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.
THE MENTAL COMPETENCY OF SUMNER Redstone could be openly challenged as his longtime companion Manuela Herzer — who was ejected from Redstone’s life in October — might be set to square off against the frail 92-year-old Viacom and CBS executive chairman’s family, which recently has taken a leading role in his care. Herzer, who a source says was Redstone’s health care agent until his daughter, Shari, and her family asserted themselves in his life in September, has retained Pierce O’Donnell, the combative litigator who represented Donald Sterling’s wife, Shelly, in her successful battle to have Sterling declared incompetent, leading to a $2 billion sale of the L.A. Clippers in 2014. While O’Donnell declined to tell THR whether Herzer will seek to reassert herself as the primary person in charge of…
JON STEWART The former Daily Show host inks a four-year production deal at HBO and first will focus on shortform content for the network’s digital platforms. But will he appear on camera? BRADLEY COOPER & SANDRA BULLOCK Two big stars, two epic flops as Bullock’s Our Brand Is Crisis ($3.2 million) and Cooper’s Burnt ($5 million) become the latest October movies to fizzle in U.S. theaters. ADELE The U.K. singer’s comeback single, “Hello,” sells a record 1.11 million downloads in its first week and sets a mark for Vevo video streams ahead of her album’s Nov. 20 release. RAVEN SYMONE ABC’s The View ratings drop below CBS’ The Talk despite the actress’ addition as a co-host, and more than 130,000 sign a petition to have her fired for inflammatory race comments.…
AS A GROWING CHORUS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT VOICES CALLS FOR A boycott of Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming film The Hateful Eight over anti-police comments, the director’s longtime studio The Weinstein Co. is feeling the heat. Sources say members of the Weinstein Co. board, fearful the widening flap will hurt box office for the pricey Western set for release Dec. 25, are pressuring co-founder Harvey Weinstein to clean up the aftermath of Tarantino calling police “murderers” during an Oct. 24 rally in New York. On Nov. 3, Tarantino clarified his comments, telling the Los Angeles Times “all cops are not murderers” but refusing to be “intimidated” by the pressure. “It’s to shut me down. It’s to discredit me. It’s to intimidate me,” he said. A Weinstein rep declined comment on board pressure…
WHAT DOES IT TAKE to get a show canceled these days? Rather than yank Wesley Snipes’ little-watched The Player, NBC on Oct. 23 cut the episode order from 13 to nine. The same day, ABC trimmed Don Johnson’s Blood & Oil from 13 episodes to 10. Then NBC’s low-rated comedy Truth Be Told had three episodes slashed. All of it came after an early October move by Fox to chop three episodes from DOA drama Minority Report. “Trimmed,” it seems, is the new “canceled,” as the broadcast networks wait on three-, seven- and 30-day viewership numbers to try to breathe life into otherwise rejected series. Despite the networks’ average viewership collectively down 8 percent in the 18-to-49 demo from a year earlier, all five made it to Nov. 1 without…
TWENTY YEARS AFTER David Cross and Bob Odenkirk’s influential sketch series Mr. Show With Bob and David premiered on HBO, the comedy has a revival of sorts on Netflix. The Nov. 13 bow of With Bob and David (no “Mr. Show”) is the fruit of barely two weeks of filming in early 2015. But the seeds of the four-episode project were planted by Netflix’s Ted Sarandos way back in 2001. “I was the only Netflix employee in L.A., and my first office outside of my home was at the Raleigh Studios lot, directly above Bob’s,” recalls Sarandos, the streaming service’s chief content officer and a self-professed comedy nerd. In the days before Netflix’s original series, he focused solely on acquisitions for the company’s DVD-by-mail business. “One of the reasons we…
Steve Jobs $7.1M Theaters 2,493 A hit in four theaters, it tanked when it expanded Oct. 23. It then tumbled 65 percent in its second weekend. Burnt $5M Theaters 3,003 The Bradley Cooper chef film abandoned a limited release in favor of a wide bow Oct. 30 — audiences sent the movie back. The Walk $3.7M Theaters 2,509 It went wide Oct. 9 after debuting in Imax-only. Its $10 million total is a career low for Robert Zemeckis. Our Brand Is Crisis $3.2M Theaters 2,202 Warner Bros.’ $28 million political film suffered the lowest nationwide start of Sandra Bullock’s career. Rock the Kasbah $1.5M Theaters 2,012 Barry Levinson’s film opened wide Oct. 23 and delivered the worst debut ever for distributor Open Road. Jem and the Holograms $1.4M Theaters 2,413…
