The all-new Hollywood Reporter offers unprecedented access to the people, studios, networks and agencies that create the magic in Hollywood. Published weekly, the oversized format includes exceptional photography and rich features.
Hollywood Under Trump Hollywood was built by immigrants — mostly Jews whose families emigrated from eastern Europe — and long has thrived on the infusion of fresh talent and consumers from around the world. So the industry is struggling to grapple with the impact of President Donald Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order temporarily banning immigration to the U.S. from seven mostly- Muslim countries — even as most entertainment moguls have remained silent on the issue. The ban, which impacts most immigrants and visitors from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, came just as the TV industry’s pilot season was getting underway. The annual production crunch sees hundreds of foreign actors travel to Los Angeles and New York for meetings and casting sessions, often on expedited visas. Studios and…
I talian documentarian Gianfranco Rosi arrived at LAX on Jan. 28 just as crowds were gathering to protest President Donald Trump’s travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries. After checking in at his hotel, Rosi, 52, whose harrowing refugee documentary Fire at Sea is nominated for a best feature documentary Oscar (he says he will attend the ceremony), promptly returned to the airport to join the protest. He spoke to THR about the implications of Trump’s controversial executive order. You attended the travel ban protest at LAX? Yes, I went to see the presence of so many people, so many young lawyers, [it] was amazing. It makes a big difference that so many people are responding and not being passive. This is the moment in history where the majority cannot…
The drinking song “99 Bottles of Beer” has nothing on Dan Aykroyd’s Crystal Head Vodka — at least at AMC Theatres. By Aykroyd’s count, the cinema chain has sold 110,000 special Ghostbusters cocktails since last summer using the vodka, part of a campaign by AMC to boost earnings by hundreds of millions of dollars with increased alcohol sales. “It’s been amazing,” says Aykroyd. “Overall, they’ve bought 7,200 bottles from us.” Forget popcorn and Milk Duds. Booze is the next step in cinemas’ fight against flagging attendance. For decades, local and state laws prevented movie chains from offering alcoholic beverages in regular auditoriums. Only dinein theaters could offer booze by securing a restaurant liquor license, while some high-end cinemas — including the Landmark and ArcLight in L.A. — offered beer and…
Dog movies famously are a tough sell overseas. Pooch ownership is frowned upon or outlawed everywhere from China (the Communist Party views it as elitist) to the Middle East (the Koran forbids people from keeping dogs inside the home). And in some Asian countries, dog consumption is common. Still, Universal is hoping overseas ticket sales can boost A Dog’s Purpose, which opened Jan. 27 to a decent $18.2 million but likely was hurt by a leaked video showing a dog shoved into a water tank. As the Lasse Hallstrom-helmed film is unleashed in 20 territories, the initial results are promising. On Jan. 27, Dog’s Purpose opened in Latin America and overperformed everywhere but Brazil. The film earned $3.4 million in seven territories, outgrossing 2008’s Marley & Me in the same…
BEST P ICTURE ↑ La La Land Awards groups are crying “Encore!” as the Producers Guild gave La La Land its top film prize, the American Cinema Editors named it bestedited comedy, and the SAG Awards feted Emma Stone. Plus, it crossed $225 million in worldwide box office. ↓ Moonlight Missing out on the SAG ensemble award (to Hidden Figures) and the best drama ACE Eddie Award (to Arrival), for which it was favored, means that the critically lauded drama has missed two opportunities to steal a bit of the spotlight from its rival La La Land. ↑ Hidden Figures Riding a wave of popularity, the fact-based drama triumphed at the SAG Awards, where it became the best motion picture cast winner, with its three stars — Taraji P. Henson,…
SONY’S BILLION-DOLLAR WRITE-DOWN: A CLEAN SLATE OR MEGADEAL BAIT? Deal of the Week Sony Corp.’s nearly $1 billion write-down on its film division might be more than an accounting maneuver designed to clean up the company’s books. Some analysts believe the Jan. 30 move may portend a transformative deal in its future. The $962 million charge basically allows the Tokyo-based giant to take a financial hit — all at once — that accounts for projected profit shortfalls on everything from its acquisition of Columbia Pictures in 1989 to the decline in the home video market. It follows a warning in June that its film division, hurt by such disappointments as Ghostbusters and Inferno, could suffer more losses in 2017. And the latest disclosure came just weeks after Sony Pictures Entertainment…
