Today In Entertainment

MARCH 11, 2021

What's news: A saga involving Joel Silver, Ari Emanuel, Ron Meyer and Mohammed bin Salman; AMC Theatres lost $4.6 billion in 2020 but sees the light at the end of the tunnel; Time's Up Healthcare controversy; Creed 3 details; Hollywood losing $10 billion in potential annual revenue from Black inequity; Hollywood production rebounds; Grey's Anatomy preps for season... or series... finale. Plus: ESPN's streaming-first NHL deal, and Harry and Meghan find a leader for their production company. --Alex Weprin

 The Joel Silver Saga

►Saving Joel Silver: The twisted saga that entangled Ari Emanuel, Ron Meyer, Anthony Pellicano and even Mohammed bin Salman. When the former power producer couldn't settle his beef with Canadian billionaire Daryl Katz, a who's who of industry players became embroiled in the feud, Kim Masters reports. The question is, why?

--The Saudi trip: Genesis Media Capital founder and executive chairman Alexa Jago says she and Silver were flown by private jet to "somewhere in the desert," landing in a seemingly unused airport, and were then taken to a hotel that didn't seem to have many guests. From there, they were put aboard a helicopter. "It was pitch black," she says. "We flew, saw a ring of light and landed, got into a car and drove. There were roadblocks with big vans, sniffer dogs, and all of a sudden we saw a little bonfire." When they got out of the car, she says, "a very tall man comes toward me, takes my hand and bows to me." (MBS is 6 feet tall.)

--"How exactly [former private investigator Anthony] Pellicano managed to settle Silver's battle with Katz so quickly remains a mystery. 'I haven't told anybody how I settled it, nor will I,' Pellicano tells THR. The 75-year-old now has gone into the crisis-management business, he says. He is forbidden to work as a private investigator and says he doesn't want to. Still being monitored by authorities, he acknowledges that he has heard the FBI has made inquiries about his involvement in the Silver-Katz dispute but seems unfazed. 'Folks in the media call me a fixer, so that's a term you could use,' he says. 'I'm legally allowed to do that.'" The story.

 AMC Looks Forward

►AMC Theatres lost $4.6 billion in 2020, a year which presented "the most challenging market conditions in the 100-year history of the company," according to CEO Adam Aron. And yet, on the company's fiscal 2020 eanings call, Aron was ebullient telling analysts "I am now in a position to say that I am optimistic and confident about AMC’s ability to weather this COVID-19 storm. Our focus no longer is on survival, but now has turned instead to directing a surge in moviegoing and on the recovery of AMC, objectives that feel to us like they are right around the corner."

--There was also some news from the call: AMC struck a deal with Warner Bros. after their move to debut films in theaters and on HBO Max: "Any changes in their strategy are being done in ways where AMC shareholders should benefit," he said, without revealing the terms of the deal," Aron says. Meanwhile, China's Wanda Group, once the majority shareholder of the company, now controls only 10 percent of stock. With no controlling shareholder in place, AMC will be "governed just as is most other publicly traded companies with a wide array of shareholders," he added. The story.

►Time's Up Healthcare controversy sparks mutiny, mass resignations. 18 members of Time’s Up Healthcare have left the organization in the last week over the handling of allegations that co-founder and board member Esther Choo failed to report complaints of sexual harassment, Rebecca Keegan reports. The story.

►Michael B. Jordan has officially closed his deal to make his directorial debut with Creed III, MGM announced Wednesday. The company said the actor will not only return to reprise his role as the embattled boxer for the third installment of the rebooted Rocky movies but will also produce on top of directing. MGM also set a release date of Nov. 23, 2022. The story.

+Obamas’ film label makes unexpected new buys. Higher Ground productions picked up Worth, a 9/11 drama that "sat on the shelf for 13 months," and teamed with Kevin Hart to release Fatherhood despite the comedian having drawn criticism for old homophobic jokes, Tatiana Siegel writes. The story.

+Will surge pricing for movie tickets become the new norm in China? The tactic, which boosted box office to a $1.2 billion Lunar New Year holiday record, is “quite likely” to be used by movie theater chains going forward, Patrick Brzeski reports. The story.

+In other film news: Kenneth Branagh is set to direct Paramount Pictures’ untitled Bee Gees movie. The Bee Gees biopic, with Ben Elton writing the script, had long gestated at Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks and more recently at Amblin, before heading to Paramount through Bohemian Rhapsody producer Graham King, who had teamed with former DreamWorks exec Stacey Snider and her new company Sister. More.

►Hollywood losing $10 billion in potential annual revenue from Black inequity, says McKinsey report. The consulting firm has turned its eye to assessing the state of Black representation and inclusion in the film and television industry, Rebecca Sun writes.

--"Major media companies pay McKinsey to help them navigate difficult business situations," The Black List founder Franklin Leonard says, adding that the significance of this report is McKinsey's reputation as a corporate entity squarely focused on business efficiency. "So why not get the people that they normally pay to do this work, to tell everybody this is what the reality is, this is how much money you're leaving on the table, and this is the way forward?" The story.

 Hollywood Rebound

►Filming in Los Angeles begins to rebound as more projects restart production. FilmLA, the organization that tracks production in the city, says it received 777 film permit applications in February, representing a 43 percent increase compared to the month of January. The organization notes that a late-month surge in production took place, making February the third busiest month the city has experienced with regards to filming since last June. That said, production activity remains around 40 percent below normal for this time of year. The story.

►Grey's Anatomy boss approaching season 17 ender as potential series finale. "I'm planning a season and a finale that could function as either a season finale or a series finale," showrunner Krista Vernoff told THR's Lesley Goldberg on Tuesday. "I'm planning for both contingencies and it's hard and it's not ideal. It's not where I wish we were." The story.

+April is TV's new "midseason" for big premieres. Yet fewer shows in total are premiering next month, as 2020’s months-long COVID-19 halt on production keeps impacting TV scheduling, Rick Porter writes. The story.

In other TV news...

+George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards is on the move. Following two years of development at Disney-owned Hulu, the drama based on the multiple-book series edited by the Game of Thrones creator has moved to NBCUniversal-backed Peacock. A search is under way for a new writer for the project, which remains in the development stage. The story.

+Special is getting a supersized farewell. The previously announced second season of Netflix's Emmy-nominated shortform comedy will grow from 15-minute to half-hour episodes for what will be its final round of eight episodes when it returns May 20. More.

+Also at Netflix: The streamer is further investing in the "docusoap" space. The streaming giant has handed out renewals for Selling Sunset and Bling Empire and picked up two new shows from the creators of both shows. More.

+Apple TV+ has given an early season three renewal to its animated musical comedy Central Park, plus released a first look at the upcoming second season. The Emmy-nominated series from creators Loren Bouchard (Bob's Burgers), Josh Gad and Nora Smith will drop its first three episodes of season two on Friday, June 25. More.

+And: Loudermilk, the Ron Livingston comedy that was left in purgatory when AT&T's Audience Network was rebranded last year as an HBO Max preview channel, has found a new home. Amazon Studios has acquired all three seasons of the comedy from creators Peter Farrelly and Bobby Mort. More.

►ESPN's streaming-first NHL deal. ESPN, Disney's sports juggernaut, inked a 7 year deal with the NHL valued at an estimatd $2.8 billion Wednesday. But what makes the deal so interesting is not just the return of hockey to ESPN after a 15 year hiatus, but its streaming-first structure. Yes, Stanley Cup playoff games will air on ABC or ESPN, as willsome 25 regular season games. But 75 regular season games will be ESPN+ or Hulu exclusives, and ESPN will now sell the NHL's out-of-market streaming offering, which will include over 1,000 games. "Streaming really is at the heart of this deal," ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro said on a conference call Wednesday. "This is a reflection of its role as a critical part of our future."

Casting roundup: Oscar winners Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong'o will topline a limited series at Apple TV+,  Lady in the Lake... NBC says that America Ferrera will return for the series finale of Superstore on March 25... Netflix has found the lead actresses for its YA vampire series First Kill. Imani Lewis and Sarah Catherine Hook will star in the show...

►Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have found a leader for their production company Archewell in Ben Browning, president of film and television production at FilmNation Entertainment, sources tell THR's Kim Masters. A veteran in film financing and the international marketplace, Browning joined FilmNation in 2014. His producing credits include the current Emerald Fennell drama Promising Young Woman. The story.

+Also: Prince William said Thursday that the royal family was not racist, also sharing that he has not yet spoken to his brother since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey. More.

Revolving door: Michael Wright is climbing the ladder at MGM TV/United Artists. The Epix president has been tapped to serve as president of MGM TV/United Artists. As part of the new gig, Wright has also extended his contract with MGM. Wright replaces Steve Stark in the role... Actress, producer and activist Kate Bosworth has signed with APA for representation in all areas... Pearl Harbor screenwriter Randall Wallace is set to direct The Swiss Guard action thriller from a screenplay he wrote...

►Awards Chatter podcast: Anthony Hopkins, the legendary Oscar-winning Welsh actor best known for playing Hannibal Lecter, reflects on getting early breaks from Laurence Olivier, leaving the stage and ending up on the screen in 1973 and becoming a major star at 53. Listen.

►TV review: Inkoo Kang reviews Hulu's kid 90, writing that "t’s certainly novel to see the younger versions of so many familiar faces, but kid 90 doesn’t offer anything beyond what a YouTube deep dive might yield, even if these videos haven't been seen before." The review.

►Film review: Kang reviews Netflix's Operation Varsity Blues, writing "in a world where public humiliation is sometimes the only real consequence that one-percenter malefactors face in our skewed justice system, there’s some righteousness in the documentary’s naming the names and revealing the faces, even if none agreed to participate in the film." The review.

In other news...

--The feature nominees for the 35th American Society of Cinematographers Awards are Erik Messerschmidt for Mank, Phedon Papamichael for The Trial of the Chicago 7, Joshua James Richards for Nomadland, Newton Thomas Sigel for Cherry and Dariusz Wolski for News of the World.

--The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is getting specific with its upcoming line-up. The team behind the long-gestating project at the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax in Los Angeles announced Wednesday a series of virtual programs that it will begin offering on April 22, just ahead of the 93rd Oscars on April 25, and also what will be on offer once the museum opens for in-person visits on Sept. 30.

--Theater owners, unions and broadcasters praised U.S. House of Representative lawmakers on Wednesday for approving President Joseph Biden's $1.9 trillion pandemic relief.

--Facebook is asking a D.C. federal judge to dismiss two government suits that allege its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp gave it a monopoly on the personal social networking market in violation of antitrust laws — arguing that such a claim "utterly ignores the reality of the dynamic, intensely competitive high-tech industry in which Facebook operates."

--Magnolia Pictures has acquired the North American rights to Berlin Golden Bear winner Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn by Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude.

--Production designer Stuart Wurtzel--best known for his work on Hannah and Her Sisters and Angels in America--will receive the Art Directors Guild  Lifetime Achievement Award during the 25th ADG Awards, which will be presented during a virtual ceremony on April 10.

--The American Black Film Festival is set to go ahead with a 10-day hybrid event amid the coronavirus pandemic. On Wednesday, organizer ABFF Ventures said the film festival will return to Miami Beach for an in-person 25th edition to run from Nov. 3 to 7, 2021.

What else we're reading...

--"BuzzFeed is in talks to go public wia 890 5th Avenue SPAC" [Bloomberg]

--"Roblox tops $45 billion on first day of trading as gaming booms" [NY Times]

--"XFL puts plans for 2022 season on hold while exploring potential partnership with CFL" [USA Today]

--"Will Geraldo Rivera succeed Sen. Rob Portman? Talk show host floats possibility of Senate run in Ohio" [Cincinnatti Enquirer]

Today's birthdays: Rupert Murdoch, 90, Terrence Howard, 52, Joel Madden and Benji Madden, 42, Thora Birch, 39, Jimmy Iovine, 68.

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MARCH 11, 2021

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