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On Sept. 18, Katie McGrath, co-CEO of the production company Bad Robot and wife of J.J. Abrams, placed an urgent call to CAA president Richard Lovett. McGrath, a vocal member of Time’s Up, the Hollywood-backed women’s legal defense fund launched in the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct scandal, had troubling news: At the Governors Ball after the Emmy Awards the night before, top CAA television agent Adam Berkowitz allegedly had groped Bad Robot TV head Ben Stephenson. As some of CAA’s top earners, Bad Robot and its principals hold considerable sway. An investigation immediately was launched and six days later, Lovett joined CAA’s Bryan Lourd, Joe Cohen and Steven Lafferty in terminating Berkowitz, who repped such high-earning clients as Beau Willimon, Doug Ellin and Kenya Barris. (A rep…
Legal Women on Board California’s new law targets gender gap. p. 25 ↑ Television Premiere Week What’s working (and isn’t) among fall debuts p. 26 Brian Robbins Viacom promotes the Awesomeness founder to the top job at Nickelodeon, where he’ll be tasked with evolving the kids TV network for a digital future. Dan Fogelman The A-list TV showrunner’s Amazon film Life Itself flops, grossing just $3.6 million after two weekends, as his This Is Us drops 23 percent in its third season premiere on NBC. Lisa Borders The WNBA chief will become the first president and CEO of Time’s Up, the women’s defense fund formed in the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein abuse scandal. Brad Kern The NCIS: New Orleans writer-producer is terminated by CBS and his overall deal canceled…
Is there life in Hollywood after a #MeToo accusation? It depends. From Kevin Spacey to Brett Ratner to Louis C.K., most high-profile Hollywood players who have faced public takedowns are finding that work prospects are nonexistent. But a few recent moves demonstrate that some financiers are willing to work with those who carry their share of #MeToo baggage. Roman Polanski has secured “a substantial budget” to make passion project J’Accuse, according to a project insider, who adds: “This is not some art house film budget.” Alain Goldman (La Vie En Rose) is producing and financing Polanski’s period take on the Dreyfus affair, with production starting in October (Oscar winner Jean Dujardin is on board to play the investigator who proved that Capt. Alfred Dreyfus, a French-Jewish solider, was wrongly accused…
A new California law requiring women on corporate boards could have a scattershot effect on entertainment companies: A few already are in compliance with the new mandates, others are not — and many of the largest are based elsewhere, beyond the reach of the new law. The #MeToo-era legislation sponsored by State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson requires any public company headquartered in California to have at least one woman on its board of directors by the end of 2019. Two years later, the requirement gets tougher: three female directors if the board size is six or more; two for boards of five; and one for smaller boards. Violations result in fines of as much as $300,000 per year. Norway, France and Germany have similar laws. Already compliant are such California-based companies…
A couple of clear trends emerged from the frenzy to kick off the first week of the 2018-19 TV season: Original(ish) ideas have performed fairly well, while two of the three revivals and reboots that debuted at press time haven’t done huge business. Here are six takeaways from the start of the broadcast season. 1. NBC dramas burn brightly. The two highest-rated new dramas in the adults 18-to-49 demographic aired on NBC: Manifest with a 2.2 rating and New Amsterdam at 1.8. The real test of their longevity, however, is yet to come. “A premiere episode is not the best indicator,” says industry analyst Shari Anne Brill. “Ratings drop-off during week two is a better indicator of future success.” On that front, Manifest slipped less than 20 percent in its…
Kavanaugh Coverage Trails Thomas (for Now) Over the past three decades, Clarence Thomas remains the SCOTUS nominee to get the most evening news coverage from NBC, ABC and CBS during his confirmation process — but Kavanaugh is nipping at his heels and should ultimately take the title. How 20.3 Million Viewers Tuned In With six major networks covering the nine-hour hearing and testimonies of Kavanaugh and Ford on Sept. 27, Fox News grabbed the biggest linear audience Fox News Steals Maddow Thunder The MSNBC host started strong on Kavanaugh coverage but lost out to FNC for the week of Sept. 24…
