Hollywood Silent on Georgia's "Don't Say Gay" Bill Proposal

►Should be on our minds. On March 8, Georgia legislators proposed a bill that would prohibit discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation at private schools that receive state funding. Alas, similar legislation in Florida, and Disney's chaotic response to it has sucked up much of the attention.

THR's Winston Cho writes that studios have remained largely silent about the introduction of the Georgia bill. But if it does eventually become law, arguably more Hollywood decision-makers will face tough choices given that Georgia hosts far more projects than the Sunshine State. The story.

—Back to Disney and Florida. Disney's handling of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill led to some LGBTQ employees break with longstanding company culture to criticize CEO Bob Chapek publicly, while others appealed to leadership in private. THR's Rebecca Keegan considers whether the company will meaningfully change course on its political giving, going forward. The story. 

—Chaos reigns... Warning spoilers! Clayton Echard's season of The Bachelor concluded with a wild two-part finale Tuesday. It was revealed that both Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia will share rose responsibilities as co-stars on The Bachelorette season 19, set to premiere July 31. Jesse Palmer, who debuted as franchise host for Echard’s season, will return to host. This marks the first time that two women will be co-leads on The Bachelorette. The recap. 

—The magnificent seven. AT&T named its seven board directors for Warner Bros. Discovery, a key step as its spins off WarnerMedia to merge with Discovery. The lucky seven are former BET Networks chair and CEO Debra L. Lee; former global CEO of PWC, Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr.; Narrativ founder and CEO Li Haslett Chen; Barclays senior advisor Richard Fisher, Sixth Street Partners senior advisor Fazal Merchant; and Paula Price, most recently exec vp and CFO of Macy’s. Discovery is set to appoint six directors of its own. The story.

—Shake-up! Amazon Studios has tapped Julie Rapaport to lead movies on her own as fellow motion picture group co-head Matt Newman will become head of original content for sports. Newman will report to Marie Donoghue and Rapaport will continue to report to Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke. The story. 

—Next batch of presenters. Sean “Diddy” Combs, Samuel L. Jackson and Jamie Lee Curtis are among the latest group of stars set to present during the 2022 Oscars. Woody Harrelson, Tyler Perry, Tracee Ellis Ross, Shawn Mendes and Halle Bailey will also take the stage at this year’s Academy Awards. The story. 

—Garlands. James Morosini’s I Love My Dad and Rosa Ruth Boesten’s Master of Light took the top prizes in narrative and documentary features at this year's SXSW Festival. Other prominent winners include Something Undone (episodic pilot) and All the Crows in the World (narrative short). The full winners list. 

'Batman' Headed for Weak China Opening Amid COVID Outbreak 

►Here we go again. Just as Hollywood tentpoles were beginning to return to Chinese theaters, a COVID outbreak in the country is shuttering cinemas and casting a pall over local consumer activity all over again. The closures are already impacting Sony's Uncharted and will, according to local box office experts, severely dent the opening numbers of Matt Reeves' The Batman, with the latest tracking suggesting an opening of just $15 million to $20 million, down from earlier projections in the $25 million to $30 million range. The story. 

—Must-see TV. Servant of the People, the satirical series that launched Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s political career, is once again available to be viewed in the U.S. on Netflix. The streamer, which originally had the series as part of its library from 2017-2021, says that the show is back on the service as of today. The story.

—Tragic losses. Two journalists working for Fox News Channel were killed in Ukraine on Monday. Pierre Zakrzewski, a camera operator for the Channel and veteran war zone journalist, was one of those killed, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott told employees Tuesday. He was 55 years old. Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova, a Ukrainian journalist who was working with the Fox News teams on the ground as a consultant, was also killed. She was 24 years old. The story.

—"We are taking a series of steps to suspend our operations." Paramount has joined the growing media boycott of Russia. Steps taken by the company include the previously announced delay of the theatrical release in Russia for The Lost City and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. And the studio will cease distribution of linear channels and some content licensing in Russia, contingent on existing contractual, technical and partner obligations. The story. 

—"Solidarity with the people in Ukraine." The Berlin Film Festival on Wednesday joined the chorus of cultural and entertainment institutions in condemning “Russia’s war of aggression” in Ukraine but, following a line already established by the Cannes and Venice festivals, Berlin said it will not ban Russian films from upcoming events. The story.

—Boomers no more. Cannes, the film festival that famously banned selfies on the red carpet, has signed a deal with TikTok that will see the social media app become an official partner of the event. As part of the deal, TikTok is launching #TikTokShortFilm, a global in-app competition of vertical short films, between 30 seconds and three minutes in length. A jury will judge the entries, and three awards will be handed out in Cannes at an event attended by Cannes director Thierry Frémaux. The story.

'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds': Paul Wesley to Play Kirk 

►New Kirk just dropped. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has cast actor Paul Wesley in the iconic sci-fi role. The Vampire Diaries star will join the upcoming Paramount+ series in the show’s second season, which is in production in Toronto. In an unusual move, the second-season casting is being announced before the first season has debuted. The story. 

—Almost home. European regulators have given Amazon’s $8.45 billion acquisition of MGM the green light, clearing a key hurdle for the pending merger. Regulators said that the deal “would not significantly reduce competition” and that “the overlaps between Amazon and MGM are limited.” The story. 

—It's Ryan's world. Ryan Reynold’s The Adam Project flew to big viewership numbers in its debut on Netflix over the March 11-13 weekend. According to the streamer, the Shawn Levy-directed film scored 92.4 million hours viewed, the third-biggest opening weekend since Netflix instituted new metrics and began reporting numbers on a weekly basis last year. The only movies to boast bigger debuts since the new metrics began were another Reynold's film Red Notice (149 million hours) and Don’t Look Up (111 million hours). The story.

—Expanding deal. Netflix is strengthening its preschool programming by developing five new animated preschool series and specials with Dr. Seuss Enterprises. The deal covers works such as Horton Hears a Who, The Sneetches, Wacky Wednesday and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish and beloved characters like Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose. Dustin Ferrer will serve as showrunner across all five preschool projects. 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 Amy Schumer's big Hulu show Life & Beth, Apple's prestige WeWork drama WeCrashed, HBO's Ava DuVernay-produced drama DMZ and the return of Fox’s 911. ​The full guide. 

TV review: 'DMZ'   

►"Too short to expand on its politics, too long to sustain momentum." THR's chief TV critic Dan Feinberg reviews HBO’s DMZ. Rosario Dawson plays a medic looking for her son in war-isolated New York City in this four-part adaptation of the Vertigo Comics title. The review.  

—"Messy, but potent and personal." Dan reviews David Siev's Bad Axe. A small town in Michigan, home of the director's family and their restaurant, is the setting of Siev's documentary about the American Dream and the impacts of COVID-19. The review. 

—"A fun place to visit." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Fox's Welcome to Flatch. The mockumentary starring Seann William Scott and Aya Cash is set in a small Ohio town, following locals like a pair of troublemaking cousins, a reverend and a newspaper editor. The review.

—"A solid primer with scraps of rare material to entice fans." THR critic John DeFore reviews Reg Harkema's The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks. The documentary reintroduces one of sketch comedy's most loved and influential troupes. The review.

In other news...

—Grammys: BTS, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and more set to perform

—Ms. Marvel unveils a new hero in first trailer

—New film Toxic exposes bullying “epidemic” in U.K. TV, film industries

—Nolan's Oppenheimer enlists Vikings actor Gustaf Skarsgard 

—Isla Fisher joins Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx in Strays

—Doug Emhoff tests positive for COVID-19, Kamala Harris still negative

—Sports sanctions hamper oligarchs’ ability to launder Russia’s reputation

—Comedian Liz Kingsman signs with CAA

—Snap to host first in-person NewFronts presentation in May

—Cairo Film Festival head Mohamed Hefzy stepping down after four years

—Universal’s Minions: The Rise of Gru to pen Annecy animation festival

—Billie Lourd marries Austen Rydell in Cabo San Lucas

What else we're reading...

—Shirley Li on what Hollywood's boycott of Russia means for America's soft power [Atlantic]

—Yohana Desta on how John Cazale's performance in The Godfather still resonates [Vanity Fair]

—Profile of The Batman's ever charming Robert Pattinson and his various career pivots [GQ]

—The company that owns Wordpress now owns Tumblr and is planning on bringing it back to prominence, weirdness and all [Verge]

—Ben Travis on how Turning Red reinvented the Pixar formula [Empire]

Today...  

Today's birthdays: Alexandra Daddario (36), Alan Tudyk (51), Sienna Guillory (47), Lauren Graham (55), Brooke Burns (44), Aisling Bea (38), Sophie Hunter (44), Victor Garber (73), Paul Schneider (46), Tim Kang (49), Isabelle Huppert (69), Gore Verbinski (58), Jerome Flynn (59), Jon-Michael Ecker (39), Sierra Aylina McClain (28), Judah Friedlander (53), Erik Estrada (73), Nancy Wilson (68), Rupert Sanders (51)