THU 2.18.21 : NETFLIX gets "The Addams Family" spinoff show directed by Tim Burton

Scorsese casts lead in APPLE TV movie, Donald Glover's big AMAZON deal.

Sean McNulty

Feb 18, 2021

Mornin! Here’s the Hollywood + MediaBiz news to know on THURSDAY February 18th, 2021. Where Rush Limbaugh is dead.

🎧 NEW MUSIC TO READ BY

U2 “Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World” - just a nice 90’s throwback + snow day song.

Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube

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📽 THE SILVER SCREEN

Scorsese casts Jesse Plemmons in lead role alongside DiCaprio & DeNiro in his APPLE TV+ movie

Yeah Landry! Will play the lead FBI detective in “Killers of the Flower Moon”, the role Leo was gonna initially play before he deferred to a supporting role.

Movie will shoot this Summer. /THR

Regina King to play the first Black Congresswoman Shirley Chisolm in biopic ”Shirley”

John Ridley writing/directing, PARTICIPANT producing.

Uzo Aduba played her in FX’s “Mrs. America”. /Deadline

NETFLIX buys 9/11 Victims Fund movie “Worth” starring Michael Keaton & Stanley Tucci

No price disclosed, played SUNDANCE 2020. Will fall under Obama’s HIGHER GROUND banner. /Variety

ALSO IN MOVIES

APPLE TV+ sets overall TV/Movie deal with SKYDANCE ANIMATION, now led by John Lassetter after his PIXAR… uhh, departure (?) in 2018. Includes 2 movies previously set up at PARAMOUNT. /Variety
NETFLIX sets Jennifer Garner for family body-switch comedy movie “Family Leave”. /Deadline
Marwan Kenzari (“Aladdin”) joins DC’s “Black Adam” movie at NEW LINE with The Rock and Noah Centineo. April shoot start in Atlanta. /THR

📺 THE TV SET

NETFLIX orders 8 episode “The Addams Family” series about “Wednesday Addams” to be directed by Tim Burton

Will be called “Wednesday”, although I’m told you’ll be able to watch it any day of the week (where’s that rimshot emoji?). The guys behind “Smallville” are writing (Al Gough + Miles Millar).

Centers on her years at Nevermore Academy as she tries to master her psychic abilities. /THR

PEACOCK sets Craig Robinson, Chris Redd comedies and an Andy Cohen relationships show

Craig’s untitled comedy from “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” co-creator has 10 episode order.

Chris’s casino employee comedy “Bust Down” has a 6 episode order.

Andy’s show “Ex Rated” features people sending their Ex’s an Exit Survey to figure out what went wrong. How is this show not on FACEBOOK?

They also ordered a John Wayne Gacy docuseries but pretty sure it’s unrelated. /Deadline

YOUTUBE announces 2021 Originals lineup, including Alicia Keys docuseries produced by Will Smith

If there’s not a NY + Philly themed collab theme song… I’ll be very disappointed.

YT also ordered docuseries on Street Basketball and K-Pop. Uh respectively. Though I’d totally watch a show about a K-Pop streetball team 🙋‍♂️. /Deadline

ALSO IN TV

HULU sets cast for new show from “Normal People” creator Sally Rooney - a Dublin based coming-of-age story “Conversations with Friends”. Newcomer Alison Oliver gets the lead role. /Variety
Donald Glover sets $10 Million+ overall deal at AMAZON. Will get his own curated portal/channel in PRIME VIDEO. Previously had a deal at FX. /THR
Minnie Driver joins “Modern Love” Season 2 anthology at AMAZON. /Variety
Whoopi Goldberg & Jasmine Guy join new AMAZON comedy “Harlem” about young women in NYC who were college friends. /Deadline
“The Neighborhood” and “Bob Hearts Abishola” renewed for the Fall at CBS. “Mom” and “NCIS: New Orleans” both ending after this season. /Deadline
HBOMAX adding a boatload of kids/Pre-K programming in 2021 - 300 hours. /Deadline
“Golden Girls” leaving HULU for DISNEY+ this year. /TvWeb
JUST FOR LAUGHS Montreal Comedy Fest will happen this July. Will be hybrid Virtual/IRL - how much IRL still TBD. 4SHO. /THR

💻 THE MEDIA BIZ

YOUTUBE releasing their TIKTOK rip-off feature “Shorts” in March in the US

Has been available in India since the Fall (where TIKTOK has been banned).

YT also testing integrated purchasing function, where creators can tag products in their videos and get a TBD cut of the sale (as will YOUTUBE). /TheVerge

GOOGLE cuts deal to pay NEWS CORP publications for their news; FACEBOOK takes a… different approach

Articles from NEWS CORP publications worldwide to be added to GOOGLE News Showcase. No fee disclosed other than calling the payments “significant”. Which if true, means I should really find a new word to describe to people how much I make for doing this thing. /NYT

Meanwhile FACEBOOK cuts off the ability for users to share news articles in Australia, so that FB doesn’t need to pay those news outlets for that right under a new Aussie law. Then again only 4% of Aussie FB posts are news articles… and Casey Newton had a good breakdown in his PLATFORMER Substack for anyone inclined to get ahead on this - thinking it’ll resonate beyond Australia sooner than later.

ALSO IN MEDIA

THE SECOND CITY in talks to sell to ZELNICK MEDIA CAPITAL private equity fund. NOTE: Item is from the Financial Times which has a solid paywall, so I’m not sure what else it says. But, ZMC is run by Strauss Zelnick… a media biz name you may remember from the 90’s and early 2000s from 20th CENTURY FOX and BMG.
EXECUTIVE SUITE: DISCOVERY+ has new Head of Marketing, Patrizio Spagnoletto (former marketing head at HULU) /Deadline

📰 GOOD READS

Writer Joel Stein details what it’s like to officially reuinte with his WME agent Richard Weitz after the 22 month WGA/WME breakup. /THR

🎥 TRAILER HOUSE

DISNEY “Cruella” origin story from the “101 Dalmations” uh, multiverse, with Emma Stone. Coming May 28th to theaters. (as well as… a certain “+” themed streaming service? 🤷‍♂️)

On the…. other side of the spectrum - here’s one for Demi Lovato’s 4 part YOUTUBE documentary “Dancing with the Devil” which reveals she had 3 strokes and a heart attack during her 2018 overdose… as well as some other insights. That hits YOUTUBE on March 23rd and opens SXSW March 16th.

And a ‘teaser’ that’s pretty close to a trailer for the new Kate Winslet rural murder-mystery HBO limited series “Mare of Easttown”. Premieres April 18.

👩‍💻 NEW TO WATCH

“The Widower” pt 1 on NBC at 10pm. A 3 part docuseries from the producers of “Dateline”. Parts 2 and 3 air Tomorrow and Sunday. I won’t remind you but I’m sure NBC will after the premiere tonight.

“It’s a Sin” on HBOMAX - UK series about a group of friends living together through the 80s AIDS crisis in London. Watch here on HBOMAX.

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Have a great snow day if you’re in NYC! LA people… enjoy your dearth of white gold. See ya tomorrow and hit that ‘heart’ icon below my name if my “Wednesday” joke almost made you close this email.

-Sean McNulty