Innholdsfortegnelse for June 16, 2021 i The Hollywood Reporter

A funny thing happened in the first half of 2021: The insatiable appetite of consumers for streaming video content began to slow down. “We had those 10 years where we were growing smooth as silk, and then it just got a little wobbly,” said Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings in an April 20 video for the company’s first-quarter earnings after the company missed its own modest subscriber estimates. And it wasn’t just Netflix. Disney+ also missed Wall Street expectations, delivering 103.6 million subscribers at the end of the last quarter, well below the 110 million that had been anticipated. Given the explosive growth of Disney+, and the reliable, steady growth of Netflix, the misses drew consternation from analysts and executives, who posited three pandemic-driven theories for the slowdown: the subscriber pull-forward,…

In the summer of 2016, Gunnar Wiedenfels first met his future employer, Discovery CEO David Zaslav, at the restaurant of the Ritz-Carlton on Central Park South in Manhattan. After seven-plus years at German TV giant ProSiebenSat.1 — where he ended up leading the finance division — he landed the CFO role at Discovery, moving from Munich to New York to start his new job in April 2017. (Last fall, Discovery extended Wiedenfels’ contract through at least April 1, 2024.) Within months, the new finance chief proved his dealmaking mettle, working with Zaslav and other Discovery execs to seal the $14.6 billion acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive. After that sale closed in 2018, Wiedenfels’ team ended up reaching what the company says were more than $1 billion in cost synergies —…

Deal of the Week Last August, when President Donald Trump issued an executive order that sought to ban TikTok in the United States, creators worried that the app would disappear overnight. Of course, it didn’t, and continued to thrive. So on June 9, when the Biden administration said it was revoking the order targeting TikTok but also implementing a process to investigate data and privacy concerns with the app — as well as others with ties to “foreign adversaries,” including China — creators weren’t fazed. TikTok execs “did a great job [last year] to make sure that the creator community understood what was going on and their position, that they were full-steam ahead,” says Brian Mandler, co-founder of agency The Network Effect. Adds Maxwell Mitcheson, vp and head of talent…

No photos allowed,” says h.wood Group co-founder John Terzian of the guest policy inside the new Las Vegas outpost of L.A. club Delilah, whose fansinclude Kylie Jenner and Justin Bieber. Inspired by bygone spots like L.A.’s Cocoanut Grove, the supper club opens July 14 at Wynn Las Vegas on the Strip, where restaurants and clubs returned to full capacity June 1. Delilah will feature a double art moderne staircase, live band, stage performers, candlelit fireplaces and a secret private dining room accessed via the kitchen. “Have dinner, listen to live music, watch the entertainment — or have a late-night dinner as the DJ comes on,” Terzian says.…

The new Starz series Blindspotting kicked off with an L.A. premiere at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on June 13 featuring stars Jasmine Cephas Jones, Helen Hunt, Jaylen Barron and fatherly support from Ron Cephas Jones. The show, an extension of the 2018 film of the same name, is about “how the prison system affects the families outside — not just the prisoner inside — and through the women’s eyes,” Jasmine, also a producer, said on the COVID-safe red carpet. The event provided food trucks, socially distanced viewing sections and a performance from choreographers Lil Buck and Jon Boogz. Co-creator Daveed Diggs appeared via video from Canada, where he was stuck because of pandemic restrictions; he called the project “the best thing I’ve ever worked on.” Got tips? Email rambling@thr.com…

As the co-anchor for Good Day Philadelphia, the local Fox affiliate’s morning news program, Karen Hepp is accustomed to hearing and seeing all sorts of crazy stuff. But nothing could prepare this TV veteran for the moment three years ago when colleagues began taking her aside to show her something remarkable: a screenshot of Hepp smiling at a hidden security camera. The image was captured at a convenience store in New York and was now being used to advertise an online dating app. Soon, Hepp would discover that her visage had spread to every dirty corner of the internet — she was the face for an erectile dysfunction cure; she had become the featured example of a “MILF” on message boards; and her image had even made it to porn…

Thanks to COVID-19 vaccines, many in Hollywood are traveling again. In recent weeks, Miles Teller and wife Keleigh Sperry as well as Shailene Woodley and fiance Aaron Rodgers hiked in Hawaii; Molly Sims and Scott Stuber hit St. Barts; and Winston Duke hung out at Four Seasons Punta Mita, north of Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. And as restrictions loosen up, travel specialists are noticing a trend. “People are just really looking forward to getting back to the places that have previously brought a lot of happiness,” says Melissa Biggs Bradley of boutique travel company Indagare. That holds true for Lionsgate and BBC Studios L.A. Partnership head of scripted programming Rachel Bendavid, who is planning a return trip to Zihuatanejo, Mexico. “Being there is comfort food for us,” she says. Echoes…

In the penultimate episode of The Crown season four, Diana (Emma Corrin) and Charles (Josh O’Connor) perch in silent discomfort inside a palace drawing room, each contemplating the inevitable death of their marriage. You imagine they’re finally going to rip each other to shreds and euthanize this sham of a union, but they’re soon led into an even stuffier parlor to be dressed down by the queen and Prince Philip. Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman), solemn and precise, isn’t interested in her son’s or daughter-in-law’s health — rather, she’s concerned about the integrity of the monarchy. If a royal marriage fails, according to her, so does the public’s faith in their ancient institution. Diana devotedly absorbs the scolding, even when Elizabeth shames her for casual dalliances with low-born men while her…

It’s been called the Jeanaissance. It’s also been called the Smartaissance. Whatever you call it, the term has taken hold. When I first heard it, I wasn’t sure how to feel. Does “Smartaissance’’ suggest a rebirth of Jean Smart’s career? Because that seems insane. Jean has been working consistently for 35 years! Or is it, as in the revived interest in classical antiquity of the Renaissance, a revived interest in Jean Smart? See that, too, feels hard to believe. Especially since, for me, Jean Smart has always been the highlight of whatever she’s in. From Frasier to Fargo, I always want more Jean Smart. (I mean, The Brady Bunch Movie, anyone?!). But speaking of the Renaissance, the artists that personify the period — Michelangelo, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, et cetera…

Big Deal The economic recovery from the pandemic will lead to a record 14 percent gain in global advertising spending this year, to $657 billion, and a 15 percent gain for a new U.S. high of $259 billion, a closely watched ad industry forecast finds. Research firm Magna projects that this spending boom will be above the record 12.5 percent global gain in 2000, and a significant increase from the firm’s previous forecast of an 8 percent increase this year. The predicted global ad gain of $78 billion in 2021 follows a decline of 2.5 percent in 2020 amid COVID-19 shutdowns. The U.S. ad sales gain of $34 billion this year will come as digital ad sales are expected to grow 20 percent. National TV ad sales alone will rise…

Cinque Terre — meaning Five Lands — is an area comprising five villages on Italy’s northwest coast whose culture and natural beauty has made it a popular spot for visitors and a key inspiration for Portorosso, the fictional town that serves as the setting for Pixar’s latest film, Luca. Set to debut June 18 on Disney+, Luca is the feature directorial debut of Enrico Casarosa, who was Oscar-nominated for his Italy-set Pixar short La Luna. As with all Pixar films, work on Luca involved research trips, in this case to the province of Liguria (which includes Cinque Terre), to inform the details and authenticity of the film’s setting, a seaside Italian village during the late ’50s. Casarosa made for the perfect tour guide because he grew up in Liguria’s capital,…

In the past 20 years of the Emmys, the first seasons of a show have won the drama series prize just four times: Lost in 2005, Mad Men in 2008, Homeland in 2012 and The Handmaid’s Tale in 2017. More than half of the victories since 2000 have gone to the same three series: The West Wing, Mad Men and Game of Thrones, all winning for four consecutive seasons. So what does that mean for 2021? Last year’s winner, Succession, isn’t eligible, so it won’t be a back-to-back win for that HBO darling. Netflix, still looking for its first victory in the category, has The Crown’s fourth season in the race and could have the upper hand, though there are other veteran shows — former winner The Handmaid’s Tale for…

Valerie Armstrong’s basic concept for AMC’s Kevin Can F**k Himself is possibly my favorite TV series premise in years. For those who have forgotten, back in 2016, Kevin James starred in a sub-mediocre CBS multi-cam sitcom called Kevin Can Wait, a dated show about a self-absorbed man-child married to the oft-exasperated Donna (Erinn Hayes). Hayes, an extremely talented comic actress wasted as the arms-folded wet blanket, was not to blame for Kevin Can Wait being bad. But she became the scapegoat, and the series unceremoniously killed off her character between seasons. Cut to Kevin Can F**k Himself, which looks like a dated multi-cam about self-absorbed man-child Kevin (Eric Petersen), constantly getting into misadventures with his equally juvenile friend Neil (Alex Bonifer) and Neil’s grouchy sister Patty (Mary Hollis Inboden). The…

Twenty years ago, no one realized just how far living life “a quarter mile at a time” — as Vin Diesel’s character Dominic Toretto so poetically puts it — would take The Fast and the Furious. The scrappy crowd-pleaser starring Paul Walker as an undercover LAPD detective and Diesel as the leader of a group of street racers spawned eight sequels and a spinoff (the latest, F9, out June 25) that have grossed more than $6.15 billion to date. “We didn’t know what the rules were and weren’t. We just kind of went off and did it,” recalls producer Neal H. Moritz, who notes the film’s $38 million budget was low enough to have the team left alone. “I’m sure they believed in the worst case scenario that it could…

On March 4, nearly a month after taking an unplanned hiatus from The Bachelor, Chris Harrison returned to TV to say that he wasn’t going anywhere. “I plan to be back and I want to be back,” the host of 19 years told Good Morning America co-anchor Michael Strahan. He said he had been seeking counsel from the community he hurt after an interview in which he excused racially offensive behavior from contestant Rachael Kirkconnell on the then-airing historic season of The Bachelor, centered on the franchise’s first Black male lead, Matt James. Given that Kirkconnell was a frontrunner, Harrison seemingly was sent out by the network to do damage control over the contestant’s attending of a 2018 racist sorority party, but it backfired — as did his redemption effort.…

Lara Flynn Boyle Rejects ‘Comeback,’ Embraces Age Lara Flynn Boyle has been visible only in paparazzi shots under Daily Mail headlines using words like “reclusive” or “unrecognizable,” but the actress can now be seen, for the first time in six years, on the big screen. Boyle, 51, stars opposite Bruce Dern in Death in Texas, an indie in which she plays a dying mother with a troubled son. “I was like, ‘Make me look even crappier than I already would,’ ” she says. “It was a commitment to myself to go in with no vanity.” After breaking out in the ’90s with Twin Peaks and playing the villain in 2002’s Men in Black II, Boyle has slowed down but insists this isn’t a comeback: “I never went anywhere.” Boyle, who…

Kevin Hart doesn’t make small moves. So when the prolific 41-year-old — whose films have grossed $4.2 billion at the box office and whose salad days of stand-up sold out arenas — decided to make an earnest go of producing, he was determined that it not be just another vanity shingle. Though HartBeat Productions launched in 2009, Hart doubled down on the venture when he poached executive Bryan Smiley from Sony 10 years later. With a new president of film and TV and ambitions to build a brand that eclipsed its namesake funnyman, the staff swelled to 12 at their Burbank headquarters. HartBeat projects include FXX breakout comedy Dave, upcoming STX feature American Sole, Netflix’s forthcoming miniseries True Story and a slate of at least four Hart vehicles under a…

IL SERENO HOTEL Lake Como, Lombardy On the scenic northern Italian lake where George Clooney has a second home, the ultra-exclusive Il Sereno Hotel has just added Villa Pliniana (above) — an 18-bedroom, 16th century palazzo whose visitors have included Napoleon, Lord Byron and composer Gioachino Rossini — to its offerings. Full buyout only, around $157,000 a week; serenohotels.com CASTELLO DI RESCHIO Lisciano Niccone, Perugia A castle that dates to 1050 has been reimagined as a hotel with 36 suites and a spa inspired by a Roman bathhouse, all set on a 3,700-acre estate in the Umbrian hills. Rooms from $920 a night, includes breakfast; reschio.com PARAGON 700  Ostuni, Puglia Located in the heel of Italy, this elegant 11-room property inhabits a restored 18th century palazzo featuring walled gardens, antique…

There are people for whom exercising means a long, solitary, contemplative run. Others, however, require loudly articulated reinforcement ranging from gentle cajoling to flat-out abuse. From the fitness craze of the ’80s to real and virtual spin classes today, there has long been an allure to enlisting coaches to become the motivating voices in your head. But what are the voices in their heads? What are the exercisers exorcising? That’s one of the questions driving Apple TV+’s Physical, a 10-episode dramedy (installments run a half-hour) with an unrelenting sour streak sure to alienate any viewer who makes the mistake of thinking they’re tuning in for a vaguely campy slice of lighthearted nostalgia. If you accept, going in, that Physical is actually a dark and tormented character study driven by an…

If COVID-19 sounded the death knell for theater and production, it didn’t manage to snuff out acting schools, many of which were quick to adapt (Zoom-based writing collaborations! Radio plays!) to the changing landscape. With the light now at the end of the proverbial tunnel, those schools are deftly mapping out the path back into the classroom. (Columbia is even throwing in a free year.) What the pandemic year has proven is that the appetite for content — and the actors necessary to bring it to life — has never been stronger. As training grounds brace for a sharp increase in applicants, The Hollywood Reporter consulted with insiders, alumni and casting pros for its annual ranking of the best places to earn an acting degree.Juilliard drama students in a production…

Burning bright and fast, FX’s Pose — a landmark series for trans representation — came to an end after three seasons on June 6. Bittersweet until that very last episode, Pose often walked the line between joy and tragedy — mirroring the journey of so many individuals in the world of New York’s ballroom culture at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Speaking in May, one day after the THR cover story in which he revealed he’s been living with HIV for 14 years, Pose actor Billy Porter was joined by co-star Mj Rodriguez and creator and showrunner Steven Canals to talk about their series’ legacy and what’s next for LGBTQ POC representation in entertainment and for themselves. I am catching you at the tail end of a huge…