Today In Entertainment

MARCH 03, 2021

What's news: When will the Disneyland v. California standoff end? Alamo Drafthouse files for bankruptcy protection, GLOW creators developing star-studded anthology at Apple, 73rd Primetime Emmys get a September date, Superman & Lois renewed at The CW, why "Canada is the place Hollywood is looking to" for productions amid the pandemic, Kevin Mayer's next gig. Plus: THR's TV critics on this winter's fare, and the resurrection of Kelly Marie Tran. --Alex Weprin

 Kelly Marie Tran Speaks Out

►On the cover: The resurrection of Kelly Marie Tran: On surviving Star Wars bullying, the pressures of representation, and Raya and the Last Dragon. After intense racist and sexist online trolls caused the actress to "close up shop," Tran has emerged stronger and surer of who she is, Rebecca Sun reports: "I feel like a totally different human."

--"As the first woman-of-color Star Wars lead and first Southeast Asian Disney princess, Tran is well aware that she is a symbol of representation, and is getting better at wearing the mantle without letting it suffocate her. 'I understand why there's that sort of label on the things I've done. As a kid, I saw people working in this industry and thought they were somehow elevated human beings, and that if I ever got to that place, I would never feel any insecurity or doubt, and that's just not true,' she says. 'So I acknowledge and validate the label of these things being historic, and I'm so grateful to be part of them, but for my own sanity I have to not think about that too much.'"

--"She would introduce herself to everyone on the crew," says The Last Jedi's Rian Johnson. "She'd poke her head in departments and ask, 'What do you guys do in here?' I'd turn around and she'd be helping sew in Porg feathers."

"When told that her behavior is unusual for an actor: 'That makes me want to die,' says Tran. 'Maybe it's because, to this day, I still have worked longer as an admin assistant than a working actor, and because I didn't grow up in the industry. Going into my first movie, I remember people being like, 'Oh, you're hanging out with the PAs on the weekends,' and I'd be like, 'Yeah, so?' I still don't ever want to believe these made-up status titles we have in Hollywood. I tell my agents all the time: 'The day that becomes me, I will go back to college and become a scientist.'" The cover story.

 Disneyland Drama

►Disneyland v. Gov. Newsom: When will the standoff over reopening end? The iconic Anaheim park is a vaccination site while the Hollywood giant is locked in a stalemate with the embattled Democrat to speed up the return of visitors and employees, Ryan Parker reports.

--Disneyland closed its gates March 14, 2020. Before that time, the park only had been shut for 24-hour periods after major national events, such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Locked in a standoff with Gov. Gavin Newsom on when the park can reopen amid a pandemic, Disney has taken a financial hit — $2.6 billion in the past quarter alone — and furloughed thousands of employees who don’t know when they’ll return to work. And the Democrat is facing political pressure to reopen more businesses as organizers aim to collect 1.49 million signatures before a March 17 deadline to kick-start a recall election. The story.

►Alamo Drafthouse is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Alamo's CFO said in a declaration tied to the bankruptcy filing that the move was made "in the face of an impending liquidity shortfall and significant industry headwinds primarily caused by the adverse impacts of the COVID -19 pandemic on the movie theater and dining industries." The story.

►The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, Sept. 19, it was announced Tuesday by CBS and the Television Academy. The ceremony will air live at 5 p.m. PT on the CBS Television Network as well as on Paramount+. A venue and host will be announced at a later date. The story.

More from awards season...

+Soul, Eurovision Song Contest and The Queen's Gambit were among the high-profile winners at the 2021 Society of Composers and Lyricists Awards on Tuesday night. More.

+Eddie Murphy will receive the Distinguished Artisan Award during the 8th annual Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards. More.

+The Cinema Audio Society announced the nominees for the 57h annual CAS Awards for sound mixing, which will presented during a virtual event on April 17. More.

+Also: The controversy over the lack of Black representation at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the body that organizes the Golden Globe Awards, rumbles on as an Australian HFPA member admitted that the organization did not see the lack of Black journalists as a "problem" and that the body was previously not really "focused" on upping Black representation. More.

 Apple's Latest A-List Project

►Apple has greenlit an anthology series about what it means to be a woman — and assembled an A-list cast to star in it. Nicole Kidman, Cynthia Erivo, Merritt Wever and Alison Brie will star in Roar, based on a book of short stories by Cecelia Ahern. GLOW Creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch are adapting the book; it's the first series order under the pair's overall deal at Apple. The story.

+To no surprise, The CW is keeping Superman and Lois Lane around. The younger-skewing broadcast network has handed out a speedy season two renewal for rookie DC Comics drama Superman & Lois. The pickup arrives after the Greg Berlanti-produced drama aired only one episode. The second installment debuts Tuesday night. The story.

+Fox's roster of animated series is staking out new territory. The network will open a second animation block on Monday nights in the summer. Newcomer Housebroken, featuring the voices of Lisa Kudrow, Nat Faxon, Will Forte and Sharon Horgan, will pair with second-year show Duncanville, starring Amy Poehler, beginning May 31. Duncanville will premiere with two episodes on Sunday, May 23 before moving to its regular berth. More.

+Disney's 20th Television has snagged rights to the hotly anticipated novel We Begin at the End. The studio won rights to Chris Whitaker's mystery over multiple other outlets. Thomas Kail (Hamilton) and Jennifer Todd (Showtime's City on a Hill) will develop the book via their Old 320 Sycamore banner; the company has an overall deal at 20th. They're currently searching for a writer to adapt the novel. More.

►Lena Dunham has just wrapped production in Los Angeles on Sharp Stick for FilmNation Entertainment. Her first movie since Tiny Furniture 11 years ago, Dunham will star alongside Kristine Froseth, Paige, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jon Bernthal and Scott Speedman. Plot details for Sharp Stick are being kept under wraps, but the project returns Dunham to the familiar creative turf of female sexuality and portrayals. More.

►Amid pandemic, "Canada is the place Hollywood is looking to" for productions. On local soundstages and location sets, agile Canadian crews and talent have managed to keep cameras rolling through a combination of resourcefulness, careful planning and sheer will. In fact, the swift, industrywide embrace of strict safety protocols and social distancing has led to so much activity for the country's locations sector that productions have surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The story.

►Chris D'Elia was accused on Tuesday of sexually exploiting a minor and soliciting child pornography in a federal lawsuit. The suit, filed on behalf of a Jane Doe in a U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, claims that in 2014, a then 34-year-old D'Elia sexually abused Doe while she was 17 years old and demanded sexually explicit images from her after meeting her over social media. A spokesperson for D'Elia said, "Chris denies these allegations and will vigorously defend against them in court." The story.

+In other legal news: Will Netflix's appeal in poaching case impact actors? A Disney unit tells California's 2nd Appellate district that its legal war with the streamer isn't about stopping TV actors from taking movie roles. More.

►Critics' conversation: It’s a Sin, Omar Sy and other winter TV wonders (and blunders). THR’s TV critics Inkoo Kang and Daniel Fienberg break down a sleepy small-screen season that still offered treasures — including Omar Sy, Fran Lebowitz, It's a Sin, The Lady and the Dale and The Great North — for those willing to seek them out. The conversation.

Casting roundup: Paramount and eOne’s Dungeons & Dragons has found its villain. Hugh Grant has been cast in the main antagonist role in the big-budget feature adaptation of the popular fantasy role-playing game from Wizards on the Coast...Alec Baldwin is set to star in Supercell, an epic disaster action movie and the first film greenlit under a non-exclusive first look deal between Highland Film Group and newly-launched Short Porch Pictures...

Revolving door: Former Disney streaming chief and TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer has been named chairman of the board of directors at DAZN Group... Hello Kitty has its directors. Animation veterans Jennifer Coyle and Leo Matsuda will helm the New Line feature, which is planned as an animated/live-action hybrid film... Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany is joining Fox News Channel as an on-air contributor. Detavio Samuels, hired as COO in 2020, is promoted to CEO, while Colin McIntosh adds the COO title at Sean Combs' Revolt TV...

In other news...

--After NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock surpassed 33 million signups, Comcast CEO and chairman Brian Roberts touted post-launch growth prospects during an appearance at an investors conference on Wednesday.

--Fortnite developer Epic Games has purchased Fall Guys developer Mediatonic. The deal encompasses Tonic Games Group, the parent company of Mediatonic. The companies, which announced the news via blog posts and on social media, did not disclose terms of the deal.

--Americans are more cautious about returning to cinemas than British and Australian consumers amid the pandemic, but are most likely to say they miss seeing Hollywood tentpoles at the local multiplex, a new YouGov survey finds.

--U.K. TV giant ITV has acquired Oprah With Meghan and Harry, the Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

--Netflix has unveiled an enormous slate of 40 film and TV titles targeting the fast-growing Indian streaming market at a gala event held Wednesday in Mumbai.

--RTL Group has agreed to buy out the Walt Disney Co.'s stake in the German kids channel Super RTL.

--Jahmil French, who played Dave Turner for several seasons on Degrassi: The Next Generation, has died. He was 29.

--Geoffrey Scott, who portrayed tennis pro Mark Jennings, the first husband of Linda Evans' Krystle Carrington, on the 1980s ABC primetime soap Dynasty, has died. He was 79.

What else we're reading...

--"Leak of bombshell CBS investigation led to multimillion-dollar settlement" [Vanity Fair]

--"Shaquille O'Neal co-founds a new ad agency focused on diversity" [WSJ]

--"SXSW unveils virtual recreations of downtown Austin for 2021 online fest" [Austin American-Statesman]

--"What do TV's race fantasies actually want to say?" [Wired]

Today's birthdays: Charlie Brooker, 50, David Faustino, 47, Jessica Biel, 39, George Miller, 76, Camila Cabello, 24.

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MARCH 03, 2021

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