Variety 12/8/2021

1 Netflix has ordered the original movie “The Thanksgiving Text,” about a woman who accidentally texted a stranger, thinking it was her grandson, and invited him to Thanksgiving dinner. The young man who got the text took her up on the offer, and they have had Thanksgiving together every year since. Abdul Williams is writing the screenplay about Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench (above). Netflix has not set a director, nor has it cast the film. Producers include Robert Teitel and George Tillman Jr. for State Street Pictures. Lawrence Mott will exec produce. — Rebecca Rubin 2 BMG has acquired the entire recorded music catalog of Mötley Crüe. The agreement is for the iconic band’s recorded output spanning a 40-year career, including nine studio albums (from its 1981 debut, “Too…

HFPA president Helen Hoehne recently reached out to actor Gabrielle Union to read off the nominations for this year’s Golden Globe Awards on Dec. 13 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel. But Hoehne tells me that Union’s publicists declined the invitation, offering no explanation Well, the explanation is obvious. Following the Los Angeles Times’ exposé in February about the organization’s corrupt practices and lack of Black journalists among its 87 voting members, more than 100 publicity firms signed a letter demanding that the HFPA “swiftly manifest profound and lasting change to eradicate the longstanding exclusionary ethos and pervasive practice of discriminatory behavior, unprofessionalism, ethical impropriety and alleged financial corruption.” The publicists advised their clients — some of the biggest names in Hollywood — not to engage with the HFPA until reforms…

“I like being uncomfortable,” Chris Cuomo told Variety in 2018. “I like making other people uncomfortable.” Looks like he succeeded CNN fired Cuomo, its most-watched anchor, over the weekend for exactly that reason. Jeff Zucker, WarnerMedia’s chairman of news and sports, and other executives no longer felt assured about their relationship with the anchor, according to people familiar with the matter. The rupture was a long time coming. CNN stood by Cuomo through altercations captured on video; an accusation of unwelcome physical behavior; and sharp elbows thrown behind the scenes in the newsroom. But there was a harrowing stretch last week: New York State Attorney General Letitia James released documents showing Cuomo took an active hand in helping his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, while the politician was…

ViacomCBS’ $1.85 billion sale of its CBS Studio Center lot — known in the industry as CBS Radford — represents the end of an era for the company, and a further shift away from physical properties by legacy entertainment companies as their streaming counterparts bulk up. Last week’s deal with Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital Management, put into motion in the summer, is the final major divestiture of the Eye network’s real estate holdings, including the 25-acre Television City, which was sold to Hackman for $750 million in 2018, and its New York skyscraper known as “Black Rock,” purchased earlier this year by Harbor Group Intl. for $760 million. CBS Radford wasn’t as iconic as Television City or Black Rock, but its Studio City-based lot (founded as the…

On Dec. 1, philanthropist Jacqueline Avant was shot and killed during an armed robbery at her Beverly Hills home. The death of the 81-year-old industry stalwart has been difficult for many in show business to process. This includes Oprah Winfrey, who told Variety that she has spent “some of the happiest days of my life” with Jacqueline and her husband, music mogul Clarence Avant. Here Winfrey shares her sorrow over the tragedy, and a fond remembrance of a woman whose compassion and contributions touched so many. I am still stunned. I’m disoriented by it. Let me tell you, this woman represents to me what the Bible says about “Who can find a virtuous woman?” It always amazed me how she was the calm in the center of any experience. I…

Variety‘s Manori Ravindran, Angelique Jackson and Elizabeth Wagmeister were honored as “up and comers” at the 2021 Top Women in Media wards luncheon, presented by AdMonsters and Folio, at the Edison Ballroom in New York City on Dec. 1. “In our industry, there are so many issues,” said international editor Ravindran at the podium. “We see the headlines all the time. But occasionally, you see pieces in entertainment that actually create change in society. That really makes me very proud of doing the job that I do, especially internationally.” Jackson, who is a senior entertainment writer, spoke of the importance of inclusion in media, noting that as a young girl, she saw herself represented in the pages of Ebony or when watching “The Oprah Winfrey Show” on TV. “Now, being…