Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on FRIDAY July 9, 2021.

Where let’s start a busy end of the week at the house “The Hangover” bought. Director Todd Phillips is selling his Beverly Hills casa for… $34.5 Million. Double the price he paid for it in 2012. Which apparently is due to the… plethora of classy old people paintings he put up in the foyer staircase 🤔. Did not expect that. One of those has to be Galifianakis right?

📽 THE SILVER SCREEN

Javier Bardem set as lead for SONY adaptation of classic children’s book “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile”

The songwriting team behind “La La Land” & “Dear Evan Hansen” will write original music for it as well. Will Speck & Josh Gordon (“Office Christmas Party”) are directing.

Movie is set for a July release next Summer. /Deadline

A-List cast set for new global spy movie from director Matthew Vaughn (“Kingsman” series, “X-Men: First Class”)

Will star Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena and Sam Jackson. Plus - Dua Lipa because… hey why not?

Called “Argylle”, based on a book coming out next year, and centers on “the world’s greatest spy” (though not clarified who of the above that is. 🤞 for Dua Lipa but guessing it’s Cavill). No other plot details.

Vaughn already planning it as a globe-trotting trilogy, but this first movie will start shooting next month. Jason Fuchs (“Wonder Woman”) wrote the script. No studio/streamer signed on as of yet… but gotta think DISNEYFOX has the inside track, tho don’t count out APPLE TV+. /Variety

AMAZON STUDIOS adds Kristen Bell to comedy “People We Hate At the Wedding”

Well I’m certainly in based on the title alone. Kristen stars with Ben Platt as siblings who join their mom played by Allison Janney at the wedding of their posh British half-sister in the English countryside where family skeletons are the +1. Ok I’m embarrassed for even thinking up that line.

Written by the far more talented Molyneux sisters (“Bob’s Burgers”), will shoot in September, FILM NATION producing. /THR

ALSO IN MOVIES

• AMAZON PRIME puts a sequel for “The Tomorrow War” into development, with Chris Pratt and core creative team expected to return but… no real info otherwise. /Deadline

• NETFLIX buys horror movie"CURS>R”. Stars Asa Butterfield (“Sex Education”), Iola Evans (“The 100”) and Robert Englund (no credits needed), and centers on a college kid (Iola) who gets cursed by playing a rare video game from the 80’s. My money’s on “Pitfall” - that thing’ll curse anybody. /Deadline

  • ALSO: NETFLIX action pic “Red Notice” with The Rock / Ryan Reynolds / Gal Gadot gets Fri Nov 12 release date. /Deadline

• IMAX opening theater in CANNES. /Variety

📺 THE TV SET

EURO Cup soccer ratings up 25% across ABC, ESPN channels vs last EURO in 2016

Averaging 1.15 million viewers a match, but Quarter-final games last weekend averaged 2 Million viewers.

Does not include any ESPN+ streaming #s. /Deadline

NETFLIX sets Uzo Aduba and Matthew Broderick for opioid-crisis limited series “Painkiller”

Broderick playing Oxy-pusher PURDUE PHARMA head Richard Sackler, Uzo playing an investigator leading the case against them.

Pete Berg directing all 6 episodes, will shoot later in the year. /Variety

ALSO IN TV

• NBC will premiere “Family Game Fight” after The OLYMPICS Closing Ceremony on Sun Aug 8. Kristen Bell & Dax Shepard join competing families in games. Series will move to regular Wed night slot on Aug 11. /Futon Critic

  • NBC’s previous plan of premiering a Slip-N-Slide game show in that slot was thwarted after bacteria in the water gave contestants bad diarrhea, as former THR editor Matt Belloni has documented a couple of times in his 2x weekly email What I’m Hearing (individual email links not avail)

CASTING

• Yahya Abdul-Mateen II starring in limited series produced by Charles King’s MACRO. Based on book “The Scent of Burnt Flowers” by Blitz Bazawule (he co-directed Beyonce’s “Black Is King”). It’s a “geopolitical fugitive thriller” set among the 1960’s Civil Rights movement…but with a “magical realist lens” 🤔. Blitz also writing and directing, project currently out to buyers. /Deadline

• Kiefer Sutherland joining SHOWTIME’s presidential anthology series “The First Lady”. He’ll play FDR. Gillian Anderson already set as Eleanor. /THR

• PARAMOUNT+ sets Justin Chambers (“Grey’s Anatomy”) to play Marlon Brando in their making-of-The-Godfather limited series “The Offer”. /Deadline

• HBOMAX adds Jeff Goldblum to “Search Party” season 5. /Variety

RENEWALS

• PEACOCK’s “Rutherford Falls”, HBO’s “Pause with Sam Jay” and PARAMOUNT+’s “Evil” all get renewed for new seasons.

OVERALL DEALS

• “The Good Wife” and “Evil” creators Robert & Michelle King sign 5-year deal extension with CBS STUDIOS, worth “high 8 figures” so… $70-$90 mil? /Deadline

• NETFLIX expands Shonda Rhimes deal to include Films, Live Experiences / Branding, and Gaming / VR 🤔. No word on the 💰💰 for the expansion. /Deadline

💻 THE MEDIA BIZ

AMAZON PRIME gets exclusive multi-year output deal from UNIVERSAL PICTURES

UNIVERSAL’s movies (sans AMBLIN titles), will still go to PEACOCK for 4 months exclusively, starting (no more than) 4 months after their theatrical release date.

Then - they’ll now go to AMAZON PRIME for 10 months exclusively, and then come back to PEACOCK for the final 4 months of the window. From there they’ll hit cable TV reruns.

No exact duration was given for the deal (other than that it begins with movies released in 2022), and yes that’s kinda weird.

If inclined for a bit more detail, key caveats, a rationale for uh - why do this, and an additional IMDBTV component, I’ve broken it all down in a separate post here. #MediaNerd

ALSO IN MEDIA

• TWITTER and the NFL expand partnership to TWITTER SPACES - NFL will hold at least 20 TWITTER SPACES events this season (SPACES is their CLUBHOUSE ripoff) with current players & NFL personnel. TWITTER will still post various highlights soon after they happen in games. /Variety

• Joanne LaMarca, EP of TODAY SHOW 4th hour / ”Hoda & Jenna” amicably departing next month. /Variety

• NETFLIX hires APPLE’s Head of Podcasts, N’Jeri Eaton to lead Podcasting efforts. Will work with soon-to-arrive former ALLURE editor-in-chief Michelle Lee, though seems like structure still being sorted. /Bloomberg

🏦 STOCK NOTES:

LIONSGATE down almost 5%, dips below $19/share.

SNAP down another 5%

AMC THEATERS was down early… but finished up over 6%

Finally something other than a meeting invitation to share with a colleague 👌 :

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👩‍💻 THE FSS FEED:

(new Stuff to Watch this weekend)

FRIDAY

IN THEATERS:

MARVEL’s “Black Widow” hits theaters… or Pay $30 if you have DISNEY+ and watch it at home here

STREAMING:

HULU “This Way Up” Season 2 - UK comedy series with Aisling Bea and Sharon Horgan, trailer looked fun! Watch or Add to your List here

IMDB TV “Leverage: Redemption” - Reboot of the TNT show, this time starring Noah Wylie. Watch or Add to your List here

NETFLIX “Virgin River” season 3 - Watch or Add to your List here

NETFLIX “Atypical” 4th and final season - Watch or Add to your List here

TV:

CBS “Secret Celebrity Renovation” - A show that unabashedly rips off the exact format of DISCOVERY’s hit show “Celebrity IOU”.  So… the INSTAGRAM STORIES of network TV. #Snap4Eva   Airs at 8p

SATURDAY

WIMBLEDON Women’s final - 9a on ESPN

SUNDAY

WIMBLEDON Men’s final - 9a on ESPN

EURO CUP Soccer Tournament championship at 3pm on ABC. ITALY vs ENGLAND. Choose your wine or pints approach wisely.

ABC - NBA FINALS game 3 at 8p, Phoenix up 2-0, heading back to Milwaukee.

TNT “Animal Kingdom” Season 5 premiere at 9p

HBO “The White Lotus” limited series. Social satire set at Hawaiian resort from Mike White (“Enlightened”). Premieres at 9p 

🎥 TRAILER HOUSE

APPLE TV+“Mr Corman” series trailer - Written / Directed / Starring Joseph Gordon Levitt as a 5th grade teacher who… begins to have a bit of a crisis about his life choices. Well at least he didn’t decide to start a free daily newsletter amirite? 🤜🤛 APPLE Marketing continues their hot streak 🔥 - count me in. Premieres Fri Aug 6.

DISNEY+ “What If?” series trailer - First animated series from MARVEL STUDIOS set in the MCU that re-imagines famous events from various MARVEL movies. Premieres Wed Aug 11.

HBO “Scenes from a Marriage” teaser trailer. Limited series based on the Ingmar Bergman movie about the dissolution of a marriage with Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac. Premieres September TBD.

STX FILMS “Queenpins” trailer. Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste in a based-on-a-true-story coupon counterfieting scheme movie, with Vince Vaughn as the lead Postal Service investigating agent. Hits theaters Sept 10… and PARAMOUNT+ “later in the year”.

DISNEY “Encanto” movie teaser trailer. About a Colombian family, all of whom have magical powers… except for Mirabel. There’s always a Mirabel. Features songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda. Hits theaters in November.

🎧 PLAYING ME OFF

KEITH SWEAT - “I Want Her”. Totally forgot to get Keith back yesterday on the flip side of the Bobby Brown / Keith Sweat VERZUZ throwbacks… and doesn’t get much better than this one.

SPEAKING OF Bobby… NEW EDITION announced that all 6 original members are gonna reunite for a tour and Las Vegas residency next year. I mean - I’m not sayin’ my inclusion of “Mr Telephone Man” as the song of the day Wednesday had anything to do with it, but hey - not sayin’ it didn’t. Congrats fellas! And Keith would make a helluva opening act. That I am sayin’.

Listen to the song here on Spotify or:

If you need new tunes:

THE WAKEUP Spotify playlist

Have a great mid-July weekend ya’ll! 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