Cordkillers 309 - Star Wars: What-If? (w/ Allison Sheridan)
Streaming is both up AND down. Plus, tons of movie delay dates, Parks and Rec doing a quarantine reunion, and all the movie festivals are going streaming very soon! All this and more on Cordkillers! With special guest Allison Sheridan.
CordKillers: 309 - Star Wars: What-If
Recorded: April 27 2020
Guest: Allison Sheridan
Intro Video
Kimmy vs The Reverend
Primary Target
Netflix blows away new subscriber expectations
- Netflix added 15.77 million subscribers in Q1, well past estimates. Netflix reported a total of 182.9 million subscribers up 22.8% year over year. Netflix said it could not accurately predict future subscriber growth because of the pandemic. It expects a spike this coming quarter but a slowdown in growth as people come out of lockdown. Netflix also said its Q3 releases are on track since filming had been completed. Future gaps from the current pause in production will be made up with licensed content. Some filming has resumed in Iceland and South Korea which will serve as models for resumption in other regions. Netflix said its most viewed content in Q1 was Spenser Confidential with 85 million households. Netflix also revised its negative cash flow down from $2.billion this year to $1 billion and said it will raise $1 billion through a debt offering.
Netflix has added a screen-lock feature to its Android mobile app.
How to Watch
‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Sequel Pushes ‘Doctor Strange 2’ To 2022 As Disney & Sony Team On Release Date Changes
- ALL the movies are getting moved. Here's the latest fromt eh past week:
- Spider-Man: Homecoming part 3 moving from July 16 2021 to November 5 2021
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness moving from November 5, 2021 to March 25, 2022
- And the Into the Spider-verse sequel moves from April 8, 2022 to October 7, 2022
- AND Thor: Love and Thunder moves from Feb. 18, 2022 to Feb. 11, 2022. So a week earlier.
Venom: Let there be carnage- will move from October 2, 2020 to June 25, 2021
The movie version of Lin Manuel-Miranda's "In the Heights" moves root his June to next June, June 18, 2021.
Scooby Doo will go straight to digital purchase May 15.
Coronavirus Fallout May Redefine the Types of Movies That Play in Theaters
- AT&T COO and soon-to-be CEO John Stankey told investors Wednesday that the parent company of Warner Brothers is rethinking its theatrical model.
- “We remain supportive of the theatrical experience and our exhibition partners.”
- Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff - the most confidence in are “tentpole titles
Post-Pandemic, Americans Say They’ll Keep Streaming More TV — and Go to Movies, Concerts Less
- People getting more used to watching movies at home
- mid-level films were already having a hard time getting by at theaters
- Schedule getting crowded as movies get pushed off to later (see Artemis Fowl, The Lovebirds and My Spy all skipping reschedule to go to theaters)
- Leaving only big money blockbusters as viable for theaters
- L.A.-based E-Poll Market Research surveyed what people say they will do once they are allowed to leave their houses. 14% said they expect to stream TV less. And 23% say they will go to movie theaters less.
What to Watch
Parks and Recreation is getting a one-off reunion episode next week
- Wednesday April 30 at 8:30 PM, NBC is showing a Parks and Rec reunion with the characters dealign with quarantine life, including Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O'Heir and Retta. The half-hour special will help raise money for Feeding America's COVID-19 Response Fund.
‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ to Hit Disney Plus Two Months Early
- A couple Star Wars notes. A lots happening on May 4 on Disney+. The finale of SW: Clone Wars will premiere and Disney will release Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to Disney+ two months early. There will also be an 8-episode behind the scenes look at The Mandalorian. All of that on Disney+ on May 4. Also Deadline says Russian doll co-creator Lesley Headland will write and run a Star Wars series for Disney+, set in an alternate timeline....
Female-Focused ‘Star Wars’ Series From ‘Russian Doll’s’ Leslye Headland In Works At Disney+
‘Fraggle Rock’: Apple TV+ Launches New Mini-Sodes Of Muppets Classic – Watch The Teaser
- Apple TV+ is premiering minisodes of Fraggle Rock called "Fraggle Rock: Rock On!" Each Tuesday. Apple says “Fraggle Rock: Rock On! is all shot on iPhone 11 phones from the homes of the production team and individual artists from all over the U.S.”
YouTube to Host Free Virtual Film Festival With 20 Partners Including Cannes, Tribeca, Sundance
- YouTube will host a 10-day digital film festival May 29-June 7 with 20 festival partners including the Cannes Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival and Venice Film Festival. It will be available at youtube.com/weareone for free and will raise money for health-related charities.
YouTube launches free new original shows during COVID-19
- YouTube will launch 11 original shows streaming for free over the next two months including a dance special called Move With Me with dancer and producer Matt Steffanina, and a show called Create Together With Me, hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
39 SXSW film festival films are now streaming on Amazon Prime until May 6.
All three seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender will come to Netflix in the US on May 15
HBO will make a fourth season of Westworld which will continue to be run by Lisa Joy and Christopher Nolan.
Eyes On
Brian: Lonesome Dove,
Tom: Clone Wars
Allison: Terminator : Dark Fate
On the Lookout: The Sopranos
Front Lines
WarnerMedia Sets Late May HBO Max Launch
- Streaming service HBO Max is set to launch on May 27, including 10,000 hours of library programming from across WarnerMedia's catalog and new original series for $15/month. HBO Max will be available automatically to subscribers to HBO through DirecTV, AT&T U-verse, AT&T TV Now, Charter, YouTube TV and Apple.
HBO Max Sets Apple Deal For Streaming Distribution
Streaming Dips But Still Nearly Doubles 2019 Level; ‘Ozark’ Tops SVOD List – Nielsen
- Streaming is up. Not a surprise. Streaming is also down. Surprise! Both are true. Nielsen estimates US viewers streamed 154.6 billion minutes of video for the week ending April 13, the lowest level in a. Month but almost twice as much as they same time a year ago. Ozark was the top title for subscription video on demand. A couple other factoids. Chicago saw the largest rise in streaming TV going from 12th to 5th in the US. While evening is still getting the most viewing, the hours between one and four PM all saw 50% rises in viewing.
Chicago Goes Deep-Dish On Streaming, 2 PM Is Hot New Time Slot, And Other Takeaways From Nielsen’s Latest COVID-19 Number-Crunch
Digital Film Piracy Surges to ‘Unprecedented’ Levels Amid Coronavirus Lockdown
-Research firm Muso calculated that visits to film piracy websites rose around 40% across the Uk, Canada and the US in March. Italy and Spain saw rises of 66% and 50%. Muso CEO Andy Chatterley said, “Piracy or unlicensed consumption trends are closely linked to paid-for or licensed content. So, just as Netflix has seen large subscriber gains, we have seen a significant spike in visits to film piracy sites."
Amazon Is Giving One Year Free of Food Network Kitchen to Millions of Fire TV, Tablet Owners
- Amazon is giving users of its Fire TV and Fire Tablet devices a free year's subscription to Food Network Kitchen. The service from Discovery provides 2300 on-demand cooking classes from celebrity chefs and Food Network hosts. The service normally costs $4.99 a month.
Quibi got another million downloads in its second week bringing the total to 2.7 million. Quibi also said it will add the ability to cast video to TVs sometime next month but no details on how that would work were released.
Film Production Restarts in Sweden, Denmark Under New Coronavirus Rules
- Film and TV shoots have restarted in Sweden and Denmark under new rules that limit the number of people on set, distance rules between workers and no crowd scenes. Australia's long-running soap Neighbors will go back into production with the added precautions of temperature checks and no physical contact between actors. Camera angles will be used to show people closer together than they are. And pre-production work and scripts have begun for season 3 of The Mandalorian. Season 2 is coming in October.
Australia’s ‘Neighbours’ Sets Safety Protocols As It Resumes Production; First Show Back Could Be Road Map For Others
Disney Plus reportedly begins work on The Mandalorian season 3
Dispatches from the Front
Tom, Brian, and Bryce,
I just wanted to say a quick thank you to you guys for continuing to put out content right now. I know lots of people are reporting a decrease in podcast listeners during this time, but I'm definitely not one of them. I still get to go to work every day and have really appreciated hearing the upbeat conversations that don't forecast doom. Keep up the good work.
- Ander
I use the TV time app to track all of my shows, and justwatch to find them as well...all because of your recommendations. This being said, I am now in a beta test. I believe that it is open Beta, but it is called Reelgood. I do not know if you have heard of it, or even mentioned it before and maybe I missed it. It incorporates all of the things that you guys have discussed before. It not only incorporates finding shows and tracking them, but it also plays them on the app that you use for it. Amazing. So, for example..you want to watch Better Call Saul. It is listed as up next, you click it, then choose the app listed (you input your services on setup), and choose which device to use. Boom, auto go to it and play. The downside is that for now it is your device or Roku only (it brings up the remote for you), but they are going to add fireTV next. Seems to work well with most services.
Once this is ready for release...it should be amazing.
- Toby
Links