VICE cutting costs, slows hiring in Sale prep for at least part of the business
TIKTOK sets subscription video series / AMBLIN remaking ARACHNAPHOBIA / AMAZON sets Uma Thurman for rom-com
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on FRIDAY June 3, 2022.
Where sure, paying $40 to visit “Central Perk” ☕️ or “Luke’s Diner” 🥞 for a photo op is great (well maybe not the $40)… but how about the “The Golden Girls” kitchen?!
Yes this July in Beverly Hills, you too can get your photo taken while enjoying “Blanche’s Georgia Style Cookies” or something called a “Dorothy Sandwich” (was there that much cooking on this show??) while making your own 80s style sexual innuendo.
ALSO: “Almost Famous” The Musical will hit BROADWAY staring Sept 13 in previews. Cast is set, and here is an IG Reel with pics of the respective cast.
PLUS: Michelle Wie is retiring from Golf at 32. Just something that caught my attention this week.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
AMBLIN remaking “Arachnaphobia”
Christopher Landon (“Freaky”, “Happy Death Day”) is writing and directing, but no real details on the new take. /THR
AMAZON PRIME sets Uma Thurman as lead star in “Red, White & Royal Blue” rom-com
Based on a best-selling book, Uma plays a newly elected US President whose attractive Mexican-American son becomes a media darling in a JFK Jr. kinda way… until his long running feud with a British Prince begins to cause issues with US / UK relations. When they meet to mend fences, the opposites begin to attract.
TONY winning playwright Matthew López (”The Inheritance”) is writing & directing. /Deadline
IN THE HOLLYWOOD EXECUTIVE SUITE
Longtime JERRY BRUCKHEIMER TV head Jonathan Littman is leaving after 25 years, and is going to launch his own TBD shingle. /Deadline
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📺 THE TV SET
APPLE TV+ adds John Malkovich to “The New Look” Dior / Coco Chanel series
A look at the rivalry that began as FRANCE came out of WWII, Ben Mendelsohn is set as Dior, Juliette Binoche is Chanel 👜.
Emily Mortimer also joining the cast, and Malkovich is playing Lucien Lelong, head of influential fashion house Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture… which I’m very glad that I only had to type and not pronounce 👍. /THR
ALSO IN TV
SHOWTIME sets “NYC Point Gods” docu from Kevin Durant about the greats from 80’s & 90’s hoops scene 🏀 (Kenny Anderson, Mark Jackson, Rod Strickland etc). Will Premiere Fri July 29.
“60 Minutes” is launching its own streaming channel on corporate-sibling PLUTO free streaming service later this year. See now - this is a good idea 👏. /Variety
HBO renews “Black Lady Sketch Show” for a Season 4. /THR
NETFLIX renews “Is it Cake” for a Season 2, Mikey Day returning to host. /Variety
DISNEY+ adds Megan Mullally, Jason Mantzoukas to “Percy Jackson” series’s recurring cast. /Variety
📝 IN OTHER WORDS
“We are truth-tellers, focused on informing, not alarming our viewers.”
- CNN CEO Chris Licht telling staff to (wisely) cool-it on whipping out the “Breaking News” graphic all the time. Basically - you’ve overused it, time to apply some judgement to the term so people actually pay attention when CNN does use it. Smart.
💻 THE MEDIA BIZ
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TIKTOK getting into the subscription series business
Launching with a project from PEARPOP, which is a production outfit that counts Guy Oseary as one of the backers.
The show is called “Finding Jericho” hosted by creator Jerico Mencke (see above, click to play if you’re curious like I was about the mullet). The show is basically an interview series with other digital personalities.
8, 30-min episodes for $5, with the first two avail for free and on the platform now at PEARPOP and Jerico’s accounts, as TIKTOK looks to further test pulling the monthly-subscriptions lever with select creators. /THR
VICE MEDIA brings in consultancy to help cut costs
Something that always works great in Media… bring in folks who have never worked at a Media company to tell you how to run it better - then the $$ saved in cost-cutting & hiring freezes / layoffs goes right back to the consultancy firm in fees.
Ok yes that’s a bit harsh… but it’s usually an excuse to pay someone else to blame for cuts that upper management already knows need to be made to prep a business for sale, but doesn’t want to do themselves.
Essentially VICE is trying to get to a modicum of EBITDA profit ($25 Million on expected $700+ Million in 2022 Revenue) to position the company (or at least the Studio division) for a sale, as they need to generate $$ to pay primary investor TPG Private Equity. /The Information
🏦 STOCK NOTES:
FACEBOOK +5% ($198.86) Not quite sure how Sheryl should take that honestly.
ROKU +5% ($95.85)
NETFLIX +6% ($205.09)
SPOTIFY +6% ($116.50)
ENDEAVOR +6% ($23.50)
SNAP +7% ($14.90)
ROBLOX +15% ($33.48)
and… LIONSGATE -6% ($9.67)
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👩💻 THE FSS FEED:
(new Stuff to Watch this weekend, Friday - Saturday - Sunday)
FRIDAY
IN THEATERS:
SPC “Phantom of the Open” - NY/LA - Mark Rylance, Saly Hawkins golf pic about a guy who shot the worst round ever in British Open history in 1978.
NEON “Crimes of the Future” limited release (I think).
STREAMING:
SERIES
AMAZON PRIME “The Boys” Season 3 - STREAM HERE
APPLE TV+ “Physical” Season 2 - STREAM HERE
STARZ “P-Valley” Season 3 - STREAM HERE
NETFLIX “Floor is Lava” Season 2 - STREAM HERE
AMC+ “This Is Going to Hurt” medical drama - no google-able link avail, but the reviews on this have been quite good.
MOVIES
HULU “Fire Island” - STREAM HERE
PEACOCK “The Northman” - STREAM HERE
SATURDAY
😎
Tennis’s FRENCH OPEN streams on PEACOCK and airs NBC as well starting at 9am, again on Sunday. 🎾
WOMEN’s GOLF US OPEN 🏌️♀️streams on PEACOCK, airs on NBC at 3p, again on Sunday.
SUNDAY
MTV MOVIE & TV AWARDS at 8p
ABC NBA FINALS Game 2 at 8p
WEEKEND READS
2 #goodreads on Guns & Hollywood with fresh takes:
THE ANKLER’s latest piece from Richard Rushfield
NY TIMES Opinion section read from Pamela Paul
FIRST - These are not pieces about:
The always tenuous and imo not great argument of violent TV or Movies inciting real life violent events or driving people to shoot people.
Rants about HOLLYWOOD making too much violent content
Gun law reform
As Richard opens with: “I wanted to write a column at this moment on Hollywood and gun violence like I want to be made to rewatch the final season of Nip/Tuck.” I might have gone with “The O.C.” but to each their own in the aughts.
RATHER - They’re two smart reads about the amnesia that seems to have taken hold in HOLLYWOOD about their ability to be an influence in larger cultural shifts, through subtle but conscious changes about its content — that is when it finally decides it cares enough to do so.
It’s not that HOLLYWOOD content is too violent per se, but more that perhaps it can do more to be a catalyst, instead of just treating guns as “business as usual” in content. It’s one thing to make a social media post the day after a shooting - it’s another to do something about it in your work that could actually help 2 months later.
Both reads struck me as fresh takes on the subject and potent food for thought.
🎥 TRAILER HOUSE
PARAMOUNT+ “Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe” movie trailer - Very glad to see the only real change to the animation style is updating to 16x9 and HD. Looks like the classic B&BH I went to college with… across all aspects 🤘. PREMIERES THU JUN 23
HULU “The Princess” movie trailer - Joey King stars in this comedy action pic about a Princess who escapes her arranged marriage… and has to fight her way out of the kingdom. Looks fun! Nice cut. PREMIERES FRI JULY 1
HBO “Irma Vep” movie trailer - Alicia Vikander as an actress playing the lead character in the…unique remake of the French silent film. PREMIERES MON JUNE 6
TNT “Animal Kingdom” Season 6 trailer - PREMIERES SUN JUNE 19
AMAZON PRIME “Anything’s Possible” movie trailer - Billy Porter’s directorial debut that was… formerly an MGM ORION movie. High school romance about a high school girl who is trans, navigating love and her senior year. PREMIERES FRI JULY 22
🤦♂️ D’OH
Thanks to one of the very first WAKEUP readers for pointing out HBOMAX renewed “Our Flag Means Death”…. Not “Our Flag Means War”, which I believe is the FLORIDA state motto. Always get those 2 confused.
🎧 PLAYING ME OFF
New POST MALONE album dropped today - link to stream here on SPOTIFY. I haven’t listened to the whole thing this morning…so let’s just go with this one for a track.
If you need some new tunes:
Email me anytime - just Reply to this email, or connect here on LINKED IN.
-SEAN MCNULTY
@theseanmac on TWITTER
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