WED 3.3.21: NETFLIX buys Colin Firth WWII movie
GLOW creators set APPLE TV series / Jodie Comer gets big Ridley Scott NAPOLEON movie role
Mornin! Here’s the Hollywood + MediaBiz news to know on WEDNESDAY 3.3.2021.
Where ABC News did a really great premiere of their new 6 part “Soul of a Nation” show last night. If you missed it - quite powerful, worth adding to your HULU watchlist (although as of this morning… I could not find it featured on the service ☹️).
🎧 MUSIC TO READ BY
CHLOE X HALLIE - “Ungodly Hour” cool new music video YouTube / Spotify
Also while Texas may now be “100% Open”… 🥴, the CMA Fest in June is now canceled in Nashville.
And if you’d like to walk or drive & get this news - THE WAKEUP is also a podcast:
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
NETFLIX pays $15 Million for WWII Colin Firth movie
Called “Operation Mincemeat”, directed by John Madden (“Shakespeare In Love”), from producers of “The King’s Speech”.
Firth & Matthew Macfadyen (“Succession”) star as intelligence officers who use a dead guy to mount a disinformation campaign against the Nazis. Kelly Macdonald among the co-stars.
$15 Mil is for North America & LATAM rights only. Other territories already sold. /Deadline
Hugh Grant set as villain in “Dungeons & Dragons” at PARAMOUNT
Chris Pine & Michelle Rodriguez leading the good guys. /THR
Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”) set as Josephine for Ridley Scott’s Napoleon APPLE TV+ movie
Co-starring with Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon in “Kitbag”. Jodie also had a role in Ridley’s upcoming Matt & Ben (and Adam Driver) movie “The Last Duel” at DISNEY FOX.
Will shoot after Ridley finishes his Gucci movie. /Deadline
ALSO IN MOVIES
Lena Dunham just finished directing & starring in a movie in LA, around the theme of female sexuality. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jon Bernthal and Scott Speedman co-star. FilmNation currently repping sales. /Variety
LIONSGATE adds Kathy Bates to Judy Blume “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” movie. Will play Rachel McAdams’s mom. /Deadline
Nicey Nash joins Gabrielle Union for NETFLIX RomCom “The Perfect Find”. Beauty journalist falls in love with the Boss’s son at her new job. /Deadline
LIONSGATE moving its PayTV/Streaming output deal to STARZ in 2022. (LGA owns STARZ). Current output deal is at HULU. /THR
Sony PlayStation closing Movie & TV digital download store at the end of August. /Variety
📺 THE TV SET
APPLE TV+ sets Nicole Kidman & Cynthia Erivo for anthology series from “Glow” creators
Called “Roar” - 8 half-hour episodes about what it means to be a woman. Merritt Weaver & Alison Brie also starring.
Based on a book of short stories by Cecelia Ahern. /THR
HBOMAX & BBC doing limited series starring Gugu Mbatha Raw & David Oyelowo
4 episodes, called “The Girl Before”, based on best selling book.
Woman gets a chance to live in a sweet house from a baller architect - but no books, photos or clutter are allowed (wifi TBD). But she soon discovers the fate of the woman who lived there before her - turns out she’s totally fine. Ahem 😳. /Variety
GOLDEN GLOBES ratings down well over 50% from 2020, to 7 million
Down about 75% in 18-49 demo.
GRAMMYS you’re up next on March 14th. Still love this bit tho 👏. /Variety
ALSO IN TV
FOX adding 1 hour animation block to Mondays this Summer with “Duncanville” and new show “Housebroken”. /THR
“Superman & Lois” renewed for Season 2 at TheCW.
AMAZON ordered Season 2 of “Making the Cut”. Will air this Summer TBD.
FREEFORM gets new SVP/Head of Marketing - Joe Ortiz. (previously at NOW THIS & longtime MTV exec). /Deadline
Jahmil French from “Degrassi: Next Generation” (played “Dave Turner”) dies at 29. No cause of death given. /THR
💻 THE MEDIA BIZ
🤓 Time - gonna do some streaming numbers analysis so… if that makes ya 😴 just scroll past the next 2 items to see people taking drugs in space.
And I totally just lost everyone didn’t I? 🤦♂️
75 Million people now pay for a music streaming service in the US (SPOTIFY, APPLE MUSIC etc)
That’s +25% from 2019. Compared to video:
NETFLIX stands around 66 Million subs in the US.
DISNEY+ around 40 Million, HULU about 35 Million.
Count AMAZON PRIME… however ya like. 🤷♂️
US video streaming subscriptions obviously dwarf 75 million total. But it’s rare that someone would have 2 music subscriptions - Obviously not the case with video streaming subscriptions. So in terms of the number of people who pay to stream Video vs Music, it’s probably now somewhat close.
ALSO: Music Streaming revenue made up 83% of all music industry revenue in 2020 (just over $10 Billion total). Includes everything from SPOTIFY revenue, to YOUTUBE & VEVO, and PANDORA etc.
Physical copies & digital downloads are now just 15% of music biz revenue.
ALSO ALSO: Vinyl outsold CD’s for the first time since 1986 (#SlipperyWhenWet4eva): $626 Million to $483 Million. /RIAA
12 Million people stream their TV apps through VIZIO TV’s SmartCast OS
It’s no ROKU or AMAZON FIRE (roughly 50 Million users each)… but likely pretty close to APPLE TV device usage, and ahead of ANDROID TV/CHROMECAST devices.
VIZIO’s streaming user base is +60% vs 2019. However VIZIO did not define how often those 12 Mil “active” users stream video (monthly, weekly etc?). Also SmartCastOS comes with VIZIO TVs - you don’t have to choose to buy a separate device like with the others.
Even better: VIZIO made +80% more money from its video streaming base last year vs 2019. All generated from video ads it shows them, to the tune of $13/year per user, which totaled $147 Million. That’s just 7% of total VIZIO 2020 revenue, but again an increase of 80% in one year.
There are larger implications involved with this that I’ll lay out in a separate longer read this weekend. But I’ll round out here with how bullish VIZIO sees this growth - the “TV maker” plans to go public this year.
ALSO: Streaming advertising revenue at DISNEY (HULU, ESPN+, ABC.com etc) is projected to surpass ABC Network revenue in 2021 for the first time. /Bloomberg
🎥 TRAILER HOUSE
LIONSGATE “Voyagers” teaser trailer. If you ever thought to yourself - “Huh, wonder happens when you send a bunch of adolescents into space and give them (what looks like) Ecstasy?” You should really get a job at LIONSGATE.
Tye Sheridan, Lily-Rose Depp, Fionn Whitehead and Colin Farrell star. In theaters April 9th.
FOX “Prodigal Son” Season 2 trailer, with Catherine Zeta Jones & Alan Cumming joining the show. Starts April 13th.
👩💻 NEW TO WATCH:
NETFLIX high school movie “Moxie”, directed by Amy Poehler (who also has a supporting role). Teen girls take on sexism at their school - Add it to your Queue Here.
That’s all ya’ll - if you don’t yet subscribe to the newsletter… it’s like so easy. In your inbox weekdays by 830am.
Have a swell day!
-Sean McNulty