Today In Entertainment APRIL 24, 2021
What's news: Malcolm Spellman working on Captain America 4 for Marvel, Vin Diesel eyes some Muscle, production in L.A. continues to rise, Michael Chabon apologizes for "enabling Scott Rudin's abuse," even more NCIS, Bob Costas returns to HBO, ABC nixes Kelsey Grammer-Alec Baldwin comedy. Plus: ESPN and Marvel partner on a IRL Space Jam, and an Oscars preview. --Alex Weprin Oscars Preview The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will host the 93rd Academy Awards this Sunday. ►The basics: The Oscars will be held Sunday, under pandemic protocols, from L.A.'s Union Station and the Dolby Theater. There will also be other venues around the world so nominees can attend "in person." ABC will one again broadcast the event Sunday vening, though there will be no host. Instead, producers Steven Soderbergh, Stacey Sher and Jesse Collins are planning to shoot the event like a film. The full interview. --The full list of nominees... Here's where to stream the nominees... --THR's film critic David Rooney and awards analyst Scott Feinberg debate who should win and who will win... This year's brutally honest Oscar ballot... The latest Feinberg Forecast... --There will be special pre- and post-event specials, with the best original song nominees performing during the pre-show, rather during the main broadcast. More. +Predicting this year's Oscar winners using just math. Nomadland has done about all it can do to bolster its awards resume, with a two-in-three chance of winning the top prize, according to a mathematical model developed by Ben Zauzmer. The analysis. +Oh, and the Razzies: Sia's Music, which ultimately didn't win anything at the Golden Globes, won three Razzie awards: worst actress (Kate Hudson), supporting actress (Maddie Ziegler) and worst director (Sia). Rudy Giuliani also won two Razzies for his cameo in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. The winners, er, losers. 'Captain America 4' ►Malcolm Spellman is picking up Captain America's shield once again. The head writer and show creator behind Disney+ and Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is developing a fourth installment of the Captain America film franchise for Marvel Studios. Spellman will co-write the script with Dalan Musson, a staff writer on Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The story. +In other film news: F. Gary Gray and Vin Diesel, who worked together on the eighth Fast & Furious film, are set to reteam on STXfilms action-comedy Muscle. The project is due to start shooting later this year, with the logline kept under wraps. The latest draft of the screenplay is written by John Swetnam and Malcolm Spellman, with the original script written by Scott Taylor and Wesley Jermaine Johnson. The story. ►Production in Los Angeles continues to be on the rise. According to FilmLA's latest report, filming in the city shows more signs of rebounding after major losses amid the pandemic. After the COVID-19 surge in January and the voluntarily industry production pause that resulted, film permit applications surged 45 percent from February (with 777 applications) to March (with 1,125 applications). The story. ►Screenwriter Michael Chabon, a longtime collaborator of Scott Rudin, is speaking out in the wake of THR's April 7 cover story on allegations made against the producer. While reflecting on their working relationship, Chabon acknowledges that "twenty years is a long time to collaborate with an abuser." He goes on to claim that he "regularly, even routinely" heard Rudin treat his staff "with what I would call a careful, even surgical contempt, like a torturer trained to cause injuries that leave no visible marks." The story. Even More 'NCIS' ►CBS has renewed NCIS: Los Angeles for a 13th season and picked up another show in the franchise that will be set in Hawaii. The Hawaii-set spinoff, which has been in the works for several months, will feature a female lead — a first for the long-running franchise that began with JAG in the mid-1990s. The story. +ABC has opted not to go ahead with a comedy series starring Alec Baldwin and Kelsey Grammer — despite giving the show a straight to series order last fall. The two Emmy winners were to star along with Alec Mapa in the multicamera series from Modern Family co-creator Chris Lloyd and Vali Chandrasekaran, a long-time writer and executive producer of Modern Family. ABC opted not to go forward with the show after seeing the finished pilot, but producer 20th Television will shop the comedy to other outlets. More. +Starz is developing a limited series based on the life of Cyntoia Brown-Long, a sex trafficking victim who was convicted of murder as a minor and later had her sentence commuted. Power franchise executive producer Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and La La Anthony, who has been a long-time supporter of Brown-Long's cause, will executive produce the drama, titled The Case of Cyntoia Brown. The story. +Bob Costas and HBO are teaming up again. The multiple Emmy winner will host his third interview show for HBO beginning later this spring. Back on the Record With Bob Costas — the title is a nod to his first series at the premium cabler, On the Record — will air four times a year and feature in-depth interviews with prominent figures in sports, entertainment and pop culture and discussions about the sports issues of the day. The story. +The Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding to encompass the NBA — at least for one night. ESPN and Marvel will present an alternate telecast of the May 3 NBA contest between the Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans game that will feature an in-game storyline featuring members of the Avengers and other superhero-themed elements. The broadcast will feature 3D virtual characters including Iron Man, Black Panther, Captan Marvel, Captain America, Black Widow and Doctor Strange, along with custom graphics and animation. More. +Also: HBO has inked a three-year overall deal with writers and producers Jack Amiel and Michael Begler — who will become showrunners of Perry Mason as part of the pact. More. Obituaries... +Charles W. Fries, the prolific producer and executive who was known as the "Godfather of the Television Movie," died Thursday in Los Angeles, his family announced. He was 92. The obituary. +Diane Adler, the pioneering film editor who spent five seasons on The Rockford Files and cut other TV series including Kojak, Spenser: For Hire and Riptide, has died. She was 97. The obituary. In other news... --Focus Features has set a July 16, 2021 theatrical release for Morgan Neville's About Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain before the documentary about the late celebrity chef and TV host bows on CNN and streams on HBO Max. --Caitlyn Jenner is running for governor. The former Olympic athlete and reality TV star has officially filed paperwork with the California Secretary of State's office to challenge Gov. Gavin Newsom in a likely recall election. --Gloria Estefan is joining the bridal party alongside Adria Arjona and Andy Garcia for Warner Bros.' remake of Father of the Bride. --WarnerMedia is unifying its adult animation under Suzanna Makkos. The former Fox comedy exec who currently serves as exec vp comedy and adult animation for HBO Max is adding oversight of WarnerMedia's niche cable network Adult Swim to her purview. --Netflix co-CEOs Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos each saw their compensation rise in 2020, as the pandemic pushed Netflix to new subscriber heights. --NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell's 2020 compensation reached $16.5 million. --Popular YouTube content creator Donald De la Haye Jr., also known as Deestroying, has signed with WME. What else we're reading... --"A rising actor, fake HBO deals and one of Hollywood’s most audacious Ponzi schemes" [LA Times] --"Netflix's movie chief wants to conquer the Oscars" [WSJ] --"China’s Oscars boycott mixes politics with push to curb Hollywood dominance" [Washington Post] --"Hollywood's Ava DuVernay generation" [NY Times] --"A Black lady roundtable: Making a sketch show about Black joy during a pandemic" [Vanity Fair] Today's birthdays: Kelly Clarkson, 39, Barbra Streisand, 79, Ben Howard, 34, Kehlani, 26, Jean-Paul Gaultier, 69.
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