Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer Triple Issue i The Hollywood Reporter

WHAT DID COMIC-CON look like in its early days before 130,000-plus fans began to swarm San Diego each July? Perhaps a lot like VidCon, the annual online video confab expected to draw more than 25,000 people to Anaheim from June 23 to 25. Teeming with tweens and teens who scream at the mere mention of YouTube stars like Tyler Oakley, VidCon is becoming Hollywood’s answer to the question of how to market to that elusive kid who is immune to advertising and doesn’t know what time her favorite show airs on TV. Several studios and networks have upped their investment in the event, with screenings of teen-friendly flicks like Lionsgate’s Nerve and secretive plans for titles like Warner Bros.’ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. “Media companies want to…

I FIRST MET ANTON THROUGH PRODUCER Jonathan Schwartz when I was casting Like Crazy, a tiny indie that ended up changing all of our lives. At our first meeting, I knew he was the one: He was just 21, but he was an old soul, perfect for the part of Jacob. Thankfully he and Felicity Jones, whom I already had cast, hit it off and developed a chemistry I could have only dreamed of. We didn’t have a traditional script to guide us but rather an outline with specific emotional journeys, so I encouraged the actors to bring a lot to the table. Before filming, the three of us spent a lot of time talking about past relationships and love and our lives. We put so much of ourselves into…

THE BOOMING business of awardsseason consulting is about to become a little more competitive. And this time, the competition is coming from a true Academy insider. Ric Robertson, a high-ranking official at AMPAS from 1989-2013 (he was COO the last three years), has teamed with Jonathan Taylor, a longtime Los Angeles-area entertainment journalist turned media consultant, to form the PR and marketing consultancy Robertson Taylor Partners. With the Emmy season in full gear and Oscar campaigns set to kick off later this summer, the duo already has begun to line up prominent clients. Robertson and Taylor, who are as well-versed as anyone in the tastes of Oscar voters and the ins and outs of awards campaigning, quietly worked in support of Strategy PR’s efforts for The Revenant last season. “They…

FILM Nicole Kidman (CAA, Australia’s Shanahan, Media Talent, Jackoway Tyerman) will join Colin Farrell in Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Donald Glover (WME, MGMT, Ginsburg Daniels) and Logan Marshall-Green (CAA, 3 Arts, Stone Genow) are joining Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Lady Gaga (CAA, Grubman Shire) is in talks to star in Warner Bros.’ A Star Is Born remake for director Bradley Cooper. Giancarlo Esposito (ICM, Thruline, Jackoway Tyerman) has joined Snowpiercer director Bong Joon-Ho’s Okja. David Leslie Johnson (Paradigm, Behr Abramson) will pen The Nun, New Line’s spinoff centered on the villain of The Conjuring 2. Mandela’s Justin Chadwick (UTA, the U.K.’s Independent) is in talks to direct Anthony Mackie in the untitled Johnnie Cochran movie. Bridge of Spies writer Matt Charman (CAA, the U.K.’s Independent, Grandview, Hansen…

Women in Film Crystal+Lucy Awards Beverly Hills, June 15 THE GENDER WAGE GAP, GLASS ceilings and the challenges of being a working mother were just a few of the topics that dominated the stage during Women in Film’s annual awards event, which honored a parade of female power players. Sponsored by Max Mara and BMW, the Chris Parnell-hosted fete filled the ballroom at the Beverly Hilton, where producer Denise Di Novi, along with seven of her peers, took home the Crystal Award for Excellence in Film. “We’ve been crawling for many years,” she said. “This year I feel it in my bones that we are running.” Added Lucy Award for Excellence in TV honoree Taraji P. Henson: “We’re all we got, ladies. If we don’t support each other, who will?”…

IN THE MIDDLE OF A MEETING on whether to sink money into a concierge service app, the team at the A-Grade Investments fund got a little silly and tried the service out by ordering a cactus to be delivered to co-founder Ashton Kutcher. “We actually did invest in that company, and we continue to use it,” says Abe Burns, a partner in the fund. “And the cactus is now in our office, sitting there.” Hands-on engagement with the ventures it backs is one of the hallmarks of A-Grade, a fund founded in 2010 by Kutcher, music executive Guy Oseary and billionaire Ron Burkle that has become a quick legend in startup investing. Early bets on Uber, Airbnb and Spotify have helped its portfolio grow eightfold to $250 million and landed…

ZO Essential Growth Factor Serum Plus, $148 This product from L.A. derm Zein Obagi stimulates cell regeneration with plant-derived growth factors, fermented red ginseng extract and retinol. zoskin health.com Clinique Smart Custom-Repair Serum, $145 The most high-end product from this popular line is new and evens out skin tone with vitamin C and salicylic acid and calms inflammation with red algae and caffeine, among other results. clinique.com ReVive Intensite Line Erasing Serum, $600 Renowned plastic surgeon Gregory Bays Brown created this line, one of the highest end around. The serum instantly tightens skin and diminishes wrinkles and fine lines with the aid of lab-synthesized freshwater cone-snail venom. reviveskincare.com Valmont’s Serumulsion, $155 While Valmont products can run $570, this latest entry is a cream/serum hybrid that infuses water deep into the…

ACOOL LUXURY extended-stay: It’s typical in London and Hong Kong, but nobody’s doing it in L.A., so that’s what this is about,” says developer Brad Korzen as he tours his latest project alongside his wife, internationally renowned interior designer Kelly Wearstler, on June 10. The pair are debuting the 22-floor, 200-unit Proper at the historic former CBS Columbia Square complex in Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard (the building shares a courtyard with Viacom’s new corporate offices and the private membership co-working club NeueHouse). This venture marks Korzen and Wearstler’s first new hospitality play since they sold their fashionable hotel brand the Viceroy in 2010 to Starwood Capital Group for an undisclosed price. “There’s an absolute market for something that isn’t the Oakwood,” says Korzen. “People going between New York and L.A.,…

DISNEY STOCK UNDER IGER JAN. 25, 2006 Iger pulled off his first big acquisition, snapping up Pixar for $7.4 billion. An added perk from the deal: Apple founder Steve Jobs, who ran the animation studio behind Toy Story and Finding Nemo, joined Disney’s board. AUG. 31, 2009 Disney unveiled a $4 billion deal to buy comic book and action hero giant Marvel Entertainment. “This treasure trove of over 5,000 characters offers Disney the ability to do what we do best,” Iger said at the time. AUG. 6, 2015 Disney warned investors that profit from ESPN and other cable channels were weak as cord-cutters hurt subscriber numbers. The admission triggered a stock meltdown in the media sector.…

BOB DALY “I do what I do to help people I like,” says the ex-Warner Bros. chairman, including former Warners film chief Alan Horn (No. 9), whom Daly connected with Disney CEO Bob Iger (No. 1), and Brad Grey (No. 40), who got his post as Paramount chief with help from some Daly whispering. DAVID GEFFEN As a first-time producer, Brian Grazer (No. 95) benefited from the Geffen seal of approval at an early screening of Ron Howard’s 1982 comedy Night Shift. As the room waited, “He stood up and clapped his hands and said, ‘This movie is amazing. It’s brilliant,’ ” recalls Grazer. “He basically anointed us.” SHERRY LANSING The ex-Paramount chair lobbied on behalf of Karen Rosenfelt when the latter left the studio in 2005 and was trying…

TED SARANDOS (left) and RYAN KAVANAUGH In January, Kavanaugh accused Netflix’s Sarandos — a former friend — of sabotaging his plans to salvage his bankrupt Relativity Media, saying the Netflix chief even went so far as to take actor Kevin Spacey to dinner in an attempt to convince him to not accept an offered position at Relativity. “Seriously sleazy, even for you,” Kavanaugh wrote to Sarandos in an email that went public (and viral). Meanwhile, Netflix filed a legal objection to Relativity’s reorganization, questioning Relativity’s ability to create content for the streamer. NICOLE WINHOFFER (left) and TRACY ANDERSON and MADONNA (right) “There’s no way in hell you could get Nicole and Tracy in the same room, no matter how good the party is,” says a source close to both fitness…

HIGH FIDELITY (2000) ▲ I am fortunate to have grown up in the age of the mixtape. The character played by John Cusack so beautifully captures the obsessive neuroses many of us poured into these immortal tapes. — J.R. TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS: RUNNIN’ DOWN A DREAM (2007) Whether you’ve ever been a Petty fan or not, this is an amazing story. Like his songwriting, the doc is undeniably human and relatable. — J.R. DIG! (2004) Following the divergent paths of two bands, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, this movie’s like watching a slo-mo car crash of ego, brilliance and drugs. — T.W. BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1970) It’s an insane parody of the ’60s music scene, complete with a madman Phil Spector-esque producer.…

AS AN OLD-SCHOOL MOGUL, it’s hard to beat Darryl F. Zanuck. Smoking a cigar and surrounded by big-game trophies he shot on African safaris, he would growl out lines like, “Don’t say ‘yes’ until I finish talking.” One of the rare non-Jewish founders of the film industry, Zanuck was born Methodist in 1902 in Wahoo, Neb., and by the late 1920s was production chief at Warner Bros. In 1932, he took out a full-page ad in THR to explain his type of film: “It must have the punch and smash that would entitle it to be a headline on the front page of any successful metropolitan daily.” A few months later, after Jack Warner declined to make him a partner, Zanuck quit and joined with Joseph Schenck to form 20th…

Steven Spielberg (No. 16) 117 Jennifer Lawrence (23) 107 Leonardo DiCaprio (10) 98 Rupert, James and Lachlan Murdoch (2) 96 Dana Walden and Gary Newman (12) 90 Donna Langley, Ron Meyer and Jeff Shell (11) 82 J.J. Abrams (21) 71 Stacey Snider, Jim Gianopulos and Emma Watts (15) 68 Sumner Redstone and Shari Redstone (6) 64 Leslie Moonves (3) 58 Oprah Winfrey (22) 58 Ted Sarandos (5) 49 Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell (13) 46 Bob Iger (1) 35 Richard Lovett, Kevin Huvane and Bryan Lourd (19) 35 Steve Burke (4) 27 Kathleen Kennedy (20) 27 Alan Horn (9) 23 Richard Plepler and Casey Bloys (24) 22 Jeff Bewkes (7) 19 Michael Lynton (25) 15 Bonnie Hammer (14) 14 Kevin Feige (18) 13 John Lasseter (17) 12 Peter Rice (8)…

ON APRIL 27, FIVE BISON carcasses were arranged on the set of the Ice Age film The Solutrean in Alberta, Canada, for a scene that takes place after a hunting expedition. They had been slaughtered and skinned the previous day to be used in the scene by a butcher at the direction of the film’s animal wrangler, John Scott. But the American Humane Association prohibits the use of animals killed for the purpose of film production. And now the AHA, which was monitoring Solutrean, is investigating the incident. “We were alerted to allegations that, if true, are a clear violation of our standards,” says AHA rep Mark Stubis. Solutrean, directed by Albert Hughes and starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, is the first film from the Sony-partnered Studio 8, headed by former Warner…

NEVER MIND THE WHODUNIT. The pressing question is who will make it first? There are two Agatha Christie films in the works at Sony and Paramount. And no, these aren’t projects based on the iconic mystery writer’s novels (though there are plenty of those in the the pipeline, including Fox’s Murder on the Orient Express). The latest pair of movies — Agatha Christie at Sony and Agatha at Paramount — center on the author during her early career. Sony is courting Alicia Vikander to play a proto-feminist Christie uninterested in a traditional wife role (instead she intersects with the likes of Sherlock Holmes writer Arthur Conan Doyle and Winston Churchill). Atop Paramount’s wish list is Emma Stone to play the British literary sensation, with the story postulating what happened to…

Disappearance at Devil’s Rock (William Morrow) BY Paul Tremblay AGENCIES APA, Inkwell Stephen King and Robert Downey Jr. (who optioned his previous novel) are two of the horror writer’s fans. In his latest, a boy’s vanishing might have a supernatural explanation. Homegoing (Knopf) BY Yaa Gyasi AGENCY WME Ta-Nehisi Coates has lauded this debut novel, which netted a $1 million advance. The three-century saga of the families of two Ghanian sisters — one sold into slavery in America, the other married to a British official — has drawn comparisons to Roots and Toni Morrison’s work.…

Vital Stats Age 23 Born Santa Barbara Big break 2014’s It Follows Reps WME, Luber Roklin and attorney Fred Toczek “I’d really love to work with Quentin Tarantino. There’s so many people that I’d love to work with, but there’s something about Quentin,” says Monroe, photographed June 1 at Madera Kitchen in Hollywood. Styling by GEORGE KOTSIOPOULOS Olcay Gulsen dress, Giuseppe Zanotti shoes. UP UNTIL AGE 17, Maika Monroe glided across a different shimmering surface than the big screen. The Santa Barbara native was living in the Dominican Republic as a topranked professional kiteboarder, an extreme sport that looks something like snowboarding on water. For years, Monroe had been sending out mostly ignored audition tapes to casting agents. But in 2011, she received a call about playing Zac Efron’s love interest…

‘Business as Usual’ for Larry David and HBO Details about the long-awaited, just-announced ninth season of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm are starting to trickle in — and it’s sounding pret-ty, pret-ty good. Executive producers David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer tell THR that all the original castmembers will be back — “It should be business as usual,” says Schaffer — for what likely will be a 10-episode run on HBO. Mandel notes that it was David, 68, who approached the producers about finally getting around to season nine — the eighth aired in 2011 — but laughs off suggestions that it was David’s recent success impersonating Bernie Sanders on SNL that convinced the Seinfeld co-creator it was time to return to TV. According to Mandel, David simply needed time to…

2 JAMES MURDOCH (LEFT) CEO LACHLAN MURDOCH (RIGHT) EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN RUPERT MURDOCH EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, 21ST CENTURY FOX Rupert, 85, handed the reins to sons James, 43, and Lachlan, 44, last summer with min-imal drama. Now, the hard part: growing an entertainment behemoth that includes film and TV sudios; the Fox network, Fox News, FX and Fox Sports; a stake in Hulu; and a share of the Sky pay TV services throughout Europe — all of which gener-ated $29 billion in revenue and $6.7 billion in profit in BIG WIN The Viacom train wreck reveals just how smooth the Fox succession has been. BIG BET Elevating Stacey Snider to run the 3 LESLIE MOONVES PRESIDENT AND CEO, CBS CORP. He’s seen his company’s stock rise 12 percent this year as its…

PHILIPPE DAUMAN This signature stands out because the capital letters are much more angular, indicative of feeling aggressive, competitive and driven. His “P” and “D” appear as two large and very pointed arrows aiming to the right, which is associated with the future. Thus, Dauman is feeling extremely motivated and determined to “get right to it.” It would be difficult to stand in his way. BOB IGER The most legible of the signatures, every single letter can be read: Iger is very proud of who he is and wants to make it clear he’s leaving his mark. The long ending stroke of his last name indicates that he can be generous with his time and is capable of making the first gesture. The line length indicates tenacity, that he can…

Getting fired in Hollywood becomes more lucrative every year. Take Viacom. Two decades ago, Frank Biondi left the company with $20 million. Ten years ago, Tom Freston’s farewell brought him $80 million. Should Philippe Dauman go, he could be looking at more than twice that amount. That’s mainly a function of climbing compensation at large. When executives sign contracts for a set term, they are due a base salary, targeted bonuses and stock options. So long as they are not fired with cause, those exiting can expect to see most of what they anticipated had their services not been terminated. However, according to lawyers who specialize in negotiating and drafting these agreements, some companies have mitigation and offset provisions requiring employees to look for other work and, when they find…

Former reality TV agent Camacho has been missing since he resigned from UTA in 2012. UTA ousted the onetime department head one week after it settled a 2011 conflict-of-interest lawsuit brought by former client Scott Einziger, who alleged that Camacho steered the Big Brother producer from a job on a hit CBS series to Relativity Real, a risky venture fronted by Camacho’s lover Ellen Rakieten. A UTA source says “nobody knows” where the pariah agent has landed. After their cocaine trafficking convictions, prison time and stints as federal informants were uncovered in a 2014 L.A. Weekly story, the financiers behind 2 Guns and Lone Survivor fell off the radar. Although their lawyer Howard Weitzman insisted “they intend to continue their involvement in the production of great films,” they have yet…

INSIDERS AT 21ST CENTURY FOX PORTRAY THE surprise June 16 upending of its film studio management as an example of responsible succession planning, and certainly the current drama at Viacom — on a more macro level — is a vivid illustration of what can go awry. It’s clear succession issues are at play here as Rupert Murdoch’s sons, Lachlan and James, begin to put their stamp on Fox’s film and television assets. But what is baffling to so many in Hollywood is that in naming Stacey Snider as the future chairman of the 20th Century Fox film studio, the Murdoch sons — deferring to their father’s 2014 decision to hire Snider in the first place — have upended the exceptionally successful management at one of the industry’s few stable movie…

— JUNE 24 — Free State of Jones BUDGET: $50M STX Entertainment is counting on adults lining up to see the Civil War drama, but prerelease surveys show the Gary Ross-directed film opening in the $8 million to $13 million range, which would be a disappointing start for star Matthew McConaughey. — JUNE 24 — Independence Day: Resurgence BUDGET: $165M The first Independence Day raced to a record six-day, $96.1 million opening during the July 4 holiday in 1996 ($141 million today). Fox’s Resurgence — without Will Smith — hopes for a more modest threeday debut of $50 million. — JULY 1 — The BFG BUDGET: $140M Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s book may have trouble crossing $30 million in its holiday debut. Disney, Amblin and Participant Media…

DISNEY WAS NOT GOING to throw away its shot at the hottest talent in musical theater in a generation. In late 2013, when Hamilton was in rehearsals, Disney senior vp music Tom MacDougall began courting creator-star Lin-Manuel Miranda, who credits The Little Mermaid and other Disney musicals for inspiring his career (he named his son, 19 months, after Sebastian the crab). MacDougall and Miranda went to New Zealand for a music festival the following March, and Disney quickly signed up Miranda, 36, for his post-Hamilton plans. Now the star, who announced June 16 that he will leave his show July 9, has written music and lyrics for the animated Moana (Nov. 23), and he’ll act opposite Emily Blunt in Rob Marshall’s live-action Mary Poppins Returns (2018). He also penned a…

“It took almost as long to come out as I did.” ELLEN DEGENERES The Finding Dory star, poking fun at the 13-year delay before Pixar made the sequel to Finding Nemo. “I have suffered, along with shareholders.” PHILIPPE DAUMAN The embattled Viacom CEO, defending his $54 million compensation in 2015 despite his company’s tanking stock price and falling revenue. He added, “I have lost more than $54 million in this period.” “There’s no one way to be black. I’m black the way I know how to be.” ZOE SALDANA The Nina actress, responding to criticism that the color of her skin is too light to play Nina Simone. “We’re officially breeders.” BLAKE LIVELY The actress, joking about her plans to have several children with husband Ryan Reynolds. “Shi is learning…

Brad Grey joined Bob Daly at The Grill on the Alley as WME’s Mike Simpson and manager Allen Fischer broke bread nearby. … ICM’s John Burnham rendezvoused with Showtime’s David Nevins at Tavern. … All in at once at The Palm: Cindy Crawford, Kelsey Grammer and Cynthia Yorkin. … Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rob Friedman and Chuck Lorre visited Toscana on the same day. Other arrivals: William Friedkin, John Davis, WME’s Nancy Josephson, CAA’s Richard Lovett and Leslie Moonves. … In at the same time at Soho House: Greg Berlanti with Robbie Rogers and, separately, Ian Somerhalder and HBO’s Kathleen McCaffrey. … Jon Kilik and WME’s Dave Wirtschafter met at Mr Chow. Cate Blanchett dined at Musso & Frank. … Clint Eastwood hit Shu Sushi. The Quick Pitch A former automobile body…

CENTER FOR EARLY EDUCATION’S REVETA BOWERS In February, after 38 years as head of Los Angeles’ pre-eminent private pre- and elementary school, she announced her retirement. But that’s still 14 months away. In the meantime, parents pay obeisance. Exhibit A: CEE mom Beyonce’s surprise performance at the school’s 75th annual grand gala at the Shrine Auditorium. THE GRILL ON THE ALLEY’S PAMELA GONYEA The queen of 1 o’clock has been The Grill on the Alley’s cheerful yet decisive lunchtime maitre dame for 15 years, controlling the 14 sought-after booths and corralling the egos of Ari, Jeffrey and more. GAGOSIAN GALLERY’S DEBORAH MCLEOD The gallery’s director decides which buyers are worthy of access to the list of her billionaire boss, Larry, which includes blue chips like Ed Ruscha and emerging stars…

PRINCE ALWALEED The 61-year-old Saudi — known as the Arabian Warren Buffett — is the second-biggest shareholder of 21st Century Fox, owns stakes in Twitter and Euro Disney and has a net worth of $17.3 billion. JEFF BEZOS The guy who started out selling paper towels on the internet now is worth $63 billion, while his website Amazon is a powerhouse streamer, spawning such awardsmagnet originals as Transparent and The Man in the High Castle. CHARLES AND JAMES DOLAN This father-and-son team — Charles, 89, is chairman of Cablevision; James, 61, is CEO — oversees a cable company with 2.6 million subscribers around New York. Charles also is executive chairman of AMC Networks. REED HASTINGS Remember when Netflix DVDs came in little red envelopes? Today, the company that Hastings, 55,…

Hollywood is rife with stories of screamers, from Don Simpson to David O. Russell caught on video berating an actor on set. In your study of introverts versus extroverts, what motivates screamers? A few different things. Introverts in general have nervous systems that respond to less stimulation — they’re easily overwhelmed in loud situations. And extroverts are the opposite — they can become listless, sluggish and unhappy if there isn’t enough going on. An extrovert may try to stir things up, and for an extreme extrovert, the sweet spot is in hyperstimulation in many forms, including confrontational, noisy and highly challenging situations that satisfy that thirst. So there’s a profound biological explanation going on. At the same time, it’s crucial to understand that most extroverts are not screamers. So this…

WHAT WOULD THE Jerry Levin of 2000 (the Time Warner CEO who engineered the illfated $182 billion AOL-Time Warner merger) make of the Jerry Levin of today (an advocate for a holistic approach to life who argues for the importance of nutrition, exercise, sleep, reducing stress and finding a purpose)? Ask Levin that question, and he laughs: “I would have said, ‘Are you out of your f—ing mind?’ ” It’s the only expletive he drops during a 90-minute conversation in which he speaks quietly but intensely as he reflects on the turns his life has taken since he walked away from the corporate ranks in 2001. Levin, 77, still points to his accomplishments proudly — being on the ground floor at HBO’s creation, bringing Turner Broadcasting into the Time Warner…

MICHAEL FUCHS The former HBO chairman and CEO was Warner Music chairman and CEO but was forced out in 1995 after six months, getting a payout of $80 MILLION before deferred compensation and stock. WHERE IT WENT … ▶ Fuchs bought land in Hawaii to develop the estimated $100 million Ke Kailani project on a 65-acre parcel of land; the development company filed for bankruptcy in 2011. “Hawaii was a big loss for me,” he tells THR without disclosing a figure. “When I left Time Warner, there seemed to be a lot of media guys that went and tried to do resort real estate.” ▶ Fuchs, 70, continues to own a New York City penthouse and houses in Katonah in upstate New York and Hawaii. “I’m still in court in…

CAMERON CROWE has all the bona fides. Thanks in large part to his oft-referenced years as a music journalist, he has more, and better, stories about rock ’n’ roll than you ever will. And among his many films are at least two, Singles and Almost Famous, that many music lovers consider classics. Unfortunately, Crowe’s background has done nothing to help him craft a good TV show about rock ’n’ roll — or, in the case of his new Showtime series Roadies, about the people who make it all happen behind the scenes. Roadies is massively disappointing, and many of its failings can be pinned fairly on Crowe: He’s the creator, writer and director of much of the coming season (he directed the three episodes seen for this review and wrote…