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It’s a plot twist that no studio relishes: One of its high-profile stars sparks outrage with a controversial social media post. On Feb. 10, The Mandalorian’s Gina Carano became the latest member of the Disney fold to do so, joining a list that includes Roseanne Barr, James Gunn, Letitia Wright and Liu Yifei — each drawing varying degrees of action or inaction from the studio. And no studio faces greater scrutiny over its decisions than the family-friendly Hollywood giant. In Carano’s case, the move to cut ties had been brewing for some time. In the months leading up to Disney’s investor day presentation Dec. 10, Carano’s agents at UTA were negotiating for the actress to receive a sizable bump for a planned spinoff of Disney+’s The Mandalorian that was to…
Chen Sicheng The director’s comedy-mystery sequel Detective Chinatown 3 opens to a record-breaking $397.2 million during the Lunar New Year holiday in China. Susan Rovner After scrapping episodes over the summer amid BLM protests, the NBC chief is ending Brooklyn Nine-Nine with a 10-episode run delayed to the 2021-22 season. Mona Sutphen Spotify plans to add the former Obama White House deputy chief of staff for policy to its board of directors as the audio platform hits 155 million paid subscribers. Jeff Bezos On Feb. 12, Maryland became the first state — likely to be followed by others — to pass a tax on digital advertising. The mogul’s Amazon may go to court to challenge. Showbiz Stocks $469.70 (+7.6%) ROKU (ROKU) A job listing posted by the streaming platform hinted…
What do Shakira, Michael Bublé, Metallica and Neil Young have in common? Some or all of their hits have recently become part of the growing portfolio of Hipgnosis Songs Fund. The Notting Hill, London-based company was founded in 2018 by Merck Mercuriadis, a well-connected former music manager for the likes of Elton John, Beyoncé and Guns N’ Roses. Artists selling catalogs have been a theme of the pandemic, and Hipgnosis started 2021 with a flurry of acquisition news, including deals with Bublé, Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham and magnate Jimmy Iovine. Financial terms of individual deals are typically not revealed, but in all, Hipgnosis has spent a whopping $1.75 billion on 129 catalogs, accumulating 60,836 songs. Among them are modern hits, such as Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” and Rihanna’s “Umbrella,”…
Guest Column I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced the pain of being told that you can’t talk to the most important person on your representative team because your union disagrees with his agency about packaging. It is the kind of loss you can only understand if you’ve emailed an executive’s assistant all by yourself to re-re-reschedule a meeting. So I was thrilled on Feb. 5, when the WGA announced that it had settled with the final agency it was negotiating with, WME, which had represented me. I could finally reunite with my agent of 20 years, Richard Weitz, a man my wife calls God for the deals he’s gotten me. At least I hope that’s why. To my shock, some writers aren’t going back to their agents, having gotten…
Director Regina King One Night In Miami The supporting actress Oscar winner for 2018’s If Beale Street Could Talk once again proved her versatility — and got in a plug for her theatrical directing debut — when she hosted the Feb. 13 edition of Saturday Night Live to upbeat reviews. Original Song “Io Si (Seen),” The Life Ahead “Free,” The One and Only Ivan The list of song finalists includes these two tunes that were written or co-written by Oscar ceremony regular Diane Warren. She is angling to be a nominee for the sixth time in seven years and 12th time overall (but has yet to win). Documentary Feature International Feature Collective, The Mole Agent The first, a Romanian doc about that country’s health care industry, and the second, a…
FILM The Woodsman’s Nicole Kassell (WME, Management 360) will direct an adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for New Line. Zawe Ashton (CAA, Untitled) will play a villain opposite Brie Larson in Marvel’s Captain America 2. Lily Gladstone (APA, Authentic) has joined Martin Scorsese’s thriller Killers of the Flower Moon alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. Maria Bakalova (CAA, Insight, JupiterLights), Karen Gillan (UTA, Jackoway Austen) and Pedro Pascal (WME, Anonymous, Jackoway Austen) will star in Judd Apatow’s pandemic-inspired comedy The Bubble. Will Eubank (CAA, Anonymous) will direct a Paranormal Activity reboot for Paramount Players, written by Christopher Landon. Godzilla vs. Kong’s Adam Wingard (CAA, Grandview, Morris Yorn) will co-write and direct a remake of Face/Off for Paramount. Jack Black (WME, Sloane Offer) has joined Kevin Hart and…
