Cordkillers 362 - I've Warnered You
Amazon is eyeing faltering studio MGM. HBO Max will be ad-supported for $10/mo. First reaction to the teaser for The Eternals! All this and more on Cordkillers!
This week on It's Spoilerin' Time: Marvel's MODOK (101-103), Jupiter's Legacy (103-104), Hannibal (212)
Next week: Marvel's MODOK (104-110), Jupiter's Legacy (105-106), Hannibal (213)
CordKillers: 362 - I've Warnered You
Recorded: May 24 2021
Guest: None
Intro Video
Penguin Town
Primary Target
Amazon Pondering Deal to Buy MGM
Amazon Said To Be Near Deal To Buy MGM For $9 Billion
- Multiple reports say Amazon is in talks to acquire MGM, with Variety reporting the deal could be worth $9 billion. MGM was valued around $5.5 billion including debt last year. CNBC said a deal could be reached as early as Tuesday. Variety reported back in December that MGM was looking for a buyer, and senior VP of Amazon Studios Mike Hopkins is reportedly negotiating directly with MGM board chairman Kevin Ulrich on the deal. MGM is owned by a group of investors that took it our of bankruptcy in 2012. MGM The Hobbit, Stargate and Robocop in its library and a deal with the Broccoli family to make the James Bond movies.
How to Watch
HBO Max With Ads to Cost $10 Monthly, Set to Launch Next Month
- Warner Media announced that a less expensive version of HBO Max will become available in the first week of June for $9.99 a month with ads. Ads will not run against HBO original programming, only for Max originals and other content. The cheaper ad-supported version will not get the day-and-date movie releases that HBO Max for $14.99 a month gets. Otherwise all the same content will be there. At $9.99 a month it's more expensive than similar ad-supported offerings from Hulu and Paramount Plus which cost $5.99 or Peacock which is either free or $4.99 with ads.
AT&T CEO John Stankey says it was ‘time to unleash’ WarnerMedia assets
AT&T’s Discovery deal is about taking on Disney Plus
TBS and TNT will start airing HBO Max exclusives this summer
- A few other notes about the intention by AT&T to spin off Warner Media and merge with with Discovery, AT&T CEO John Stankey told the JP Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference that AT&T didn't have the global reach Warner would need to win at streaming. Jacob Kastrenakes at the Verge wrote "ombining the two companies seems to be a bet that the current streaming landscape — with an assortment of large and small streamers — isn’t going to last much longer. Combining WarnerMedia and Discovery is about surviving the crash that may destroy smaller services and emerging stronger on the other side."
Apple unveils the next generation of Apple TV 4K, making the best device for watching shows and movies even better
What to Watch
The first teaser trailer is out for The Eternals coming to theaters November 5th.
Warner Bros Dates Colin Firth & Kelly Macdonald-Starring ‘Operation Mincemeat’ For January 7 In UK
- There's a mixed release schedule set for the movie Operation Mincemeat, directed by John Madden and starring Colin Firth and Kelly Macdonald. It will show in theaters in the UK and Ireland January 7, 2022 and come to Netflix in North America and Latin America.
‘Friends’ Reunion: Watch the First Trailer Featuring Trivia, Script Reading and More
- HBO Max put a trailer out for the Friends reunion special coming May 27th. It shows the cast playing a trivia game about the show, being interviewed by James Corden, doing a table read of an episode and more.
‘Rick and Morty’ Spinoff Set at Adult Swim
- A digital short spinoff of Rick and Morty is coming to Adult Swim along with spinoffs from Aqua teen Hunger Force, Robot Chicken and Pretty Face is Going to Hell. Each series will have between 8 and 10 episodes. The Rick And Morty spinoff is called The Vindicators featuring the characters Supernova, Vance Maxiumus, Alan Rails, Crocubot and Noob Noob. They appeared in season 3 episode 4, Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender.
Production has ended on season 1 of Wheel of Time for Amazon and Amazon has approved a second season. No word on released dates.
Netflix’s Final Season of ‘Money Heist’ Split in Two Volumes, Launching Sept. 3 and Dec. 3
- Netflix will split the final season of La Casa de Paper, aka Money Heist into two. Part Five Volume 1 premiers September 3rd and Part two comes December 3. Each part has 5 episodes.
BTS’ ‘Butter’ Breaks YouTube Record for 24-Hour Views
- The band BTS broke its own record for most YouTube views in 24 hours Friday, reaching 113 million views for the music video for their new song Butter.
Netflix anime Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness has a trailer and a release date of July 8th.
HBO Max Orders ‘Sweet Life: Los Angeles’ Reality Series From Issa Rae
- After wrapping up Insecure for HBO, Issa Rae will bring an unscripted series to HBO Max called Sweet Life: Los Angeles, launching this summer.
HBO Max will also get new DC animated shows, Batman: The Caped Crusader and My Adventures with Superman.
Timothée Chalamet To Play Willy Wonka In New Origin Tale From Warner Bros And The Roald Dahl Story Co
- If you ever wondered how Willy Wonka got started in chocolate-making, well Warner Brothers has cast Timothée Chalamet to play Willy Wonka in an origin story movie. Chalamet will sing and dance.
Evil, one of two CBS series to move from broadcast to Paramount PLus will premiere on the streaming service June 20th.
TBS and TNT will start airing HBO Max exclusives this summer
- Going the other direction, Warner media will bring some HBO Max exclusives to TBS and TNT cable viewers. Titans will arrive on TNT in June and Love Life on TBS in August followed by others.
‘Harry Potter’ Quiz Show and Retrospective Coming to HBO Max, Cartoon Network for 20th Anniversary
- Later this year in celebration of the 20th-anniversary of the first Harry Potter film, HBO Max will release a Harry Potter quiz show that fans will be able to play along with at home.
Eyes On
Brian: Kim's Convenience, VFXCool
Tom: Army of the Dead
On the Lookout: No Activity
Front Lines
Box Office: ‘F9’ Drives to Mighty $162 Million Debut Overseas
UK Box Office Recovers To Pre-Lockdown Level; Exhibitors Celebrate Best Weekend In 14 Months
- Well folks, it looks like the box office may be back. F9, the latest Fast and Furious movie released outside the US and made $162.4 million in eight markets including China, Korea and Hong Kong. It's by far the best opening weekend for a movie since March 2020. F9 made $135 million in China alone, margin ti the second largest Fast and Furious release there after Fate fo the Furious and the first US title since Avengers: Endgame to pass $100 million on opening weekend in China. F9 did not premiere in the Uk, but the UK market brought in 7 million pounds on the strength of Peter Rabbit 2, making it the biggest opening weekend for UK theaters since Pixar's Onward debuted March 6, 2020.
Netflix is holding a week-long ‘geek’ event in June about The Witcher, The Sandman, and more
- Netflix will hold a promotional week June 7th through the 11th called Geeked Week. It will package up multiple content announcements at geekedweek.com. So look for news and trailers and interviews related to Masters of the Universe: Revelation, The Umbrella Academy, The Sandman, The Cuphead Shows, The Witcher, Lucifer and more.
‘Falcon And The Winter Soldier’ Drops To No. 2 On Nielsen Chart In Season Finale Week
- The week of the season finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Nielsen reports the top rated streaming show was NCIS with 890 million minutes on Netflix. Falcon took the number two spot with 769 minutes followed by Shadow and Bone. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Hulu are part of the streaming ratings
Google TV Has 80 Million Monthly Devices
- At Google's developer event, Google I/O, last week Google announced it now has more than 80 million monthly active devices running Google TV, the new interface running on Android TV. A Google TV remote control will be built into Android 12. And developers will be able to let users cast to an Android TV device from Chrome on a tablet or phone.
Dispatches from the Front
Tom, Brian I just wanted to offer a different take on what I think theaters would benefit from...
As a fan of going to the theater, the biggest issue I've had since leaving NYC for the suburbs a decade ago is the lack of content, and the trend towards longer experiences (longer run-time, more ads, trailers). I live within a 10-20 minute drive of five theaters with a combined 30 screens. There can be months-long stretches where there is nothing good released, then a sudden flurry of movies, many of whom only stick around briefly. Meanwhile, if you're subscribed to four or five streaming services you might get two or three hours of good new programming every week.
That's why I love the news of this Netflix deal with Cinemark, and perhaps a realization that there is less competition between theatergoers and couch-surfers than imagined. Please, give me day and date release of my favorite streaming shows every week. Do it at a reduced rate if you can; I'd have happily paid $5 or $7 to watch The Mandalorian or Falcon and the Winter Soldier in theaters every week. Ditto for Game of Thrones, or the upcoming season of The Witcher. I would still subscribe because I want convenient access on every device, and I want the back catalog. The theater going would just be incremental revenue for everyone.
And reduce or eliminate the up-front ads and trailers, or at least make them end at 8:58pm in time for a 9pm Friday showing. Maybe have 7pm and 9pm options during the week. Trying to supersize the whole experience to make it "worth the money" has the perhaps unintended consequence of making me less likely to go sometimes because I just can't commit 3-4 hours. Please, give me the snack-size experience that I can reasonably fit in any day of the week.
Train me to go more regularly because the money and time commitment is so low that it is kind of silly not to enjoy cinema-quality programming at an actual cinema. I promise I will buy the popcorn.
Your boss,
- Chris
I just want to point out, that SEVERAL actors have made TONS of money selling tickets to do conventions where the main draw is ""All the Captains"" or ""Most of the Doctor's Companions"" or ""The Marvel Avengers at ComicCon"" or ""All the cats of the delta quadrant"" (ok the last one was a made up, but why not). When Brian says he doesn't see how reunions can do well on TV, it's simple - look at conventions - people pay a LOT more money than an HBO subscription just to see their favorite actors all together again. - Now is some of this seeming the actors in person rather than through a screen? Sure, but look at the YouTube videos of conventions - those views are pretty impressive.
I'm just saying never count out the fans who really want to see something... unless it's Firefly....
- BigJim
Links
patreon.com/cordkillers
doghousesystems.com/v/rogue
Tom is hosting a book event on the Mysterious Galaxy bookstore website on Wednesday May 26th at 7 Pm Pacific.