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.
Heat Index Jeff Zucker The CNN Worldwide chief wraps October with the top cable news net in the key 25-to-54 demo and tightens its 2016 gap with Fox News to 6 percent in primetime and 14 percent in total day. Ron Howard Inferno is doused in the U.S. with a $14.9 million debut, the director’s fourth straight domestic disappointment after The Dilemma, Rush and In the Heart of the Sea. Dan Fogelman NBC’s This Is Us creator has a fall hit, generating a 4.1 rating in 18-to-49 for its Oct. 25 episode and the biggest live-plus-3 Tuesday lift by a broadcast show since 2013. Donna Brazile CNN cuts ties and ABC News suspends the DNC chief and political analyst after WikiLeaks reveals she emailed debate questions to Clinton’s campaign, embarrassing…
Corporations are not people, the Supreme Court’s insistence otherwise notwithstanding. But they have some things in common. AT&T, for example, is displaying the very human tendency to cling to old habits — particularly bad habits. Decades after it was broken into pieces by a federal court, the former Ma Bell again is gobbling up competitors and working hard to re-establish itself as the nation’s communications behemoth. It spent the past decade snatching up cellular carriers and a year ago acquired satellite provider DirecTV, entrenching it as the nation’s largest pay TV and second-largest mobile company, respectively. Now AT&T has struck an $85 billion deal to add Time Warner to its holdings. The merger would make AT&T a communications producer as well as a carrier, giving it control of HBO, TBS…
Never mind A-list actors. The latest battleground in the talent agency wars might be mixed martial arts. In July, WME-IMG acquired UFC for nearly $4 billion. That came on the heels of CAA Sports signing top UFC stars Cain Velasquez, Rory MacDonald, T.J. Dillashaw and Tim Kennedy as well as MMA coach Firas Zahabi. That puts CAA in the awkward position of negotiating for clients with a league owned by its biggest rival. But observers wonder if CAA’s push is an effort to undercut WME’s purchase. After all, some 90 UFC fighters banded together to unionize in August — a move that presumably could put a dent in WME’s profits (UFC had been a cash cow thanks to fighters enjoying only a small cut of revenue, unlike other unionized sports).…
On Oct. 19, Fifty Shades producer Dana Brunetti declared war on the Producers Guild. “Once again outdated Hollywood reigns. According to my own ‘guild,’ I’ve been determined not eligible to receive the PGA mark on #fiftyshadesdarker,” he wrote on social media. Brunetti’s missive against how producers are determined eligible for a coveted Producers Mark (“p.g.a.”) is creating a headache for the PGA, as many have voiced support for Brunetti’s promise to fight “with a vengeance.” But will his campaign have any lasting impact on who gets a credit considered key for awards? “I’m making this a platform because I think everyone knows that Fifty Shades Darker isn’t going to be considered for an Oscar, so I really don’t give a f— about the mark,” Brunetti tells THR. “With Captain Phillips,…
On the air, it’s business as usual for Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. But behind the scenes, the NBC latenight leader is adapting to the exits of two longtime power players in as many weeks. First, producer-writer Gavin Purcell, a force on Fallon’s digital team, jumped to Vox Media. Then, on Oct. 24, showrunner Josh Lieb, who had been with Fallon since his move to 11:35 p.m. in February 2014, left for a Universal Television deal. Filling Lieb’s shoes are three Tonight producers: Gerard Bradford and Mike DiCenzo, who will handle creative efforts, and supervising producer Katie Hockmeyer, who will oversee production. Tonight continues to far outpace the competition on ABC (Jimmy Kimmel) and CBS (Stephen Colbert) in adults 18-to-49 and total viewers, and it remains the top late-night-show…
PICTURE Hacksaw Ridge Director Mel Gibson is back. His new film, in which Andrew Garfield plays a World War II medic and conscientious objector turned hero, received a standing ovation at its Oct. 24 premiere at the Academy and a resounding 13 nominations from the Australian Academy. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Ang Lee’s foray into 120 fps landed with a thud at the New York Film Festival, and the reception at subsequent industry screenings hasn’t been much better. However, the Oscar-winning director was honored at the Britannia Awards. Manchester by the Sea Kenneth Lonergan’s drama starring Casey Affleck is living up to the reputation it achieved on the festival circuit, from Sundance to Telluride. When the Gotham Awards nominations were announced, it led the field with four mentions, including…
