Top Stories

  • Walt Disney Co. Executive Chairman Bob Iger will forgo his yearly salary, while Chief Executive Bob Chapek will cut his $2.5 million base salary in half, according to an email sent to employees. Other Disney executives will see their salaries cut between 20 and 30 percent starting April 5. (The Hollywood Reporter)
  • The National Association of Theatre Owners and the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation have created a $2.4 million fund to help movie theater workers who have been laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic. The fund is the first phase of a two phase program; the second phase will be aimed at helping those who work in the motion picture industry if the coronavirus pandemic continues. (The Wrap
  • Sony Pictures has rescheduled the release of almost every film on its 2020 calendar — including “Morbius” and “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” — to 2021 after movie theaters closed due to the pandemic. The studio also delayed some 2021 releases, including “Uncharted” and an untitled Sony/Marvel movie. (Variety)

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Events Calendar (All Times Local)

03/31/2020
MIPTV – The Global Content Market for the Future
TheWrap’s Survival Guide for TV Pilot Season 12:00 pm
04/01/2020
MIPTV – The Global Content Market for the Future
04/02/2020
MIPTV – The Global Content Market for the Future
View full calendar

Morning Consult Debuts Daily Consumer Confidence Tracking Data

As the coronavirus outbreak continues to upend global markets and roil businesses, Morning Consult is committed to delivering daily economic data on how consumer confidence is shifting in these economically uncertain times.

Recently, we debuted our newest product, Morning Consult Economic Intelligence: Global Consumer Confidence, the most robust data set on consumer confidence available today.

Click here to learn more or speak to one of our specialists.

General

They were supposed to build stages for Coachella. Now they’re building coronavirus triage tents
August Brown, Los Angeles Times 

Right now, Ryan Choura should be celebrating another busy South by Southwest and BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament and preparing for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in two weeks.

They Were Going to Be Spring’s Biggest Albums — Until COVID-19 Hit
Elias Leight, Rolling Stone 

Last year, the singer-songwriter Cavetown, who has amassed a small but fervent following releasing frank, hushed guitar pop, signed a deal with Sire Records. In the weeks leading up to his major-label debut, he had developed a detailed rollout plan.

New Directors Guild Deal Tradeoffs, Residuals Impact Revealed
Jonathan Handel, The Hollywood Reporter 

The Directors Guild of America sent its new three-year agreement out to members earlier this month for ratification, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The move has not previously been reported.

Sony, Michael Bay Agree To Terms On Overall Film & TV Deal
Mike Fleming Jr., Deadline Hollywood 

Michael Bay has set his Bay Films to a multiyear first look deal with Sony Pictures to produce both film and TV projects. The deal was being worked on and was mostly done in January, before the town shut down.

U.S. Supreme Court orders reconsideration of racial bias claim against Charter Communications
Andrew Chung, Reuters

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ordered a lower court to reconsider its decision to let comedian-turned-media executive Byron Allen’s $10 billion lawsuit accusing cable television operator Charter Communications Inc of discriminating against black-owned channels move forward.

A Texas Lawyer and an Open Secret: How Harvey Weinstein’s Charity Fraud Led to His Downfall
Tatiana Siegel, The Hollywood Reporter 

In January 2017, Tom Ajamie sat in a luxury hotel suite at Main & Sky in Park City when Harvey Weinstein came bounding in for an awkward face-to-face meeting. The Houston-based financial fraud attorney had been hired by the amfAR board to investigate a suspect transaction involving Weinstein.

Film

Exhibitors Sweat as Audiences Warm to the Studios’ VOD Experiment
Tom Brueggemann, IndieWire 

There’s no box office to report. Instead, we’re watching theaters furlough workers as the $2 trillion federal relief package gives hope that someday they can be rehired.

Coronavirus: San Sebastian & Zurich Film Fests Look To Grow Markets Given Loss Of SXSW, Tribeca & Cannes Uncertainty
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline Hollywood 

The San Sebastian and Zurich film festivals today announced plans to introduce larger film markets at their respective events given the disruption to the spring and summer film calendar wrought by coronavirus.

Cinemark Cuts Employee Wages Temporarily After Coronavirus Closes Theaters
Rebecca Rubin, Variety 

Cinemark is temporarily reducing wages for all U.S. employees while its theaters remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. With these measures, workers salaries will be cut by around 50%.

Terminated ‘Matrix 4,’ ‘Uncharted’ Film Crews Demand Help From Studio Babelsberg
Ed Meza, Variety 

Germany’s Studio Babelsberg is seeking to find a settlement with hundreds of film crew members following the shutdown earlier this month of Warner Bros.’ “The Matrix 4” and Sony Pictures’ “Uncharted” amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Alamo Drafthouse Launches “Alamo-At-Home” Programming Series
Dino-Ray Ramos, Deadline Hollywood 

The Alamos Drafthouse has launched “Alamo-At-Home,” and as the initiative suggests, it will bring the spirit of the Drafthouse into homes through its signature programming series “Terror Tuesday” and “Weird Wednesday.”

Lionsgate Film Group Lays Off More Than a Dozen Staffers
Piya Sinha-Roy, The Hollywood Reporter 

Lionsgate has laid off a number of employees within the film marketing and distribution team, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. According to a source familiar with the matter, some 15 to 20 employees across the entire company were given pink slips, many as part of an ongoing restructuring of the film group’s marketing and distribution divisions.

Television

Several of Spring’s Biggest Cable Series Delayed Due to COVID-19
Jason Lynch, Adweek 

Over the past several weeks, the coronavirus pandemic has sent shockwaves through the television industry, shutting down almost all production and leaving advertisers scrambling as almost all major sporting events were canceled.

TV Tries to Talk to Kids About Coronavirus
Brian Steinberg, Variety 

Nickelodeon, Disney and Sesame Workshop, three of the nation’s best known makers of kids’ entertainment, are going to start tackling more dramatic stuff.

CNN Chief Jeff Zucker Defends Not Cutting Away From Trump’s Coronavirus Pressers
Maxwell Tani, The Daily Beast 

CNN chief Jeff Zucker on Monday defended the network’s decision to carry President Donald Trump’s coronavirus press briefings live despite criticism that Trump uses the conferences to spread misinformation during a pandemic. During an internal employee call, the network head said he has “probably spent more time on this topic than anything else, believe it or not,” and that he gets more calls and emails on the subject than any other topic. 

Global Content Trends Reveal Unscripted Boom, Surge in Female-Led Dramas
Manori Ravindran, Variety 

Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, during which millions of self-isolating individuals are tuning into home entertainment, the trends shaping global content have never been more evident.

Daytime, Cable News Get Boost as TV Watching Booms
Jon Lafayette, Broadcasting & Cable 

With people staying home to avoid spreading the coronavirus, total TV viewing time is up 85% in late March, compared to a year ago, and daytime and cable news are the biggest beneficiaries, according to a new analysis of data from Samba TV.

Freeform Launches ‘#StayTheFFHome’ Campaign Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Danielle Turchiano, Variety 

In order to promote health and safety guidelines in the wake of the novel coronavirus, Freeform is launching a multi-platform social distancing campaign called #StayTheFFHome, Variety has learned exclusively.

Riverdale, The Flash and More Get Spring Return Dates on The CW
Andy Swift, TVLine 

The CW is doing its part to make staying at home a little easier with new installments of Riverdale, The Flash and more of its biggest shows. Though production on these fan favorites remains shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, completed episodes will resume airing next month.

Night Shift: Inside Late-Night TV’s Coronavirus Chaos
Brian Steinberg, Variety 

David Letterman famously helped Americans rebound from the trauma of 9/11 with a stirring monologue delivered from the stage of his show’s home, New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater. Now his heirs are working to do the same – from a basement.

Technology and New Media

Hulu Reports Strong Start For ‘Little Fires Everywhere’, Rise In Live News & Binge Viewing Amid COVID-19 Crisis
Nellie Andreeva, Deadline Hollywood 

Keeping Up With the Kardashians and The Handmaid’s Tale are among the shows on Hulu people have been flocking onto during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Like other streamers, Hulu is reporting increased video consumption as people are staying home under federal and state guidelines to slow the spread of the virus.

Streaming Soars Especially During Daytime, Conviva Says
Jon Lafayette, Broadcasting & Cable 

Streaming viewing rose 26% in the U.S. from March 9 to March 23 as viewers stayed home to avoid spreading the coronavirus, streaming intelligence company Conviva reported.

A Network Tries to Mash Up TV Style and YouTube’s Youth
Amelia Harnish, The Wall Street Journal 

Annie LeBlanc is like a lot of American teenagers: When the 15-year-old is not with her boyfriend, she likes hanging out with friends, watching movies and sharing updates with her Instagram followers—all 8.6 million of them. Ms. LeBlanc has been on YouTube for the better part of a decade.

Why Agencies Fight for Package Fees Even as Streaming Diminishes Their Value
Trey Williams, The Wrap Pro 

As the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies approach the one-year mark of their protracted battle over the practice of packaging fees, several entertainment lawyers spoke with TheWrap about why the fight continues despite the proliferation of streaming and the disruption it’s had on Hollywood.

Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research

If History Asserts Itself, Hollywood And Its Film Academy Will Rise To The Coronavirus Fight
Michael Cieply, Deadline Hollywood 

Some of us are addicted to history. We can’t help it.

Celebrity Culture Is Burning
Amanda Hess, The New York Times 

America is in crisis, but the celebrities are thriving. They are beaming into our homes, reminding us to stay indoors and “stay positive,” as “we’re all in this together.” 

Morning Consult