General
Why a Magazine Giant Wanted Nothing to Do With Time and Fortune Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, The Wall Street Journal
At magazine publishing giant Meredith Corp., top brass believes business can be divided into “problems” and “situations.” Problems can’t be solved with any amount of time and money.
Limited Series Wide Open as ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Veep’ Enjoy Frontrunner Status Michael O’Connell, The Hollywood Reporter
It’s going to take more than some complicated cultural critiques to throw off Game of Thrones’ Emmy odds. Having wrapped a divisive final season, the three-time best drama winner is still the runaway favorite to take top honors yet again at the 2019 awards.
“These People Are Monsters”: Hollywood Agonizes Over Dramatizing Trump Nick Bilton, Vanity Fair
There’s a moment in the screenplay Drudge, written by Cody Brotter, a young up-and-coming actor and writer, that has been permanently seared into my mind. It takes place on page 63 of the script, where we find ourselves in the late 90s as a young Matt Drudge—the eponymous creator of the Drudge Report—is lying in bed listening to a police scanner; his cat, creatively called “Cat,” lounges nearby.
Chicago judge orders ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett’s case file be unsealed Sarah Whitten, CNBC
A Cook County judge ordered on Thursday that the case file connected to actor Jussie Smollett be unsealed.
Film
Rotten Tomatoes fights trolls with new verified audience tool Wendy Lee, Los Angeles Times
Rotten Tomatoes, which relies on credible ratings to drive traffic to its website, on Thursday took a step to prevent fake movie reviews. The Beverly Hills-based company said it would offer a new feature that shows reviews and ratings by verified moviegoers.
The Rise of the Summer Sequel Keith Collins, The New York Times
This summer, at least 14 major-studio sequels will hit theaters, and many of them will likely rule the box office — continuing a decades-long shift in Hollywood toward the film franchise.
Hollywood LGBTQ Representation Reveals Absence of Trans Characters, Decrease in Racial Diversity Trilby Beresford, The Hollywood Reporter
Compared with the wide range of diverse characters represented in mainstream television and independent film, studio pictures are failing to depict those whose sexual preferences or gender identity offers something different to the standard state of affairs.
Boycott Over Abortion Law Threatens Georgia’s Film Industry Cameron McWhirter and Erich Schwartzel, The Wall Street Journal
Georgia’s swelling film and television industry, known locally as Y’allywood, faces growing pressure from a boycott launched by some actors and producers over a new state law restricting abortion. The standoff differs from Hollywood’s past objections to Georgia policies.
Colleen Bell Named California Film Commissioner Peter Kiefer and Bryn Elise Sandberg, The Hollywood Reporter
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed Colleen Bell, a daytime soap opera producer turned Obama-era ambassador to Hungary, to head up the state’s film commission, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Bell is expected to step into her new role in the coming days.
Katie Silberman’s Comedy Empire Kate Knibbs, The Ringer
When Katie Silberman was slightly older than the characters in Booksmart, the boisterous new teen comedy she cowrote, she knew she wanted to be a writer, but not how to make it happen.
Television
Behind MSNBC’s 2020 Town Hall Strategy: “We’re Going for Quality Over Quantity” Jeremy Barr, The Hollywood Reporter
With a massive field of 23 Democrats vying for the party’s presidential nomination to take on Donald Trump, exposure and public attention are everything. So it’s not surprising that politicians have mostly jumped at the opportunity to appear in town hall events hosted by the country’s three major cable news networks.
2018-19 TV Season Ratings: 90 Percent of Veteran Broadcast Shows Fall Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter
It’s a widely accepted piece of TV ratings dogma that same-day numbers represent a starting point, not the complete picture for a given show. What’s also true, however, is that in 2018-19, the starting point for nearly every returning broadcast series retreated from the previous season.
‘Whiskey Cavalier’: ABC Explores Bringing Back Canceled Series For Season 2 Nellie Andreeva, Deadline Hollywood
This is by no means a Timeless uncancelling situation yet but ABC has been in conversations with producer Warner Bros. Television about a second season of recently canceled freshman drama Whiskey Cavalier.
Technology and New Media
Netflix isn’t absent at Cannes. It’s everywhere. Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
If you’re going to earnestly shout “Vive le cinema!” the Cannes Film Festival is the place to do it. That’s what Quentin Tarantino declared from atop Cannes’ red-carpet stairs on his way into the premiere of “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” his affectionate ode to the movie industry.
Instagram’s vertical IGTV surrenders to landscape status quo Josh Constine, TechCrunch
A year ago Instagram made a bold bet with the launch of IGTV: That it could invent and popularize a new medium of long-form vertical videos. Landscape uploads weren’t allowed.
ESPN Boss Says It’s ‘All Hands on Deck’ to Find Younger Audience Christopher Palmeri and Scarlet Fu, Bloomberg
ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro says the sports network is “all hands on deck” to attract more women and younger viewers, a crusade that includes a new streaming service launched last year.
Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research
CBS Is Preparing to Survive in Netflix’s World Tara Lachapelle, Bloomberg
CBS Corp. is trying to rebuild a Hollywood empire – and in the process may end up creating the industry’s next and final big takeover candidate.
Endeavor’s IPO Filing Shows Heavy Debt and Losses Beejoli Shah et al., The Information
Endeavor, the talent agency turned entertainment conglomerate, filed to go public on Thursday, pulling back the curtain on a company that has taken on heavy debts in recent years to diversify into a variety of sports and content businesses.
Why Too Much TV Can Be a Good Thing Caroline Framke, Variety
Three episodes into the second season of “Vida,” there’s a wedding so gloriously and specifically queer that I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. After watching countless couples walk down the aisle onscreen before, Starz’s “Vida” takes care to show a ceremony quite unlike any other, featuring drag queens, a pair of Latinx grooms in bedazzled cowboy hats, and enough undercuts to make a Sleater Kinney crowd blush.
Why It’s So Hard for Remakes Like ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Pokémon Detective Pikachu’ to Meet Expectations Micah Peters, The Ringer
There isn’t anything so bad about the trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog, in a vacuum. Why, then, was there such a visceral reaction to it?
As Brands Move From Traditional TV, They Need to Consider Social Video JoAnna Foyle, Adweek
With the upfronts and NewFronts seasons in play, the fact that traditional and digital media have reached parity in ad spend is thrown into stark relief.
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