STX Movie Studio (HUSTLERS, BAD MOMS) being sold for 2nd time in 16 months
Jennifer Coolidge joins NETFLIX Ryan Murphy series / SAMBA TV going public / TAYLOR SWIFT changes how UMG does contracts
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on WEDNESDAY November 17, 2021.
Where AXIOS had a good chart reminder that being “popular on social media” is increasingly not an agnostic thing - the follow up question should be “Where?” as few personalities or brands are killin’ it cross-platform in 2021. An interesting read, especially in the age of TIKTOK as few star creators there are popular on… any other platform.
ALSO: After launching a $100 Million TV marketing campaign starring Matt Damon… now Crypto.com is paying $700 Million over 20 years to rename the STAPLES CENTER as the CRYPTO.COM ARENA starting on Christmas Day. This is both the most expensive, and most likely to be rejected by fans arena renaming deal to date.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
STX Movie Studio exploring sale, 16 months after its last sale
The studio behind “Hustlers”, “Greenland”, and “Bad Moms” sold to the EROS Indian Bollywood movie studio & streaming service in Spring 2020, which then combined to form ErosSTX, a publicly traded company… whose stock has been below $1 since this Summer, and fell over 35% yesterday to 53 cents. /Deadline
STX and its library is currently in exclusive talks to be sold to an unnamed outside company. VARIETY reported the company was looking sell the STX library for $150 Million in August to pay off debt, but this looks to be an outright sale of everything.
UNIVERSAL sets David Harbour to lead “Violent Night” holiday movie
Well. “holiday” movie. The violent thriller from the writers of… “Sonic the Hedgehog” will hit theaters next Christmas season on Dec 2, 2022.
No plot details released. /THR
ALSO IN MOVIES
HBO picks up Tony Hawk documentary, “Until the Wheels Fall Off”. Duplass Bros are exec producers, no price or timeline indicated other than broadly 2022. /Variety
Dolph Lundgren follows in Tom Brady’s footsteps, producing documetary about himself - “Dolph”. /Variety
📺 THE TV SET
STARZ orders new 6 episode season of “Party Down” with the original cast…
Except Lizzy Caplan (see below). No timeline given other than it’ll shoot next year. /THR
FX casts Lizzy Caplan in lead role for “Fleischman is in Trouble” limited series
Based on the Taffy Brodesser-Akner book (she’s also writing the series), about a recently separated, 40-something NYC doctor (the Fleischman of the title) who finds a lot more success in the dating world than in his pre-marriage days… when his ex suddenly disappears, and he’s gotta raise the kids while examining why his marriage went south to figure out what happened to his ex.
Lizzy plays the narrator and longtime friend of Dr. Fleischman. She also just booked the lead in the PAR+ “Fatal Attraction” series so… yeah no “Party Down” for her next year. /Deadline
Jennifer Coolidge joins NETFLIX Ryan Murphy limited series “The Watcher”
Which totally won’t get confused with “The Witcher” on NETFLIX’s search function. Seems like an SNL sketch in there somewhere when it premieres, I’m thinking with a Boston accent.
Anyway it’s based on an IRL story of a NJ couple who bought a $1.4 Million house in 2014 and started getting weird, ominous letters saying someone was watching them… eventually forcing them to leave. Based on a 2018 NEW YORK Mag article. #JerseyGonnaJersey
Bobby Canavale and Naomi Watts playing the couple, no word on Coolidge’s role. /Deadline
“Yellowstone” maintains Sunday audience in Week 2; “Mayor of Kingstown” premiere keeps just 35% of the audience
“Yellowstone” gets 7.5 Million viewers on Sunday, down just 7% from its PAR NETWORK premiere. Also probably outside of the ADELE venn diagram.
“Kingstown” got 2.6 Million viewers to stick around for it’s one-time-only linear airing after it (to toss to its home on PARAMOUNT+). /Deadline
ALSO IN TV
LeVar Burton will host a Trivial Pursuit game show from HASBRO and eONE, but no network or syndication home yet. /THR
NETFLIX changes standard of measurement for their in-app Top 10 Most Popular lists - will now be ranked by total hours viewed, not how many accounts watched 2 minutes of something. So expect things that get re-watched often to take precedence over things that most people decided to at least check out once. Although this metric is about as equally unvaluable in its insight. /THR
IN THE EXECUTIVE SUITE
PARAMOUNT TV STUDIO execs get promotions,
Jenna Santoianni is now EVP of the whole shebang, reports into PAR TV head Nicole Clemens.
Cheryl Bosnak is still EVP of Current shows but also will oversee PARAMOUNT+ shows as well
Erika Kirkwood was promoted to head Business Affairs for the group
💻 THE MEDIA BIZ
Streaming data tracking firm SAMBA TV files to go public
The company was founded by a co-founder of BIT TORRENT, Ashwin Navin, and lost $12 Million in the first 9 months of 2020 on $67 Million of revenue.
In 2021 losses have grown to $17 Million, but revenue is also still growing, at $83 Million thru September.
No exact timeline for the SMBA stock listing indicated. /Fierce Video
World’s largest music label UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP is doubling the duration in artist contracts until they can re-record their music
Aka the Swift Amendment. An artist’s cut of streaming revenue for their music could go from 20% to up to 80% when they own their own masters. /WSJ
ALSO IN MEDIA
Oprah did a post-ADELE special CLUBHOUSE chat with Gayle King on Sunday night - about 40k people dropped in at one point or another. #NotGreatBob /TheVerge
CLUBHOUSE ripoff, SPOTIFY GREENROOMS has dropped the requirement that you have the app or…. even a login to listen to GREENROOM live chats.
🏦 STOCK NOTES:
ENDEAVOR up over 6% on their positive earnings news
ROBLOX up another 7% as their rocket ascent contines
👩💻 NEW TO WATCH:
SONY “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” hits theaters for evening showings
NETFLIX ”Bruised” - Halle Berry MMA fighter movie hits select theaters.
NETFLIX “Tiger King” Part 2 - Stream or Add to your List here
HULU / MARVEL “Hit Monkey” - New animated series about, well a hit monkey and his American hitman associate (Jason Sudeikis). Stream or Add to your List here
If you were sent this newsletter or… just kinda found it:
🎥 TRAILER HOUSE
SONY “Spider-Man: No Way Home” trailer. In Theaters Fri Dec 17
NETFLIX “Don’t Look Up” trailer. Director Adam McKay’s cavalcade of stars satire led by DiCaprio & JLaw playing 2 scientists who discover a planet-killing meteor that’s gonna hit EARTH and the… incredulous response they receive. In theaters Fri Dec 10, on NETFLIX on Dec 24
HBOMAX “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” teaser (with no footage from the special). Reunion special with the cast… but without the woman who created Harry Potter, JK Rowling. Premieres Sat Jan 1.
STX “National Champions” trailer. Stephan James & JK Simmons lead this ensemble about Top College QB & players in the BCS Championship game threaten a strike over not being paid to protest inequalities in college sports. Oddly enough - not NCAA sanctioned. In theaters Fri Dec 10.
EPIX “Mr A & Mr M: The Story of A&M Records” trailer - 2 part documentary on the longtime influential label, home to THE POLICE, JANET JACKSON and THE GOGO’S among many others. Premieres Sun Dec 5.
🎧 PLAYING ME OFF
WALK THE MOON“Heights” - New song from their just released album. Digging this song, poppy 80’s-ish ditty that sounds like it would have fit in well on the “Real Genius” soundtrack. #ProudVHStapeOwner
Stream the song here on SPOTIFY or:
If you need new tunes:
Email me anytime - just reply to this email, or connect here on LINKED IN.
-SEAN MCNULTY
@theseanmac on TWITTER
@TheWakeupNews on INSTAGRAM