Innholdsfortegnelse for 8/19/2021 i Variety

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF I want to give a huge shout-out to our Herculean six-person team of editors and writers — Brent Lang, Cynthia Littleton, Gene Maddaus, Michael Schneider, Matt Donnelly and Joe Otterson — who collectively pulled off this week’s incredibly comprehensive cover story. The piece, titled “Battle Royal,” chronicles and analyzes what Scarlett Johansson’s legal battle with Disney over her “Black Widow” compensation means for future talent deals, and it also documents and breaks news about some of the eye-popping salaries earned by Hollywood’s biggest stars of film and television. Media companies’ priorities have radically shifted to populating their streaming platforms with as much high-profile content as possible to sign up as many subscribers as possible — profoundly altering the metrics of success and how talent gets paid in this newfound,…

Without making light of the situation, the existential conundrum facing the concert industry — which was poised for an ambitious return this summer after 18 months of lockdown, only to see its plans upended by COVID variants and spikes — can be summarized in a tale of two Jasons. On one hand, there’s country superstar Jason Aldean, who recently told a New York audience, “The coolest thing to me right now is that I don’t see one fucking mask. I’ve had just about enough of that shit.” (Chants of “USA! USA!” followed.) On the other is outspoken Americana luminary Jason Isbell, who on Aug. 9 was among the first artists to take a stand requiring proof of vaccination to be admitted to any of his shows. Despite considerable pushback, Isbell…

The streaming boom has radically changed TV compensation, with no sign that demand — or salaries — will be fading anytime soon for top small-screen talent. Newer streaming services are still ramping up their TV offerings as companies make a bid for eyeballs around the globe, and established streamers are doing their best to remain competitive with them and traditional TV counterparts One casualty of the changing TV ecosystem: Those tremendous paydays that came from having a hit in syndication are mostly a thing of the past. Given the vast TV options — and lack of transparency about viewership for streaming shows — it’s getting harder to define a hit these days in any case. “Back end doesn’t mean anything anymore in television, unless you’re Dick Wolf or some mega-producer…

Streamers allowing for more risk-taking, beloved stories in different formats and a general groundswell of support for several specific series resulted in a lot of down-the-line voting As the number of streaming platforms has grown over the past two years, it has taken no time for their programming to make a splash, including 11 Emmy writing nominations this year coming from services less than 2 years old. “I love being part of things that are new, because I think it’s all potential,” says “Girls5eva” creator Meredith Scardino. “Being on a new streamer is cool because [a show is] not going to get lost; they’re going to put all of their weight behind it because they believe in it.” As newer streamers including Peacock, Disney Plus and HBO Max have sought…

Peter Cameron, Chuck Hayward WANDAVISION Three episodes of Disney Plus’ “WandaVision” found their way into this lineup, even over notable names such as Barry Jenkins for “The Underground Railroad.” First-timers Cameron and Hayward are up for the “All-New Halloween Spooktacular!” episode, which includes some of the series’ biggest jaw-dropping moments. But that early excitement is likely to end in disappointment in September, as vote-splitting will factor into final ballots in a big way. Laura Donney WANDAVISION Another rookie Emmy nominee, Donney is on the ballot for penning “Previously On,” the pivotal flashback episode of the Disney Plus series that explores Marvel character Wanda Maximoff’s (Elizabeth Olsen) childhood and how she came to be in her seemingly idyllic suburban town. As an episode it packed a punch, but it might not…

Lucia Aniello HACKS Aniello mustered two noms for the pilot episode “There Is No Line” — here and in the writing race. It’s been three years since a woman won this category (Amy Sherman-Palladino in 2018 for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), but she’ll be fighting off votes going to MJ Delaney for “Ted Lasso.” However, with “Hacks” taking off the way it did, we don’t suspect this will be her last rodeo with the Television Academy. James Burrows B POSITIVE The veteran director has 11 Emmy noms under his belt, though the previous one in this category came in 1994 for “Frasier,” which does put him at a bit of a disadvantage. The last time a multicam director took this trophy overall was in the late 1990s. His reputation might…

Giancarlo Esposito THE MANDALORIAN Esposito is the Disney Plus series’ lone acting accolade out of 24 total noms. Between the love the Television Academy is showing the show and its interest in Esposito (he has four prior noms, including for this role in the guest race last year), it may be his time to take home the trophy. He submitted the most memorable episode of the second season, “Chapter 16: The Rescue,” which is also nominated for writing. John Lithgow PERRY MASON Lithgow is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors of his generation and already has six Emmys to show for it. Now he’s back on the ballot for HBO’s prequel, which picked up four noms. With different episode submissions for each (Lithgow’s is “Chapter Four”), it’s not a done…

The small towns of Oklahoma aren’t often seen on-screen. In fact, the new FX on Hulu show “Reservation Dogs,” which debuted Aug. 9, is the first scripted television series to film the entirety of its season in the state. Authenticity was imperative to Sterlin Harjo, co-creator along with Taika Waititi of the half-hour comedy, which revolves around four teenagers who live on a reservation and dream of moving to California. Harjo, who grew up in Oklahoma, called on production designer Brandon Tonner-Connolly to find the right organic look in towns like Okmulgee, center of the Muscogee reservation. For a “heightened sensibility to make the sets cinematic,” Tonner-Connolly says he enhanced the color palette of the homes and other places he saw in the community, as well as adding story-driven particulars.…

The toppling of powerful men by #MeToo accusations in Hollywood and beyond has become a familiar phenomenon to Americans in the post-Harvey Weinstein era, but in China, such reckonings remain rare. This month, however, two high-profile cases in which public opinion, official rhetoric and institutional action all aligned in favor of the female victims have reignited debate over whether a #MeToo movement can flourish within China’s highly censored confines. Chinese-Canadian pop icon Kris Wu was arrested Aug. 16 on rape charges in the wake of allegations last month that he seduced young, drunk women. Earlier this month, tech giant Alibaba fired a manager for “overly intimate acts” after a female subordinate accused him of raping her while she was blacked-out drunk on a work trip. Both cases went viral, dominating…

AWARDS CIRCUIT One of the most unusual quirks of this year’s Emmy nominations was the fact that Quibi managed to land eight of them — quite a feat, given that the streamer doesn’t actually exist anymore. (Quibi wound up with a much higher tally than plenty of networks that, well, are still in business.) Quibi shut down in December, less than a year after its much-heralded launch. The Jeffrey Katzenberg-Meg Whitman startup and its promise of delivering “quick bite” content to users exclusively on their phones became a bit of a punchline in the industry. But the programming itself was rather solid, attracting top Hollywood producers and stars. Clearly TV Academy voters found it Emmy-worthy: Last year, Quibi won two Emmys (for “#FreeRayshawn”). This year’s three nominated Quibi shows —…

When Cynthia Erivo (1) was approached by Searchlight Pictures to star in a remake of “The Rose,” one of the first things she did was email Bette Midler (2), who shot to fame for her portrayal of a rock star destroyed by drugs and alcohol in the original 1979 movie. “I guess I was just searching for a blessing, and I got exactly what I wanted,” Erivo tells me during the taping of an upcoming Variety Streaming Room interview. “And she was wonderful and really lovely, and she said some really lovely things.” Erivo, who earned an Emmy nomination for her work as Aretha Franklin in “Genius: Aretha,” is putting a contemporary spin on “The Rose.” “Right now, my brain is saying as if Tina Turner and Florence Welch had…

WHEN The Broad Theater, an independently owned cinema in New Orleans, reopened in April after being shuttered for 13 months, business came back with a bang. Moviegoers, desperate to see a film that wasn’t preceded by hours of scrolling on Netflix in search of something, anything, to watch, filled the art house for screenings of Emily Blunt and John Krasinski’s suspenseful sequel “A Quiet Place Part II” and A24’s awards darling “Minari.” “We were happy,” says Broad owner Brian Knighten. The honeymoon didn’t last long. Soon after, in late July, city government officials issued a mask advisory, suggesting but not requiring that patrons cover their mouth and nose while inside to prevent the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. “That hit a nerve with our customers,” Knighten says. “Attendance…

Steven Canals, Brad Falchuk, Janet Mock, Ryan Murphy, Our Lady J POSE The double-episode ender of FX’s ballroom culture period piece packed an emotional punch. Add that to the fact that so many of these scribes are beloved by the Television Academy (with eight Emmys among the five) and a chance to make history (Canals and Mock are the first Black co-writers to be nominated here), and the buzz just keeps growing. Jon Favreau THE MANDALORIAN We’re not sure many pundits predicted that the one series to pick up multiple writing nods would be “The Mandalorian,” but here we are. Favreau is up for “Chapter 16: The Rescue,” which is a different episode than the one he is nominated for in the directing category. The TV Academy seems more willing…

When Ben Winston set out to helm HBO Max’s “Friends: The Reunion,” he had some of the most iconic television sets at his disposal. But rather than showcasing them the way fans had watched for decades, he opted to flip things around — literally. “When they were doing the documentary element of [the special] — the cast coming back together and reuniting — I purposely wanted the camera to shoot off set,” Winston explains. “When they’re talking in Central Perk, I actively am behind them, which is a very weird angle to take. We’ve seen the six of them having conversations in Central Perk for years — what I wanted to do was show what their point of view was of that audience.” Diving back into familiar properties — but…

Michaela Coel, Sam Miller I MAY DESTROY YOU Creator and star Coel’s addition to this ballot makes this a historic nom: She is now the first Black woman to be nominated for producing, writing, directing and acting in the same year and only the second person overall to score all of those noms at once. If the TV Academy wants to make a statement about previous snubs by other awards orgs, the entry “Ego Death” may get a few more votes. Thomas Kail HAMILTON Two-time Emmy winner (for 2016’s “Grease Live!”) Kail won a Tony for the Broadway production of this musical. His obstacles to taking this trophy will be overcoming perception that “Hamilton” is not a movie nor a limited series and therefore an outlier in this category. But,…

Carl Clemons-Hopkins HACKS This is Clemons-Hopkins’ first Emmy nod, and it is a history-making one as they are the first openly nonbinary actor to be nominated. In their favor for the win is that multiple actors from other shows are on this ballot alongside each other, probably leading to a lot of vote-splitting and a potential surprising winner. Clemons-Hopkins will be submitting “New Eyes” for final voting and could come away with the statue. Brendan Hunt TED LASSO Hunt’s character is so tied to Jason Sudeikis’ on the sports series that the two actors could be a package deal when voters are checking off final ballots. He also has the bonus of being on multiple ballots to boost his profile. His episode, “Two Aces,” is not being submitted elsewhere, but…

Grace Alie is the production designer on Netflix’s “The Chair” (airing Aug. 20), which stars Sandra Oh as the first woman of color to head the English department at fictional Pembroke University. Alie researched images of Dartmouth, Yale and Harvard for that traditional Ivy League look and found that throughout the eras, the furniture hardly changed at all. “It felt appropriate to put Sandra’s character behind this very traditional, heavy, masculine [desk in a] male-dominated environment. It is such a fish-out-of-water story in some aspects,” says Alie. “We brought some life into her office with little things to put on her desk that would lighten the mood; she’s under the gaze of all those oil portraits of men that were at the university before her.” In true hierarchical fashion, Professor…

Twelve years ago, South African-Canadian filmmaker Neill Blomkamp burst on the scene with “District 9,” the rare sci-fi film that was appreciated in its time, landing four Oscar noms, including one for best picture. Now, Blomkamp is wading into horror territory with “Demonic,” which follows a woman named Carly (Carly Pope) who uses technology to delve into her troubled history with her mother — and begins to realize evil forces might have been at play. “Demonic” hits theaters and VOD on Aug. 20. • You shot this film last year at the height of the pandemic. Can you talk about where the idea came from? This movie is highly, highly unusual in the way that it was made, in the sense that when COVID began, it was clear that many…

As Roku kicks the tires on NBC’s canceled “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” it’s the latest streamer to potentially play hero for TV fans yearning to see their favorite bubble shows saved. It’s a common refrain: Revive a canceled series with a vocal fan base, and then capitalize on the attention that comes with acquiring a show with that rabid following. Netflix has done it several times, with AMC’s “The Killing,” A&E’s “Longmire,” ABC’s “Designated Survivor,” Lifetime’s “You” and Fox’s “Lucifer.” Hulu early on revived “The Mindy Project,” also from Fox. And Amazon gave a second life to Syfy’s “The Expanse” and now, Pop TV’s “Flack.” (Then there’s Yahoo! Screen, which launched — and folded — with the final season of NBC’s “Community.”) But shifting a broadcast or cable show to streaming…

Todo Verde Brings Plant-Based Menu to The Ford Theater With outdoor performances just about the only saving grace this summer, two of L.A.’s top venues are taking different but delicious approaches to feeding music lovers. At the Ford theater, where upcoming shows include Rodrigo y Gabriela and Patti Smith with Jackson Smith and Tony Shanahan, Jocelyn Ramirez recently introduced Todo Verde, featuring plant-based Mexican dishes. Ramirez says even confirmed carnivores have told her, “I expected to hate it, but I really loved it!” The Todo Verde at the Terrace menu offers tacos filled with mushroom and mole or jackfruit carnitas, ceviche made with hearts of palm and drinks like the strawberry rose agua fresca, which can be spiked with corn-based Mexican vodka. Ramirez’s favorite is the “nourishing but delicious” mulita.…

A decade ago, Hollywood stars knew their place on the A-list was secure when their film topped the box office. Today, success can be measured by views on Netflix or a vague press release touting a movie’s popularity on HBO Max. The digital revolution may have changed things dramatically, but don’t lose any sleep over the financial statements of your favorite actors. Film stars continue to be paid handsomely for their duties and are often able to earn much more by leaving the big screen behind and diving headfirst into streaming. A $20 million-per-picture paycheck has been industry standard for top talent since 1996, when Jim Carrey stunned Hollywood by earning that sum for his dark comedy “The Cable Guy.” That number still stands for headliners of movies made for…

Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky HACKS Aniello and Downs are enjoying their first nominations here, while Statsky is now a three-time nominee. (She picked up two prior noms for “The Good Place” in comedy series.) Aniello is double nominated (also up in the directing race) for the pilot episode, “There Is No Line.” The extra visibility boosts the show here, and the script is sharp, laying down some of the first season’s best one-liners. Watch out for an upset. Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Bill Lawrence, Jason Sudeikis TED LASSO For the past three Emmy Award ceremonies, the winner of this category went on to win comedy series. That bodes well for “Ted Lasso,” which is the front-runner in that race already. The pilot episode also includes showrunner Lawrence…

Steven Canals POSE The co-creator and showrunner of the FX ballroom culture period piece is on this ballot for the supersized (and super emotional) series finale, for which he also has a writing nom. If nostalgia kicks in, some voters may go down the line for the series that signed off in June, but he does face stiff competition from series that made a bigger splash with noms (“The Crown,” “The Mandalorian”). If he wins, he will be the first Black winner of this category since 1999 (Paris Barclay for “NYPD Blue”). Jon Favreau THE MANDALORIAN A blockbuster filmmaker and an outstanding series writer and director, Favreau’s hand on this piece of the “Star Wars” universe is undeniably strong. He is nominated here for “Chapter 9: The Marshal” but “Chapter…

Thomas Brodie-Sangster THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT Brodie-Sangster became one of the surprise Emmy noms of this year, mostly because he was celebrated while his co-star Bill Camp was not. Although he could technically benefit a bit from vote-splitting of the “Hamilton” co-stars, the odds of him winning the category are only high if a “Queen’s Gambit” sweep is coming. And this many months after the limited series launched, that seems unlikely. Paapa Essiedu I MAY DESTROY YOU Essiedu was bubbling under for much of awards season and picked up his first major nom at the BAFTAs, with this one to follow soon after. He also earned a Film Independent Spirit Awards win as part of the HBO series’ ensemble. Now, he may be able to pick up votes from the pocket…

When Dianne Chadwick created the logo for the mysterious Ten Rings organization as the production designer for “Iron Man,” the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she never imagined that the studio would feature it center stage 14 years later. She also never figured the logo would be at the center of controversy. Now, after earlier complaints that the original art was disrespectful to the Mongolian language, there’s a change in design that eagle-eyed fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may notice: In “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” which bows Sept. 3, the logo for the Ten Rings organization now features Chinese, not Mongolian, lettering. Chadwick’s original red-and-black insignia, featuring two crossed swords enclosed by 10 interlocking circles, was inscribed with the names of ancient Mongolian…

TV REVIEW Drama: Hulu (eight episodes; six reviewed); Aug. 18 Starring: Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Bobby Cannavale, Regina Hall Nicole Kidman’s first lead roles in U.S. TV series — “Big Little Lies” and “The Undoing,” both on HBO — made similar propositions to the viewer: Explore an exclusive world through the eyes of a woman who cannot see it fully. Both featured Kidman as a privileged woman hiding from an obvious truth about her life. It’s a satisfying formula. “Nine Perfect Strangers,” Hulu’s soapy limited series about an upscale health retreat, has a surface likeness to both of those shows. But it pushes and strains against expectations. Though based on a Liane Moriarty novel and created by David E. Kelley, as “Big Little Lies” was, “Nine Perfect Strangers” is rougher…