 28, Alice Eve, 39, Axl Rose, 59, Kathy Najimy, 64, Simon Phillips, 64.

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FEBRUARY 06, 2021

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