Today In Entertainment

MARCH 06, 2021

What's news: California gives theme parks a green light to open, Steven Spielberg bringing The Talisman to Netflix, AMC chief Adam Aron sees $20M-plus payday, Universal dates Bros, David Simon and George Pelecanos head back to Baltimore for their latest HBO project. Plus: Berlin winner trashes the "bullsh*t of red carpets," and Amazon's Mars doc. --Alex Weprin

 California Gives Theme Parks Green Light

►Some theme parks will be eligible for reopening with “very reduced capacity” beginning next month, California officials announced Friday. Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, said in a news release, “California can begin gradually and safely bringing back more activities, especially those that occur outdoors and where consistent masking is possible. Even with these changes, California retains some of the most robust public health protocols in the country.”

--“We are encouraged that theme parks now have a path toward reopening this spring, getting thousands of people back to work and greatly helping neighboring businesses and our entire community," Disneyland Resort president Ken Potrock stated. "With responsible Disney safety protocols already implemented around the world, we can’t wait to welcome our guests back and look forward to sharing an opening date soon." The story.

 Spielberg's 'Talisman'

►In 1982, Steven Spielberg was so enamored by The Talisman, the fantasy horror book by Stephen King and Peter Straub, that two years before the book was published, he acquired the screen rights outright and in perpetuity, Borys Kit reports. He then spent the next 35-plus years developing it as a movie, trying in vain to find a way into the story. Now, Talisman may finally be ready to reach screens but, as befits the times, as a series.

--The Duffer Brothers, whose own Stranger Things owes more than a few debts to King’s work, will executive produce a series adapting the book, that will be produced by Netflix in association with Spielberg’s Amblin Television and Paramount Television Studios. The story.

►Universal Pictures has set an August 12, 2022 release date for Bros, the Billy Eichner-starring romantic comedy produced by Judd Apatow. The film will portray two men maybe, possibly, probably stumbling towards love. Eichner co-wrote Bros with The Muppets helmer Nick Stoller, who will direct. More.

+Phil Lord and Chris Miller's Lord Miller banner has picked up Emma Dudley's Blacklist wedding comedy Forever Hold Your Peace. The script, which appeared on the 2020 version of the Blacklist, follows a young queer woman finds herself in an extremely awkward situation at her conservative dad's wedding. More.

+Amazon Studios and Amblin Television are heading to Mars in a new feature doc, with the help of  NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Good Night Oppy will tell the true story of Opportunity — a Mars exploration rover that was active from 2004 to 2018 — and the bond forged between the robot and the humans that created her. More.

+Also: Nowhere Boy and Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson has amassed a major team of on-screen talent for her next feature. Rothko, formally announced on the final day of the European Film Market, will see Academy Award winner Russell Crowe play world renowned abstract painter Mark Rothko, with Golden Globe winner Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Golden Globe nominee Michael Stuhlbarg, BAFTA winner Jared Harris and rising Irish star Aisling Franciosi also starring. More.

 AMC Chief's Pandemic Pay Day

►Despite the pandemic impact, AMC Entertainment Holding CEO Adam Aron received compensation of $20.92 million in 2020, up from $9.67 million in 2019, according to the cinema giant's proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. Aron took home $14.8 million in stock awards last year, compared with $6.48 million a year earlier, on top of his base salary for 2020 that amounted to $1.1 million, just down from $1.25 million in 2019. A key driver of his higher pay was a $5 million bonus last year, while Aron received no bonuses during the previous two years from 2018. The story.

►David Simon and George Pelecanos will head back to Baltimore for their latest HBO project. The frequent collaborators — on The Wire, Treme and most recently The Deuce — are working on a limited series titled We Own This City that will delve into the story behind the Baltimore PD's infamous Gun Trace Task Force. The story.

+Almost a year after the end of Homeland, Mandy Patinkin has lined up his next series role. The Emmy winning actor has joined Paramount+'s The Good Fight for its fifth season. Patinkin will be a series regular and is on a one-year deal with the Robert and Michelle King-created show. More.

+Apple will profile a new set of famous people with a second season of its biographical series Dear … . The iPhone maker's Apple TV+ has picked up the show for a 10-episode run, which is set to air later this year. R.J. Cutler, who's coming off Apple's documentary Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry, returns as executive producer. More.

►UK judge orders tabloid to share Meghan Markle's legal win on front page. The loser in a privacy and copyright battle must admit its loss in a big way (especially since nobody's reading the court website). More.

In other news...

--Stephen Curry's Unanimous Media has created a new developmental arm, Pathways Alliance, the production company announced Friday. Through the program, Unanimous will work with selected authors from the NBA star’s Literati Book Club, Underrated, over an 18-month period to create inspiring projects and allow authors to share their original visions across all mediums, from television series and films to documentaries and podcasts.

--Hours after his Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn won the Golden Bear for best film at the first-ever virtual Berlin International Film Festival, Romanian director Radu Jude took aim at what he called the "bullshit of red carpets" and the false glamour of in-person film festivals.

--Promising Young Woman picked up the top best film prize at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts' (AACTA) International Awards on Friday.

--Former Vice President Mike Pence is coming to TV, or at least streaming. Pence will narrate a four-part limited series for Fox News Media's streaming service Fox Nation.

--Murder Among the Mormons duo on their personal history with the true-crime saga.

--Billie Lourd is negotiating to join George Clooney and Julia Roberts in Universal Pictures’ Ticket to Paradise.

--Carey Mulligan will be the recipient of the Cinema Vanguard Award at the 36th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

--Saban Films has picked up the horror-thriller Hide and Seek for North America, the U.K. and Ireland.

--Tony Hendra, the British satirist and National Lampoon alumnus who played the band manager on This Is Spinal Tap, died Thursday in Yonkers, New York. He was 79.

What else we're reading...

--"Meghan Markle and Prince Harry interview with Oprah fetches at least $7 million from CBS" [WSJ]

--"No gatherings? No problem. WandaVision fans geek out with virtual watch parties" [LA Times]

--"Coming 2 America's unfunny letdown" [Vanity Fair]

--"How Greek manipulated the fratty stereotypes and changed the way we watch TV" [The Ringer]

Today's birthdays: Shaquille O'Neal, 49, William Webster, 97, Tom Arnold, 62, Amy Pietz, 52, Tyler, the Creator, 30.

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MARCH 06, 2021

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