Charlize Theron to star in NETFLIX surfing movie
PEACOCK sets Elizabeth Banks for new series / WWE consolidates, enacts layoffs / FOX NEWS embraces streaming biz
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on WEDNESDAY May 26, 2021.
Where I learned yesterday that it’s very important to hit the ‘Update’ button to your Substack draft when you change the incorrect spelling of Timothy Chalamet to Timotheé Chalamet… before sending a newsletter. My apologies on the headline misspell yesterday to the new Willy Wonka. Err and his publicist if you’re a subscriber 😬 👋.
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📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
NETFLIX sets Charlize Theron to star in big-wave surfing pic
Niki Caro (“Mulan”) will direct, based on a NY TIMES article from Feb about 4 women looking to compete in the male-dominated world of big wave surfing. Script being written now so gonna be a minute. /Deadline
ALSO IN MOVIES
SEARCHLIGHT adds Jerrod Carmichael to “Poor Things” cast alongside Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo and Ramy Youssef in Victorian-era film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Favourite”). /Variety
“Spiral” hitting STARZ just 5 months after theatrical release on Oct 8. /THR
📺 THE TV SET
PEACOCK sets Elizabeth Banks to direct, co-star in series based on the book “Red Queen”
Set in a Sci-Fi dystopian future where a group of humans with superpowers has replaced democracy with a monarchy… and sounds like they’re not that nice. An anti X-MEN if you will. A young girl commoner unexpectedly discovers she has powers and, ya know… I’m sure she just keeps it to herself.
Elizabeth had previously been working to develop it as a movie. And this is still awaiting an official production order so no timeline indicated yet. /Variety
ALSO IN TV
DISCOVERY / FOOD NETWORK sets new $80 Million, 3 year deal with Guy Fieri. Apparently a bump of about $50 Million from his last deal. Who knew the Mayor of Flavortown salary was about $26 Million a year? Good breakdown of his overall 2021 media empire in the piece. /Forbes
The CW Fall Schedule here for those incilned./Variety
And if seeing the complete Fall 2021 Broadcast TV schedule grid all together is your thing, THR has you covered here.
NETFLIX sets production of first local series production in Russia, as the quest for world domination continues - a modern Day re-telling of “Anna Karenina” called “ANNA K”. /Deadline
💻 THE MEDIA BIZ
Layoffs hit WWE
Don’t worry… Vince’s job is ok. Layoffs run across TV, Features, and Digital/Social divisions in CT and LA as they consolidate all 3 into 1 within WWE STUDIOS. No word on a layoff count ballpark, but sounds like significant. /Deadline
FOX NEWS to put Primetime Propagand… I mean Opinion shows on FOX NATION the next day
FOX NATION = FOX NEWS’s subscription streaming service ($6/month), the perfect home for a network with a median viewer age of 66. Hannity and fellow Nobel Prize winners will start being added with their Wed June 2 shows, so prepare now for any errant phonecalls from estranged relatives asking you how can they use their ‘clicker’ to access it. /Variety
Either way a bold and telling move for a network whose business model is deeply tied to the cable channel bundle, and the demographic who is keeping it alive.
Zero-sports streaming bundle PHILO raising price to $25/month
Only for new customers, existing 800k subscribers are grandfathered in at $20/month. But if they want to upgrade their virtual DVR storage from 30 days to 1 year, gotta pop up to the $25 rate.
PHILO keeps the rate so low by carrying only general entertainment networks - doesn’t include Sports nets, a primary cause of rising cable bills. /Deadline
ALSO IN MEDIA
VIACOMCBS projects $7 Billion in annual streaming revenue in 3 years. Or - what NETFLIX made in the first 3 months… of this year. /THR
INSTAGRAM exploring ability for creators to charge subscriptions for exclusive content. Basically PATREON or ONLY FANS for INSTAGRAM. Well. Maybe more PATREON than ONLY FANS. /The Information
APPLE PODCAST Subscription function now active, with the latest 14.6 iOS update. /The Verge
VERIZON adds APPLE ARCADE and GOOGLE PLAY PASS video game subscriptions for free to subscribers of their top Unlimited mobile service tiers. This is in addition to free DISNEY+, APPLE MUSIC and DISCOVERY+ subscriptions. Who needs vertical integration? /Telecompetitor
Quincy Jones sets partnership with new, music artist-focused NFT company ONEOF that claims to have little-to-no environmentally-unfriendly crypto coin minting costs. Somehow. Doja Cat, HER, John Legend, Charlie Puth and others sign on to create items for auctions. /Variety
🏦 STOCK NOTES:
VIMEO -5.5% on its first trading day.
AMC THEATERS continues to ride the REDDIT trader bull… +20% yesterday.
CINEWORLD (Regal theaters) gets the overflow, also up almost 5%.
👩💻 NEW TO WATCH:
FOX “Crime Scene Kitchen” - Baking competition show hosted by Joel McHale, airs after “Masked Singer” finale at 8p
ABC “Press Your Luck” - New season debuts at 8p, followed by “The $100,000 Pyramid”
FREEFORM “The Bold Type” - Final season premiere at 10p
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🎥 TRAILER HOUSE
FOCUS FEATURES “Last Night In Soho” teaser trailer - Director Edgar Wright goes… full thriller/horror with Anya Taylor-Joy. Not entirely sure what’s going here but intrigued to find out. Hits theaters in October.
🎧 PLAYING ME OFF
New TWENTY ONE PILOTS “Redecorate”. From their brand new album which… also dropped on Friday. Popular day. Was digging this one with kind of a chill trip-hop vibe called “Redecorate”.
Listen here on Spotify or here:
If you need new tunes:
Have whelmed Wednesday - Email me anytime - just reply to this email, or connect here on LINKED IN.
-Sean McNulty
@theseanmac on TWITTER or also here on CLUBHOUSE or on IG @TheWakeupNews