Innholdsfortegnelse for September 6, 2017 i The Hollywood Reporter

Writers Room Just before Memorial Day weekend, writers and crew from The Simpsons commenced their ninth annual fantasy summer box-office league. Three months later, they’re feeling — to borrow a phrase from Bart — “craptacular” after the worst domestic season in memory. But not writer Rob LaZebnik, the league’s first back-to-back winner, who can thank his 16-year-old son and dumb luck (his words) for his $700 firstplace purse. LaZebnik was one of 18 players who put in $80 for $100 in “B.O. bucks”: On the advice of his kid, he bid $39 for half of Wonder Woman and $37 for all of Baywatch. He also bet on smaller films, including $6 for 47 Meters Down, a shark movie no one had heard of — until it made $43.8 million. When…

Helen Mirren had dinner at Toscana. Stevie Wonder sat nearby. … Stan Lee was at Mr Chow. Lynda Obst also was in. … David Beckham had dinner with his kids at Jon & Vinny’s. … Josh Brolin had date night with his wife at Shake Shack in Hollywood before seeing Hamilton. … Brian Grazer sat with Channing Dungey at The Palm. Nearby, Jimmy Iovine lunched with Ari Emanuel. … Hilary Shor popped by Laduree in Beverly Hills. … Adele checked out Barton G. … Emily Ratajkowski was at Norah. … Over at Jean-Georges, Jeffrey Katzenberg held court. HOT N EW RESTAURANT La Carmencita The Quick Pitch This Baja-style Mexican restaurant across from Salt’s Cure in southern Hollywood quietly opened last fall but was rebooted over the summer with a new…

Fall is nearly here, and school is in full swing. For new enrollees at L.A. private schools, that means anxious weeks of sussing out the scene and angling to fit in — not just for students but moms, too. As with any tribe, the mom crew at an L.A. private school has its own set of unspoken signposts, especially dress. Call it the “mom-iform” — an unofficial dress code that can tell you as much about a school’s real ethos as any official mission statement or tour. “One mom came back from an open house at Buckley and said, ‘I like the school, but honestly, I don’t own a pair of stilettos,’ ” says Sandy Eiges, who advises parents as the L.A. School Scout. Fellow school consultant Christina Simon, co-author…

Few people know the real-life story behind Suburbicon better than Lynda Myers. After all, it was her parents who moved into the home at 43 Deepgreen Lane in Levittown, Pennsylvania, in August 1957, setting off a violent racial conflict that lasted for months. William and Daisy Myers had no dreams of becoming leaders in the civil rights movement and no idea that Daisy would one day be called the Rosa Parks of the North. And yet that’s what happened when locals began to harass the planned community’s first African-American family. “My father was an electrical engineer and my mother was an educator,” says Lynda, a baby at the time. “She was a guidance counselor, a teacher and then a principal. They were very wellliked and respected.” Within days of their…

A LEGACY OF SPIES By John le Carre (Sept. 5, Viking, 275 pages, $28) LOGLINE In the first new George Smiley story in 25 years, retired Cold War spies rejoin “the Circus.” WHY READ IT? With the success of AMC/BBC’s miniseries The Night Manager in 2016 (plus three other films in development) and the re-emergence of a Russian threat, le Carre is hot and relevant again. WHAT HAPPENED By Hillary Rodham Clinton (Sept. 12, Simon & Schuster, 512 pages, $30) LOGLINE Clinton has promised she “let her guard down” to give her side of the 2016 election. WHY READ IT? It’s likely the biggest release in a season filled with anxiously awaited books about the current political landscape. Early excerpts, including one in which Clinton describes how her “skin crawled”…

The old showbiz adage “a Bond film is only as good as its villain” also applies to movies made from Stephen King novels. In 1990, ABC hit the jackpot when it cast Tim Curry as the evil, wisecracking clown Pennywise in It, based on King’s 1,138-page book. The Hollywood Reporter called the two-part, four-hour epic “one big kicky ride thanks to the charismatic acting of Curry as savage, sneering malevolence.” Director Tommy Lee Wallace tells THR, “My job was to give Tim the stage and not get in his way too much. He was like Robin Williams in the way he brought a spontaneous improvisation to the part.” The British actor originally had made a name for himself in 1973’s stage production (and later in the film) The Rocky Horror…

Film Think Bond Apple joins the auction for 007 movie rights. p. 10 ↑Box Office Summer Shrapnel Inside the worst season in a decade p. 12 David Madden The Fox entertainment chief lands the programmer job at AMC and SundanceTV, putting him in charge of Walking Dead and the home of 10 straight years of drama series Emmy noms. Colin Trevorrow The Star Wars: Episode IX filmmaker exits amid rumors of dysfunction (Lucasfilm says, “Our visions for the project differ”). Taylor Swift The pop star’s edgier “Look What You Made Me Do” leaps to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart with the highest weekly sales and stream numbers of the year. Pete Rose The Fox Sports baseball analyst won’t appear on playoff broadcasts in the wake of a claim…

MILLENNIUM’S CHINA DEBACLE: DOWN BUT MAYBE NOT OUT Deal of the Week Don’t cry for Avi Lerner just yet. Although Chinese conglomerate Recon Group announced Aug. 30 that it was aborting its $100 million plan to acquire 51 percent of his Millennium Films, Lerner isn’t fazed. “The company’s richer by $20 million,” he tells THR, suggesting that Recon’s only installment payment — received in May and followed by repeated delays — now becomes a breakup fee. Because of the difficulty of closing deals in China’s increasingly strict regulatory climate, U.S. negotiators have sought hefty breakup fees when engaging in M&A activity with Chinese firms. But even by current standards, Lerner’s return is steep. Dalian Wanda Group, for example, paid out $50 million when its $1 billion buyout of Dick Clark…

“Brad Pitt, if you’re listening, I fucked that up.” GWYNETH PALTROW The actress, apologizing on the podcast Girlboss to her former boyfriend for being bad at commitment. “[But] I’m actually a pretty good friend and a good sister and daughter and mother.” “Email …” ALF CLAUSEN The fired Simpsons composer, answering a fan on Twitter who asked if, after 27 years on the show, he had been let go by phone or in person. “You have to waste an hour of your day with a bullshit shot.” MATT DAMON The actor, telling THR that, in his experience, if a director wanted to film in one of Donald Trump’s buildings, he or she was required to shoot a Trump cameo. “If I plan something as a man I’m a ‘genius.’ If…

Weddings Farrell Rose Ulrich, a CAA marketing executive, married Bobby Hanifin on July 22 at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. The reception followed at the Jonathan Club in Santa Monica. Births Makeup artist Toby Fleischman and partner Lindsay Lanciault welcomed sons Rhys Alexander Lanciault and Fox Lynch Lanciault at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on July 25 and Aug. 6, respectively. Actress Casey Wilson and showrunner David Caspe, alums of TV’s Happy Endings, welcomed son Henry Bear Caspe on Aug. 24. Congrats Michael Thorn was named president of Fox Entertainment on Aug. 30. Sharon Levy was named president of unscripted and scripted television at Endemol Shine North America on Aug. 22. Paramount hired Jean Chi as executive vp business affairs and promoted David Miercort to the…

ALTHOUGH IT HASN’T always had the same red carpet clout as the Globes or Oscars, TV’s big night this year is sparking interest among top European houses from Chanel and Dior to Giorgio Armani thanks to such nominees as Big Little Lies’ Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. The Emmys “have definitely picked up fashion stride,” says stylist Petra Flannery, who is working with Witherspoon, noting that the Sept. 17 telecast is the first major awards red carpet since July’s couture runways in Paris. Julia Haart, creative director of La Perla, adds that Shailene Woodley and Handmaid’s Tale’s Elisabeth Moss also are on designers’ wish lists: “TV is so good now, everyone in the world is watching.” Scott was photographed by Adam Amengual on Aug. 17 in his new studio at…

Longtime Toronto film fest attendees have seen the city boom skyward in recent years, with 65 new condo towers hitting the market in the past year alone. More than 100 cranes currently dot the skyline, servicing residential high-rises in various phases of development. Since 2010, 165,000 condo units have been built, with approximately 18,000 more added in 2016 and another 83,000 under construction, according to condo tracking consulting group Urbanation. Sotheby’s agent Rizwan Malik notes that the majority of these units are being bought in presales. “The condo market is absolutely insane,” he says. With similar — if slightly less frenetic — booms still going in L.A. and New York, and more Hollywood buyers eyeing a Toronto pied-aterre outside Trump’s America, THR looks at what you can get for under…

Following the January cyberattack that brought down Sundance’s box office and crippled Park City Wi-Fi access for several days, Toronto organizers are facing the grim reality that festivals have become just as attractive a target as studios and networks. “Think of all the possible motivations for people bringing down a festival,” says Tim Toohey, who heads the cybersecurity practice at Hollywood law firm Greenberg Glusker. “They could want to get access to the intellectual property. They may have a personal or political grudge.” Toronto Film Festival organizers wouldn’t divulge exact details of its cybersecurity, but they say the fest will continue to adapt to evolving threats. “Our IT team has worked on improving protocols around online security, including consulting with other international festivals that have experienced challenges in this area,”…

1 Jackery Mini lipsticksized battery pack holds one full iPhone charge; $30, jackery.com 2 Mophie PowerStation XXL adds up to 100 hours of smartphone battery and can power three devices simultaneously; $100, mophie.com 3 Kado boasts the world’s thinnest wall charger — it’s the size of a credit card — that’s both iOS and Android friendly; $59 to $69, preorder at kado.tech 4 Anker PowerCore +26800 PD quickly recharges a laptop or tablet and holds up to seven phone charges; $110, amazon.com…

The last time Steve Harvey called Los Angeles home, he was in what he calls the “pick me” phase of his career. “Back then, I was trying to make it,” he says, fiddling with a cigar on the table. “I was trying to get picked. ‘Hope I get on this.’ ‘Hope I get on that.’ This trip back is very different.” Indeed, the 60-year-old Harvey, who has lived in Chicago for the last five years, is here in Hollywood to add a new daytime talk show to a vast empire that includes five game shows, four books, a clothing line, a foundation and a popular syndicated radio show. In the last year alone, the married father of seven hauled in $42.5 million, according to Forbes. Harvey’s new midday entry, Steve,…

Source: The week’s most active and talked-about entertainers on leading social networking sites Facebook, Google Plus, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube for the week ending Aug. 29. Rankings are based on a formula blending weekly additions of fans as well as cumulative weekly reactions and conversations, as tracked by MVP Index.…

The interactive media categories bring increasing ingenuity to the Creative Arts Emmys SCRIPTED INTERACTIVE MEDIA PROGRAM RESISTANCE RADIO CAMPAIGN FOR THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE (AMAZON) For the series’ alternate-post World War II world, this radio show gave voice to a revolutionary movement. The unique multimedia campaign included a live event at SXSW. UNSCRIPTED INTERACTIVE MEDIA PROGRAM STAND FOR RIGHTS A BENEFIT FOR THE ACLU WITH TOM HANKS The nomination marks a first for Facebook Live for live-streaming a fundraiser that aired April 1 and featured Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey and others. UNSCRIPTED INTERACTIVE MEDIA PROGRAM THE VOICE ON SNAPCHAT (NBC) This is the first nomination for an original show on the popular social media app. As a companion to NBC’s hit singing competition, it will return to Snapchat…

People, Places, Preoccupations VITAL STATS AGE 38 HOMETOWN New Orleans BIG BREAK HBO’s Treme REPS Silver Lining Entertainment and Stone Genow W hen Hong Chau learned that Alexander Payne had been working on a sci-fi script, she figured there might be a role for her. “I thought, ‘Oh, maybe there’s a lab tech with a line or two,’ because I had been trained to think so small in regards to how I look and what I can play — or what people will allow me to play,” says the Asian-American actress. But there was a much meatier opportunity in Downsizing, Payne’s social satire (a Dec. 22 Paramount release) starring Matt Damon as a lower-middle-class man who chooses to be shrunk in order to live a more affluent life in a…

W e need to flip conventional school design on its head,” says Russlynn Ali, whose Project XQ works alongside the Laurene Powell Jobs-founded Emerson Collective to give grants (up to $10 million) to “Super Schools” that participate in a competition of ideas on how to revolutionize the outdated public school system. In partnership with the Entertainment Industry Foundation, more than 60 “cultural influencers,” including J.J. Abrams, Norman Lear and Mahershala Ali, will come together for EIF Presents: XQ Super School Live, a show with performances by Jennifer Hudson and Sheryl Crow, among others, broadcasting live Sept. 8 at 5 p.m. PST on ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. Says Russlynn Ali, who served in the U.S. Department of Education under President Obama, “There’s a real need of folks everywhere to be…

Donald Trump has made no secret that his most trusted source of media information is Fox News. So I decided to immerse myself with various shows on the network to better understand how their influence maketh the president. And after three days, I did better understand Trump’s obsession with Fox News — and why his dependency on it is so dangerous for the country. Fox News and Trump are in sync when they complain about “mainstream media” and “fake news,” yet Fox News is the opposite of an outsider. As of Aug. 17, Sean Hannity had the No. 1 show of the night, and Fox News was the top cable news channel. And nothing is more mainstream than a news organization lavishly endorsed by the president of the United States.…

MANOLO: THE BOY WHO MADE SHOES FOR LIZARDS (Music Box Films) Helmed by fashion illustrator and former New Yorker fashion director Michael Roberts, this portrait of shoe innovator Blahnik features Rihanna, Naomi Campbell and more. Opens Sept. 15 in L.A. and New York City. KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE (20th Century Fox) The dapper crime fighters head to the U.S., opening up a world of new wardrobe opportunities that costume designer Arianne Phillips has channeled into a high-fashion collection for Mr. Porter. Premieres Sept. 7 in New York; opens Sept. 22. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ANDRE (Magnolia Pictures) Director Kate Novack chronicles the life and career of Andre Leon Talley, from Andy Warhol’s Factory to editor-at-large at Vogue, with commentary from Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford and Valentino. Premieres Sept. 8 at…

Call it the ultimate catch-22. When it comes to the most in-demand festival films, traditional distributors are being forced to overspend in order to compete with streaming giants Amazon and Netflix. Then, months later, they watch their prized film’s box office get cannibalized by the very streamers they were pitted against in the first place. Take the case of Sundance darling Patti Cake$, which Amazon chased but Fox Searchlight ultimately landed in January for $9.5 million — a mammoth price tag for a tiny hip-hop drama fronted by an unknown actress. Earning just $206,941 after two weekends in theaters, the flop illustrates how theatrical-focused buyers are being squeezed more than ever as they try to recoup their investments. “We always love a Moonlight story — the little film that could…

If you’re one of the anxious Americans who googled “how to become a Canadian citizen” on election night, experience in Hollywood could help grease the wheels. First, the bad news: It won’t be easy. “For those with the right skill sets, they can come,” says Vancouver immigration lawyer Zool Suleman. “Canada is very selective about who they take.” The first step is to determine your eligibility according to Canada’s point system. There’s actually a calculator on the Canadian citizenship and immigration website that offers an at-aglance estimate of your score based on the following criteria: age, education level, whether you have studied in Canada, English- and French-language proficiency, whether you have family already in Canada and your overall work experience. The best way to jump to the head of the…

FARMR 140 ESPLANADE 416-901-8676 Around the corner from the Elgin and Winter Garden theaters, this new eatery could be your next TIFF lunch spot. The Farmr Plate, with one protein (like hay-roasted chicken), a base and two sides (try Ontario mushrooms & kale), costs $10. CANIS 746 QUEEN ST. WEST 416-203-3317 A 10-minute walk from Bell Lightbox, this intimate, minimalist bistro offers an indulgent take on classic Canadian dishes. Try the seven-course tasting menu for $68, which includes salmon, gooseberry and cucumber; kohlrabi and beef short rib. BARO 485 KING ST. WEST 416-363-8388 Two blocks from Scotiabank Theatre, Steve Gonzalez’s Latin eatery specializes in signature dishes like Nikkei Ceviche ($21), OG Duck Chaufa ($28) and a bone-in branzino fish ($34). “We are all about big flavors,” says Gonzalez.…

RADIO He can be heard for four hours daily on his The Steve Harvey Morning Show, which draws 9 million-plus weekly. DAYTIME Harvey wrapped his Chicago-based show this spring; his new show, Steve, is more star-focused and tapes in L.A. His version of Family Feud, produced via Freemantle, reaches more than 10 million per day and is the No. 1 game show in syndication. PRIMETIME He is broadcast’s go-to host, with shows across three nets. At NBC, Little Big Shots was the most watched new reality show in six years, and has spawned a spinoff. ABC has two Harvey game shows (Funderdome, Celebrity Family Feud) and Fox will revive Showtime at the Apollo. MERCHANDISING Fans can dress like Harvey, too: His eponymous clothing and accessories line is sold at such…

Somewhere on these pages could be the next William Shatner. Or Avril Lavigne. Or Lorne Michaels. Canada has long been Hollywood’s great talent farm to the north, as famous for exporting movie and TV stars as it is for its maple syrup. So THR reached over the border — where business is booming, with foreign production spending up 28 percent (to $698 million) in Ontario alone last year — to ask some of the buzziest young Canadian performers about their goals, mentors, the best advice they’ve been given about the entertainment biz and, of course, what’s great about (aboot?) being Canadian: “Everybody thinks you’re friendly, eh?” ACTOR William Ainscough | 13 The Vancouver-born Ainscough shined opposite Donald Sutherland in the Canadian indie Milton’s Secret, had a breakout role in The…

In the heart of the Toronto International Film Festival® (TIFF) this year, one of the highlights for music supervisors and filmmakers is The Canadian Music Café, a two-day, industry-only afternoon music showcase that has resulted in syncs for film, TV, advertising and video games. Held at the xoTO Filmmakers Lounge (270 King Street W.) Sept. 11-12, it is open to TIFF badge holders and by invitation. “The idea is to create a music environment where the film and music industries can collide and talk to each other, with the focus being on 10 up-andcoming, semi-established artists that most people outside of Canada have not heard yet,” says music supervisor Michael Perlmutter (Degrassi, The Handmaid’s Tale), Instinct Entertainment founder and president of the Guild of Music Supervisors Canada, who curates and…

AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000) “Christian Bale, who wasn’t yet a big star, wanted to do it. Then Titanic opened and Lionsgate sent Leonardo DiCaprio the script and he wanted to do it. But [director] Mary Harron told me: ‘Leo will never do the movie,’ so wait it out. She was right.” BADLANDS (1973) “Badlands was made like a Broadway play, we got $25,000 in financing here, $50,000 there. My mother invested in the movie … It took a long time to edit. [My mom] called [director] Terry Malick and told him to finish the film.” PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974) “We sold the film to Fox but, like Badlands, it had an unsuccessful initial release. So we did it ourselves. We took the film to Little Rock, to Memphis, to Dallas.…