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.
Behind the Headlines I n the days after new Viacom CEO Bob Bakish said Feb. 9 he wanted more collaboration across company divisions, he and vice chair Shari Redstone have been reassessing Paramount’s greenlight process, the marker for who holds power in Hollywood. “Shari is trying to put in place a greenlight committee,” says one major producer. “She’s working with her team to change the dynamic, and they’re having conversations about how to do that without violating [Paramount CEO] Brad Grey’s contract.” Grey’s ironclad deal might make this all but impossible, effectively leaving it up to him if he agrees to put a broader group in place. But the effort highlights the fact that Grey remains among the last studio chiefs to hold sole greenlight authority, even when budgets reach…
Television Pitch-a-Palooza Disney looks within for show ideas p. 22 Digital Beastmaster Netflix’s global reality competition p. 24 Adele The singer’s five Grammy wins include a sweep of the album, song and record of the year categories (the only artist to do so twice), and even her flubbed George Michael tribute wins fans online. Samie Falvey The AwesomenessTV exec exits as her venture for premium shortform mobile content is shut down amid investor Verizon’s focus on its go90 streamer. Noah Oppenheim The Today show exec is the new president of NBC News, replacing Deborah Turness, who will shift to NBC News International. PewDiePie The YouTube phenom’s anti-Semitic videos prompt Disney to sever ties and Google to cancel his show. Showbiz Stocks $44.25 (+6.2%) VIACOM (VIAB) The conglomerate’s shares surged as…
No one shuffles movies around quite like Harvey Weinstein. On Feb. 13, The Weinstein Co. pushed back the release of the Alicia Vikander starrer Tulip Fever for a third time. The move was made just days before the drama was scheduled to open Feb. 24, a shift that once would have raised eyebrows but has become routine. Shot nearly three years ago, Tulip Fever already was moved from a July 15, 2016, slot. At the time, TWC cited Vikander’s and Waltz’s busy promotion schedules for other movies as a reason for the change. Then, Weinstein COO David Glasser said, “It made the most sense to open when they’ll have more time.” TWC hasn’t rescheduled Tulip Fever. And Weinstein execs offered THR no explanation for the last-minute maneuvers. Earlier in February,…
One afternoon in October, ABC Studios’ Cort Cass settled in to hear yet another sitcom pitch. This one, billed as Modern Family meets The Wonder Years, centered on a widowed Midwestern dad who tries to connect with his three teenage kids as he re-enters the dating pool. The more the vp comedy development listened, the more he liked it. The idea had humor and heart, and it was personal in a way that ABC breakout Black-ish had been. But this pitch was different: It came not from a Kenya Barris or a Shonda Rhimes but rather from Jon Moze, a 29-year-old video distribution specialist in Disney’s digital media department. With Cass’ endorsement, Moze now has become a winner in Disney’s second annual Pitch-a-Palooza, an internal competition designed to boost morale…
With his abrupt exit from CBS News on Feb. 13, Josh Elliott now has left three jobs under a cloud. So where will the sports anchor go for his next act? He declined to comment, but insiders say it’s unlikely he’ll return to ESPN, where he anchored a weekday morning SportsCenter before jumping to ABC’s Good Morning America in 2011. He left three years later after rancorous contract talks with ABC News — then presided over by Ben Sherwood, now president of Disney-ABC Television Group. But Fox Sports is not out of the question: Jamie Horowitz, who runs cable networks Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2, is known to have liked Elliott and is interested in exploring a role for him. Horowitz worked closely with Elliott at NBC during…
The contestants on Netflix’s first reality competition show, Ultimate Beastmaster, are fighting to conquer a 600-foot-long obstacle course. But the real test will be whether the series can help the streamer achieve international dominance. When Beastmaster premieres Feb. 24, Netflix will release six different versions of the show tailored to local audiences in the U.S., Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Germany and Japan. Viewers will watch the same set of competitors, but each version will highlight local contestants with commentary from local hosts. (Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Terry Crews and Fox Sports host Charissa Thompson guide viewers through the U.S. version.) “I believe this will be a game-changer within the industry,” says David Broome, who is producing alongside Sylvester Stallone. Beastmaster would not have been possible at Netflix just a few years…
