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 Film Franchise Fatigue Summer’s impact on sequels and spinoffs p. 18 Television Upfronts Scorecard How the networks’ ad sales stack up p. 18 Heat Index John Stankey The AT&T veteran is expected to lead Time Warner’s film and TV business if and when the $85.4 billion takeover is done, giving him power over Warner Bros., Turner and more. Tony Vinciquerra The new Sony Pictures CEO loses LStar Capital as a major financing partner, a blow to his efforts to turn around the struggling film division. Jodie Whittaker The Broadchurch actress is named the BBC’s 13th Doctor Who star, the first woman to play the iconic role. R. Kelly The R&B Grammy winner is under fire after parents of several young women accuse him of holding them in…
“Fuck you all for giving me chest pains because of the staggering fucking incompetence.” DARABONT Were the explosive emails that showrunner Frank Darabont sent to associates on AMC’s The Walking Dead just another example of Hollywood excess from a brilliant talent? Or an unacceptable breach of standards of conduct? A brief and unscientific survey of showrunners and executives suggests the industry’s reaction is mixed. While no one defends Darabont’s profanitylaced emails, some condemn them more strongly than others. Some are willing to cut Darabont slack because AMC had slashed the show’s budget by 25 percent and imposed other difficult conditions despite the fact that he had delivered the biggest hit the network is ever likely to have. Most of the emails, released as AMC fights a $280 million lawsuit from…
The mixed box-office bag for this summer’s tentpole films is forcing studios to revisit their strategies for keeping individual franchises going. Spider-Man (Sony) Even before Homecoming hit theaters, Sony ordered a sequel for 2019, with Jon Watts now in negotiations to return as director. But the real test will come as Sony expands its Spider- Man universe without Marvel’s help. Venom shoots this fall with director Ruben Fleischer and star Tom Hardy; and the female-superhero-led Silver & Black will be directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The studio is convinced that emphasizing Homecoming’s high school setting was key to the reboot. Says Sony’s Tom Rothman, “Making the audience care is a lot harder than making things blow up.” Transformers (Paramount) After the fifth installment, The Last Knight, opened to a series low, Paramount…
Good news for multiple networks from the TV upfronts (the recently wrapped selling season). Despite ratings dips, analysts predict the broadcast nets’ haul will be up from 2016, when the upfronts brought in $18.5 billion across cable and broadcast, according to Standard Media Index. Jefferies & Co. estimates primetime commitments will be 3 percent higher, and Pivotal Research Group is looking at a 4 percent increase. This comes as the promise of digital advertising has hit a wall, the result of major brands pulling ads from Google platforms, afraid they might run next to offensive content. Says NBCUniversal ad sales chairman Linda Yaccarino: “The inability of companies of that magnitude to guarantee brand safety was truly the straw that broke the camel’s back.”…
Hollywood isn’t ready to give screen time to Russian president Vladimir Putin, who’s been excised from two upcoming studio features. Fox’s Red Sparrow (March 2) tells the story of a Russian spy (Jennifer Lawrence) wooed by the CIA to be a double agent. It’s based on former CIA officer Jason Matthews’ novel, which drew raves for its insights into current spy craft. When Fox exec Emma Watts optioned the book in 2013, she shifted the story from modern-day Russia to 1970s Budapest, nominally to give it a more “timeless” feel — and though Putin has a key role in the book, he was dropped. Then, after Frances Lawrence came aboard as director, Watts shifted the story back to the present day — and yet despite the explosion of interest in…
EMMYS: THE RACE T he culmination of an expensive and overwhelming campaign season, the 2017 Primetime Emmy nominations offer something for most everyone — and, with few exceptions, as open a race as the awards have seen in some time. A record five first-year series — The Crown, The Handmaid’s Tale, Stranger Things, This Is Us and Westworld — join familiar entries House of Cards and Better Call Saul in the top drama race. That means there’s no category consensus leading into the final round of voting, open Aug. 14, though HBO’s Westworld leads with 22 noms. Newcomer Atlanta seems to pose the most serious threat to Veep’s recent comedy reign, but the fervor for the whirlwind election season of Saturday Night Live (which tied Westworld for the most noms) may…
