The all-new Hollywood Reporter offers unprecedented access to the people, studios, networks and agencies that create the magic in Hollywood. Published weekly, the oversized format includes exceptional photography and rich features.
It’s the quiet Mike Morrison finds most striking. A Disneyland Resort employee for 16 years, the manager of engineering services for Anaheim’s California Adventure Park is used to the bustle that accompanies one of the most popular theme parks in the world. But for nearly one year now, the Disneyland Resort has been shuttered amid the pandemic. “The days feel longer,” says Morrison, who leads the team responsible for the maintenance of the attractions in California Adventure even when there are no visitors. “You have this eerie sense of silence as you’re walking through. And occasionally that silence is broken by the chirping of birds, something from the outside world that you would never typically notice.” Disneyland closed its gates March 14, 2020. Before that time, the park only had…
Tim Story The director’s Tom & Jerry adaptation for Warner Bros. claims $14 million in its debut, a good sign for exhibitors as New York City theaters open March 5. Ali Sar The HFPA president, criticized over lack of diversity among members, presides over a Golden Globes ceremony that averages 6.91 million viewers, a 13-year low. Chuck Lorre The mega-producer’s CBS comedies Young Sheldon and B Positive both hit season highs among the adults 18-to-49 demographic with their Feb. 25 episodes. John Malone The mogul’s Liberty Media sees its operating income swing to a loss of $603 million for the three months ending Dec. 31, compared with a year-earlier profit of $302 million. Showbiz Stocks $68.72 (+7.9%) VIACOMCBS (VIACA) The merged firm’s streaming pitch for Paramount+ made an impact with…
On March 8 — a few days short of the fifth anniversary of a $140 million jury verdict that bankrupted gossip site Gawker and shocked the media establishment — the attorney behind the legal strategy will publish his new book recounting the trial. But Gawker Slayer: The Professional and Personal Adventures of Famed Attorney Charles Harder, by Charles Harder, also features an eyebrow-raising disclosure beyond anything related to his experience working on the Hulk Hogan sex tape case. The Beverly Hills entertainment litigator writes: “In 2018, I was honored to be asked by the Time’s Up Foundation to take a case to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of one of Bill Cosby’s accusers.” That would mean that mere months after representing Harvey Weinstein in an unsuccessful attempt to squelch…
Netflix The streamer accelerated its growth in 2020 thanks to stay-at-home orders in many parts of the world, adding a record 36.6 million users and ending the year with 203.6 million global subscribers. Revenue rose sharply and its operating profit overtook all Hollywood giants’ studio units. Importantly, Netflix swung to positive free cash flow for 2020 to the tune of $1.9 billion (after a 2019 loss of $3.3 billion) and forecast it would roughly break even for 2021, followed by free cash flow profits after that. With Hollywood pushing into streaming, Netflix is keeping up its programming spending, unveiling a huge film slate of 71 titles and noting that, as of January, it had 500 film or TV projects in postproduction or prepping to debut. During a Jan. 19 earnings…
In July, The Second City was facing an existential crisis. Its namesake improv theaters in Toronto, Los Angeles and Chicago had shuttered amid the COVID-19 pandemic, effectively eliminating all revenue overnight. Meanwhile, former members were taking to social media to call out the storied comedy brand — where Tina Fey, Eugene Levy, Steve Carell and Jordan Peele, among many others, got their start — for institutionalized anti-Black bias. The controversy led longtime Second City CEO (and 50 percent owner) Andrew Alexander to resign, admitting that he “failed to create an anti-racist environment wherein artists of color might thrive.” Eight months later, The Second City is hitting the refresh button. In December, the company installed Jon Carr, a veteran Black improv performer and playwright, as a senior executive. And on Feb.…
Best Picture Palm Springs This Neon/Hulu dramedy’s Oscar prospects would have been boosted if it had beaten its Globes competition — including Music, Hamilton and The Prom — but it lost to Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, and Andy Samberg lost to that film’s Sacha Baron Cohen for best actor. Director Chloé Zhao Nomadland Claiming her place in the record books, Chloé Zhao (right) became the second woman and the second filmmaker of Asian descent to take the Golden Globes’ prize for best director, as her film was also named best drama. Actress Andra Day The United States vs. Billie Holiday The popular singer, who plays the film’s titular jazz legend, pulled off the biggest upset of the Globes when she won best actress in a film drama, becoming only the second…
