Innholdsfortegnelse for Wednesday May 16 2018 i The Hollywood Reporter

With as much as $9 billion in advertising revenue on the line, the broadcast networks trotted out their new series, their biggest stars and a whole lot of spin during the annual dog and pony show known as the broadcast upfronts. Five key narratives dominated conversations as Hollywood began crisscrossing Manhattan the week of May 13. 1. THE ROSEANNE EFFECT As one studio chief says, “We can’t try to be cable anymore.” Indeed, in a 500-show universe, audiences have too many other places to find edgier, serialized fare. It’s among the reasons the broadcast networks have returned to ultradigestible, economical multicamera comedies (Fox ordered three) and closed-ended dramas. Another reason: the breakout success of ABC’s Roseanne, which with 21 million-plus weekly viewers even has ABC’s rivals doling out praise. 2.…

Step aside, Savannah Guthrie. Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon are crossing the pond to host HBO’s coverage of the royal nuptials in character as TV personalities Cord Hosenbeck and Tish Cattigan. From Ferrell’s Funny or Die, The Royal Wedding Live With Cord and Tish! marks the pair’s second gig after their coverage of the 2018 Rose Parade for Amazon (“This was the worst hosting I have ever seen,” wrote one of many disgruntled reviewers who didn’t quite get the joke. “Cord was rude and even cut one of the co-hosts off and dug into an old girlfriend. He should be fired!”) Luckily, the duo won’t face pesky online commenters when they go live May 19 at 7:30 a.m. ET. Hosenbeck, ostensibly a TV and radio host and author dedicated to…

ABC Anchors Robin Roberts, David Muir The morning star and World News Tonight anchor lead live coverage starting at 5 a.m. ET on Good Morning America (Michael Strahan also will be in the U.K.). 20/20 airs hourlong specials May 18 and 19. Royal ringer Biographer Andrew Morton, author of Meghan: A Hollywood Princess CBS Anchors Gayle King, Kevin Frazier CBS This Morning’s and Entertainment Tonight’s co-hosts will broadcast live from 4 a.m. ET, and a two-hour special, Royal Romance, airs at 8 p.m. ET. Royal ringer Ex-Vanity Fair editor and Diana biographer Tina Brown CNN Anchors Anderson Cooper, Alisyn Camerota, Don Lemon Live from 4 a.m. ET, the trio will welcome contributors including Meghan Markle’s onetime Northwestern theater prof (now a Boston U dean), Harvey Young. Royal ringers Along with CNN’s Max Foster,…

HE DRIVES REALLY, REALLY FAST Between filing motions and appearing on cable news, Avenatti races sports cars, especially Porsches and Ferraris. At one point, he was on a racing team with Patrick Dempsey, but he and Dempsey appear to have had a falling out (the actor sued him over a dispute about a shared business venture with Tully’s Coffee). “He’s an adrenaline junkie,” says Avenatti’s GWU law school professor Jonathan Turley. HE’S SUED TRUMP BEFORE Back in 2005, Avenatti represented a producer named Mark Bethea, who claimed he’d come up with the idea for The Apprentice. His version was called “CEO,” but it, too, involved contestants competing in a corporate environment, and Bethea even proposed Trump as the host. The case was settled out of court. HE SUED PARIS HILTON…

Getting cast in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a bit like receiving an owl-delivered acceptance letter from Hogwarts: All of a sudden, you’re magical. That’s what happened to Jamie Parker, Noma Dumezweni and Paul Thornley, who went from West End players to worldwide names overnight when they landed the roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley in the blockbuster London production. “Normally you spend the play convincing people of the world and the characters,” says Parker, 38. “On this one, you hit the ground running because they know and love it.” Now the trio are robing up at the Lyric Theatre, where the two-parter set a Broadway play box-office record in its first full week of previews at $2.1 million. It hasn’t let up since, with…

Sports UFC Deal Why Ari Emanuel hasn’t found linear TV takers. p. 8 ↑ Television Upfronts Spin Five narratives the networks are selling now. p. 10 Tim Cook The Apple CEO reveals Apple Music has hit 50 million users, still behind Spotify’s 75 million but up 10 million in 2018: “We are very interested in the content business.” Randall Stephenson The AT&T CEO admits a “serious misjudgment” when the company paid $600,000 to Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen, whose office was raided by the FBI. John Skipper Six months after leaving ESPN amid a cocaine extortion plot, the former president lands a job overseeing a Len Blavatnik-owned sports streaming service and the Sporting News website. Veronika Kwan Vandenberg The longtime Warner Bros. distribution exec is leaving as the studio…

TRUE (LITTLE A, JUNE 1) BY Karl Taro Greenfeld AGENCY Aevitas Creative The Ray Donovan scribe, journalist and author of an acclaimed memoir about his autistic brother pens a coming-of-age novel about the best teen soccer player of her generation competing for a spot on the U.S. national team while her family crumbles. Catch and Kill (LITTLE, BROWN AND CO., TBD) BY Ronan Farrow AGENCY WME The book is pitched as his “deeply personal” take on reporting on sexual abuse for NBC News and The New Yorker. Pulitzer co-winners Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s upcoming Harvey Weinstein exposé was sold to Annapurna and Plan B.…

Nobody seems less enthused about the royal wedding than Prince George — or, at least, the catty persona that one Instagram account has cultivated for the 4-year-old since September. As rendered by Family Guy producer and scribe Gary Janetti on his personal stream, the mini-Machiavelli is dripping with disdain for his future aunt. “There’s ONE star in this family, bitch,” read a post the day the match was announced. Janetti’s follower count has surged from 70,000 to 350,000 (including the likes of Lisa Rinna, Kaley Cuoco and Lea Michele) this year, and he now looks at the account as a sitcom unto itself; May 19 will be a very special episode. “I find Meghan Markle super appealing,” says Janetti, 52, whose credits include the original Will & Grace and ITV’s…

“It’s horrifying. I left. Multiple Physical AssaultsPAULEY PERRETTE The NCIS star, who departed the CBS series on the May 8 season finale, hinting on Twitter at what led to her departure after 15 seasons. “I have not participated in any formal investigation by NBC on sexual harassment.”ANN CURRY The former Today co-host, contradicting an NBC News report that its investigators had “a discussion” with her regarding Matt Lauer’s alleged behavior toward female staffers. “It was a great gesture of support on Scarlett’s part to wear a beautiful dress like that on such a public occasion.”ANNA WINTOUR Vogue’s editor, on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, endorsing Johansson’s Marchesa gown at the Met Gala (designed by Georgina Chapman, who is divorcing Harvey Weinstein). “They don’t care. They don’t want to know.”TED…

Weddings Nicole Riley, ICM Partners vp television business affairs, married Jordan Peagler, partner at MKP Law Group, on April 28 at Falkner Winery in Temecula, California. Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter’s East Coast digital lead editor, married Alex Reiff, vp at Rand Luxury, at the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia on May 5. Births Kirsten Dunst and her fiance, Jesse Plemons, welcomed a son, Ennis Howard Plemons, on May 3 in Santa Monica. Congrats IFC president and GM Jennifer Caserta has been named chief transformation officer at parent company AMC Networks, while IFC exec vp brand marketing Blake Callaway has been tapped as exec vp and acting GM. Dick Clark Productions promoted Rika Camizianos to vp creative content and postproduction, Magdalena Mango to vp brand strategy and integrated marketing and Michael Nieporent to…

T he hourly barrage of headlines generated by President Trump’s administration (Mueller! Russia! North Korea summit!) has raised up a small army of print journalists and legal commentators serving as de facto, on-call correspondents for Fox News, MSNBC and CNN. Reporters from Maggie Haberman, Matt Apuzzo and Jeremy Peters of The New York Times; to The Washington Post’s Robert Costa, Ashley Parker and Phil Rucker; to the Boston Herald’s Kimberly Atkins and AP’s Jonathan Lemire are having to file a print scoop, then rush into the studio to do a cable-news hit to discuss it — or are called in to comment on what the president did, said or tweeted (or on someone’s reaction to what he did, said or tweeted) that same day. “Every hour there is something breaking,…

31504 VICTORIA POINT ROAD NBA great Kevin Durant purchased this 6,100-square-foot four-bedroom, six-bath home on Broad Beach in April. The three-story house, which was listed by Coldwell Banker’s Susan Monus and Chris Cortazzo, has French oak floors and glass pocket doors that open onto oceanfront terraces. 3510 CROSS CREEK LANE Five-time Emmy-nominated producer Josh Donen (House of Cards) is selling his 3,300-square-foot midcentury four-bedroom home (with pool and spa) in the guardgated enclave known as Serra Retreat, via The Agency’s Cooper Mount, for $5 million.…

Hunter Covington We had a very gungho strike captain on our staff at My Name Is Earl, and I said, half-joking, “If you did a singles picket, people would go.” Stacy Traub I’d just gone through a pretty gnarly divorce in July. I’ve got a 4-month-old and a 3-year-old, and then the strike hits. So, when the thing comes up about the singles picket, everyone who knew me said: “You have to go to this. You may meet the love of your life.” Covington Also, writers being writers, you’re doing it for the irony. Traub I remember putting some effort into what I was going to wear that day. Covington I don’t know if I put any effort into what I wore. Traub No, I don’t think you did. (Laughs.)…

When Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban step onto the Radio City Music Hall stage June 10 to present the Tony Awards, Broadway producers in the audience will be sitting pretty: With the 2017-18 season wrapping May 27, grosses already have hit a record high north of $1.6 billion, a sizable hike of 14.4 percent from last year. That’s the good news. The cautionary note: Admissions are nearly flat, increasing by just 1.6 percent over the previous season, when attendance was pumped by peak Hamilton fever, SRO demand for Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly! and hot-ticket entries like Dear Evan Hansen. Attendance for the current season is 13.2 million with about two weeks to go, meaning those new dollars are coming from premium tickets, not additional butts in seats. Still, as little as 10 years ago…

Good news from sequel land: Deadpool 2 is just as entertaining (and funny) as its predecessor. As we start, Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson/Deadpool is where you’d expect him to be: using his new powers to slice and dice much bigger opponents, taking out gangs of bad guys and getting jobs through the divey bar Sister Margaret’s. Wade still lives with girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin); they’re talking about having kids. Before long, a shocking attack has brought Deadpool so low that he’s ready to follow Logan into the Marvel-hero hereafter. Colossus (the CG metal hulk voiced by Stefan Kapicic) wants to cure Deadpool of killing people and make him an X-Man. But on their first outing, Deadpool gets into trouble trying to rescue an emotionally disturbed young mutant, Russell (Julian Dennison,…

CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Josh Gad and Megan Hilty trained at this Pittsburgh institution. Class of 2012’s Grey Henson stars in Mean Girls on Broadway. JUILLIARD The undergrad program predates the master track by 44 years — and remains among the world’s best. Grads Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver felt its Force. NYU Consistently tops Playbill’s list of schools represented on Broadway (43 former students in 2017). Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Rachel Bloom graduated in 2009. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA Top-tier education that produced Mary-Louise Parker, Kristin Chenoweth and Broadway director Joe Mantello. UC SAN DIEGO This B.A. program’s affiliation with La Jolla Playhouse and flexibility (students can take liberal arts classes, too) make for an attractive option.…

ENTERTAINMENT WINNERS ↑ A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS Netflix AMERICAN VANDAL Netflix BETTER CALL SAUL AMC HASAN MINHAJ: HOMECOMING KING Netflix INSECURE HBO LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER HBO SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE NBC THE HANDMAID’S TALE Hulu THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL Amazon DOCUMENTARY WINNERS ↑ AMERICA REFRAMED: DEEJ World Channel CHASING CORAL Netflix INDIVISIBLE Fuse LAST MEN IN ALEPPO PBS MAYA ANGELOU: AND STILL I RISE PBS NEWTOWN PBS OKLAHOMA CITY PBS THE ISLAND AND THE WHALES PBS TIME: THE KALIEF BROWDER STORY Spike TV…

When UFC and Disney revealed on May 8 that they had reached a five-year, $750 million deal to make the ESPN+ platform the mixed martial arts league’s digital rights holder, many industry watchers called it a win-win. UFC — and its parent Endeavor, run by Ari Emanuel, which also includes WME-IMG — scored a rich rights agreement. And ESPN+ got a needed stream of content for its $5-a-month OTT offering. At a May 15 upfronts presentation, ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro stated his aim for ESPN+ “to be the destination for combat sports.” The deal is notable, say industry insiders, given that UFC has been on the market for several months. Fox Sports, which is nearing the end of its $115 million annual deal to carry UFC (the top bouts still…

FILM Meryl Streep (CAA, Gendler & Kelly), Gary Oldman (APA, Douglas, Loeb & Loeb) and Antonio Banderas (Paradigm, Hirsch Wallerstein) will star in Steven Soderbergh’s Panama Papers drama The Laundromat. Winston Duke (Abrams Artists, Management 360, Hansen Jacobson), Lupita Nyong’o (CAA, Del Shaw) and Elisabeth Moss (WME, the U.K.’s Independent, Ribisi) are in talks to star in Jordan Peele’s Us for Universal. Dan Stevens (WME, the U.K.’s Julian Belfrage, Peikoff Mahan) will join Natalie Portman in the drama Pale Blue Dot. Timothy Olyphant (UTA, Brillstein) is in talks to star opposite Brad Pitt in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Annette Bening (CAA, Gochman) has joined Marvel’s Captain Marvel. Bradley Cooper (CAA) will star in, co-write and direct a Leonard Bernstein biopic for Amblin and Paramount. Beauty and…

193% increase in purchases of Mackage peacoats Markle wore a navy “Elodie” coat (about $750) with Harry on Dec. 1, driving a buying spree on fashion resale site Poshmark. 95% Mulberry satchels She carried a small navy Darley bag ($925) for Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey on March 12, her first official event alongside the queen. Source: Poshmark 214% Gucci mini bags On April 19, she clutched a Dionysus mini ($830). In the U.S., Poshmark shoppers in Georgia are the most influenced by Markle’s style, followed by Massachusetts.…

Margot was one of the strongest women I’ve ever known. She and Christopher Reeve were polar opposites — he was a Juilliard-trained actor and she was a cowgirl. She came from a farm. It was like city meets country, but she spoke her mind. She was so tough. She stood up for people and even protected me on the set — I was just a kid at the time. She stood up for Richard Donner, too, [specifically] when he got fired after the first Superman, right before we finished shooting Superman 2. You barely see her in Superman 3 — Lois Lane gets a bikini and goes on vacation in that movie — because Margot was so upset about what happened to Richard. We were all like a family. All…

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE stuck to the Fox News playbook while discussing N.Y. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s resignation with a body-con dress in patriotic blue. RONAN FARROW punched up his preppy style with a red necktie on CNN as he discussed breaking the Schneiderman story in The New Yorker. KIMBERLY ATKINS of the Boston Herald favors prints when discussing Michael Cohen finances on MSNBC. CHARLES HURT of The Washington Times wore a dapper brown suit and mint patterned necktie as he parsed a Trump immigration deal on Fox News. JILL WINE-BANKS donned one of her signature brooches while commenting on the Cohen case on MSNBC.…

Roma Downey Actress and author, Box of Butterflies Tra di Noi “We started bringing our kids years ago (there’s a playground nearby) and still love to drop by for lunch outdoors.” 3835 Cross Creek Road ◄ SunLife Organics “My favorite smoothie here is the Mystic. My husband [Mark Burnett] prefers the Million Dollar Smoothie!” 29169 Heathercliff Road Zuma Ridge/Canyon Trail “Access the trail off of Busch or Bonsall Drive. Either way you climb, the view of the ocean takes your breath away.” Busch Drive…

Best Actor, Play Andrew Garfield is favored for his turn in Angels in America. Denzel Washington also earned strong reviews and a nom for a revival, The Iceman Cometh. Best Actress, Play Amy Schumer scored a surprise nomination for Meteor Shower, and Billions’ Condola Rashad is in the running for Saint Joan, but Three Tall Women’s Glenda Jackson has a lock. Best Actor, Musical Critics loved Tony Shalhoub in The Band’s Visit, but look for SpongeBob’s Ethan Slater or Carousel’s Joshua Henry to take this prize. Best Actress, Musical Lauren Ambrose earned kudos for her empowered spin on My Fair Lady’s Eliza, but The Band’s Visit’s Katrina Lenk has the edge here.…