The Ultimate Socially-Distanced TV Pitch?; Warner Music Sets IPO; Actor Showcases Go Online

It's Tuesday, I hope you had a restful and healthy holiday weekend. What's news: Big names are behind a socially-distanced TV series pitch, good news and bad news for Len Blavatnik as Warner Music Group sets its IPO and DAZN seeks a savior, university actor showcases go online, why the Hollywood Bowl opened for one night, Chris Evans on why his next project is for Apple, Kevin Smith on He-Man and a Mallrats sequel. Plus: Reviews of Netflix's Space Force and Hannah Gadsby's latest stand-up special. --Alex Weprin [The Hollywood Reporter]( [The Hollywood Reporter]( Today In Entertainment MAY 26, 2020 It's Tuesday, I hope you had a restful and healthy holiday weekend. What's news: Big names are behind a socially-distanced TV series pitch, good news and bad news for Len Blavatnik as Warner Music Group sets its IPO and DAZN seeks a savior, university actor showcases go online, why the Hollywood Bowl opened for one night, Chris Evans on why his next project is for Apple, Kevin Smith on He-Man and a Mallrats sequel. Plus: Reviews of Netflix's Space Force and Hannah Gadsby's latest stand-up special. --Alex Weprin It's Tuesday, I hope you had a restful and healthy holiday weekend. What's news: Big names are behind a socially-distanced TV series pitch, good news and bad news for Len Blavatnik as Warner Music Group sets its IPO and DAZN seeks a savior, university actor showcases go online, why the Hollywood Bowl opened for one night, Chris Evans on why his next project is for Apple, Kevin Smith on He-Man and a Mallrats sequel. Plus: Reviews of Netflix's Space Force and Hannah Gadsby's latest stand-up special. --Alex Weprin [The Ultimate Social Distance Pitch?] The Ultimate Social Distance Pitch? ►Margot Robbie, Kaitlyn Dever, Joey King and Peanut Butter Falcon duo shopping hot TV series. Margot Robbie swears. Ben Stiller begs for a role. Kaitlyn Dever and Joey King gush over a script in a notebook made from cardboard. In a nine-minute "quarantine-style" video, which a source allowed The Hollywood Reporter to view but not share, the filmmakers behind last year's indie hit The Peanut Butter Falcon are selling their next project in what may be the ultimate creative social-distance pitch. --Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz based their idea for a half-hour live-action comedy, The Wildest Animals in Griffith Park, on their own real-life experience living secretly in a park in the hills of Los Angeles while they developed the project that became Peanut Butter Falcon. --Sources tell THR's Kim Masters and Lesley Goldberg that the video has landed the Wildest Animals team follow-up meetings with premium cable networks and streamers. The series is expected to generate multiple offers given the stars and creatives attached. [Here's the story](. Good news and bad news for Len Blavatnik... +First the good news: Warner Music Group is moving forward with its IPO. Blavatnik controls the music label, which he acquired for $3.3 billion in 2011. Warner Music is looking to raise as much as $2 billion in the offering, which values the company at around $13.3 billion. Not a bad investment. [The story](. --The novel coronavirus pandemic has taken its toll on Warner Music, like every other business, as the company notes in its S-1 filing this morning. With the advertising business plunging (at least for now) ad-supported streaming will see revenue declines. And with film and TV production stalled, licensing revenue is on hold temporarily as well. That being said, the company's primary revenue driver is streaming music subscriptions through services like Spotify, and that appears more stable. Also: "We believe the disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic may accelerate growth of other revenue streams such as fitness and interactive gaming (including augmented reality and virtual reality)," the company wrote in the filing this morning. +Now the bad news: DAZN, the sports-centric streaming video service, which Blavatnik owns and which counts former ESPN chief John Skipper among its leaders, is hurting badly. With live sports all but canceled (at least for now) the service has little content to run, giving subscribers no reason to keep paying. DAZN has deferred payments to its partners, fracturing those relationships. The Financial Times [reports that]( Blavatnik is looking to sell an equity stake in DAZN, but would also sell it outright. Two years ago, DAZN sold a 10 percent stake that valued it at $3 billion, That number is a stretch right now. “[This] is the biggest disaster to hit the sports world in 75 years and the biggest challenge our business has ever faced,” Simon Denyer, DAZN’s CEO, wrote in an email to staff last month. The Ultimate Social Distance Pitch? ►Margot Robbie, Kaitlyn Dever, Joey King and Peanut Butter Falcon duo shopping hot TV series. Margot Robbie swears. Ben Stiller begs for a role. Kaitlyn Dever and Joey King gush over a script in a notebook made from cardboard. In a nine-minute "quarantine-style" video, which a source allowed The Hollywood Reporter to view but not share, the filmmakers behind last year's indie hit The Peanut Butter Falcon are selling their next project in what may be the ultimate creative social-distance pitch. --Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz based their idea for a half-hour live-action comedy, The Wildest Animals in Griffith Park, on their own real-life experience living secretly in a park in the hills of Los Angeles while they developed the project that became Peanut Butter Falcon. --Sources tell THR's Kim Masters and Lesley Goldberg that the video has landed the Wildest Animals team follow-up meetings with premium cable networks and streamers. The series is expected to generate multiple offers given the stars and creatives attached. [Here's the story](. Good news and bad news for Len Blavatnik... +First the good news: Warner Music Group is moving forward with its IPO. Blavatnik controls the music label, which he acquired for $3.3 billion in 2011. Warner Music is looking to raise as much as $2 billion in the offering, which values the company at around $13.3 billion. Not a bad investment. [The story](. --The novel coronavirus pandemic has taken its toll on Warner Music, like every other business, as the company notes in its S-1 filing this morning. With the advertising business plunging (at least for now) ad-supported streaming will see revenue declines. And with film and TV production stalled, licensing revenue is on hold temporarily as well. That being said, the company's primary revenue driver is streaming music subscriptions through services like Spotify, and that appears more stable. Also: "We believe the disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic may accelerate growth of other revenue streams such as fitness and interactive gaming (including augmented reality and virtual reality)," the company wrote in the filing this morning. +Now the bad news: DAZN, the sports-centric streaming video service, which Blavatnik owns and which counts former ESPN chief John Skipper among its leaders, is hurting badly. With live sports all but canceled (at least for now) the service has little content to run, giving subscribers no reason to keep paying. DAZN has deferred payments to its partners, fracturing those relationships. The Financial Times [reports that]( Blavatnik is looking to sell an equity stake in DAZN, but would also sell it outright. Two years ago, DAZN sold a 10 percent stake that valued it at $3 billion, That number is a stretch right now. “[This] is the biggest disaster to hit the sports world in 75 years and the biggest challenge our business has ever faced,” Simon Denyer, DAZN’s CEO, wrote in an email to staff last month. [Actor Showcases Go Online] Actor Showcases Go Online ►Amid lockdowns, universities' actor showcases go online: "Change needed to happen anyway." Students are self-taping their performances for year-ending theatrical productions, which are geared toward talent rep audiences, in childhood bedrooms and dorms, Katie Kilkenny reports: "I think actually we're going to get the students in front of more people than we would have before." [The story](. ►How I'm Living Now: Kevin Smith, writer, director, podcaster. Smith has used the quarantine to, among other things, finish a Mallrats sequel script while also working on his new He-Man animated series for Netflix, and launching podcasting initiative/archive ThatKevinSmithClub.com. He's also used the time off the road to clean his home office, which he has, of course, turned into yet more content by reading old journals on his new morning show, Wake & Bake With Silent Bob, and tweeting out pictures of unearthed memorabilia. On a recent Friday, Smith took a break to talk through his busy schedule, offer his take on THR's Sundance/COVID-19 article, and explain why he ultimately decided against trying to pull a Kumail Nanjiani and bulk up in quarantine. [The interview](. The Hollywood Bowl opened for one special night. The latest Zoom charity concert, hosted by agent Richard Weitz and his daughter Demi, originated from the famed outdoor music venue over the weekend, with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and L.A.Philharmonic star Dudamel in (socially distanced) attendance. The pandemic concert series, a Hollywood hit, pushed past a new milestone over the weekend by raising north of $3 million, with Saturday's funds directed toward Youth Orchestra Los Angeles and No Kid Hungry. [The story](. ►Virtual Cannes market unveils works-in-progress titles. Four film festivals — Hong Kong's Asia Film Financing Forum, Poland's New Horizons International Film Festival, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and the NFDC Film Bazaar from India – will showcase a selection of curated projects, all in post-production, that are looking for sales agents, international distributors or a slot in future film festivals. [The story](. +Roskino unveils program for Russia's first digital content market. The digital market will run June 8-June 15 and feature live presentations, panel discussions, and cultural events, along with pitching sessions for dozens of film, TV and animation projects looking for international co-production partners. Rising Russian actress Anna Chipovskaya (Road to Calvary) has been signed up as an ambassador. [More](. Actor Showcases Go Online ►Amid lockdowns, universities' actor showcases go online: "Change needed to happen anyway." Students are self-taping their performances for year-ending theatrical productions, which are geared toward talent rep audiences, in childhood bedrooms and dorms, Katie Kilkenny reports: "I think actually we're going to get the students in front of more people than we would have before." [The story](. ►How I'm Living Now: Kevin Smith, writer, director, podcaster. Smith has used the quarantine to, among other things, finish a Mallrats sequel script while also working on his new He-Man animated series for Netflix, and launching podcasting initiative/archive ThatKevinSmithClub.com. He's also used the time off the road to clean his home office, which he has, of course, turned into yet more content by reading old journals on his new morning show, Wake & Bake With Silent Bob, and tweeting out pictures of unearthed memorabilia. On a recent Friday, Smith took a break to talk through his busy schedule, offer his take on THR's Sundance/COVID-19 article, and explain why he ultimately decided against trying to pull a Kumail Nanjiani and bulk up in quarantine. [The interview](. The Hollywood Bowl opened for one special night. The latest Zoom charity concert, hosted by agent Richard Weitz and his daughter Demi, originated from the famed outdoor music venue over the weekend, with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and L.A.Philharmonic star Dudamel in (socially distanced) attendance. The pandemic concert series, a Hollywood hit, pushed past a new milestone over the weekend by raising north of $3 million, with Saturday's funds directed toward Youth Orchestra Los Angeles and No Kid Hungry. [The story](. ►Virtual Cannes market unveils works-in-progress titles. Four film festivals — Hong Kong's Asia Film Financing Forum, Poland's New Horizons International Film Festival, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and the NFDC Film Bazaar from India – will showcase a selection of curated projects, all in post-production, that are looking for sales agents, international distributors or a slot in future film festivals. [The story](. +Roskino unveils program for Russia's first digital content market. The digital market will run June 8-June 15 and feature live presentations, panel discussions, and cultural events, along with pitching sessions for dozens of film, TV and animation projects looking for international co-production partners. Rising Russian actress Anna Chipovskaya (Road to Calvary) has been signed up as an ambassador. [More](. ['Space Force' Review] 'Space Force' Review ►Netflix reviews: Netflix's Space Force. Daniel Fienberg reviews the comedy, which reunites Steve Carell with The Office creator Greg Daniels. "Space Force just isn't close to consistent — especially in the first half of the season, the misses outweigh the hits — and even as it settles into itself a little more, it's hard to buy all of the eventual smoothing out of characters and plot lines from that choppy beginning," Fienberg writes. [The review](. +Hannah Gadsby: Douglas. Inkoo Kang reviews the stand-up special, writing that "If Nanette demonstrated Gadsby's mastery of tone and command of the audience, Douglas is an even richer showcase for the comic's technical prowess." [The review](. ►Mythic Quest: Quarantine team breaks down emotional moments and those shaved eyebrows. The talent behind the Lionsgate series open up about the making of a quarantine special to Lacey Rose, beginning with the sheer panic: "My first response was to wet my pants," says star F. Murray Abraham. [The story](. ►Awards Chatter podcast: Best known for playing Captain America, Boston native Chris Evans reflects on the panic attacks that almost led him to abandon acting, repeatedly turning down Marvel before reconsidering and following eight years in the MCU with an Apple TV+ limited series. [Listen](. Obituaries: [Bill Small](, the former Washington bureau chief for CBS News and president of NBC News, died Sunday after a brief illness unrelated to the coronavirus, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced. He was 93... [Jimmy Cobb,]( a percussionist and the last surviving musician on Mile Davis’ 1959 groundbreaking jazz album Kind of Blue, which transformed the genre and sparked several careers, died Sunday. He was 91... --Guinean singer [Mory Kanté](, an influential figure in African and world music, has died, his family said Friday. He was 70... [Sonjia Warren Brandon](, founder and president of Commercials Unlimited Talent Agency, has died. Brandon's daughter Treva Brandon Scharf announced her death, noting that her mother did not wish to have her age revealed... [Hana Kimura](, a Japanese pro-wrestler who appeared in the latest series of the popular reality show Terrace House, has died. She was 22... In case you missed it over the long weekend... --The NBA [is in talks](with The Walt Disney Company on a single-site scenario for a resumption of play in Central Florida in late July, the clearest sign yet that the league believes the season can continue amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. --If approved by counties' respective public health departments, California retail stores [can reopen]( for business state-wide with special safety measures in place to protect against the spread of coronavirus. --Kevin Hart [says he was not honest](with doctors after the 2019 car accident that left him partially paralyzed for some time. --The California murder trial of real estate heir Robert Durst is[likely to move]( to a new venue this summer, depending on how a judge rules on a defense motion for a mistrial. What else we're reading... --"The new model media star is famous only to you" [[NY Times](] --"Inside the cult classic that was ‘Sports Night’ with those who knew it well" [[The Athletic](] --"Why the TV ad industry is resisting guarantees commercials will lead to sales" [[Digiday](] --"Roku gives advertisers ability to revamp or pull creative quickly in newfront pitch" [[Ad Age](] --We are all Tom Brady: What sports can learn from “The Match 2” [[The Ringer](] 'Space Force' Review ►Netflix reviews: Netflix's Space Force. Daniel Fienberg reviews the comedy, which reunites Steve Carell with The Office creator Greg Daniels. "Space Force just isn't close to consistent — especially in the first half of the season, the misses outweigh the hits — and even as it settles into itself a little more, it's hard to buy all of the eventual smoothing out of characters and plot lines from that choppy beginning," Fienberg writes. [The review](. +Hannah Gadsby: Douglas. Inkoo Kang reviews the stand-up special, writing that "If Nanette demonstrated Gadsby's mastery of tone and command of the audience, Douglas is an even richer showcase for the comic's technical prowess." [The review](. ►Mythic Quest: Quarantine team breaks down emotional moments and those shaved eyebrows. The talent behind the Lionsgate series open up about the making of a quarantine special to Lacey Rose, beginning with the sheer panic: "My first response was to wet my pants," says star F. Murray Abraham. [The story](. ►Awards Chatter podcast: Best known for playing Captain America, Boston native Chris Evans reflects on the panic attacks that almost led him to abandon acting, repeatedly turning down Marvel before reconsidering and following eight years in the MCU with an Apple TV+ limited series. [Listen](. Obituaries: [Bill Small](, the former Washington bureau chief for CBS News and president of NBC News, died Sunday after a brief illness unrelated to the coronavirus, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced. He was 93... [Jimmy Cobb,]( a percussionist and the last surviving musician on Mile Davis’ 1959 groundbreaking jazz album Kind of Blue, which transformed the genre and sparked several careers, died Sunday. He was 91... --Guinean singer [Mory Kanté](, an influential figure in African and world music, has died, his family said Friday. He was 70... [Sonjia Warren Brandon](, founder and president of Commercials Unlimited Talent Agency, has died. Brandon's daughter Treva Brandon Scharf announced her death, noting that her mother did not wish to have her age revealed... [Hana Kimura](, a Japanese pro-wrestler who appeared in the latest series of the popular reality show Terrace House, has died. She was 22... In case you missed it over the long weekend... --The NBA [is in talks](with The Walt Disney Company on a single-site scenario for a resumption of play in Central Florida in late July, the clearest sign yet that the league believes the season can continue amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. --If approved by counties' respective public health departments, California retail stores [can reopen]( for business state-wide with special safety measures in place to protect against the spread of coronavirus. --Kevin Hart [says he was not honest](with doctors after the 2019 car accident that left him partially paralyzed for some time. --The California murder trial of real estate heir Robert Durst is[likely to move]( to a new venue this summer, depending on how a judge rules on a defense motion for a mistrial. What else we're reading... --"The new model media star is famous only to you" [[NY Times](] --"Inside the cult classic that was ‘Sports Night’ with those who knew it well" [[The Athletic](] --"Why the TV ad industry is resisting guarantees commercials will lead to sales" [[Digiday](] --"Roku gives advertisers ability to revamp or pull creative quickly in newfront pitch" [[Ad Age](] --We are all Tom Brady: What sports can learn from “The Match 2” [[The Ringer](] [Image] [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( ©2020 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. MAY 26, 2020 [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [MANAGE PREFERENCES]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [TERMS OF USE](