Innholdsfortegnelse for April 28, 2021 i The Hollywood Reporter

In the decade since the sexual assault case of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn involving a maid at the Sofitel in Manhattan (charges were later dropped and a settlement reached), panic button systems increasingly have been mandated to protect hotel employees against sexual misconduct, whether through collective bargaining — as negotiated by the New York Hotel Trades Council — or through ordinances in cities including Seattle, Miami, Long Beach and Santa Monica. Now, organized labor has its eyes on Beverly Hills and Los Angeles. The push is already getting pushback, though, from one L.A.-area hotel. According to Kurt Petersen, co-president of hotel workers union Unite Here 11, management at Mr. C Beverly Hills made clear during recent contract negotiations that it won’t pay for a system, citing cost. “It speaks…

When Sharp Objects producer Marti Noxon headed to Kedren Community Care Clinic to receive her first COVID-19 vaccine this year, she was awestruck by the South L.A. facility. “They were one of the first breaking down barriers to receiving the vaccine, focusing not only on their community but all of L.A.,” says the showrunner. “I was overwhelmed with their efficiency, kindness and compassion.” Noxon coordinated with the Kedren team to thank the “nearly 200 employees and volunteers” with lunch from an In-N-Out truck on April 15: “Who doesn’t love In-N-Out burgers and love?” Kedren doctor Jerry Abraham has made headlines for his efforts to secure vaccines for vulnerable populations, including using mobile fleets, pop-up sites and “Nite Vax” clinics. “We do it equitably, fairly and justly,” says Abraham, confirming nearly…

More than a quarter of moviegoers returning to theaters for Godzilla vs. Kong have paid an upcharge of $3 to $5 to experience the monster spectacle in Imax and on other premium large-format screens, both in the U.S. and around the globe. That’s well above the norm. The expanding appetite for an enhanced theatrical experience has given the film and exhibition business a shot of confidence and a weapon against streamers amid devastation caused by the pandemic. Yet it also means theaters that don’t offer upscale sight and sound, plush seats and other amenities might struggle to lure customers. “People have been sitting in their living rooms for a long period of time. When they go out, they want something really special,” says Imax Corp. CEO Richard Gelfond. “In many…

If you’re going to build a new character-driven action franchise, then you need a charismatic lead to lay the foundations. Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse certainly has that in Michael B. Jordan. He brings charged physicality and emotional intensity to John Clark in this origin story of a shadow figure from the Jack Ryan novels who graduated to protagonist with the author’s 1993 best-seller. Stefano Sollima’s taut thriller departs plotwise from the source material but stays true to the core element of a driven, grieving man in a ruthless world where soldiers are pawns. When Paramount’s theatrical release became a COVID-19 casualty, Amazon nabbed what’s sure to be a high-profile streaming title, as well as an adjunct to its Jack Ryan series. Jordan is the first Black actor to step into…

Twenty years ago, Michael B. Jordan — who next plays U.S. Navy SEAL John Clark in Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse (as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Paramount feature was acquired by Amazon, where it bows April 30) — got his big-screen break in the 2001 Keanu Reeves film Hardball. Jordan, 34, was just 13 when director Brian Robbins auditioned him to play Jamal, the eldest of a group of Chicago boys who make up a hopeless baseball team. “I remember him coming in the room and being super charismatic,” says Robbins, 57, director of Good Burger (1997) and Varsity Blues (1999) and now president of Nickelodeon and Kids & Family Entertainment at ViacomCBS. “He was very confident — but not arrogant — and extremely likable.” The team becomes…

The memo arrived out of the blue. On Jan. 22, NBC Sports Group chairman Pete Bevacqua told employees that NBC Sports Network, a cable channel launched in 1995 and available in some 80 million U.S. homes, would shut down by the end of this year. The major sporting events that ran on the channel, including NHL hockey games and NASCAR races, would move to Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, and USA Network, the company’s largest cable channel. But while NBCU may be the first company to make the difficult choice to shut down one of its widely distributed channels in 2021, it won’t be the last. Over the coming months and years, every major entertainment giant will face the dilemma. “I think that you are going to see consolidation taking…

Caitlyn Jenner might not be Hollywood royalty, but the former Olympic gold medalist, who also sired household names like Kylie and Kendall, is the biggest celebrity so far to unveil a run in California’s recall election. Recall backers have submitted 1,626,042 valid signatures, surpassing the 1,495,709 threshold needed to trigger a special election, the secretary of state’s office disclosed April 26. But don’t expect the entertainment industry to rally for Jenner if the election indeed is held this fall. The candidate has surrounded herself with aides to former President Donald Trump — a gambit that will cost her any serious support from Hollywood’s deep bench of largely left-wing donors. The team advising Jenner reportedly includes Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale and GOP fundraiser Caroline Wren, who worked for Trump’s…

It wasn’t the most encouraging start. Just as Legendary’s Godzilla vs. Kong was beginning postproduction in 2019, the company’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters opened — and underperformed. The movie, which cost $170million to make, grossed only $386million and earned middling reviews (42 percent on Rotten Tomatoes). Given King of the Monsters’ less-than-stellar results, Legendary insiders had viewed Godzilla vs. Kong as perhaps the end of the current version of the franchise, even as executives believed they had saved the best for last. But then Godzilla vs. Kong opened. The movie, which bowed stateside March 31 to $31.6million, has crossed $400million globally. It is the top-grossing Hollywood-produced movie released since the pandemic upended the movie business. And it has yet to open in multiple larger markets, among them the U.K.,…

1. Carey Mulligan in Valentino Gold emerged as an early trend of the night, with the Promising Young Woman nominee among those seemingly inspired by the Oscar itself. Mulligan (here with husband Marcus Mumford) wore a two-piece look that was crafted from copper-hued organdy but appeared golden thanks to its all-over hand-embellishment of iridescent sequins, from Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Spring 2021 haute couture collection for Valentino. Cartier high jewelry completed the look. Said Mulligan: “I feel so lucky that I’ve gotten to make this film but to also come away with such close friends. It’s been very special.” 2. Amanda Seyfried in Giorgio Armani Privé The Mank nominee thanked Armani on her Instagram for the “work of art” he created for her, a hibiscus red strapless gown in plissé tulle, inspired…

The pleasure of The Outside Story doesn’t come from its heart-warming message about community or its nostalgic rendering of a maskless, pre-pandemic New York City, but from Brian Tyree Henry’s exceptional performance in his first big-screen lead role. A few years ago, Henry awed viewers as Paper Boi, the moody, low-key rapper in Donald Glover’s FX hit Atlanta. He’s continued to excel, stealing scenes and flexing skills in movies from Widows and If Beale Street Could Talk to the recent Godzilla vs. Kong. With The Outside Story, Henry not only proves, again, that he has range, but that he can carry a film. In this Brooklyn-set feature debut written and directed by Casimir Nozkowski, Henry plays Charles, a reclusive documentary filmmaker nursing a broken heart. His girlfriend, Isha (Sonequa Martin-Green),…

After a year in which COVID-19 stay-at-home orders limited options for consumers, giving a boost to streamers like Netflix and Disney+, 2021 may see subscriber churn become a bigger issue amid reopenings. Last May, 14 percent of respondents to a Deloitte Insights survey said they had “canceled” or both “added and canceled” a paid streamer. That churn rate jumped to 38 percent in October and kept up at 36 percent in February, per a Deloitte report on April 19. Some services took a larger hit than others. As of the fourth quarter of 2020, Apple TV+ had the highest churn rate of major streamers, with a 15.6 percent monthly cancellation rate (excluding free trials ending and credit card expirations), per analytics startup Antenna. Peacock, which launched July 15, saw the…

The Chateau Marmont, which has prided itself on being a favorite hangout for industry insiders, now finds itself on the outs with Hollywood. Over the past year, its employees have lashed out at the storied Sunset Boulevard hotel, first over their treatment when laid off at the onset of the pandemic, and later — breaking the hospitality industry’s strict code of silence — speaking out about what they claim is a pervasive institutional culture of racial discrimination and sexual misconduct. They blame the Chateau’s owner, hotelier André Balazs, who himself has been accused of racist hiring preferences and unwanted touching. (He denies all claims.) Several Black employees have filed lawsuits against the Chateau following a September THR story into the hotel’s workplace. In the latest civil claim, filed April 26…

Roku and Google are in the midst of a significant dispute that went public April 26, one that could see Google’s YouTube TV app pulled from Roku’s platform. The stakes are high, with YouTube TV among the market leaders for streaming pay-TV services — with more than 3 million subscribers, only Hulu With Live TV has more — and streaming video platform Roku, led by CEO Anthony Wood, with 51 million-plus active users. Unlike prior carriage disputes that Roku has had with NBCUniversal, WarnerMedia and Fox Corp., the back-and-forth with YouTube, overseen by CEO Susan Wojcicki, is in what a senior Roku source describes to THR as “unprecedented territory for us.” In most carriage disputes, the talks are over money; with Roku, it often revolves around how to divvy up…

Elton John on Oscars: ‘Looks Like It’s Coming From a Starbucks’ “It’s a pain,” remarked Elton John to co-host Neil Patrick Harris at the top of this year’s Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party, of the pivot to virtual. The pop icon then amended his comment to, “It’s more fun to be there.” After an hourlong party preshow (accessible to the public for the first time for $19.99) — which featured a set from Dua Lipa and appearances by Lady Gaga, Cynthia Erivo and the cast of HBO Max’s It’s a Sin — John, his partner, David Furnish, and Eric McCormack appeared during commercials of the livestreamed telecast. During the first break, John unloaded on the Union Station location, saying, “The Oscar ceremony looks like it’s coming from…

Next Big Beauty reimagined at the Miss Black America pageant. The legacy of a radical LGBTQ artist. A Riz Ahmed-exec produced animated documentary. A pivotal moment in Black music history resurrected. Those are some of the stories told by these documentary filmmakers breaking out in the U.S., many with their feature debuts, selected for tackling tough subjects with storytelling prowess, festival recognition, critical reception and innovative techniques. Their names might not (yet) be known, but their work speaks volumes. ISABEL BETHENCOURT (right) & PARKER HILL Cusp Cusp literally starts out with a bang, where, in a seemingly tranquil meadow bathed in magic-hour light, a kid in his late teens in NRA country fires off several rounds from an assault rifle. But Cusp is not about that boy, it’s about the…