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Hollywood's Pandemic Year; The Rise of NFTs; Will HFPA Reforms Be Enough?; Disneyland Reopening Plans

Today In Entertainment

MARCH 18, 2021

What's news: Hollywood's pandemic year, TV news anchors on covering and living through the biggest story of their lifetimes, screenwriters on working through lockdown, what it's like to became famous in a pandemic, Golden Globes under fire: Will HFPA reforms be enough? Behind Hollywood's NFT cash grab, Disneyland sets reopening date, Kevin Mayer's eyebrow-raising interview. Plus: How Avatar regained the box office crown, and Paradigm sells its live music business. --Alex Weprin

The Lost Year

On the cover: The pandemic year: 365 days that "forced us to re-evaluate ourselves." On March 19, 2020, California went into lockdown, production ceased, studios and offices closed, and the reality of what it meant to work in entertainment was transformed. A year later, The Hollywood Reporter asked members from all corners of the industry — from the top executives managing the global crises to those still breaking in, from actors sent home to writers stuck in limbo, from anchors covering the story to photographers capturing the new normal — to reflect on a time of personal upheaval and creative perseverance: "Every opportunity we have to create safely is now more cherished."

+TV news anchors found themselves at the center of the story, simultaneously having to inform a shocked American audience whle trying to keep themselves and their colleagues safe. I spoke to 8 of the anchors who navigated the crisis from their studios ("I put up the first sign that said 'wash your hands,' CBS Evening News anchor Norah O'Donnell says) to home ("There were times I was interviewing the defense secretary or the Fed chair live, and I could hear my kids upstairs rolling back and forth on their scooters," says Savannah Guthrie, co-host of NBC's Today.)

--"Because we haven't had a studio audience, Michael [Strahan], George [Stephanopoulos] and I are connected like never before," says Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts. "We have this camaraderie that we didn't quite have to that degree. So even if we have the studio audience again, I don't want to lose that. I want to figure out a way so that, yes, we can be gracious hosts but not lose that depth with one another." The story.

+Despite solitude, lockdown wasn't a creative boon for screenwriters. Writing was the rare Hollywood vocation that never had to shut down, but A-list scribes including Damon Lindelof and Courtney Kemp describe a different reality, Bryn Sandberg reports: "I've Written Less in the Last Year Than I Have My Entire Career."

--"'I spent six months creatively frozen in L.A. and needed to change the air I was breathing,' says Vida creator Tanya Saracho. So in the fall, Saracho bought a one-way ticket to the U.K., where she spent five months bouncing around to different AirBNBs in London, writing at coffee shops and her friend’s recording studio. She returned to the States in January with a pilot script about a Mexican girl who goes to London and falls in love with a British folk musician. Says Saracho, 'Turns out I just needed to leave the continent.'" The story.

+Maria Bakalova and Tabitha Brown on what it's like to become famous amid a pandemic. While many industry fates were put on ice, lockdowns boosted the careers of a fortunate few, Natalie Jarvey reports: "You start to feel a little bit privileged."

--"It goes without saying that [Tabitha] Brown has had a good year thanks to TikTok, where she's racked up 4.7 million followers and the unofficial title of America's mom with her lo-fi vegan cooking tutorials and motivational missives. After two decades of stops and starts in entertainment, the 42-year-old now has a recurring role on Showtime's The Chi, a sitcom development deal and a two-book contract. 'I have lived my dreams this year,' she says." The story.

+"Heavy and scary": Henry Winkler, James Pickens Jr. and more reflect on a year in lockdown. Stars and power players open up about how COVID-19 impacted their lives over the past 12 months.

--"In the beginning of this, we'd have 13 members of the Winkler family — my wife and me, our children, our grandchildren — at the house, outside, and then it started to dwindle," Hanry Winkler says. "The exception was the grandchildren, who had classes on our front lawn on different days of the week. Listening to the yelling and the running and the squealing and the eating of chips was so fulfilling. Those noises were a lifesaver." The story.

+"She works in her closet": Hollywood offspring explain their parents' jobs. What does mommy take calls in her closest? Why is daddy always on Zoom with celebrities? A year into the pandemic, THR got a handful of industry execs to ask their kids what they think they do for a living. The story.

►Golden Globes under fire: Will HFPA reforms be enough? As 100-plus PR firms pledge not to work with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association until it has diversified its membership and implemented new ethics rules, the group consulted famed crisis management expert Judy Smith and starts an internal review, Sott Feinberg reports. The story.

+NBCUniversal is applying pressure too: "Our perceived silence on this should not be equated with apathy or a lack of concern." NBCUniversal EVP and chief diversity officer Craig Robinson told the L.A. Times, "We are taking these issues very seriously, and we also understand our role and the importance of our role in encouraging HFPA to make what we deem to be necessary changes — and we are using that influence."

You Down With NFT?

►Behind Hollywood’s NFT cash grab: "There’s no way this is a fad." For digital artists, who often toil anonymously in studio roles, the explosion in the market for uniquely authenticated online art has led to unexpected paydays, Rebecca Keegan reports. Meanwhile, agencies are beginning to explore the field, and studios are weighing their wn NFT marketplaces or sales. The story.

►Disneyland will reopen on April 30, CEO Bob Chapek announced Wednesday on CNBC’s Squawk Alley. The popular theme park has been shuttered since last March. “We’ve seen the enthusiasm, the craving for people to return to our parks around the world,” Chapek told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin. “We’ve been operating at Walt Disney World for about nine months, and there certainly is no shortage of demand.” Shortly after his appearance, Disney sent out more specifics about the plan, including the news that 10,000 furloughed employees would be recalled to work. The story.

+An interview Kevin Mayer gave to CNBC is the talk of the town. There's a lot to digest, including why he left TikTok (It's Trump's fault), his SPAC efforts, his plans for DAZN, and of course the succession drama at Disney. "I’m not sure what I could have done there to prove myself more than I did. I think that Bob [Iger] left earlier than he expected to," Mayer said. "Why? Why did he leave earlier than he expected to?" CNBC's Alex Sherman responded. "That’s a question for Bob Iger, not for me," Mayer added. The interview.

►One of Hollywood’s largest rosters of music clients is moving under new ownership. Paradigm Talent Agency has agreed to sell its North American live music representation business to Casey Wasserman’s lifestyle marketing and management firm, the agency said. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of this year and the untitled music division will operate as a standalone unit. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The story.

How 'Avatar' Retook The Box Office Crown

►How Avatar reclaimed its global box-office crown. “'We got on board quickly,' says Avatar and Titanic producer Jon Landau. “We’ve been very vocal in voicing our opinion that we have to support brick-and-mortar theaters during this trying time where theaters are open. But we didn’t find out until last week that this was something people were actually interested in having happen.” The story.

In other film news...

+Cannes plans virtual market. Cannes has bowed to industry pressure and will hold its film market — the Marché du Film — in an four-day online-only version in May, ahead of the planned 2021 Cannes Film Festival, scheduled for July 6-July 17. The short virtual Marché is being billed as a "pre-screenings" event, with Cannes in July still planned as both a market and festival. The earlier, online-only market will focus primarily on market titles and pre-sales, with the possibility of a few festival films in the mix. More.

+Warner Bros. and DC Films are teaming with Chernin Entertainment for a movie adaptation of the popular comic book character Hourman. Gavin James and Neil Widener will pen the adaptation based on Hourman characters published by the comics giant DC, also the home of heroes such as Batman and Wonder Woman. More.

+Release date news: Sony's Columbia Pictures has pushed back Venom: Let There Be Carnage to Sept. 17... Universal Pictures has set 2022 release dates for DreamWorks Animation's The Bad Guys, where Etan Cohen adapted Aaron Blabey's best-selling cartoon series, and the animation studio's Puss In Boots: The Last Wish sequel... Focus Features has set a Nov. 12 release date for Kenneth Branagh's Belfast, which will open in U.S. theaters during the heart of awards season...

+Meanwhile: AMC Theatres says that by the end of next week, more than 99 percent of its venues will have reopened, including two new cinemas opening in California for the first time.

►Drew Barrymore is staying in the daytime talk show game. Her self-titled syndicated series has been renewed for a second season, with CBS-owned TV stations serving as the flagship station group. The pickup comes on the heels of a decent ratings bump in the early part of 2021. The story.

In other TV news...

+FX is getting some of the Justified band back together — including, possibly, lead actor Timothy Olyphant. The Disney-owned cable outlet is in early development on a drama based on Elmore Leonard's novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit. Leonard's novella Fire in the Hole served as the source material for Justified, which ran from 2010-15. The story.

+Natalie Portman is strengthening her ties with Apple. A week after signing on to star in a limited series for the tech giant's Apple TV+ streaming service, the Oscar winner has signed a first-look TV deal with the company. Under the multi-year deal, Apple will have the first shot at projects developed by Portman and producing partner Sophie Mas via their newly formed company, MountainA. The story.

+Resident Alien is staying in house. Syfy has handed out a second season renewal for the dramedy starring Alan Tudyk. The news comes as the 10-episode series based on the Dark Horse comics of the same name is inching toward its March 31 season finale — and three years after the project was first developed by an executive regime that is no longer at the NBCUniversal-owned cable network. More.

+ViacomCBS' series The Man Who Fell to Earth is on the move. The sci-fi drama starring Chiwetel Ejiofor will air on Showtime after initially being picked up for Paramount+. The platform swap comes three weeks after big-budget video game adaptation Halo went the other way, moving to Paramount+ from Showtime. The story.

+Also: OWN is wrapping one of its longest-running series, "sunsetting" the popular Iyanla: Fix My Life after 10 years and eight seasons with a final batch of episodes set for spring. More.

►Big day for global productions: The BBC is planning a radical reorganization that will shift "its creative and journalistic center" away from London, part of a major initiative designed to better reflect the U.K. following criticism of a perceived metropolitan bias... Netflix said Thursday that it has inked an agreement with Japan's legendary Toho Studios, home of Godzilla and Kurosawa, for access to two sound stages and additional facilities in southwest Tokyo... Studio operator William F. White International has opened its first facilities in Calgary, Alberta: Fortress and Fortress Support...

Casting roundup: Uma Thurman has joined the cast of Disney's sequel to Stargirl, the YA romantic drama that proved to be early hit for its streamer, Disney+... Lena Headey has selected her next dramatic series television role. The Emmy nominee will star in the Spectrum Originals and AMC Networks' sci-fi series Beacon 23, an adaptation of Hugh Howey's 2015 novel...Hank Azaria will reprise his role as the fictional sportscaster Jim Brockmire for a new interview podcast series called The Jim Brockmire Podcast...

In other news...

--Another prominent Wall Street analyst is calling for Comcast to split from NBCUniversal — undoing a merger that closed 10 years ago — in order to better unlock earnings and stock potential from both businesses.

--The Producers Guild of America has revealed the nominees for its Innovation Award, given to a new media program that significantly elevated the audience's viewing experience.

--As Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin stands trial on charges of murdering George Floyd, no single broadcaster has exclusive coverage of the criminal proceeding. But that hasn't stopped Court TV from touting its front-row seat — and now, alleged misrepresentations have prompted a side civil action. On Wednesday, Law&Crime Network filed a false advertising lawsuit against Court TV in New York.

--The Interactive Advertising Bureau is bringing the NewFronts back this spring. The annual event, in which digital brands showcase their platforms and programming for advertisers, will return in a virtual format from May 3-6. The theme of four-day show will be "living the stream."

--Piers Morgan's tirade against Meghan Markle on Good Morning Britain on March 8 — a one-man rant that would see him step down from the breakfast news show the next day amid widespread condemnation — has officially now received the most complaints to U.K. regulator Ofcom in its history.

--Marvel Comics has unveiled a first look at a new Captain America. The new character, Aaron Fischer, represents the first LGBTQ character to pick up Cap's shield in the comic's 80-year history.

What else we're reading...

--"Is Viet Dinh the most powerful lawyer in America?" [David Lat]

--"HBO Max viewing will start counting against AT&T data limits" [Bloomberg]

--"Sinclair starts marketing push for its forthcoming Bally Sports Networks" [WSJ]

--"Dan Bongino to take over Rugh Limbaugh's radio time slot" [Fox News]

--"Trump set to do at least 12 book interviews in the coming weeks" [Politico]

Today's birthdays: Queen Latifah, 51, Vanessa Williams, 58, Adam Levine, 42, Lily Collins, 32.