by michael schneider ‘snl' stalwart kenan thompson steps into the spotlight with his own series 02.10.2021 VARIETY ● 3 FEATURES P.34 50 P.34 In the Funny Business Kenan Thompson, the longest- By serving player on “Saturday Michael Night Live,” is ready for Schneider primetime with a new sitcom P.44 Media Role Reversals Legacy brands like Disney make By Brent bold financial moves like Lang and tech upstarts, while streamers Cynthia embrace traditional models Littleton P.50 Blue-Collar Actor Frank Grillo is in eight By movies coming out this year, Brent and he’s ready to add more Lang to his long list of credits Kenan Thompson has been on “SNL” for 17 seasons and has a self-titled sitcom premiering on Feb 16. P.34 Styling: Eric Archibald; Grooming: Kathy Santiago Grooming: Styling: Eric Archibald; Cover photograph by Chris Haston 4 ● CONTENTS 02.10.2021 P.55 Contenders examines the work of artisans for some awards hopefuls. FOCUS Plus Golden Globes, SAG nominees P.69 Slamdance goes virtual this year and hopes to gain a wider audience BIZ + BUZZ P.17 28 P.17 China’s New Year holiday may help its box office rebound after struggles caused by the global pandemic P.22 William Shatner remembers Christopher Plummer for his sophistication, humor P.24 Veteran music artists look for ways to stay in touring form amid pandemic P.25 Brandy-Whitney Houston version of “Cinderella” to debut on Disney Plus P.61 P.28 Awards Circuit: Who might be the P.45 Oscars’ surprise nominees? Chadwick Boseman (foreground), with Glynn Turman, Michael Potts and Colman Domingo, is Globe nommed for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” OUR TOWN ARTISANS REVIEWS TV FILM “Clarice” “French Exit” P.83 P.85 P.29 31 P.75 81 P.83 85 P.29 Kesha’s podcast guest wish list P.75 “News of the World” director Paul includes Cardi B; Jeremy Pope Greengrass says his crew on the Recon- is prepping to play Sammy Davis Jr. struction-era film was “fearless” P.30 If you’re looking for a Valentine’s P.79 “WandaVision” theme songs hark back Day getaway, these hotels are for you to hummable tunes from past series P.31 Prim ’N Poppin’ project puts a retro P.81 “Judas and the Black Messiah” DP Sean Rebecca spin on beauty ads to bust stereotypes Bobbitt highlights key scenes FACETIME P.86 Breeds Variety, VOL. 351, NO. 2 (USPS 146-820, ISSN 0011-5509) is published weekly, except the first week of September and the last week of December, with 21 special issues: Jan (6), Feb (1), June (4), July (5), and Aug (5) by Variety Media LLC, 11175 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025, a division of Penske Business Media. 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