Innholdsfortegnelse for Wednesday, June 5, 2019 i The Hollywood Reporter

Endeavor’s filing for an initial public offering likely will be viewed as a watershed moment for Hollywood — no matter if it fails spectacularly or is perfectly timed. The novelty (and lightning rod) of a publicly traded talent agency, Endeavor’s WME, inevitably will send shock waves through a representation ecosystem that over the past decade already has seen an enormous influx of billions in outside private equity money. In the days since the May 23 filing, industry observers have obsessed over the savvy or folly of CEO Ari Emanuel’s gamble. Is Endeavor’s odd amalgam of sexy assets enough to convince Wall Street to downplay $4.6 billion in debt? Is a volatile talent business (one currently under siege by the Writers Guild) something that can be projected on a quarterly basis?…

After weeks of silence on Georgia’s new abortion ban, a deluge of Hollywood companies — led by the Reed Hastings-run Netflix and followed by Disney, WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal, AMC, Sony, CBS and Viacom — said May 30 that they may pull projects from the high-production state if the law isn’t overturned in court before it takes effect in January. If that happens, a source close to Georgia’s department of economic development tells THR, the impact of such a mass exodus would be “crippling.” With a $9.5 billion industry on the line, other states are scrambling to find ways to poach Georgia’s lucrative film and television business. California is taking advantage by attempting to lure existing productions that could be displaced by a Georgia boycott. Gov. Gavin Newsom filmed a video with…

I began my Hollywood career at 25 in the William Morris mailroom, the true bottom of the proverbial totem pole. Shipping and receiving trainees delivered the clients’ scripts and packages around town. I was new to Los Angeles, driving a Nissan Sentra with questionable insurance, and was thus thrilled to hear from a friend at ICM that it had an outside messenger service. I only had to survive being a floater, an assistant without an assigned desk. I will never forget the first day walking into 8899 Beverly Blvd., then the home of ICM. “Of course I know who Sherry Lansing is!” (I didn’t.) “Is your family in the business?” “Who’s your dad?” “Ivy League school?” My lack of advantageous answers to these questions didn’t scare me. My biggest fear…

Spoiler Alert: There Are Way Too Many Spoiler Alerts Rambling Reporter has been keeping it secret since the May 22 premiere, but the role Keanu Reeves plays in Always Be My Maybe is … himself. That innocuous detail and others concerning Netflix’s new rom-com about a chef, played by Ali Wong, who hooks up with a movie star (it began streaming May 31) were mentioned in an embargo form that journalists were asked to sign on the red carpet. That’s right, the spoiler-warning craze is so out of control, even cheesy love stories are getting in on the act. A few days earlier, on May 20, Quentin Tarantino asked everyone who saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in Cannes to avoid “revealing anything.” A month earlier, the Russo brothers…

In Always Be My Maybe, the Netflix romantic comedy released May 31, Ali Wong stars as an L.A. celebrity chef who reconnects with a childhood friend (Randall Park, who co-wrote the script with Wong) while opening a restaurant in her native San Francisco. Niki Nakayama of the acclaimed L.A. kaiseki restaurant N/Naka was her inspiration. “There’s many ways I identify with her,” says Wong, a stand-up phenomenon who was introduced to Nakayama through her breakout episode of Netflix’s Chef’s Table. “She’s a woman who, like me, works in a male-dominated field and only works at night.” The pair, who live near each other on the Westside, have since become friends: “We’ll go get yakitori.” Wong brought Nakayama onto the film as a food consultant. She helped spoof the excesses of…

ARGENTINA Buenos Aires’ culinary scene may not have been why Oscar Isaac, Madonna, Mickey Rourke and Ben Kingsley flew south, but once there, the food impresses mightily. Celebrity chef Francis Mallmann’s Patagonia Sur in La Boca is popular, but Don Carlos is the spot where he and Francis Ford Coppola take friends like the late Anthony Bourdain and Gwyneth Paltrow, who sampled grilled pork flank. Writer-host-producer Phil Rosenthal — who noshed on short-rib pastrami at Mishiguene, Lucciano’s artisanal ice cream and skirt steak at Don Julio Parilla — tells THR: “One of the best restaurants in Buenos Aires or anywhere is Narda Lepes’ innovative, delicious Narda Comedor. She makes what may be the world’s greatest fruit salad, which stemmed from her hatred of fruit salads. We called it ‘Fuck You…

IN AN ATTEMPT TO LOOSEN UP THE SIX ACTORS GATHERED FOR THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’S ANNUAL DRAMA ACTOR ROUNDTABLE, THE MODERATOR TOSSED OUT AN INNOCUOUS QUESTION: WHAT WOULD PEOPLE BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT YOU? Pose’s Billy Porter, 49, jumped in first, offering an honest, if mild, response. “As I’ve grown older,” he shared, “I’ve become more of an introvert.” Fosse/Verdon’s Sam Rockwell, 50, seized the opportunity to agree, noting that he suffers from social anxiety. Next up was Richard Madden, 32, of Netflix’s Bodyguard, who had a little more fun with the query. “I like really crap pop music,” he revealed. The actor, who finds himself suddenly being rumored to play James Bond, didn’t cite a single song on his iPod, but he assured the table: “Really rubbish, cheesy stuff.”…

«“If you’re getting this email, a writer, agent, manager, lawyer or frankly someone’s dog walker has told me you might be interested in talking about the WGA situation and that you have concerns of some kind.” That’s how the invitation began. In mid-April, after talks between the Writers Guild and the Association of Talent Agents broke down, a group of five guild members who were skeptical of their leadership’s strategies in the fight with the agencies created a private venue for discussing their concerns. Now the group, which calls itself Writers for Negotiation, consists of more than 500 guild members who communicate using a chat app for video gamers called Discord, in a forum set up by the 16-year-old son of one of the organizers. “We are emphatically supporters of…

This year for the first time, the Emmys will honor original scores for documentary series and specials, largely thanks to the campaigning of the queen of doc scoring, Miriam Cutler (RBG, The Hunting Ground). Cutler spoke to THR about the new category and her score for Love, Gilda. What was one key to the pitch that you and music governor Rickey Minor brought to the TV Academy? An important part of our pitch was that both the TV Academy and AMPAS are really trying to increase diversity, and documentaries [have] lower budgets, so there’s not as much of this pressure and fear around newcomers, women, composers of color. So we feel like it’s really helping with diversity too, and it’s bringing in more people to the Academy who never dreamed…

Like so many decisions in life, the choice of where to get an acting degree often boils down to money. Many of the schools on this list offer full-ride scholarships (and even living expenses), if you’re lucky enough to be among the one or two percent who get in. Others — especially those with door-opening names, like Juilliard and Yale — require truckloads of cash to attend (an MFA from Columbia runs about $65,000). Of course, money isn’t the only factor, which is why THR has once again consulted with academics, influencers and alums to rank the top 25 schools turning acting into serious business. 1 YALE NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT 1 Grads of the No. 1 acting school in the nation had a big year, from Tony Shalhoub (Tony win…

Labor Georgia Backlash States race to nab projects over abortion ban p. 22 ↑ Film Becoming Batman How Pattinson was ‘quickly’ cast p. 30 Jay-Z The rapper and Roc Nation mogul becomes the first hip-hop star with a net worth above $1 billion, per Forbes’ new report. Chris Keyser A key Writers Guild negotiator with agencies is caught in a firestorm after it emerges that he is shopping his own TV project with Endeavor Content. Spencer Klein Netflix poaches the distribution executive, formerly the No. 2 at Fox, to bolster the streamer’s film (and awards) efforts. Brad Bentley The former Otter Media general manager is out as WarnerMedia folds the company into its forth-coming streaming service, to launch later this year. Showbiz Stocks ↑ $7.18 (+6%) TIVO (TIVO) The DVR…

Big Deal Wizards of the Coast is bringing its valuable fantasy IP to Hollywood. The Hasbro subsidiary is teaming with Netflix and brothers Joe and Anthony Russo (Avengers: Endgame) to adapt its popular card game Magic: The Gathering as an animated series aimed at adults 18-to-25. But Wizards of the Coast president Chris Cocks says that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as he has grand plans to expand the property into other platforms as part of a larger effort to revitalize Hasbro’s gaming unit. Last year, the gaming category, which also includes Monopoly, totaled $479 million in revenue in 2018’s fourth quarter, down 12 percent from a year ago. In addition to the Netflix anime show — which is eyed to become a multiple-title franchise — M:TG could also…

On May 22, Bernie Taupin — the bestselling lyricist whose storied collaboration with Elton John is depicted in Rocketman — celebrated his 69th birthday. The music legend (since the 1970s) and visual artist (since the 1990s) was in Washington for a special screening when he met with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the Republican from Bakersfield, California. “He wanted to see my artwork and loved it,” says Taupin. “He had 10 American flags fly over the Capitol in my honor and is presenting them to me to be used in my artwork.” The flags in Taupin’s artworks come from many sources. Most are donated by collectors who prize his bold, multimedia assemblages. From June 7 to 30, art lovers can see how the Britishborn Taupin (who became a U.S. citizen…

It was quite a ride — beginning a century ago with the likes of D.W. Griffith, Darryl Zanuck and Charlie Chaplin — but America’s reign as the dominant audience for movies will end in 2019, to be supplanted by China. This year, the U.S. box office may end up at $12.11 billion compared to China’s $11.05 billion, according to new projections from PricewaterhouseCoopers. But in 2020, China’s fast-growing sales at the box office will exceed that of the U.S., $12.28 billion to $11.93 billion — and the country will dominate for the foreseeable future. China, with its population of 1.4 billion compared with 328.9 million in the U.S., has been selling more movie tickets than any other country since 2015, but 2020 marks the more significant sea change: the first…

Miles Thompson, twice nominated as the James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year at Michael’s, is now cooking a few minutes south at Makani in Venice with multiple menus, including one for vegans and another for pescatarians. … DTLA Arts District staple Church & State, which received a Bib Gourmand nod from Michelin after it closed in April, returns under the direction of chef David Feau (last seen at Wally’s) and mega-operator Bill Chait. … Bummer for ArcLight Hollywood patrons: After 15 years, The Hungry Cat will close July 1.…

Before I became an actress, I was a tropical biologist. Years ago, I worked in the Panamanian jungle for the Smithsonian, where I collected data under enormous ceiba trees to the calls of howler monkeys. So when I needed a mental cleanse after wrapping Raising Dion in Atlanta last year, I chose Peru. After touching down in Cusco, I took a four-day hike with Wayki Trek in the Lares Valley to the obligatory Machu Picchu, then headed north to the Amazon’s remote Tambopata National Reserve, which is only accessible by a humid, eight-hour boat ride upstream. As we glided over murky waters shaded by tall grass, I saw capybara rolling in the mud. Capybara are at the bottom of the Amazonian food chain, which is dominated by the jaguar. Sighting…

The late-night hosts spent the past three years adapting to the news cycle of the Trump era, and now they find themselves contending with a rapidly approaching presidential election, with a massive field of Democratic candidates. For most of the hosts, that process starts with reflecting on lessons learned from the 2016 cycle. “As a front-facing part of this network, I’d like to plant a flag in it a little bit more than we did last time,” says TBS’ Full Frontal host Samantha Bee. “We’ve been through one election cycle. We can learn from that and grow with it and try to have fun with it, if that’s humanly possible.” Hasan Minhaj relies on his personalized take on real issues — from civil rights to immigration and censorship — to…

Two words capable of dispelling concerns that a closed-ended miniseries based on a closedended novel did not require a second installment: Meryl Streep. Through its first three episodes, the new season of HBO’s Big Little Lies may not be as cleanly structured as the first season or have its subtle shifts in tone, but this summer will offer few pleasures as pure as watching Streep conduct a passive-aggressive symphony opposite the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern. When we left the wealthy women of Monterey, Bonnie (Zoë Kravitz) had just pushed Alexander Skarsgard’s Perry to his death — though there were actually several women who might have wanted Perry’s blood on their hands, including his abused wife, Celeste (Kidman), and single mom Jane (Shailene Woodley), who realized…

European exhibitors will soon gather at CineEurope in Barcelona for the usual early morning popcorn and soda binges and mad scrambles for free T-shirts (and, occasionally, plush toys). But there’s going to be something different this year: Where there once were five major studios, now there are four. CineEurope will be the first exhibition conference to be held across the Atlantic since Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of Fox assets, and executives are wondering just how the company is going to cram everything on its bumper slate into one hourlong presentation June 19 — and how the monolithic cinematic force will impact their business. When the proposed merger went before the European Commission, it noted that Disney-Fox would still face major competition from Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. However,…

SURVIVING R. KELLY Producers and survivor Kitti Jones will speak June 11 about Lifetime’s explosive doc series. JUSTIN SIMIEN The Dear White People creator will receive THR’s Impact Award June 11 at the Rockie Awards gala. PAUL FEIG The Bridesmaids helmer will sit for a Summit Series Q&A on June 11; Jeffrey Katzenberg’s is June 9.…

They don’t write press kits like they used to. For 1971’s Shaft, MGM publicity described the title character as “a hard and handsome breed of black man spawned amongst the violence and danger of the innards of Harlem in which he now moves with self-assured ease. He’s also a cat who moves easily in ‘Whitey’s trough.’” (The plot had Richard Roundtree as a black P.I. working for a Harlem mobster whose daughter was kidnapped.) The Hollywood Reporter’s take was that though “not a good movie,” it would “surely do well this summer financially, especially with black audiences.” And the latter was true. The $500,000 production ($3 million today) grossed $13 million ($80 million now) and was one of only three profitable films the financially tottering MGM made that year. Over…

Donald Trump’s recent escalation of the U.S.-China trade war has torpedoed the sales potential of small and mid-budget American movies just as China’s appetite for such filmmaking appears to be on the rise. Few analysts believe Beijing is willing to retaliate against Trump’s tariffs by blocking Hollywood’s biggest tentpoles from release, given the vital role such titles play in generating revenue for local cinemas. Smaller U.S. films, however, have been left much more exposed. “Marvel titles are still going to get released — there’s just too much money at stake for both sides,” says Christopher Spicer, an attorney at Akin Gump who has counseled Chinese studios. “But other U.S. films will absolutely be affected by the trade war. All of the Chinese parties making these investments are now very cautious.”…

Southern Lady Code (DOUBLEDAY, APRIL 16) BY Helen Ellis AGENCIES UTA, The Book Group Like Lindy West’s memoir, Shrill, which received the prestige television treatment from Hulu, Ellis’ collection of essays about being a Southern lady on Manhattan’s Upper East Side could easily become a star vehicle in the form of a comedic character study. We Never Told (SHE WRITES PRESS, JUNE 11) BY Diana Altman AGENCY The Unter Agency Altman tackles the topical subject of the policing of women’s reproductive rights through her multi-generational novel, which sees adult sisters Joan and Sonya unearth the truth behind their mother’s mysterious four-month absence when they were girls.…

HOT DISH HIRAMASA CRUDO Los Angeles fine dining used to mean Cal-French food — Pacific ingredients elevated by classic European technique. For decades, the address that mattered was 6703 Melrose in Hancock Park, first as Citrus (which opened in 1987), then as Alex a decade and a half later, and finally as Hatfield’s. In 2014, when Quinn and Karen Hatfield closed their restaurant after eight years to open more casual spots, director Jon Favreau used the location for his self-starring Chef as a stand-in for a joyless haute cuisine palace the title character departs to open a food truck. Tastes had changed. Now the address — and the cuisine it helped pioneer — is back with three-month-old Auburn, chef Eric Bost’s noble attempt to bring the subtle restraint of high-end…

In Netflix’s When They See Us, Blair Underwood plays lawyer Robert Burns, who represented one of five black teenagers falsely accused of a 1989 assault in New York’s Central Park. Underwood, 54, shares his travels to his bucket-list destination, 15th century Incan citadel Machu Picchu in Peru, where Katy Perry and Robert De Niro also have visited. Travel “so broadens your horizons, it’s the greatest education,” says Underwood, a parent of three with his wife, Desiree DaCosta. “You can only comprehend so much from a book or online.” Being parents of kids who’ve traveled all their lives, we like to go to places as exotic as possible, destinations apart from our everyday existence. When I did research before the Machu Picchu trip, the history seemed magical: It was a communal society from 500 years ago, enveloped in…

For a composer, scoring a brand-new TV show means creating, from scratch, its musical identity, the sound of the fictional world the audience is experiencing for the first time. When working with Matthew Weiner on “Panorama,” the sixth episode of anthology series The Romanoffs, composer Marcelo Zarvos brought to life Mexico City as seen through the eyes of Abel, a Don Quixote-type dreamer. “What [Weiner] wanted was a love letter to Mexico City,” says Zarvos. “He wanted for us to see the incredible beauty of the place, and he wanted the music to really bring you in.” The guitar was “always the soul of the score and the soul of that episode,” he adds. “And the score is quite classical in many ways.” “Classical” also applies to Nicholas Britell’s score…

There are many surprising things about HBO’s series Euphoria, which deals with teen sexuality, drug use, peer pressure and other weighty issues. But most surprising of all is how good it is, given what might have gone wrong. The show stars former Disney Channel actress and pop singer Zendaya (The Greatest Showman). It was produced by, among others, Drake. It features a long list of mostly unknown teen actors tasked with bringing some very harrowing modern-day coming-of-age themes to life. And it has the kind of trans storyline that other series have struggled to pull off accurately and respectfully. But it works, boosted by a revelatory, early-career-defining performance from Zendaya, a similarly fantastic breakout turn from trans actress/model Hunter Schafer and powerful directing (five of eight hourlong episodes) and writing…

MINDY KALING The creator of The Mindy Project and writer-star of upcoming feature Late Night will sit down with director-producer Nancy Meyers. MICHAEL B. JORDAN The “Content With a Conscience” panel exploring thought provoking work will include the star producer of Outlier Society Productions. PETER ROTH AND TOBY EMMERICH Warner Bros. heads of film (Emmerich, right) and TV will participate in a conversation exploring the studio’s recent work and future plans. JEFFREY KATZENBERG The ex-DreamWorks Animation CEO and Meg Whitman will chat about their short-form mobile streaming service, Quibi.…

More than just an affable late night talker or carbound crooner, James Corden has proved himself a nimble awards show emcee. His latest hosting gig once again sees him presiding over the Tony Awards — broadcasting live June 9 on CBS from Radio City Music Hall — where shows like Hadestown and The Prom will vie for best musical and Annette Bening, Elaine May and Laurie Metcalf will duke it out for best actress in a play. THR caught up with Corden, 40, from his hotel in London, where he was filming bits for CBS’ The Late Late Show (the June 17-20 installments will originate in the U.K.), to talk about Broadway’s biggest night. Your own theater track record — including a Tony for One Man, Two Guvnors — is…

COMSCORE EUROPEAN BOX OFFICE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Walt Disney Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War UNIC AWARD OF ACHIEVEMENT Peter Fornstam Svenska Bio founder and Swedish Exhibitors’ Association chairman INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITOR OF THE YEAR Blitz-CineStar Accepted by founder Hrvoje Krstulovic and CEO Jadranka Islamovic INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR Mark Viane and Mary Daily, Paramount Pictures International…

Whoo — there are a lot of them!” exclaims an energetic Phylicia Rashad when asked by THR to look back at her career highlights. “I would say my career began with high points.” She speaks fondly of the months after her sophomore year at Howard University when she spent the summer with the Negro Ensemble Company in New York. “This was during its heyday. The actors in that company were Moses Gunn, Hattie Winston, Rosalind Cash, Frances Foster, Esther Rolle,” she says. “Robert Hooks was one of the directors of the theater. Douglas Turner Ward was the artistic director. It was the hottest theater in New York at the time.” She performed onstage Monday nights, when the regular ensemble had the day off, “and every [other] night I would sit…