Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on TUESDAY December 7, 2021.
Where it’s PEARL HARBOR Remembrance Day, 80 years since the US was attacked and Americans stepped up together in ways far more difficult than getting a shot and wearing a mask.
AND: Noted OKC THUNDER basketball fan DRAKE withdrew his 2 GRAMMY Nominations yesterday, the day the ballots were sent 😳. No explicit reason was given, but DRAKE has a history of vocally not being a fan of the awards, and probably also didn’t appreciate getting just 2 noms for his latest album.
ALSO: In the “writer fails reading comprehension” category – Jane Campion won Best Director from the NY FILM CRITICS, not Paul Thomas Anderson (who won the NBR award). My apologies for the error yesterday. And I was so close to getting my free sub from SUBSTACK for going 2 weeks without an error…
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
Dave Bautista starring in next M. Night Shyamalan movie at UNIVERSAL
Called “Knock at the Cabin”, and has a Feb 2023 release date… and of course no other info. /Deadline
Patty Jenkins departs Gal Gadot “Cleopatra” directing gig at PARAMOUNT
“Falcon & The Winter Soldier” director Kari Skogland will now take the reins. 📢
Patty will still be a producer on the movie, while she focuses on directing “Wonder Woman 3” and the Star Wars movie “Rogue Squadron” although still no word which will go first. /Deadline
“Shang Chi” is getting a sequel at MARVEL
The film’s director Destin Daniel Cretton is returning to write & direct it, and he also signed an overall exclusive deal with MARVEL and HULU’s ONYX COLLECTIVE group at DISNEY, where he’s developing a TBD series for DISNEY+. /Deadline
AMAZON STUDIOS setting Malcom D. Lee (“Girls Trip”) to direct a movie based on the music of BOYS II MEN
Called “Brotherly”, it’ll be about a group of guys who return to Philly for their 20 year high school reunion… as Lee dips back into his “The Best Man” reunion storytelling motif.
Marcus Gardley is writing (he wrote the upcoming “Color Purple” movie, and Marvin Gaye biopic “What’s Goin On”). /THR
ALSO IN MOVIES
MGM sets Alessandro Nivola to co-star with Michelle Williams in Peggy Lee biopic “Fever” directed by Todd Haynes. Nivola will play Dave Barbour, the guitarist and lover of Peggy Lee who fell hard into alcoholism. /Deadline
Spielberg’s upcoming semi-autobiographical movie about his youth gets a title (“The Fabelmans”) and a release date (THANKSGIVING 2022) from UNIVERSAL. Steven co-wrote the script with Tony Kushner. /Variety
“West Side Story” is banned in many Middle East countries for featuring a transgender character. The 2nd time this has happened in 2 months (“Eternals” got the same treatment for similar LGBTQ+ phobic reasons).
So I guess it’s not playing the RED SEA FESTIVAL, which opened last night in SAUDI ARABIA with several A-List celebs in attendance… where before the opening night movie (MGM’s “Cyrano”), SAUDI ARABIA’s Minister of Culture called the film festival a watershed moment, as the country begins “embracing the waves of change”. Wow. 🤭
The BIEBS and JASON DERULO also played a concert in SAUDI last night, despite pleas from various sources including the wife of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi to not take the big checks to do a concert there. The SAUDI government-controlled state fund has a sizable $1.4 Billion investment in the US’s largest concert promoter (and promoter of that concert), LIVE NATION. /Billboard
📺 THE TV SET
Colin Farrell will reprise his “Penguin” role in a HBOMAX spinoff series of “The Batman” movie
Other than the show being 🐧-centric… no other details at this time, but the script is still in the writing phase so will be a minute. Lauren LeFranc (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) is handling that. /Variety
Stallone starring in PARAMOUNT+ mob series from Taylor Sheridan & Terrence Winter
Called “Kansas City”, Sly is playing a longtime NYC Italian mobster who uproots to the Midwest to establish his mafia family in Kansas City, and educate Missourians about “gravy”. Ok that last part isn’t true but $20 there’s a KC BBQ vs Tomato Sauce comment in there somewhere.
Winter (“The Sopranos”, “Boardwalk Empire”) will be the showrunner. /Deadline
DISNEY kills off “FX on HULU” brand after 2 years
The brand that… never really made much sense in the first place is now over, and all shows from FX will now just have FX branding, and FX also plans to double output to 30 series next year (25 scripted, 5 unscripted/docu).
FX shows will also be branded FX wherever they stream internationally on DISNEY global streaming platforms (STAR+ in Latin America, DISNEY+ in other global markets).
Now, can we do the same re-evaluation for the FXX brand? /Variety
ALSO IN TV
Nick Offerman joins HBO’s post-apocalyptic / based on SONY video game “The Last of Us” series. Role not disclosed. /Collider
PEACOCK cancels “A.P. Bio” after 4 seasons. /Variety
“The Office” reruns will now air on FREEFORM as well as COMEDY CENTRAL, as their exclusive TV syndication deal ends Dec 31. So – good news if you pay for Cable TV, you’re now paying 2 different networks to air the same show 6 times a day. Cable TV, never change… /Deadline
Here are your CRITICS CHOICE Awards TV Nominations. Event is Sun Jan 9 on TBS and TheCW. Film noms come out next week.
DISCOVERY+ sets development deal with GROUP NINE (THE DODO, NOW THIS etc)…. which parent company DISCOVERY owns. No shows specified, but DISC+ gets a first-look option on 30 series concepts. /Variety
IN THE HOLLYWOOD EXECUTIVE SUITE… mostly via other industries
DISNEY hires the former head of communications for oil company BP, Geoff Morell as their new EVP of Communications. He’s taking over for Zenia Mucha at the end of the year as the Media consigliere for CEO Bob Chapek and will also handle government relations (prior to BP he worked for the Department of Defense). /Variety
SHONDALAND appoints consumer packaged goods exec Megha Tolia as the new Prez & COO. She comes over from SC JOHNSON where she was an e-commerce & strategy exec, and will run growth, planning and operations, and report into Shonda Rhimes. /Deadline
AND: NARRATIVE publicists Maria Herrera & Rachael Reiss have left to start their own PR firm, HERRERA-REISS STRATEGIES. They’ll continue to represent cilents such as James Gunn, Phil Lord & Chris Miller, and Olivia Wilde. /Deadline
💻 THE MEDIA BIZ
NETFLIX giving their “NETFLIX IS A JOKE: The Festival” comedy fest a go this April in LA
They had previously planned it for Spring 2020 but… ya know. Also a time where Dave Chappelle’s inclusion would be drawing far fewer headlines (he’s doing a show at the HOLLYWOOD BOWL on the kickoff night).
Goes from April 28 to May 8, across 25 venues in LA with names like Kevin Hart, Amy Schumer, John Mulaney, Ali Wong, and Aziz Anzari all doing events… as is seemingly anyone who’s ever done a NETFLIX comedy special.
Full talent list in the link, pre-sale goes live today with all shows going on sale Friday here, and presumably some/many of the shows will also end up on the service. /THR
ALSO IN MEDIA
Chris Cuomo is also ending his daily SIRIUS XM show. In case you were also unaware of it… it was called “Let’s Get After It” and aired on the POTUS channel. /THR
AXIOS revenue will be up 40% this year to $86 Million in its 5th year. /Digiday
Social Media-lawsuit-obsessed Congressman Devin Nunes is the new CEO of Trump’s attempt at a… social media platform, TMTG (Trump Media & Technology Group). Bonus – it gets him out of Congress starting next month. /Variety
ALSO: The SEC announced a “preliminary investigation” into the $1 Billion SPAC that TMTG is going to merge with to go public, looking to find out just… ya know who is funding the SPAC, since that hasn’t been disclosed.
TMTG also thinks it can get 10+ Million users for their upcoming streaming service, paying over $10 a month for it…. with potential to be as big as HBOMAX’s current size by 2026 at 40 Million subscribers. Well I mean with the proven Nunes media biz acumen… sky’s the limit no? /THR
🏦 STOCK NOTES:
BUZZFEED dropped 11% on its opening day ($8.56)
TWITTER up almost 6% because… no idea. ($44.47)
CINEMARK (REGAL Theaters) up almost 8%, as it seems the sentiment swung to Omicron who now? for the day yesterday. ($16.61)
👩💻 NEW TO WATCH:
ABC ”Diff’rent Strokes” and “The Facts of Life” editions of “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” at 8p
ABC “Abbot Elementary” at 930p (just a “preview” airing of the pilot, show joins sched in Jan)
NBC & E! “People’s Choice Awards” at 9p
NETFLIX “Nicole Byer: BBW (Big Beautiful Weirdo)” – Stream or Add to Your List here
If you were sent this newsletter or… just kinda found it:
🎥 TRAILER HOUSE
WB / HBOMAX “The Matrix Resurrections” trailer 2 – Can anyone else use a quick primer video on where the trilogy left off at this point or just me? This looks cool but… still a bit lost on plot personally 🤷♂️ . Premieres Wed Dec 22
PEACOCK “Macgruber” series trailer – All episodes drop Thu Dec 16
HBOMAX “Raised by Wolves” Season 2 teaser trailer – Premieres Thu Feb 3
🎧 PLAYING ME OFF
In some tour news – OLIVIA RODRIGO announced her US Spring tour dates – tix go on sale Friday here.
And HAIM is going on tour starting in May. Tickets go on sale today here.
But we’ll go out today with THUNDERCAT “Satellite” – From the new “Insecure” Season 5 soundtrack… some chill kinda PM DAWN-ish vibes to ease into the week. And yes, I know it’s Tuesday.
Listen to the song here on SPOTIFY or:
If you need new tunes:
Email me anytime – just reply to this email, or connect here on LINKED IN.
-SEAN MCNULTY
@theseanmac on TWITTER
@TheWakeupNews on INSTAGRAM
