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.
In a town that runs on favors, it’s the kind of request casting directors field routinely: Can you see if you have anything right for her? Maybe it’s a role for a director’s niece or an agent’s new client. Or maybe, as allegedly happened when Leslie Moonves mentioned a little-known, 50-year-old, Toronto-based actress named Bobbie Phillips to CBS casting director Peter Golden in July, the motivation for the favor is less innocent. Moonves was not just passing along another casting suggestion, something the executive did often, according to multiple people who have worked for him. Instead, he was trying to find a job to placate a woman whom he feared might speak publicly about a troubling encounter in his office 23 years earlier, according to The New York Times. The…
Glenn Beck The firebrand’s TheBlaze platform merges with fellow host Mark Levin’s CRTV, potentially creating a conservative media powerhouse. Bob Iger Disney restructures its CEO’s bonus pay to add “more rigorous” benchmarks for a possible nine-figure windfall after his contract expires in 2021. Tamron Hall The former Today co-host’s new daytime talk show will get distribution in 50 percent of U.S. households after Disney inks a deal with Hearst Television markets. Michael Avenatti Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, whose domestic violence case is pending with the L.A. city attorney, says he’s ruled out a run for president. Showbiz Stocks $290.30 (+11%) NETFLIX (NFLX) The streamer agrees to keep Friends through 2019, reminding investors that not all content deals need to be exclusive as WarnerMedia readies a competing product. $46.60 (-9%) ACTIVISION BLZ…
In 1985, June Seley Kimmel was in her mid-30s, a struggling single mom who had done some acting before deciding to try a career as a writer. She was passionate about an idea for a TV movie and was thrilled when she got a meeting with Leslie Moonves, then a married executive running movies and miniseries at 20th Century Fox TV. The following is her recollection of the encounter and her recent communications with investigators looking into misconduct at CBS. Her longtime friend Jane Covner tells THR that Kimmel related these details to her at the time of the incident. — KIM MASTERS I had done a lot of work on this project and I was very excited. I did my pitch and it was really the best I have…
Luc Besson may be watching his film empire crumble as a series of sexual assault and harassment claims leveled against the French director leaves EuropaCorp, the mini-major studio he created, unraveling with partners distancing themselves. Besson, 59, is facing a police investigation stemming from a rape allegation filed in May by Belgian actress Sand Van Roy. On Nov. 28, five more women came forward, in a report in French investigative magazine Mediapart, alleging additional sexual misconduct. In total, nine women have accused Besson of misconduct. He has denied Van Roy’s claim, and EuropaCorp has not commented on the others. The new allegations against Besson come as EuropaCorp hangs by a thread. The filmmaker’s $180 million sci-fi epic Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets was supposed to launch EuropaCorp…
The Emmys, Grammys and Oscars all have posted record low ratings this year. But one lesser-known kudos-fest made a year-to-year increase in viewers: The Game Awards, where blockbuster Red Dead Redemption 2 is up for game of the year. Setting it apart from legacy shows, the backers of the event prioritize exclusive previews of high-profile games and movies, which could help draw in fans. “We think we’ve kind of leapfrogged television,” says producer Geoff Keighley, touting growth from 3.8 million individual streams in 2016 to 11.5 million in 2017. The show — which streams live on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook Live and Steam, as well as through consoles such as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One — is entering its fifth year and will take place Dec. 6 at the…
Live sports rights may be headed to a new frontier as streaming becomes an increasingly significant component of deals. While Fox recently inked a 10-year extension with Major League Baseball (worth north of $525 million annually) that includes expanded digital rights, Amazon’s bid for Fox Sports’ 22 regional sports networks could signal an escalation. The Seattle-based digital giant already has committed millions to nonexclusive streaming rights, including $65 million annually for Thursday Night Football, which is included in subscribers’ Amazon Prime membership, and a three-year pact in the U.K. to show Premier League matches on Dec. 26 (Boxing Day), among that circuit’s biggest match days of the year. But Amazon’s bid for RSNs marks a first for exclusive linear sports content. (Like TNF, Premier League matches are shown on linear…
