Showbiz Sandbox 492: Hollywood Players Battling Pandemic… And Each Other
May 5, 2020
Even when times are good and profits are up, some of Hollywood’s biggest stakeholders don’t always get along. For over a year now the Writers Guild of America has been duking it out over television packaging fees with the Association of Talent Agencies, suing three of its largest members; United Talent Agency, William Morris Endeavor and Creative Artists Agency. Entertainment attorney and Hollywood Reporter contributing editor Jonathan Handel fills us in on the latest court rulings in the dispute and why things aren’t looking good for the WGA.
Meanwhile, cinema operators were already upset with Universal Pictures for releasing “Trolls World Tour” via premium video on demand, skipping a theatrical release due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now the studio announced plans to release its future movies on PVOD at the same time as they hit theaters, causing a few chains to boycott Universal’s titles. Film distribution veteran Jim Amos of Scout 53 breaks down the argument for us and tells us how he thinks it will be resolved.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including new rules for the Oscars, global music industry revenue continues to grow (for now) and without sports to broadcast should ESPN still be charging cable subscribers?
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Writers Guild Suffers Big Loss as Court Dismisses Almost All Its Claims Against Agencies
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/writers-guild-suffers-big-loss-as-court-dismisses-almost-all-claims-agencies-1292152
Studios Agree to May 11 Negotiations With Writers Guild
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/studios-agree-may-11-negotiations-writers-guild-1290811
NY State Attorney General Joins Growing Chorus Calling For Sports TV Fee Rebate From COVID-19 Shutdown
https://deadline.com/2020/04/new-york-state-attorney-general-sports-tv-fee-rebate-cable-espn-comcast-covid-19-1202921233/
As Rich 2019 Paydays Roll In, Media CEO Salaries Will Be Hard To Justify In A COVID-19 Economy
https://deadline.com/2020/05/hollywood-ceo-compensation-2019-coronavirus-impact-analysis-1202922215/
Global Recorded-Music Revenues Topped $20 Billion in 2019, but Streaming Growth Is Slowing
https://variety.com/2020/biz/news/global-music-revenues-20-billion-streaming-slowing-1234596953/
Once Again Michael Moore Stirs the Environmental Pot
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/may/03/once-again-michael-moore-stirs-the-environmental-pot-but-conservationists-turn-up-the-heat-on-him
Hollywood Reacts to Oscar Eligibility Changes: ‘It Makes Total Sense’
https://variety.com/2020/film/awards/oscars-eligibility-changes-reactions-streaming-coronavirus-1234592165/
Trolls World Tour Grosses $95m in 19 days
https://deadline.com/2020/04/trolls-world-tour-theater-owners-slam-universal-over-pvod-release-1202920128/
AMC Theatres Responds to Universal Studios Comments About Simultaneous Theatrical and Home Release
https://celluloidjunkie.com/wire/amc-theatres-responds-to-universal-studios-comments-about-simultaneous-theatrical-and-home-release/
Cis Corman, Casting Director on ‘Death Wish,’ ‘Raging Bull’ and ‘The Deer Hunter,’ Dies at 93
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cis-corman-dead-casting-director-death-wish-raging-bull-deer-hunter-was-93-1292486
Irrfan Khan, ‘Life of Pi’ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Star, Dies at 53
https://variety.com/2020/film/asia/irrfan-khan-dead-dies-indian-actor-life-of-pi-1234592705/
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