ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY AND AWARD NEWS BY NICOLE SPERLING MARCH 29, 2019

Why Hollywood Is Mourning the Death of Fox 2000 It’s Friday, and we’re wondering if we immediately become a streaming service if we put a plus sign after our name. Greetings from Los Angeles, where we are still recovering from the sugar rush we experienced at the Shazam!premiere, contemplating the value of the dearly departed Fox 2000 brand, planning which episodes to re-watch before Game of Thrones debuts on April 14, and reviewing the last season of Veep. Where film franchises are concerned, DC Comics has been the also-ran to the sleeker, more fun Marvel Studios since Christopher Nolan’s Batman series wrapped in 2012. But with the well-reviewed Shazam! following the success of Aquaman, the comic-book division of Warner Bros. seems to have finally stopped taking itself so seriously. The big question for Shazam!, starring Zachary Levi as the Tom Hanks to Asher Angel’s David Moscow in what is essentially the superhero version of Big, is just how broad its audience will be when the film opens on April 5. Levi’s broad humor, coupled with It’s quirky Jack Dylan Grazer, should draw the boys—but DC and New Line may also lure in tween girls eager to see Disney heartthrob Angel graduate to the big screen. The 30-over crowd might even show just to see the return of Adam Brody, plus a few well-placed Easter eggs from their childhood. Out-Foxed Fox 2000 never had the cachet of its prestigious sister, Fox Searchlight, nor the budgets of its big brother, Twentieth Century Fox—which is likely why when Disney completed its purchase of Fox last week, that label was left on the chopping block. Despite the lack of brand recognition, the move still rocked Hollywood, which counted on the division headed by Elizabeth Gabler to make the sort of smaller, character-driven literary adaptations that often turned into giant successes: think The Devil Wears Prada, Walk the Line, Life of Pi, and Hidden Figures. I spent a bit of time with those around town who had the wherewithal to work with the branch, which was housed in a cozy little bungalow on the Fox lot. (Many I spoke to stayed with the label for repeat business.) Now they fear that those kinds of movies, which were always a challenge to get to the big screen in the first place, will have an even harder time finding a home. “It’s a good question, and one I’m going to have to face,” said producer Karen Rosenfelt when asked where she was planning on taking her movies now. She has the wildly popular young-adult fantasy novel Children of Blood and Bone in development—but its future is unclear, as is Gabler’s. Click here for my full report. Game On At Vanity Fair, we aim to serve. And there are no better custodians of the Game of Thrones franchise than our very own Richard Lawson and Joanna Robinson.These Thrones-heads—Game-ers—are spending an inordinate amount of time recapping the 15 essential episodes any Game of Thrones fan worth their salt needs to re-watch before the last and final season premieres on April 14. They’re doing it in audio form—after all, who has time to read?—on their podcast Still Watching. As an added bonus, they’re also interviewing a cast or crew member for each of the episodes chosen, taking listeners even deeper into the series. (I told you we came to serve.) So if you’ve always wanted to know secrets from the original, unaired Game of Thrones pilot, which location always made the production team groan, or which episode had the makeup team weeping, run to your nearest podcast app and press play to hear from co-executive producer Bryan Cogman, weapons master Tommy Dunne, director David Nutter, and more. You won’t regret it. Click here to read the full story. Hail to the Chief Another beloved HBO series, Veep, is also returning soon for its final season. The caustic comedy’s seventh and last season is a victory lap of sorts for an Emmy magnet that has given Julia Louis-Dreyfus yet another platform to shine. There was always some concern that when the adventures of Selina Meyer returned after a longer-than-usual hiatus—taken while Louis-Dreyfus battled breast cancer—there would be no room left to poke fun at the political establishment, since the one we’re currently living through is such a joke. But have no fear: according to Lawson, “Veep finds a particular bite in the Trump years. Its disgust with D.C. process seems even more apt, more necessary.” That should be somewhat comforting, as should watching this troupe of accomplished actors make hay with the inane scenarios that their awful, backbiting characters are forced into. As Lawson describes it, “It’s a kind of meta-competency porn, the thrill of watching people be so good at the job of playing people so bad at theirs.” Ahh, that might just be the relief we are all looking for. Click here to read the full story. And that’s it for the week in Hollywood! Tell me what else you’re seeing out there, and let me know what you want to read. Send tips, comments, and your favorite Game of Thrones cosplay pictures to Nicole_Sperling@condenast.com. Follow me on Twitter @nicsperling. If you received this e-mail from a friend and would like to subscribe to the newsletter, head on over here.