Regal Reopens With Warners Deal; Battle Of The Boxing Projects; Netflix Goes 'BRZRKR'

[The Hollywood Reporter]( Today In Entertainment MARCH 23, 2021 What's news: Regal cinemas to reopen as parent company strikes deal with Warner Bros., two big boxing bio projects announced with Jamie Foxx and Mark Wahlberg attached, Netflix going all-in on Keanu Reeves' BRZRKR, Survivor returns to production, Seth Rogen joins Spielberg flick, ViacomCBS raising $3 billion for streaming, Roku gets into the branded content biz. Plus: Mr. Mayor renewed, and why Bob Iger says he isn't "gonna sit around the house binge watching television shows" after he leaves Disney. --Alex Weprin [Regal Reopens With Warners Deal] Regal Reopens With Warners Deal ►Regal Cinemas to reopen as parent company strikes deal with Warner Bros. Cineworld plans to do a phased reopening of Regal's U.S. cinemas and will begin with a limited number of theaters opening for Godzilla vs. Kong on April 2nd and going wider with Mortal Kombat on April 16th. Regal has 7,076 screens in 536 theatres in the U.S. which have been closed for the last six months due to COVID-19. --Additionally, Cineworld announced that it has agreed to a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. under which the studio's films will be exhibited in Regal cinemas in the U.S. as of their opening. As per the terms of the deal, from the start of 2022, Warner's theatrical releases will have a shortened 45-day window of theatrical exclusivity, with certain provisions. [The story](. In other film news... +Seth Rogen is boarding Steven Spielberg's next directoral effort. The actor will play a character inspired by Spielberg's favorite uncle. The untitled film is loosely based on Spielberg's formative years in Phoenix, Arizona, and already has Michelle Williams on the call sheet in a role inspired by the filmmaker's mother. [More](. +Emerald Fennell has lined up her next project after picking up an Oscar nomination and WGA win for her feature Promising Young Woman. Fennell will write Zatanna, an adaptation of a DC comic that follows a master of illusions who can manipulate reality. [The story](. +MBC, the Saudi-owned Middle East TV giant, is to co-produce and co-finance the upcoming Gerard Butler action thriller Kandahar. While no figures were provided, Peter Smith, managing director of MBC's production arm MBC Studios, told THR that the company was making a "substantial investment" in the film. [More](. +Also: Clint Eastwood's latest directorial feature, Cry Macho, has been given a release date of Oct. 22, 2021. [More](. [Big Day For Boxing Bio Projects] Big Day For Boxing Bio Projects ►Antoine Fuqua has signed on to direct Jamie Foxx as controversial boxing legend Mike Tyson. Moreover, the project, which has long been in the works as a movie, is now being shopped as an authorized limited series instead. The series, which will "span the life" of Tyson, has another heavy hitter behind the camera: Martin Scorsese is on the executive producing team, marking Scorsese's first return to the ring in a dramatic project since his iconic Oscar-winning film Raging Bull 41 years ago. --"Finding a buyer for this new project might prove tricky, however. While there's doubtless audience interest in a biopic of Tyson, who is arguably the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time — especially with auspices like Foxx, Fuqua and Scorsese involved — given this is an authorized project, with Tyson collaborating with the creative team and on board as an executive producer, will almost certainly provoke public skepticism about its accuracy and its willingness to candidly tackle the more controversial aspects of the boxer's life (namely, Tyson's being being found guilty of raping an 18-year-old in 1992), as well as potential discomfort with the fact that Tyson will apparently profit from the enterprise." [The story](. +And speaking of high-profile projects about famous boxers: Mark Wahlberg has been trying to mount a biopic on boxer-turned-priest Father Stuart Long for at least six years. Now, however, thanks to help from above – or at the very least, Malibu – it looks like the feature project may be finally going before cameras. --Wahlberg has enlisted Mel Gibson and writer-director Rosalind Ross, Gibson’s longtime partner, for the biopic, titled Father Stu. Ross has written the script and will make her feature directorial debut, with Wahlberg playing the embattled priest. Gibson would play Long’s father while Teresa Ruiz, one of the stars of Narcos: Mexico, on board to play his girlfriend. [The story](. In business news... ►ViacomCBS on Monday said that it would sell $3 billion worth of stock to raise cash. In a statement, the company said it would use the cash generated from the sales "for general corporate purposes, including investments in streaming." The company relaunched its CBS All Access streaming service as Paramount+ earlier this month. [The story](. +Also: Lionsgate is set to raise $1 billion via a bond sale, saying it will use the proceeds to repay outstanding debt. [More](. ►Roku is getting into the branded content business. The streaming platform, which now has over 50 million active accounts, will launch the Roku advertising brand studio ahead of the TV upfronts and IAB Newfronts. The new studio will "produce new creative ad formats and programming, full-fledged TV programming for marketers who want to go beyond that traditional 30 second ad unit," according to Roku vp of ad marketing Dan Robbins. The company is also bringing on Funny or Die's branded content team in something of an acqui-hire deal. [The story](. +Related: NBCU [pitched its ad tech prowess]( to marketers at a virtual event Monday: "The future is clearly streaming." [Netflix Goes 'BRZRKR'] Netflix Goes 'BRZRKR' ►Keanu Reeves’ comic, BRZRKR, is getting the full Netflix treatment. The streamer has picked up the screen rights to the Boom! Studios-published comic, whose first issue hit shelves only two weeks ago, and is developing it as a feature adaptation as well as an anime spinoff. Reeves will star in both projects as well as produce. Also producing are Ross Richie and Stephen Christy for BOOM! Studios along with Stephen Hamel of Company Films. [The story](. +Survivor is finally getting back into production. The CBS mainstay will start shooting its 41st season in Fiji, a full year after it'd initially planned to do so. Host Jeff Probst announced the news in a video on Twitter. [The story](. +Mr. Mayor is staying in office. NBC has renewed the Ted Danson-led comedy for a second season, following decent ratings for its first run. The series, which also stars Holly Hunter, Vella Lovell, Mike Cabellon, Kyla Kenedy and Bobby Moynihan, comes from creators Tina Fey and Robert Carlock and Universal Television. [The story](. +Toymaker Mattel is bringing one of its best known brands — Barbie — to unscripted TV. The company is teaming with Mission Control Media to develop a fashion design competition called Barbie Fashion Battle series that focuses on designing clothes for Barbie dolls. [More](. +The zombies and cheerleaders are returning to Disney Channel. The network said Monday that it has greenlighted Zombies 3, a third installment in the musical TV movie series. Meg Donnelly and Milo Manheim will reprise their roles as Seabrook High School's star-crossed zombie/cheerleader couple Zed and Addison. [More](. Quote of the day: "I'm not gonna sit around the house binge watching television shows." --Disney executive chairman Bob Iger, discussing his post-Disney plans [in an interview with SiriusXM set to air next month](. Iger also explained the surprise succession announcement: "I did not want to overstay my welcome. I really wanted to leave at a time that felt good, that I had accomplished a lot, that I had not hit too many speed bumps, or suddenly that my luck would run out or all of those things. I wanted the timing to be right, and 15 years felt like enough." ►NAACP Image Awards, night one: The 2021 NAACP Image Awards is announcing this year's winners across more than 60 categories in streaming presentations across five nights ahead of the awards' live show on BET and CBS on Saturday night. On Monday, the NAACP presented awards in a number of literary and documentary categories as well as two special awards for activist and youth activist of the year. Among the winners were John Lewis: Good Trouble for best documentary (film) and The Last Dance for best documentary (TV — series or special). [The winners](. ►Louisette Geiss, Sarah Ann Thomas and Melissa Thompson have voluntarily dismissed their claims against Harvey Weinstein. The move from the three women who accused the disgraced movie mogul of sexual misconduct comes in the wake of [a settlement plan]( that was approved in January by a Delaware judge overseeing the bankruptcy of The Weinstein Company. [More](. Revolving door: Ted Hope, the former co-head at Amazon Movies, is [set to join]( Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management on its Los Angeles campus... Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff, the Yale professor and Center for Policing Equity CEO, is [getting into business]( with Warner Bros. Television... FX [has named]( business affairs executive Shola Ajewole to head up its diversity and inclusion initiatives... Casting roundup: FX has [cast the lead]( for its drama pilot The Spook Who Sat by the Door: Insecure alum Y'lan Noel... Jane Lynch has [joined the cast]( of ABC's comedy pilot Bucktown, from the producing team behind The Conners... In other news... --Discovery+ has [unveiled an hour-long documentary]( on the sharp rise of video game retailer GameStop's stock, and the debate about it, hosted and narrated by Jordan Belfort of The Wolf of Wall Street fame. --Clara McGregor, daughter of Ewan McGregor, and indie producer Black Magic are [set to adapt]( Goddess, a novel about a swashbuckling female opera singer from 17th century Versailles. --Four of the five nominees for the best director Oscar at the upcoming 93rd Academy Awards — Minari's Lee Isaac Chung, Mank's David Fincher, Another Round's Thomas Vinterberg and Nomadland's Chloe Zhao — [will be part of]( the Outstanding Directors of the Year Award tribute at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the festival announced Tuesday. --Peter Jackson [will receive]( the Visual Effects Society's Lifetime Achievement Award during the 19th annual VES Awards, which will be presented during a virtual ceremony on April 6. --Moisés Zamora is putting a bigger lens on Latinx stories. The creator of Netflix's Selena: The Series [has partnered with]( Bianca Quesada and together formed Zone One, a production company focused on telling stories focused on people of Latin-American, Indigenous and Afro-Latin descent. --Oscar weekend [continues to take shape]( with the addition of a virtual event from Elton John and his Elton John AIDS Foundation. --Warner Music and Tencent Music Entertainment Group [said Tuesday]( that they have expanded their long-running licensing relationship while also partnering on a new joint venture record label targeting the China market. --Jeffrey M. Hayes, who produced for such series as Vega$, T.J. Hooker and The Lost World and served as president of Village Roadshow Pictures Television, [has died](. He was 68. What else we're reading... --"The preteens guide to getting rich off YouTube" [[Bloomberg](] --"Ellen DeGeneres loses 1 million viewers after apologies for toxic workplace" [[NY Times](] --"Aretha Franklin’s family doesn’t approve of Genius series: ‘This movie has to go!’" [[LA Times](] --"Top Fox producer dies from coronavirus" [[CNN Business](] --"Why Trump would make the most boring social media site ever" [[Politico](] Today's birthdays: Chaka Khan, 68, Damon Albarn, 53, Perez Hilton, 43, Kyrie Irving, 29. [Image] [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( ©2021 The Hollywood Reporter, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. 11175 Santa Monica Boulevard Los Angeles, CA, 90025 All rights reserved. MARCH 23, 2021 [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [MANAGE PREFERENCES]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [TERMS OF USE](