Bob Iger: “Interestingly enough, they’re not snobs from an artistic perspective. They were more than happy to be part of Disney. We made them feel very welcome, of course. But you can easily be disdainful if you are on their side of the business. I’ve seen people comment about some of the movies that Disney makes and question whether they are really movies.” (In 2019, Martin Scorsese publicly said that Marvel movies were “not cinema,” comparing them to theme park rides.)”
Steve Gilula and Nancy Utley Leaving Searchlight Pictures After 21 Years

Oscar Voting Is Closed.

“‘Fixer’ Judy Smith, the real-life inspiration for ‘Scandal’’s Olivia Pope, and Dr. Shaun Harper, a USC professor, both walked away from the HFPA on Tuesday, and the PR firm Sunshine Sachs and law [firms] may not be far behind.”

MONTE HELLMAN WAS 91

Dick Clark Productions: “We unequivocally condemn the actions and words of a member of the HFPA. We have called upon the board to take swift and decisive action. We also indicated that this response should serve as an example of how they intend to act on member behavior that violates their recent commitment to reform and improve racial equality. We have been working for months with the organization to guide and push them toward meaningful change. While we had remained hopeful about progress, this is a very real reminder that there are members who don’t support this work. That is unacceptable.”

Golden Globes Ousts Eight-Term Former President Phil Berk, Noted Sexual Harrasser, For Racist Email

Scott Rudin on Unnamed Films: “When I commented over the weekend, I was focused on Broadway reopening successfully and not wanting my previous behavior to detract from everyone’s efforts to return. It’s clear to me I should take the same path in film and streaming. I am profoundly sorry for the pain my behavior has caused and I take this step with a commitment to grow and change.”

David Graham-Caso: “Scott Rudin is doubling down on empty PR stunts cynically designed to avoid real consequences. Real consequences can only come from the people who have enabled him stepping up, not from him making a calculated and ill-defined “step back’.”

Morrissey: “The hatred shown towards me from the creators of ‘The Simpsons’ is obviously a taunting lawsuit, but one that requires more funding than I could possibly muster in order to make a challenge… There is no place in modern music for anyone with strong emotions… In a world obsessed with Hate Laws, there are none that protect me.”

“Since 1987, SXSW has been the world’s premier festival centered at the convergence of tech, media, film, and music. As part of this significant investment, we plan to build upon SXSW’s incredible foundation while extending the platform further digitally and assisting [this] incredible team to bring their vision to even greater heights.”
Penske Media And MRC Take Fifty-Percent Interest in South By Southwest; Penske-MRC Holdings Include Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, Deadline, Vibe, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Artnews, Boy Genius Report, TVLine, GoldDerby, Art in America and Robb Report

Variety’s Steven Gaydos: “There is ample reason for concern. Before [the pandemic,] audience numbers were declining rapidly, year on year, for all awards shows. The Academy is funded by the TV show, and they are about to open a big expensive museum. They have taken on a half-billion-dollar enterprise at a time when their primary source of income is declining. There could be an iceberg ahead for the Academy.”

Donna Bowman On “Looking Through the Veil: The Theology of Movie Afterlives” For Criterion

“An email sent Sunday by an 88-year-old former Hollywood Foreign Press Association president [who was accused of sexually assaulting Brendan Fraser] criticizing Black Lives Matter’s co-founder and likening BLM to a hate group touched off a firestorm among the organization’s members. In the email, Phil Berk, who served eight terms as HFPA president, shared a post that called BLM a “racist hate movement” and described the co-founder as “the self-proclaimed ‘trained Marxist.'” It was sent out to the association’s members, its staff and the group’s general counsel and chief operating officer.”

Rules For Oscar’s 170-Person Audience: “The Academy is not asking Oscar attendees to wear face masks while cameras are on. Because the ceremony, at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, is being treated as a TV-film production, masks are not required for people on camera. However, when guests are not on camera, they are asked to wear masks and masks should be put on during commercial breaks. Audience members will be rotated in and out of the ceremony. Upon arrival to Union Station, nominees will receive a personalized itinerary that outlines what times they will be rotated in and out.”

“Ninety seconds. That’s how quickly Steven Soderbergh believes the Academy Awards will convince viewers that this year’s telecast is different. The concept for the show, which Soderbergh is producing with Stacey Sher and Jesse Collins, is to treat the telecast not like a TV show but a movie. And he’s convinced he’s got a doozy of an opening scene. “We’re going to announce our intention immediately,” says Soderbergh. “Right out of the gate, people are going to know: ‘We’ve got to put our seatbelt on.’”

Paul Schrader on Facebook: “AN OBSERVATION ABOUT FILM ECONOMICS. The clever post-nickelodeon decision to monetize motion pictures (squeezing large numbers of patrons in un-air-conditioned large rooms with (for a time) intermittent vaudeville acts worked like a charm for decades. Then came TV. Yet movies survived. Became larger scope, racier subject matter, exploitation pix, women’s pix, prestige pix, horror pix, genre pix, realistic pix. bigger in scope, racier in subject matter, newsreels. serious dramas, art films, European films—and air conditioned cinemas. But now comes Phase Three: BOOM! The growing desire of audiences to see film entertainment in theater like home entertainment at great discount, a transition 14 months in the training, but, more importantly, a shift away from the standalone 2 hr ‘important’ drama inspired by literature to the ongoing episodic dramas inspired by crime series (true or otherwise), telenovelas, expanded documentary and biographic sagas, stripping storytelling of its ability to compose concise stories which land like a punch in the face.”

Kris Tapley: “With the industry awards circuit* wrapped up…

• Chicago 7 & Mank won awards from four orgs
• Ma Rainey & Promising Young Woman from three
• Sound of Metal, Minari & Nomadland from two
• Judas from one
• PGA, DGA, SAG, WGA, ASC, CDG, ACE, MUAHS, SLC, ADG, SDSA, CAS, MPSE, VES, CSA”

ASC Winners Are Mank And The Truffle Hunters

Anthony Breznican on Oscar-Winner Peter Ramsay’s Rich Life Story

Why Rudin Stepped Back: “Hugh Jackman was ‘very concerned’ about ‘what it would look like moving forward’ with Scott Rudin in a visible role. Jackman never made any ultimatums or threatened to leave ‘The Music Man’ but expressed his position that something needed to be done. Jackman’s co-star Sutton Foster took a stand and said she would leave if Rudin didn’t take a seat.”

Scott Rudin: “Much has been written about my history of troubling interactions with colleagues, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain my behavior caused to individuals, directly and indirectly. After a period of reflection, I’ve made the decision to step back from active participation on our Broadway productions, effective immediately. My roles will be filled by others from the Broadway community and in a number of cases, from the roster of participants already in place on those shows.”

“According to multiple high-ranking people within Hollywood, it will take more than accusing him of systematically abusing his underlings to take down Rudin. One high-ranking studio executive who has worked with the 62-year-old impresario on several film projects — and is no stranger to his spittle-frenzied tirades — expressed skepticism that the revelations will have any effect on his standing. “The fact that Scott Rudin is a bully is not news,” this source says on condition of anonymity due to ongoing business sensitivities. “Everybody knows he has a terrible temper, throws stuff and terrorizes his assistants. People have been in business with him for a long time. Hollywood is known for forgiving a lot of really terrible behavior. A lot of agents and filmmakers continued to work with Harvey Weinstein despite years of rumors that he was a sexual predator.”