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 Music Grammy Noms Surprises, snubs and rap’s new dominance p. 24 Business Tax Relief New GOP plan may benefit studios and networks p. 24 Heat Index Jeff Wachtel The NBCUniversal veteran is headed to London to run the company’s international TV arm, overseeing a global production and format business. Jeremy Piven The actor’s CBS drama Wisdom of the Crowd is canceled by the network amid low ratings and claims of sexual harassment. Van Jones The CNN political commentator, a fixture of 2016 election coverage, is expanding his footprint with a twice-monthly show beginning in January. Ben Young The director’s sci-fi feature Extinction, starring Michael Pena and Lizzy Caplan, is abruptly pulled from Universal’s release schedule two months before its debut. Showbiz Stocks $46.42 (+19%) ROKU (ROKU) Needham…
PETE DOCTER The 6-foot-4 director, 49, started at Pixar at 21, helped develop the idea for Toy Story, made his feature directing debut with 2001’s Monsters, Inc. and won Oscars for 2009’s Up and 2015’s Inside Out. Of the Pixar “brain trust,” he’s seen as most committed to animation. ANDREW STANTON The 51-year-old most recently directed 2016’s Finding Dory and won Oscars for 2003’s Finding Nemo and 2008’s WALL-E. But he’s also stepped away from Pixar at times to direct the 2012 flop John Carter as well as two episodes of Stranger Things. BRAD BIRD A Cal Arts grad, Bird, 60, directed 1999’s The Iron Giant before joining Pixar, where he won Oscars for 2004’s The Incredibles and 2007’s Ratatouille. But he’s also left to direct live action, like 2015’s…
Republican lawmakers seem poised to do the entertainment industry a multibillion-dollar favor with a tax bill that opponents are criticizing as Robin Hood in reverse, with benefits going primarily to corporations instead of workers. If it passes, a GOP tax plan likely will drop the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, a reduction that, had it been in place last year, could have saved major media conglomerates — Disney, Time Warner, Comcast, 21st Century Fox, Viacom and Sony — more than $6 billion, according to financial statements. That’s one reason the MPAA said Nov. 15 that it “applauds the tax proposal” released by the Senate Finance Committee. Not everyone is applauding. The Tax Policy Center notes that more than half of U.S. households with incomes between $150,000…
JAY Z AND KENDRICK LAMAR The kings of rap resonate with voters this year: Jay Z nabs eight noms, including one for album of the year with 4:44, while Lamar claims seven for his album Damn. They’ll go headto- head in the rap album category. LUCIAN GRAINGE The Universal Music Group chairman beats his rivals with nine nominations in the four mostcoveted categories, topping Warner Music Group (four) and Sony Music Entertainment (two). As for the indies, they collected five noms in the major fields. DONALD GLOVER Fresh off his two Emmy triumphs for FX’s Atlanta, Glover (as alter ego Childish Gambino) lands five noms, with his 2016 release, Awaken My Love!, competing for album of the year and his track “Redbone” in the running for record of the year.…
Much of the tech industry opposes Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai’s Nov. 21 proposal to unravel the net neutrality rules that prevent internet service providers from blocking or throttling online traffic or charging users for access to certain content. But it’s upstart streaming services — dozens of which, like art house streamer Mubi and classic-centric Shout! Factory, have launched in recent years, providing a new source of licensing revenue for Hollywood — that could feel the greatest impact. “If I were a smaller streaming service, I would not want to be put on a slower lane than something like Netflix,” says Macquarie analyst Amy Yong. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings noted in the spring that a repeal of net neutrality would have little effect because with its 53 million U.S.…
PICTURE Call Me by Your Name Luca Guadagnino’s story of young gay love is on a roll: It was named best feature at the Gotham Awards, where Timothee Chalamet also scored the breakthrough actor award; it led the Spirit Awards nominations with six; and the Sony Pictures Classics release picked up a 98 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating when it opened Nov. 24. The Shape of Water Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy tale of a woman who falls in love with a seductive sea creature — which arrives in theaters via Fox Searchlight on Dec. 1 — was hailed as it played the fall festival circuit, winning the top prize in Venice, but the film itself, del Toro and star Sally Hawkins all were snubbed for Spirit Awards nominations. Get Out Jordan…
