General
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Dies at 99
Manori Ravindran, Variety
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband to Queen Elizabeth II, has died. He was 99.
Disneyland’s Sanitized Reopening Plan Is More Digital, Less Hands-On
Erich Schwartzel, The Wall Street Journal
When he took over Walt Disney Co.’s theme-park division last May, Josh D’Amaro had an unusual asset: a vacated Disneyland.
Music Venues’ Quest for Billions in Federal Aid Is Stalled by Glitch
Ben Sisario and Stacy Cowley, The New York Times
As the government prepared on Thursday to start taking applications for a $16 billion relief fund for music clubs, theaters and other live event businesses, thousands of desperate applicants waited eagerly to submit their paperwork right at noon, when the system was scheduled to open.
GLAAD Media Awards: ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ ‘Happiest Season,’ Sam Smith Take Top Prizes
Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter
“Schitt’s Creek” continued its dominant awards season haul by picking up another prize, the latest acquired Thursday night during the 32nd annual GLAAD Media Awards.
New York’s Massive Budget Channels Fresh Funds To Covid-Battered Arts And Entertainment
Jill Goldsmith, Deadline Hollywood
New York State’s just signed fiscal 2022 mega-budget includes a $1 billion package – a combination of grants and tax credits — for small businesses including arts, entertainment and restaurant to help speed economic recovery.
U.S. Media Companies Are Inextricably Linked to China. Are Their Assets Anchors — or Hostages?
Patrick Frater, Variety
China is set to host the winter Olympics in February, but the extent of American involvement is on shaky ground.
Authors Earn More Leverage in Film and TV Rights Market Amid Pandemic
Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter
During Hollywood’s pandemic shutdowns in 2020, one market stayed bustling: media rights sales. That has been a boon to some authors and agents who were able to get book-to-film or TV packages sold during a quieter time for the industry.
Sean Combs’ Open Letter: Corporate America Needs to Invest in Black-Owned Media
Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter
Sean Combs, in an open letter posted to the website of his Revolt TV channel, called out large corporations for failing to commit meaningful advertising dollars to Black-owned media companies.
Love Comic-Con or E3? It may take a while for huge crowds to return to conventions
Hugo Martín, Los Angeles Times
The San Diego Convention Center hosted about 135,000 visitors two years ago for Comic-Con, the four-day celebration of comic books and pop culture.
Should Studios Worry About Congress’ Next Big Labor Fight?
Ashley Cullins, The Hollywood Reporter
Before Hollywood’s workforce was temporarily sidelined by the pandemic, it was California’s AB 5 law that was a hot topic among studio executives worrying about their bottom lines.
Film
Inside the Cannes Film Festival’s Ambitious Plan to Hold an In-Person Event During a Pandemic
Brent Lang et al., Variety
Coronavirus cases have reached a five-month peak in France and the country is in the midst of yet another lockdown, but the worsening public health situation hasn’t deterred the Cannes Film Festival from moving forward with its plans to host an in-person event in early July.
Palm Springs International Film Festival Sets Return of In-Person Event for January 2022
Brian Welk, The Wrap
The Palm Springs International Film Festival is making its return as an in-person event for 2022, setting Jan. 6-17 as the dates for the festival.
How DreamWorks Thrived in 2020 With Family-Friendly Hits ‘Trolls: World Tour’ and ‘The Croods: A New Age’
Matt Donnelly, Variety
In a landscape of billion-dollar superhero box office grosses and nine-figure streaming megadeals, animation is often treated like an ugly stepchild when it comes to counting Hollywood success stories.
Latinos’ Absence in Hollywood Has Felt Deliberate. Is 2021 the Year It Changes?
Clayton Davis, Variety
Rosie Perez hasn’t been invited back to the Oscars since she attended the ceremony as a nominee in 1994 for “Fearless,” where she played a plane crash survivor crippled by grief.
Television
CBS News Veteran Kim Godwin Poised to Lead ABC News
Brian Steinberg, Variety
CBS News veteran Kim Godwin is expected to become the next president of ABC News, a move that would make her the first Black executive to lead a broadcast-network news division in the U.S.
TV Networks Frustrated by Nielsen’s Count of Audiences During Coronavirus
Brian Steinberg, Variety
Challenges facing the TV business include technology and creativity. Sometimes, however, everything comes down to math.
Technology and New Media
Streamers Eye Sports Rights as a Way to Stand Out With Subscribers
Mollie Cahillane, Adweek
Paramount+, formerly known as CBS All Access, has always had live sports on its service, thanks to the string of rights agreements that brought live match-ups to the streamer.
Discovery Plus Launches on Comcast Xfinity Flex Platform, Coming Soon to X1
Todd Spangler, Variety
Discovery Plus, the cable programmer’s recently launched nonfiction subscription streaming service, is now available on Comcast’s Xfinity Flex set-top for broadband-only customers.
Spotify Quietly Deletes Controversial Episodes Of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’
Elyse Wanshel, HuffPost
Music streaming giant Spotify has been removing episodes of its incredibly popular podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience” from the platform — and the most recently axed episodes were deleted just this week.
‘The Crown’ Ratings Jumped by 85% After Oprah’s Prince Harry-Meghan Markle Interview
Tim Baysinger, The Wrap
“The Crown” got a viewership bump following Oprah Winfrey’s primetime interview with real-life royalty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Netflix’s historical drama landed in the sixth spot on Nielsen’s Top 10 streaming programs for the week of March 8 to March 14 with 449 million minutes viewed.
Google Copyright Case Appears to Have Little Hollywood Impact
Gene Maddaus, Variety
Hollywood would not exist without copyright law. So when the Supreme Court took up what was billed as the “copyright case of the century” — the multibillion-dollar fight between Google and Oracle — the Hollywood trade groups rushed to the barricades.
It’s Not a Movie, It’s an NFT! How Hollywood Is Flirting with the Non-Fungible Token
Chris Lindahl, IndieWire
When Trevor Hawkins wanted to finance his debut feature, “Lotawana,” he did it the old-fashioned way; He took out a second mortgage.
ATTN: Brings 4 New Series to Instagram’s IGTV Long-Form Video Destination
David Cohen, Adweek
ATTN:, a media company that bridges entertainment with topical issues, was one of the early adopters of Instagram’s IGTV long-form video platform, and a new slate of original fare from ATTN: will hit IGTV this year, starting Thursday.
WWE is fully converted to Peacock, now it wants to make more content
Jabari Young, CNBC
Perhaps executives at World Wrestling Entertainment said it best – WWE is not a technology company. Instead of operating as a streaming service, it now wants to return to making content.
App Annie: TikTok Led Worldwide App Downloads in Q1 2021
Brandy Shaul, Adweek
Mobile analytics company App Annie released its latest report analyzing the use of mobile applications in the first quarter of 2021.
Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research
‘Justice League’ Screenwriter Chris Terrio Is Super Pissed Off
Anthony Breznican, Vanity Fair
Chris Terrio is not pulling his punches anymore. For five years the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Argo kept his mouth shut about his work on the DC films “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League,” even as scorn from critics and fans exacerbated already-painful behind-the-scenes memories.
‘In the Heights’: Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jon M. Chu on the Hard Fight to Turn the Groundbreaking Musical Into a Movie
Rebecca Rubin, Variety
When Lin-Manuel Miranda was pitching his musical “In the Heights” nearly two decades ago, Broadway heavyweights stumbled over what he was selling.
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