Mornin! Here’s the Hollywood + MediaBiz news to know on MONDAY March 8, 2021.

Where if your social platform feeds were anything like mine… “Coming 2 America” definitely ruled PARAMOUNT+ opening weekend. Even if the reactions were mostly… kind, but not enthusiastic. But Rick Ross’s Atlanta mansion estate FTW - it was the “Zamunda” shoot location for the movie.

Also Meghan & Harry are having a girl.

🎧 MUSIC TO READ BY

KINGS OF LEON put out a new album on Friday, “When You See Yourself”. It’s very uh… sedate, but if inclined check it out here: Spotify

Also if inclined, the list of Critics Choice Awards winners here (or you can read thru the 16 email alerts that Deadline sent last night).

For the latest new tunes:

THE WAKEUP Spotify playlist

📽 THE SILVER SCREEN

NETFLIX pays $55 Million for global rights to Christian Bale’s next movie “The Pale Blue Eye”

Will be directed by Scott Cooper (“Crazy Heart”, “Black Mass”), Bale plays detective investigating murders at West Point in 1830, helped by a young Edgar Allen Poe.

Movie will shoot this Fall. /Deadline

BOX OFFICE

“Raya and the Last Dragon” : $8.3 Million (note: did not play in the third largest US theater chain Cinemark. The 2nd largest US chain REGAL is still closed down. “Raya” made $26 Mil globally, incl so-so $8.4 Million in China)
“Tom & Jerry” : $6.6 Million (now at $57 Million globally)
“Chaos Walking” : $3.8 Million
“Boogie” : $1.2 Million (from 1200 US theaters)

45% of US Movie Theaters are currently open (NYC’s theaters add $$ but not a large # to the overall total). /Deadline

ALSO IN MOVIES

Russell Crowe will play artist Mark Rothko in biopic directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (“Fifty Shades of Grey”). Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Michael Stuhlbarg & Jared Harris in supporting roles. CAA out to buyers in the US. /THR
Billie Lourd set for Clooney/Roberts RomCom “Ticket to Paradise” at UNIVERSAL. /Deadline
UNIVERSAL’s Billy Eichner gay RomCom with Nick Stoller directing will hit theaters Aug 2022. Judd Apatow producing. /THR
EXECUTIVE SUITE:
- PR vets Emmy Chang & Lori Burns join PR firm THE LEDE COMPANY. /Variety
- Cassian Elwes sets up Talent Management company ELEVATE. /Deadline

📺 THE TV SET

sadly no one ever says “oh like The Wire?” to me. via Giphy

HBO signs David Simon, George Pelicanos for new limited series

“We Own This City” will focus on Baltimore’s Gun Trace Task Force which… apparently went very corrupt rather quickly. “From the city that brought youThe Wire…".

No production timeline given. /THR

APPLE TV+ sets Ray Liotta to headline Denis Lehane limited series “In With the Devil”

Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser already set.

About an inmate who is coerced into getting a confession from a fellow inmate in exchange for an early release. /THR

ALSO IN TV

FX ending “Pose” after upcoming 3rd season. Premieres May 2nd. /Variety
Riley Keough & Jeanne Tripplehorn join Pratt/Kitsch AMAZON series “The Terminal List”. /Variety
AMAZON doing a doc on the OG Mars rover, “Opportunity”. /THR
APPLE TV+ orders Season 2 of “Dear…” biographical series. Viola Davis, Jane Fonda, Billy Porter, Selena Gomez, & Kareem Abdul-Jabbar among talent featured. /THR
Mandy Patinkin joining Season 5 of “The Good Fight” at PARMOUNT+. /Deadline
USA NETWORK / SYFY “Chucky” series shooting next month with Jennifer Tilly & Devon Sawa recurring. /Deadline

💻 THE MEDIA BIZ

CNN & THE NEW YORK TIMES doing a docuseries on Rupert Murdoch

Scheduled for 2022 TBD, but not many details avail yet. /Bloomberg

ALSO IN MEDIA

Chicago based cable network WGN AMERICA’s transition to NEWS NATION is a total disaster. Who’d a thought no one was asking for another national news network? /NY Times
TEEN VOGUE gets a new EIC: Alexi McCammond from AXIOS & NBC NEWS. The 27 year-old will join the digital publication on March 24. /NY Times

🎥 TRAILER HOUSE

NETFLIX “Lupin” Season 1, Pt 2 trailer. Coming “this Summer”.

👩‍💻 NEW TO WATCH:

It’s Monday, so Read a book? Ok fine… Hollywood has nuthin.

Well - Katie Couric begins a 2 week stint hosting “Jeopardy” if that helps.

That’s all ya’ll - if ya dig this, share it:

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Have a super Monday! Please Email me with any ways to make this better for you, just hit reply…

-Sean McNulty

The Wakeup

MON 3.8.21: NETFLIX pays $55 Million for…