Entertainment

Essential entertainment industry news & intel to start your day.
April 14, 2021
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MLB’s Popularity With Republicans Takes a Hit

The MLB’s decision to move its All-Star Game out of Georgia over the state’s new voting law has resulted in the league’s net favorability rating taking a steep hit among Republicans, falling 35 percentage points since mid-March, according to Morning Consult Brand Intelligence data. Morning Consult senior sports reporter Alex Silverman’s latest piece also looks at which professional sports league is most favored by the GOP and found that the NHL is the current champion among Republicans.

 

Top Stories

  • Susan Zirinsky is close to leaving her role with CBS News and signing a production deal with ViacomCBS Inc., roughly two years after she took over as president of the division, according to people familiar with the matter, who said that Zirinsky is not expected to leave before her successor is announced and that a search is underway. Zirinksy and a CBS News spokeswoman declined to comment, but one source said the new production deal would allow her to produce content for CBS News platforms, including Paramount+. (The Wall Street Journal
  • Creative Artists Agency LLC launched the Full Story Initiative, a program designed to accurately tell stories about marginalized communities and social issues by providing tools such as backgrounder conversations, glossaries and interviews with issue experts, artists and executives. A non-profit advisory committee, with members including the American Civil Liberties Union, GLAAD and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, will be available to work with studios, networks and producers to ensure accurate on-screen representation. (Variety)
  • Univision and Grupo Televisa S.A.B. are merging to form Televisa-Univision in a deal that will see Univision acquire Televisa’s content assets for about $4.8 billion. The deal, which will create the largest Spanish-language media company, will be partly financed by a $1 billion preferred equity investment and $2.1 billion of debt commitments. (The Hollywood Reporter)
 

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What Else You Need to Know

General
 

Disney updates park dress code on hair and jewelry, allows workers to uncover tattoos

Sarah Whitten, CNBC 

A new initiative within Disney’s parks division will allow cast members to show off tattoos and style themselves in costumes that are gender inclusive.

 

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s cannabis brand is growing well beyond L.A.

Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times

In entertainment industry terms, the latest collaboration by longtime friends Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg — the U.S. rollout of a cannabis and lifestyle brand called Houseplant — was a blockbuster.

 
Film
 

Oscar producers feeling good about their show. ‘It’s about the emotion … the energy.’

Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times

Producing the Oscars is a difficult and often thankless job even in a normal year — and as you may have noticed, with a global pandemic upending life in Hollywood and around the world, this year has not exactly been normal.

 

Oscars in London: Discussions Underway For BFI Southbank Venue

Manori Ravindran, Variety 

The Oscars could be heading to the BFI Southbank in London for its U.K. satellite event.

 

‘Black Panther 2’ is supposed to film in Georgia. Why are Disney and Marvel so quiet?

Nicole LaPorte, Fast Company 

Earlier this week, two prominent Black filmmakers took a stand against Georgia’s new, restrictive voting laws by pulling their upcoming project out of the state. “Emancipation,” a slave drama starring Will Smith and directed by Antoine Fuqua for Apple TV, will no longer be shooting in the Peach State.

 

Female Film Protagonists in Top Films Dropped 28% in 2020, Report Says

Diane Haithman, The Wrap 

“Wonder Woman 1984,” “Promising Young Woman” and “Pieces of a Woman” may have been major film releases in 2020, but new statistics show that 2020 was hardly the year of the woman protagonist on film despite the fact that major Hollywood studio releases where men have traditionally dominated were often postponed or shifted to streaming during the pandemic.

 

With ArcLight Cinemas closing, Hollywood rallies behind ‘such a special place’

Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times

Hollywood heavyweights are rallying to save ArcLight Cinemas after the owner of the beloved theater chain announced that its doors would not reopen after the COVID-19 pandemic took an extreme financial toll on the moviegoing industry.

 

Pacific Theatres Shutters: Who Will Rescue the Cinerama Dome?

Gene Maddaus and Brent Lang, Variety 

The workers at the ArcLight Hollywood have been on furlough for more than a year, and have been waiting eagerly for the venue to reopen. On Monday, they got word that the theater would remain closed permanently.

 
Television
 

Awards shows are struggling to draw TV audiences. Should the Oscars be worried?

Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times 

For decades, awards shows provided a front-row seat to TV viewers’ favorite performers. Even as audiences for sitcoms and dramas were siphoned away by streaming services, the Oscars, the Grammys and the Golden Globe Awards could be relied upon every year to deliver the biggest TV ratings outside of NFL football.

 

Pepsi Creates Another Show, This Time Featuring Its New Mango Soda

Jason Lynch, Adweek

Just weeks after Pepsi wrapped its first TV show fully built around one of its products—Fox’s “Cherries Wild”—the soda brand has partnered on another series.

 
Technology and New Media
 

Netflix Chief Talent Officer Jessica Neal Is Leaving Streamer

Jill Goldsmith and Dade Hayes, Deadline Hollywood 

Netflix Chief Talent Officer Jessica Neal, who has headed HR for nearly four years, is exiting the company. Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos, co-CEOs, have just sent a memo to staff with the news. 

 

Netflix Reveals Profitability in South Korea

Patrick Frater, Variety 

Global streaming giant Netflix is on course for profitability in South Korea, a market that it has identified as key.

 

Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers Reign Supreme as Netflix Greenlights Bridgerton Seasons 3 and 4

Joy Press, Vanity Fair 

Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers had no clue if “Bridgerton” would hit or flop on Netflix. “I was holding my breath, because I’m always holding my breath about everything,” Rhimes admitted last week.

 

Netflix Unveils Star-Studded Chadwick Boseman Documentary, Streaming for 30 Days Only

Zack Sharf, IndieWire 

Netflix is giving Chadwick Boseman the documentary special treatment this month with the surprise release of “Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist,” billed as an “intimate look” at the late actor with interviews from some of his closest Hollywood collaborators. The special debuts this weekend but will only be streaming for a limited 30-day window.

 

Netflix gives its Kids profiles a visual upgrade

Sarah Perez, TechCrunch 

Netflix is giving its Kids profiles a revamp, the company announced today. While adults’ profiles are personalized with horizontal rows of recommendations that appear as they scroll down, the Kids profiles’ redesign is more visual in nature.

 

Apple Schedules April 20 Event

Allison Prang, The Wall Street Journal 

Apple Inc. scheduled an April 20 event dubbed “Spring Loaded,” the tech giant’s latest virtual gathering to unveil new gadgets.

 

Roku Expands Measurement Program to Track Ad Performance Across Screens

Andrew Blustein, Adweek 

Roku is expanding its measurement program, leaning into advanced advertising metrics as the streaming giant gears up for upfront season.

 

Disney and ad-tech firms agree to privacy changes for children’s apps.

Natasha Singer, The New York Times 

In legal settlements that could reshape the children’s app market, Disney, Viacom and 10 advertising technology firms have agreed to remove certain advertising software from children’s apps to address accusations that they violated the privacy of millions of youngsters.

 

‘Fortnite’ Maker Epic Games Valued at Nearly $29 Billion in Funding Round

Sarah E. Needleman, The Wall Street Journal 

“Fortnite” creator Epic Games Inc. is now valued at $28.7 billion after raising more capital, funding that comes just weeks before the videogame company heads to trial against Apple Inc.

 
Music
 

15 Years of Spotify: How the Streaming Giant Has Changed and Reinvented the Music Industry

Kristin Robinson, Variety 

Ask any executive what the music business was like in the ’00s and their face may take on an expression more commonly associated with narrowly averted disasters like car accidents or, more accurately, attempted robberies.

 

60 U.S. Music Venues Are Getting ‘Turnkey Livestreaming’ Abilities

Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone

Live Nation and Veeps are outfitting 60 Live Nation-operated music venues across the U.S. with audio and visual tech to optimize livestreams, the concert giant and livestreaming startup announced on Wednesday. 

 
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