THU 3.4.21: DISNEY+ sets Hanks "Pinocchio" cast

Regé-Jean joins Gosling + Evans NETFLIX movie / PAR sets Bob Marley biopic director / NETFLIX ups the ante in India

Mar 4, 2021

Mornin! Here’s the Hollywood + MediaBiz news to know on THURSDAY March 4, 2021.

Where political advertising returns to FACEBOOK today… the same day the House of Representatives is cancelling its session due to threats of violence from people who think Trump is coming back to take control of DC today.

Way to read the room FACEBOOK.

🎧 MUSIC TO READ BY

BENEE - “Kool”. Not new but it came on my playlist this morning… and just a great chill but funky way to start a day. Listen on Spotify / YouTube

If you need new tunes:

THE WAKEUP Spotify playlist

📽 THE SILVER SCREEN

NETFLIX sets Billy Bob Thornton, Alfre Woodard & Regé-Jean Page in Ryan Gosling + Chris Evans movie “The Gray Man”

Russo Bros writing & directing, dueling former CIA Assassins movie.

Will be the biggest budget NETFLIX movie ever. Begins shooting mid-March in LA. /Deadline

DISNEY+ Hanks/Zemeckis live-action “Pinocchio” sets cast

Cynthia Erivo, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Keegan Michael-Key, and Lorraine Bracco rounding out the cast. Production starts this month in the UK. /Variety

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE declares Bankruptcy

Sells stakes to private equity companies, and one of Alamo’s founders.

Business will continue as usual while finances/debts are restructured, although a few locations may shutter. /THR

ALSO IN MOVIES

PARAMOUNT sets Reinaldo Marcus Green (WB’s upcoming“King Richard”) to direct Bob Marley biopic. Marley family involved as producers. /Deadline
HBOMAX sets NPH for NLC movie. Ok that sentence is an eyechart. Neil Patrick Harris is the adult lead in NEW LINE’s “8-Bit Christmas” for HBOMAX. 10 year-old boy searches for epic video game in the 80’s. NPH narrating & playing him as an adult. Currently shooting in Toronto. /THR
China movie ticket prices increased 10% to 30% in various regions this year. Well that certainly helps explain those 2021 China Box Office records. Consumer complaints rising. /Variety

📺 THE TV SET

NBC gives 10 episode order to “Family Game Fight” from Kristen Bell & Dax Shepard

Kristen & Dax get ‘adopted’ into families who compete against each other in games. Based on “Ellen” skit - she’s an EP here too. /Variety

NETFLIX adds TIK TOK-esque “Fast Laughs” feature to mobile app (iPhone only)

Series of auto-playing clips from standup specials, comedy series & movies. Clips shareable on social, Up to 100 clips a day. /Variety

ALSO IN TV

AMAZON’s “Bosch” doing spin-off on their IMDB TV service. Same creative team and principal characters so… I guess it’s mostly just a new name (TBD)? Final season of “Bosch” hits PRIME this Summer TBD. /THR
Janet Jackson getting 4 hour docu on LIFETIME and A&E in 2022. Janet is participating, will be 40th anniversary of her first album. /Variety
“The Simpsons” renewed through 2023 (its 34th season). It’s closing in on its 700th episode this season 🤯. /Variety
Writer/Showrunner Jenny Lumet (“Clarice”) gets $10 Million ish, 4 year deal at CBS Studios. /THR
HBOMAX picks up exclusive streaming rights to Season 1 of FOX’s “Prodigal Son” (produced by WBTV). Season 2 still on HULU as it’s in season. /MediaPlayNews

💻 THE MEDIA BIZ

NETFLIX making big play in India

They’re adding 40 movies & series in 2021. 3rd party numbers cite NETFLIX ended 2020 with 4.6 Million India subs (and reportedly took in $124 Million)

DISNEY+ reportedly has about 30 million subscribers via the HOTSTAR service. AMAZON PRIME… 🤷‍♂️. /THR & /MotleyFool

Sports streaming service DAZN (pronounced… DaZone) names Kevin Mayer as Chairman

DAZN is mostly a boxing subscription streaming service for $20/month (in the US) though most of its subscribers are international (about 1 Million vs 8 Million).

DAZN was run by former ESPN head John Skipper. He started a ‘sports content focused’ production company MEADOWLARK MEDIA with former ESPN talent Dan Le Batard a few months ago.

No word what former DISNEY Streaming chief Mayer has planned for it. /Variety

ALSO IN MEDIA

SINCLAIR Broadcast group lays off about 460 people (5% of staff). They own 190 local TV stations, and 23 regional sports networks that they bought juuuust before the pandemic from DISNEY. Many of which were recently renamed BALLY’S Sports Networks as a way to raise $$. /Variety
60 DISNEY stores closing in North America this year : 20% of the global total. E-commerce man… /Deadline
WIRED gets a new Editorial Director, from MIT TECH REVIEW. /CNN

🎥 TRAILER HOUSE

AMAZON PRIME “Without Remorse” trailer. Michael B Jordan takes no prisoners. Pretty badass, based on Tom Clancy book. (Its also another former PARAMOUNT title, sorry PAR+). Hits AMAZON April 30th.

NETFLIX “Thunder Force” movie trailer. Superhero themed comedy with Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer, directed by Ben Falcone. Premieres Friday April 9th.

NETFLIX “Bad Trip” movie trailer. Comedy with Eric Andre, Lil Rel Howery and Tiffany Haddish. Involves real IRL pranks mixed into a somewhat fictional movie (I think?). Premieres Friday March 26th.

NETFLIX “Last Chance U: Basketball” trailer. Football franchise moves to hoops, where former D1 recruits compete in SoCal Community College Basketball for a chance back to “the show”. Premieres March 10th.

👩‍💻 NEW TO WATCH:

PARAMOUNT+ launches. Come for the “Frasier” reruns… stay for “The Real World” marathon.

That’s all ya’ll - if ya dig it, share it with this

Enjoy your Thursday!

-Sean McNulty