General
AMC-Universal Peace Deal Sets Stage for Increased Tensions Elsewhere in Hollywood
R.T. Watson, The Wall Street Journal
A historic distribution agreement between AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and Hollywood studio Universal Pictures is sowing discord and confusion in an industry already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.
Disney to reveal pandemic hit to parks and ESPN, boost to streaming services, on Tuesday
Helen Coster and Lisa Richwine, Reuters
For Walt Disney Co., the ability to sell “Frozen”-themed water bottles at the Magic Kingdom theme park while selling ads during the NBA playoffs has historically been its greatest strength.
As representation debate rages, Latinx creators tell Hollywood: ‘Just open the door’
Laura Zornosa, Los Angeles Times
The outrage was instant and loud. And warranted.
Hollywood Reporter Parent Meddled in Explosive Story on NBC Chief, Insider Says
Sharon Waxman, The Wrap Pro
The Hollywood Reporter on Friday published an explosive story about NBC Entertainment Chairman Paul Telegdy shortly after inquiries from TheWrap about why THR parent company MRC, which has lucrative business dealings with NBC, had put the brakes on the article.
Rupert Murdoch’s youngest son resigns, signaling rift in multibillion-dollar family empire
Claire Atkinson, NBC News
James Murdoch, the youngest son of Rupert Murdoch, has resigned from the board of the family’s newspaper assets, News Corporation, according to a regulatory filing. His resignation is effective immediately.
Marvel insiders say they’re skeptical of its recent pledge to improve diversity in its comics and company, after employing only 2 Black editorial staffers in the last 5 years
Travis Clark, Business Insider Premium
Miles Morales was the character who pulled Charles Beacham into the world of comics. Beacham was studying journalism at Brigham Young University, in Utah, when he walked into a comics shop in 2011 and picked up a copy of Morales’ first appearance.
Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’ soars to No. 1 with biggest sales week of 2020
Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times
“Folklore” is a storybook smash. Taylor Swift’s fantasy-streaked eighth studio album — recorded in secrecy in quarantine and released on July 24 with only a few hours’ notice — moved the sales-and-streams equivalent of 846,000 copies in the United States in its first week of availability, according to Nielsen Music.
Black Storytellers Are Using Horror to Battle Hate
Anthony Breznican, Vanity Fair
Civil Rights leader Patricia Stephens Due adored scary stories, which baffled her family since she had experienced so many real terrors. While crusading against Jim Crow laws and segregation in the 1960s, she’d been threatened, dragged away, and arrested, and her eyesight had been permanently damaged when police threw a tear gas canister directly into her face.
Film
Box Office Calendar in Chaos: “Next Year Is Becoming a Cage Match”
Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter
On March 4, MGM’s James Bond film No Time to Die became the first Hollywood tentpole in the COVID-19 era to delay its theatrical release. The 25th installment in the storied spy franchise moved from early April to Thanksgiving.
The Promise of ‘Tenet’ Is Not Enough: ‘Antebellum’ Postpones August 21 Release
Tom Brueggemann, IndieWire
On July 31, Lionsgate moved “Antebellum” to TBD from August 21, a date when it likely would have likely been not only the top grosser but would also see the best return in the last five months. Produced by Sean McKittrick (“Get Out,” BlackKklansman,” “Us”), the horror/thriller stars Janelle Monae as a modern-day Black author transported to the pre-Civil War South.
‘This Is a Real Kick in the Shorts’: Small-Town Theaters Owners React to AMC’s VOD Pact With Universal
Rebecca Rubin, Variety
Jeff Logan, owner of Logan Luxury Theatres, has been struggling to make ends meet for most of 2020. After being closed for months due to coronavirus, he recently reopened the three movie theaters he runs in South Dakota, screening classics like Indiana Jones and Star Wars.
In 2017, the academy launched an internship program to boost diversity in Hollywood. How’s it working?
Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has long been Hollywood’s version of Oz, an impossibly distant place somewhere over the rainbow for countless people dreaming of their big breaks. But in recent years, the organization has been taking new steps to help those just starting out on the yellow brick road, particularly women and people of color who have historically been underrepresented both in the academy and the industry as a whole.
Television
Ellen DeGeneres Show Exec Producer Shoots Down Cancellation Rumors: ‘Nobody Is Going Off the Air’
Michael Ausiello, TVLine
Amid a ballooning behind-the-scenes controversy involving widespread accusations of a toxic workplace, one of The Ellen DeGeneres Show‘s exec producers is denying rumors that the series is on the verge of cancellation. “Nobody is going off the air,” EP Andy Lassner insisted on social media Thursday after a fan mentioned the cancellation buzz.
Networks Plot Coverage Of Scaled-Back Political Conventions: “We Have Never Seen Anything Like This”
Ted Johnson, Deadline Hollywood
When Democrats begin their national convention just over two weeks from now, it’ll be a test for the broadcast and cable networks: How to cover an event that will be like no other, where the celebratory atmosphere and masses of people instead will be a more sober, controlled environment that is heavily virtual.
Technology and New Media
Can Cocomelon Become the First Billion-Dollar YouTube Business?
Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg
Rene Rechtman thinks Cocomleon can be the next “Peppa Pig.” If that sounds like gibberish to you, I will do my best to translate.
The Last Dance Spikes Again on Netflix After Serving as a Live Sports Replacement
Kelsey Sutton, Adweek
The Michael Jordan documentary series The Last Dance, co-produced by ESPN and Netflix, saw its ESPN release date moved up two months to April, helping fill the vast programming gap left by the quick collapse of live sporting events. As live sports return for the first time in four and a half months, the docuseries is still drawing big audiences—not to linear, but to Netflix, where it began streaming on July 19.
Snap Lands Deals With Top Music Companies to Add Songs to Videos
Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg
Snap Inc. is introducing a new feature that lets customers add music to their posts within Snapchat, creating a way for young people to share songs with friends and a new promotional tool for the music industry.
Agnes Chu Exiting Disney Plus to Join Condé Nast Entertainment as President
Todd Spangler, Variety
Agnes Chu, a 12-year Disney veteran, is leaving as senior VP of content for Disney Plus to join Condé Nast as head of the media and publishing company’s entertainment division.
Facebook Is Set to Finally Get the Rights to Show Music Videos
Kurt Wagner and Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg
Facebook Inc. has completed a series of deals for the right to show music videos, according to people familiar with the matter, vaulting the social network into a medium dominated by YouTube.
Like Old Hollywood Movies, Video Games Get a Polish for New Audiences
Imad Khan, The New York Times
Nostalgia has always been a powerful source of revenue for Hollywood. Turns out, it’s equally lucrative for video games.
Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research
‘Testing Is the Hardest Thing Right Now for Production’: How Three Producers Are Getting Back to Work
Chris Lindahl, IndieWire
James Ganiere’s indie feature “No More Goodbyes” was one of the first productions to wrap during the pandemic, and did so without infections. He said the 17-day shoot required a marathon of outside-the-box planning and obsessive attention to detail.
AMC Blinks First in a Showdown With Streaming
Kyle Stock, Bloomberg
In a world full of killer bugs, we certainly don’t seem to be missing the movie theater much. We have Hamilton at home, Hanks reprising his WWII heroics and similar summer big-screen bait gone streaming.
Netflix’s ‘Most Popular’ List Is a Wasteland
Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic
Last summer, I made a grievous mistake while getting my hair braided. As I eased into the chair, mentally preparing myself (well, my glutes) for the hours-long process ahead, I looked up and asked my stylist an idle question: What have you been watching on Netflix lately?
Steven Soderbergh and Amy Seimetz Made the Pandemic Movies of the Moment
Kyle Buchanan, The New York Times
The directors Steven Soderbergh and Amy Seimetz had prepared for a significant spring. Her new film “She Dies Tomorrow” was intended to debut at the South by Southwest film festival in March, after which she’d fly to Detroit to act in Soderbergh’s crime drama “Kill Switch.”
Superstar Gamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins Sets a Course for Hollywood
Natalie Jarvey, The Hollywood Reporter
In early January, professional video gamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins turned on his webcam and encouraged the legions of fans who were watching him live-stream that evening to check out an awesome new movie called 1917. “The imagery, dude, this is hands-down the greatest picture movie ever,” he told his Call of Duty: Warzone opponent in between kills.
Music’s Last Best Hope Lies in Live-Streaming
Scott Duke Kominers, Bloomberg
Except for the biggest pop acts, like the Rolling Stones or Rihanna, and a few hot shows like “Hamilton,” musicians have struggled to fill concert halls. But now the entire business of live performance is in trouble, even for the top stars, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic: theaters and performance halls have been closed since March — and with social distancing in force, they probably won’t open any time soon.
|
