Innholdsfortegnelse for February 24, 2021 i The Hollywood Reporter

When Disney launched streamer Disney+ in November 2019, it leaned on the global recognition of Luke Skywalker, Iron Man, Moana and Buzz Lightyear to great effect. The service attracted 95 million subscribers in a little more than a year. Soon, Disney will find out what happens when characters like Olivia Pope, Betty Suarez and Jack Bauer crash its streaming party. On Feb. 23, Disney began adding programming that skews more adult to Disney+ in such markets as Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand under the new streaming brand Star. The entertainment giant’s plan to feature Star as a content hub within Disney+ alongside Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar and National Geographic is designed to help fuel sign-ups overseas, but it also stands to create confusion for the family-friendly Disney+ brand. “Everybody knows…

Picture The Trial of the Chicago 7 On Feb. 19, Netflix made Aaron Sorkin’s film available gratis for 48 hours on YouTube to mark the 51st anniversary of the verdict in the famous case, in which the government accused anti-Vietnam War activists of conspiracy to incite a riot. “The whole world is watching” was their rallying cry, and for one weekend, the whole world could, free of charge. Nomadland Chloé Zhao’s film had its virtual premiere Feb. 19 and was greeted with rapturous reviews, as it has been ever since the fall film festivals. But it took incoming on social media from some who felt that food-packed baskets sent to premiere attendees was a bad look for a film that touches upon recessionera struggles including food insecurity. The United States…

Scandals involving the anti-Trump Lincoln Project PAC, which was backed by some of the entertainment industry’s most powerful figures, has thrust donors and activists into a quandary in the post-Donald Trump era. At stake is the durability of the big-tent coalition that was just barely able to remove Trump from office. The Lincoln Project was established by a group of Republican operatives whose goal was the removal of Trump at any cost. Their viral ads attacking Trump were widely credited in helping Joe Biden. But after a report surfaced in January that founding member John Weaver had sent unsolicited, explicitly sexual messages to at least 20 men (and later stories said that Lincoln Project members knew about the allegations and failed to act), the group has been attacked on two…

Louise Linton’s Drive-In Debut Leads to Drive-Outs Louise Linton was fully in the driver’s seat on Me, You, Madness, making her directorial debut from a script she wrote that cast her as a serial killer opposite Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick. One guest not in attendance at the Hollywood Legion Drive-in premiere Feb. 18 was Linton’s husband, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin, who has yet to make a public appearance after his tenure in the Trump administration ended in January. (Rumors swirl that Mnuchin will relocate to Palm Beach, Florida, though Linton recently told his new employer Fox News that she’s “happy to have my husband home in Los Angeles.”) Ahead of the screening, Linton thanked the crowd of roughly 25 cars (mostly filled with influencers and…

This awards season, it’s almost as if the movies are having a conversation with one another. The year’s pandemic-disrupted release schedule may have resulted in a smaller pool of films entering the conversation, but, to an unusual degree, a number of them overlap, both in theme and sometimes even in particulars, making for a denser and perhaps richer class of awards hopefuls. Some of it is just a matter of coincidence as projects that were years in the making finally reach the screen. The Trial of the Chicago 7, for example, was first proposed 15 years ago when Steven Spielberg approached Aaron Sorkin, who would ultimately direct, about writing a screenplay. Early versions of Judas and the Black Messiah didn’t begin making the rounds until nearly a decade later, with…

We are animals first,” says François Demachy, the Dior perfumer-creator, of the most frequently undervalued human sense — smell. “Our sense of smell was here for very crucial reasons at first: to find a mate, to search for food, to protect ourselves. Yet given evolution we don’t really need it anymore for basic survival … For most people we smell without actively and consciously smelling, which is kind of like seeing but not watching!” Demachy and his work — his creations include J’Adore, L’Or and Miss Dior — are the subject of the latest documentary by Arthur de Kersauson and Clément Beauvais (who directed 2014 doc The Greasy Hands Preachers, about custom motorcycle culture). Nose follows Demachy to farms around the world that grow the raw materials for perfumes, and…

The two children of Spike and Tonya Lewis Lee, Satchel and Jackson, were raised to be unafraid of self-expression. But this year’s Golden Globes Ambassadors are surprisingly soft-spoken, mixing thoughtfulness with the candor for which their auteur father is so well known. Satchel, 26, is more reserved but still willing to be frank when discussing institutional inequities facing Black and LGBTQ people. Meanwhile, Jackson, 23, is a down-to-earth optimist quick to credit his mentors (which include his big sister). THR spoke to the duo before the unveiling of the Globe nominations, which shut out their father’s awards contender Da 5 Bloods. Still, one can guess the family’s feelings on the matter: “You’re never going to make everyone happy,” says Jackson, “so you have to be happy and proud of what…

FILM BEST PICTURE • Drama WHO SHOULD WIN by david rooney Chloé Zhao cements her place as one of the great poets of the new American West with this haunting study of a disenfranchised transient, played with resilience by Frances McDormand. VERDICT: Nomadland WHO WILL WIN by scott feinberg Mank has the most noms, but that hasn’t meant anything in recent years. This race often reflects Oscar buzz of the moment, which means Nomadland or The Trial of the Chicago 7. VERDICT: The Trial of the Chicago 7 BEST PICTURE • Musical or Comedy WHO SHOULD WIN In a weak category this year, it has to be Thomas Kail’s performance-capture recording of the Broadway juggernaut that bottles the thrill of live theater with rare skill. VERDICT: Hamilton WHO WILL WIN Music (poorly reviewed)…

Dropping on Hulu, where it landed after the pandemic scuttled Paramount’s release plans, Lee Daniels’ The United States vs. Billie Holiday showcases a dazzling star turn from Andra Day in her first leading role. With effortless command, Day captures the bruising pain of the titular jazz singer’s life onstage and off — not to mention the smoky vocals, supple phrasing and intimate musical storytelling that made Holiday such a legend. Indeed, Day mesmerizes even when Daniels’ bio-drama careens all over the map with stylistic inconsistency and narrative dysfunction, settling for episodic electricity in the absence of a robust connective thread. Previous biographical treatments of Holiday — among them the 1972 Diana Ross vehicle Lady Sings the Blues and 2019’s documentary feature Billie — have shed light on her harrowing childhood…

While this year’s Golden Globe director nominees include an unprecedented three women — Emerald Fennell, Regina King and Chloé Zhao — in 1984, Barbra Streisand was an anomaly. “I was totally shocked and couldn’t believe it when they announced my name as best director,” Streisand, 78, tells THR of the night she became the first — and to this day, only — woman to win that Globe, for Yentl. “It was an incredibly thrilling moment for me. And deeply meaningful, because I had been trying to make this movie for 15 years. There was so much controversy around it. People had made such a big deal about an actress who tried to do more than one job. I was doubly surprised when they told me in the press room that…

Think of it as one small step for mankind but a giant leap for Hollywood film studios and moviegoers. That’s the hope, anyway. With little fanfare, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a routine press briefing Feb. 22 that New York City’s movie theaters will be allowed to reopen March 5, nearly a year after cinemas across the five boroughs were forced to shut off the lights because of the novel coronavirus, along with movie theaters across the country. Yet theater industry insiders note that the celebration won’t be complete until Los Angeles cinemas are open. L.A. and New York City are the two top moviegoing markets in the country, and are key to any film’s success, be it a tentpole or a smaller Oscar contender. Chicago and San…

Alexis Martin Woodall hasn’t decided what she’ll wear while celebrating at home during the 78th annual Golden Globes ceremony Feb. 28, but she’s confirmed her drink of choice: a quartersize Moët split bottle. “It will put me in mind of that moment when you’re on the red carpet and you’re handed that little bottle of champagne,” says the producer, nominated for both Netflix’s The Prom and FX’s Ratched. Restaurateurs and wine shops around L.A. also are offering ways to make homebound celebrations on the night of the partly virtual awards show feel festive. And in contrast to last year’s Golden Globes — which served a plant-based menu (prompting complaints about “rabbit food” from some guests) — one silver lining of staying at home will be that carnivores will be free…

Author and cultural critic Roxane Gay has partnered with MasterClass on a course about writing for social change. “Through honest discussions around the intersections of race, sexuality, gender and other social justice issues, Gay will teach members how to own their identity, write about trauma with care and courage and hone their voice to contribute to the world in a positive way,” the digital education platform recently announced. Gay, who has taught at Eastern Illinois University, Purdue University and most recently Yale, will use her own books including Bad Feminist to analyze her approach to writing as a cultural critic, and Hunger as an example of how to write about trauma. “Making this class was a wonderful experience,” Gay posted on Twitter about the course, available now as part of…

When Tim Story signed on to direct Tom & Jerry in 2018, he did so in part because he wanted a project he could show off to his then-7-year-old son. Maybe even take him to the premiere. WarnerMedia’s pandemic-prompted decision to release the movie on HBO Max as well as select theaters (it debuts Feb. 26) threw a wrench in that plan, but Story, who directed two Fantastic Four movies in a pre-Marvel Cinematic Universe era and helped Kevin Hart launch two comedy franchises (Ride Along, Think Like a Man) doesn’t have time to dwell. The director, who resides in the Ladera Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles — not far from his childhood home, where his mother still lives — is building a slate that includes a possible reunion with…

In recent years, Hollywood has been exploring the potential of digital tools to alter or replace a human face and head — from consumer-accessible AI-driven deepfakes used in social media to high-end techniques developed to de-age actors in $100 million-plus budgeted films. But this year’s VFX Oscar shortlist includes a profound new use: to disguise faces in order to protect the identity of the participants who at great personal risk told their stories in the HBO feature documentary Welcome to Chechnya (which also made the documentary feature shortlist). The first doc ever to be included on the Academy’s VFX shortlist, Chechnya, made on a tight $2.2 million budget, chronicles the anti-LGBTQ campaign in the Russian republic and efforts to rescue victims from its brutality. To tell the involving story safely,…

“I’ll be 50 in two years,” says Ben Affleck, whose performance as a grieving alcoholic in Gavin O’Connor’s The Way Back has brought him career-best reviews of his acting, as he addressed the five other standouts from this awards season during The Hollywood Reporter’s Actor Roundtable. “I have three children I want to spend time with, I have a life that I really enjoy, and I want to really love my work and tell these kinds of stories, with characters that are as rich as the ones that you all portrayed.” To veteran Gary Oldman, who plays the hard-boozing screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz in David Fincher’s Mank, Affleck — who worked with Fincher on 2014’s Gone Girl — continues, “Watching Mank made me think, ‘God, I have to direct again!’” Admiration was mutual…

Beyond the acceptance speeches and red carpet looks of a usual awards season is a massive industry of those who work to create glamorous moments on and off-camera. Event planners, florists, limo drivers and DJs count the typical January-to-March window between the Golden Globes and Oscars as their most profitable. This year, amid the pandemic and an awards season that looks to be almost entirely virtual, those industries will miss significant portions of their annual income — for some, millions of dollars — after an already trying 11 months. An L.A. County report released Feb. 9 found that 125,900 hospitality jobs and 37,300 arts and entertainment jobs were lost in 2020. Ahead of the Globes, THR spoke to dozens of L.A. vendors about what this season will look like for…

A year of the coronavirus — lockdowns, virtual film markets, online festivals and quarantined sets — has left its mark. While virtual Cannes was a blockbuster — with monster global deals for $50 million-plus indie packages including The Blacksmith (Nick Jonas and Laurence Fishburne), Ferrari (Hugh Jackman) and Armageddon Time (Oscar Issac, Robert De Niro and Cate Blanchett) — challenges in financing and producing under COVID-19, a continued uncertainty over theatrical’s future and a backlog of finished but unreleased movies has put a damper on presales. AFM in November was marked by caution. A strong Sundance — with big deals for films like Jockey (Sony Pictures Classics), Passing (Netflix) and the record $25 million that Apple TV+ paid for Coda — suggests buyers would prefer to cherry-pick finished films rather…

How likely are you to subscribe to Paramount+? Would you be more or less likely to subscribe to Paramount+ if the service included access to the following new movies on the same day they are released in theaters? Would the inclusion of TV shows and movies from each of the following make you more or less likely to subscribe to Paramount+? Source: THR/Morning Consult poll conducted from Feb. 18 to Feb. 21 among a national sample of 2,200 adults. Percentages are rounded, don’t equal 100.…

Ring lights and the top halves of tuxedos have sat dormant since September’s remote Emmys, and the traditional awards season has been delayed by nearly two months — all courtesy of COVID-19’s continued impact on, well, everything. But the cog that propels so much of the Hollywood machine lurches back into action Feb. 28 (despite new controversy over a lack of diversity at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and allegations of kickbacks). That’s when hosts TINA FEY and AMY POEHLER are set to hand out the 2021 GOLDEN GLOBES, celebrating a year in which the few movies that were released were mainly seen on TV. In anticipation of the show — the unofficial first paver on the road to Oscar — THR examines the likely winners (and deserving losers), this…

Back in September 2018, when Sam Levinson forgot to thank Ashley Levinson at the Los Angeles premiere of his feature film Assassination Nation, he felt terrible. Not only is she his wife, but she also was a producer on the black-comedy thriller. When the Euphoria showrunner took his seat, he apologized profusely. She told him not to worry, and grabbed his hand reassuringly. Levinson’s marital slip-up would become the springboard for Malcolm & Marie, one of the first movies shot during the pandemic. Its two sole stars — Zendaya and John David Washington — play a couple whose relationship is tested as they argue over the course of an entire night, in a marathon fight sparked by Washington’s character’s own speech omission. The black-and-white movie, shot in Carmel, California, over…

As Hollywood travels a long, bumpy road to recovery from pandemic lockdowns, Canada is raising its production game. On local soundstages and location sets, agile Canadian crews and talent have managed to keep cameras rolling through a combination of resourcefulness, careful planning and sheer will. In fact, the swift, industrywide embrace of strict safety protocols and social distancing has led to so much activity for the country’s locations sector that productions have surpassed pre-pandemic levels. “What’s nice is we’re busy,” says Karen Thorne-Stone, president and CEO of Ontario Creates, which markets Ontario to Hollywood. Her province saw a production shutdown in March and reopened in May with a pandemic playbook that includes quarantining, continuous COVID-19 testing and socially distanced sets. There have been no government-imposed shutdowns of sets. While shooting…

Shooting in Canada has become so busy, the country’s production sector is running out of room. Welcome to the Canadian space race, where the need for more shooting facilities is driving a building boom from coast to coast. The construction fever is especially high in and around Toronto and Vancouver, with earthmovers and jackhammers a common sight as developers scramble to meet the seemingly endless demand for international film and TV shoots. “We’ve seen steady growth in terms of our stage space. The global demand is so high,” Ontario film commissioner Justin Cutler tells THR. In Toronto, developers have submitted bids to CreateTO, the city’s real estate agency, to turn 8.9 acres of land on the waterfront into a 500,000-square-foot film studio near Pinewood Toronto Studios, which is also building…

Danis Goulet’s Night Raiders, executive produced by Oscar-winning Jojo Rabbit writerdirector Taika Waititi, is no typical sci-fi thriller. An entry in this year’s Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama section and Goulet’s feature debut, the film flips the genre on its head by using the future to confront Canada’s past colonization and subjugation of its First Nation peoples. “I found it incredibly liberating and a lot of fun. You’re really not constrained by reality,” Goulet tells THR about her bleak dystopian tale of a woman who’s a member of the Cree First Nations tribe, played by actress-director Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, and who joins underground vigilantes known as night raiders to free her daughter (Brooklyn Letexier-Hart) from an oppressive state school run by a dominant “far-right faction” in a post-civil-war North America. Goulet, who…