Today In Entertainment

MARCH 08, 2021

What's news: Oprah's explosive royal interview, a big weekend at the box office but Raya opens to a slow start, Critics Choice Award winners, the HFPA vows to make changes but Time's Up says "words are not enough," Malala Yousafzai inks a deal with Apple. Plus: HBO steps in after a Lovecraft Country extra said her skin was darkened for the show, and Space Jam 2 nixes Pepe Le Pew. --Alex Weprin

 Oprah's Royal Stunner

►Oprah's explosive interview with Harry and Meghan. The interview with the Duke and Duches of Sussex, initially slated for 90 minutes, ended up taking up two full hours on the CBS broadcast network, and it became clear why early on. The interview included bombshell after bombshell, and it dominated conversation online. 

--Some of the most notable moments: Markle revealed that when she was expecting her first child with Prince Harry, there were conversations and "concerns" in the royal family about the baby's skin color (this morning Winfrey clarified that the royal who asked about it was not the Queen or Prince Philip]... She revealed that her suicidal thoughts were so troubling that she requested professional help but was told by the institution behind the royal family that help wasn't possible... In one of the most dramatic rebuttals of tabloid claims, Markle said that the reports that she pushed Prince William's wife, Duchess Kate, to tears are false. Markle confirmed that, indeed, there was a dramatic situation that ended in tears but they belonged to her... The story.

+In a social media post following the interview, Serena Williams defended Markle: The tennis superstar took to Instagram Sunday night to speak out following Oprah Winfrey's explosive interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex: "I want Meghan's daughter, my daughter and your daughter to live in a society that is driven by respect." The story.

+The review: Inkoo Kang writes that the "conversation came just shy of scorched-earth." "Though neither Meghan nor Harry were explicit about it, both drew a distinction between interpersonal niceness — Meghan was apparently treated so well by Elizabeth that the queen reminded her of her own grandmother — and institutional inertia, with systems perpetuating the status quo, including racist dynamics," Kang writes. "The Sussexes admit that every member of the royal family was welcoming to Meghan, but also allege that the Windsors did little to nothing when it came to countering the racism within the British press, lest they themselves lose the favor of royal watchers." The review.

+The reaction across the pond: "Britain's notorious tabloid press was apoplectic with rage towards Meghan Markle and Prince Harry after their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey on Sunday night," Abid Rahman writes. More.

 Big Weekend At The Box Office

►Box office enjoys biggest weekend since pandemic shut down theaters. Box office revenue for the March 5-7 weekend is an estimated $25 million, Pamela McClintock reports, down from over $101 million during the same weekend a year ago, but the best number since the pandemic brought the country to a standstill last March, and narrowly besting the $23.8 million earned over Christmas weekend when Wonder Woman 1984 launched in those cinemas that had been allowed to reopen, according to Comscore estimates. The story.

+One reason for the surge: Movie theaters were allowed to reopen in New York City, albeit at significantly reduced capacity. More.

+Raya and the Last Dragon had no trouble topping the weekend box office, but couldn't match other studio family films that have played during the pandemic. The Disney film, which earned glowing glowing reviews and an A CinemaScore, took in an estimated $8.6 million in its North American debut, compared to $14.1 million a week earlier for Warner Bros.' Tom & Jerry.

--Part of the reason is likely due to the refusal of several key chains — including giant Cinemark Theatres— to carry the fantasy-adventure because they wanted more generous terms since Raya debuted simultaneously on Disney+ for $30. The story.

+Meanwhile in China: Following the fourth-place debut of Warner Bros.' Tom and Jerry a week ago, Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon opened in third place over the weekend, taking in just $8.4 million. That total might look sizable in the anemic theatrical markets of the West — Raya opened atop the North American box office with $8.6 million — but it's a paltry sum compared to the hundreds of millions that domestic Chinese tentpoles have been earning lately. More.

►Malala Yousafzai inks Apple TV content partnership. The women's rights activist and Nobel laureate has launched a production company, Extracurricular, and signed a content partnership with the tech giant's TV division. Under the terms of the deal, Yousafzai will create and develop original programming, including dramas, comedies, documentaries, animated and children's fare, all of which will be inspirational in tone and theme. The story.

 Critics Choice Awards

►The Critics Choice Awards: Nomadland topped the 2021 Critics Choice Awards. The Searchlight film won four awards, including best picture and best director for helmer Chloé Zhao. Best actress and actor awards were given to Promising Young Woman's Carey Mulligan and the late Chadwick Boseman, respectively, with Boseman's widow, Simone Ledward Boseman, accepting the award on his behalf. The winners and highlights.

+Analysis: "Given that the last 13 recipients of this Critics Choice Award went on to win the corresponding Oscar, [supporting actress winner Maria Bakalova] and her supporters have to be feeling a lot better than they did a week ago (when The Mauritanian's Jodie Foster — who was not nominated for the Critics Choice Award — won this category's Globe)," Scott Feinberg writes. The analysis.

+The Goya Awards: Pilar Palomero's coming of age drama The Girls has won the 2021 Goya Award for best film, Spain's top film honor. Palomero, who is a first-time feature director, was also awarded Goyas for best new director and best screenplay for her drama set in a convent school. The winners.

►Time's Up responded to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's statement on Saturday outlining initial steps it will take to be more inclusive and increase transparency within its organization.

--Among the HFPA's steps that it will be committing to, the organization noted that is "improving our efforts to create transparency into our operations, voting, processes, eligibility, and membership." The organization further outlined that is committed to increasing its support of "internship, mentorship and scholarship programs for Black and other underrepresented students interested in international journalism."

--CEO Tina Tchen responded, "On behalf of the many artists who look to us to hold the HFPA's feet to the fire on the racism, disrespect, misogyny, and alleged corrupt financial dealings of the Golden Globes, we need to see specific details, timetables for change, and firm commitments. The right words are not enough. The clock is ticking." The story.

►HBO said it was "very disappointed" to learn of the experience of a Lovecraft Country extra, who recently claimed that the show's makeup artists darkened her skin for an appearance on the series. "This should not have happened, and we are taking steps to ensure this doesn’t occur again in the future," the premium cable outlet said in a statement obtained by THR late Sunday night. The story.

In other news...

--Pepé Le Pew will not be featured in Space Jam 2. The controversial Looney Tunes skunk cartoon character was scrubbed from the Lebron James starrer more than a year ago.

--Apple is teaming up with Common Sense Media to help parents find kid-friendly podcasts from its vast library of shows.

--Frank Lupo, who partnered with Stephen J. Cannell to create such popular 1980s action shows as The A-Team, Hunter and Wiseguy, has died. He was 66.

--Michael Wolf Snyder, a production sound mixer on Nomadland, has died. He was 35.

--The Directors Guild of Canada in Ontario has promoted Victoria Harding to executive director, the first woman in the post.

--Allen v. Farrow team on the doc's "eye-opening" revisiting of Woody Allen, Mia Farrow custody case and investigations.

--Andra Day accepted the On Her Shoulders Preservation Award during the Black Women Film Network 2021 Summit on Saturday, thanking the non-profit organization for honoring her work in The United States Vs. Billie Holiday.

--Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old poet who made worldwide headlines in January when she recited her original poetry at Joe Biden's presidential inauguration, took to social media on Friday to say she was followed home by a security guard who demanded to know where she lived because she "looked suspicious."

What else we're reading...

--"CNN and New York Times plan documentary series on Rupert Murdoch" [Bloomberg]

--"Advertisers’ linear TV ad dollars don’t carry as much clout as networks angle to shift money to streaming, digital" [Digiday]

--"Why Hollywood is obsessed with reboots and revivals" [The State Press]

--"Journalists rebel at NewsNation, a newcomer in cable news" [NY Times]

Today's birthdays: Freddie Prinze Jr., 45, James Van Der Beek, 44, Gary Numan 63, Boris Kodjoe, 48, Jahana Hayes, 48.

Is this e-mail not displaying correctly?
View it in your browser. 

©2021 The Hollywood Reporter, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. 11175 Santa Monica Boulevard Los Angeles, CA, 90025 All rights reserved.

MARCH 08, 2021

UNSUBSCRIBE 

MANAGE PREFERENCES

PRIVACY POLICY

TERMS OF USE