Film/TV Set Safety Update

Studios and guilds have changed their guidance on the definition of when an individual is “fully vaccinated” in their latest extension to the industry’s COVID-19 safety protocols agreement, Katie Kilkenny and Carolyn Giardina write. The changes include: 

+ Incorporating boosters into the agreement’s definition of what it means to be “fully vaccinated” or “up to date” on vaccines in the United States, a change that will go into effect March 15.

+ The agreement additionally restores workers’ “bank” of COVID-19 paid sick leave on ongoing productions to 10 days if they have already taken several days of that PTO on those productions (previously, a worker was limited to a maximum of 10 paid sick days).

+ The agreement allows more use of antigen tests, according to SAG-AFTRA, which did not specify in what situations they were allowed. Full story.

Elsewhere in film...

► Berlin's top prize goes to Alcarràs. Carla Simón’s drama about a family of Catalan peach farmers has won the Golden Bear for best film. Full list of Berlinale winners I Alcarràs review.

+ Also: Will Berlin welcome back big studio and streaming titles, or is it moving towards being an arthouse-only festival?

► Warner Bros. plans Looney Tunes feature. John Cena has closed a deal to star in Coyote vs Acme, a live-action/CG animation hybrid feature directed by Dave Green and centered on the classic character Wile E. Coyote.

► Gigi Pritzker’s Madison Wells to adapt Clinton novel. State of Terror, the political thriller from Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny, has been acquired with an eye toward a feature adaptation.

► Warner Bros. enlists Kate McKinnon for Barbie. The SNL star is in talks to join Margot Robbie (who plays the title character), Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera and Simu Liu in the movie from director Greta Gerwig. Story.

► Anonymous Content to develop We Spread. Hala director Minhal Baig and author Iain Reid are teaming to adapt Reid’s upcoming third novel with Baig set to direct from a screenplay she will co-write with Reid. Details.

From THR, Esq...

_ The next battle in the Sarah Palin-N.Y. Times defamation fight? Push notifications, the actual malice standard and the odds of an appeal: attorneys analyze the newspaper's strange, but not surprising, win in its legal battle.

TV Review: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 4)

From: Amy Sherman-Palladino I Amazon Prime I Feb. 18

"The main character is coasting on her greatest hits, the show is coasting on its greatest hits and so my review is mostly that the things I like about the show remain, the things I don’t like about the show remain and there isn’t enough that’s different to shake it out of a rut." — THR's Daniel Fienberg.

Elsewhere in TV...

► Amazon's Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to end with season 5. Production on the final run of the series from creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and exec producer Dan Palladino is currently underway in New York.

► Netflix teams with Keri Russell for The Diplomat. The former star of The Americans will play the title character in the show, a drama series from Debora Cahn (Homeland). Russell will also be an exec producer on the show. Details.

► Comedy Central returns to Tha God’s Honest Truth. The cable network has picked up a second season of its weekly late-night show from Charlamagne tha God. It will return in the summer.

► HBO Max renews Peacemaker for season two. James Gunn's Suicide Squad spinoff series, starring John Cena, premiered in January to strong reviews, with Cena reprising his title character role. Story.

► Warner Bros. TV inks deal with Flight Attendant creator. The multi-year overall pact, Yockey’s first with WB, will see him develop programming for platforms across the WarnerMedia portfolio and other outlets.

► Cinedigm launches movie submission portal. Approved features from indie filmmakers will receive distribution across its streaming channels and third-party platforms like Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, Google Play and Xbox. More.

R.I.P., Frank Pesce. The character actor, whose credits included the first two Beverly Hills Cop movies and such TV shows as Miami Vice, has died. He was 75. Full obit.

Creative Space
Who: Greg Daniels I Where: His Beverly Hills office

Lacey Rose writes: Over an hour in late January, the father of four opened up about forgoing a megadeal, preferring Zoom pitches, and the professional perks of having outgoing YouTube exec Susanne Daniels as his wife. Q&A.

+ Paramount’s International CEO on "global transformation" for streaming. Raffaele Annecchino explains why the conglomerate is combining a global vision with local market-by-market execution, teaming with the likes of Sky, Canal+ and CJ ENM. Q&A.

What else we're reading...

— "Roku is exploring a plan to manufacture its own TVs." "The plan has been discussed as part of Roku's roadmap, said a person familiar with company strategy." [Insider]

— "Sam Waterston is still the face of Law & Order." "The actor originally signed on for only one season as Jack McCoy but became synonymous with the series." [New York Times]

— "The Hollywood Issue." On the covers: Nicole Kidman, Kristen Stewart, Idris Elba, Benedict Cumberbatch, Penélope Cruz, Andrew Garfield, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and Simu Liu. [Vanity Fair]

— "Hasbro activist begins proxy fight." "Alta Fox Capital Management nominates five directors to company’s board, saying stock has been trailing broader market." [Wall Street Journal]

— "Joe Rogan $100 million. Richard Pryor $0. What comedians’ suits against streamers say about a deeply flawed model." [Los Angeles Times]

Today's birthdays: Ed Sheeran, 31, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 41, Jason Ritter, 42, Jerry O'Connell, 48, Michael Bay, 57, Michael Jordan, 59.