Taylor Swift joins David O. Russell's next movie at FOX
Taylor Swift joins David O. Russell's next movie at FOX
Rebel Wilson + Alicia Silverstone for high school comedy / Olivia Rodrigo takes #1 for 2021 / CAA exits production business (mostly)
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on WEDNESDAY June 2, 2021.
Where the BALLYS SPORTS WEST network is gonna air a “kids cast” version of the LA CLIPPERS vs DALLAS MAVERICKS NBA playoff game tonight… a game with a 7p tipoff time on a school night 👌. But hey - it’ll have a 10 year-old reporter calling parts of the game, and they’ll run special animations and graphics throughout to deliver fun facts about the players and the game.
Though guessing they probably don’t have an animation to explain exactly what BALLYS is to your kid, and why the CLIPPERS better win by at least 8 points if they want a really good birthday present this Summer.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
Alicia Silverstone joins Rebel Wilson high school comedy at PARAMOUNT
Called “Senior Year” - Rebel plays a cheerleader who wakes up after a 20-year coma, determined to regain her high school status and win prom queen 👑. No word on Alicia’s role. /Deadline
Taylor Swift will appear in David O. Russell’s next (already shot) movie for DISNEYFOX
No details on plot or who she’s playing, other than the film is a period piece set in the Depression. But the cast is a murderers row of talent from Margot Robbie to DeNiro to Chris Rock to Christian Bale so… let’s figure this is more of an ensemble role. No release date horizon indicated for the movie. /Showbiz411
ALSO IN MOVIES
Indie studio SOLSTICE sets Sept production start for Ben Affleck / Robert Rodriguez movie “Hypnotic”. SOLSTICE has made deals recently to sell off films on its slate this year, so this is a positive sign. The movie is a mystery about a detective whose daughter is missing, and involves a secret government program and a recent crime spree. /Deadline
SONY buys rights to Don Winslow’s upcoming mafia book trilogy. Elizabeth Gabler’s 3000 PICTURES producing. First book (“City of Fire”) comes out this year, with the others in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Centers on Irish and Italian mafias in Rhode Island and is loosely based/inspired by THE ILIAD. /Deadline
📺 THE TV SET
HBO brings in Sophie Turner for their true-crime limited series “The Staircase”
Based on the NETFLIX docuseries about a husband whose wife died… suspiciously. Colin Firth & Toni Collette are the couple, Sophie plays one of their daughters, and the cast also includes Juliette Binoche, Rosemarie DeWitt and Parker Posey. /Variety
NETFLIX sets Melissa Barerra (“In the Heights”, STARZ’s “Vida”) to star in new show from “Blindspot” team
Called “Breathe”, Maria plays an NYC attorney who must fight to survive in the Canadian wilderness when her small plane crashes. 6 episode order. /THR
ALSO IN TV
Producer Stacey Sher (“Mrs. America”, “Django Unchained”…too many to list really), signs overall production deal at FX. Previously had a first look deal there in 2015. /Variety
💻 THE MEDIA BIZ
New WARNER MEDIA / DISCOVERY company to be called… WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY
Really hope they didn’t pay a branding agency on that. Also no way I’m typing all that going forward… so - I’m sticking with WARNER DISCO, who is calling the above logo an “initial wordmark”… whatever that is, so - haters hold off, final logo to come.
But that tagline (do studios have taglines? 🤔) “The stuff that dreams are made of” is a final version. Either way - RIP WARNER MEDIA, 2018 - 2022.
Olivia Rodrigo has biggest opening week sales of 2021, selling 301k album equivalents of her album “Sour”
TSwift’s “Fearless” re-release previously had the top position. /Variety
CAA sells its majority stake in production company WIIP
Sold to a South Korean pay TV network & studio called JTBC STUDIOS, price not disclosed. CAA will retain a minority stake in the company (led by former ABC head Paul Lee), presumably below a 20% ownership stake so they’re in line with the new WGA agreement.
WIIP produced “Mare of Easttown”, “Dickinson” and upcoming HBO Watergate limited series “The White House Plumbers”. /Deadline
ALSO IN MEDIA
WWE hires DAZN’s head of Global Content, Jamie Horowitz to lead WWE Content Development & Digital. Will also oversee WWE STUDIOS. Jamie was a longtime ESPN & FOX SPORTS content exec prior, and some may remember he also had a very brief stint running The TODAY Show back in 2014. /Deadline
CLUBHOUSE downloads continue to drop - down 22% on APPLE iOS in May to 722k. Gets 2.6 Million ANDROID downloads in first full month there. 1 Million of which were in India according to SENSOR TOWER. /Casey Newton/PLATFORMER
FACEBOOK re-opening NYC offices at 25% in about a month on July 12. /Bloomberg
If you still subscribe to Cable TV and are a SPECTRUM customer - your prices are going up this month. /USA Today
🏦 STOCK NOTES:
AMC THEATERS +22%, coulda predicted this one but 22% is still a bit much.
AMC also issued $230 Million worth of new stock yesterday to raise money to acquire new theaters/expansion (hi Arclight 👋 ). The stock was all sold to an investment firm called MUDRICK CAPITAL who… then immediately sold all the shares yesterday saying “Do you people know how overvalued this stock is???” and essentially took the money and ran. Perhaps ironically to go watch “A Quiet Place 2” in an AMC Theater.
ENDEAVOR releases their 1st earnings report as a public company after the Wall Street bell late this afternoon.
👩💻 NEW TO WATCH:
Pretty quiet day - NETFLIX has the new season of “Kim’s Convenience” - you can Watch or add to your List here.
But otherwise if you haven’t checked it out yet, I highly recommend the new season of “Master of None” on NETFLIX. If you’re a fan of the first 2 seasons, or even if you’ve never seen it, it’s a set of 5 episodes where you never quite know where… or when it’s going from episode to episode as with previous seasons, and it takes a unique and real look at a relationship, success, self-realization and where life can take you as you enter your 30’s in an entirely new way.
It’s rare to see such a lauded & successful show take such a big swing at evolving what it is, and create something almost entirely new… but still within the overall voice of the show at the same time: Watch or add to your list here
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🎥 TRAILER HOUSE
PARAMOUNT+ “Infinite” trailer - This really feels more like a teaser trailer to me but… it’s the Wahlberg sci-fi action movie from director Antoine Fuqua that was originally set for theatrical release in September, but is now branded a PARAMOUNT+ ORIGINAL MOVIE, and hits the service Thu June 10.
PARAMOUNT+ “iCarly” series trailer - Reboot launches Thu June 17.
SHOWTIME “The L Word: Generation Q” teaser spot. Series premieres Aug 6.
🎧 PLAYING ME OFF
New SHARON VAN ETTEN & ANGEL OLSEN duet, “Like I Used To” - kinda… Roy Orbison meets Stevie Nicks maybe? Sorta retro…but not really, but hey I was digging it so - live a little:
If you need new tunes:
Look at that - already Wednesday! Email me anytime - just reply to this email, or connect here on LINKED IN. And my apologies to the residents of Shane Smith’s new hometown of Serra Retreat in Malibu for calling it Sierra Retreat yesterday. I’m totally not allowed back now am I…
-Sean McNulty
@theseanmac on TWITTER or @TheWakeupNews on INSTAGRAM
or also here on CLUBHOUSE