Cordkillers 332 - Roku Is On Fire (w/ Merrill Barr)
Pixar's "Soul" is skipping the theaters and Disney is re-organizing to focus on streaming. Plus, The Expanse has a new trailer and Narcos is airing on Pluto TV this month. All this and more on Cordkillers! With special guest Merrill Barr ( https://twitter.com/merrillbarr ).
CordKillers: 332 - Roku Is On Fire
Recorded: October 12 2020
Guest: Merrill Barr
Intro Video
Revival of Animaniacs, coming to Hulu November 20
Primary Target
Disney’s next Pixar movie Soul will skip theaters for Disney Plus this December
Soul' Direct to Disney Plus Decision Upsets European Cinemas
The War With Grandpa' Tops 'Tenet' at Domestic Box Office
-Hey remember when we said Disney's Soul would be the first big movie to test the return to theaters. We're going to stop saying things like that.
- Disney has decided to move Soul from premiering in whatever theaters may be open on November 20 to premiering on whatever televisions may be streaming Disney Plus at Christmas.
- Unlike Mulan Disney will not charge anything extra to watch Soul.
- Soul is an animated movie about a music teacher in a world where new souls are created. The teacher voiced by Jamie Foxx tries to explain why life is wonderful to a adult voiced by Tina Fey.
- The International Union of Cinemas is not happy saying in a statement that the vast majority of cinemas are open right now adding “Yet again, however, they find a distributor delivering another blow. The decision on ‘Soul’ is doubly frustrating for operators who were counting on the release after the film was previewed at a number of key European film festivals.”
- It also piled not he guilt saying “It is no exaggeration to say that by the time some studios decide the moment is right to release their films, it may be too late for many European cinemas.”
- Disney pointed at the number one film in the US this week, "The War With Grandpa" starring Robert DeNiro that outgrossed Tenet with $3.6 million across 2,205 locations.
How to Watch
The Roku Channel Launches on Amazon Fire TV Devices
- Roku announced that its free ad-supporting streaming service The Roku Channel is now available on FireTV devices in the US. This includes Amazon Fire TV streaming devices, smart TVs, and soundbars. Just like the launch of the Roku Channel on mobile, the service won't require an account to stream content.
What to Watch
The Expanse returns to Amazon Prime Video December 16 and has a new trailer out.
A trailer is out for The Stand coming to CBS All Access December 17.
Netflix’s Hit Show ‘Narcos’ Will Stream for Free on Pluto TV
- Netflix's Narcos will air on free ad-supported service Pluto TV starting October 20. Why? ViacomCBS, which owns Pluto, bought the rights to stream the show on ad-supported streaming. Netflix holds the right to stream it on non-ad-supported channels of course. Netflix usually locks up all the rights but the Narcos deal was signed with French Studio Gaumont SA before Netflix's strategy was fully formed and before ad-supported streaming had as much of a presence as it does now.
Deadline reports Benedict Cumberbatch is in talks to play Doctor Strange in the next Spider-Man movie. The idea is that Strange will play the mentor role Tony Stark did in the first film.
Merilltorial: Wayne Season 1:
This is the latest in a long line of shows the pandemic has “saved” because networks are buying up the content becuase it was so little seen in initial run and all the deal are built on “if reception is good, we’ll do more.” Here’s a full list of shows that go moved around so far:
Dallas & Robo - YouTube to Syfy
Wayne - YouTube to Amazon
Holliston - FearNet to Shudder
LA’s Finest - Spectrum to Fox
Swamp Thing - DC Universe to The CW
Tell Me A Story - CBS All Access to The CW
One Day at a Time - POP to CBS
Harley Quinn, Star Girl, Titans, Doom Patrol, Cobra Kai and Step-Up were all pre-pandemic deals but still worth mentioning.
Ewan McGregor told the Graham Norton Show that shooting will begin on the Obi-Wan show for Disney Plus this coming March.
TNT's Snowpiercer returns January 25.
Netflix released a trailer for part 2 of Unsovled Mysteris coming October 19.
Apple TV renewed ordered a third season of Dickinson and set January 8 as the premiere date of season 2. It's the first Apple TV show to get a third season.
The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies are available for preorder as 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs, shipping December 1st in the US.
Disney Plus's The Right Stuff, based not eh novel about the first US astronauts, premiered Friday October 9.
Kate Mulgrew will reprise the role of Star Trek Voyager's Captain Katherine Janeway in the animated series Star Trek: Prodigy coming to Nickelodeon next year.
Netflix dropped a trailer for Mank, David Fincher's movie about Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz. The movie comes to Netflix December 4 after a short run in theaters.
Eyes On
Brian: Two Cents
Tom: Haunting of Bly Manor
Merrill: A.P. Bio, The Chef Show
On the Lookout: The School Nurse Files
Front Lines
Netflix Stands By ‘Cuties’ After Streamer Indictment In Texas Over Film’s “Prurient Interest In Sex”
- A grand jury in Tyler County Texas indicted Netflix for the promotion of the French film "Cuties" about an 11-year-old girl who defies her parents' traditions to join a dance crew. Netflix is charged with lewd exhibition of children younger than 18 and will go to trial. Netflix said the film is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children. Netflix's Ted Sarandos told the Mipcom conference “It’s a little surprising in 2020 America that we’re having a discussion about censoring storytelling.”
Netflix Chief Ted Sarandos Fires Back At ‘Cuties’ Controversy: “It’s Surprising In 2020 America That We’re Having A Discussion About Censoring Storytelling”
Apple is extending some Apple TV+ subs through February 2021 for free
- Apple will extend all current Apple TV+ subscriptions that end by November 1 to run through January 31, 2021 at no extra charge. This includes subscriptions that came free for a year with the purchase of a new Apple device last autumn. Please use it to watch Ted Lasso.
Facebook’s Portal adds support for Netflix, Zoom and other features
- Facebook announced it will support Netflix and Zoom on its Portal devices. The company will also offer one-touch buttons (such as a Netflix button) on its new Portal remote, expand its selection of its stories offered through its Story Time feature, add new AR effects, and offer Spanish-language voice control. Back in September, Amazon announced it would support Netflix on the Amazon Echo Show smart displays, and Google recently added Netflix support to its Nest Hub and Hub Max earlier this year.
Protocol's sources say Amazon's free streaming video service, IMDbTV will expand into markets outside the US in the coming months. Mexico and UK are the most likely to get the service next.
Ted Sarandos Says Covid Safety Protocols Are Generating Surprising Savings For Netflix — Mipcom
- Netflix's Ted Sarandos Also told Mipcom he thinks COVID-19 protocols are saving the company money. Sarandos said, “...productions run much smoother, so you actually save some shooting days sometimes. Shooting days are shorter, the sets are better run, there’s fewer people on sets sometimes, which keeps the trains running on time.” He also said fewer people are getting sick from other causes also saving time and money.
Disney Reorganizes Content and Distribution Units to Bolster Streaming Businesses
- Disney reorganized to put streaming operations under a newly-created Media and Entertainment Distribution group. Content will be created for this group by three sperate content divsions: studios, general entertainment and sports.
Dispatches from the Front
Hi guys,
Tom keeps referring to the Lamplighter character in the Boys as "Jimmy Olsen from Smallville." Sorry to get nitpicky but Jimmy Olsen was played by Aaron Ashmore. Lamplighter is played by his twin brother Shawn Ashmore, who played Iceman in the X-Men movies.
Keep up the good work.
- Anthony
Hollywood should just give in and release new titles for Rental Streaming for the 90 Day Window then release Digital Copies for sale on all the services. Tired of waiting because of all the delays! Have not been to a theater in 5 years anyway.
- Michael