Innholdsfortegnelse for 6/24/2016 i The Hollywood Reporter

NOTE TO VIACOM EMPLOYEES: THAT SOUND coming from the cubicles and corner suites of Paramount Pictures, MTV and other sister companies likely is a colleague printing out a résumé. As the boardroom drama over Sumner Redstone’s succession plan drags on with little sign of resolution, the Redstone companies are experiencing an executive exodus, low morale and mounting questions about the future of the assets. In the past few months, the $16 billion media giant has seen the exit of several key players — mostly on the television side — amid speculation that more could be on the way. On June 7, Nickelodeon lost Russell Hicks, president of content development and production and an 18-year company veteran. He follows the recent departure of Marjorie Cohn, Nickelodeon’s president of content development, who…

WITH STUDIOS NOW SPENDING AS MUCH as $200 million to market a tentpole worldwide, one might expect that their posters would offer some hint of innovation. But comfort in familiarity is on display this summer. Poster after poster seems to fall into what insiders call the three main genres: Face-off, Giant Logo and Giant Face. Why isn’t Hollywood following the lead of Madison Avenue, where the mandate is to be nonformulaic? One factor is a star’s contract, which often contains clauses that influence the image used. “If you’ve got four people whose faces have to be the same size on a poster, you’re pretty screwed,” says filmmaker Steven Soderbergh. “You just can’t make a good graphic piece of art with four things that have to be exactly the same size.”…

WANT A PEEK AT THE BUZZY new sci-finovel? Swipe right. Curious if its movie rights have sold? Swipe again. Publishing upstart Inkshares is launching an app, dubbed Properties, to promote its content to Hollywood. It curates selections for each user, offers sample chapters and provides updates on theatrical, TV, audiobook and foreign rights. The app is part of the 2-year-old company’s new vision for publishing, with multiplatform distribution goals baked in from the beginning. With 30 books already in print and another 110 in the pipeline, Inkshares has closed multiple rights deals, including one for the medieval-set horror Abomination by Rogue One scribe Gary Whitta. “We’re not out to overthrow publishing,” says Thad Woodman, who co-founded the San Francisco-based startup with software developer Jeremy Thomas and lawyer Adam Gomolin. The…

BUJARSKI & BERGSMAN Cassandra Bujarski, managing director at public relations firm Sard Verbinnen & Co.’s Los Angeles office, and Jason Bergsman, senior vp at The Chernin Group, were married May 21 at the Black Walnut Ranch in Ojai, Calif., in front of 120 guests. The couple became engaged in September in Florence, Italy. WEDDINGS New Girl creator Elizabeth Meriwether married Alex Cuthbertson, a producer on the Fox comedy, on June 11 at The Plaza in New York City. Emmy-winning sound editor Robert Ulrich and lifestyle PR firm owner Ann Flower were married May 21 at Casa Contenta in Avila Beach, Calif. CONGRATS Warner Bros. on June 8 named Blair Rich president of worldwide marketing and promoted Lynne Frank to president of international marketing and worldwide planning and operations. Ravi Ahuja…

FOR DECADES, THE EAST END OF LONG ISLAND, WITH ITS stunning beaches and awe-inspiring light, attracted artists from Jackson Pollock to Andy Warhol before becoming a retreat for Hollywood. Then came the epic traffic and crowding that accompanied industry popularity. In 2015, elite enclaves such as East Hampton decided it’d had enough: After banning Uber and imposing curfews on planes coming in and out of the airport, town authorities put the kibosh on live music at Montauk’s hipster-attracting haunts and in May instituted a new law requiring anyone renting a house from Wainscott to Montauk to register the property. The law gives agents the right to inspect those houses, limits short-term rentals on a home to twice within six months (bye-bye, Airbnb) and forbids anyone who doesn’t register from advertising…

DURING THE weeks before Mr. Robot debuted on USA — almost exactly a year ago, on June 24, 2015 — showrunner Sam Esmail had only one small, fond hope. “I prayed we would be like a little cult hit,” he says. “I would have been totally happy with that.” It’s a cult hit, all right — if that cult includes nearly 3 million viewers who watched the pilot episode and a volume of accolades previously unheard of for a USA series. By the end of its first season, the show about an underground hacker had earned its young, unknown star, Rami Malek, Golden Globe and SAG nominations and a Critics’ Choice win — along with Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice awards for best drama series and supporting actor (for Christian…

STEPHANIE ALLAIN Producer, Beyond the Lights; director, Los Angeles Film Festival “Bambi. It’s about individuation, finding love and community, and has an incredibly clear ecological message about man’s lack of respect for nature.” JESSE TYLER FERGUSON Actor, Modern Family “The Little Mermaid, the greatest animated movie of all time. When they were doing the live concert at the Hollywood Bowl, I was having major FOMO. I’m going to find Sara Bareilles and make her sing it all for me.” JULIE BOWEN Actress, Modern Family “Finding Nemo because it’s smart. When you have kids, you watch all of those animated movies, hmm … 700 times, so you want it to be smart. I have seen so many that aren’t worth that 699th watch.” JANE KRAKOWSKI Actress, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt “I love…

AMID LIGHTHEARTED CHATTER about Cheetos-flavored popcorn and cinema seats that blast water in moviegoers’ faces, a somewhat darker buzzword — OK, two buzzwords — circulated through Las Vegas during CinemaCon in April. Sean Parker’s Screening Room concept overshadowed much of the conversation on the trade-show floor, and not in a good way: The plan to offer new releases to at-home viewers for $50 a go was received as one might expect from an industry already under fire from emerging technologies. Two months on, the chatter now moves across the Atlantic. Disney, Paramount, Universal, StudioCanal, Warner Bros. and DreamWorks Animation are set to show off upcoming wares later this month in Barcelona at CineEurope, the official convention of the International Union of Cinemas trade body, but the talk among European exhibitors…

AS VIRTUAL REALITY GOES COMMERCIAL, the latest gadgetry is about to run up against the most mundane of problems: personal hygiene. Beyond home use, VR headsets are being eyed for a growing number of entertainment venues. Imax recently revealed plans to bring location-based VR experiences to multiplexes and malls, and Samsung and Six Flags have opened their first VR roller coasters. But headsets can be costly: At the low end of the VR spectrum, there are devices such as Google Cardboard or the $99 Samsung Gear VR that use a mobile phone for display, but high-end systems for personal use range from $600 to $800 and require desktop computers. So in public settings, patrons will be offered gear that is recycled from user to user. But as those headsets are…

BEING PAID BY NETFLIX TO WATCH MOVIES and TV series might seem like a dream come true, but not for some folks in a secretive program at the company known as “Project Beetlejuice.” These individuals, known as “juicers,” are paid $10 a film or show to pick the best still images and videos from the thousands of titles in Netflix’s library to help its users figure out what they want to watch. They are paid as independent contractors but now are demanding overtime, paid vacation and holidays, health insurance and a 401(k) plan. Netflix refuses to reveal how many people work in the program, the rationale behind its name or much at all about this line of work. That’s because there are two putative class action lawsuits pending in L.A.…

DEAL OF THE WEEK BUSINESS IN CHINA is all about guanxi, or relationships. It’s a tip that WME-IMG has taken to heart. “If you want to handle this market properly, you need proper Chinese partners,” says co-CEO Ari Emanuel. That’s why the talent agency and sports-fashion powerhouse on June 9 revealed a new China-based subsidiary, majority owned by WME-IMG, with partners including leading venture capital and private equity firm Sequoia Capital China and, importantly, Tencent, one of the country’s leading internet companies. (Fellow Chinese firms Focus Media and FountainVest Partners also are participating in the initial investment.) WME-IMG, led by Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, is boosting its presence in the territory via IMG’s pre-existing footholds in sports and events — it runs Shenzhen Fashion Week, golf ’s WGC-HSBC Championship and…

FILM Jon M. Chu (WME, Principato Young, Stone Genow) is in talks to direct the adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights. Angelina Jolie (UTA, Sloane Offer) is in talks to star in Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express. Randall Wallace (WME, Ziffren Brittenham) is writing a sequel to The Passion of the Christ, with Mel Gibson attached to direct. Doug Liman (CAA, Weintraub Tobin) is in talks to direct Lionsgate/Summit’s Patrick Ness postapocalyptic YA thriller Chaos Walking. San Andreas director Brad Peyton (CAA, Peikoff Mahan) will helm Malignant Man for producer James Wan. Kate Winslet (CAA, the U.K.’s United) will join Fox 2000’s The Mountain Between Us. Jennifer Lawrence (CAA, Hansen Jacobson) is attached to star in Adam McKay’s movie about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Open Road has…

AS PRICES ESCALATE FROM $1,000 per square foot to $1,500 because of new FEMA laws forcing oceanfront construction to be built at a higher elevation (Malibu averages $2,300 PSF, but the lots are much smaller), even well-heeled buyers like Hugh Jackman are getting pushed out to more remote areas of East Hampton, says Saunders broker Edward Buehl: “Everything is trading higher, but the Northwest Woods still has a lot of value. It’s quiet and peaceful, and for an extra 10-minute drive, you get more land.” Higher prices are tempting sellers to add churn to the turnover: AS PRICES ESCALATE FROM $1,000 per square foot to $1,500 because of new FEMA laws forcing oceanfront construction to be built at a higher elevation (Malibu averages $2,300 PSF, but the lots are much…

In THE SPRING OF 2012, DONALD Trump was at a crossroads. The Apprentice, his once hugely successful NBC reality show, had been off the air for two years, while its spinoff, Celebrity Apprentice, was slumping in the ratings. He still had Miss Universe, but Trump University had folded, as had his gambling, vodka and steak businesses. Not for the first time, Trump contemplated a run for the presidency but instead ended up endorsing Mitt Romney. Then, out of the blue, a prospect presented itself that the real estate baron couldn’t resist, a chance to wield the sort of raw, fearsome power mere presidents can only dream of. How would he like to own a movie studio? The little-known tale of Trump World Studios — the time the Donald almost became…

MOSTLY KNOWN for her ensemble work in such fan favorites as Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games and The Tudors, Natalie Dormer, 35, is ready for her close-up. “This is the year when I’m heading more into my capacity as a leading lady,” she says. The British actress, who is being honored with the Max Mara Face of the Future Award, is swapping dragons and direwolves for whistle-blowers and the NSA in Justin Chadwick’s political thriller Official Secrets; she stars opposite Harrison Ford, Anthony Hopkins and Paul Bettany and started production in May in the U.K. Dormer will play British intelligence officer Katharine Gun, who is the subject of the nonfiction book The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War, upon which the film is based. Game of Thrones has…

DURING A VISIT TO Los Angeles in early June, Barry Diller addressed UTA agents and talked up the future of his streaming platform Vimeo. Just a few days later, on June 7, Vimeo CEO Kerry Trainor stepped down after four years building the service. Trainor’s Vimeo exit, which comes amid general executive turnover at Diller’s IAC, opens the door to bring fresh blood into a business built mostly to serve filmmakers that now wants to lean toward a consumer subscription service. It’s a moment of inflection for 12-yearold Vimeo, considered the No. 2 user-driven streaming service behind YouTube, that observers say is indicative of a larger question about how to compete in the age of Netflix. “IAC is looking at, ultimately, what’s the bigger opportunity,” says Oppenheimer internet analyst Jason…

CAN A PRESS INTERVIEW GONE bad kill a television show? On June 9, Noah Galvin, the openly gay star of ABC’s The Real O’Neals — a coming-of-age sitcom about a gay Chicago teen and his conservative family — gave a brutally frank interview to New York magazine’s Vulture blog about Hollywood’s “glass closet.” In it, Galvin, 22, described another gay actor, Colton Hayes, as “the worst” and Hayes’ recent coming out as “f—ing pussy bullshit”; called Eric Stonestreet’s Emmy-winning performance as a gay dad on Modern Family “a caricature of a caricature”; and, most controversially, targeted Bryan Singer with a comment about underaged boys that later was stricken from the story after the X-Men director’s lawyers intervened. Sources with knowledge of the events say ABC was blindsided by the interview,…

Sing for Your Life BY Daniel Bergner (Lee Boudreaux Books) AGENCY WME Bergner’s biography of Ryan Speedo Green, out in September, traces his unique journey from a troubled childhood in Virginia to New York’s Metropolitan Opera, where at 24 he bested 1,200 singers in a competition hosted by the Met to emerge as one of opera’s biggest rising stars. The Merman BY Carl-Johan Vallgren (Pegasus) AGENCY ICM This dark and unusual Scandinavian fairy tale, about a mistreated teen girl who tries to free a merman from his abusive captors, has won rave reviews and passionate fans for the beautiful way the heartbreaking story is told.…

“Get over it. … Take your shirt off.” PATRICIA CLARKSON The actress, dismissing Game of Thrones star Kit Harington’s claims of “sexism toward men” in Hollywood that requires him to “strip down” for parts. “I would sign up in a heartbeat.” HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN The actor, on whether or not he’d consider revisiting his role as Anakin Skywalker in any of Disney’s upcoming Star Wars films. “I don’t know why they didn’t give my show to a woman.” DAVID LETTERMAN The retired Late Show host, questioning why CBS went with a man — Stephen Colbert — as his replacement during an interview with Tom Brokaw. “We found the best actress and she’s black. Bye bye, now.” J.K. ROWLING The author, shutting down critics on Twitter complaining that the actress playing Hermione…

Sharing the room at Hinoki & the Bird: ITV’s Adam Sher with Brent Montgomery, CAA’s Sonya Rosenfeld with Rachel Rusch, plus Jeff Gaspin, Fox’s Terence Carter and ICM’s Michael Kagan. … Robert De Niro, David O. Russell and Michael B. Jordan dined at Malibu’s Nobu. … Gary Barber and Graham King broke bread at Bouchon. … Warren Beatty and Steve Bing rendezvoused at Crossroads. … Bob Greenblatt gossiped about Viacom drama over lunch at the Terrace at Sunset Tower. … Matt Groening stopped by Hokkaido Ramen Santouka in West L.A. … Sherry Lansing was at Soho House. … Snoop Dogg checked out Wally’s. … Gwen Stefani ordered at Messhall Kitchen. … Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley visited STK LA. The Quick Pitch Geoffrey Zakarian’s sure-footed resurrection of Scarpetta…

PARTED WAYS. STEPPING down. Transitioning to a production deal. Moving on to new opportunities. These are a few examples of the language typically relied on by Hollywood executives and their soon-to-be-former employers when they announce a change in job status. Inventive verbiage has gotten a lot of use lately with the recent executive exits at Sony (film chief Doug Belgrad and TV chairman Steve Mosko), NBC (Universal TV head Bela Bajaria), HBO (top programmer Michael Lombardo), ABC (network chief Paul Lee) and OWN (co-president Sheri Salata). Now, I don’t profess to know exactly why each of these accomplished people left his or her high-paying, power-drenched position. For many, it very well could have been their own choice. But I’m willing to bet at least a few were either nudged or…

HAMPTONS FOODIES ARE IN a tizzy because the summer’s two biggest culinary events are colliding. The James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne, which is celebrating its 26th anniversary, is held at Wolffer Estate Vineyards in Sagaponack (tickets from $200). This year, it honors chef John Besh and features such stellar chefs as Matthew Kenney and Anita Lo. A Taste of Two Forks launched six years ago and has been encroaching on the Beard affair’s turf. This summer, it will be hosted by Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli and held at the 30-acre oceanfront Fairview Farm in Bridgehampton. More than 40 chefs will be cooking (tickets from $185). Originally scheduled for July 9, the event, which expects to draw 1,500 people, suddenly was moved to go headto-head with Chefs & Champagne on…

KATHLEEN KENNEDY IS LATE. FEW PEOPLE KEEP Steven Spielberg waiting, but this isn’t a first. “I always like to say, ‘The late Kathy Kennedy,’ ” says Spielberg as we sit in late April in an anonymous office on the Sony lot, where he is working on scoring The BFG. As head of Lucasfilm, Kennedy, 63, has a few Star Wars sequels and spinoffs to deal with. She and her husband, 69-year-old producer Frank Marshall — also here waiting for her to arrive — have collaborated with Spielberg for decades. The three first worked together in 1981, when Spielberg directed Raiders of the Lost Ark, Kennedy was his assistant and Marshall was the producer. Since then, they have worked in various combinations on many other Spielberg-produced and -directed movies, from 1982’s…

TO HEAR TV’S LEADING LADIES DISCUSS THEIR FUNNIEST FAN INTERACTIONS, GO TO THR.COM/ROUNDTABLES. STICK SIX OF COMEDY’S funniest ladies at a table, and it’s all but inevitable that the hourlong conversation will dissolve into gut-busting laughter. On this Sunday afternoon in early April, recollections of barking at Brooklyn-area catcallers (once a go-to move of Jane the Virgin star Gina Rodriguez, 31), refusing to walk out of auditions without a job secured (that was Getting On’s Niecy Nash, 46) and that one time Allison Janney, 56, of Mom, was mistaken for a “prettier Allison Janney” all got the sextet to that place. Less expected, however, was the candor that these women brought to such topics as taking gigs for money (Grace and Frankie’s Lily Tomlin, 76), observing one’s own confidence plummet…

LESLI LINKA GLATTER The BMW Dorothy Arzner Directors Award The prolific director will receive the award named after the first female member of the DGA for her work helming big-name shows including, among others, Mad Men, The Good Wife, The Walking Dead and Homeland, on which she also serves as executive producer. She currently is directing Six, a History series about SEAL Team Six. TARAJI P. HENSON The Lucy Award for Excellence in Television For the Empire actress, who won a Golden Globe for her feisty portrayal of Cookie Lyon in the hip-hop drama, this is just the latest in a slew of accolades she has added to her mantel. Past recipients of the small-screen honor, named for Lucille Ball, include Courteney Cox, Geena Davis and Carol Burnett. HYLDA QUEALLY…