Amy Schumer Broke Into a Boys' Club. Now She Wants to Blow It Up. 

►On the cover. After a prolonged period of hibernation, Amy Schumer, America’s funniest feminist firebrand, is back with a new Hulu show Life & Beth (see review below) and a high-profile gig co-hosting the Oscars with Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes.

THR's Lacey Rose spoke to Schumer about her intensely personal new show that draws on her tight but messy relationship with her mother, the pressures of the Oscars gig and being on a mission to banish the creeps of comedy: "I don't think that those guys should be allowed to come back." The cover story. 

—"Messily personal." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Hulu's Life & Beth. Amy Schumer, the star/creator/writer/director, plays a woman reflecting on her adolescence while navigating big changes in a dramedy inspired by events from her own life. The review. 

—"We just have to do better than last year’s host." Staying with Schumer, the first promo for her co-hosting gig at the Oscars has dropped. In the spot, Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes unwind with some wine as they try to recall their recent predecessors. The promo trailer. 

—Tony Hopkins will be there! Simu Liu, Uma Thurman, Lily James and Rami Malek are among the latest group of presenters for the 2022 Oscars. Ruth E. Carter, John Leguizamo and last year’s best actor winner, Anthony Hopkins, who notably wasn’t present when he won the award at the end of last year’s show, will also take the stage. The story.

Behind Disney+'s Ad Pivot

►"Is this a Hail Mary? No, it’s not." With Disney’s March 4 reveal that it would launch a less expensive, advertising-supported tier of Disney+, the snap judgement was that it was a play for subscribers. THR's Alex Weprin looks at the more nuanced drivers behind the move including the Hollywood giant improving profit margins while also doing something its advertising partners have long coveted. The story.   
 
—All good things... Netflix comedy Never Have I Ever has managed to avoid the streamer's 3 seasons and you're out curse by securing a fourth and final season. The Mindy Kaling-created series recently wrapped production on season 3, which will hit Netflix later this year, with a final season likely due in 2023. The story.

—"I am over the moon excited." An effusively enthusiastic Giancarlo Esposito is staying at AMC for his next series role. The Better Call Saul veteran will star in and executive produce a drama called The Driver for AMC and its AMC+ streaming service. It will be the third series for Esposito at the cable outlet, following Saul and Breaking Bad. The story.  

—Five years and out. Following a realignment of its divisions, Paramount Pictures has effectively shut down Paramount Players, merging the arm under the leadership of Motion Picture Group co-heads Daria Cercek and Michael Ireland. Jeremy Kramer is stepping down as president of Players. The story.

—Will it happen, though? Apple TV+ is getting into the live sports business. The streamer has struck a rights deal with Major League Baseball to carry a weekly doubleheader of games on Fridays, starting with the 2022 season — whenever that may begin. The MLB deal is the first foray into live sports for Apple TV+. Its Friday Night Baseball package will feature two weekly matchups along with pre- and postgame shows, with no local blackouts. The story. 

Florence Pugh in Talks to Join 'Dune 2'

►In demand. Brit actress, and pockets advocate, Florence Pugh is in talks to join the all-star ranks of Dune: Part 2, the second part to Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar-nominated sci-fi epic in the works at Legendary. The project is casting three new major parts, including Emperor Shaddam IV and his daughter Princess Irulan as well as Feyd-Rautha, the cunning nephew of the baron who heads House Harkonnen. Pugh is being courted to play Princess Irulan. If a deal is made, she would be the first franchise newcomer. The story. 

—"Failed." The Animation Guild’s executive board and QueerTAG Committee have condemned statements from Disney CEO Bob Chapek regarding Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. "It is one thing to say that you 'unequivocally stand in support of our LGBTQ+ employees, their families, and their communities.' It’s quite another for you to stand silent while this scurrilous piece of homophobic legislation passes," the guild said in a statement. The story.

—No real surprises. Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune was the big winner at the 20th Visual Effects Society Awards, collecting four trophies including the night’s top award for outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature. The winners list.

—We seem to talk about Bruno, a lot. Encanto composer Germaine Franco, “No Time to Die” from No Time to Die and “Just Look Up” from Don’t Look Up were among the winners of the Society of Composers and Lyricists’ SCL Awards, which took place on Tuesday. SCL President Ashley Irwin made a jab at the Academy that decided “best original score was no longer worthy of being part of the telecast." The story. 

Russia's Local Exhibitors to Take Big Hit From Hollywood Exit

►Hammer blow. Russia, the world's sixth-biggest theatrical movie market in 2021, is reeling following an unprecedented collective withdrawal and boycott by Western companies following the invasion of Ukraine. But while studios and tech giants are less likely to feel the impact of a boycott, the move will devastate the country's theater chains, which only just started to recover from the pandemic. The story.  

—Died fighting for his country. Pasha Lee, a Ukrainian actor who joined his country’s Territorial Defence Force following the invasion by Russia last month, has been killed. He was 33. Lee’s credits include 2016 action-comedy Selfie Party, 2017’s sports action-drama The Fight Rules and 2019 comedy Meeting of Classmates. The obituary.

—"The scenes from my journey could come from a disaster movie." In a guest column for THR, Ukrainian documentary filmmaker and Fipresci critic Elena Rubashevska details her harrowing escape from Kyiv to Poland and her fears for those she left behind. The column.  

'This Is Us' Team Goes Behind That Tearful Mandy Moore Monologue

►Weepathon. THR's Jackie Strause looks back at the latest episode of NBC's This Is Us, where Moore's Rebecca Pearson, who has early-onset Alzheimer's, brought her grown children to tears while discussing plans for her future. Creator Dan Fogelman and co-stars Sterling K. Brown, Justin Hartley, Jon Huertas, Susan Kelechi Watson and Milo Ventimiglia praised Moore for her performance, and shared their experience filming the pivotal scene. The story.

—This Week in TV. THR's Rick Porter runs down the TV premieres, returns and specials over the next seven days. Among the things to look out for over the coming week include the debut of Amazon’s acclaimed sci-fi comedy Upload from Greg Daniels, Samuel L. Jackson's first TV lead role in Apple’s limited series The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray and new seasons of Survivor and The Masked Singer. The full guide. 

In other news...

—Bridgerton season 2 trailer turns up the heat

—Box office: Moonfall lands China release date

—How Cinemark is approaching dynamic ticket pricing

—Amazon renews Judge Judy’s Judy Justice

—Olivier Awards: Eddie Redmayne, Jessie Buckley among nominees

—Meadowlark Media launching content studio with NBA stars Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner

—Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin list epic Stuyvesant Square townhouse

—Former MGM president Jonathan Glickman launches Panoramic Media banner

—WME’s Brandon Shaw joins Hulu’s PR team

—Ashley Nicole Black to host Writers Guild Awards

—Banff World Media Festival plans in-person event for summer

What else we're reading...

—With the BBC's phenomenally successful show Peaky Blinders coming to a conclusion, a look at how fans are dealing with the end fast approaching [NYT]

—For young female pop stars, dropping choice F-bombs in songs proves liberating and profitable [LAT]

—A report from Ed Sheeran's day in a London court denying accusations of copying parts of his 2017 hit "Shape of You" [Guardian]

—With Matt Reeves' The Batman continuing the grim dark super serious portrayals of the Caped Crusader, Miles Surrey asks is it time to make Batman funny again? [Ringer]

—A deep discussion on the western mythmaking of Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog [Atlantic]

Today...  

...in 1984, Buena Vista and Ron Howard brought fantasy rom-com Splash to theaters. The film starred Tom Hanks as a lovelorn bachelor who falls for a mermaid played by Daryl Hannah. The movie co-starred John Candy and Eugene Levy and was nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay. The original review. 

Today's birthdays: Juliette Binoche (58), Oscar Isaac (43), Brittany Snow (36), Matthew Gray Gubler (42), Maite Perroni (39), Linda Fiorentino (62), Ornella Muti (67), Kerr Smith (50), Jean Louisa Kelly (50), Katherine Parkinson (44), Rupert Evans (45), Cierra Ramirez (27), Rodney A. Grant (63), Valérie Lemercier (58), Volker Bruch (42)