DISNEY employee group sets a walk-out day next week

MEG RYAN directing NETFLIX rom com / STAR TREK show gets new Captain Kirk / AMAZON sets SPORTS programming head

Mar 16, 2022

Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on WEDNESDAY March 16, 2022.

Where a congrats goes out to “Fluffy” Iglesias for selling out the biggest baseball stadium in the country, DODGERS STADIUM for his NETFLIX special in May.

He’s the first comedian to do so - granted he’s the also first comedian to ever play DODGERS STADIUM… but still moving 45k tickets for a comedy show ain’t nothin 👏. (stadium holds 57k on game days)

ALSO: GWEN STEFANI is gonna open up the new and 100th season at the HOLLYWOOD BOWL on June 3. Details on the full lineup in the link.

📽 THE SILVER SCREEN

Meg Ryan directing Rom Com pic at NETFLIX

Based on the book “A Lady’s Guide To Selling Out”. Said to be“The Devil Wears Prada” meets “Mad Men” - about a book-loving English major who gets a job at a top Ad agency and falls in love with an author and… things get complicated.

Script currently being written. /Deadline

Matt Bomer in talks to join Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” pic at NETFLIX

Deal isn’t done… but one would think that’ll come together. This is the biopic of Leonard Bernstein, with Cooper starring alongside Michelle Williams. /Deadline

ALSO IN MOVIES

UNIVERSAL adds Isla Fischer as a voice in the live action / CGI pic “Strays” with Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx and Randall Park, with Will Forte as a live action human. From the director of “Barb & Star…” and writer of NETFLIX’s “American Vandal”. /THR
WB pic Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” will play at CANNES. /Deadline
SONY sets “Bad Trip” director Kitao Sakura to direct comedy “72 Hours” written by “Harold & Kumar” + “Cobra Kai” writing team Hurwitz and Schlossberg. No plot details tho I have it in my head that this is a Vegas movie… but guess we’ll see. /Deadline
Here are the SXSW Film competition award winners (save for the Audience Awards which… for some reason are being announced separately). A Patton Oswalt film called “I Love My Dad” took the top narrative film prize. /THR
AMAZON STUDIOS shifts co-Film head Matt Newman to head up Sports programming - fellow co-Film head Juile Rapaport will now lose the “co” #itscleaner and head up the division solo. /THR

📺 THE TV SET

PARAMOUNT+ casts Paul Wesley (“The Vampire Diaries”) as Captain Kirk in “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”

Well at least in the 2nd season that is now shooting - Season 1 doesn’t drop until May and… he won’t be in it, especially as it features a different Captain for the Enterprise (Anson Mount). /THR

HBO’s “Winning Time” adds 300k viewers for episode 2 on Sunday 🏀

Gets 1.2 Million across platforms. Ep was directed by Jonah Hill. /Deadline

“Critics Choice Awards” get 1.1 Million across TheCW and TBS, about the same as the 2020-pre pandemic edition. /Deadline

ALSO IN TV

HULU adds Juliette Lewis to CHIPPENDALES limited series“Immigrant” starring Kumail Nanjiani and Murray Bartlett. She’ll play a fan who becomes the right-hand woman for their lead choreographer (Bartlett). /Deadline
Colbert & FUNNY OR DIE producing a 2-hour Celebrity PICKLEBALL tournament special for CBS. No word on a premiere date. /Deadline
NETFLIX adding 5 Dr. Seuss kids series, using well known IP in the Family space in a bid to keep competitive with DIS+ and PAR+ (NICK). /CNN
APPLE TV+ sets first all-Spanish language series “Midnight Family” (well, except the title apparently). The Mexico City-set series stars Yalitza Aparicio from “Roma”. /Deadline

💻 THE MEDIA BIZ

DISNEY LGTBQ+ employee group sets a walkout on Tue March 22

It’s in protest of… well pretty sure you’re up to speed here. There are daily, 15 minute walk outs now also planned in the days leading up. Of note - outside of theme park employees, most WALT DISNEY CO workers are still wfh. /Deadline

The daily 15 min walk outs should be indicative of how potent this March 22 might be... esp as THR notes that the desire to take grievances public vs work them out within the company are likely very mixed among employees.

ALSO IN MEDIA

Notoriously more hard-nosed European regulators approve AMAZON - MGM deal. US, your turn. /THR

🏦 STOCK NOTES:

AMC NETWORKS -6% ($38.81)

DISCOVERY +5% ($25.02)

SNAP +5% ($29.58)

WARNER MUSIC +7% ($34.99)

AMC THEATERS +7% ($14.48)

VIMEO +7% ($11.01)

If you don’t already get THE WAKEUP, sign up here:

Hits your inbox weekdays by 830a (ish) East Coast time

👩‍💻 NEW TO WATCH:

Looks like its book day

🎥 TRAILER HOUSE

NETFLIX “Ms. Marvel” series trailer - Premieres Wed June 8

NETFLIX “Our Great National Parks” docuseries trailer - 5 episodes hosted by President Obama, and they definitely didn’t skimp on the cinematography budget… wow. Premieres Wed April 13

ROKU CHANNEL “Swimming with Sharks” series trailer - Kiernan Shipka and Diane Kruger star in this series based on the 90’s film about Hollywood execs… but seemingly taken up a notch. Premieres Fri April 15.

And Brian Cox as “Cassie” on ”Euphoria” from KIMMEL was pretty great the other night 👏

🎧 PLAYING ME OFF

New MANDY MOORE “In Real Life” - new album drops in May.

If you need some new tunes:

THE WAKEUP Spotify playlist

Email me anytime - just Reply to this email, or connect here on LINKED IN.

-SEAN MCNULTY

@theseanmac on TWITTER

@TheWakeupNews on INSTAGRAM