SSN EMMY COVERAGE
Variety/Talk Show
Why Emmy Rule Changes Left Amy Schumer Smiling and Broadcast Calling for Its Own Category
With this year’s Emmys series contenders now in full campaign mode, it feels appropriate to ask: Did the TV Academy’s recent slew of rule changes actually improve the caliber of the field? (HTV)
Latenight Battle: Will Emmy Voters Honor the Departed? Or Award Newcomers?
Voters have one last chance to honor both The Late Show with David Letterman and Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, which both aired their final episodes this season. Among the other contenders, though, is Jimmy Fallon’s resurgent Tonight Show and John Oliver’s brilliant Last Week Tonight. How will the voters choose? (VTV)
SSN ORIGINALS
On the Set For 8/21/15: Eddie Redmayne Starts ‘Fantastic Beasts’, Russo Brothers Wrap ‘Captain America: Civil War’
Lasse Hallstrom also gets his new project up and running, with Britt Robertson and Dennis Quaid on board, while Garry Marshall fires up Mother’s Day and James Grey starts on Lost City Of Z, while Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg wrap up Deepwater Horizon. There’s more, too, and to read about it, just click on the link. (SSN)
OTHER HEADLINES
Today In the Relativity Bankruptcy, Part 1: Film Lenders, Guilds Get Concessions In New Media Action Plan
The hedge funds pushing for a quick auction of Relativity Media have granted additional concessions — including a better chance of recovery for union members and lenders who financed film releases — in hopes that other creditors in the complex bankruptcy action will not try to slow down an Oct. 1 sale of the insolvent company. (VAR)
Today In the Relativity Bankruptcy, Part 2: Was the Chapter 11 Unauthorized?
This afternoon, the three financial firms that put up interim financing for Relativity Media in its bankruptcy responded to objections over its proposed $250 million “stalking horse” bid for sale of the Ryan Kavanaugh studio’s assets. The biggest revelation concerns the objections of Manchester Securities, a subsidiary of Paul Singer’s hedge fund firm Elliot Management, one of Relativity’s earliest financial backers. (HESQ)
New York City’s Film Czar Cynthia Lopez to Step Down, Will Leave the Office In October
Lopez, who was named commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment by Mayor Bill de Blasio in April, 2014, plans to leave that post in October to return to the private sector. First deputy commissioner Luis Castro will serve as acting commissioner once Lopez departs. During her tenure, New York saw a 56 percent growth in episodic television shows filming in the city in the 2014/2015 season. (THR)
Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn Drama Series Gets CBS Put Pilot Commitment
A modern-day take on the classic Mark Twain characters, hails from Sony Pictures TV, studio-based Drop Dead Diva creator Josh Berman and CBS TV Studios. Penned by The Blacklist writers Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier, show is a reimagining of the iconic characters in modern day America at a time that harkens back to the racial and class divides that inspired Twain’s books. (DH)
Will George Miller Go From Mad Max To the Man Of Steel? It Is Apparently Quite Possible
A hot and fairly realistic rumor has George Miller in negotiations with Warner Bros. about taking the directing reins for Man Of Steel 2, which would, one assumes, be in theaters in 2018. According to reports, the sticking point right now is budget, with the two sides in disagreement about what the film would cost. Henry Cavill would return to play Superman for another go round. (HH)
ABC and Shondaland Are Bringing You a Divorce Comedy From the ‘Trophy Wife’ Team
Taken from the minds of creators Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins, the show, aptly titled Splitsville, will revolve around residents of a suburban cul-de-sac who, after coming to grips with their divorces, unite to raise their kids together in perfect harmony. (VUL)
Alfre Woodard Signs On To a Potentially Villainous Role In Marvel and Netflix’s Upcoming ‘Luke Cage’ Series
Mike Colter will play the title role, a so-called Hero For Hire, and will be introduced on Jessica Jones, the Daredevil followup starring Krysten Ritter that will premiere on Netflix this fall. Woodard could be playing a version of the comics villain Black Mariah, who’s a professional criminal and a drug dealer in the comic books on which the series is based. (COL)