With Award Season now knocking on our doors, we’ve seen the Writers Guild of America throw their film nominations into the pot, for all the ceremony itself will stay virtual for this year. The WGA awards are always a little different, as their eligibility criteria vary from standard. Who has the nod and who doesn’t? Entertainment attorney Brandon Blake lets us in on the nominations.

March 20th Ceremony

Winners will be announced on March 20th, through a virtual ceremony that will also be the last major award show before the Oscars itself. Nominees were chosen from an eligibility period that ran from March 1st, 2021 to December 31st, 2021.

You will notice that some surprising contenders are missing. The WGA has some unique rules for nomination, and nominees have to have been produced under the Minimum Basic Agreement with the WGA to be eligible. This means that we won’t see some hot contenders nominated here, including Power of the Dog and Belfast, two films that have attracted a lot of attention and are seen as Oscar front-runners.

Key Nominations

We at Blake & Wang P.A congratulate all nominees, of course, but there’s a few key categories to keep an eye on. Here’s what you should know:

Original Screenplay

This year we see these nominees:
Being the Ricardos

• Don’t Look Up
• The French Dispatch
• King Richard
  Licorice Pizza

Adapted Screenplay

Here’s the top 5 for an adapted screenplay:

• CODA
  
• Dune
  
• Nightmare Alley
  
• Tick, Tick….BOOM!
  
• West Side Story
  

Best Documentary:

Key nominees here include:

• Exposing Muybridge
  
• Like a Rolling Stone
  
• Being Cousteau

It will be interesting to see how the nominees fare, especially with two key Awards Season favorites out of the running. We will be here to let you know how the ceremony goes down, as well as confirm the winners, so check back often.

With Award Season now technically underway, we wouldn’t blame you if it felt a little blah all the same. Despite 2021 leaving us with some fantastic movies and TV shows to celebrate, 2022 has got off to a sour start, with many festivals opting to postpone, cancel, or go digital. We have, however, finally seen confirmed dates for many highlights of the season. Entertainment attorney Brandon Blake sets it all down for us.

Winter Months a Challenge

Part of the problem, of course, is that winter months and people gathering in tight spaces are an absolute no-go for many risk-averse award ceremonies as we see Omicron peeks almost daily. Luckily, the preventative measures look a whole lot more sophisticated now, and contingency plans have been part of the deal for years now.

So what do we have so far?
January
Alongside many niche-specific award ceremonies, including the Golden Reels, ADG Awards, and CAS awards, we see the following:

• 25th American Society of Cinematographers (nominations)
• 27th PGA Awards Film & TV (nominations)
• 27th DGA Awards (nominations)
• 27th WGA Awards (nominations)

February

Key dates to remember from February include:

• 3rd: BAFTA Film Awards (nominations)
• 5th: IDA Documentary Awards
• 8th: Oscar (nominations)
• 26th: PGA Awards
• 27th: SAG Awards

March:
We see a few awards ceremonies that would typically be earlier in the year move into March, including many of the niche awards we saw nominated in January. 

• 4th: IDA Awards
• 5th: ACE Eddie Awards
• 6th Independent Spirit Awards
• 13th: BAFTA Film Awards
• 13th: Critics Choice Awards
• 20th: WGA Awards
• 27th: The Oscars
• 30th: BAFTA TV Awards (nominations)

May
8th: BAFTA TV Awards
For now, the Governors Awards and the New York Film Critics Circle Awards remain indefinitely postponed, while we await the TBA on the AACTA awards.
For now, it seems that- bar a little disruption- most events will be going forward as planned. Blake & Wang P.A will, of course, keep you updated as we go.

We’ve now heard the European cinema group, UNIC, predict that the major box office recovery ‘bounce’ will happen this year, with lofty predictions of up to 75% jumps in ticket sales year on year. Our specialist entertainment attorney with Blake & Wang P.A weighs in on the matter.

Spiderman Only the Beginning

Much of the impetus for this predicted boom will be building from the many key successes of the superhero tentpole, Spiderman: No Way Home. Although we’ve also entered something of a boom market for local-language content, with strong contenders from Russia and France also performing well at the 2021 European box office. 

Yet it’s undoubtedly Spiderman that brought people back to the cinema in a way we haven’t seen post-pandemic. It’s earned over $55M in France, $105M in the UK, and $41M in Russia alone.
A Pivotal Year for the Industry

We’ve also seen a lot more clarity on release dates and plans from major studios, which will prove enticing when coupled with the slate of blockbuster-heavy titles due to release in 2022. Can we so easily dismiss the effects of the Omicron variant, however? We’ve seen nothing like the large-scale cinema closures of the first waves, so maybe that’s a tentative yes.

After all, data supports the idea that when cinemas were open as normal during the post-pandemic era, box office results were already reasonably close to pre-pandemic levels. Using the UK and Ireland as an example, Q4 of 2021 lagged only 11% behind the average of the 3 non-pandemic years before. 

Provided the diverse and enticing film slate we’ve been promised actually releases, these lofty predictions of a full European box office recovery may not be far-fetched at all. Will we get there? It’s too early to tell, but Brandon Blake and the rest of the team will be watching with interest.

With the domestic subscription numbers finally slowing, we’ve seen many streamers turn to international markets as a way to keep subscriber growth rolling. A key part of this strategy is ensuring that high-quality, local-language programming is also a content priority. With many streamers focusing on their Latin American and Asian markets, it seems Amazon Prime Video has a different goal in mind- Africa. Blake and Wang P.A’s Brandon Blake, entertainment attorney with a key interest in streaming, fills us in.

Nigerian Content Partnerships
This will be the second Nigerian licensing deal we’ve seen them sign in less than a month. This time, the deal is with Anthill Studios, a Lagos-based production, post-production, and animation studio. It’s been responsible for an impressive chunk of the so-called ‘Nollywood’ titles, with their animation studio reported to be Nigeria’s largest. 

The deal will give Amazon their exclusive worldwide distribution rights starting from 2022. Content will, of course, also head to Prime Video customers after their Nigerian theatrical releases. 
A Thriving Market
The Nigerian film scene, affectionately nicknamed Nollywood, has been showcasing authentic African stories for decades now, resonating across the continent. Anthill themselves have something of a reputation for telling bold stories others won’t. They’re already talking about sci-fi and animation productions, something that hasn’t yet taken off in the Nigerian local market. This builds on the deal already signed with Inkblot Studios, another Nigerian production house. 

One of the keys to compelling foreign-language content that also resonates with a wider global audience is establishing multi-layered storytelling that can resonate locally, but connect with broader human themes internationally. Is Amazon hoping Nigeria, with its established cinematographic history, will give them powerful leverage in the streaming market? Clearly. And it will be fascinating to see what comes next. This is one we will be watching carefully. 

As momentum builds for mid-2022 deal closure, the IRS has returned a favorable ruling for the AT&T-driven merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia. The Entertainment lawyer Brandon Blake has the news for us.

Tax-free for stockholders

Surprisingly for what can only be called a mega-merger, the road to date seems to have been free of significant roadblocks for the deal. The merger is currently set to go ahead under the terms of a Reverse Morris Trust. This rare structure helps to ensure deals are tax-free for most intents and purposes. 

There’s two paths open to AT&T at present, with confirmation of which will be used to be confirmed as we draw closer to the final date. Either way, it will create the temporary entity to be known as SpinCo, after which the merger with Discovery will take place.

Reverse Morris Trust

In order to allow for the tax benefits of the deal, the shareholders from the divesting company (AT&T) must retain a majority in the merged firm, in order to prove there was (technically) no capital gains to tax to the IRS. In this specific case, 71% will be retained and 7 board members named, with Discovery stakeholders holding the other 29% and 6 shareholders. This does seem odd, given that both of the current Discovery top team will remain in place to lead the new entity. This will leave the stockholders free of tax for U.S federal income tax purposes, unless they take cash over fractional shares.  

As of December 28th, 2021, they have received a favorable private letter ruling from the IRS regarding this and other intended tax treatments for the split and merger, leaving it on track for the mid-2022 deadline suggested. Blake & Wang P.A will be watching further developments with interest as we accelerate to that date.

AMC, perhaps the biggest ‘come back’ story of 2021, is moving to broaden its control over the domestic exhibition industry while its stock is still riding high. We asked Brandon Blake, our resident theater connoisseur and entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A, for further details.

Pacific and ArcLight Leases

As the country’s largest circuit, AMC announced plans to take over a long-term lease to run The Grove (Los Angeles) and The Americana at Brand (Glendale) earlier this year, both of which used to fall under the Pacific Theaters chain before it lapsed. 

It is also adding the newly rebranded ‘AMC Northridge Fashion Center’ and ‘AMC Chicago 14’ to the slate, ready to reopen in spring next year. These were previous ArcLight properties, although they are all operated by the greater Pacific/Arclight company. 

Highly-trafficked Theaters

According to AMC chair-CEO Adam Aron, all of these locations have been highly trafficked in the past, and show great potential as additional properties. The acquisitions themselves are positioned as AMC staying ‘on the offense’ in search of popular locations to further the growth of their bottom line. 

It has worked well for them to date. Both their newly-acquired ex-Pacific properties are managing to squeak into the top-10 lists for the L.A market regarding box office performance already, no mean feat in an area with over 150 competing cinemas. Both have also featured in the top 30 for the U.S overall

Additionally, we are told AMC will remain in discussion with other currently closed locations, hoping to add to the stable. The iconic Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, however, will be reopened by the Pacific/Arclight parent company, Decurion Corporation, during the course of next year.

AMC seems keen to capitalize on the lifeline extended to them earlier this year, and so far it appears to be paying off. It’s a situation we will keep an interested eye on going forward.

Yes, here to come with the new sequel of the Marvel Studio. 

The newly released movie Spiderman: No Way Home starts exactly from the same spot where Spiderman: Far From Home ended.

The exposed face of the spiderman was not that loveable as the Mysterio guy framed him for his murder. I also got shocked by what the hell just Marvel did with innocent PETER  PARKER. Well, that was the rough start because the movie Spiderman: No Way Home is not a stand-alone movie. 

 Marvel Studio shall surely give its audience more shocks with their new upcoming sequels which I shall disclose with ya folks in near future.

 Back to the line, When Peter’s identity was just exposed to the whole world and the public hero got unmasked.  All turn to be his foe. Paker, his GF, and his bestie got into a huge mess. Parker, Mj, and Ned head towards MIT altogether, being extra smart but MIT rejects their proposal because of the negative feedback received from the public.

Then Peter gave a visit to Dr.Strange where he asked for help………………..

All over, the movie was a cinematic masterpiece that gave me so much remembrance. It cannot be expressed how much I enjoyed the movie thoroughly.

Tom Holland, made me say that it was incredible. He really nailed the role. All the others were also amazing as they played such a unique spiderman role.

Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were fantastic, they acted the best in their supporting roles. All the rumors were true that Andrew and Tobey would be in this movie. And when the trilogy spiders came to the screen all the audience went wild. It was a mind-blowing moment.

That scene when Dr.Strange fought, it felt so realistic. And I forgot to tell you that Venom was there too all the time. He did nothing special but drink.

Find out for yourself……. What does venom do?

While official statements have been slim on the ground, it does look like most major production studios are returning to exclusive theatrical releases for their 2022 slate. Now it seems Sony has committed to the same. Entertainment attorney with Blake & Wang P.A, and well-known industry expert, Brandon Blake has a little more for us.

2022 ‘top-tier’ films will have theatrical releases

Despite the growing concerns over the Omicron Variant, Sony’s Tony Vinciquerra is now on record as stating that their ‘top-tier’ IPs and movie slate for 2022 will remain with a theatrical-only release at first, rather than return to hybrid schedules. This included mention of both Spiderman and the Jumanji franchise. While there was no focus on intended exclusive windows, it’s reasonable to assume that the near-standard 45-day release could be possible, or at least the 31-day release window we’ve seen used recently. 

Among mentions of the commitment to theaters and other invested parties, increased piracy on digital platforms was mentioned as a driving factor of the wholescale return to theaters. Despite this commitment to theatrical releases for their 15 key 2022 titles, he did mention that they were not viewing the current release schedule as anything but tentative, reiterating a willingness to move films as seems best under current conditions and bearing the global health crisis in mind. 
Producing for Netflix
It’s worth remembering, of course, that Netflix and Sony now have a pay one deal active in which some Sony films are also being developed to debut on Netflix. What Netflix chooses to do with them, as it expands its theatrical rollouts, will be interesting. It’s also noteworthy that a large chunk, as many of 10 titles, of Sony’s upcoming films, are being developed from PlayStation titles, hoping to tie that valuable arm of their owned properties into their movie industry options. 

It looks like there will be an interesting year ahead for Sony in 2022, and the news of another studio committing to theatrical releases will no doubt be well-received industry-wide, too.

Fox News is one of the most viewed networks on traditional TV at the moment. Could we, however, be nearing the end of an era? Its parent company has said it’s prepared to move to stream should the PayTV business fail to perk up in the next few months. Entertainment attorney Brandon Blake, of Blake & Wang P.A, has some more on the story. 

No Plans Yet

The move is not imminent, instead of existing as more of a threat. It’s interesting that it’s been mentioned now, however.  Fox CFO Steve Tomsic was quick to reassure us that, for now, the networks’ news and sports assets will remain with linear Pay TV. However, they’re also prepared to move into streaming if the market doesn’t pick up ‘soon’. He was quick to point to their original programming, replays of shows, and possible reboots as fodder that could power the move into a direct-to-consumer space.

Starting with Tubi

It also seems that they want to start pushing ‘sport-adjacent’ programming onto Tubi, their existing free streaming platform, but don’t yet want to move the live games off of linear TV. They do, however, have the right to do so, at least for their NFL coverage. 

For now, the sports side shores up the TV business, and they’ve made some moves into sports betting, too, with Fox Bet. It seems to be an arena they’re cautious to move too far into, however, aware of lessons from the UK and Australia. Here, sports betting content has failed to resonate with consumers and proved something of a turnoff.

While the mentions were very loose for now, the threat could be more real than we currently plan for. It’s unlikely that Fox will stay out of the more mainstream streaming market forever, right as the direct-to-consumer model is booming. Will we soon see the news network hit the streaming ‘airwaves’? The timeline remains to be seen, but that they’ve made the thread itself is telling.

Red Notice has scored itself, and Netflix, a fascinating record. This Netflix Original Movie is one that has also seen a theatrical release. A broader theatrical release, in fact, than usual. Netflix films, to date, have mostly relied on indie cinema distribution after rejection from the top 3 chains over exclusive release periods.

Yet Red Notice was among those which Cinemark also opted to carry, giving them a far wider theatrical release than normal. Yet it’s not this wider exhibition network that’s responsible for its shiny new record. That’s all on its streaming hours themselves. We asked the entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A, Brandon Blake, for more. 

The most-watched movie in Netflix history

It’s nice to be able to see these figures for ourselves, too, as we’ve recently been given Netflix ‘Top 10’ lists to use for viewing data. According to those same lists, Red Notice has racked up 328.8M viewing hours overall, quite comprehensively smashing through Bird Box’s 282M previous record from 2018.

Nor does it end with subscriber hours. Red Notice has also been watched by over 50% of Netflix subscribers. It also arrived at these record-setting figures fast. It took only 18 days. Bird Box needed 4 weeks to pass the record prior to it. 

Fun adventure

Red Notice, a Netflix romp starring Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Gal Gadot, doesn’t bring a lofty plot to the table. It’s a fun film packed with silly premise and hijinks, pairing an FBI profiler up with an art thief. But in the current glum global mood, no wonder it’s something so light-hearted that’s broken the records. We may see it push them higher, too. It still remains on the Top 10 list for over 94 countries. Quite an impressive feat!

Netflix must certainly view it as a success, given that it’s just opened for its wider theatrical release with solid success, too. We guess that sometimes just being fun really is enough.