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SCAN THE QR CODE USING YOUR MOBILE DEVICE TO WATCH THE FULL ROUNDTABLE INTERVIEW THERE’S A RIVETING SEQUENCE near the beginning of Belfast, Kenneth Branagh’s remembrance of things past that focuses on his boyhood in that Northern Ireland city, when the otherwise idyllic world of Buddy, Branagh’s 9-year-old alter ego, turns on a dime. The scene is specifically time-stamped “15th August, 1969,” and Buddy, played by Jude Hill, is fighting imaginary dragons with a makeshift sword and a trash can lid used as a shield. It’s a warm, cheerful scene in a working-class neighborhood where everybody seems to know each other’s name. Then, in a time-warped moment, a swirling, 360-degree shot centered on Buddy’s POV reveals an angry mob emerging from the end of the street. Suddenly, all hell breaks…
A mid the spread of omicron, the Jan. 15 deadline for renewing or changing the COVID-19 safety protocols agreement between the industry’s top guilds and studios came and went without any official acknowledgment. That deal, which went into effect in September 2020 and has been extended several times since, with its latest update published July 19, is expected to be extended until mid-February, multiple sources tell THR. With the highly contagious variant tearing through sets and entertainment workplaces, however, some workers are questioning whether the current protocols are stringent enough or could at least use some targeted updates that respond to the virus’ latest mutation. Others point to case-by-case enforcement in a rapidly changing situation being more of an issue than the industry’s protocols. Recently, Paramount+’s Patrick Stewart-led Star Trek:…
Anthony Galloway As CBS News reworks its executive team to emphasize streaming, it hires the Wall Street Journal chief content officer as senior vp overseeing programming. Mike Fleiss Same-day ratings for The Bachelor’s new season, from the producer, are off 33 percent in total viewers to 3.37 million and 37 percent in the 18-49 demo from last year. Gunna The rapper’s DS4Ever hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 193.5 million streams of the album’s songs in the set’s debut week, per MRC Data. Susanne Daniels As YouTube makes steep cuts to its original content slate, its programming chief will exit the streaming giant March 1. Showbiz Stocks $82.35 (+30.5%) ACTIVISION BLIZZARD (ATVI) Microsoft revealed plans to buy the Bobby Kotick-led gaming giant and Call of Duty publisher in…
When Netflix raised prices on its plans in North America by $1 to $2 on Jan. 14 — basic plans will be $9.99 and the next tier will be $15.49 — the markets reacted positively: Its stock price jolted. The argument in favor of higher prices is that they underline the breadth of programming and value of the service, while boosting cash that can go into financing or acquiring content. The last time Netflix, led by co-chiefs Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos, raised prices, in late 2020, its subscriber count kept growing (at-home viewing during the pandemic likely helped). “We think Netflix tends to raise prices when churn is low, and this could stimulate more bullish views around fourth quarter 2021 and 2022 net adds,” Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall…
At Disney’s Investor Day in December 2020, the company’s Lucasfilm arm rattled off Star Wars projects — including 10 TV series — that were in the works, and Indiana Jones 5 received an expected shoutout, too. Also revealed to be in the mix: an adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone, a young adult fantasy novel by Tomi Adeyemi. It was positioned to be Lucasfilm’s big IP and story universe outside of Star Wars. But after several years of development, the planned book trilogy has found itself a new home — at Paramount. The story behind the move underscores how Lucasfilm has honed its focus. Adeyemi’s book was initially picked up by Fox 2000 in 2017, the literary-minded label of 20th Century Fox Studios, with Temple Hill’s Wyck Godfrey and…
NETFLIX 16 episodes 2.19B minutes viewed The Witcher’s entrance at No. 1 on Nielsen’s streaming chart for the week of Dec. 13-19, when season two debuted, is no surprise; Netflix’s metrics indicate it’s one of its most popular shows, albeit below Squid Game or Bridgerton. The series’ 16 episodes racked up nearly 2.2 billion minutes of viewing time that week, marking the highest tally for any title on the Nielsen charts in almost two months — since Oct. 18-24, when You pulled in 2.68 billion minutes. The total view time translates to an audience of about 2.3 million people for The Witcher at any time that week.…
