Variety 2/8/2023

Social media has redefined practically every aspect of our culture. But its box office impact remains uncertain. Consider the first meme-driven movie — “Snakes on a Plane,” a project whose title alone was absurd enough to generate endless likes and shares on Facebook, the social network du jour in 2006. When the Samuel L. Jackson action flick slithered into theaters in August of that year, it wasn’t the phenomenon New Line assumed it would be: It pulled in a paltry $14 million in its opening weekend. It turns out the appeal of the movie’s hilarious title had faded, and it had no fangs. Fast forward to this winter, when another movie championed by the internet hit theaters. “M3gan” could have been yet another “Chucky” imitator, but an amazing trailer and…

Senior entertainment writer Adam B. Vary has had no firsthand experience with either bears or cocaine, but he thoroughly enjoyed talking with Elizabeth Banks about “Cocaine Bear.” Senior media reporter Gene Maddaus is gearing up to cover the WGA negotiations. He talked with writers about the issues that could lead to a strike — and why some say that such talk is overblown. Executive editor Brent Lang tried to unpack Hollywood’s intricate labor issues for this week’s issue; while interviewing Marc Maron about his HBO special, he failed to keep a straight face. Art Streiber photographed Elizabeth Banks and 500-pound American black bear Cokie in Los Angeles on Jan. 18: “Elizabeth Banks is fantastic in front of the still camera. Under Banks’ direction, and with a bit of help from the…

Five weeks into 2023, here’s the good news for Hollywood: The stock prices of the media conglomerates are up across the board. The bad news for the entertainment industry is that the gains are largely in response to widespread cost-cutting campaigns. Peak TV has most certainly peaked, and now Wall Street is rewarding companies that are vowing to tap the brakes on the content-spending binge of the past half-dozen years. The latest stark example of Hollywood sobering up came Jan. 30 courtesy of Paramount Global, when it revealed the plan to consolidate Showtime and its streaming service Paramount+. Paramount Global’s move was an acknowledgment that it has to prioritize cost-cutting, so it can no longer shell out megabucks on shows to fuel two separate services. “Bridging the divide between linear…

“From Bleak to Dark,” the title of Marc Maron’s latest comedy special, perfectly encapsulates his prickly worldview. Those looking for benign reflections on the sunny side of life should just … move along. But it also hints at the comedian’s ability to find a ray of humor in even the most tragic circumstances. “That’s what I do in my comedy,” Maron says. “I lighten up darkness.” And “Marc Maron: From Bleak to Dark,” which premieres on HBO on Feb. 11, delves into some pitch-black terrain, notably the 2020 death of his girlfriend Lynn Shelton, an indie film director, at only 54. Maron’s grief forms the spine of the moving, deeply personal and always hilarious show, one that finds him talking about processing Shelton’s loss during peak COVID. For good measure,…

TLC marketers immediately knew that the new dating series “MILF Manor” would pose a challenge — just on its title alone. That’s not to mention its premise: eight single women, between the ages of 40 and 60, dating men who are decades younger. (And here’s the twist: That pool of men are the women’s sons.) “I think we all had a moment where we went, ‘Wait, what? What are we doing?’” TLC senior VP of marketing Jennifer Jakowicz says of “MILF Manor,” which premiered Jan. 15. “It was a slight moment of panic. Then we all kind of focused our energies, and we said, ‘OK, we’re gonna do this.’” But some of the usual marketing methods, such as paid media, had to be reconsidered. “We were rejected by some media…

AWARDS CIRCUIT What do “The Broadway Melody” (1929), “Grand Hotel” (1932) and “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1935) have in common? In Oscar history, they are the only films to have won the Academy’s most coveted award — and nothing else. Could Martin McDonagh’s “The Banshees of Inisherin” join that select group this year, despite being the second-most-nominated movie of the lot? Of the dark comedy’s nine noms, only three have a viable path to glory: Colin Farrell for actor, McDonagh for original screenplay and best picture. The other mentions — director, supporting actress and the double-dipping (and vote-splitting) supporting actors among them — face hurdles too high to clear. Farrell is walking steady with a Golden Globe for lead actor (comedy), but the film was shut out at the…