☀️UNI's Demeter DOA, as BARBIE's lead on TOP GUN & MARIO grows
CBS NEWS Prez departs... on a Sunday / INDIA pics beat US Specialty market / REDBIRD's Everpass sets PEACOCK deal
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LinkedIn here if ya like), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on MONDAY Aug 14, 2023.
Where I witnessed no less than 4 people offer up their NYC Subway seats for older riders in my 3 rides yesterday. While it gets a lot of bad press - the day-to-day of the arteries of the city still have some humanity in it.
Btw the base fare goes up on Sunday to $2.90 🫤.
ALSO: APPLE TV+ is doing a 6-part docuseries on one of its reported business partners - MLS star Lionel Messi, on his arrival to INTER MIAMI. Can’t wait for the episode about his deal points negotiation where he reportedly gets a cut of all MLS Subscription signups at APPLE TV+.
This is in addition to the docu APPLE is already doing on his career (thus far). Surely they’ll both be very objective 🙄.
Sorry, after sitting through another premium 2-part sports “documentary” this weekend - this one about Oscar De La Hoya on
HBO,nee MAX (TLDR: He’s pretty much ignored 3 of his kids and his sister for most of his adult life, but ya know, he’s trying to change) - the expansion of this genre, spurred by the great Jordan docuseries The Last Dance, has quickly gone into a haigogrpahy toilet on the whole (don’t get me started on Brady’s or Jeter’s).But hey ya know - sports
infomercialsdocs are an underserved growth market! 😏
AND: ZOOM revised its new… not very well received AI-training policy, putting the kibosh on using any client conversations to train its AI, full stop.
OH: Companies run by Post Malone, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Smashing Pumpkins and yes, Nickelback (and more) got several millions of dollars from a Gov’t backed pandemic fund intended to help independent & small-stage live entertainment businesses during Covid, according to an Insider investigation. #YourTaxpayerDollarsAtWork
One asset-management/business mgr firm - NKSFB seems to be behind the vast majority of it, “on behalf” of their A-List clients, and is now in a lawsuit about it from a person who says he tipped them off about the ‘opportunity’ and was then cut out of the process.
In theory all money would have been used to pay touring crews and such affected by the pandemic (despite the fact that many of these artists have deep pockets of their own to do so)… but it was not a requirement of the grant - and no one responded when Insider asked, ya know, so how’d ya spend that $9 Million grant? Quite a read here.
PLUS: If you don’t submit your film for Best Picture consideration at THE OSCARS this year, you can now opt-out of submitting your inclusion report on gender, race and disability data about your film. I mean, I’m sure everyone’s doing their best.
THEN: Ok, let’s round out with something not related to the worst tendencies of our industry - Sacha Baron Cohen is looking to do a stand up tour, where Ali G would be a component of the show as the 25th Anniversary of the show approaches.
A REST IN PEACE: Goes out to pioneering music & entertainment business figure, and noted industry mentor/”Godfather of Black Music” Clarence Avant, who died at age 92 this weekend. He of course was also the father-in-law of Ted Sarandos.
IN TODAY’S EDITION
It’s Monday, so time for the full Box Office breakdown… including continued success for Indian pics in the US (which are beating many Specialty entries this year), plus a big weekend back in INDIA as well.
Plus some Sports Media items, a new CNN Morning & Primetime anchor lineup, new execs at IFC Films and more.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
