Saturday, July 25, 2020
SATURDAY NIGHT TV:
NBA COUNTDOWN (8p ET, ABC) — Before the return of pro basketball on July 30th, this special will preview the restart of the season and discuss news from around the league since the March 11 season stoppage.
MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN (8p ET, HBO) — Edward Norton writes, directs and stars in this 2019 mystery drama as a hard-boiled 1950s detective with Tourette’s syndrome. Bruce Willis, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Bobby Cannavale, Cherry Jones, Alec Baldwin and Willem Dafoe also star.
48 HOURS (10p ET, CBS) — New.
SURVIVING JOE EXOTIC (10p ET, Animal Planet) — This new special catches up with some of the characters and creatures featured in the Netflix true-crime series Tiger King.
SUNDAY TV:
SEASON PREMIERE: WYNONNA EARP (10p ET, Syfy) — The fourth season (shortened for now due to the pandemic) begins, two years after its last season. After escaping the garden in season 3, season 4 will find Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano), Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley), and Doc (Tim Rozon) returning to Purgatory, only to discover that something is different about their hometown.
SERIES PREMIERE: HELTER SKELTER: AN AMERICAN MYTH (10p ET, Epix) — This new, 6-part Charles Manson docu-series features never-before-accessed interviews from former family members and journalists first on the scene and in the courtroom, with archival footage and newly-unearthed images.
Showbiz News and Gossip
TAYLOR SWIFT DELIVERED A NEW ALBUM OVERNIGHT
Taylor Swift surprised the world Thursday with the announcement that she would be releasing a new album at midnight. The album is titled Folklore and it comes with a video for the first single, called Cardigan.
… Taylor says she wasn’t planning to do an album, but, well, she had some extra time on her hands. Among other things Taylor was planning for four big concerts this summer — mega shows at stadiums.
SHARK WEEK IS COMING
Shark Week on the Discovery Channel begins August 9, and there is a new rival to the toothy crown in the form of Nat Geo’s SharkFest. The 32nd Shark Week will feature 23 hours of new material, while SharkFest will run for five weeks and roll out 17 new documentaries.
HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY, CADDYSHACK
On July 25, 1980, a little movie called Caddyshack premiered in theaters.
• The original plot for Caddyshack revolved around Danny Noonan’s conflicts with the characters played by Ted Knight and Scott Collomby. Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and Rodney Dangerfield were only supposed to have cameo-sized roles, but their improvisational routines were so successful that their characters were continuously expanded. As result, Knight and Collomby’s roles were reduced for screen time — much to their annoyance.
• Bill Murray and Chevy Chase’s one scene together almost didn’t happen. Ramis realized that the movie’s two biggest stars never shared any screentime, so he, along with Murray and Chase, wrote the scene during lunch and shot it later that day.
• By the end of the shoot, Ted Knight could not stand the constant improvisation.
• Caddyshack was Dangerfield’s first major movie role, and despite his years as a hilarious stand-up, he was nervous about his performance; he constantly asked co-stars if he was doing okay.
• In what’s probably the furthest thing from Kenny Loggins, Harold Ramis originally wanted the Caddyshack score to be made up entirely of Pink Floyd songs. The studio rejected that idea.
• The New York Times’ review of the film called it “immediately forgettable.”
• Outside of the U.S., the film’s biggest success was in Denmark.
• The explosion at the end of the film was so big, a pilot reported it to the nearby Fort Lauderdale Airport, thinking it was a plane crash.
• Chevy Chase was the only castmember to return for Caddyshack 2, and later regretted the decision. Producers also begged Rodney Dangerfield to return. Upon reading the script, he threw it in the trash.
THE GREATEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME
Internet Movie Database has ranked the 250 greatest movies of all time. IMDb’s ranking system isn’t as simple as listing all films in descending order by rating. A film needs to have a minimum of 25,000 user ratings to even qualify for the list, and those ratings must come from “regular IMDb voters,” though the site doesn’t specify how that group is chosen. Then, IMDb determines the film’s position using a weighted formula that accounts for the total number of ratings and rating average. In other words, just because 1998’s Saving Private Ryan (in the 27th spot) and 1968’s Once Upon a Time in the West (number 49) both have an 8.5 rating doesn’t mean they’re tied.
- The Shawshank Redemption (1994) // 9.2
- The Godfather (1972) // 9.1
- The Godfather: Part II (1974) // 9.0
- The Dark Knight (2008) // 9.0
- 12 Angry Men (1957) // 8.9
- Schindler’s List (1993) // 8.9
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) // 8.9
- Pulp Fiction (1994) // 8.8
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) // 8.8
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) // 8.8
- Fight Club (1999) // 8.8
- Forrest Gump (1994) // 8.8
- Inception (2010) // 8.7
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) // 8.7
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) // 8.7
- The Matrix (1999) // 8.6
- GoodFellas (1990) // 8.6
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) // 8.6
- Hamilton (2020) // 8.6
- Seven Samurai (1954) // 8.6
GREY’S ANATOMY TO TACKLE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
The coronavirus pandemic will be addressed during the forthcoming 17th season of Grey’s Anatomy. Filming of the series, which follows a group of surgeons in Seattle, Washington, is currently on hold due to the global health crisis but executive producer Krista Vernoff has revealed that when the show resumes production, the deadly disease will be addressed.
THE CW ORDERS UP NEW STEPHEN KING TV SHOW
The CW has announced that it’s developing a new Stephen King TV show called Revelations, a one-hour drama based on King’s short story The Revelations of Becka Paulson. First published in Rolling Stone magazine in July 1984, the tale follows Becka Paulson, who accidentally shoots herself in the brain with a nail-gun. She miraculously survives, but post-injury she suffers vivid hallucinations and soon believes she’s been recruited by Jesus Christ as his “chosen one.” The hallucinatory Christ then tasks her with stopping the apocalypse by proving that Earth is worth saving.
TRUE BLOOD’S ANNA CAMP REVEALS HER STRUGGLES WITH COVID-19
2020 hasn’t been kind to the human population for various reasons, but mostly because of COVID-19. It wasn’t until Tom Hanks and his wife Rita announced they’d been infected that some countries finally started to take notice. The latest celeb to announce her battle with the virus is True Blood actress Anna Camp. On Instagram Anna shared that she’s suffered with persistent symptoms like poor sense of smell, extreme fatigue, dizziness and more even after finally testing negative following her initial three week battle with the virus. • IMAGE
TARAJI P. HENSON IN A POTENTIAL EMPIRE SPINOFF ON FOX
Taraji P. Henson has signed on for a potential Empire spinoff which will likely follow Cookie as she moves to Los Angeles. The spinoff is expected to help Empire have a proper conclusion after its abrupt series finale earlier this year following the coronavirus shutdown
DISNEY DELAYS MULAN INDEFINITELY, PUSHES BACK AVATAR SEQUELS A YEAR
Disney has announced a new movie schedule, with the theatrical release of Mulan now pushed back indefinitely amid the coronavirus pandemic. It’s listed as “unset,” after previously being delayed to August 21. The sequels to James Cameron’s Avatar have all been pushed back by a year each, with the new Star Wars trilogy getting the same fate.
… Here’s an updated list of movies coming to theaters (maybe) and streaming channels this year.
RYAN REYNOLDS TIME TRAVEL MOVIE JUMPS TO NETFLIX
In yet another sign of the times, the Ryan Reynolds time travel movie is time traveling from Paramount to Netflix. There was a time, not so long ago, where the thought of a major studio movie with a big star going right to Netflix would be unthinkable. The film follows a man who has to travel back in time to get help from his 13-year old self. Together, they run into their late father, who is now the same age as Reynolds.
ELISABETH MOSS TO STAR IN APPLE TV+’S SHINING GIRLS
Elisabeth Moss has signed on to star in a Leonardo DiCaprio-produced adaptation of the bestselling novel The Shining Girls. The book revolves around a time-traveling Depression-era drifter who must murder the “shining girls” in order to continue his travels. Moss will play a Chicago reporter who survived a brutal assault only to find her reality shifting as she hunts down her attacker.
… This is the third TV project starring Moss that announced this month. On July 7, she signed on to play real-life killer Candy Montgomery. Earlier this week, Moss teamed with Hulu for psychosexual neo-noir thriller Black Match.
HBO RENEWS PERRY MASON FOR A SECOND SEASON
HBO has renewed the drama series Perry Mason for a second season. No surprise since the drama was HBO’s most-watched series premiere in nearly two years. The first episode has now been seen by 8 million viewers.
… The new Perry Mason is set in 1932 Los Angeles. While the rest of the country recovers from the Great Depression, this city is booming. The series follows the origins of American Fiction’s most legendary criminal defense lawyer, Perry Mason. When the case of the decade breaks down his door, Mason’s relentless pursuit of the truth reveals a fractured city and just maybe, a pathway to redemption for himself.
PEACOCK HAD 1.5 MILLION APP DOWNLOADS IN ITS FIRST SIX DAYS
People are downloading Peacock. According to industry sources the new streaming service’s app was downloaded 1.5 million times over its first six days — 25 percent more than Quibi’s 1.2 million over the same period. But Peacock’s numbers are well short of the 13 million downloads Disney+ generated within its first six days.
ONE DIRECTION RETURNED TO INSTAGRAM FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOUR YEARS
One Direction returned to Instagram for the first time in four years on Wednesday. The boy band shared a post via the group’s official account that read, 10 Years of One Direction. In the caption, the members wrote, “Tomorrow! You and me got a whole lot of history.” Needless to say, fans were pretty excited, especially considering One Direction hadn’t posted anything on Instagram since May 2016, when the artists promoted a Family Guy cameo. … The band shared the same post on Twitter. The last time One Direction had tweeted anything was in 2018, when it celebrated the group’s eight-year anniversary.
SAMUEL L. JACKSON AND RYAN REYNOLDS PARTNER AGAIN FOR QUIBI SERIES
Audiences may have to wait a little longer to see Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds reunite on the big screen in The Hitman’s Bodyguard sequel but they’re already set to partner up again for a new animated series at Quibi. Futha Mucka will center on Jackson as he plays the primary caregiver to Reynolds.
DISNEY+ DELIVERS FIRST CLIPS FROM NEW SHOW MARVEL’S 616
Disney+ has delivered the first clips from Marvel’s 616, a new show exploring the history of Marvel movies and comics. Marvel’s 616 takes its name from the version of earth where the Marvel comics are set (it’s a multiverse thing). The anthology documentary series explores how Marvel comics are made, gets to know the fandom and more. It’s debuting on Disney+ in the fall. • VIDEO
FOX SETS FALL RETURN DATE FOR SIMPSONS, BOB’S BURGERS AND MORE
The Simpsons, the Harts, the Belchers and the Griffins will see you in September. New episodes of The Simpsons (Season 32!), Bless the Harts (Season 2), Bob’s Burgers (Season 11) and Family Guy (Season 19) premiere Sunday, September 27 on Fox. The second season of Duncanville will premiere in 2021.
TAKE PART IN LIFE IN A DAY 2020
Have you ever thought you would be the ideal subject for a documentary? Would the rest of the world benefit from getting a glimpse into your everyday life? The project is called Life in a Day, the first version of which was created back in 2010 and produced by director Ridley Scott. Using more than 80,000 clips submitted by people from 189 countries, director Kevin Macdonald and his team combed through 4,500 hours of footage to create a 90-minute feature film showing events that occurred over the course of a single day, July 24, 2010. That film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and is still free to view on YouTube. • VIDEO
… The idea here is to create a single-day “time capsule” film on July 25. Basically, you just film the events unfolding in your day on that date (or someone else’s day, with their consent) and upload it at LifeInADay.youtube (correct) before August 2, 2020. Scott and Macdonald would like you to address the following in your video:
- What do you love?
- What do you fear?
- What would you like to change? Either about the world, or your own life.
- What’s in your pocket?
THE CROWN SEASON 5 WON’T ARRIVE UNTIL 2022 _ While fans can expect The Crown season 4 to arrive later this year, they should be aware that it’ll be a long wait for the next run of the Netflix royal drama after that. A source says Netflix won’t debut season 5 of The Crown until 2022.
… The Crown skipping 2021 is similar to the two-year gap between seasons 2 and 3. Just like on that occasion, the production took some time off in between changing over its leading ladies. Claire Foy handed over the keys to the kingdom to Olivia Colman during the last gap. This time, though, Colman will be replaced by Imelda Staunton. To date, we only know of one other cast member who’ll be joining Staunton in season 5: Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret.
SOMEONE TRANSFORMED SHALLOW FROM A STAR IS BORN INTO A POLKA SONG
The Lady Gaga-Bradley Cooper performance of Shallow at the 2019 Oscars was one of the show’s highlights. If there is a 2021 Oscars ceremony, let’s bring them back to perform it as a polka song. • VIDEO
… Note: Someone in the video’s comments said it sounds better when played back at 1.25x so that’s what the audio is.
HULU HAS COME UP WITH FOUR TYPES OF STREAMING CONSUMERS
A Hulu report titled “Generation Stream” has come up with four types of streaming consumers:
… 25% of streaming users partake in “classic streaming” — watching usually at set times with family, friends or a partner as part of a daily routine.
… Binge-watchers are in the “indulgent streaming” category, comprising 21%.
… About 13% make up “curated streaming,” people (most likely Generation Z) who seek out series and movies that create or drive cultural conversation, and also want to take part in the conversation.
… The largest group — 41% — falls under “therapeutic streaming,” people who stream to decompress, usually with nostalgic programming.
… The Hulu study finds more than 90 percent of people ages 13-54 use at least one streaming service.
RUMOR: THE STATUS OF SEX AND THE CITY 3
Have Sex and the City co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall finally made peace? An anonymous insider claims the co-stars shared a “million-dollar peace summit.” The two have now apparently buried the hatchet and are ready to start work on a third Sex and the City film. The years-long delay hasn’t been due to any animosity, the so-called insider claims. The issues were over timing, money, and an “awful” script.
… Cattrall and Parker have been publicly at odds for years now. Emanating from a clique-esque culture on the set of the show, Cattrall and Parker have never been that close. Two films did nothing to decrease any tension, tensions that came to a head in 2018 when Cattrall’s brother tragically passed away. After Parker posted her sympathies on Instagram, Cattrall’s bold reply eliminated any chance at a third film soon: “I don’t need your love and support at this tragic time @sarahjessicaparker.”
LAWYERS CLAIM PHOTO OF AMBER HEARD WITH JOHNNY DEPP, KEITH RICHARDS PROVE SHE LIED
A photo of Amber Heard with Johnny Depp and Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was submitted to a London court Tuesday — to try to prove the actress was lying about a supposed beating she got from the actor. The actress said she was assaulted the night before the photo was taken. Depp is suing British tabloid The Sun for referring to him as a “wife beater” in a 2018 headline based on Heard’s claims he repeatedly assaulted her throughout their relationship. Depp denies ever hitting Heard.