Exclusive
Final Take: IndieWire Takes Us Behind the Scenes of the 16th Annual Final Draft Awards
An awards season like none other is upon us—one in which each show deserves its own trophy for innovative production during the pandemic. The 16th Annual Final Draft Awards, held virtually on March 2, was no exception. It was a big year for writers both new and old, with household names like Aaron Sorkin, Steve McQueen, and Sofia Coppola honored alongside the two young female winners of the Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest, Mira Z. Barnum and Stacie Gancayco-Adlao. For Final Draft and the rest of the Cast & Crew family, this year’s show was symbolic of everything the contest and event stand for: offering inspiration and access to writers around the world.
Film
Hollywood Unshutterd: Prepare for a True “Movie Night” as Soon as This Saturday
Angelenos: If all goes according to plan, you can expect to make this Saturday a “movie night” like the ones you knew, loved, and remember. In his daily press conference on Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced movie theaters will be ready to reopen in limited capacity this Saturday, as he expects the county to meet vaccine administration requirements as soon as Friday. “Southern California, L.A., will be a big beneficiary of this new metric,” Newsom said. The announcement comes shortly after cinemas in New York resumed operation, meaning the two biggest movie markets in the country currently have approval to welcome back moviegoers.
TV
Royal Comeback: Oprah With Meghan and Harry Is a Huge Win for CBS and Primetime TV
CBS' interview special Oprah With Meghan and Harry delivered a big audience on Sunday night. The two-hour event, produced by Winfrey's Harpo Productions, averaged 17.8 million viewers in Sunday's final same-day ratings. Aside from the post-Super Bowl premiere of The Equalizer in early February, that's the biggest audience for any non-sports program on the broadcast networks this season. In the special (which acted as a reminder of primetime TV’s pre-COVD impact), Oprah spoke with Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, in a wide-ranging interview that covered everything from stepping into life as a royal, marriage, motherhood, and philanthropic work to how she is handling life away from the royal family.
Music
Music To Our Ears: The GRAMMYS Will Go On … and Hit a High Note
With so much uncertainty still looming, it’s a breath of fresh air knowing the crowned jewel of music awards shows will go on—nearly a year to the day when live entertainment (and the rest of the world) shut down. Insiders are giving viewers a reassuring peek at what’s to be expected at the virtual event taking place this Sunday night. Viewers can look forward to a series of adrenaline-pumping, back-to-back performances from an impressive lineup of (mostly) nominated artists, including Bad Bunny, Black Pumas, Cardi B, BTS, Brandi Carlile, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Mickey Guyton, Haim, Brittany Howard, Miranda Lambert, Lil Baby, Lipa, Malone, Chris Martin, John Mayer, Megan Thee Stallion, Maren Morris, Ricch, Harry Styles, and Taylor Swift.
Broadway
Seeing Hope: “Blindness” Sets Opening, Off Broadway and Indoors
An audio adaptation of the celebrated novel by José Saramago will be among the first productions to open in New York City since COVID shuttered theaters a year ago. A pandemic sensation in London, the immersive show now heads to New York on April 2, where it will play to 50 people per show. 75 minutes in length, the show does not feature live actors, which considerably reduces the complexity of producing it during the pandemic. Instead, the audience listens via sanitized headphones to a story narrated by British actor Juliet Stevenson.
High five! Another Friday Five is going live next week—same time, same place. We know what caught our eyes, but we’re all ears. Tell us what you’d like to learn more about in our upcoming editions by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Be sure to tag #FridayFive in your comments.
See you next Friday at 10 a.m. (PT).
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