Innholdsfortegnelse for Wednesday, November 13, 2019 i The Hollywood Reporter

As Disney CEO Bob Iger kicked off the streaming wars in earnest with the launch of Disney+ on Nov. 12, the TV industry’s pivot from linear broadcasting to direct-to-consumer platforms is igniting a battle over residuals that could see once-in-lifetime dual union strikes in mid-2020. The canary in the digital coal mine? In most labor deal cycles, the Directors Guild of America reaches an agreement at least a half-year in advance of its June 30 master contract expiration via prenegotiation in the fall and formal bargaining in late November or early December. But this year, a source close to the matter tells THR not to expect formal talks between the DGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) until sometime after the new year. The stumbling block,…

Dangerous Alliance (HARPERTEEN, DEC. 3) BY Jennieke Cohen AGENCY The Unter Agency As the surrealist Dickinson gets aggressive promotion by Apple TV+, this novel, which follows the marriage-resistant Lady Victoria Aston in the early 1800s and heavily draws from literary icon Jane Austen, could be a YA alternative for a streaming period piece. Girl, Serpent, Thorn (FLATIRON BOOKS, MAY 12) BY Melissa Bashardoust AGENCY WME A princess has lived hidden away, cursed with a poisonous touch, but emerges to confront a dungeon-dwelling demon that knows what brought about the curse. The original IP would allow studios other than Disney to get into the fairy-tale business.…

READ TO REEL? POSTHUMOUS SEQUEL Nov. 4 marked the 11-year anniversary of the death of Michael Crichton, who passed away at age 66 after a cancer battle. “There’s no better day to celebrate all [his] gifts of literature and entertainment,” says his widow in a rare interview, on that date. Sherri Crichton serves as CEO of Crichton Sun, the film and TV production company overseeing his vast archive. The work of the massively prolific Crichton lives on, with more than 200 million-and-counting books sold worldwide, Universal premiering Jurassic World 3 in June 2021, and HBO debuting season three of Westworld in 2020. And on Nov. 12, Harper releases a sequel to Crichton’s sci-fi novel The Andromeda Strain, 50 years after the extra-terrestrial-contagion tale was first published. Daniel H. Wilson, known…

Weddings Kyle Loftus, a partner and literary agent at APA, married NBC director of drama Christina Lehmann on Oct. 12 at the Paramour Estate in Silver Lake in front of 200 guests. The couple will honeymoon in Maui. Kasra Ajir, talent manager and partner at Velocity Entertainment Partners, married comedian-writer India Pearl on Oct. 13 at the Marina del Rey Marriott in front of 90 guests. They got engaged this past Thanksgiving in Paris and will honeymoon in Europe. Jean Ho, executive assistant to co-president of domestic marketing at Universal Pictures, married Paul Geary, managing partner of Global Artist Management, on Sept. 7 in Boston. The couple will honeymoon in the Exumas. Births Nicole Wilcox, senior publicist at Fox Searchlight Pictures, and husband Don Wilcox, senior marketing manager, movies, at…

Crowded into the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on June 9, thousands of video game fans erupted into applause when Polish studio CD Projekt Red debuted a trailer for its new title, Cyberpunk 2077. That reception was just a preamble, however, for a starrier reveal: Keanu Reeves. The actor quickly became a trending topic across social media after a digital version of his scruffy visage appeared on the screens surrounding the stage. Not to be outdone by his virtual doppelganger, Reeves himself emerged onstage to cheers amid a cloud of smoke. The moment may mark a notable shift in gaming, a coming out for an already $43 billion industry that is challenging established media genres like film and television by attracting A-list talent. The John Wick actor is far from…

When Warner Bros. teamed with Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf this summer to turn two Los Angeles coffee shops into the Friends cafe Central Perk for the show’s 25th anniversary, the lines were out the door for 12 hours a day of the weeklong experience. Fans snapped selfies on the iconic orange couch and ordered “The Monica” mocha cold brew or “The Rachel” matcha latte. (For the monthlong Friends pop-up in New York City, the waitlist saw 150,000 people.) And ahead of season three of Stranger Things in July, Netflix and Baskin-Robbins transformed a Burbank ice cream store into the show’s retro Scoops Ahoy eatery, where fans waited for three hours to enjoy a USS Butterscotch sundae. The shop sold more than 34,000 scoops of ice cream over 12 days.…

When Disney’s photoreal CG retelling of The Lion King opened in July and went on to earn $1.65 billion worldwide, many in the animation community wondered if the studio would put the film forward for the animated feature Oscar. But when the Academy released the list of a record 32 submissions for the category Oct. 16, it was made clear that Jon Favreau’s film would not be in the running. Even so, the submission list did reveal what is sure to be one of the most competitive animated feature races in years — thanks to three sequels whose franchises are all competing against one another for the first time. This trio are strong contenders for three of the five nomination slots. Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 4, which is directed…

On a warm summer day in 2018, Ford v Ferrari director James Mangold and stars Christian Bale and Matt Damon gathered around a monitor in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles to watch a fight — the awkward and hilarious rumble they had just enacted in front of the cameras. (Spoiler alert: A loaf of Wonder Bread is used as a weapon.) “Christian played Batman for a decade, and I played Jason Bourne for about the same amount of time,” says Damon, 49. “We had to take fights in those films so seriously. This was exactly the opposite. It was completely silly and goofy. They basically stop fighting because they run out of breath.” Rest assured, the two action-movie vets find their second winds in Ferrari, Mangold’s high-octane re-creation…

On Jan. 20, 2006, the Disney Channel aired what might have been the most financially successful TV movie ever made. Besides launching then-18-year-old Zac Efron’s career and drawing 7.7 million viewers, High School Musical set in motion two sequels (the second, made on an $11 million budget, had a theatrical release that grossed $253 million worldwide); a 2011 spinoff TV movie called Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure; a soundtrack that became the best-selling album of 2006 with 7 million copies sold; spinoff movies for the Chinese, Argentine, Mexican and Brazilian markets; a concert tour with the original cast; two stage musicals; a reality TV series about tryouts for the show; and, premiering Nov. 8 on Disney+, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. All this from a telefilm The Hollywood Reporter said…

When Jimmy Fallon debuted on NBC’s The Tonight Show in 2014, he was watched by more than 11 million viewers. Today his live viewing audience is less than 2 million a night and he’s in the third year of a ratings tumble while CBS rival Late Show With Stephen Colbert builds an audience by mining Trump-era anxiety. The instability at Tonight was exacerbated Nov. 4 when NBC revealed that Jim Bell would exit as executive producer after one year in the job. A 28-year veteran of NBC Sports and News, Bell left NBCUniversal entirely after producing Fallon’s show on Nov. 7. To many observers, the choice of Bell, with his news background, echoed that of Chris Licht, an experienced news producer at MSNBC and CBS News, who was tapped in…

Which Agent Shot Another Agent in the Groin? He was one of the most flamboyant figures in Hollywood, a womanizer and producer of such pictures as 1939’s Stagecoach. But by the early 1950s, Walter Wanger’s career was on the skids. He’d declared bankruptcy and was being dogged by creditors. “Walter was in his worst position ever,” says granddaughter Vanessa Hope. Then things got worse. Wanger began suspecting his wife, Little Women star Joan Bennett, of having an affair with her agent, Jennings Lang. Wanger hired a private eye and found they were spending time in New Orleans, the Caribbean and a Beverly Hills apartment. Furious, the producer grabbed a gun and waited in the parking lot of Lang’s agency, MCA. When the actress and the agent emerged that December day…

Chuck Lorre’s ‘Stupid’ Scientology Phase Why was the Scientology lingo in the season finale of Netflix’s The Kominsky Method, which dropped Oct. 25, so uncannily accurate? In the episode, Haley Joel Osment’s character uses terms like “the MEST universe” (matter, energy, space and time) and “thetans” (souls). Scientology blogger Tony Ortega suggested that Chuck Lorre, the episode’s sole writer, must’ve had experience with the religion. Ortega’s research pinpointed Lorre as a member in the ’70s, after he moved to L.A. to pursue a music career. “I do know that he was trained as an auditor,” Geoff Levin, another short-term church member, told Ortega. By the ’80s, Lorre was long gone: “He had just quietly left. He was into Buddhism by that time.” When THR reached out, Lorre said via his…

Cyberpunk 2077 CD Projekt Red, April 16, 2020 Keanu Reeves plays Johnny Silverhand, an influential musician and the player’s pseudo-guide. The title is arguably the most anticipated game release of 2020. Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Respawn Entertainment, Nov. 15, 2019 Cameron Monaghan plays Cal Kestis, a young Jedi. The game is hoping to top 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront II, which despite selling 9M copies, missed expectations. Death Stranding Kojima Productions, Nov. 8, 2019 Norman Reedus plays Sam Porter Bridges, a courier in a postapocalyptic version of America. Kojima’s last game, 2015’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, has sold more than 6M copies. Ghost Recon Breakpoint Ubisoft, Oct. 4, 2019 Jon Bernthal plays Colonel Cole D. Walker, a villain. Despite high hopes, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot called the…

Styling by Tiffani Chynel On Johansson: Jason Wu dress, Brian Atwood shoes. On Nyong’o: Alaia dress, Moritz Glik ring, Dana Rebecca Designs ring, Effy Jewelry earrings. On Dern: Christian Siriano dress, Effy Jewelry rings, Moritz Glik earrings. On Awkwafina: Andrew Gn dress, Schutz shoes. On Lopez: Christian Siriano dress, Cirari rings, EF Collection earrings. On Zellweger: Maria Lucia Hohan dress, Moritz Glik rings, Giuseppe Zanotti heels. As THR’s annual Actress Roundtable kicks off, Judy star Renée Zellweger takes a quick swig from her glass of water. “I was grabbing this to set myself up to not be first,” Zellweger, 50, jokes. Sure, there are some nerves among the six actresses as they gather for an hourlong conversation about their standout 2019 performances and the industry as a whole, but there’s…

Matthew A. Cherry, the director of independently made animated short Hair Love, can think of only a handful of animated features that have black characters in main roles. “When you don’t see yourself represented and you don’t see people with your same type of hair seen as the hero and seen as loving and desired, it really does a number on your self-confidence,” says Cherry, whose short follows an African American father trying to figure out how to do his daughter’s hair. Cherry isn’t the only filmmaker who created a film for those who’ve been marginalized. Purl, from writer-director Kristen Lester, follows a pink ball of yarn that tries to find acceptance in a male-dominated work environment. “I wrote the story based off of my experience of being a woman…

If you aim to embody the indomitable spirit of a beloved subject named twice in the title of her bio-musical, you’d better be up to the challenge. Adrienne Warren has what it takes, and then some — the powerhouse voice, the jackhammer legs, the dance moves and the heart — to carry Tina: The Tina Turner Musical across the rough patches of its book (by Katori Hall, with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins) and Phyllida Lloyd’s direction. This production is neither the best nor the worst of the ongoing wave of musical biographies, but the sensational lead turn is not to be missed. Warren originated the role in London, where the show has been a hit (the 32-year-old scored a Tony nomination for 2016’s Shuffle Along, but this is her…

In June, director Melina Matsoukas, known for helming music videos for top talent like Beyoncé, became the first woman of color to receive the American Film Institute’s Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal (she’s from the class of 2005). On Nov. 14, she’ll reunite with her alma mater when Queen & Slim opens AFI Fest. The film stars Jodie Turner-Smith and Daniel Kaluuya as a couple who are forced to go on the run after a police officer is shot in an act of self-defense. Universal and Brad Weston’s Makeready are opening the $20 million drama in theaters Nov. 27. Matsoukas, 38, says one of her reasons for directing the film is Sandra Bland, an African American woman who became a symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement after she was…

When WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey unveiled HBO Max on Oct. 29, he also created, in his words, an “IQ test” for consumers. For $15 a month, cable subscribers can get HBO, or, in May, access to HBO Max, the beefed-up streamer that will be home to shows from the premium cable network and a plethora of originals and library content from across the WarnerMedia brands. Days later, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that FX would produce programming for Hulu, with four originals previously earmarked for the linear network heading to the streamer as part of a channel of sorts that will include scores of FX library titles like American Horror Story. While details on the so-called FX on Hulu hub are being ironed out, four of FX’s shows — Cate…

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Apollo 11 Fifty years after the lunar launch and landing, Todd Douglas Miller’s immersive Imax doc chronicling the landmark historic event won five awards at the Nov. 10 Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards: editing, score, science/nature doc, archival doc and the top prize, doc feature. Prosecuting Evil — The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz Barry Avrich’s doc was shown to voters in Hollywood on Nov. 10 with a special guest on hand for a post-screening Q&A: 99-year-old subject Ben Ferencz himself, the last surviving prosecutor from the Nuremberg trials. David Crosby, Remember My Name Produced by Cameron Crowe, newcomer A.J. Eaton’s doc about the sweet-voiced but poor-tempered singer-songwriter reflecting on his life and legacy was shut out of the nominations for the Cinema Eye Honors on Nov. 7. BEST…

On Nov. 8, for the first time since she began her campaign protesting climate change more than four weeks ago in Washington, D.C., Jane Fonda managed to not get arrested. The 81-year-old actress-activist had tempted fate again by marching from the Capitol to the White House with a group of 40 civilian activists to form a human chain outside the entrance for two hours; the Secret Service did not intervene, and no arrests were made. Since Oct. 11, the Grace and Frankie star has spent 20 hours behind bars, after being arrested alongside such famous friends as Sam Waterston and Rosanna Arquette. Fonda relocated to D.C. in September for the campaign, dubbed Fire Drill Fridays and hatched with Greenpeace USA executive director Annie Leonard, environmental activist Bill McKibben and On…

On Nov. 1, John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, called Netflix’s decision to forgo a traditional theatrical release for Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman a “disgrace” and a “missed strategic opportunity.” Fithian is an effective advocate for his constituents, but as a Netflix shareholder, I disagree with his position. It would be a major strategic and financial mistake for the streamer to spend large sums to give The Irishman a wide U.S. release, accompanied by a 90-day theatrical exclusivity window. As film insiders know, the “P&A” cost to market and distribute a wide-release studio movie can equal or exceed the budget of the film itself. With so many high-quality home entertainment options available, theatrical distributors must spend huge sums to break through the clutter and drive the…

Goose, the feisty feline companion in Captain Marvel, is no ordinary cat. For one, Goose is actually an alien creature called a Flerken, which can emit tentacles from its mouth. And secondly, Goose is computer generated. Disney and Marvel’s Captain Marvel, the first female-fronted stand-alone movie in the MCU, with Brie Larson as the titular lead, takes place in the 1990s and explores the origin story of the comic book superhero. For the filmmakers, Goose needed to “perform” beyond the scope of what is teachable to a real cat. And then there was the issue of Larson’s allergy to cats. This meant that the VFX team had to create a fully CG feline. The character “has full muscle, fur and skin animation,” explains Janelle Croshaw Ralla, one of the film’s…

There is perhaps no higher-profile job for a movie hair and makeup team than creating a new Joker. So makeup artist Nicki Ledermann and hairstylist Kay Georgiou were understandably nervous last September, when director Todd Phillips released the first look at Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker on Instagram. At first glance, some fans were concerned this new Joker didn’t seem like the one in the comics, but that was by design. “The whole point for this Joker was to be handmade and realistic,” says Ledermann. The makeup artist studied the previous onscreen Jokers and received drawings from Phillips, who had his own ideas. Ultimately, the biggest challenge came during production, when she had to ensure the makeup was perfectly and consistently smeared. In one of the film’s most famous shots,…

In the world of film composing, few have had a career arc quite like Randy Newman. The wry singer-songwriter has been nominated for 20 Academy Awards, having won twice for compositions from 2001’s Monsters, Inc. (“If I Didn’t Have You”) and 2010’s Toy Story 3 (“We Belong Together”). This year, he returned for Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 4 — which features a Newman score plus the original song “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” — as well as scored Netflix’s emotionally intricate Marriage Story. Newman, 75, chatted with THR on working with Noah Baumbach, writing a song about an introverted spork and how he unexpectedly created Disney’s musical identity despite his affinity for darkness. Marriage Story is your second collaboration with Baumbach. What is your process like with…

Hulu’s new comedy Dollface seems to be going after a specialized demographic — namely, women in their 20s with perpetual social media access and an encyclopedic knowledge of current popular culture, who somehow don’t watch enough TV to recognize how derivative Dollface is at every turn. There are things to like about the series. It’s a triumphant return to form for Kat Dennings after all of those years trapped under the broadcast hackery of CBS’ 2 Broke Girls, and an appealing showcase for the generally ill-used Brenda Song, the generally underrated Shay Mitchell and exceptional scene-stealer Esther Povitsky. In fact, the entire cast of Dollface is so great that the prevailing feelings generated by watching the first season’s 10 half-hour episodes are occasional mirth and consistent certainty that they could…

RICHARD JEWELL Clint Eastwood’s latest directorial effort, centered on the bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, debuts Nov. 20. PETER MORGAN The Crown creator will be feted with a Q&A, followed by a screening of the third season opener of the Netflix royal drama Nov. 16. THE BANKER Apple TV+ enters the awards race with the Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson starrer, which closes the fest Nov. 21. INDIE STANDOUTS THR’s Scott Feinberg will moderate a panel with eight stars of indie films, from Awkwafina to Sterling K. Brown, on Nov. 17.…