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The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Heat IndexSusan WojcickiThe YouTube chief leads the streaming video giant to $5 billion in advertising revenue over the summer, up 32 percent compared with the same period a year earlier.Eric ShanksThe Dodgers may have won, but the Fox Sports CEO saw the World Series go down as the least-watched ever, dropping 30 percent from 2019 to an average of 9.74 million viewers.Taylor SwiftHer Folklore becomes the first album to sell a million copies in the U.S. in 2020 and returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated Oct. 31.Richard GelfondThe Imax CEO presides over a loss of $47.2 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to a year-earlier $9 million profit, with the exhibitor facing a lack of tentpoles as theaters reopen.Showbiz Stocks$52.43 (+4.4%) TWITTER (TWTR)Despite a Senate…1 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020‘A Bottomless Need to Win’: How Quibi’s Implosion Shapes Katzenberg’s LegacyIt’s been a setting-of-the-sun time for Hollywood power players of a certain age lately. Ron Meyer, 76, was ousted as vice chairman of NBCUniversal amid scandal. In August, former Universal chairman Tom Pollock died suddenly of a heart attack at 77. Now Jeffrey Katzenberg, who will turn 70 in December, finds himself contending with the high-profile failure of Quibi only six months after the premium streaming service launched in April. While some say they think he has the resilience to fight another day, others question what future awaits him.What he has accomplished in the entertainment industry has been more than formidable: Working with powerful allies Steven Spielberg and, for many years, David Geffen, Katzenberg enjoyed enormous success: running the Disney Studios, launching DreamWorks and then overseeing DreamWorks Animation. It should…5 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020$8.15B Big NumberRep SheetEli Goree, who stars in Regina King’s upcoming film One Night in Miami, has signed with WME.Paris Hilton, whose empire includes 45 branded stores, has signed with UTA.Lewis Colick, screen-writer on Searchlight’s Cheetos origin film Flamin’ Hot, has signed with APA.Jessamyn Stanley, founder of The Underbelly virtual yoga studio, has signed with CAA.THR, Esq.CASE Caudel v. AmazonWHY IT MATTERS The concept of ownership in the digital age is front and center in a legal battle over Amazon Prime Video content. In an Oct. 26 motion to dismiss a false advertising suit, Jeff Bezos’ company argues its terms of use make clear that users don’t actually own films and TV series they purchase on the platform; instead they’re buying a limited license for “on-demand viewing over an indefinite period of…1 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020HOLLYWOOD CELEBRITIES SPOTLIGHT CONFLICTS ACROSS THE WORLDWhile scores of major players in Hollywood keep their focus on the U.S. election, a number of celebrities are spotlighting two crises overseas: one, the armed conflict between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh; the other, protests against ongoing police brutality in Nigeria.In Africa’s most populous country, young Nigerians have been out in force, marching against police shootings in their oil-rich country in what is known as the #EndSars movement, a push to do away with the government’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). On Oct. 20, in a violent response by the government, at least 12 Nigerians were killed by soldiers during a peaceful protest, according to Amnesty International. Among the stars who have spoken out about the lethal crackdowns are Rihanna (who tweeted, “My heart is…2 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Box Office Reporting May Be ‘Forever Changed’Here’s a little-discussed tidbit: Hollywood studios are under no obligation to reveal box office grosses. Certainly, a conglomerate has to disclose an official write-down to shareholders, but that duty is rarely triggered when it comes to individual film titles.So why would studios willingly reveal grosses day after day, weekend after weekend, exposing themselves to the risk of a film being declared a bomb mere hours after opening? Well, to engage consumers and generate global headlines. It worked for decades until the novel coronavirus struck, decimating moviegoing and sending high-profile titles to streaming or PVOD, where they escape that scrutiny. Now studios get to rethink whether they want to continue sharing grosses on a 24/7 basis with rivals, analysts and the media.After all, box office transparency didn’t always exist. Grosses weren’t…4 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020How Hollywood Grieves Now: Tributes on Hold, Informal ZoomsOn Sept. 6, beloved Broadway actor Nick Cordero was remembered by industry family and friends after he succumbed to COVID-19 following a months-long battle. Taking place virtually — and more than two months after Cordero’s death — the memorial illustrated the major adjustments many are making to honor stars and industry figures who’ve died during the novel coronavirus era.The resulting event featured everything from a photo collage prepared by Cordero’s wife, Amanda Kloots, to video tributes, including one from Robert De Niro, who spoke lovingly of Cordero’s role in 2016’s musical A Bronx Tale. The memorial was streamed live on the video platform Broadway on Demand and included a philanthropic component to benefit the Save the Music foundation.Elaborate in scale, Cordero’s memorial reflected the extent to which his COVID battle…4 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Disney’s Muppet ProblemSince buying the Muppets in 2004, Disney has never been quite sure what to do with the ragtag gang. But after years of fits and starts, the Muppets may have found their moment. Hollywood’s streaming-first strategy has primed the property — with its rich back catalog including 10 features, 120 episodes of The Muppet Show and dozens of specials and spinoffs, its deep bench of beloved character IP and its ability to captivate homebound children for hours on end — for a renaissance. They even have the boss’ favor: Bob Chapek, the former head of Disney parks who took over as CEO in February, is internally known to be much more of a fan than former CEO Bob Iger ever was. And the brand’s latest swing at relevance, a six-episode…15 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020IndustryCreated by Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, HBO’s Industry was intended as a voyeuristic look at a London investment firm. Instead, it plays as a pre-COVID fantasy about young people who work on a much-too-crowded trading floor, spend their evenings at much-too-crowded nightclubs and hook up all over the place. Throw in a relentless use of finance jargon, and the series feels like borderline sci-fi — which is odd since the pilot was directed by Lena Dunham, whose aesthetic and narrative M.O. are anything but.The more seriously you take Industry, the less satisfying it’s bound to feel. This is essentially a series about 20-something sexcapades against a “first job” backdrop — think a kinkier version of Freeform’s The Bold Type — in which characters occasionally blather about currency exchanges and…2 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Zombies, Sex and Thrills: AFM Returns to Its RootsFor independent producers, it is the worst of times. The pandemic has shut down or emptied cinemas, new COVID-19 protocols have added 5 percent to 10 percent to the budget of every production — provided you can even find a place safe enough to make your movie — and financiers, insurers and bond companies are running scared, none willing to cover the losses that would ensue should the world enter a second lockdown.But then, there’s After We Collided. The young-adult erotic drama, the sequel to the 2019 sleeper hit After, produced and sold by Voltage Pictures, is on track to gross $50 million at the box office, almost all of it from still open theaters outside the U.S.And there’s Greenland. The Gerard Butler-starrer, financed and distributed by Anton, earned $34…5 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Netflix Upheaval: Departures, Anxiety and Another ReorgOn Oct. 27, Netflix’s freshly installed global TV head, Bela Bajaria, unveiled a new organizational structure designed to break down silos and make the company’s priorities in comedy and drama clear. “What I wanted to do was set up the team to be creator-friendly and to reflect how TV is made,” Bajaria tells THR. While those efforts have been applauded, many inside suggest it will take more than a new org chart to quell anxiety at the streaming behemoth.“It didn’t used to be this way,” says one executive in the original series group who would speak only on the condition of anonymity. “Now, it’s all, ‘Who’s going next? Am I going to have a job? What’s it going to look like?’” That seismic shift in morale, as at least a…5 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Movie Theaters Prepare for a Long WinterIn late October, European governments — in Germany, Italy and France — shuttered movie theaters, again, amid a rise in COVID-19 infection rates. In the U.S., New York has allowed most theaters in the state to reopen as of Oct. 23, but New York City cinemas remain shut. It’s a similar story in Los Angeles, where a rise in average daily new coronavirus cases makes it increasingly unlikely that L.A. county theaters will be allowed to reopen soon under California’s safety guidelines.Film distributors and exhibitors, battered by the first COVID-19 lockdown in early March, had hoped the worst was behind them. Outside the U.S., box office returns in countries that had reopened have been climbing steadily — albeit from a lower level, the result of restrictions on theater capacity in…4 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Rights Available!Veritas (DOUBLEDAY, AUGUST 2020)BY Ariel Sabar AGENCY UTAThe Da Vinci Code meets Can You Ever Forgive Me? in the true story behind the 2012 discovery of a fragment of papyrus in which Jesus calls Mary Magdalene “my wife” and the subsequent debate over its authenticity that takes the author from Berlin to Florida.Boop and Eve’s Road Trip (SHE WRITES PRESS, OCT. 6)BY Mary Helen Sheriff AGENCY The Unter AgencyIn this buddy road trip mystery, a grandmother and granddaughter travel across the South searching for the granddaughter’s missing friend and confront old family traumas.…1 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Lyn and David TalbertDavid Talbert has a thing for spectacle. The playwright counts Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Doctor Dolittle (the originals, not the remakes) among his favorite films. Attempts to share that love with his 7-year-old son, however, don’t pan out so well — something he learned during a screening of the Dick Van Dyke flying-car fantasy Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. “We get the popcorn, and I’m like, ‘This is Daddy’s favorite movie of all time,’” he recalls. “I’m watching it, singing along, and he says, ‘You mind if I go play with my Legos over there?’ I didn’t realize how white that sh*t was until I sat down with him.”On Nov. 13, David and his wife and producing partner, Lyn Sisson-Talbert, plan to tuck in for what they hope…3 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Yes, I Did Say That!“Latinas are essential. Pay us.”AMERICA FERRERA The actress and activist, writing in Fortune, examining the current pay gap on Latina Equal Pay Day (Oct. 29).“Friends wasn’t funny either.”KANYE WEST The rapper, on Twitter, responding to Jennifer Aniston’s comments that “it’s not funny” to cast a vote for him in the presidential election.“Kind of the opposite of Quibi.”JEFF SHELL The NBCUniversal CEO, on a Comcast earnings call, taking a jab at the recently shuttered platform while touting the growth of his own streaming service, Peaco*ck.“It was like watching a chop shop strip down your car for parts.”TREVOR NOAH The host, on The Daily Show, expressing his shock at the Senate’s speedy and unprecedented confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.“Every time I smile, they’re just going to freak.”ANNE HATHAWAY The…1 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Hitched, Hatched, HiredWeddingsDynasty actress Elizabeth Gillies married composer Michael Corcoran on Aug. 8 at The Inn at Fernbrook Farms in Chesterfield, New Jersey. The couple wed in front of 10 guests in a ceremony performed by Gillies’ father.EngagementsBlake Shelton and Gwen Stefani announced their engagement Oct. 27.BirthsBuchwald talent agent Tim Weissman and his wife, actress, model and makeup artist Yvonne Truong, welcomed daughter Luna Thuy Truong-Weissman on Sept. 25 at St. John’s hospital in Santa Monica.CongratsBryon Rubin has been appointed COO of the CBS Entertainment Group on Oct. 28. Galen Gordon joined ABC News as senior vp talent strategy and development Oct. 28.Fiona Lamptey was hired as Netflix director of U.K. features on Oct. 22.Anna Lee was appointed chief strategy officer of Deluxe Entertainment on Oct. 22.Christy Spitzer Thornton was named head…2 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Hey, WFH Cooks! YouTube’s New Culinary EmpireFor the past four years, the YouTube channel Binging With Babish largely has been a one-man show in which self-taught chef Andrew Rea shot, edited and starred in all his own videos about pop culture-inspired culinary creations. But on Sept. 24, he introduced his 8 million subscribers to a new face, former Bon Appétit YouTube star Sohla El-Waylly.El-Waylly — who stopped appearing in Bon Appétit videos after revealing that she wasn’t being paid for that work — now hosts the weekly video seriesStump Sohla (a game show-style series in which her cooking skills are put to the test) on the rebranded Babish Culinary Universe YouTube channel. She’s the first of several personalities who will be making the channel their new home in the coming months, says Rea, 33, who has…2 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020‘It’s Called Black’John Boyega was in his first year at the University of Greenwich when he received what he considered a sign from God. During his film studies class, in the middle of a dull lecture, a loud pyrotechnic explosion rocked the hall. “I ran to the window along with the other students, thinking, ‘What’s going on?’” Boyega says. “We looked down and I saw Johnny Depp on top of two carriages, balancing himself, as Jack Sparrow.”The University of Greenwich is a popular filming location and was being used that day for a Pirates of the Caribbean shoot. An astonished Boyega, who was in the midst of grappling with how to tell his skeptical Nigerian parents that he wanted to pursue acting full time, bounded down the stairs to the set —…18 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020CHELSEA HANDLERGROWS UP (KINDA)IT IS BOTH ENTIRELY APPROPRIATE and utterly insignificant that Chelsea Handler is seated before me on this Friday morning in October stoned as could be. In fact, I’d have hardly noticed had the comic, talk show host and author of five best-selling books not brought her current state to my attention. But as she joked in HBO Max’s recently released Chelsea Handler: Evolution, her first stand-up special in six years, she’s built to withstand considerably more than the morning’s joint. As its title suggests, the new hour, filmed before a socially distanced audience earlier in the pandemic, features little in the way of celebrity gossip, which Handler famously made hay of as the host of E!’s Chelsea Lately for nearly a decade. Instead, Handler, who has largely traded vodka for…12 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Still Hitting the High NotesEvery year, THR surveys industry professionals to get their take on the world’s finest institutions of musical learning, and in particular how they stack up in terms of positioning composers and musicians for jobs in media. This year, however, the focus is on COVID-19 and the challenges it has presented, including limiting the number of players who can perform student compositions. “We’re trying to find that compromise for the next incoming group so that they can still have a legitimate, unique experience,” says USC’s Daniel Carlin. Nevertheless, with help from a survey sent to the roughly 1,700 members of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the Alliance for Women Film Composers and the Composers Diversity Collective, here are the 20 music schools still thriving despite a year of sour notes.1…11 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020SHOOTING IN L.A.: ‘IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK AT WORK’FilmLA typically sets up an exhibit booth at LocationEXPO, an annual event for dozens of film commissions, government agencies and production managers around the globe. But like many in-person gatherings in the age of COVID-19, the event, which runs concurrently with AFM, is going virtual. Paul Audley, president of the nonprofit that tracks filming in the greater Los Angeles area, is welcoming the change. Here, Audley talks with THR about the state of filming in L.A., when we can expect to see normal production levels again and the biggest challenge in bringing the industry back.There are a lot of places productions can film now. What is your pitch to have folks shoot in L.A.?I think one of the biggest advantages for Los Angeles right now is that it has a…2 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Quibi Shutters at a ‘Hard Time to Find Work’In an interview with CNBC on Oct. 22, the day after disclosing that the 6-month-old mobile entertainment startup Quibi would shut down, CEO Meg Whitman described returning money to the company’s investors as “the honorable thing to do.” Unmentioned during the appearance were the hundreds of crewmembers who would lose their jobs during a pandemic as Quibi wound down production on its original shows.Although many of those crewmembers long doubted the viability of the business model, Quibi’s Oct. 21 announcement that it was closing shop came as a blow in a tight job market. Several show sources tell THR that they, just like most Quibi employees, did not know about the news in advance of the general public. “We were blind-sided. We had just signed contracts and turned down other…3 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020APPLE’S MAJOR COUP: LANDING JON STEWART’S NEXT ACTHalf a decade after signing off as host of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart is making his way back to the anchor’s chair.On Oct. 27, Apple TV+ announced a long-gestating plan to have Stewart front a current affairs show for the streaming service. Though they are said to still be working through logistical matters like cadence, the new entry will not be daily or, for that matter, weekly. What has been hammered out is that Stewart will be dropping hourlong episodes on single topics (think gun control or health care) for which he’ll likely do interviews and field pieces.For Apple, landing Stewart’s Daily Show followup is a major coup. In his 16 years at the Comedy Central series, he earned 20 Emmys — including 10 consecutive outstanding variety series wins…2 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Remembering Cameron Boyce by Furthering His CausesWhile accepting an award in 2018 from the Thirst Project, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the global water crisis, Cameron Boyce, then 18, referenced a quote from Denzel Washington. “He said, ‘I’ve never seen a U-Haul behind a hearse,’” said Boyce, who then put his own spin on it, adding: “We all go. I hope that all of you really think about what it is that you want to leave. What you leave should be bigger than you.”The sentiment was met with a round of applause that night, and in the days since Boyce’s tragic demise at age 20 on July 6, 2019, from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), it has helped to define his legacy. Carrying the torch has been the Cameron Boyce Foundation, a nonprofit launched by…5 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Social ActionBefore she starred in Ryan Murphy’s Pose and American Horror Story, Angelica Ross was CEO of TransTech Social Enterprises. Founded in 2014, her talent incubator offers a path to employment for the trans community by providing skills training, workshops and networking. Ross is readying the third TransTech Summit (Nov. 14-15), a virtual event featuring sessions on business, design, media, web and app development as well as racial and social justice. “Before I was famous, I was working for nonprofits. I tried pushing them to consider teaching computer skills, and they told me [that] was over the heads of the people we were serving,” says Ross. “I thought it was a severe underestimation and undervaluing of our community.” The summit’s nontech offerings include a “Beauty Means Business” workshop featuring Cardi B…1 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020Kaley CuocoSecond acts are tricky. Second acts for stars of long-running sitcoms can feel damn near impossible, as Kaley Cuoco, who last year wrapped a 12-season run on CBS juggernaut The Big Bang Theory as one of the highest-paid actors in TV, is exceedingly aware. “I have accepted that nothing I ever do will compare to the experience, the show, the success,” she says.Cuoco hopes a segue to producing will ease the transition. Her 3-year-old Warner Bros. shingle, Yes, Norman Productions (named after her 14-year-old pit bull, one of seven rescues with whom Cuoco and her husband share their L.A. home), has already seen niche success with HBO Max cartoon Harley Quinn. But the Nov. 26 premiere of The Flight Attendant, also at HBO Max, brings its own set of expectations.…6 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 20205 Pop-Up Foodie Sensations to Find on IG→ BRIDGETOWN ROTI Chef Rashida Holmes is earning raves for her curated menu of handheld West Indies eats. On Fridays and Saturdays (dinner and lunch) and Sundays (lunch only), Bridgetown prepares patties (savory stuffed pastries) and roti wraps out of downtown commissary Crafted Kitchen. Do not skimp on the homemade sauces. @BRIDGETOWN_ROTI→ CALABAMA An early lockdown viral hit, Cara Haltiwanger’s move to sell breakfast sandwiches from her East Hollywood fire escape (via a bucket!) got her a mention on Jimmy Kimmel Live! She sells out every Sunday, while her titular hot sauce goes for $11 online. @CALABAMA→ CARLA CAFE Tech startup alum Avi Ahdoot started selling sandwiches out of his home in May before expanding operations to Sunset Strip club Bootsy Bellows. Now he’s churning out his viral ciabatta creations…1 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020The Five Films in the Small Axe SeriesMangrove NOV. 20 (ALL FILMS ON AMAZON PRIME)The true story of Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes), whose restaurant is subjected to relentless police raids, the narrative follows nine protesters, including British Black Panther leader Altheia Jones-LeCointe (Letitia Wright), who clash with police in 1970 and endure a dramatic trial.Lovers Rock NOV. 27An ode to the romantic reggae genre called “lovers rock,” this fictional story is about young love at a house party in 1980. Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn makes her screen debut as a teenage character, inspired by McQueen’s aunt, who sneaks out of her parents’ home to go to dancing.Red, White and Blue DEC. 4John Boyega plays Leroy Logan, a forensic scientist who applies to become a police officer in 1980s London, hoping to change the department’s racist attitudes from within…1 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 2020A TeacherVisually cramped, clammily atmospheric and undeniably underwritten, Hannah Fidell’s 2013 feature debut, A Teacher — about a high school English teacher in a sexual relationship with one of her students — isn’t anyone’s idea of slam-dunk adaptation material, grossing slightly more than $8,000 during its theatrical run. Indeed, it’s taken Fidell six years, since a version was announced for HBO in 2014, for her miniseries to make it to the screen, now for FX on Hulu.This time, Fidell’s canvas is larger. The 10-part half-hour series is a triptych, with two time jumps lending scope to its story of trauma, abuse and their lasting aftereffects. And to Fidell’s credit, this A Teacher isn’t a stretched-out “five-hour movie” of her original vision, but a miniseries that feels fuller and more thought through,…4 min
The Hollywood Reporter|Monday, November 2, 202030 Years Ago, Dances With Wolves Rewrote WesternsBack in the mid-1980s, Kevin Costner shopped a spec script called Dances With Wolves around town, but Hollywood wasn’t buying. Westerns were mostly extinct thanks to the 1980 debacle Heaven’s Gate. But in 1988, Costner — then 33 and a major star after turns in The Untouchables and Bull Durham — convinced Orion Pictures to fund his first directorial effort. It was the Civil War story of a Union soldier (played by Costner) stationed on the Western frontier, where he befriends and is accepted by a Sioux tribe. Graham Greene, who earned an Oscar nom for playing medicine man Kicking Bird, the adoptive father of white tribeswoman Stands With a Fist (Mary McDonnell), remembers being blown away by Michael Blake’s screenplay. “I went, ‘Holy wow. This is really nice,’” recalls…2 min
