Welcome back to ON THE LOT.
In today’s edition: The Oscar night dilemma for nominees, a new crisis for the Michael Jackson movie, Iranian director Jafar Panahi on unrest in his home country, and this week’s recommendations from industry insiders.
Got tips (on what David Ellison will do with two studio lots or where to get a decent evening bag)? You can reach me at rebecca.keegan@nbcuni.com or on Signal at thatrebecca.82.
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ZIPPING IT
Oscar voting officially ended at 5 p.m. PT Thursday, which means nominees can stop shaking hands and start planning their post-Oscars partying. (The In-N-Out on Sunset is a choice as classic as an Armani tux, for what it’s worth.)
But even with the awards campaigning done, there is still a way to lose on March 15. As the war in Iran rages and U.S. politics remain deeply polarized, some in Hollywood say even just taking a twirl on a red carpet can feel fraught.
“If you do make a statement, it can often seem to be the wrong place and the wrong time, no matter how benign your opinion is,” said studio awards strategist Tony Angellotti, who has worked with Universal Pictures and Disney/Pixar.
When I asked Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor and CEO Bill Kramer this week whether they have instructed Oscar host Conan O’Brien to keep politics out of his monologue, they said they have not, that they trust the comedian to set the right tone. (My interview will run next week.)
But the assumption among many attending Hollywood’s most glamorous night — or sending their clients — is that it’s a near-impossible time for celebrities to acknowledge the dramatic events happening outside the Dolby Theatre without offending someone.
“If an actor is asked their opinion on politics or world affairs, the reactions on social media seem to range from anger, hate, agreement to ‘Shut up and act,’” a publicist who represents multiple Oscar nominees told me. “Choosing to say nothing doesn’t mean people aren’t compassionate or don’t have opinions. It’s just that the way in which culture engages today doesn’t allow for much nuance. It all feels like noise.”
That’s a very different view from when the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003, just three days before the Oscars. That year, the academy resisted a push by ABC to delay the show, but it eliminated the red carpet and asked attendees to dress in more subdued outfits. Multiple winners and presenters, including Nicole Kidman, Adrien Brody and Michael Moore, acknowledged the Iraq war from the stage.
Twenty-three years later, social media and the second-term Trump presidency have heightened the sense of stakes around political speech, and very few artists have used this awards season as a bully pulpit.
That was certainly the case at the Actor Awards on Sunday, when, except for a few “ICE Out” pins on the red carpet, actors expressed little about current events. Also, at the Producers Guild Awards on Saturday, which began hours into the strikes on Iran, politics remained largely in the background, with CEO Susan Sprung saying onstage that “the events of the past 24 hours have us all concerned. Even as we go about our lives, even as we celebrate, we pray for peace.”
Apex PR co-founder Simon Halls, whose clients include George Clooney, Ryan Murphy and Sam Mendes, said he always has the same advice for his clients about how to approach politics at an event.
“You have to go with what feels right for you personally,” he said. “Attending, not attending, choosing not to talk about issues on the red carpet. All of those options are on the table.”
IN THE MJ BUSINESS
When the first official teaser for Lionsgate’s “Michael” dropped in December, it racked up 116.2 million views on YouTube within 24 hours, becoming the most-viewed trailer for any music biopic ever.
It would seem the movie, which stars Jaafar Jackson (Michael Jackson’s nephew) as the late pop star and has the backing of the Jackson estate, is on track to be a massive hit when it opens in theaters April 24.
But Jackson’s legacy is as complicated as his fandom is immense. And a potential stumbling block arrived this week in the form of a bombshell lawsuit from four siblings calling him “a serial child predator” who preyed upon them when they were as young as “seven or eight.”
The Jackson estate has repeatedly denied abuse accusations against the late star over the years, and attorney Marty Singer, who is representing the estate in this case, called the new lawsuit a “desperate money grab.”
The movie, which is directed by Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day”), written by John Logan (“Gladiator”) and produced by Graham King (“Bohemian Rhapsody”), already has a troubled history over how it has handled the allegations against Jackson. Last March, producers were forced to reshoot key scenes, removing a storyline about a previous child accuser to comply with the terms of a settlement the estate reached with him. Those changes altered the entire third act of the movie and pushed the release date back by a year.
If the estate’s goal in making “Michael” is to reclaim the narrative — and reap the value of his massively popular song catalog — it will now have to contend with new questions and new claims, making the rollout awkward for a cast that includes Colman Domingo as Michael’s father, Nia Long as his mother and Miles Teller as his attorney.
Lionsgate still seems bullish on the project. This week, as he was speaking at the Morgan Stanley Investor Conference, the studio’s chief financial officer, Jimmy Barge, suggested that “Michael 2” is likely if the first film succeeds as expected, noting that there is more story to be told and more music to be showcased.
A spokesperson for Lionsgate declined to comment.
JAFAR’S JOURNEY
After his appearance on “The Daily Show” this week, I spoke with Iranian director Jafar Panahi about what it has been like promoting his film, “It Was Just An Accident,” as war and unrest have erupted in his home country.
I had run into Panahi multiple times over the last several months, at the Telluride Film Festival in August, while moderating a Q&A with him in L.A. in the fall, in the ballroom at the Golden Globes in January. Each time, he arrived in dark sunglasses, fresh from a cigarette break, a stylish and seemingly unflappable ambassador for his movie, which is nominated for original screenplay and international film.
But this week Panahi, who had had difficulty making contact with his family in Iran since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on the country Saturday, confessed that he was having trouble processing the recent events in Iran while he was walking red carpets. “On the surface, I am in a celebration,” Panahi told me, speaking through his translator, Sheida Dayani. “But from the inside, I feel differently.”
Flights to Iran are canceled because of the conflict, but Panahi said he still hopes to return there after the Oscars. If he does, he faces arrest, on the charge of propaganda against the regime.
THE HYPE
Why get your recommendations from an algorithm when you could get them from a bestselling author, a seasoned exec and a reality TV legend?
Julia May Jonas, author, executive producer and creator of Netflix’s “Vladimir,” is reading Natalia Ginzburg‘s “Voices in the Evening,” “a gorgeously written novel about an Italian town in the aftermath of WWII and the fall of fascism, and how our personalities, passions, grudges and humor persist even in the aftermath of immense tragedy.”
Roku head of content Lisa Holme is reading R.F. Kuang’s “Yellowface” because “it’s such a smart, prickly sendup of publishing” and watching “Industry” Season One again so she can “catch my husband up before we dive into seasons 2 and 3 together” and because “its ferocious, hyper-verbal take on ambition and power dynamics looks a lot like show business in a different suit.”
And, reality TV star “Boston Rob“ Mariano said as a “girl dad,” he’s been listening to KATSEYE a lot lately, especially the song “Gabriela.” The group’s “resilience and authenticity really resonate, especially as I’m raising strong daughters,” he said. The “Survivors” and “Traitors” alum recently hosted Caterpillar’s Global Dealer Technician Challenge, a real-life reality competition featuring technicians.
THE DIALOGUE
“CNN is an incredible brand with an incredible team. And we absolutely believe in, you know, the independence that needs to be maintained, obviously, for those incredible journalists, and we want to support that going forward.” — David Ellison, discussing the Warner Bros. Discovery transaction in an interview with CNBC this week.
“It’s difficult to lose any friend, but it’s so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways. It’s, like, I saw someone with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great.” — artist Harry Styles on the death of his former One Direction bandmate and friend Liam Payne.
“I have never used cocaine in my life or hosted cocaine-fueled parties. I have never pressured anyone into marriage. I have never desecrated any family heirloom or intruded upon anyone’s private memorial. I have never planted any story in the press. I never compared Jacqueline Onassis’ death to a dog’s.” — actor Daryl Hannah in an op-ed for the New York Times blasting FX and Hulu’s “Love Story,” a show about her ex, John F. Kennedy Jr.
That’s a wrap — see you next week!