Mornin! Here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on THURSDAY April 1, 2021.

Where it’s April 🙌 ! And Baseball opening day! It’s gonna be 45 degrees with 25mph winds at Yankee Stadium for the first pitch.

And… it’s also April Fool’s Day 🙇‍♂️. The one day I wish we kept one tradition established in the 2020 pandemic, in that everyone ignored it.

📽 THE SILVER SCREEN

NETFLIX pays $400+ Million for 2 more “Knives Out” movies

Daniel Craig and director Rian Johnson returning for both. Rian also wrote both scripts. First movie begins shooting end of June, no plot details or additional cast info yet.

First movie cost about $40 Million. /Deadline

ALSO IN MOVIES

FOCUS FEATURES pays $15 Million (ish) for global rights to “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” starring Lesley Manville (“Phantom Thread”). 1950’s widowed UK cleaning lady has dreams of buying a Dior dress. So she saves up 💰 and goes on a trip to fulfill them - see title. /Deadline
Randall Park making directorial debut, an adaptation of the graphic novel “Shortcomings”. Author/cartoonist Adrian Tomine also wrote the script. 3 Asian-Americans from SanFran go on a road trip in search of connections. No talent attached, out to buyers soon. /Variety

📺 THE TV SET

HBOMAX signs Colin Firth to star in limited series based on “The Suitcase” true-crime docuseries

Originally a documentary released in 2004 about crime novelist convicted of killing his wife in NC, but the director did a 3 part follow-up for NETFLIX in 2018. This HBOMAX project will be 8 episodes. /Deadline

HBOMAX also ordered a “Head of the Class” reboot from Bill Lawrence (“Scrubs”, “Ted Lasso”). Isabella Gomez from “One Day at a Time” is playing the teach, no episode count given. /THR

CBS rebooting the original “CSI”

Now called “CSI: Vegas”…for some reason. William Petersen, Jorja Fox and Wallace Langham all returning.

No episode count given, show was last on CBS five years ago. /THR

CBS also ordered a single-camera comedy “Ghosts” starring Rose McIver (HULU’s “Woke”) and Utkarsh Ambudkar (“Brittany Runs a Marathon”) as a couple renovating a country house who soon find it’s haunted. /Variety

ALSO IN TV

NETFLIX looking to spin off “To All the Boys” movie franchise into a TV show, centered on the youngest daughter from the movies. /Deadline
HULU sets Michael Showalter (“The Big Sick”) to direct Elizabeth Holmes THERANOS limited series “The Dropout”. Amanda Seyfried set to star. /Deadline
NBC orders Matt Reeves produced series “Ordinary Joe”. James Wolk (“Watchmen”) stars in the “what if” premise - see how a guy’s life goes based on which choice he makes at a life crossroads. No episode count given. /THR

💻 THE MEDIA BIZ

ENDEAVOR files initial plans to go public (again) later this year

The company lost $625 Million in 2020, on $3.5 Billion of revenue across the WME Agency, UFC, ENDEAVOR CONTENT production/sales arm, and IMG Models & Event Production division. The company will buy the 50% of the UFC it does not currently own before the IPO.

ENDEAVOR came very close to an IPO in Fall 2019, but pulled it at the last minute after their sales roadshow to banks wasn’t received as hoped, with the company’s debt a huge factor. It had $4.5 Billion of debt in 2019. It has $5.9 Billion now.

CEO Ari Emanuel, Exec Chairman Patrick Whitesell and private equity firm SILVER LAKE will hold over 50% of voting shares in the company, giving them full control. /Variety

ALSO: Ari made $14 Million in 2020. Mostly in year-end bonus and equity in the company. Whitesell made $3.2 Million, basically the same as their Chief Legal Officer. /Deadline

ALSO ALSO: Elon Musk will be on the board.

ALSO IN MEDIA

BONNAROO Music Festival a go for LABOR DAY WEEKEND Sept 2-5, with Lizzo, Foo Fighters, Megan Thee Stallion, and Tyler the Creator leading the lineups. Will be held at usual farm location in TN. Tix now on sale here. /Variety
Former HBO head Jeff Bewkes + ICM Talent Agency CEO Chris Silberman + former WARNER MUSIC CEO Edgar Bronfman joining for a $300 Million SPAC - a public shell company created specifically to buy a Media/Tech/Entertainment company…. that is TBD 🧐. /MBW
VICE in advance talks to be acquired by a SPAC, run by an investor named Jack Leeney (his LinkedIn here - lists companies he’s invested in. It’s a lot). No word on a price. VICE was once valued at $5.7 Billion in the mid 2010’s, somewhere around the time DISNEY bought 27% of it. It valued that stake at $0 in 2019. /TheInformation

🎥 TRAILER HOUSE

BLEECKER STREET “Together Together” trailer. Ed Helms SUNDANCE movie, plays a single 40something guy who hires a 20something surrogate to carry a baby for him. Platonic non-fireworks ensue. In theaters April 23.

A24 “Zola” trailer. 2 girls from Detroit who pretty much just met decide to go Florida to make money stripping - always a solid choice. But also worth checking out for Riley Keough’s accent alone. Definitely not Jersey. In Theaters June 30.

HBO “Mare of Easttown” trailer #2. 7 part limited series premieres Sun April 18.

👩‍💻 NEW TO WATCH:

CBS “United States of Al” Series premiere. New Chuck Lorre show (do I even need to say that about a new CBS sitcom at this point?). Airs at 830p

NBC “Law & Order: Organized Crime” Series premiere at 10p in a crossover event with “SVU” at 9pm. Also ”Manifest” Season 3 premieres at 8p.

TBS ”Wipeout” new Season premiere. John Cena and Nicole Byer host. Airs at 9pm

FOX ”The Moodys” Season 2 premiere. Denis Leary and Elizabeth Perkins dark family comedy. Airs at 9p.

BRAVO “Top Chef” season premiere. Airs at 8pm

PARAMOUNT+ “The Challenge: All Stars” - Stream or add to your list here

HBOMAX “Made for Love” - Dark comedy with Cristin Milotti escaping a toxic marriage to Billy Magnussen… with a tracking device implanted in her head. I think you can watch it at this link… but hard to discern in their interface.

ALSO: All regional FOX SPORTS networks rebrand to BALLYS Sports Networks today (the gambling service is paying the networks’s new owner Sinclair Network Group about $9 Million/year for the rights).

AND…. MAGIC MOUNTAIN re-opens today in LA!

🎧 PLAYING ME OFF

GROUPLOVE: “This is the End” - solid new Alternative Rock track. This would have seamlessly fit in on any rock station in the 1990’s.

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-Sean McNulty

The Wakeup

APR 1: KNIVES OUT gets 2 sequels... at…