APPLE gets CLOONEY + PITT dueling fixers movie
APPLE gets CLOONEY + PITT dueling fixers movie
GLADIATOR sequel in motion at PAR / YOUTUBE TV rejected PEACOCK bundle / THE WEEKND's HBO show gets Female lead
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on THURSDAY September 30, 2021.
Where it’s a great day for freedom! BRITNEY is free of her father running her conservatorship, with the next hearing in about 6 weeks to settle the rest. And BLINK 182’s Mark Hoppus announced he’s now cancer-free, after being diagnosed with Stage 4 Lymphoma back in July 🙌 .
AND:
As we finish out September today - An official 👋 to the new WAKEUP readers who’ve joined here this month. If you’re digging it and wanna help it grow - Consider a Forward / Share with your work team. Or recommend it if you’re a guest speaker or professor somewhere. Or maybe just share with friends you talk pop culture with?
My current business (?) model is still… free with no advertising - so it’s basically my Marketing budget for the Fall. Here’s a button and everything!
And a sincere Thank You to those of you who have done so along the way over these past 6 months or so 🙏, it means a lot!
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
“Gladiator” sequel being written at PARAMOUNT
Peter Craig who wrote the upcoming “Top Gun: Maverick” and “The Batman” is writing, will center on “Lucius”, the son of “Commodus” (Joaquin’s character) as an adult.
Ridley Scott hopes to direct it perhaps next year - plans on doing it once he finishes his upcoming Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon movie “Kitbag”. And of course after the 83 year-old’s other 2 already-shot movies come out this Fall (“The Last Duel” and “House of Gucci”). /THR
APPLE STUDIOS lands the Clooney / Pitt dueling-fixers movie project
Note that’s APPLE STUDIOS not TV+… the film will get a “robust” theatrical run before eventually coming to APPLE TV+.
The script about 2 fixers who get assigned to the same case is still being written by Jon Watts (the last 3 “Spider-Man” movies). Jon also will direct. No price indicated but whatever it is… CAA is getting 10% of it. /Deadline
WB’s “Wonka” movie adds Olivia Colman, Rowan Atkinson and Sally Hawkins
Timothee Chalamet already set as Bill Wonka (as he’s known at the pub down the street from the factory), but no word on whom these new cast additions will play. /THR
ALSO IN MOVIES
TIFF Exec Director Joana Vicente leaving to head up the SUNDANCE INSTITUTE as CEO. Former CEO Keri Putnam left earlier this year, Joana will start in November. /Variety
📺 THE TV SET
HBO sets Lily-Rose Depp to co-star with The Weeknd in “The Idol” series
“Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson is co-creating it with Abel- err The Weeknd… but to note it’s still technically in development. However considering the talent here, a pass on the project would be a bit of a shock.
Weeknd playing an LA club owner who is also the… leader of a secret cult - Lily would play a pop star who begins a romance with him. I mean the whole “Oh I also run a cult” conversation is really more of a Date 4 kinda thing right? 🤔 Tough to tell dating mores these days… #KidsToday. /Deadline
NBC’s “La Brea” is 2nd most watched new Fall premiere so far
6.4 Million tuned into the premiere on Tuesday, holding a good deal of “The Voice” lead-in audience (7.4 Million).
60% bigger than the premiere audience of “Ordinary Joe” which also had a “Voice” lead in last week (granted that was in the 10p timeslot).
It’s also the best non-spinoff show debut so far this year - “CSI: Hawai’i” holds the biggest premiere episode so far. /THR
OWN orders a Season 3 of CBS’s “All Rise” courtroom drama
20 episode order, that will also stream on both HBOMAX and HULU the day after it airs on OWN, which should officially be a sister-network to HBOMAX by the time the season airs later in 2022 #WARNERDISCO.
Seasons 1 & 2 of the WB TV-produced show will hit both HBOMAX & HULU on Dec 1. /THR
ALSO IN TV
PARAMOUNT+ orders 2 more seasons of “The Real World: Homecoming”. Next season will as you might have guessed focus on the LA cast from the 1993 second season of the show. So get ready for Irish Dom and Country Singer Jon - 2022 style. /THR
HULU orders Kerry Washington-produced legal series called “Reasonable Doubt” from DISNEY’S ONYX COLLECTIVE production label. Raamla Mohamed (writer on “Scandal”) is the writer/showrunner and the show will have an all-Black writing staff. It’s about a LA Lawyer who “bucks the justice system every chance she gets”. Kerry also directing the first episode. /Variety
Dave Chappelle is dropping his 6th NETFLIX comedy special called “The Closer” on Tuesday (Oct 5).
DISNEY+ dropping “The Book of Boba-Fett” series on Wed Dec 29.
EPIX orders 6 episode docuseries on legendary A&M Music Label called ”Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records”. Frank Marshall who did the great recent HBOMAX “Bee Gees” docu is among the producers here, along with the music labels that now hold the rights to A&M’s music… Premieres in Dec. /Deadline
APPLE TV+ orders docuseries on Carlos Ghosn, the former head of NISSAN who hired former Green Berets to smuggle him out of JAPAN to his home country of LEBANON in 2018, where he could not be extradited to face trial over charges of falsifying securities reports. 🥸 /Deadline
💻 THE MEDIA BIZ
NBCU was trying to bundle PEACOCK into YOUTUBE TV subscriptions as part of the new carriage deal
Essentially NBCU wanted GOOGLE to pay them $$ to give PEACOCK PREMIUM free to their 4 million-ish YOUTUBE TV subscribers, as part of renewing the rights to include NBC & NBCU Cable channels in the overall YOUTUBE TV streaming package.
NBCU has dropped this PEACOCK condition from the negotiations, but is still threatening to pull their 14 networks from YOUTUBE TV if they can’t strike a new agreement soon. /ArsTechnica
YOUTUBE institutes no misleading vaxx material policy
Will remove any content (it can find) that spreads false info about any proven vaccine, for Covid or otherwise, or what’s in them.
So have fun on PARLER Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 130,000 videos have been removed thus far. /NY Times
The latest over at OZY MEDIA
OZY journalist Katty Kay (formerly of the BBC) resigned…
And one of their earliest investors SV Angel has simply returned all of their shares in the company. For no compensation… just like - “Here, take em back. They’re all yours.” /Axios
ALSO IN MEDIA
NCAA Women’s Basketball can actually call their March Madness tournament “March Madness” next year. The NCAA had prohibited them from using the term for their tournament to date.
TBD if the Women’s games will be showcased in the MARCH MADNESS App or Social Media feeds. Always love when I have to check my calendar to make sure I’m still in 2021. /AdAge
FACEBOOK adding the REELS function from IG to the FB App as well in the US. Reels = their TIKTOK ripoff. /The Verge
APPLE PODCASTS released the top 10 Most Subscribed to podcasts (WONDERY+ is #1) and Top 10 Most Listened to podcast publisher groups (NY TIMES is #1) if you’re inclined for a look. /Podnews
ESPN cuts ties with anchor Katie Nolan. She was a rising star at FOX SPORTS in the mid 2010’s, and came to ESPN in a $1 Million a year deal but sounds like things just never really clicked for her there. No word on what’s next but she wrote a nice farewell on TWITTER. /Deadline
“Macbeth” continues its resurgence as a hot property #YeahShakespeare! A revival is coming to Broadway in April with Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga for a 15 week run. /THR
🏦 STOCK NOTES:
Another generally down day somewhat as September is rounding out as a down month on the whole, but no big drops to note.
👩💻 NEW TO WATCH:
APPLE TV+“The Problem with Jon Stewart” premieres. Click Here to Watch or Add to Your List
TO NOTE: The show is not weekly, but rather will drop a new episode every other Thursday / is 2X a month.
ABC’s Thursday Night lineup returns.
If you were sent this newsletter or… just kinda found it:
🎥 TRAILER HOUSE
HBOMAX “Love Life” Season 2 trailer. This season stars William Jackson Harper (although Anna Kendrick seems to make some cameo appearances). Looks like a fresh new take on the series concept and tone, nice spot! First 3 episodes Premiere Thu Oct 28
HBO “Insecure” Final Season trailer. Premieres Sun Oct 24
HULU “The Next Thing You Eat” series trailer. David Chang takes his act from NETFLIX on over to HULU, for this docuseries from VOX MEDIA looking at the intersection and future of Tech and Food. Premieres Thu Oct 21 with all 6 episodes
NETFLIX “Bad Sport” trailer. 6 part anthology docuseries about sports scandals from around the world, from the producers of “Don’t F*ck with Cats”. Premieres Wed Oct 6
🎧 PLAYING ME OFF
KELLY CLARKSON “Christmas Isn’t Canceled (Just You)” - What better way to round out the month of September than with a… new Christmas song. Fun song with some Meghan Trainor vibes - but come on Clarkson! At least let the leaves turn and fall off first!
Listen to the song here on SPOTIFY or
If you need new tunes:
Email me anytime - just reply to this email, or connect here on LINKED IN.
-Sean McNulty
@theseanmac on TWITTER
@TheWakeupNews on INSTAGRAM
or I’m also here on CLUBHOUSE