Today In Entertainment

MARCH 24, 2021

What's news: Disney to debut Black Widow on Disney+ on same day it hits theaters amid major release shuffle, paparazzi firm bankrupted by pandemic and Meghan Markle legal battle, Hulu's Koala Man, FX wants more Snowfall, a new push for music rights, will the 93rd Oscars be more than just a footnote? Writers on The Chase go on strike. Plus: Remembering George Segal, and who owns the remix? --Alex Weprin

 'Black Widow' Bombshell

►Major Disney moves: In its biggest pandemic-related streaming move yet, Disney has opted to make Marvel Studios' Black Widow available on Disney+ Premier Access at the same time it hits theaters. Ditto for Cruella, another big-budget tentpole. Black Widow is now slated for July 9, moving back from its previous May 7 date. It will be available to Disney+ subscribers for an additional $30. The studio previously released Mulan and Raya and the Last Dragon for $30 through the Premier Access tier. Meanwhile, the animated film Luca will skip theaters entirely and hit Disney+ June 18.

--The bold moves underscore the company's aggressive foray into streaming and premium VOD. In recent days, Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek has made it clear that the old rules regarding how movies are distributed in theaters in in the home are gone. The story.

►Will the 93rd Oscars be more than just a footnote? With theaters closed and releases postponed, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences relaxed its rules, allowing some streaming features into the party and extending its qualifying deadline by two months. Even then, only about two dozen films, which as a group barely registered at the box office, dominated the narrative features that were nominated.

--In the eyes of some, that means this season's Oscars won't have the same stature, that they will be somewhat diminished in importance. "The year will always carry an asterisk, just the same as the World Series that the Dodgers won. It's the year no one went to the theaters," suggests one Oscar consultant. The story.

+In other film news: Apple is circling Peter Farrelly’s Green Book follow-up, The Greatest Beer Run Ever, with Zac Efron and Russell Crowe now attached to star. More.

►Just in: Major paparazzi agency bankrupted by Meghan Markle legal battle. Splash News & Picture Agency, a prominent paparazzi shop, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A global pandemic that had celebrities staying indoors is partly to blame, but also notable is Splash's legal adventures over the years both as a plaintiff suing celebrities for posting copyrighted images of themselves as well as a defendant in a privacy action brought by Meghan Markle. Having difficulty navigating the financial situation, Splash reports having defaulted on a loan now worth nearly $1 million and is now seeking the protection of a Nevada bankruptcy court. The story.

 Hulu Goes Down Under

►Hulu is again teaming with Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland for an animated series. Roiland is an executive producer of Koala Man, which Hulu has picked up to series with an eight-episode order. The story.

+FX is taking another hit of Snowfall. The network renewed the 1980s-set drug drama for a fifth season on Tuesday. The news comes midway through season four airing on the network. The show is up 41 percent in total viewers from its previous season to average 5.1 total viewers per episode. More.

+After a 19-month layoff, A Black Lady Sketch Show is set to return to HBO. The Emmy-nominated series from Robin Thede will debut its second season on April 23. Regulars Gabrielle Dennis and Ashley Nicole Black will also return, though Quinta Brunson will not be part of season two due to scheduling conflicts caused by COVID-19 shutdowns. More.

+Netflix is un-bingeing a couple of its unscripted series. The streamer has set an April premiere date for the second season of The Circle, and season two of Too Hot to Handle will follow in June. Rather than the usual all-at-once release, however, Netflix will roll each show out over several weeks. More.

+Writers for the ABC game show The Chase are going on strike. The strike was initiated at 9 a.m. ET "after the companies refused to agree to cover writers’ work under the Writers Guild of America’s Minimum Basic Agreement," according to a statement from The Writers Guilds of America, East and West. More.

+The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon brought back a live studio audience Monday for the first time since the novel coronavirus pandemic shut down in-studio audiences in March 2020. The NBC late-night show also returned to its longtime home of Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City, after previously broadcasting from Studio 6A, the former home of the Today show's fourth hour Hoda & Jenna when it brought in live audiences on Thursdays and Fridays prior to the pandemic, since July. More.

 Remembering George Segal

►Obituary: George Segal, the engaging actor who during his 1970s prime generated great chemistry with his co-stars in such lighthearted classics as Where's Poppa?, The Owl and the Pussycat, A Touch of Class, California Split and Fun With Dick and Jane, died Tuesday. He was 87. Segal died of complications from bypass surgery, his wife, Sonia, announced. He died in Santa Rosa, California.

--Although he was most associated with comedy and playing brainy, neurotic characters, Segal's acting range was considerable. His performance as a pusillanimous young professor in Mike Nichols' best picture nominee Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton landed him a supporting actor Oscar nomination. And in the war drama King Rat (1965), an adaptation of a James Clavell novel, he portrayed a conniving wheeler-dealer in a Japanese POW camp during World War II. The obituary.

+The Tributes: In the wake of Segal's death, Hollywood stars took to social media to share memories and tributes to the Oscar-nominated film and television actor. Ben Stielr, Adam F. Goldberg, Melissa Joan Hart and David A. Goodman are among those who shared memories of the late actor. The tributes.

►A new push for music rights: Music major BMG, part of German media giant Bertelsmann, and global investment firm KKR said on Wednesday that they were joining forces "to pursue recorded music, music publishing and other music rights acquisitions." The news of the joint approach comes amid a recent wave of music catalog deals, including London-based Hipgnosis Songs Fund's acquisitions of songs by the likes of Shakira, Michael Bublé, Metallica and Neil Young, and Universal Music Publishing Group's takeover of Bob Dylan's catalog of songs. The story.

+New additions to the National Recording Registry. Iconic recordings from Janet Jackson, Louis Armstrong, Marlo Thomas, Kool & the Gang, Labelle, Connie Smith, Nas, Phil Rizzuto, Jimmy Cliff and Kermit the Frog are among the latest aural treasures inducted into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden has named these and 15 other recordings as worthy of preservation this year, picked because of their cultural, historical and aesthetic importance to America's sound heritage. The full list.

Speaking of music...

►Wild court case explores two global pop hits and a key question: Who owns the remix? The case of Arty v. Marshmello raises a novel intellectual property issue and erupts with the allegation that someone has "got to" OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder and convinced him to perjure himself. The story.

+Walking Dead trial pushed: It looked like the heated, long-running dispute over The Walking Dead profits was nearing an end — but, just weeks before Frank Darabont and AMC were set to face off before a jury, the trial has been postponed for another year because of the pandemic. More.

+WAP SLAPP: How Cardi B could defend a libel suit from Candace Owens. New York's new defamation law could help the rapper if the feud sparked by a racy Grammys performance and a photoshopped tweet actually winds up in court, write attorney Daniel Novack and law student Tanvi Valsangikar in a guest column for THR. The column.

+Do you know a Power Lawyer? Now is the time to nominate them for The Hollywood Reporter's 15th annual spotlight. The deadline is this Friday, March 26. The details.

Casting roundup: Helen Mirren is joining the DC Extended Universe for Shazam! Fury of the Gods... Oscar nominee Naomie Harris has signed on to star in Showtime's sci-fi limited series The Man Who Fell to Earth... Halle Berry will join Mark Wahlberg in the Netflix action-thriller Our Man From Jersey... David Thewlis will star opposite Olivia Colman in HBO and Sky's long-gestating limited series Landscapers... Sherri Shepherd is headed back to ABC. The former co-host of The View and 30 Rock alum will star in a comedy pilot at the network called Black Don't Crack...

Revolving door: Film, TV and theater actress Kathy Najimy has signed with APA... Prince Harry is joining the technology startup BetterUp as "chief impact officer"... Sarah Monteith has been named CEO of Baby Cow, the TV and film production company founded by Steve Coogan... Meadowlark Media is bringing on Michael Schur and Jemele Hill as creative advisers...

In other news...

--PGA leaders discuss finding the "silver lining" for its virtual awards ceremony, to be held today.

--Ted Sarandos, Netflix's co-CEO, is set to do a keynote speech at the upcoming virtual Banff World Media Festival, organizers said Tuesday.

--After taking a year off due to the coronavirus pandemic, VidCon will return with an in-person gathering at the Anaheim Convention Center this fall.

--Focus Features has taken the worldwide rights for Timur Bekmambetov's Profile, setting a May 14 release.

--The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is set to open with Ann Shin's Artificial Immortality, a film about AI, robotics and biotech.

What else we're reading...

--"HGTV is getting a renovation" [The New Yorker]

--"With fewer ads on streaming, brands make more movies" [NY Times]

--"Brat TV expects profitability on $35 million in revenue this year" [Axios]

--"Coming to a TV near you: Ad fraud that costs marketers millions" [Bloomberg]

Today's birthdays: Jim Parsons, 48, Jessica Chastain, 44, Peyton Manning, 45, Mark Calaway aka The Undertaker, 56.

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 24, 2021

UNSUBSCRIBE 

MANAGE PREFERENCES

PRIVACY POLICY

TERMS OF USE