Innholdsfortegnelse for Wednesday September 19 2018 i The Hollywood Reporter

Leslie Moonves may have resigned as CEO of CBS Corp. on Sept. 9 following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, but the company is retaining him for up to two more years as an unpaid adviser, supplying him an office and paying for a security detail. Why? While a departing CEO is often retained — usually with a hefty salary — to help transition the newcomer, the arrangement with Moonves is raising some eyebrows. “Les Moonves is a serial sexual predator,” says Shaunna Thomas, executive director of the women’s group UltraViolet. “For CBS to keep him on — even as an unpaid adviser — is wholly unacceptable. He is a danger to their employees and should have no relationship with the company going forward.” (Moonves has denied the claims.) CBS had…

As the fall TV season gets into full swing, NBC is airing promos touting itself as “America’s most watched network.” The basis for that claim? A victory among total viewers in the 52-week TV calendar that began in September 2017. But CBS, too, claims the “most watched” title and boasts it had the most viewers during the traditional 2017-18 season that ended in May — despite NBC having aired the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics last season. The networks are arguing over bragging rights, essentially. NBC was the unquestioned leader in adults 18-to-49 in 2017-18, and those ratings are what drive ad rates. NBC secured both overall increases and double-digit hikes in CPM, or cost per thousand viewers, in the 2018 upfront market. Without events like the Super Bowl…

In August, Stacy Title lost her ability to speak. Her voice will not be coming back. The 53-year-old filmmaker, who directed STX’s 2017 horror film The Bye Bye Man, is in the deep stages of ALS, the incurable disease that impairs motor functions, one by one, sometimes fast, sometimes slowly, until the victim is immobilized, then dies. But Title, who in September underwent a tracheotomy to help her breathe and can move only via motorized chair, is doing everything she can to make herself heard as she and her husband, actor, writer and ex-Survivor contestant Jonathan Penner, mount what will be her final movie. “Why should I stop doing what I love?” the mother of two says in a statement read by Penner, her “translator,” as she used an alphabet…

Weddings Hilary Swank married entrepreneur Philip Schneider on Aug. 18 at the Saint Lucia Preserve in Carmel, California. With Mariska Hargitay serving as maid of honor, the ceremony took place beneath 800-year-old trees and was followed by a reception in a rustic barn. The couple became engaged in Colorado in 2016. Justin Bieber married Hailey Baldwin at a New York City courthouse Sept. 13. The couple became engaged in July. Births Melissa Knowles, a correspondent for HLN’s Morning Express With Robin Meade, and husband Scott Bernstein welcomed son Beckham Henry Bernstein on Sept. 10 in Atlanta. Funny or Die president Chris Bruss and his wife, Natalie Bruss, a partner at venture capital firm Fifth Wall, welcomed daughter Frances Jane Bruss on June 28 at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa…

On the morning of July 20, 2016, just as Leonardo DiCaprio was preparing to welcome the usual assortment of models and multimillionaires to his annual champagnesoaked charity gala in Saint-Tropez, the U.S. Department of Justice was unveiling to the public the results of its investigation into one of the biggest corruption scandals ever, an embezzlement scheme estimated to have reached a staggering $4.5 billon. The forfeiture complaint, filed in Los Angeles, listed more than $1 billion of U.S. assets — including Hollywood mansions, New York apartments, private jets, artwork and, most notably, the 2014 blockbuster The Wolf of Wall Street, which garnered five Oscar noms and grossed almost $400 million globally — that it said had been bought with money illicitly obtained via myriad financial structures from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth…

In July 2017, a private investigator arrived at a 22-acre ranch in rural Tehachapi, two hours north of Los Angeles. He’d brought a drone pilot to fly over the property, in search of a horse his client believed had been stolen from her and which she now thought to be in ill health. The unmanned vehicle slowly surveilled the property. It never found the horse, Dexter, among the 11 steeds that were spotted that Saturday morning. But the drone did stumble onto something else. Beside a dry creek bed lay the rotting carcasses of a pair of horses, arranged back-to-back and head-to-head, their hides desiccated by the sun to reveal shining, intact rib cages. Other bones were scattered yards away. One of the dead horses was a white Andalusian stallion…

Shameless has enjoyed something of an improbable run. The dysfunctional family dramedy, based on a U.K. series of the same name, was passed over at HBO before David Nevins made it one of his first series orders when he arrived at Showtime in 2010. Nine seasons and one very fruitful Netflix licensing deal later, the Warner Bros. TV series from showrunner John Wells, starring Emmy Rossum and William H. Macy, ranks as Showtime’s most watched scripted original — averaging 8 million viewers per episode, across platforms. But as the series approaches its landmark 100th episode (airing Sept. 30), Shameless also heads into unfamiliar terrain: Rossum, who declined to participate in the following conversation, is leaving the show. Wells and Macy (who has earned five Emmy noms for his role as…

Busan Film Festival Oct. 4-13 Busan Cinema Center (pictured) Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the Busan International Film Festival chose Beautiful Days as its opening film for its much-anticipated 23rd edition. The South Korean film by local director Jero Yun follows the dramatic plight of a North Korean family that is disbanded then ultimately reunited. For the past four years, Asia’s largest and most prestigious film festival has experienced a similarly gripping plot arc. Conflict was introduced to the story in 2014, when the festival refused to cancel a screening of the politically sensitive documentary The Truth Shall Not Sink With Sewol against the wishes of then-Busan mayor and BIFF chairman Suh Byung-soo. Busan city, which funds about half of BIFF’s annual budget, responded with drastic funding cuts and unprecedented…

From the moment early man left the plains of the Serengeti, he dreamt of some magical future where he could share pictures of his breakfast with strangers all across the known world. How fortunate we are to be living in a time when this magic has become reality: the age of social media. This technology has created what can best be described as utopian bliss. There’s just so much to love, but for me it’s all about the lively exchange of ideas with people whose beliefs differ from my own. Trolls. The word has taken on negative connotations, but it’s actually an acronym for Terse Respondents Opining with Limited Language Skills. And contrary to popular wisdom, I always recommend feeding the TROLLS. “But Danny,” you ask, “with the hectic pace…

Tom Arnold’s Burnett Brawl: ‘He Genuinely Choked Me Out’ “How would I get Mark Burnett to cooperate?” says Tom Arnold, when asked if the altercation between him and the Apprentice producer, rumored to be sitting on a President Trump-incriminating video, was a stunt to promote his Viceland show The Hunt for the Trump Tapes. The series bowed Sept. 18, two days after the incident that occurred at the Evening Before gala. “He genuinely choked me out,” adds Arnold, 59, via phone from his ear, nose and throat doctor’s office. Burnett, 58, has maintained that the outtakes belong to MGM; sources say the producer has sent letters to Vice Media alleging inaccuracies in Arnold’s Twitter feed. The comic turned host claims Burnett made calls to have his show killed. Despite that,…

When the credits flash during the first eight episodes of Stranger Things, a name sandwiched somewhere between star Millie Bobby Brown and showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer is neither a writer nor a director, but Netflix’s own Cindy Holland. The vp original series also has appeared in the credit scroll on Sense8, Narcos and several Marvel series, just as comedy and documentary head Lisa Nishimura’s name pops up at the end of Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette and their boss, chief content officer Ted Sarandos, is a credited producer on films including Bright and Mudbound. The streaming giant’s 130 million subscribers might pay these names no mention, but a subset of Hollywood producers who aren’t used to sharing credits with executives have been irked by the habit. Some have logged complaints with…

On Sept. 20, newly minted EGOT John Legend will headline a star-studded opening — not for a film, for a shopping center. Twelve years in the making, Palisades Village, in the heart of seaside Pacific Palisades on L.A.’s Westside, is retail development impresario Rick Caruso’s most expensive project to date, even if it’s not his largest. (The entire 125,000 building square footage would fit inside Nordstrom at The Grove.) To make Southern California’s newest manufactured main street a success in today’s challenged retail environment, he is counting on the patronage of “the 250,000 people who have spendable income within a couple miles of the site,” many of whom also happen to work in the entertainment industry, an “exceptional” demographic. “We designed this in partnership with the community,” says Caruso, who…

The Shop HBO LeBron James and partner Maverick Carter first made the barbershop-set series for their website in 2016. ESPN aired the first episode, and last summer HBO commissioned a handful more. The next installment — which will feature James, Drake and others — will air this fall. Warriors of Liberty Starz The six-part documentary, which premiered in September, follows players and their families at the legendary Miami youth football program run by rapper and promoter Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell. Student Athlete HBO This feature-length doc directed by Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, debuting Oct. 2, examines the predicament of unpaid athletes in the high-revenue college sports business. Shut Up & Dribble Showtime The title of the three-part documentary — from director Gotham Chopra and narrated by Jemele Hill — was…

Depending on your point of view, the core themes in Netflix’s star-studded limited series Maniac — mental illness, family problems, the notion of happiness as an illusion and more — are either adequately and entertainingly mined or get a bit lost under the impressive visuals swirling at the surface. The series defiantly inverts the traditional formula that TV is a writer’s medium rather than a director’s: Helmer Cary Fukunaga (True Detective) seems more the auteur here than writer Patrick Somerville (The Leftovers), adapting a Norwegian show of the same name. That’s not a problem; the aesthetics of Maniac were always going to be the main attraction. The series is an unfettered, trippy deep dive into the world of psychotropic drugs and the staggering possibilities of an altered mind (a subject…

Zurich Film Festival Sept. 27-Oct. 7 The Bellevue Whether you’re talking about a Swiss watch or a Swiss film festival, timing, it appears, is everything. The Zurich Film Festival, which kicks off its 14th edition Sept. 27, has the advantage of being set in the precise moment just after the fall festival blitz of Venice, Telluride and Toronto and just before the end-of-year onslaught that is awards season and the American Film Market. Zurich provides a week’s respite, time to catch up on the year’s buzzy titles against the backdrop of one of Sutherland the most picturesque cities in Europe. And, again like a well-crafted time-piece, the Zurich fest Dench is finely balanced, with a program that provides art house credibility and gala glam in equal measure. The glam this…

ANANTI COVE Busan has always served as a tourist and vacation destination with its fair share of luxury hotels. With Ananti Cove, the city now has a resort to call its own. Boasting 90 penthouses and 128 private residences, it offers a natural mineral spring spa (plus a state-of-the-art spa for pets), an infinity pool with views of the East Sea and a collection of high-end eateries, including Volpino, star chef Kim Ji-woon’s Michelin-rated Italian bistro. Electronic cars for children by D. Throne are also available to ride around the spacious grounds. Room rates begin at about $400 a night. 268-31 Gijanghaean-ro, Gijang-eup, Gijang, Busan, +82 51-604-7000 PARADISE HOTEL BUSAN This five-star hotel is a massive complex comprising two buildings featuring 532 rooms. Many of the film festival’s biggest parties…

I’ve met presidents and famous people all over the place,” says Endgame chairman and CEO James D. Stern, whose brother Todd Stern served as the U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change under President Barack Obama. “But I was more nervous to have dinner with Robert Redford than I’ve ever been to meet anybody else.” Redford stars in Endgame’s The Old Man & the Gun (out Sept. 28), marking what the acting legend has said will be his final performance, as a bank robber opposite Casey Affleck and Sissy Spacek. It’s the second time that Stern, 61, has produced a movie with Redford, following 2017’s Netflix sci-fi drama The Discovery. In fact, the Redford dinner took place after the Sundance founder caught wind of Stern’s latest directorial effort, American Chaos, and…

Shooting Wine Country for Netflix was a dream job: It had the double-whammy combo of being with great friends in a beautiful location. The movie that Amy Poehler directed is based on a real trip a bunch of us took together two years ago for my 50th birthday. After that trip, Amy had the idea, “Oh, this could make a fun movie,” and she conspired to actually do it with all the same people: Maya Rudolph; Ana Gasteyer; Tina Fey; Paula Pell; and Emily Spivey, who ended up writing the movie with Liz Cackowski. Back with these ladies, with whom I’ve worked so many years at Saturday Night Live, there’s this common language. You’ve been in the proverbial foxhole with them, staring into each other’s eyes with panic when a…

TEAM WINO The group, which today includes producer Avi Lerner and Trimark (later Lionsgate) founder Mark Amin, started after film and TV producer Clark Peterson, producer Pierre David and director Richard Brandes took a trip to Napa in the mid-1990s. The tastings are held at rotating members’ homes, as well as restaurants and art galleries. The host picks the theme — from California reds to Latin American wines — and includes notes on the wines, regions and varietals. “Even though we go months between get-togethers, we know each other so well that we pick up right where we left off,” Brandes says of Team Wino, which meets a few times a year. “The events include great food and wine, of course, but also lots of camaraderie, war stories and even…

Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger remains the most powerful person in entertainment, only adding to his empire with $71 billion of 21st Century Fox assets. But his dominance is one of the few things that hasn't changed since THR published 2017’s list of Hollywood’s most influential figures. Along with Disney-Fox, 2018 saw AT&T win a judge’s blessing to acquire Time Warner, spawning a new entity whose chief, John Stankey, arrives at No. 4. There were the milestones: Filmmakers Ryan Coogler (No. 93) and Jon M. Chu (No. 97) brought inclusive movies to the multiplex, smashing records along the way. And there are the movements: #MeToo and Time’s Up drove a reckoning. Out of work, and off the THR 100, are John Lasseter, Roy Price, Brett Ratner and, just this…

It’s been more than 20 years since Richard Eyre directed a remarkable Ian Holm in a National Theatre production of King Lear. At the time, even admiring critics noted that, at a hair under three hours, it was an aggressively trimmed take on one of Shakespeare’s longer plays. The new Amazon and BBC Two version that brings Eyre back to King Lear runs only 115 minutes. It’s hard to stage the play, a protracted descent into horrifying tragedy, in a way that doesn’t leave the viewer rocked — and yet this brisk telefilm is as close as you’ll get to a zippy King Lear. The fact that it’s far from a “definitive” King Lear detracts only somewhat from the joy of spending two hours watching Anthony Hopkins gnash his teeth,…

Private Life TAMARA JENKINS “I’m from the East Village, and I’ve always been interested in the people there that are kind of hanging on by the skin of their teeth,” says writer-director Jenkins, whose drama follows a couple in their 40s (Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti) who are trying to have a baby. Jenkins shot in New York and made sure that the couple’s home felt very much like a real apartment in Manhattan. “I feel like I see movies that take place in New York where the apartments don’t match the worlds of the people. I mean, with the TV show Friends, I remember thinking, ‘Wow, they live in these gigantic spaces and work in coffee shops! It doesn’t make any sense.’ That always makes me crazy.” Every restaurant…

Four years ago, Zurich was one of the first film festivals to embrace the small screen, launching the TVision sidebar to showcase innovative TV productions. So it should come as no surprise that, for its 2018 edition, Zurich has elevated TV to star status, creating a stand-alone competition section for series. “We wanted to focus more attention on television and also, with a competition, give the producers an opportunity to use the festival for promotion,” says festival co-founder Karl Spoerri, explaining the move. The ZFF Series section will include six international world premieres, including Hackerville, a crime drama from HBO Europe and TNT Series in Germany; the Netflix-Telemundo co-production Miguel, about Latino musical icon Luis Miguel; and Fox Networks Group Latin America’s crime thriller Here on Earth. The winner of…

Gilda Radner, the subject of the doc Love, Gilda, opening Sept. 21, was the first performer chosen for NBC’s Saturday Night Live back in 1975. Lorne Michaels said he picked her because “she had a goodness which came through whatever she was doing.” She arrived in New York via Detroit (her father owned the Seville Hotel, a favorite for performers) and Toronto, where she was a member of the Second City comedy revue. “Gilda was a chubby little girl who loved making people laugh,” says Love, Gilda director Lisa D’Apolito. “She’d gone to an all-girls school, where she was in plays, and the University of Michigan, where she joined an improv comedy group. By the time she’d moved to Toronto in her early 20s, she’d had lots of experience. It’s…