BIG news: Warner Bros. is shutting down its Writers/Directors Workshop and Stage 13 unit. Both are major paths for underrepresented voices in television. Big setback for Hollywood's diversity movement.
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Matthew Belloni
@MattBelloni
Los Angeles, CAJoined January 2008
Matthew Belloni’s Tweets
Potentially important: I’m told CNN received a litigation hold letter recently from Chris Cuomo lawyers, demanding, among other things, preservation of all communications between Zucker, comms chief Allison Gollust, and Andrew Cuomo.
Jake Tapper just described Rudy’s PA press conference as “Something out of a Coen brothers film.” So has officially won this election.
Eminem wanted to take a knee during halftime today. The NFL said no way. The backstage clash reveals a larger truth about how the league uses legal threats as image management.
Yes, Will Smith apologized. No, he did not apologize to Chris Rock for hitting him. Let’s see which media outlets make that key distinction. #Oscars
A simple message, dramatically-communicated, from a face that most people recognize. This is why an actors strike is so dangerous to studios....
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President of SAG-AFTRA Fran Drescher's speech against the AMPTP was fantastic. A historical day.
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BIG WWE NEWS. Stephanie McMahon is OUT. Gave her resignation today, days after dad Vince returned.
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Update: Disney just informed employees it will indeed cover travel expenses for employees in red states that want an abortion. Big because Disney has so many people in Florida.
Just talked to a Pixar friend who says Luca and Soul moves to Disney+ have been demoralizing for employees: “Forget theaters, we’re not even good enough for an upcharge?”
“The Bruno song is very popular with young children, so let’s wait until almost 10pm to perform it.” —Oscars producers, apparently.
“Meghan wrote Taylor Swift a personal letter asking her to come on the podcast. The pop star declined, through a representative.” 🗡️🗡️
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The Spotify deal is kaput. The Netflix deal is unlikely to be renewed. And the employees left see more rejections than approvals.
Prince Harry and Meghan are flopping in Hollywood. Our look inside the turmoil at Sussex-upon-Sunset, w/ @bysarahkrouse:
wsj.com/articles/princ
Warners’ reinstatement of its workshops came minutes after this friendly statement from the Directors Guild: “The DGA will not stand idly by while WB/Discovery seeks to roll back decades of advancement for women and directors of color.”
That loud noise in Beverly Hills is every agent’s phone ringing off the hook. Now comes the big talent scramble to get paid when theaters crumble and box office bonuses become a relic of the past.
Netflix's Johnny Depp movie is going to be watched by more bots than any movie ever.
Netflix wins the “who will hire Johnny Depp first” sweepstakes….
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News: Johnny Depp is returning to acting. He's set to play Louis XV in the Netflix-backed French film "La Favorite." Story from @BenoitBerthelot on @TheTerminal
Due to politics and the randomness of death, the Supreme Court has never fully reflected public opinion, but overturning Roe/Casey is ESPECIALLY unpopular…
BABYLON is fantastic and the movie of our times, and everyone who hates it is stupid. I will not be taking questions at this time.
Here we go. Disney didn’t believe me when I told them how pissed their summer movie stars really are.
Beyoncé being 45 minutes late to the Grammys where she breaks the record might be Peak Beyoncé.
Major entertainment companies are already saying they will pay for employees in red states to travel for abortions. Some details here:
Will also be interesting to see how the comedy community reacts. Without consequences for Will Smith, hecklers might feel emboldened to attack from the audience. #Oscars
The story ⬇️ that sparked the announcement. Some incredible details here of a star’s sad decline and the coordinated (and cringe-inducing) effort to keep him working. latimes.com/entertainment-
Likely Oscar winner calling out the CFO of Warner Bros Discovery by name….
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Brendan Fraser calls the Warner Bros. Discovery decision to cancel ‘BATGIRL’ “disappointing”:
“The fans really wanted to see this film made. Leslie Grace is a dynamo…”
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The studios have finally responded publicly to the WGA claims, sending the following rebuttal to the media. Bottom line: the strike isn’t ending anytime soon…..
It's official: BARBIE tracking has now hit $100M for the 3-day domestic opening, per NRG. OPPENHEIMER still at $45M.
This is a huge and very costly move, and a sign of what’s likely to come with Hollywood’s big summer movies. hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/bo
Gonna need to do more than ⬇️ guys….
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The Academy does not condone violence of any form.
Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.
Wow: The BARBIE tracking has spiked to $93M for the opening weekend. OPPENHEIMER is also up, but to $43M, per NRG.
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LOL, Miguel Sapochnik is accepting a best series Globe for House of Dragon, a show he quit in anger.
Also Jeff Bezos could soon own Donald Trump’s infamous Apprentice tapes. Revenge is a long game.
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A lot of us have looked at Amazon-MGM as Amazon getting a whole bunch of new properties to play with. And it will. But an equally valid way to view it is the embattled MGM, suddenly revived, with a whole massive distribution arm to put out its work.
Just realized I no longer see tweets in my feed, even in “following” mode and after she and I engage with each other. Weird!
On top of an extraordinary career, her legal fight with Warner Bros. produced one of the most influential rulings in US employment law. ew.com/movies/gone-wi
The SUCCESSION spinoff based on Elon Musk is gonna be wild...
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BREAKING: Congratulations are apparently in order for Elon Musk: The Tesla founder had twins in November with Shivon Zilis, a top executive at his company Neuralink, according to Insider.
The twins bring his total children to nine.
trib.al/PMtJoNS
Civil case against Scientology can now proceed….
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Six years and three months after we first broke the news that the LAPD was investigating Danny Masterson, the 'That '70s Show' actor was taken into custody this afternoon after a jury found him guilty of two counts of forcible rape. He is facing 30 years to life in prison.
Rudin’s promise to “step back from active participation” in Broadway shows means almost nothing. Doesn’t address his film work or his collaborations with A-list talents. Just designed to get the theater guilds off his back. washingtonpost.com/entertainment/
Some personal news!
Depp just testified he started writing on the walls in his own blood after his finger was severed in the fight with Heard. This is getting very dark.
Based on Friday estimates, THE FLASH is looking at an insane 72% drop in second weekend, which would put it in a race with MORBIUS for worst of superhero movies tracked by box office mojo. boxofficemojo.com/chart/biggest_
The AMPTP logo will never not be funny. It’s either lollipop factory, 1980s mall clothing store….or ruthless cartel of publicly traded media conglomerates?
🚨🚨 Very excited to team with and for The Town, a new pod about how Hollywood works and why was 3 hours long. Subscribe on and all pod platforms! open.spotify.com/episode/6NpV91
Yes, took my advice to add trailers/new footage to #Oscars but…my idea was a lottery for ALL studios, not just plug-a-palooza for a Disney movie. My idea has been weaponized!
Team Zaslav getting Streisand-ed on the GQ piece is VERY Zaslav.
Zuck blocks Trump but ignores the real problem: algorithmic amplification of false and misleading posts that radicalized and incited the rioters....
New opening weekend tracking from NRG is a big yikes for several upcoming movies:
FLASH: $68M
ELEMENTAL: $35M
NO HARD FEELINGS: $10M
INDY 5: $65M
RUBY GILLMAN: $8M(!)
🚨🚨🚨 Netflix actually LOST subs worldwide, first time in a decade, disaster scenario alert 🚨🚨🚨
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Netflix shares are already down almost 20%. Netflix could be worth < $120B by this time tomorrow.
For this week’s cover story, we sent photographer to capture talent and execs sequestered at home, all shot from 30 feet away. See the Hollywood From a Distance portfolio here: hollywoodreporter.com/features/photo
Personal news! I’ve joined a great group to launch a creator-first media company. More to come!
Amber Heard has insurance that is paying for this trial, a fact you probably won’t discover via the media. Here’s why:
We’re all getting used to watching well-done “theatrical” movies like Greyhound and Palm Springs at home every weekend. No wonder the terrified theater owners are threatening studios and suing New Jersey.
Tom Cruise REALLY wants Mission: Impossible to play on the biggest screens. So much that he’s personally calling rival studio executives asking them to give up their screens. Not normal!
FX just slaps an “American Story” title on new Ryan Murphy shows while Netflix pays him 9 figures for “exclusivity.” A truly fantastic hustle all around.
Warners PR gettin’ in front of the Shazam numbers!
Honestly, Fox-branded retirement communities is a great idea.
Disney just sued Florida, as I said they should last week. Enough with the silly pageantry, let’s see DeSantis defend these retaliatory actions in court. puck.news/it-may-be-time
The problem with Ellen's "I relied on others" defense is that it takes no responsibility for her own conduct. Voiding NDAs would show she really wants to know how employees (current and former) feel about how she treated them, and how to fix things.
Very rare to see a talent agency leader give a statement for a casting announcement. Translation: Emma Stone got PAID.
Interesting how Glass Onion’s many flaws are being exposed on streaming, where the ripped-from-headlines TV movie aspects are overshadowing crowd-pleasing moments that killed in theaters.
Chris Nolan's publicist worked overtime to get those "decent opening" headlines, but this tells you what WB really thinks about Tenet's domestic debut....
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Warner Bros. has seen enough.
After TENET's domestic debacle this past weekend, the studio has pushed back WONDER WOMAN 1984 from October to Christmas Day.
Ted Lasso got so bad in seasons 2&3, are we sure we all didn’t just have Covid brain during that first season?
Thinking about how well Chris Rock handled this situation. It could have escalated quickly. #Oscars
Amber Heard just fingered Depp divorce lawyer Laura Wasser as the TMZ source for all those negative stories. Would explain a lot.
Hoo boy, these early Mission Impossible domestic numbers are Not Great.
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The smoking gun email (pre-pandemic) from Marvel lawyer guaranteeing theatrical release: “We understand that should the plan change, we would need to discuss this with you and come to an understanding as the deal is based on a series of (very large) box office bonuses.”
To all the new verified accounts, welcome! It’s pronounced like the criminal charge, not the deli meat.
There it is: Iger staying 2 more years, as everyone knew he would….
"Oh no, I can't go to Comic-Con," said no actor ever.
The #Oscars make official what I wrote in March: Taking a shot at Netflix, theatrical releases now required in 10 MARKETS for best picture eligibility. puck.news/the-oscars-bol
New from Will Smith: “Changes take time and I’m committed to the work.”
Elemental is bombing with a $29.5m opening…it’s time for Big Questions to be asked at Pixar.
I just LOL’d, c’mon people….
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There is reportedly a huge pay gap between the actors in HBO’ “The Last of Us”.
According to Variety, Pedro Pascal received $600,000 per episode, while Bella Ramsey received $70,000, despite both being the protagonists of the series.
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The variety article that the tweet is referring to did post Pedro Pascal’s salaries from The Last of Us TV series, but what Bella Ramsey earns is not listed.
variety.com/2021/tv/news/t…
Nakatomi Plaza surrounded by snow…so Die Hard is a Christmas movie today…
“Except when the violent person is about to win Best Actor….”
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The Academy does not condone violence of any form.
Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.
Florida’s gonna love Disney’s LIGHTYEAR. The same-sex couple is pretty front and center in an extended sequence. #CinemaCon
Love this move by Iger. Fuck me?? Fuck you!!
Are Twitter scoops still a thing? Big one in TV land. It’s over for producer-director Ava DuVernay at Warner Bros. The studio isn’t picking up her very rich deal, which ends 5/31. Not strike-related, this went down a couple weeks ago.
Amid all the talk of media companies hoarding their own content, an NBC show made by Warner Bros. is by far #1 on Netflix (and all of US streaming), per Nielsen. 🤷♂️
“In association with the estate” is all I need to know about the Michael Jackson biopic.
New pod: Producer pulls zero punches, says the streaming model leads to fewer good movies. Listen!
Zaz lost Spielberg, that usually doesn’t end well…
From chaos comes experimentation and innovation: This week’s cover story is a look at how the virus shutdown could change Hollywood forever. hollywoodreporter.com/features/as-a-
She hasn’t had a raise in 18 YEARS. Is this the unlikely face of pay disparity in Hollywood?
Hard to overstate what Taylor Swift is accomplishing with these re-recordings. Pretty stunning. billboard.com/articles/news/
Amazon’s Prime Video doesn’t get enough credit for ID-ing actors in scenes when you pause. Great value-add (thanks to its IMDB unit), wish other streaming services would adopt.
My first EMERGENCY POD: The Slap Heard ‘Round the Oscars, with from inside the Governors Ball. Listen!
Some Sunday news: Comcast is shutting down its G4TV unit. The gamer-focused network was re-launched last year and had suffered layoffs recently.
