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Hollywood's Top Dealmakers of 2020: The Pandemic Players - Hollywood Reporter

Hollywood's Top Dealmakers of 2020: The Pandemic Players - Hollywood Reporter

Hollywood's Top Dealmakers of 2020: The Pandemic Players - Hollywood Reporter
Jan 25, 2021 4 mins, 23 secs

The entertainment landscape continues to evolve at a breakneck pace thanks to developments in technology and an increasing consumer appetite for content -– but this year change happened at warp speed as companies across Hollywood looked for ways to stay afloat amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

From shattering theatrical windows to deal with shuttered cinemas to playing professional sports in a bubble, in 2020, there was no such thing as business as usual.

The veteran Microsoft lawyer joined ByteDance-owned TikTok in January 2020, just in time for the social video app’s pandemic-fueled rise to around 100 million active U.S.

Favorite film or series of 2020.

“This played to our advantage.” D’Alimonte expects “an incredible focus” on production in 2021 as “content is, indeed, king.” The new-look ViacomCBS has all the tools to create compelling content, she says.

Favorite film or series of 2020.

"Pandemic or not, we are all engaged in deals that provide for compensation in a theatrical release situation and, alternatively, in the event there is no traditional theatrical release.".

She previously represented Fox Sports in a first-of-its-kind sports wagering partnership with The Stars Group, including the acquisition of a stake by Fox, that created Fox Bet.Amid the pandemic, “the lack of in-person negotiations has had a big effect on dealmaking,” Coze says.

Most significant deal of 2020 that I wasn't involved in.

“Universal’s deals with AMC and Cinemark reflect an awareness and acceptance of a significant change in how video content is consumed.

Favorite film or series of 2020.

Not long after adding vice chair to his title in February 2020, Levinsohn was the on-the-ground architect of unprecedented deals with two of the country’s largest theater chains — AMC and Cinemark — that creates a new 17-day premium VOD window for smaller and mid-range films and a 30-day window for tentpoles (a deal with Cineworld/Regal is in the works).

“Mulan is an incredible movie that was designed to be, and is, magical on the big screen,” says Lichter of client Niki Caro’s film, which was rerouted to Disney+ because of the pandemic

“After the initial shock of not being able to show her three years of tireless work in theaters, Niki and her team had to figure out what was fair.” Lichter is also navigating pandemic challenges in her role as chair of the Telluride Film Festival and is celebrating the awards buzz of client Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland and the surprise success of cult binge hit Tiger King for director Rebecca Chaiklin

Masuda represented Indian movie major Eros International in its stock-for-stock merger with STX Entertainment, creating Eros STX Global Corp., “the first publicly traded, independent content and distribution company with global reach and positions in the U.S., India and China.” The veteran, who also serves on the board of advisers for the UCLA School of Law’s Ziffren Center and is co-chair of his firm’s media, entertainment and tech group, predicts more M&A this year

“I expect to see new deals with respect to distribution channels and for the acquisition of content.”

and dealing with the complex issues that arose as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the company to press pause on many of its productions and move forward with a plan to debut its full 2021 film slate on HBO Max in the U.S

With more than $1 billion in deals between them in 2020, the pandemic didn’t slow down Román Griffith and Spicer

“Across the board, all of our investor clients and producer clients are keeping us busy in their transactions involving streamers,” says Spicer, who represented Endeavor Content in connection with financings for Apple and Hulu series as well as multiple bank clients (Comerica, East West and MUFG Union Bank, to name a few) in loan facilities

Favorite 2020 film or series

It’s considered the biggest-ever deal for a single songwriter, and allows Dylan to maintain ownership of his master recordings, which could be worth another $200 million

In a year when musicians have been unable to tour, catalog sales have boomed with the likes of Stevie Nicks, Neil Young and Imagine Dragons also making nine-figure deals

Most significant deal of 2020 that I wasn't involved in

While that sounds like a great two-hander for a Saturday night, it actually meant shepherding millions of dollars’ worth of acquisition and distribution deals at the behest of clients Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia

While the pandemic has largely shuttered bars, hotels and other watering holes, it has inspired an uptick in alcohol consumption — and a distribution deal with legacy German spirits brand Jägermeister has allowed the fledgling company to stay well stocked

Favorite 2020 film or series

In the past year, led by Young, the WGA has nearly finished that fight, reaching deals with UTA, ICM and CAA that limit agency ownership of production entities and end packaging by summer 2022

(Negotiations are ongoing with WME.) Says Young, “This is such a big thing, to completely revamp an agreement that was last negotiated 45 years ago, that it’s almost impossible to grasp what it will end up meaning.” The executive director, who's held his post since 2006, is also cheering another "unprecedented" win for writers

Says Young, "It really makes it possible for more folks, particularly women, to have a career in this industry and have a family at the same time."

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