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.
Phil Griffin The MSNBC chief re-ups his contract amid a Trumpfueled streak of record ratings and victories over longtime leader Fox News. Jon Stewart His long-gestating and pricey animation project for HBO is abruptly scrapped, keeping the king of leftleaning comics off TV as Trump reigns. Kelly Kahl (left) and Thom Sherman The veteran CBS execs ascend as president and senior vp, respectively, while entertainment chief Glenn Geller exits after a heart attack. Jay Z The music mogul’s struggling Tidal streaming service loses its third CEO in two years, leaving its future in doubt amid stiff competition. Showbiz Stocks $18.70 (+13%) TIVO (TIVO) The International Trade Commission says some Comcast set-top boxes violate patents held by the DVR pioneer. $23.33 (-5.4%) AMC ENTERTAINMENT (AMC) Shares of the exhibitor suffer as…
I t’s alive! Or is it? On May 22, Universal Pictures unveiled its “Dark Universe,” an umbrella under which its monster movies will be released. At least five films are on the way, including The Invisible Man (with Johnny Depp), Dr. Jekyll (Russell Crowe), Frankenstein’s Monster (Javier Bardem) and Bride of Frankenstein (not yet cast). But the future of the universe hinges on the performance of June 9’s The Mummy, a Tom Cruise-led reboot of a trilogy of films started in 1999. Early tracking suggests the Alex Kurtzman-directed film may debut in the low $40 million range in North America — a modest opening salvo for what is hoped to be a series that could someday rival DC and Marvel. Behind the scenes, Universal execs are said to be especially…
As the 70th Cannes Film Festival limped to its end May 28 — by critical consensus, one of the weakest in years (see page 86) — no one film proved a guaranteed awards contender like Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me by Your Name at Sundance. This year’s Cannes prize winners actually may have less Oscar potential than some of the competition entries that the jury ignored. Swedish director Ruben Ostlund’s The Square, which Magnolia Pictures has in the U.S., was crowned with the Palme d’Or. But the 142-minute comedy about a liberal museum director (Claes Bang) who runs afoul of racial and social prejudice, which most critics complained was about 20 minutes too long, may have its best Oscar shot as a foreign-language submission. (Ostlund’s Force Majeure made the foreign-film shortlist…
British entertainment executives are keeping a stiff upper lip despite the cancellation of two film premieres (The Mummy and Wonder Woman) and Kiss’ last-minute decision to pull out of a concert following the May 22 Manchester bombing that killed 22 people. The Sundance Film Festival: London screening of Miguel Arteta’s Beatriz at Dinner will still kick off its June 1 to 4 run; Radio 1’s Big Weekend festival still happened May 27 and 28 in Hull, with “various extra security measures,” according to the BBC; and two Iron Maiden gigs went ahead in London (with “enhanced security checks”). At the same time, Aerosmith decided not to cancel any European dates, and Ariana Grande announced a return to Manchester for a benefit concert June 4 with Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Miley…
Alow-profile Hollywood account manager is being thrust into the glare of Johnny Depp’s high-stakes legal battles as either a virtuous whistleblower or a disgruntled liar. A judge overseeing Depp’s litigation with his former business managers ruled May 26 that her testimony must be made public as the two sides now seek to validate or discredit her in advance of an anticipated trial in 2018. Janine Rayburn, a former employee of The Management Group, initially was called to testify as part of the Pirates of the Caribbean actor’s lawsuit against the firm and principals Joel and Robert Mandel. Rayburn, who was Depp’s day-to-day account manager, has alleged the star wasn’t filled in on the state of his finances. TMG asked the court to keep Rayburn’s testimony under seal, alleging perjury and…
Think Clint Eastwood and ISIS have nothing in common? Think again. Footage from Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers (2006) has found its way into the 22-minute propaganda short Healing of the Believers’ Chests, created by the terror group. And a shot mimicking the 86-year-old director and well-known Republican’s American Sniper (2014) appears in another ISIS video, Shoot to Redeem Yourself 2, which re-creates Sniper’s slow-motion image of a bullet fired from a rifle. Both exemplify the increased use of Hollywood footage in videos made by ISIS, which is “deliberately and strategically using these references,” says Lara Pham, deputy director of the Counter Extremism Project, an organization (co-founded by former Sen. Joseph Lieberman, former Homeland Security Advisor Frances Townsend and other foreign-policy experts) that has analyzed 1,275 films made by ISIS…
