Mornin! Here’s the Hollywood + MediaBiz news to know on FRIDAY February 12th, 2021. With 2 brief boldface name items to start - According to my hometown Jersey Shore paper of record, Bruce Springsteen apparently blew a .02 on his BAC test on his DUI citation (DUI threshold is .08 so… 🤔 ), and This NY TIMES piece gives pretty thorough context to the 4pm incident in November. So at this point, it’ll be sorted at his virtual day in court at the end of the month. As it should be.

Also Kevin Hart’s personal shopper was charged with defrauding him of over $1 million over a 2 year period. (Variety)

This is why my mom still buys clothes for me. Or at least it’s the reason I’ll be using going forward.

🎧 MUSIC TO READ BY

Taylor Swift’s re-recorded version of her 2008 album Fearless is coming out April 9th. She’s added 6 new never released songs, more on those at Billboard for Swifties. Here’s her re-recorded version of “Love Story” on Spotify and YouTube out today. Which she now fully owns 🙌.

📽 THE SILVER SCREEN

PARAMOUNT makes deal for new “Face/Off” movie with “Godzilla vs Kong” director Adam Wingard

Next up, write the script. Adam is looking at this as more of a sequel than a remake. (Deadline)

George C. Wolfe directing movie for Obama’s HIGHER GROUND Co. at NETFLIX

Biopic of gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin who organized the 1963 March on Washington. Dustin Lance Black (“Milk”) wrote the script. (Variety)

ALSO IN MOVIES

DISNEY still “intending” that “Black Widow” will come out in theaters… but not committing to the current May 7 date. Yeah, it’s movin. (THR)
Jack Black joins LIONSGATE’s “Borderlands” video game adaptation with Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart & Jamie Lee Curtis. (Variety)
Lily Gladstone (“First Cow”) lands role in Scorcese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” at APPLE TV+ w/DeNiro & DiCaprio. (Deadline)
SUGAR 23 mgmt/production company continues expansion, brings on 3 more talent managers. (Variety)

📺 THE TV SET

HBOMAX orders Issa Rae comedy “**Rap Sh*t”**

Two estranged high school friends reunite and form a rap group. Now casting, will shoot 8 episodes this Summer. (Variety)

NBC ending “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”

Upcoming 10 episode, 8th season will be the last… But, not airing until the Fall TBD. (THR)

“GOT” creators set new NETFLIX series “The Overstory” with Hugh Jackman attached

Based on a novel, centers on a world that exists alongside ours that is resourceful and inventive… and what happens when a few people from our world become able to see it. So… kinda like Manhattan and North Jersey?

Its the 3rd NETFLIX series for Dan & Dave (uh the GOT guys), but they’re still writing & developing this, so will be a while. (THR)

DISCOVERY punts Chip & Joanna’s MAGNOLIA NETWORK linear launch to January 2022

Will have a full launch in streaming on DISCOVERY+ on July 15th, when MAGNOLIA will also launch its own streaming app - will be free for DISCOVERY+ subscribers. (Variety)

ALSO IN TV

Rhys Ifans leads new “GOT: House of the Dragon” cast additions. (Variety)
ABC launching 6 part News-magazine show “Soul of a Nation”, about Black life in America. Will debut in March and also air on HULU. (THR)
Colbert’s “Tooning Out the News” gets a season 2 at PARAMOUNT+. (Variety)
Hey look… another GAME STOP docu project, this time at NETFLIX. Can we just bring on the parody movie already?? (Deadline)

💻 THE MEDIA BIZ

DISNEY+ now has 95 million subscribers worldwide

Subscriber counts as we start 2021:

NETFLIX: 203 million
AMAZON PRIME VIDEO: 150 million (ish - that # supposedly is everyone who gets Prime free shipping. Amazon does not disclose how many users also use the Prime Video service).
DISNEY+: 95 million
HBO/MAX: 41 million
HULU: 35 mil (US only)
PEACOCK: 33 million signups (US only - and more on this in the story below)
CBS ALL ACCESS + SHOWTIME: 18 mil combined (as of Oct 2020)

DISNEY+ grew about 3.5X in 2020, and added about 8 million subscribers in December alone (thanks “Soul”!). But while this DISNEY+ growth is impressive - from a $$ POV… all is not what meets the eye. I’m going to do a separate email on this over the weekend for anyone inclined for a dive.

Other numbers of note:

ESPN+ now has 12.1 million subscribers. Essentially doubled it’s subscriber base in 2020.
HULU now has 35.4 million subscribers, adding 3 million from Oct thru Dec 2020.
HULU + LIVE TV was pretty much flat in 4Q at 4 million subscribers.
- But, it’s the 5th largest “cable TV provider” in the US, and biggest streaming bundle by a comfortable margin.
Revenue at Theme Parks was -53% vs this time last year.

PEACOCK may (likely) only be used by 11.3 million households

THE INFORMATION reports it got it’s hands on financial reports that show while PEACOCK has 33 million ‘account signups’ since launch… it’s only really used by about 11 million of ‘em on at least some basis.

And only about 10% of those, 1.3 million pay for the $10/month ad-free premium version, 10 months after launch. (NextTV)

If you keep hearing about CLUBHOUSE, but still aren’t too clear on it, or have yet to dive in…

(or have yet to be invited) VOX has a pretty good primer. Bit lengthy, but thorough - walking through “how it works”, the interface, and other info around it.

If it’s TLDR, just type Clubhouse (or whatever you like) in the comments on this Substack post (box is below my name at the bottom, next to the heart), and I’ll create a 5 bulletpoint takeaway for the next newsletter.

TIK TOK competitor TRILLER launches Triller.TV shows

J. Lo is gonna hawk her beauty line in a “morning routine” show, the D’Amelio Family is gonna tell you uh… their favorite things for 30 minutes, DJ Khaled has a show, as does Jake Paul, Fat Joe, influencers Hype House and some other assorted folks.

And the guy who seems to be behind it all is… Ryan Kavanaugh. Yeah. RELATIVITY MEDIA Ryan Kavanaugh. Variety has the details.

ALSO IN MEDIA

WARNER MEDIA rebranding HBO International HBO GO services in Europe and Latin America as HBOMAX starting in June. So - marks the first International rollout for the brand. (Variety)

BLOOMBERG NEWS laid off about 90 people yesterday from their staff. Attributed to improving efficiency and speed/remove too many layers. (Variety)

📰 GOOD READS

Ok this is technically a Good Watch, but watching Fincher & Affleck shooting the shit for 40 minutes courtesy of VARIETY was pretty entertaining.

🎥 TRAILER HOUSE

NETFLIX “Yes Day” movie - Jennifer Garner family comedy, premieres Fri March 12th.

New HBOMAX series “Genera+ion”, centers on group of high school students exploring of sexuality in a conservative community, premieres March 11th

TBS “Wipeout” obstacle competition show reboot with John Cena, Nicole Byer and Camille Kostek. Premieres April 1st. Yes, the red balls return.

👩‍💻 THE FSS FEED:

(what to Watch + Read + Listen to this weekend)

FRIDAY:

Lotta new movies!

“Judas and the Black Messiah” - HBOMAX here & in movie theaters. Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, story of the FBI and the murder of Black Panther Fred Hampton.

“Barb and Star Go To Vista del Mar” - $20 PVOD/iTunes/AmazonPrime rental. Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo and apparently some very funny and bizarre in a good way comedy antics.

“French Exit” - movie theaters mostly in NY and LA (?). Will go nationwide in theaters in April 🤷‍♂️. Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges from SPC.

“Minari” - movie theaters and… streaming in a proprietary A24 screening room every day at 7pm. But its now “Sold Out” til Feb 22nd. I mean… I’m all for restoring some pre-covid normalcy but - not sure getting turned away from a movie is something I miss. So uh maybe wait 2 weeks & you can rent it on iTunes for $20 bucks at home.

Anyway - it was a big hit on the film festival circuit and on many top 10 lists for the year. Stars Steven Yeun, about a Korean American family adjusting to life in Arkansas.

“To All the Boys: Always & Forever” on NETFLIX - A company who somehow figured out a way to accommodate streaming for anyone who wants to watch it. Oh right the movie - final film in the “To All the Boys” trilogy. So make sure to be a Boys completist.

“Hip Hop Uncovered” at 9pm on FX - 6 part docuseries looking at the influence of figures from the streets in shaping hip hop music over the past 40 years. Also on Hulu tomorrow (Saturday).

PLUS - New Celebrity voices are making the announcements on the NYC Subway system! (NY POST)

SATURDAY:

New SNL : Regina King + Nathaniel Rateliff

Also, VARIETY is hosting a concert with Seth MacFarlane on their website at 10pm, to benefit the Motion Picture and Television fund.

SUNDAY:

“American Idol” new season on ABC at 8pm.

”The Luminaries” on STARZ at 9:30p - 6 part series with Eve Hewson (whom you may remember from “The Knick”) and Himesh Patel as star crossed lovers in a period piece based on the best selling book.

“John Oliver” returns on HBO at 11pm.

“Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” on CNN at 9pm. I hear he knows a lot about Italian food… so I hope he finds it!

If you find the newsletter useful, hit the Heart icon underneath my name (Sean McNulty) below and leave a comment… except about my shirt. It’s laundry day. Also if inclined, please share it! 🙏 Just like Morning Brew… but no free MacBooks. Sorry - I kinda need mine to write this thing.

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Have a great 3 day weekend! Yay Presidents! Well. Except the last one. And Taft.. dont get me going on Taft. I’ll see ya Tuesday.

-Sean McNulty

The Wakeup

FRI 2.12.21 : GOT creators set new NETFLIX…