HBOMAX orders THE PENGUIN series with Colin Farrell

PEACOCK sets MLB streaming deal / WB reshuffles Summer pics / Will Forte joins Cena LOONEY TOONES pic

Mar 10, 2022

Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on THURSDAY March 10, 2022.

Where Major League Baseball opening day has been officially pushed back to April 14. At the earliest 😪. But hey look - Tom Hanks as “Geppetto”!

Eh that’s all I got in less-of-a-bummer news. Coming to Disney+ in September from director Robert Zemeckis.

ALSO: The TONYS will take place Sun June 12 at RADIO CITY. 🎭 First hour will stream on PAR+ and CBS picks it up at 8p, similar to last year. Will air live coast-to-coast for the first time.

AND: DISNEY CEO Bob Chapek addressed the #dontsaygay law at the end of his prepared remarks at the Annual meeting yesterday, saying they were working ‘behind the scenes’ against it to no avail, are donating $5 Million to the HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN and other LGBTQ+ organizations, and have arranged a meeting with DeSantis to discuss.

BUT… DeSantis’s office released this statement:

"This is the first time we have heard from Disney regarding HB 1557. The governor did take the call from Mr. Chapek. The governor’s position has not changed. No in-person meeting has been scheduled yet..."

📽 THE SILVER SCREEN

#funfact: I actually produced this shoot 🙋‍♂️. via Giphy

HBOMAX orders pic based on John Green book “Turtles All the Way Down”

Book was Green’s best-selling follow up to the movie that always makes me tear up “The Fault in Our Stars”. #amsterdam 😭

Isabella Merced (NETFLIX’s Momoa pic “Sweet Girl”, “Let It Snow”) starring as a 17 year-old trying to be the good girl for everyone in her life while navigating obsessive thoughts that she can’t control, when she reconnects with a childhood crush.

25 year-old actress turned indie director Hannah Marks will helm here, “Fault” producers TEMPLE HILL producing. Will shoot this Spring. /THR

WB adds Will Forte & Lana Condor to “Coyote vs. Acme” pic with John Cena

Forte plays a seen-better-days attorney 💼who takes on Wile E. as a client in his case against the ACME company for faulty products… and finds himself facing off against his former boss (Cena) as ACME’s attorney. No word on Condor’s role.

Live action-CGI hybrid, shoots later this month, James Gunn among the producers. /Deadline

ALSO IN MOVIES

APPLE TV+ buys docu on F1 driver Lewis Hamilton. Falls under Richard Plepler’s deal there. /THR
A24 gets $225 Million investment for just under 10% stake from private equity firm STRIPES, putting a $2.5 Billion valuation on the independent production outfit. Company is still majority owned by its founders and employees. /Deadline
WB gives new dates to tentpole pics:
- “DC League of Super-Pets” goes from May 20 to July 29
- “Black Adam” goes from July 29 to Oct 21
- “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” moves up to Dec 16 (opposite “Avatar 2”)
- “The Flash” goes from Nov to June 2023
- “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” leaves Dec for March 2023

📺 THE TV SET

who knew there was a different Colin Farrell gif out there? 🤯 via Giphy

HBOMAX orders “The Penguin” spinoff limited series with Colin Farrell

Matt Reeves producing of course. No word on a timeline. /THR

Pete Davidson / BROADWAY VIDEO pitching comedy TV show about a fictionalized version of Pete

So… “Curb” or “Episodes” depending on your POV of the genre. Or kind of a combo of the 2 probably. Pete co-writing with his collaborator Dave Sirus, and Judah Miller (”Crashing”), tentatively called “Bupkis”.

UNIVERSAL TV producing through Lorne’s deal there, will see what streaming service bites… /Deadline

ALSO IN TV

NBC’s “The Thing About Pam” premiere gets 2.8 Million viewers in overnights, lead in “This is Us” had 4.1 Million. /Deadline
CBS renews reality quartet: “Survivor”, “Tough As Nails”, “Secret Celebrity Renovation” and “The Amazing Race”. /THR
STARZ renews “Power Book IV: Force” for a 2nd season, although will get a new showrunner. Surprisingly this news did not come from 50 CENT’s Insta account. /THR
PAR+ adds Andre Braugher to “The Good Fight” season 6. /Deadline
NBCU syndicated show “Judge Jerry” canceled after 3 seasons. SONY’s “Dr Oz” spinoff-replacement “The Good Dish” not renewed for the Fall. /Deadline

💻 THE MEDIA BIZ

I have no idea what this is but obviously I had to go with it. via Giphy

PEACOCK gets MLB streaming deal for Monday & Wednesday night games

This was the package not renewed by ESPN last year. Reportedly 2 year deal, $30 Million a year. Technically it’s NBCU making the deal… but most games will likely be PEACOCK-only.

And that APPLE TV+ deal from yesterday is reportedly a 7 year deal… but APPLE can choose to exit after the 1st or 2nd year.

$85 Million a year, but that includes $30 Million in APPLE TV Ad spend to promote it annually.

MLB games will air across… FIVE different TV + Streaming outlets this year so, have fun figuring out where your team’s games are airing. And if you then have access to that particular network or service. Assuming there’s a season ⚾️. /Forbes

ALSO IN MEDIA

Follow up on the CNN Zucker exit deal - WSJ reports there was no severance, just $5+ Million for his guaranteed 2021 bonus. Either way he’s making a lot more than someone doing a still-free morning newsletter.
AMAZON PRIME VIDEO suspends service in RUSSIA, and AMAZON stops shipments to the country. /Deadline
SPOTIFY suspends pay-subscriber accounts… but keeps the freeloading ones active. Oh right - no way to collect money. Way to take a stand SPOTIFY. /Variety

🏦 STOCK NOTES:

NETFLIX +5% ($358.79) as a steadfast Bull analyst finally changed his rating to Buy

GOOGLE +5% ($2,677.32)

TWITTER +5% ($34.37)

WARNER MUSIC +5% ($33.44)

VIMEO +5% ($12.98)

ROBLOX +6% ($44.38)

SNAP +8% ($33.68)

CINEWORLD (REGAL Cinemas) +12% ($0.45)

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👩‍💻 NEW TO WATCH:

PEACOCK “Bust Down” - Chris Redd comedy series, 6 episodes - STREAM HERE

SHOWTIME “Desus & Mero” - New Season at 11p, Denzel stops by.

🎥 TRAILER HOUSE

NETFLIX “Bridgerton” Season 2 - Premieres March 25

DISNEY+ “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series teaser - Premieres May 25

LIONSGATE “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” red band trailer. In theaters April 22

NETFLIX “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” Season 4 trailer - Premieres… uh tomorrow.

AMAZON PRIME “Outer Range” series teaser - Josh Brolin stars in this series set out West where… some things are going down but I have no idea what. Certainly an intriguing spot and ✅ the tease box. Premieres April 15

PARAMOUNT+ “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” teaser trailer - Premieres May 5

🎧 PLAYING ME OFF

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