Mornin! Here’s the Hollywood + MediaBiz news to know on WEDNESDAY February 17th, 2021. For my fellow Gentiles…. Welcome to Lent! Sadly - reading this newsletter every day does not count toward your Lenten sacrifice or commitment to self-improvement…. but I like where your head’s at.

🎧 NEW MUSIC TO READ BY

Dua Lipa “We’re Good” Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube

LISTEN to All song recos here on SPOTIFY

THE WAKEUP Spotify playlist

📽 THE SILVER SCREEN

Keke Palmer to star in Jordan Peele’s next movie at UNIVERSAL

Daniel Kaluuya also in negotiations to join. No details avail, other than it’s slated for a July 2022 release date. /Deadline

“Bridgerton” star Rege-Jean Page joins PARAMOUNT’s “Dungeons & Dragons” movie

Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Justice Smith already on board.

First hosting SNL on Saturday, and now this. Yeah Rege-Jean is winning the week. /THR

Lenny Kravitz to play J.Lo’s ex in LIONSGATE’s “Shotgun Wedding”

Cheech Marin signs on to play her father. Josh Duhamel is J.Lo’s main co-star (replaced Armie Hammer). /Deadline

ALSO IN MOVIES

• Lily Rabe joins Ben Affleck in Clooney directed “The Tender Bar”at AMAZON. Will play the lead female role. /THR

• Director Jay Chandrasekhar (“Super Troopers”) doing AMBLIN family comedy “Easter Sunday”. Jo Koy attached to star. /THR

• China’s “Detective Chinatown 3” and “Hi, Mom” hit about $850 million combined in just… 5 days. With theaters at 75% capacity. /THR

• WGA Movie screenplay nominations list is out. I am not on it. /Variety

📺 THE TV SET

JUST A FEW THINGS:

• Archie Panjabi joining “Snowpiercer” season 3 at TNT. /Deadline

• Aaron Eckhart to play Gerald Ford in “The First Lady” anthology series at SHOWTIME. Michelle Pfeiffer already set as Betty Ford. /Deadline

• NCIS looking like it’ll expand to Hawaii for its… fourth iteration on CBS. /Deadline

• EXECUTIVE SUITE: Former ABC exec Emily Cummins to run Julie Plec’s UNI TV production company MY SO-CALLED COMPANY (👏 on that name). /THR

💻 THE MEDIA BIZ

Brooke Baldwin leaving CNN in April

She also has a book coming out then, but no specific plans given. /THR

ALDEN CAPITAL hedge fund sets deal to buy rest of TRIBUNE PUBLISHING

Values TRIB at $630 million total. Includes NY DAILY NEWS and CHICAGO TRIBUNE - 9 major market dailies total, though agrees to sell BALTIMORE SUN to a non-profit public trust.

ALDEN already owns 32% of the company, paying about a 10% premium on current TRIB stock price for the rest of it, and will now take it private.

The hedge fund has 200+ Other news publisher holdings and is known for making deep cuts after acquisitions.

Not a great day for local journalism. Deal still has to be approved by major shareholders, the largest of which owns the LA TIMES (Patrick Soon-Shiong). /WSJ

Former DISNEY Streaming & TIKTOK head Kevin Mayer looking to build $2 Billion new venture

Blackstone would invest the (at least) $2 billion to back it, and it would roll up Bieber & Grande manager Scooter Braun’s company ITHACA HOLDINGS, and Ben Silverman’s latest production venture PROPOGATE CONTENT, with potentially other companies as well.

IMAGINE approached but not interested. /THR

A SPAC valued at $300 mil with Mayer & fellow former DISNEY exec Tom Staggs as principals just bought a digital fitness & wellness company BEACHBODY this week (ie a PELOTON & APPLE Fitness competitor). /LA Times

ALSO IN MEDIA

• VOX gets new Editor in Chief: Swati Sharma. Coming over from THE ATLANTIC where she’s Managing Editor. VOX has about 90 newsroom staff, 30 mil monthly readers. /NYT

• Morgan Wallen still tops BILLBOARD chart. By a large margin. /Variety

• Country Music’s ACM’s will take place in Nashville this April on CBS from the Opry, the Ryman and the Bluebird Cafe. Will also livestream on PARAMOUNT+ /Billboard

📰 GOOD READS

Did ya hear the one about the newsletter and the lack of a good read? It’s hilarious.

🎥 TRAILER HOUSE

No new trailers but here’s Adam Sandler attempting a “Happy Gilmore” as the film hits it's 25 year Anniversary.

Adam Sandler @AdamSandler

Happy loves you all! Thanks for everything!

February 16th 2021

52,575 Retweets260,179 Likes

👩‍💻 NEW TO WATCH

NETFLIX “Amend: The Fight for America” 6 part docuseries on the 14th Amendement hosted by Will Smith.

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-Sean McNulty