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.
ANGELINA JOLIE PITT’S BY THE SEA OFFERS an art house-style rumination on a failing marriage. Ironically, it provides a more revealing glimpse into the perils of a different type of relationship: the so-called “favor” movie. For years, Hollywood studios have lined up to back projects with limited commercial appeal as a way of keeping the biggest stars and directors in their fold. Call it the “One for me, one for you” principle. But with the failures of Universal’s By the Sea and Warner Bros.’ Sandra Bullock political drama Our Brand Is Crisis, many believe the major studios will be a bit more hesitant to finance a passion project better suited for the specialty marketplace. In July 2014, in a competitive situation, Universal acquired worldwide rights to By the Sea and…
BARRY DILLER IAC, the billionaire’s digital-media conglomerate, spins off its collection of dating sites (Match.com, Tinder) as The Match Group, and the stock rises 22 percent its first day of trading … SEAN RAD … However, ahead of Match Group’s IPO, Tinder’s 29-year-old CEO gives such a sexually provocative interview that it prompts an SEC filing distancing Match from the comments. DICK WOLF The megaproducer’s NBC dramas Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. score early renewals for next season as new spinoff Chicago Med enjoys a solid debut in the ratings. TYRA BANKS The FABLife host exits her own daytime lifestyle show after just two months of poor ratings and behind-the-scenes drama. Not fierce! SHOWBIZ STOCKS $9.11 (+4.7%) TIVO (TIVO) Investors react positively to the news that the DVR pioneer will…
ONE OF THE LAST BIG SPORTS RIGHTS opportunities for several years is about to become available to TV networks. The NFL’s Thursday Night Football — which for the past two seasons has aired on CBS via one-year deals — is generating intense interest as the league is likely to extend the length of the package significantly to bring it in line with other TV rights pacts, most of which run through the 2022 season. (ESPN’s eight-year, $15.2 billion Monday Night Football deal extends through 2021; contracts for Sunday afternoon games on CBS and Fox and NBC’s Sunday Night Football expire in 2022.) Analysts predict a long-term Thursday Night Football arrangement could go for $600 million annually and potentially much higher. “Thursday night will sell for less than Sunday night, though…
PASS THE PEPTO-BISMOL. JOAN’S ON Third, the comfort-food cafe whose locations in L.A. and Studio City are lunchtime staples of the entertainment industry, has found itself embroiled in an odd licensing-agreement lawsuit involving its newest outpost in Santa Monica. The dispute reveals how expansion plans can lead to serious indigestion. On Nov. 6, a note was posted on the Facebook page for the two-decade-old restaurant brand stating that the coastal location, which opened this summer, “is no longer a licensed Joan’s on Third,” going on to explain that the only places “to get Joan’s real recipes, prepared the way [founder] Joan [McNamara] believes they should be,” is at the other two locations. News of an “imposter Joan’s” lit up L.A. social media. Turns out, the salvo was timed to the…
BEST PICTURE The Danish Girl In the wake of Toronto, it struggled to gain a foothold, with stars Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander off filming new projects. But they arrived in L.A. for its Nov. 20 premiere and jumped right into a barrage of promos. Secret in Their Eyes Based on 2009’s foreign-language Oscar winner from Argentina and starring Oscar winners Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman, it has pedigree. But it got a critical beating that’s knocked it out of the conversation. BEST ACTOR IAN MCKELLEN Mr. Holmes He is the toast of the town — Guillermo del Toro feted him at the Aero Nov. 17, and Elijah Wood and Patrick Stewart hosted a Nov. 18 Chateau Marmont dinner for him. JESSE EISENBERG The End of the Tour The scathing…
KA-CHING! WHO’S INKING ON THE DOTTED LINE THIS WEEK DEAL OF THE WEEK ITS FIRST THEATRICAL FEATURE, BEASTS of No Nation, might have grossed just $90,777 in limited release, but Netflix is ramping up its movie ambitions, scooping up two new indie films as it campaigns Beasts for Oscars. The streaming service is planning a day-and-date theatrical release for Girlfriend’s Day, a noir comedy featuring Bob Odenkirk as a down-on-his-luck greeting card writer who attempts to clear his name after he’s framed for murder. The Better Call Saul star co-wrote the script with Philip Zlotorynski and Eric Hoffman and is producing with Marc Provissiero of Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment and M. Elizabeth Hughes. The film, directed by Michael Stephenson (Best Worst Movie) and co-starring Amber Tamblyn, continues Netflix’s relationship with Odenkirk,…
