2020-03-26 The Hollywood Reporter

Deal

of the

Week

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7 Days of DEALS

Who’s inking on the dotted line this week

The Report

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 28 MARCH 26, 2020

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Separation Anxiety (HARPERCOLLINS, MARCH 3)

BY Laura Zigman AGENCY WME

As a means of coping with an apathetic teen son and an estranged

husband, a failed children’s book author begins to wear her dog in

a baby sling. The novel is reminiscent of character-driven dram-

edies like Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale.

You and Me and Us (WILLIAM MORROW, APRIL 7)

BY Alison Hammer AGENCY Gersh

Comparable to the sentimental work of oft-adapted Me Before You

author Jojo Moyes, Hammer’s debut novel follows a working mom

trying to reconnect with her teenage daughter after her stay-at-

home husband is diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Rights Available! Hot new books with Hollywood appeal BY MIA GALUPPO

FILM

Woody Harrelson (CAA)

has replaced Jason

Statham in Columbia

Pictures’ action comedy

The Man From Toronto.

Ready or Not directors

Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin

and Tyler Gillett (U TA,

Brillstein, Gang Tyre) will

helm a Scream reboot for

Spyglass Media.

Disney has acquired

worldwide rights to Peter

Jackson’s documentary

The Beatles: Get Back.

TELEVISION

Andy Garcia (CAA,

Brillstein, Loeb & Loeb) will

star opposite Katey Sagal

in ABC’s Erin Brockovich

drama pilot Rebel.

Jon Bernthal (WME, Dani

Bernfeld, Sloane Offer)

will star in and produce

Showtime’s long-gestating

present-day update of the

Over the past 15 months,

legacy media companies

have invested nearly

$1 billion in ad-supported

streaming video plat-

forms, taking Pluto TV (ViacomCBS),

Xumo (Comcast) and, as of March 17, Tubi

(Fox Corp.) off the market.

“Tubi provides a substantial base from

which we will drive long-term growth in

the direct-to-consumer arena,” Fox CEO

Lachlan Murdoch said in noting the

company’s strategic imperative amid the

streaming market boom. Fox is paying

Fox Joins the Ad-Supported Streaming Stampede

$440 million in cash (partially funded by

selling its 5 percent stake in Roku) for

Tubi, which will continue to be led by CEO

Farhad Massoudi.

But Brian Wieser, president of

business intelligence for media

investment firm GroupM, says

these deals are more about helping

companies quickly scale up their

advertising inventory, as each

of these services comes with licensing

deals to stream thousands of hours of old

TV shows and movies that are ripe to be

advertised against. “It’s inventory that’s

reasonably inexpensive,” explains Wieser.

“The math works in that you can justify

the cost [of the deals] without fretting

too much.”

Still, being able to offer custom-

ers a free, ad-supported alternative

amid the glut of subscription video

offerings also is valuable, especially

during the pandemic-induced

economic downturn. If ViacomCBS’

2019 marketing blitz for PlutoTV is any

model, people will soon be learning a lot

more about Tubi, now that it is under the

Fox umbrella. — NATALIE JARVEY

TV’S PLAN: ‘SHOWS YOU WOULD HAVE

SAID NO TO ARE NOW LOOKING GOOD’

As production grinds to a halt amid a global pan-

demic, television, like nearly every other industry, is

navigating uncharted territory. And at least for now,

there are many more questions than answers.

Resuming production, for instance, won’t be as

easy as it sounds. Given the demands of the Peak TV

era, soundstages and crews are booked out several

months, even years, in advance; and the same is true

of writers, directors and stars, who increasingly

commit to other projects during their hiatuses. To

accommodate, studios are in talks about extend-

ing the standard June 30 expiration date for cast

options for bubble shows and network pilots.

Hardest hit, at least in the near term, are those

broadcast networks, which are still tethered to a

pilot system and a September-to-May schedule.

Some networks are currently toying with adopting

more of a cable/streaming model, which would

allow them to pick up high-profile pilots straight to

series based on the collective strength of a script,

auspices and cast. Another option being discussed

is ordering showrunners to open virtual rooms in

an effort to get ahead on scripts and, in success, be

able to begin production as soon as it’s considered

safe. (Some already had begun stockpiling scripts

in preparation for a potential writers strike.) Funds

that previously were earmarked for production

could be redirected to pay for additional scripts.

As for what will fill network schedules, many

expect bubble shows will now have a big advantage.

After all, these are projects that nets already have

spent millions to license and market, and, nearly

as crucial, see as known quantities. “Shows you

would have said no to are now looking good because

[they’re] stability in a time of change,” says a net-

work insider. Another option likely to be considered,

if it comes to it, is having unscripted shows previ-

ously earmarked for summer held for fall.

The one thing everyone seems to agree on: If the

shutdown lingers for more than a few months, TV

production will be the least of anyone’s concerns.

“Three months, we can keep development robust,”

says an exec, one of many now fielding pitches over

virtual conference calls. “If this is an eight-month

scenario, then we’re all living in The Walking Dead,

and it’s subsistence living.” — LESLEY GOLDBERG

Uma

Thurman

Riverdale was

among the

first shows to

shutter, after

a crewmember

had contact

with a patient.

Massoudi

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