F3PR: ESPN & Netflix set April 19 premiere date for highly anticipated documentary series The Last Dance

PRESS RELEASE

ESPN AND NETFLIX SET NEW APRIL 19 PREMIERE DATE
FOR HIGHLY ANTICIPATED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
THE LAST DANCE

10-part documentary series on
Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’
quest for a sixth NBA Championship in 1998
is produced by Mandalay Sports Media, in association with
NBA Entertainment and Jump 23

March 31, 2020 – Today it was announced that the premiere of The Last Dance, the highly anticipated 10-part documentary series will air on ESPN in the U.S. on Sunday nights over five weeks from April 19 through May 17. The series will also be available outside of the U.S. on Netflix.

The series, directed by Jason Hehir (The Fab Five, The ’85 Bears, Andre the Giant), chronicles one of the greatest icons and most successful teams in sports history, Michael Jordan and the 1990s Chicago Bulls, and features never-before-seen footage from the 1997-98 season as the team pursued its sixth NBA championship in eight years.

ESPN statement: “As society navigates this time without live sports, viewers are still looking to the sports world to escape and enjoy a collective experience. We’ve heard the calls from fans asking us to move up the release date for this series, and we’re happy to announce that we’ve been able to accelerate the production schedule to do just that. This project celebrates one of the greatest players and dynasties ever, and we hope it can serve as a unifying entertainment experience to fill the role that sports often play in our lives, telling a story that will captivate everyone, not just sports fans.”

In the fall of 1997, Michael Jordan, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and head coach Phil Jackson agreed to let an NBA Entertainment film crew follow the team all season long. The result would be a remarkable portrait of an iconic player and a celebrated team – a portrait only now being revealed, more than two decades later, in The Last Dance.

As the series weaves its way through the tumultuous 1997-98 season, viewers will be transported back to how it all began – from Jordan’s childhood roots, the Bulls’ dire circumstances before his arrival and how the team was built after drafting him in 1984, to the struggles that eventually led to the team’s first NBA championship. As the series takes the audience through the Bulls’ first five championships, viewers will experience the off-court challenges, struggles and triumphs that were a part of the culture-shifting phenomenon created by Jordan and the Bulls.

It’s an unlikely scenario that serves as a fascinating backdrop for the inside tale of the 1998 championship run, with extensive profiles of Jordan’s key teammates including Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Steve Kerr, head coach Phil Jackson, and featuring dozens of current-day interviews with rivals and luminaries from basketball and beyond. All throughout, the tension and conflict that defined that final championship run are very much on display.

“Michael Jordan and the ‘90s Bulls weren't just sports superstars, they were a global phenomenon,” said director Jason Hehir. “Making The Last Dance was an incredible opportunity to explore the extraordinary impact of one man and one team. For nearly three years, we searched far and wide to present the definitive story of an era-defining dynasty and to present these sports heroes as humans. I hope viewers enjoy watching our series as much as we enjoyed the opportunity to make it.”

The result is one of the most fascinating sports documentary series ever produced – a series viewers won’t want to miss. The full episodic documentary will air on ESPN in the U.S. and on Netflix outside of the U.S. as follows:

ESPN

Sunday, April 19

• 9 p.m. ET - Premiere of The Last Dance Episode 1
• 10 p.m. ET - Premiere of The Last Dance Episode 2

Sunday, April 26

• 7 p.m. ET - Re-air of The Last Dance Episode 1
• 8 p.m. ET - Re-air of The Last Dance Episode 2
• 9 p.m. ET - Premiere of The Last Dance Episode 3
• 10 p.m. ET - Premiere of The Last Dance Episode 4

Sunday, May 3

• 7 p.m. ET - Re-air of The Last Dance Episode 3
• 8 p.m. ET - Re-air of The Last Dance Episode 4
• 9 p.m. ET - Premiere of The Last Dance Episode 5
• 10 p.m. ET - Premiere of The Last Dance Episode 6

Sunday, May 10

• 7 p.m. ET - Re-air of The Last Dance Episode 5
• 8 p.m. ET - Re-air of The Last Dance Episode 6
• 9 p.m. ET - Premiere of The Last Dance Episode 7
• 10 p.m. ET - Premiere of The Last Dance Episode 8

Sunday, May 17

• 7 p.m. ET - Re-air of The Last Dance Episode 7
• 8 p.m. ET - Re-air of The Last Dance Episode 8
• 9 p.m. ET - Premiere of The Last Dance Episode 9
• 10 p.m. ET - Premiere of The Last Dance Episode 10

NETFLIX (outside of the U.S.)

• Monday, April 20 - 12:01 a.m. PT - The Last Dance Episodes 1 and 2
• Monday, April 27 - 12:01 a.m. PT - The Last Dance Episodes 3 and 4
• Monday, May 4 - 12:01 a.m. PT - The Last Dance Episodes 5 and 6
• Monday, May 11 - 12:01 a.m. PT - The Last Dance Episodes 7 and 8
• Monday, May 18 - 12:01 a.m. PT - The Last Dance Episodes 9 and 10

Immediately following each episode’s linear ESPN premiere, it will be available to authenticated subscribers on the ESPN App via mobile and connected TV devices, ESPN.com and ESPN on Demand via cable, satellite and DMVPD distributors.

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The Movie Report #1062 - March 27, 2020

#1062 - March 27, 2020

ON DEMAND:

• Crip Camp
  
• Uncorked
  

The Movie Report wants to attend and cover all your film events and press junkets! Please send any and all invitations to this address. Thanks!

The Movie Report #1061, March 20, 2020

#1061, March 20, 2020

ON DEMAND:

• Blow the Man Down
  
• Stargirl
  

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F3PR: Theater owners urge Congress to move quickly on aid; pledge $1 million to movie theater employees

PRESS RELEASE

THEATER OWNERS URGE CONGRESS
TO MOVE QUICKLY ON AID;
PLEDGE $1 MILLION TO MOVIE THEATER EMPLOYEES

(Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, Calif.- 18 March 2020) The movie theater industry and its employees ask for Congress and the Administration to urgently consider the following immediate relief measures, which we hope will allow the industry and its 150,000 employees, who live and work in practically every Congressional District, to weather the present COVID-19 pandemic crisis, including:

• Loan guarantees that ease a liquidity squeeze imposed by fixed costs in the face of non-existent revenues.
• Tax benefits to assist employers with providing support to employees;
• Relieving the burden of costs that are ongoing despite closures; and
• Tax measures that will allow theaters recoup losses when the industry is back up and running.

The business model of the movie theater industry is uniquely vulnerable in the present crisis.

As we confront this evolving and unprecedented period, we call on Congress and the Administration to ensure that America’s movie theater industry and its tens of thousands of employees across the country can remain resilient.

Additionally, the Executive Board of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) today authorized $1 million dollars drawn from the Association’s reserve to aid movie theater employees who are out of work due to movie theater closures stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The money will be used as seed funds for an effort to help tide workers over in this crisis in cooperation with our industry partners. Details of the fund will be released shortly.

About NATO

The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) is the largest exhibition trade organization in the world, representing more than 33,000 movie screens in all 50 states, and more than 32,000 additional screens in 98 countries worldwide.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a second office in North Hollywood, California, NATO represents its members in the heart of the nation’s capital as well as the center of the entertainment industry. From these vantage points, NATO helps exhibition influence federal policy-making and work with movie distributors on all areas of mutual concern, from new technologies to legislation, marketing, and First Amendment issues. www.natoonline.org

The Movie Report wants to attend all your film special events! Please send any and all invitations to this address. Thanks!

The Movie Report #1060, March 13, 2020

#1060, March 13, 2020

MOVIES:

• Bloodshot
  
• The Hunt
  
• I Still Believe
  
• Never Rarely Sometimes Always
  
• The Roads Not Taken
  

The Movie Report wants to attend and cover all your film events and press junkets! Please send any and all invitations to this address. Thanks!

CinemaCon 2020 Is Cancelled

Today, in an inevitable development, given the public health crisis currently plaguing the globe, John Fithian, President/CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners; and Mitch Neuhauser, Managing Director of CinemaCon, announced the cancellation of what was to be the 10^th anniversary edition of the annual convention of international motion picture exhibitors, scheduled to begin March 30 for a four-day stretch at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The full text of their statement is below:

It is with great regret we are announcing the cancellation of CinemaCon 2020. Each spring, motion picture exhibitors, distributors and industry partners from around the world meet in Las Vegas to share information and celebrate the moviegoing experience. This year, due to the travel ban from the European Union, the unique travel difficulties in many other areas of the world and other challenges presented by the Coronavirus pandemic, a significant portion of the worldwide motion picture community is not able to attend CinemaCon. While local outbreaks vary widely in severity, the global circumstances make it impossible for us to mount the show that our attendees have come to expect. After consultation with our attendees, trade show exhibitors, sponsors, and studio presenters, NATO has decided therefore to cancel CinemaCon 2020. We look forward to continuing the 10-year tradition of presenting the largest movie theater convention in the world and joining our attendees in future celebrations of the moviegoing experience.

All the very best,
John Fithian
Mitch Neuhauser

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F3PR: Glen Powell to receive CinemaCon Male Star of Tomorrow Award

PRESS RELEASE

GLEN POWELL TO RECEIVE
CINEMACON® MALE STAR OF TOMORROW AWARD

Paramount Pictures sets Top Gun: Maverick
to release on June 24, 2020

WASHINGTON D.C. (March 10, 2020) – Glen Powell will receive this year’s “CinemaCon® Male Star of Tomorrow Award,” Mitch Neuhauser, Managing Director of CinemaCon, announced today. CinemaCon, the official convention of NATO, will be held March 30-April 2 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Powell will be presented with this special honor at the “CinemaCon Big Screen Achievement Awards” ceremony taking place on the evening of Thursday, April 2, at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, hosted by The Coca-Cola Company, the official presenting sponsor of CinemaCon.

“Having already made his mark on the big screen in Hidden Figures, Glen’s star will only continue to rise when Top Gun: Maverick hits theatres around the globe” said Neuhauser. “We are thrilled to honor him as ‘CinemaCon’s Male Star of Tomorrow.’”

Releasing in theatres, Dolby Cinema and IMAX nationwide on June 24, 2020 via Paramount Pictures, Top Gun: Maverick finds that after more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. When he finds himself training a detachment of Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Maverick’s late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose.” Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it. In addition to Cruise and Teller, Top Gun: Maverick also stars Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Charles Parnell, Bashir Salahuddin, Monica Barbaro, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez, and Greg Tarzan Davis, with Ed Harris.

In addition to starring in Top Gun: Maverick, SAG Award winner Glen Powell will also star in writer/director Melissa Stack’s re-imagined Black List script I Want To F*** Your Brother, and as Navy hero and Medal of Honor recipient Thomas Hudner in the upcoming war epic Devotion, based on the New York Times Best-Seller which co-stars Jonathan Majors and will be directed by J.D. Dillard. He most recently starred in the romantic comedy Set It Up, and prior to that played famed astronaut John Glenn in Hidden Figures. On the television side, he notably starred in Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens. Powell will be reteaming with his Set It Up co-star Zoey Deutch for the upcoming comedy Most Dangerous Game, which he will also executive produce. Additional credits include Sand Castle, Everybody Wants Some, and Ride Along 2, among many others.

About CinemaCon

CinemaCon will attract upwards of 6,000 motion picture professionals from all facets of the industry--from exhibition and distribution, to the equipment and concession areas--all on hand to celebrate the moviegoing experience and the cinema industry. From exclusive Hollywood product presentations highlighting a slate of upcoming films, to must-see premiere feature screenings, to the biggest stars, producers and directors, CinemaCon will help jumpstart the excitement and buzz that surrounds the summer season at the box office.

Additional information on CinemaCon, the Official Convention of NATO, can be found at www.cinemacon.com.

About NATO

The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) is the largest exhibition trade organization in the world, representing more than 33,393 movie screens in all 50 states, and additional cinemas in 94 countries worldwide. NATO’s membership includes the largest cinema chains in the world and hundreds of independent theatre owners, too.

The Movie Report wants to attend all your film special events! Please send any and all invitations to this address. Thanks!

The Movie Report #1059, March 6, 2020

#1059, March 6, 2020

MOVIES:

• The Burnt Orange Heresy
  
• The Banker
  
• Go Back to China
  
• The Burnt Orange Heresy
  
• Only
  
• Onward
  
• The Way Back
  

The Movie Report wants to attend and cover all your film events and press junkets! Please send any and all invitations to this address. Thanks!

F3PR: Carey Mulligan to receive CinemaCon Award of Excellence in Acting

PRESS RELEASE

CAREY MULLIGAN TO RECEIVE
CINEMACON® AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN ACTING

Focus Features to release
Promising Young Woman on April 17, 2020

WASHINGTON D.C. (March 3, 2020) – Carey Mulligan will receive this year’s “CinemaCon® Award of Excellence in Acting,” Mitch Neuhauser, Managing Director of CinemaCon, announced today. CinemaCon, the official convention of NATO, will be held March 30-April 2 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Mulligan will be presented with this special honor at the “CinemaCon Big Screen Achievement Awards” ceremony taking place on the evening of Thursday, April 2, at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, hosted by The Coca-Cola Company, the official presenting sponsor of CinemaCon.

“Since breaking out in An Education, Carey Mulligan has brought some of the most uniquely crafted characters to film audiences around the world,” noted Neuhauser. “With her performance in the soon to be released Promising Young Woman, audiences will see Mulligan like they never have before as she once again delivers a stellar performance on the big screen.”

Mulligan can be seen this spring in Promising Young Woman, to be released on April 17 by Focus Features. Directed and written by Emerald Fennell (Killing Eve), Mulligan stars as Cassie, who everyone says was a promising young woman, until a mysterious event abruptly derailed her future. But nothing in Cassie’s life is what it appears to be: she’s wickedly smart, cunning and living a secret double life until an unexpected encounter gives Cassie a chance to right the wrongs of the past.

Academy Award®-nominated Mulligan first broke out staring in the critically-acclaimed An Education, for which she garnered a BAFTA Award for Best Actress and nominations for an Academy Award®, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award. Most recently she received rave reviews for her role in Wildlife and wrapped production on The Dig starring opposite Ralph Fiennes. Additional film credits include: Mudbound, Suffragette, Far from the Madding Crowd, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Great Gatsby, Shame, Drive, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, and Pride & Prejudice. Her television credits include My Boy Jack, Doctor Who, Northanger Abbey, The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard, Waking the Dead, Miss Marple, Bleak House, and Trial & Retribution. On the stage Mulligan has received critical acclaim for her roles in such plays as Girls & Boys, Skylight, and The Seagull.

About CinemaCon

CinemaCon will attract upwards of 6,000 motion picture professionals from all facets of the industry--from exhibition and distribution, to the equipment and concession areas--all on hand to celebrate the moviegoing experience and the cinema industry. From exclusive Hollywood product presentations highlighting a slate of upcoming films, to must-see premiere feature screenings, to the biggest stars, producers and directors, CinemaCon will help jumpstart the excitement and buzz that surrounds the summer season at the box office.

Additional information on CinemaCon, the Official Convention of NATO, can be found at www.cinemacon.com.

About NATO

The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) is the largest exhibition trade organization in the world, representing more than 33,393 movie screens in all 50 states, and additional cinemas in 94 countries worldwide. NATO’s membership includes the largest cinema chains in the world and hundreds of independent theatre owners, too.

The Movie Report wants to attend all your film special events! Please send any and all invitations to this address. Thanks!